Swimming Teams Host Preseason Events – Ohio State Buckeyes
10/13/2000 12:00:00 AM | Women's Swim & Dive
Oct. 13, 2000
COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Ohio State men’s and women’s swim teams open the 2000-01 season with an intrasquad meet this Friday at the Mike Peppe Aquatic Center in Larkins Hall. Saturday, the men’s team will finish out the weekend with their annual Alumni vs. Varsity meet.
Schedule of Events
The schedule of events for this weekend’s meets are:
400 Medley Relay
1000 Freestyle
200 Freestyle
50 Freestyle
200 Individual Medley
10 Minute Break
200 Butterfly
100 Freestyle
200 Backstroke
500 Freestyle
10 Minute Break
200 Backstroke
400 Freestyle Relay
Wadley’s High Expectations
With the majority of the roster returning for the 2000-01 season, men’s swimming head coach Bill Wadley has high expectations for his team. Not only does he expect his Buckeyes to improve upon last season’s success right from the start, he also expects the team to be a top contender for the Big Ten title.
“We should be really good in the sprints and we’re excited about that,” Wadley said. “We hope to sneak in there and put ourselves in a winning position with top relays also.”
Fleck Maps Out Season Goals
Entering her second year at the helm of the Ohio State women’s swimming program, Jeanne Fleck, women’s swimming head coach, has mapped out four goals for her team. First, to improve times and have swimmers qualify for the NCAA Championships. Second, to improve the team’s conference standing. Third, to improve OSU’s record in dual meets. Fourth, to bring the team together as a solid unit.
Taking the Lead
Seniors Brian Malich (Sr., Mason, Ohio/El Dorado, Calif.) and D.J. Kelley (Sr., Columbus, Ohio/Beechcroft), along with juniors Travis Carver (Overland Park, Kan./Blue Valley) and Ivan Petrovic (Zagreb, Croatia/Zagreb) will each step into their respective swimming groups.
“We need Ivan Petrovic to step up in the backstroke area,” Wadley said. “Ivan had a great swim at the conference meet. But, it’s important to have leadership in each area.”
Nick Rees (So., Nassau, Bahamas/St. Augustin) will bring his experience from the 2000 Summer Olympic games to the team. His knowledge of competing in such a high-profile event will assist in leading the Buckeyes.
“Anytime you have a Big Ten winner or an Olympic swimmer like Nick (Rees) or Brian (Malich), people look up to them in many ways,” Wadley said. “Whatever the race, whatever the occasion, when the challenge is presented, both of those guys step up to the plate and deliver. Not everyone is capable of being that calm and cool under pressure. That is the mark of a great champion. They are on the blocks to win and that is the attitude you need to have with as many of your teammates as possible.”
Women’s Captains Named
Jo Jo Baran (Sr., Danville, Calif./San Ramon Valley) and Sara Nigh (Jr., Freestyle, Bucrus, Ohio/Colonel Crawford) were named co-captains of the 2000-01 women’s swim squad.
Nigh will be looked upon to lead in the freestyle events. Baran is a valuable point scorer in the individual events and as a member of the relay teams.
Sendrowski, Staley Return
Kristen Sendrowski (Jr., Garden City, N.Y./H. Frank Carey), who was named co-most valuable swimmer last year, is expected to be a major factor at the Big Ten Championships this year. Also expected to perform well is Erica Staley (So., Piqua, Ohio/Piqua), who was last year’s OSU women’s swimming freshman of the year.
Sendrowski had team best times in the 200 Butterfly (2:01.58), 200 individual medley (2:06.38) and the 400 individual medley (4:28.14) and qualified for the Olympic Trials in the 200 Fly.
Staley finished fourth in the 100 breastroke at the Big Ten championships with her top time of 1:03.74. The time also qualified her for the Olympic trials. Her personal and team-best time of 2:22.14 in the 200 breaststroke came at the championships as well.
Deep-Rooted Roster
Wadley expects the sprint butterfly to be the strongest for the team in its quest of the Big Ten title because of Rees and Erich Slouf (Jr., Joliet, Ill./Providence Catholic). Malich will lead the sprinters’ pack for the fourth year as he continues to build on his successful career.
Assisting Petrovic in the backstroke events will be Dan Vitina (Jr., Pittsburgh, Pa./Penn Trafford), while Brandon Deters (So., Grand Haven, Mich./Grand Haven) will add depth in freestyle events.
With the departure of top individual medley swimmer Jason Fox, who graduated after last season, those events will need the most improvement. Wadley will be looking to juniors Jeff Stacy (Jr., Gate Mills, Ohio/Hawken) and Carver to fill in the void left by Fox. Stacy and sophomores Burak Guzel (Istanbul, Turkey/Istanbul) and Vladi Dusil (Darmstadt, Germany/Justus-Liebig) will also prove to be key factors in the middle and long distance freestyle races.
Inagural Recruiting Class
Fleck’s first recruiting season at OSU is an extremely impressive one. Fleck has added 12 new swimmers to the squad in the offseason (11Freshman, transfer).
The class includes Camilla Heglesson (Fr., Malmo, Sweden/Malmo-Borgarhola) and Amanda Treleaven (Fr., Colonal Light, Australia), both of whom bring plenty of national expericence to the OSU program. Heglesson has competed in 10 World Cup competitions and Treleaven placed seventh at the World Cup last year in the 50, 100 and 200 backstroke events in Hobart.
Also in the highly touted class is Lindsey Goodson (Fr., San Ramon, Calif./Carondelet), who earned high school All-America honors in both the 200 and 500 freestyle events in 1999 and 2000. She placed sixth in the 500 and in the 200 at the 2000 Junior Nationals.
Lindsay Hartman (Fr., Mission Viejo, Calif./Mission Viejo) was a four-year high school All-America selection and qualified for five Junior National Standards.
Looking Ahead
The fall schedule mirrors those of the past with the rivalry between the Buckeyes and intrastate foes growing.
“One part of the season must build into the next,” Wadley said. “Since our season is so long, it cannot always be intense.”
To balance the intensity of the schedule, Wadley has set three goals for the fall season. First, he does not want the athletes to miss class time. Second, he wants to allow the swimmers to compete and determine the best line-ups in the events. And finally, he wants his athletes to develop their races in a number of events.
The conference season will begin after the winter break. Wadley says the focus will be the Buckeyes making it into the Top 3 of the conference this season.
“With the Big Ten Championships in Minnesota, they (Minnesota) will not only have the home-pool advantage but will be a top contender as well,” Wadley said. “Michigan, along with Penn State, Indiana and Ohio State, will also be in the hunt for the conference title.”
The Women’s Schedule
Following the Scarlet and Gray meet, the women’s swim team will be on the road. The Buckeyes’ first five meets are all away. The fall portion of the schedule includes three Big Ten opponents, including a tri-meet with Iowa and Purdue in Iowa City, Iowa, and the Northwestern Invite in Evanston, Ill.
The schedule takes a favorable turn in the winter. After the Buckeyes unpack from their winter training competition on Dec.22, they won’t need their travel gear again until they travel to Bloomington, Ind. for the Big Ten Championships, hosted by Indiana University Feb 15 -17.
Over four weekends beginning Jan. 12, OSU will host six home meets at the Mike Peppe Aquatic Center to close out the regualar season.
The homestand features match-ups with Big Ten rivals Michigan and Indiana, as well as meets against in-state schools, Miami (Ohio) and Kenyon.
Divers Outlook is Good
The Ohio State men’s diving squad should be a strong component of the team. With Big Ten finalists Heath Knowling (So., Alexandria, Ind./Anderson Highland) and Ryan Fillmann (Sr., Muncie, Ind./Muncie Central) both returning, along with Chris Monson (So., Edmonton, Alberta/Ross Shepard), head coach Vince Panzano believes that all three of his divers should make the NCAA Championships in the spring.
“Last season, we needed to do a better job at the Big Ten Championships,” Panzano said. “We ended up with two finalists and we needed all three.”
Panzano says that all three of his divers should qualify for the NCAA Championships and score in 2001. Each of the divers are going into this season with tournament experience behind them.
“All three should have a great season,” Panzano said. “Each of them has a real shot at All-America status.”
Knowling will lead the Buckeye divers going into the season. After participating in the U.S. National Diving Championships, he brings top experience to the team.
“Experience-wise, Heath is definitely our top diver,” Panzano said. “He had a good summer finishing sixth at the U.S. diving championships on the one-meter boards. I expect him to be a contender for a Big Ten title in 2001.”
Monson and Fillmann are also expected to step up this season. Monson finished fifth at the Canadian National Championships over the summer, while Fillmann turned in a Top 8 performance at the Big Ten Championships last spring.
“I certainly expect Chris and Ryan to perform well this year,” Panzano said. “Chris did well with his fifth-place finish at the Canadian Nationals. But, with Ryan being our senior, I expect him to have a good season as well.”
On The Boards
Once again, big things are expected from the women’s diving team. Last year, the Buckeyes won both springboard events at the Big Ten Championships, out-scoring all other schools by a landslide margin. Panzano is expecting the 2000-01 season to be even more impressive.
Panzano returns Holly Underwood (Jr., Conroe, Texas/Oak Ridge), Melanie Johnson (Jr., Boca Raton, Fla./Olympic Heights) and Jillian Cicione (So., Plantation, Fla.) who all had impressive campaigns that were highlighted at the Big Ten Championships.Underwood won the three-meter dive and placed seventh in the one-meter event at the Championships. Johnson placed third in the one-meter event and seventh in the three-meter dive, respectively. Cicione placed eighth in the three-meter event.
Natalia Diea (Jr., Austin, Texas/Texas University), a transfer from Texas, was the 1999 NCAA bronze medalist on the platform.
Leah Kolb (Jr.,. Mansfield, Ohio/Mansfield Sr.) and Henna Fortang (So., Highland Beach, Fla./St. Thomas Aquinas) add depth on the boards and are all expected to have their best seasons.
A New Home
The aquatic program is building a new home. The planning for a new complex has been completed with the design stage well underway. The new facility will feature a 10-lane, 50 meter by 25 meter competition pool that will allow 1,500 spectators a bird’s eye view while seating an additional 1,000 people on the pool deck. Also featured will be a separate diving well with a tower.
“It is our hope and dream that this will be the facility of the future,” Wadley said. “We want the center to be one of the best in America so that Ohio State can host all major world level swimming and diving competitions.”
The team is hoping to see a picture of what the aquatic center could look like by mid-season. They are still a year away from breaking ground, but hope to have the complex completed between September 2003 and January 2004.
