TOLEDO, OH – Toledo dropped its final home meet to Miami, 185-77, on Sunday afternoon in the UT Student Rec Center. This contest also served as Senior Day for Rachael Hester; check out some Senior Day photos here.
 
"I thought we got off to a slow start today," said head coach Jonas Persson. "When you're facing a great team like Miami you've got to go hard right out of the gate. Looking back, I thought we could've won the 400 medley from how the rest of our races turned out."
 
The Rockets started off the meet with a second-place finish in the 400 medley relay.  Freshman Maureen O'Sullivan, junior Jessica Avery, freshman Duda Sales and junior Maggie Hack stopped the clock at 3:54.03. Hack recorded a meet-best split of 51.56 in the freestyle leg of the race.
 
"Maggie had an excellent split and nearly hunted them down at the end. I also thought Duda's split of 56.87 in the butterfly was terrific once again," said Persson.
 
Hack took this momentum to then place first in the 100 free with a time of 53.35.
 
Avery scored nine points for the Rockets in the 100 breast, stopping the clock at 1:05.06, and freshman Bec Welke followed in fourth with a time of 1:06.43. Avery then posted a second-place finish in the 200 breast at 2:20.13.
 
"Jess had a great meet today and just keeps improving throughout the season," said Persson. "She's been having some really nice races for us, which I think will lead to a successful MAC meet for her."
 
Freshman Izzy Jones recorded a pair of second-place finishes on the day. In the 200 free she touched at a time of 1:53.95, and then later stopped the clock at 2:03.93 in the 200 back. Hack placed fourth in the 200 free with a time of 1:55.79 and freshman Maureen O'Sullivan touched fourth in the 200 back at 2:09.03.
 
"Izzy continues to improve. She's had some excellent races for us and she's only a freshman. Both Izzy and Maggie stepped up for us in the 200 free," said Persson.
 
O'Sullivan collected her own second-place finish in the 100 back with a time of 58.79, while junior Gabbi Haaraoja followed in fourth with a time of 1:00.01.
 
"Maureen continues to be a solid swimmer for us and I expect her to finish the season out on a strong note," said Persson. "I was proud of Gabbi in the outside lane of the 100 back for sneaking into fourth place. She was a few hundredths of a second away from third."
 
Junior Allison Dicke touched second in the 50 free (24.83) and recorded the fourth-best split (24.31) in the 200 free relay.
 
"Allie has been really stepping up a lot for us as a leader in and out of the pool," added Persson.
 
"I have seen a ton of improvements out of all of our athletes this season," said Persson. "From our freshman, such as Anna Dunphy who has been continuously improving, to our upperclassmen like Emily Frederick who I saw improve her 200 and 500 free today.
 
"We have one more dual meet this season, then we train for three weeks before the MAC Championships," said Persson. "We need to keep up our intensity at practice. Yes we need to focus on our times, but it's also critical to keep focused on our racing strategy and all the little things we do in practice that will make a big difference in the end."
 
The Midnight Blue and Gold will travel to Athens, OH next weekend for their final dual meet of the season. UT will battle the Bobcats on Saturday, Jan. 28 at 2:00 p.m. in the Ohio University Aquatic Center.