ROCHESTER, Mich. – The Oakland University swimming and diving team opened up the 2026-27 season at the Oakland Aquatic Center, earning its first wins of the year during a two-day dual meet on Oct. 2-3 against Youngstown State.

DAY ONE 
Oakland opened the meet with victories in both the women's and men's 200 medley relays. The women's A team of sophomore Lydia Soldatke, junior Maya Dobry, and sophomores Ellie Todd and Kendra Venter touched the wall first in 1:45.79. The men's team of sophomore Ajjuub Ezzat, junior Luke Vickers, senior Max Haney, and sophomore Jeremy Damanik followed with a winning time of 1:30.14.

Freshman Haley Johnson won the 400 IM in her first collegiate event, finishing with a time of 4:31.69. Alongside her, junior Kelley Hassett, freshman Janina Granberg, and senior Delaney Buckner went 2-3-4, giving Oakland its first sweep of the season. Sophomores Cooper Dillman and Victor Teeters accomplished the 1-2 on the men's side with times of 4:02.63 and 4:06.50, respectively.

In the 200 free, graduate student Nicholas Karel Subagyo earned his first victory of the season with a time of 1:39.23, while freshman Trae Lewis placed third. For the women, sophomore Avery Beal and freshman Emma Albrecht placed second and third. 

Todd added an individual victory in the 100 fly with a time of 57.19, while sophomore Megan Donnelly finished third. Sophomore Ike Martinez and junior Archer Jankoviak took 2-3 in the same event.

Earning the second sweep of the night, sophomore Grace Aguilar-Fernandez, sophomore Charisse Hickman, and Albrecht took the 1-2-3 in the 100 breast. Vickers, competing in his first meet as a Golden Grizzly, earned himself a first-place finish in 55.19, with senior Carson Ricker earning third. 

Damanik earned his first individual victory in the men's 50 free, finishing in 20.91. Freshman Wade Pyle placed second, while Beal placed third in the women's event.

The longest race of the night was the 500 free, where Hassett and Donnelly would go first and third. Subagyo and Dillman took the men's 1-2 with times of 4:37.08 and 4:41.26.

Reigning Horizon League Swimmer and Freshman of the Year Soldatke won the 100 back in 56.49. On the men's side, Oakland earned its first sweep of the season as Ezzat (49.40), Lewis (49.61), and senior Eli Stoll claimed the podium.

With teams broken up by class standing, the sophomore relay of Beal, Todd, Soldatke, and Venter took home the 400 free relay with a time of 3:30.23. However, the freshman relay was not far behind, while Albrecht, Sophie Gaylord, Granberg, and Johnson placed second in 3:35.81. On the men's side, senior Joseph Countryman, Haney, Pyle, and Ezzat took the gold with a final time of 3:01.90.

In diving, Oakland earned another sweep in the women's one-meter event. Freshman Alexandra Burns, Abigail McCool, and juniors Hannah Clark and Alayna Okonoski finished atop the standings, with Burns earning her first collegiate victory with 218.55 points. 

Freshman Enzo Morello continued Oakland's strong showing by winning the men's three-meter dive with 267.75 points.

DAY TWO 
Starting off day two, Oakland's women's and men's teams each captured the 400 medley relay. Soldatke, Aguilar-Fernandez, Todd, and Beal took first place for the women in 3:51.64, while Ezzat, Vickers, Haney, and Countryman won the men's event with a time of 3:19.67.

Oakland continued to dominate the distance events. Donnelly and Hassett took the 1-2 in the women's 1000 free, while Subagyo, Dillman, Teeters, and junior Hill Harchelroad swept the top four spots in the men's race.

The Golden Grizzlies added another women's sweep in the 200 IM, with Albrecht, Johnson, and Beal finishing first, second, and third, respectively. Haney and Ricker finished with times of 1:53.16 and 1:54.66, claiming the top-two spots.

Lewis, Ezzat, and Stoll swept the men's 200 back, while Soldatke earned another victory in the women's race, touching the wall in 2:02.96. Venter claimed her first individual win of the season in the women's 100 free, and Pyle finished second in the men's event.

On the boards, sophomores Owen Cox and Fidele Byiringiro finished first and second in the men's 1-meter, with Cox totaling 291.30 points. Clark was the top Golden Grizzly on the women's three-meter, placing second with 216.83 — less than 0.4 points behind Youngstown State's Alexia Chavez.

Johnson, Todd, and Donnelly completed Oakland's final sweep of the meet in the women's 200 fly, finishing with times of 2:05.44, 2:05.77, and 2:12.68, respectively. Martinez and Dillman placed first and third in the men's race, with times of 1:49.79 and 1:53.35.

Hickman and Aguilar-Fernandez led Oakland in the women's 200 breast, with Hickman winning in 2:23.40 and Aguilar-Fernandez placing third in 2:23.81. Vickers earned another victory for the men, winning the event in 2:05.00.

The Golden Grizzlies closed out the meet with victories in both 200 free relays. Albrecht, Venter, Gaylord, and Beal earned the top spot with a time of 1:35.30, and Ezzat, Countryman, Damanik, and Pyle finished first in 1:22.17.

FINAL RESULTS 

Women: Oakland 249, Youngstown State 102
Men: Oakland 261, Youngstown State 91

UP NEXT: The Golden Grizzlies travel to West Lafayette, Ind., to take on Purdue Oct. 30-31 at the Morgan J. Burke Aquatic Center.

How to Follow Oakland Swimming and Diving: For complete information on Oakland Swimming and Diving, follow the team on Instagram and on X at @OAK_swim_dive.