Buckeyes Host OSU College Association Meet – Ohio State Buckeyes
2/8/2001 12:00:00 AM | Artistic Swimming
Feb. 8, 2001
The Ohio State synchronized swimming team will play host to the OSU College Association Meet on Saturday, Feb. 10 at the Mike Peppe Aquatic Center in Larkins Hall. The figure competition begins at 7 a.m. and the routine competition will follow at around 12 p.m.
Competition will come from Stanford, Walsh, William and Mary, Michigan, Miami, and Iowa.
Buckeyes Take First At Alabama
Last weekend the Buckeyes traveled to Birmingham, Ala. to compete against the University of Alabama-Birmingham Blazers. The Buckeyes won first place with an overall score of 108- 88.
Victoria Bowen (So.,Plano,Texas) topped in the solo event, scoring 92.667 over UAB’s Bogdana Zareva with 90.133. Twins Carolina Moraes (Jr., Sao Paulo, Brazil) and Isabela Moraes (Jr., Sao Paulo, Brazil) took first in the duet with the score of 93.467 and first in the trio with the addition of Mary Hofer (Jr., Spring Valley, Calif.) who scored 91.400.
No. 1 In The Nation
The 2000 national champion Buckeyes are no stranger to success, having regained the national title last season. Over the past 24 years, the Buckeyes have claimed 20 national titles, including 13-consecutive from 1985-1997. The Buckeyes were second only to Stanford in 1998 and `99. OSU beat its rival at last year’s Collegiate National Championship which was hosted by Ohio State. 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.
Buckeyes Face Rival This Weekend
Ohio State will meet its rival, Stanford, this weekend at the OSU College Association Meet. The two teams have a history of competitiveness against each other in past national championship competitions.Ohio State won the national title for 13 consecutive years, from 1985-1997, before Stanford won the championship in 1998 and in 1999. Ohio State was close behind at runner-up. In 2000, Ohio State came back to retake the title.
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. The Collegiate National Championships will be hosted by the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Va.
