TOLEDO, Ohio - The Toledo women's swimming and diving team will begin its 2021-22 campaign on Friday, Oct. 22 at Oakland University. The women's meet will be held in the Oakland Aquatic Center with race time set for 5:00 p.m.

Toledo returns 16 swimmers including Second-Team All-Conference honorees Jovana Duric and Kennedy Lovell. The Rockets finished seventh at last year's MAC Championship Meet. In addition, head swimming coach Brie Globig added 10 swimmers and head diving coach Gabby Agostino added one diver to the team in this season's recruiting class.

"We have been training well and improving individually and as a group each practice," head coach Brie Globig said. "Our young team has found its groove and I'm excited to see our starting point of the season."

The four swimmers leading the Rockets for their senior season include Sydnee Dressel (backstroke/IM), Kendra Polewski (freestyle), Samantha Ekleberry (freestyle), and Joelle Gallias (diving).

Dressel recorded season-best swims last year in the 100 back (1:00.04) against Bowling Green and 50 back (28.20) against Buffalo.

Polewski had 10 top-10 finishes last season, along with season-bests in the 100 (53.09), 200 (1:55.72), and 500(5:03.60) free at the MAC Championships.

Ekleberry had12 top-five showings last season, including one win in the 1000 free (10:39.76) against Bowling Green. She swam in the 500, 1000, and 1650 free as well as the 400 IM at the MAC Championships and set season-best times in all four events.

Gallais had three first place finishes last season: the one-meter (271.05) at Ohio, the three-meter (252.60) against Bowling Green, and the platform preliminaries (246.65) at the UB Diving Invite.

"I am looking forward to having a more normal season this year," said diving coach Gabby Agostino. "We have been putting a lot of work in and I am excited to see how they progress and improve throughout the season."

Also returning for their junior seasons are strong freestyle swimmers Jovana Duric and Kennedy Lovell. Duric won silver in the 1650 free with a career-best 16:33.01 swim at the MAC Championships, enough for the third-best time in program history. Lovell placed fifth overall in the 200 free A Final (1:48.70), in addition to swimming in the 50 free (23.17) and 100 free (50.33) at the MAC Championships.

Sophomore Sydney Conrad qualified for the B Final of the 200 fly and swam a fourth-best program record of 2:01.69 at the MAC Championships.

Lauren Kilgore will return in the individual medley group. The junior had five first-place finishes last season, including two event titles at the EMU Last Chance Meet – the 100 fly (55.45) and 200 IM (2:01.74). Kilgore set a career-best time of 2:18.04 for an 11th-place finish in the 200 breaststroke at the MAC Championships.

Schedule
The Rockets are scheduled to host three dual meets this season. The 2021 MAC Championships are set for Feb. 24-26 in Bowling Green. The NCAA Zone Diving is set for Mar. 7-9, the CSCAA National Invitational Championships will take place Mar. 11-16 in Elkhart, Ind., and NCAA Championships will be hosted by Georgia Tech in Atlanta, Ga. Mar. 16-19.

Oakland Update
Oakland University is coming off a season-opener loss to the University Michigan, 174-117. The Golden Grizzlies won three events, including the 200 breast, 100 back, and 200 IM.

Follow the Rockets
Be sure to follow the Rockets swim&dive team on social media:

• Twitter - @ToledoRockets and @ToledoSwimDive
• Instagram - 'utrockets' and 'toledoswimdive'