Buckeyes Take On West Virginia, Purdue and Iowa – Ohio State Buckeyes
11/8/2001 12:00:00 AM | Women's Swim & Dive
Nov. 8, 2001
COLUMBUS, Ohio–The Ohio State women’s swimming and diving team, 0-3 on the season, will seek out its first win of the season when they host the Mountaineers of West Virginia Friday. The meet will take place at the Mike Peppe Aquatic Center in Larkins Hall at 5 p.m. The men’s team will also compete against the Mountaineers in the coed meet.
The Buckeyes will then travel to West Lafayette, Ind. on Saturday for a tri-meet with Purdue and Iowa at 2 p.m.
Last Week
The Buckeyes fell to Maryland and West Virginia in a seperately scored tri-meet at the Mike Peppe Aquatic Center on Saturday. Amanda Treleaven (So., Colonol Light, Australia) won the 200 backstroke with a time of 2:03.16. Stephanie Raezer (So., Newark, Del./Gladgow) also had a strong showing, placing second in the 1000 freestyle with her season-best time of 10:19.13. Katie Severson (So., Cincinnati, Ohio/Lakota West) finished second in the 100 meter freestyle and placed fourth in the 50 freestyle.
The Buckeyes continue to dominate the boards even without All-American Natalia Diea (Sr., Austin, Texas/Texas). Melanie Johnson (Jr., Boca Raton, Fla./Olympic Heights) was victorious in both the one and three-meter dives while Jillian Cicione (Jr., Plantation, Fla./St.Thomas) took second place in both diving events.
Women’s Head Coach Jeanne Fleck
Jeanne Fleck is in her third season as head coach with a 9-18 overall dual meet record in her two plus seasons in Columbus. Before coming to Ohio State Fleck served as the head swimming coach at Northern Illinois for eight seasons and was named Mid-American Conference Coach of the Year in 1999. Under Fleck, the Buckeyes doubled their win total last year and are looking for that same type of improvement this season. She also has produced 17 Academic All-Big Ten selections in her first two seasons at OSU. “This weekend will be a long one,” Fleck said. “We have West Virginia with the men on Friday which should be a good meet to move people around and hopefully get our first win. We start off the Big Ten season with Purdue and Iowa who are very tough competitors.”
Diving Head Coach Vince Panzano
Now in his 24th year as head diving coach at Ohio State, Vince Panzano’s record speaks for itself. He has produced one world champion, one junior world champion, two Olympic medalists, 22 U.S. diving champions, eight NCAA champions, 14 NCAA runners-up, 66 Big Ten champions and 76 All-Americans. Panzano also has been selected NCAA Diving Coach of the Year three times in 1986, 1987 and 1988, and Big Ten Diving Coach of the Year six times.
A Glance at the Buckeyes
Melanie Johnson and Jillian Cicione are leading the way for the divers in 2001-02. Both have recorded wins during the first two meets of the season in the 1-meter and 3-meter dives, respectively.
Leading the swimmers are Amanda Treleaven and Kristin Sendrowski who were both named most valuable swimmers a year ago and are carrying the load in their events once again this season. Treleaven took home third place in the 200 freestyle last week against Maryland and Virginia Tech.
“This weekend will be tough without Krissy Sendrowski and Megan Hasselschwert both out due to injury,” Fleck said. “We swam great this past weekend but not enough depth to win.”
The Buckeyes also will rely on Katie Severson, the top newcomer from a year ago. She returns as the top sprint freestyler. Severson set season team bests in the 50-meter and 100-meter freestyles with times of :23.76 and :51.53, respectively.
Co-captain Kristin Sander adds veteran leadership and experience to the 2001-02 team. She was voted one of the team’s most inspirational swimmers during last year.
“Kristin provides great leadership for our team,” Fleck said. “She knows what it takes to score at Big Tens. This past summer she spent a lot of time training in Columbus and she should take charge of our middle distance group.”
Newcomers
Fleck added a large freshman class to the Ohio State swimming program. Her team includes 10 new faces- nine freshmen and one transfer.
“We added a very talented group of student-athletes to our program this year,” Fleck said.
Highlighting the group of newcomers are five sprint freestylers. Ashley Barnes (Fr., Lexington, Ky./Dunbar) and Abigail Grantstein (Fr., Wichita, Kan./East Wichita) will lead the new group of freestylers.
“Ashley and Abby are swimmers who can come in and do really well for us right away,” Fleck said. “Ashley will push Katie Severson and Abby will help out with our relay teams.”
Megan Hasselchwart (Fr., Defiance, Ohio/Defiance) is a contender in the breaststroking events.
Scouting the Mountaineers
The Mountaineers are coached by Eric McIlquham who is in his third year at West Virginia. McIlquham finished his first season with a 2-8 record including a 2-3 finish in Big East competition.
McIlquham heads the Mountaineer swimming program after spending three seasons as an assistant coach at Virginia. During his time at UVA, McIlquham turned Virginia’s sprinters into a nationally recognized program.
Leading the way for the Mountaineers is Angela Caprigno, a senior McIlquham claims is “on the verge of greatness.” Caprigno will compete in the butterfly events and the individual medley.
Senior Christina McGough will lead the way in the backstroke as well as the butterfly. McGough is a tri-captain along with senior Brooke Schaub and junior Sarah Crouch.
Scouting the Iowa Women
The Hawkeyes are 0-1 on the season thus far when they travel to West Lafayette to face the Buckeyes and Boilermakers. Their lone loss came at the hands of Wisconsin on Oct. 26.
The Hawkeyes are led by head coach Garland O’Keeffe who is in his second season with the Hawkeyes. O’Keeffe was selected as an assistant coach for the National Team Distance Camp at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs.
Allison Lyle and Melissa Loehndorf, who were both named honorable mention all-american lead the way for the swimmers. Lyle had two first place finishes against Wisconsin, winning the 100 and 200 breastroke. Loehndorf took first in the 200 butterfly and second in the 100 butterfly.
A Look at Purdue
The Boilermakers, 1-1 on the season, are led by head coach Kathy Wright-Eger who is in her 15th season at Purdue. Wright-Eger’s swimmers have produced results in the water and in the classroom. Fourteen of the past 15 years she has sent swimmers to the NCAA Championship while earning recognition for her swimmers performance in the classroom as well.
Purdue’s voctory came last friday at home against Miami (Oh), 184-116. Their only loss was to the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame the night before.
Up Next
The Buckeyes will hit the road next weekend again with the men when they travelt o Pittsburgh, Pa. for the Pittsburgh Invitational Nov. 16-18. Teams at the event will include Pittsburgh, Ohio State, Missouri and Miami (Oh).
