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High school junior Lauren O’Connor from Batavia, Illinois, has committed to swim and study at the University of Cincinnati beginning in the fall of 2024.
“I’m so thankful and excited to announce my verbal commitment to the University of Cincinnati to continue my academic and athletic career! I want to thank my family, coaches at Academy Bullets, teammates, and friends who have always supported and believed in me. I’m so thankful to the Cincinnati coaches for giving me this opportunity and I couldn’t be more excited! GO BEARCATS ❤️🖤”
O’Connor attends Rosary High School and swims year-round with Academy Bullets Swim Club. She specializes in back, fly, and IM and was an A-finalist in the 100 back as a sophomore at last year’s Illinois High School State Championships, placing sixth with a PB of 56.31. She also competed in the 100 fly and finished 18th in prelims (57.17). She had achieved her best time in that event (56.66) a week earlier at Sectionals. This season, she came in seventh in the 100 back (56.49) and tenth in the 100 fly (57.19).
In club swimming, O’Connor competed in the 50/100/200 back and 100 fly at NCSA Spring Championships, picking up a PB in the 200 back with her 33rd-place finish. This summer, in the long course version of the same meet, she swam the 100/200 back and 100/200 fly and was a finalist in both backstroke events. Her best times in the LCM 100/200 back come from West Fargo Futures in the summer of 2021, where she placed fourth in the 200 (2:19.09) and 12th in the 100 (1:05.59).
Best SCY times:
- 200 back – 2:00.13
- 100 back – 56.19
- 100 fly – 56.66
- 200 fly – 2:07.40
Cincinnati currently has four backstrokers (freshmen Grace Gavin, Lily Jones, Payton Woodring, and Sophie Curtis) who are sub-56 at mid-season; two of them (Jones and Gavin) are also sub-2:00 in the 200. O’Connor will overlap with all four of them.
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