Women’s Swimming & Diving Plays Host to Final Meet of the Season vs. Michigan State – Ohio State Buckeyes
1/15/2003 12:00:00 AM | Women's Swim & Dive
Jan. 15, 2003
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COLUMBUS, Ohio– The Ohio State women’s swimming and diving team closes off its home schedule at 4 p.m., Friday, Jan. 17. when the Michigan State Spartans face off against the Buckeyes at the Mike Peppe Aquatic Center.
The team will try to break to an even 1-1 on the season in Big Ten play. The Buckeyes dropped their first conference meet of 2002-03 with a 150.5-84.5 loss to Indiana Jan. 11 in Columbus, Ohio.
DIVERS’ SENIOR DAY FRIDAY
Prior to the meet Friday vs. Michigan State, Ohio State head coach Vince Panzano and the rest of the Ohio State divers team will honor its three seniors and one additional athlete in a pre-meet ceremony.
The athletes to be honored include Jillian Cicione, Natalia Diea, Melanie Johnson and former Ohio State diver Chris Monson.
Also to be honored before the meet will be the senior men’s swimmers. The team’s seniors include Nick Rees, Matt Rusnov and Vladi Dusil.
SCOUTING THE SPARTANS
The Spartans swimming and diving squad sits at an even 4-4 this season coming into Columbus to face the Buckeyes. The team has one of the best divers in the Big Ten in senior Stephanie Anisko. Anisko has dominated dual meets this season, sweeping diving events at four meets so far in 2002-03.
Another senior contributor has been Kate Duncombe, the teams Most Improved Swimmer from last season, who qualified for the 2002 NCAA Championships in both the 100 and 200-yard backstroke.
Younger athletes like sophomore Tammy Jones and freshmen Tesla Hughes and Rachael Hagerman have helped to add depth to the team.
SPARTANS’ LAST TIME OUT
The Michigan State women’s swimming and diving team improved to 4-4 on the season with a 139-102 victory over Ball State Jan. 11 in East Lansing, Mich.
Freshman Tesla Hughes claimed the 500 and 1,000-yard freestyle, while Stephanie Anisko posted yet another sweep of diving events.
Four other Spartan swimmer claimed victories in individual events, while both relay teams were victorious as well.
LAST TIME VS. MICHIGAN STATE
The Ohio State women’s swimming team fell to Michigan and Michigan State in a tri-meet in E. Lansing, Mich. The team fell to the Spartans 148-94.
Against the Spartans, the Buckeyes were victorious in four events. Kristin Sander took first in the 200 freestyle with a season-best time of 1:52.68. Erika Staley took first in the 100 breaststroke with her season-best time of 1:06.28 and the 400 freestyle relay team of Kylie Lancken, Amanda Treleaven, Lindsay Goodson and Sander took first with a time of 3:34.10.
Melanie Johnson took first in the 3-meter dive with a score of 299.40.
BUCKEYES SPLIT WEEKEND VS. AKRON, INDIANA
The Ohio State women’s swimming and diving team split a pair of meets over the weekend at the Mike Peppe Aquatic Center.
Stephanie Raezer was a triple winner and Katie Severson won two events as Ohio State defeated Akron, 140-103, Friday. The win improved the Buckeyes season record to 7-1, the best start in four seasons under head coach Jeanne Fleck.
Despite losing the first race of the evening, the 200-yard medley relay, the Buckeyes proceeded to take first in all but one of the 12 remaining competitions at the meet. Raezer started the winning off with a first-place finish in the 1000-yard freestyle with a time of 10:17.43. She also took first in the 500 free (5:04.91) and the 100 breaststroke with a time of 1:07.93, a team season’s best. Severson reigned in spring freestyle events where she took first in both the 50 free (24.56) and the 100 free (53.04).
In the diving well, Natalia Diea swept both events, taking the 1-meter dive with score of 280.80 and the 3-meter with a 303.60, a team season’s best.
On Saturday, the Buckeyes were less fortunate, suffering their second loss of the season as the No. 14 Indiana Hoosiers won 12 of 13 events in a 150.5-84.5 victory over Ohio State. The lone winner for the Buckeyes was Deanna Strunk, who won the 400-yard individual medley with a career-best time of 4:24.58. With the loss, Ohio State fell to 7-2 on the season.
Strunk’s career-best in the 400 IM was not the only personal best she set Saturday. She also set a career mark in the 200-yard butterfly, tying for second with a time of 2:04.13.
For Indiana, Kristy Martin and Sarah Fiden both were individual double-winners. Martin took the 200 fly (2:03.50) and the 200-yard breaststroke (2:24.50), while Fiden won the 200-yard freestyle (1:52.65) as well as the 500 free (4:59.47).
In diving, the Hoosiers swept as well, with Cassandra Cardinell taking the 1-meter dive (179.40), while Sara Hildebrand took the 3-meter (204.55). The top Buckeye finisher in diving events was Diea, who finished third in the 1-meter dive and second in the 3-meter.
ABOUT COACH FLECK
Coach Jeanne Fleck enters her fourth season at the helm of the Ohio State women’s swimming program looking for her team to display excellence both in the water and classroom. She has become accustomed to both throughout her coaching career.
The Buckeyes also excelled in the classroom with an overall grade point average of 3.34 last season.
It was no coincidence seven Buckeyes were named Academic All-Big Ten following the winter quarter and that 16 earned OSU Scholar-Athlete honors. As a unit, the Ohio State women’s swimming program took home team Academic All-America honors awarded by the College Swimming Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) for the 2001-02 season. In three seasons, Fleck has engineered 25 Academic All-Big Ten selections and 41 OSU Scholar-Athlete honors. Fleck has geared the Buckeyes to one school record and two pool records.
ABOUT COACH PANZANO
Vince Panzano continues his legacy at Ohio State as he enters his 25th year as coach of the Buckeye men’s and women’s divers.
Panzano, who was named the 2002 Big Ten Diving Coach of the Year (the seventh time he has earned the honor) has produced one world champion, one junior world champion, two eight Americans.
UP NEXT
The team returns to action at 1 p.m., Jan. 25 when it travels to Champaign, Ill., for a tri-meet vs. Illinois and Iowa.
