Women’s Swimming & Diving Finishes Regular Season at Northwestern – Ohio State Buckeyes
1/30/2003 12:00:00 AM | Women's Swim & Dive
Jan. 30, 2003
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COLUMBUS, Ohio– The Ohio State women’s swimming and diving team will finish the dual meet portion of its season at 1 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 1 when the team travels to Evanston, Ill. for a meeting with Northwestern.
FABULOUS FRESHMAN
With an outstanding start in her first season as a Buckeye, freshman Deanna Strunk now owns team season’s best times in both butterfly events as well as both the 200 and 400 individual medleys.
Strunk set season’s best marks in the 200 fly (2:04.13) and 400 IM (4:24.58) in a meet vs. Indiana on Jan. 11 and followed a week later vs. Michigan State by setting the team’s best time in the 200 IM at 2:07.31. Her hot streak traveled with the team to Champaign, Ill. last week, where, as a triple winner, she broke Kylie Lancken’s best time in the 100 fly, setting the new mark at 58.22.
The one-time Big Ten Female Swimmer of the Week now has racked up a team-best 17 first-place finishes in 2002-03, including five in the team’s last two meets.
BUCKEYES FALL TO ILLINOIS, IOWA
Deanna Strunk was a triple individual winner, also setting a team’s season best of 58.22 with a first-place finish in the 200-yard butterfly, but it was not enough as the women’s swimming and diving team fell to Iowa, 217-83, and to Illinois, 187-113, Saturday at the IMPE Aquatic Center in Champaign, Ill. With the loss, the Buckeyes fall to 7-5 on the season and 0-4 in Big Ten play.
Strunk took the only three competitions that Ohio State “took gold” on the afternoon, placing first in the 100 and 200 fly as well as the 200 individual medley. Her win in the 200 fly at 2:06.82, took the race by nearly a full second over junior Chrystal McAdam of Illinois. After taking first in the 100 fly, she proceeded to take the 200 IM as well, defeating junior Ilkay Dikman of Illinois, who won two other individual events and was a part of one first-place relay team on the day for the Fighting Illini.
Iowa’s Jennifer Skolaski emerged as the star of the meet. Skolaski not only took first in the 1,000 freestyle (10:14.25), the 100 backstroke (56.83) and the 500 free (4:56.88) but finished off her perfect day by contributing as part of the first-place 400 freestyle relay team for the Hawkeyes.
Iowa also dominated in the diving well, where Lisette Planken swept both events. Natalia Diea had the best showing of any Buckeye diver, placing third in both the 1-meter (269.80) and the 3-meter (271.05).
SCOUTING THE WILDCATS
Like the Buckeyes, Northwestern also closes off its regular season Saturday . Currently at 4-4, the Wildcats hold a 1-4 Big Ten record.
Northwestern has continued its renowned success in the butterfly, where it is led this season by senior Carmen Cosgrove, who finished fourth in the 100-yard butterfly last season at the Big Ten championships. Fellow senior Rachel Johnson and junior Erin Swenson add depth in this strong event for the Wildcats.
In distance events, the team is led by former All-American and All-Big Ten selection Vicky West, the 2001 Big Ten Champion in the 1,650 freestyle. At 16:17.20, West owns the fastest time ever posted by a Wildcat in the event. She also owns the third-best time in program history in both the 500 and 1,000, at 4:48.68 and 9:53.29, respectively.
NORTHWESTERN’S LAST TIME OUT
The Wildcats rode a three-game winning streak into competition at home vs. No. 19 Michigan last Saturday, but fell, 155-142, to the Wolverines.
Northwestern nearly knocked off its second ranked opponent in as many weeks, but was unable to make up an eight-point deficit the team had going into the final event, the 400-yard freestyle relay.
The team did rack up its share of victories on the afternoon, however. Wins for the Wildcats included Erin Swenson’s in the 200 freestyle (1:51.36), Carmen Cosgrove in the 100 (55.73) and 200 butterfly (2:02.10), Sara Petric in the 50 free (24.19) and Ashley Carter in 1-meter diving (259.43).
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.
