By: Athletic Communications Student-Assistant Paige Phillips '23
WILMINGTON, Ohio – The Baldwin Wallace University men's swimming and diving team closed out the 2021 regular season with a loss to Wilmington College by a final score of 129-131 in an OAC dual meet inside the Wilmington Natatorium.
BW (0-4, 0-4 OAC) was led by sophomore freestyler Austin Olsavsky (Medina) and senior stroker Michael Morsch (Phoenix, Ariz./Notre Dame Preparatory). Olsavsky placed first in the 200-meter freestyle with a time of 2:04.92, first in the 100-meter butterfly with a time of 1:05.13, and first in the 100-meter freestyle in a time off 55.85. Morsch earned first place wins in the 50-meter backstroke in a time of 29.14, the 100-meter backstroke in a time of 1:04.10, and the 400-meter freestyle in a time of 4:36.22.
In addition, freshman freestyler Grant Doolittle (Tekonsha, Mich. /Marshall) earned up a first-place win in the 800-meter freestyle in a time of 10:01.46. Doolittle also earned second place in the 400-meter freestyle in a time of 4:53.62, and third place in the 100-meter butterfly in a time of 1:08.34. Freshman freestyler Mason Kooyman (Concord Township /Chardon) also placed first in the 50-meter freestyle in a time of 25.30, and third in the 100-meter freestyle in a time of 59.86.
Earning a few runner-up finishes were senior Academic All-OAC freestyler Matthew Butt (Westfield Center/Cloverleaf) in the 200-meter freestyle in a time of 2:08.03 and the 50-meter butterfly in a time of 27.89. Butt also earned a third place in the 50-meter freestyle in a time of 25.55. Sophomore Alec McNeill (Avon Lake) placed second in the 50-meter breaststroke with a time of 33.86 and second in the 100-meter breaststroke in a time of 1:15.34. Senior freestyler Connor Hartup (Westlake) earned a third-place finish in the 800-meter freestyle in a time of 10:23.27.
In relay action, the 200-meter freestyle team of Butt, Morsch, Olsavsky, and Kooyman earned a first-place win with a time of 1:42.21. The 200-meter medley team of Hartup, Doolittle, McNeill, and sophomore freestyler Nathan Massey (Columbus, Centennial) were the runner-ups in a time of 2:04.16.
The Yellow Jackets are back in action at the three-day Ohio Athletic Conference Championships on Thursday-Saturday, March 25-27 at the Spire Institute in Geneva, Ohio. Preliminary action begins each day at 10 a.m. with finals to held each night at 6 p.m.