Buckeyes Travel To Alabama-Birmingham – Ohio State Buckeyes
2/1/2001 12:00:00 AM | Artistic Swimming
Feb. 1, 2001
The Ohio State synchronized swimming team will travel to the first away meet of the 2001 season at Alabama-Birmingham Feb. 3. The No. 4 Blazers will play host to the dual that will take place at the Bell Aquatic Center and is set to begin at 7 a.m.
Buckeyes Win OSU Tri-Meet
The Buckeyes last competed at the OSU Tri-Meet Jan. 20 with Alabama-Birmingham and Keuka College. The No. 1 Buckeyes defeated both teams to win the meet with the score of 102 over Alabama-Birmingham’s 77 and Keuka’s 66.5.
Victoria Bowen (So., Plano, Texas) took first place in the solo competition scoring 93.4. Mary Hofer (Jr., Spring Valley, Calif.) came in second in the solo scoring 92.73. Carolina Moraes (Jr., Sao Paulo, Brazil) and Isabela Moraes (Jr., Sao Paulo, Brazil) scored 93.0 for first place in the duet and joined forces with Mary Hofer to nab first place in the trio as well scoring 95.467.
No. 1 In The Nation
The 2000 national champion Buckeyes are no stranger to success, having regained the national title last season. Over the last 24 years the Buckeyes have claimed 20 national titles, including 13 consecutive from 1985-1997. The Buckeyes were second place in the nation only to Stanford in 1998 and `99 until they beat their rival at last year’s Collegiate National Championship which was hosted by Ohio State. Now the Buckeyes hope to continue their streak of consecutive national titles.
Olympians Return To Columbus
Brazilian twins Carolina and Isabela Moraes are back from Down Under and back on the roster after a nine-month hiatus. The twins competed in the 2000 Olympic summer games in Sydney, Australia, where they took 12th place in the duet competition. They are looking forward to competing in the next Olympic games. “They are very young,” Lichter-Witter said. “They’ll be in the next Olympics too and with a better chance because the medal winners are usually around 25 or 26 years old.” The twins are busy working on learning the routines they missed while they were away. The twins took first place in the duet and trio (with teammate Mary Hofer) and in team competition at the 2000 Collegiate National Championships.
OSU College Association Meet
Ohio State will play host to the OSU College Association Meet Feb. 10 at the Mike Peppe Aquatic Center at Larkins Hall. Teams competing will be Stanford, Walsh, William and Mary, Michigan, Miami, and Iowa.
Head Coach Linda Lichter-Witter
Head Coach Lichter-Witter has nearly three decades of coaching experience. This will be her sixth year of coaching the OSU synchronized swimming team. Lichter-Witter maintains an outstanding overall record of 187-3. She is 3-0 this season so far. She has also earned five regional titles for the Scarlet &Gray. Under Lichter-Witter, the Buckeyes have won three national championships (1996-97, 2000) and finished as national runners-up for two years (1998-99).
Lichter-Witter has coached 26 All-Americans, one USSSI Collegiate Swimmer of the Year, Ana Cukic and five Olympians including current team members, Carolina and Isabela Moraes.
Seven Buckeyes On National Team II
Head Coach Linda Lichter-Witter is coaching the National Team II this year in addition to the Buckeyes. Lichter-Witter was a coach of the National Team II from 1972-1996 and is returning for the first time in four years. Lichter-Witter should find it easy to adjust to her new team since seven Buckeyes have made the team. Mary Hofer, Victoria Bowen, Suzanna Hyatt, Katie Edwards, Anna Eng, Ellen Faulhaber, Heather Moore, and Kim Lester all made the team that will represent the U.S. in Switzerland in July
New Choeography
Last season the `A’ team swept the Collegiate National Championships, scoring 99.067 with their Egyptian- inspired routine. This year the Buckeyes will portray a firebird from Fantasia.
“It begins with a representation of birth, then death, and finally rebirth,” Lichter-Witter said. “It goes from darkness and an angry firebird to a peaceful and playful falcon.”
The Schedule
This year hosting the North Regional Championships will highlight the Buckeyes’ schedule. The meet will take place on March 3, 2001 at the Mike Peppe Aquatic Center at Larkins Hall. Collegiate National Championships will be hosted by the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Va..
