This Week in Ohio State Athletics – Ohio State Buckeyes
3/10/1998 12:00:00 AM | General
March 10, 1998
Wednesday, March 11
Men’s Volleyball vs. Juniata, 7:30 p.m.
Thursday, March 12
Men’s Volleyball vs. Clarke, 7:30 p.m.
Friday, March 13
Baseball vs. Pittsburgh, 3 p.m. Men’s and Women’s Diving at NCAA Qualifying Meet at Oxford, Ohio Hockey vs. Lake Superior State, 7 p.m., Game 1 CCHA Playoffs
Saturday, March 14
Baseball vs. Pittsburgh (DH), 1:05 p.m. Men’s and Women’s Diving at NCAA Qualifying Meet at Oxford, Ohio Women’s Gymnastics at Michigan State at 7 p.m. Hockey vs. Lake Superior State, 7 p.m., Game 2 CCHA Playoffs
Sunday, March 15
Men’s and Women’s Diving at NCAA Qualifying Meet at Oxford, Ohio Hockey vs. Lake Superior State, 7 p.m., Game 3 CCHA Playoffs (if necessary) Women’s Lacrosse vs Colgate at 6 p.m., in South Bend, Ind.
Fencing
1997-98 Record -Men 12-7-0 Overall, Women 20-3-0 Overall
Head Coach – Charlotte Remenyik, 20th year (Northeastern Illinois, ’73)
Good Stuff – The OSU women’s fencing team is ranked third in the country behind first place Notre Dame and second place Penn State. The men’s squad is in 13th place.
This Week – Ohio State is idle.
Last Week – The Buckeyes traveled to Evanston, Ill., and competed in the NCAA Regionals on Saturday. This was solely an individual competition. Yelena Kalkina (So., Almaty, Kazakhstan), Patricia Szelle (Sr., Budapest, Hungary) and Fayne Groes (Fr., Denmark) dominated the foil competition, capturing three of the top four spots. Kalkina was the individual champion and improved her third place finish from last year. Teammates Szelle and Groes placed third and fourth, respectively. Geoff Kane (So., Vancouver, Wash.) led the men’s squad with a second place finish in the epee. Spela Pirc (Jr., Ljubljana, Slovenija), Greg Carlino (Fr., Cleveland Heights, Ohio) and Jamie Eppich (Fr., Elkhart, Ind.) were top finishers for the Buckeyes in the epee, foil and sabre events respectively.
Notes – Kalkina (foil), Szelle (foil) and Kane (epee) will represent the Buckeyes at the NCAA Championships. Pirc and Carlino have been selected as alternates and will find out their status later this week.
Men’s Gymnastics
1997-98 Record -9-4 overall 3-1 in Big Ten 3-2 in Dual Meets
Head Coach – Miles Avery 1st year (Temple, ’81)
Good Stuff – Ohio State scored a season high team score (230.175) for the second week in a row. They also posted the best road score of any team in the nation.
This Week – The Buckeyes are idle this week. The next meet will be March 20-21, in Ann Arbor, Mich., for the Big Ten Championships.
Last Week – Nebraska beat Ohio State 230.675-230.175 Sunday night dropping the Buckeyes record to 9-4 overall. Nebraska, the No. 1 team in the nation, posted the best score of any team in the nation. The Buckeyes also recorded a season best score for the second week in a row. Jamie Natalie (Fr., Hockessin, Del.) won the all-around competition with a career high score of 57.975. Natalie also won the parallel bars (9.85) and the vault (9.775). Ohio State’s Peter Landry (Jr., Lewiston, Maine) tied for first place on the rings, Doug Stibel (Jr., Canton, Mich.) won the horizontal bar and Mike Morgan (Jr., Cincinnati, Ohio) tied for first place on the floor exercise.
Women’s Gymnastics
1997-98 Record-8-3 overall 2-2 in Big Ten
Head Coach – Larry Cox, 19th year (Arizona State, ’77)
Good Stuff– Three Buckeyes recorded career and season highs for the 1997 season. Jill McMillon (So., Tipp City, Ohio) recorded a 9.75 career on vault and Vagedes recorded a 39.40 career high in the all-around. Teammate Elizabeth Jensen (So., Naperville, Ill.) recorded a season high on the balance beam (9.875).
This Week – Ohio State (8-3, 2-2) will travel to East Lansing, Mich. Saturday to compete in a dual meet against Michigan State. This will be their final meet before they travel to Iowa City, Iowa to compete in the Big Ten Championships.
Last Week – The Buckeyes defeated Northern Illinois 194.575-191.95 at the Buckeyes’ last home meet of the season. Lindsey Vagedes (Fr., Warrenville, Ill.) placed first in the vault with a score of 9.875. She also placed second in the floor, and tied for second on balance beam and bars. Susan Eckman (Jr., Boardman, Ohio) took first place on the uneven bars with a 9.90 and tied for second on the balance beam. In the all-around, Eckman placed third (38.40) Senior Stefanie Light (Pasadena, Md.) finished her last home meet at OSU with a tie for second place in the uneven bars (9.85). Mindi Farmer (Jr., Indianapolis, Ind.) seized a first place victory on the floor exercise with a 9.90.
Men’s Lacrosse
1998 Record – 1-1
Head Coach – Joe Breschi (North Carolina ’90), 1st year
Good Stuff – Ohio State will face Colgate in two weeks and it will mark the first ever meeting between the schools. The Buckeyes have faced every other team on their schedule this season and have faced Notre Dame the most at 34.v
This Week – Ohio State is idle this week. They return to action March 21 against Colgate at the North Turf Field at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center. Game time is 1 p.m.
Last Week – The Buckeyes picked up their first win of the season by downing Virginia Military Institute 9-5 in Lexington, Va. Kevin Johnson (Jr., Penfield, N.Y.), held scoreless against Rutgers, netted three goals and an assist, while Buddy Lange (So., Annanadale, N.J.) added two goals to lead the OSU offensive attack. Goalkeeper John Kuss (Sr., Columbus, Ohio) stopped 12 shots as the Buckeyes held on for the victory. Ohio State scooped up 44 ground balls to VMI’s 15, and the Buckeyes outshot VMI 34-17.
Notes – Ohio State cut down its penalties against the Keydets being flagged for only two as opposed to seven the week before against Rutgers. Ohio State is also dominating face-offs winning 20-32 (62.5 percent) in two games. The Buckeyes have now won four in a row versus VMI..
Women’s Lacrosse
1997-98 Record -1-0
Head Coach – Sue Stimmel (Temple ’84, UMass ’87, 3rd year)
Good Stuff – Bice James (So., Columbus, Ohio), who played at Gannon last year, scored a goal against her old team in her Ohio State debut.
This Week – The women’s lacrosse team will travel to Notre Dame, Ind. to battle Colgate. The Red Raiders finished 11-2 last year and lost to Penn State last week ,10-8. They also have five starters returning from last year’s squad. Ohio State will look to capture a win behind the “Thomas Worthington Connection” which is compiled of Mara Simpson (Sr., Worthington, Ohio), Lorena Opitz (Sr., Worthington, Ohio) and Laurie Rybak (Jr., Worthington, Ohio) especially after their 12-3 lost to Colgate last year.
Last Week – The Buckeyes opened it’s 1998 season with a 10-4 win over Gannon at the Woody Hayes athletic center. Ohio State trailed early in the first half after Gannon’s Stacey Reynolds scored the first goal of the game. The Buckeyes then rallied with four unanswered goals. Ohio State was led by Opitz and Simpson, who both scored two goals. Miranda James (So., Bel Air, Md) also added two goals.
Men’s Swimming and Diving
1997-98 Record -9-3-0, 3-1-0 in Big Ten Swimming
Head Coach – Bill Wadley, 9th year (Austin Peay, ’79)
Diving Head Coach – Vince Panzano, 20th year (Ohio State, ’72)
Good Stuff – The Buckeyes 400 medley relay team consisting of Malich, Kling, Fox and Strahija posted the nations second fastest time (3:11.74) this season at the Big Ten Championships in Minneapolis, Minn.
This Week – Divers Mike McIntyre (So., Orlando, Fla.) and Ryan Fillmann (Fr., Muncie, Ind.) travel to Oxford, Ohio to compete in the NCAA diving qualifying competition on Friday and Saturday. Last year as a freshman at the NCAA Championships, McIntyre finished 17th in the 10-meter platform, 25th in the one-meter springboard and 27th in the three-meter springboard diving competitions.
Last Week – The Buckeyes competed in the Viking Invitational hosted by Cleveland State on Friday. OSU placed second among four teams scoring 33 points in eight races. Penn State walked away the victor with 62 team points. Ohio State and Penn State combined to win seven of the eight races, the Buckeyes taking three first places. OSU was led by three underclassmen, Tim Bell (So., Beavercreek, Ohio) won the 100 butterfly with a time of :50.12, Matt Braun (So., Berkley, Mich.) won the 100 freestyle (:45.16) and Cameron Mull (Jr., Lansing, Mich.) took first in the 200 butterfly (1:49.73).
Notes – Sophomore Mike McIntyre won the Big Ten three-meter diving title and took third in both the one-meter springboard and 10-meter platform dives in his final competition before the NCAA championships. Fillmann also fared well in his final preparation meet before the NCAA competition, placing seventh in the three-meter and eighth in the one-meter diving contests at the Big Ten Championships.
Women’s Swimming and Diving
1997-98 Record -7-6-0, 0-4-0 in Big Ten
Swimming Head Coach – Neil Harper, first year (Louisiana State, ’88)
Diving Head Coach – Vince Panzano, 20th year (Ohio State, ’72)
Good Stuff – In his 25 years of coaching (20 with Ohio State) OSU diving coach Vince Panzano has mentored eight NCAA champions and 14 second place finishers.
This Week – Divers Carrie Ziebarth (So., Auburn, Wash.) and Sharon Wong (Sr., Worthington, Ohio) will go to Oxford, Ohio to participate in the NCAA diving qualifying competition on Friday and Saturday. Last season Wong placed 12th in platform diving and 29th in the three-meter diving competition at the NCAA Championships. As a freshman, Ziebarth took ninth place in both the one-meter and three-meter diving contests at the NCAA championship meet.
Last Week – The Buckeyes were idle preparing for this weeks diving competition.
Notes – In their final tune-up meet before the NCAA diving competition Ziebarth and Wong turned in excellent performances at the Big Ten Championships on Feb. 19-21. Ziebarth finished third in both the one-meter springboard and platform dives and placed fourth in the three-meter springboard competition. Wong claimed her second Big Ten platform title in three years. She also took third in the one-meter springboard and seventh in the three-meter springboard.
Synchronized Swimming
1998 Record – 34-1
Head Coach – Linda Lichter-Witter 3rd year (S. Connecticut St., ’72)
Good Stuff – Ohio State scored the maximum 110 points three times this season and topped 100 points on two other occasions. For the season, Ohio State averaged 101.5 points per meet in eight meets.
This Week – Ohio State is idle for the next two weeks. The Buckeyes will return to action for the National Collegiate Championships March 26-28 in Minneapolis, Minn.
Last Week – The Buckeyes defeated Michigan State, Minnesota, Michigan, Iowa, Carleton College, and Indiana to win the North Regional Championships, at the Peppe Aquatic Center. Swimming in their last home meet, Ana Cukic (Sr., Markham, Ontario) and Lisa Nielsen (Sr., Sacramento, Calif.) finished first and second in the Senior Figures, teamed with Heather Moore (So., Amherst, N.Y.) to win the trio, and were a part of the “A” team that scored a season high 98.400 to take the team event. Amy Bevan (Sr., Mentor, Ohio) took the Junior Figures with a score of 74.956. Ohio State’s “B” team took second with a 94.533 to outdistance third place Michigan State by 9.483 points.
Notes – Ohio State dominated the North Regionals, but the scoreboard didn’t tell Ohio State’s true dominance. In the Trio, Ohio State’s three exhibition teams scored well enough to place third, fourth and fifth. In the Duet, the Buckeyes five exhibition squads placed first through fifth, but their scores did not count toward the overall meet score.
Men’s Volleyball
1998 Record – 14-1, 6-0 in Midwest Intercollegiate Volleyball Association
Head Coach – Pete Hanson, 14th year (Ball State ’79)
Good Stuff – Ohio State was ranked first nationally in hitting percentage (.370) prior to the Indiana-Purdue match. The Buckeye hit .262 against the Dons and are now hitting .362 on the season. OSU is averaging 21.35 kills and 3.26 blocks per game. Phil Kerewich was named the MIVA Player of the Week for his play last week.
This Week – Fifth-ranked Ohio State (14-1 overall, 6-0 Midwest Intercollegiate Volleyball Association) host three matches this week. They face Quincy on Monday, Juniata on Tuesday and Clarke on Friday. The Quincy and Clarke matches non-league MIVA matches.
Last Week – Ohio State overcame a 2-1 Indiana-Purdue lead to down the eighth-ranked Dons in five games, 15-3, 13-15, 12-15, 15-5, 15-12, for OSU’s 11th consecutive win. The win was the seventh in eight matches against ranked teams this season for OSU Phil Kerewich (Jr., Wilmette, Illinois) scored a team-high 21 kills and had a match-high 15 digs against IPFW. Rene’ Esteves (So., San Juan, Puerto Rico) added 16 kills with Jeff Koterba (Sr., Martinsville, N.J.) scoring 15 and Colin McMillan (Jr., Burlington, Wisconsin) 12. McMillian added a match high 10 blocks on two solo and eight assist blocks. Setter Angel Aja (So., Guaynabo, Puerto Rico) recorded 67 assists and had five digs and three assist blocks. OSU hit .262 for the match to .213 for the Dons.
Notes – Ohio State has defeated all three opponents coming up this week on their home floor. All three matches were 3-0 sweeps. Against Quincy the Buckeyes have won 12 of 13 meetings. OSU is 12-1 against Juniata and are 1-0 against Clarke College.
Wrestling
1997-98 Record -10-13 -1 overall, 1-9 Big Ten
Head Coach – Russ Hellickson, 12th year (Wisconsin ’70)
Good Stuff – Bucher, Clark and Dan DiCesare (Sr., Dublin, Ohio) will compete in the NCAA Championships.
This Week – The Buckeyes are idle until March 19-21, when they will compete at the NCAA Championships in Cleveland, Ohio.
Last Week – The Buckeyes were in State College, Pa., competing in the Big Ten Championships. Mitch Clark (Sr., Canton, N.Y.) won his weight class at 177 pounds capturing his second Big Ten Championship in two years. Clark defeated Jevon Herman from Illinois 4-0. Clark and Herman have met three times this season with Clark leading, 2-1.
