COLUMBUS, Ohio – The No. 30 Ohio State women’s swimming team resumes its dual meet season Saturday and Sunday after what will have been a 20-day break from competition for the holiday season. Coach Bill Dorenkott’s team will travel to Toledo for a dual meet Saturday against the Rockets at 1 p.m. at the UT Student Rec Center Pool. The Buckeyes will return home following the meet to host Wright State in a double dual meet with the men’s team at 1 p.m. at the McCorkle Aquatic Pavilion.
The meet against Toledo will be broadcast on a tape delay basis by Buckeye Cable Sports Network. Re-broadcast times are still to be determined. Visit the BCSN Web site this weekend here for more details.
Ohio State, victorious in its last competition at the three-day Chesapeake Energy Elite Pro-Am in Oklahoma City, Okla., Dec. 18-20, carries a 2-0 dual meet record into the weekend competition with dual meet wins over Kenyon and Cleveland State in November. The team’s 2009 slate also includes a runner-up finish at its own, six-team Ohio State Invitational and a fifth-place finish at the strong, six-team Purdue Invite.
Toledo, checking in at No. 47 in the latest CSCAA poll, is off to one of its best starts in program history with an 8-1 record. Ohio State swam to a 181.5-118.5 win in Columbus in the 2007-08 season, the last meeting between the two schools in the pool.
24 Hours Later… Just 24 hours after the Buckeyes swim at Toledo, the team will host Wright State at the McCorkle Aquatic Pavilion. The Raiders are 6-3 on the season and will be competing for the first time since Dec. 12 when they defeated the University of Tampa 184.5-77.5 in Tampa, Fla.
Only Two Duals, but Lots of Racing Ohio State has competed in only two dual meets so far but its swimmers have raced 22 times when one includes the three, three-day invitational meets in November and December and intrasquad scrimmages.
“The dual meet total is probably one of the lowest in the NCAA while the number of sessions swum is probably near the top,” Ohio State coach Bill Dorenkott said.
Here is Why Dorenkott explained why he set his team’s schedule to include fewer dual meets and more of the invitational, championship-format meets this year: “The thought with three invitational-type meets in the fall was twofold: One, we as a team and staff needed a better sense of our strengths and weaknesses; and two, we have focused on becoming a better ‘racing’ team.”
The Buckeyes are Nationally Ranked Ohio State is nationally ranked. The team’s showing through the first half of the season has gotten the attention of the Collegiate Swim Coaches Association of America, which ranks Ohio State No. 30 nationally in its second of four dual meet polls for the season.
Last Time Out…Last Year In its last competitive competition outside of practices, Ohio State won the 40-team Chesapeake Energy Elite Pro-Am Dec. 18-20 in Oklahoma City, Okla. The Buckeyes came away with five relay wins and six more individual wins in the Olympic Festival Pool on the campus of Oklahoma City Community College to secure the victory.
Junior Samantha Cheverton swam to a win in the 100 butterfly and was part of four relay wins to lead the Buckeye efforts against collegiate swimmers as well as elite club team members from around the country.
Junior Katelyn Brix took first in the 200 individual medley and senior Colleen Schweitzer won the 200 breaststroke. Freshman Emily Creran swam to a victory in the 200 backstroke and another freshman, Shannon Draves picked up a win in the 200 butterfly and another in the 50 butterfly.
Cheverton had four runner-up finishes: 200 free, 500 free and 200 fly. Other second-place efforts were swam by Catherine Eitel (100 breaststroke), Shannon Draves (100 fly), Lockhart (400 IM), Detro (50, 100 and 200 free), Megan Alexander (200 breaststroke), Lauren Massey 100 back) and Kimberly Bowman (50 fly).
Good Grades Coach Bill Dorenkott was most proud with the efforts of his team in the classroom during the fall quarter. Eighty-percent of the team earned a grade point average of 3.0 or above with 13 student-athletes soaring above the 3.50 GPA. Two academic stars – senior Megan Alexander and freshman Lauren Massey – recorded perfect, 4.0 GPAs.
“Our academic success is not an accident,” Dorenkott said. “The previous coaching staff did an awesome job of attracting individuals who believe strongly in the value of a college education. In addition, we are blessed at The Ohio State University with an athletic department that provides the resources for success. When you put highly motivated students in a competitive environment with unlimited opportunities the results will speak for themselves.
“We have found a strong correlation between academic success and athletic success in our program. Show me a young person who achieves to their potential in the classroom and there is a pretty good chance they are reaching their potential in the pool as well.”
Fast Times…So Far Samantha Cheverton, who leads the team with seven individual wins so far this season (two wins in the 100 and 200 freestyle and 100 butterfly, respectively, and one in the 200 fly), has the fastest time in the Big Ten Conference – so far – in the 200 free at 1:47.62. Cheverton has a Big Ten Top 5 time in the 200 backstroke (1:59.40) and her time of 4:46.38 in the 500 free is sixth-best league-wise.
Up Next Ohio State travels to East Lansing, Mich., Jan. 22 for a dual meet against Michigan State, and then turns right around and returns to Columbus for a dual meet against Michigan Jan. 23 at the McCorkle Aquatic Pavilion.
The attached pdf includes the team’s 2009-10 results, fastest times, Top 5 times in each event, a listing of individual wins so far and a team roster.