Buckeyes Women’s Swimming and Diving Travels to NCAA Championships – Ohio State Buckeyes
3/6/2007 12:00:00 AM | Women's Swim & Dive
March 6, 2007
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COLUMBUS, Ohio – Three members of the Ohio State women’s swimming and diving team will travel to Minneapolis, Minn., Thursday through Saturday, for the 2007 NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships. The preliminary session will begin at noon each day, with finals starting at 8 p.m. The preliminary diving sessions will be held at 1 p.m. each day.
2007 NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS PREVIEW
Two swimmers and one diver qualified to compete at the championship meet. Griet Buelens and Julie Broms will participate in their third championships, while Gulsah Gunenc will make the trip for the second time.
Heading into the championships, Buelens is ranked 22nd with a time of 1:59.20 in the 200-yard butterfly. She also will compete in the 200- and 500-yard freestyle. Her respective times of 1:49.58 and 4:49.66 are the fastest for the team this season. Gunenc will join Buelens in the 200-yard butterfly. She also will compete in the 100-yard butterfly. Broms, a senior from Indianapolis, Ind., finished fourth on the 3-meter board to qualify for the championships. She will compete on both the 1- and 3-meter.
TICKET INFORMATION
All-session tickets are available for the NCAA championships at the University of Minnesota Aquatic Center for $52. Single session preliminary ($10) and finals ($12) are also for sale. To order tickets, please call the athletic ticket office at or 1-800-UGOPHER. A psych sheet can be viewed at the Minnesota women’s swimming and diving page at www.gophersports.com by clicking on the 2007 Women’s NCAA Championships logo. BUCKEYE NCAA HISTORY
Three Buckeyes qualified for the 2006 NCAA Championships. Gulsah Gunenc competed in the 100- and 200-yard butterfly. She became the first swimmer since 1995 to earn All-American honors when she finished seventh in the 200-yard butterfly in a school record time of 1:57.78. Griet Buelens joined Gunenc in the 200-yard butterfly, as well as the 200- and 500-yard freestyle to tally the most events by an Ohio State swimmer.
2007 BIG TEN REVIEW
Ohio State finished eighth at the 2007 Big Ten Championships with 187 points. During the meet, the women clocked a team record in the 200-yard medley relay, as well as six NCAA provisional times. Griet Buelens posted the team’s highest finish of third in the 200-yard butterfly. Gulsah Gunenc followed in fourth place. Julie Broms earned fourth place on the 1-meter springboard with a score of 295.40 to garner her best finish in the event at a conference championship.
Freshman Haley Mitchell and Jill Lockhart each recorded NCAA `B’ times. Mitchell qualified for the consolation finals in the 500-yard freestyle when she hit the wall in 4:52.19. Lockhart also qualified for the consolation finals when she swam the 200-yard backstroke in 2:00.25.
BIG TEN MEETS IN REWIND
Ohio State opened its season with a conference dual-meet win against Illinois, 157-143, Nov. 4. The Buckeyes won seven of the 14 events, as well as sweeping both the 1- and 3-meter diving events. Gulsah Gunenc claimed two wins in both butterfly events, while junior Griet Buelens placed second in two freestyle events and first in the 500-yard freestyle (4:56.65). The remaining three individual wins came from freshmen Haley Mithcell, Megan Alexander and Jill Lockhart. Chelsea Davis and Julie Broms were each responsible for wins in diving.
Ohio State fell to No. 10 Michigan, 138-99, in Ann Arbor, Nov. 10. The Buckeyes won three events, sweeping the first three places on the 3-meter springboard. Julie Broms picked up her second win for the season in the event. Griet Buelens also recorded a win when she swam a lifetime best time of 10:04.55 in the 1,000-yard freestyle.
The Buckeyes bounced back from their loss to overtake Michigan State, 153-90, winning 11 of the 13 events. Diver Julie Broms extended her then-undefeated record on the 3-meter to 3-0. Swimmers Annie Rennebohm and Farriss Blaskovits each claimed their first collegiate Big Ten win. Gulsah Gunenc, Griet Buelens and Elaine Chan were responsible for the team’s remaining individual wins.
Despite Chelsea Davis winning both the 1- and 3-meter springboard events for the third consecutive meet, the Northwestern overtook the Buckeyes, 168-132. Colleen Schweitzer swam the team’s fastest time of 2:19.99 in the 200-yard breaststroke to win the event. Griet Buelens also earned an individual victory in the 200-yard butterfly in a time of 2:02.43. Gulsah Gunenc took second in the event. Both women recorded NCAA `B’ times in the race.
The Buckeyes won five of the 13 events against Penn State, but dropped a 148.5-98.5 decision to the Nittany Lions, Jan. 19. Ohio State opened the meet by tying the 200-yard medley relay. Griet Buelens, Elaine Chan and Jill Lockhart each went on to earn individual wins for the Buckeyes. Diver Katie Bell earned her first collegiate springboard win on the 3-meter.
NON-CONFERNCE MEETS NO CONTEST
The Buckeyes completed a 4-0 undefeated season against non-conference teams. Ohio State began its dominance against Toledo, Nov. 17, swimming the fastest time in every event. The women swept the breaststroke events, claiming the Top 3 spots in both the 100- and 200-yard distances. Griet Buelens was a triple-event winner, stopping the clock first in the 200- and 500-yard freestyle, as well as the 200-yard butterfly. Gulsah Gunenc also recorded multiple wins at the meet, touching in first in both the 100-yard backstroke and butterfly. Julie Broms extended her then-undefeated record to 4-0 on the 3 meter.
Ohio State carried its winning streak into the new year to defeat Marshall, 148-86, Jan. 12, for a second time this season. OSU overtook Marshall Dec. 18 in Puerto Rico in a relay meet. The Buckeyes swam the fastest time in every event against the Thundering Herd, but elected to swim the final three events exhibition. Six Buckeyes earned individual wins in the meet, with the divers sweeping both diving events. Stasia von Rahl earned her first collegiate win in her first time swimming the 1,000-yard freestyle this season.
The Buckeyes earned a third non-conference victory over Ohio University, Jan. 6, in Athens, Ohio, where the women won, 163-137. Griet Buelens claimed three events, while Columbus native Chlesea Davis won both diving events to give her an undefeated record for the winter portion of the season. Elaine Chan, Gulsah Gunenc and Jill Lockhart also garnered wins for the Buckeyes.
The Scarlet and Gray ended their season by handing Kenyon College a 193-101 loss, Jan. 21. Ohio State touched the wall first in 14 of the 16 events. Griet Buelens again captured three events. Jill Lockhart joined her as a triple-event winner. Gulsah Gunenc ended her dual-meet career by adding two more wins to her resume.
BIG TEN DIVER OF THE WEEK
Chelsea Davis earned Big Ten Diver of the Week honors the week of Jan. 8 for her performances against Ohio University. Davis went undefeated during the meet on both diving boards. Davis’ victory on the 1-meter was her third for the season. She has not scored lower than third place in a dual meet this year. The award was Davis’ first career weekly award and the first for the Buckeyes this season.
OHIO STATE INVITATIONAL RECAP
The Buckeyes finished second at the Ohio State Swimming and Diving Invitational, Dec. 1-3, at the McCorkle Aquatic Pavilion. The Buckeyes’ score of 779 was just 14 points behind first place South Carolina. Ohio State recorded four NCAA `B’ standards and two individual wins during the three-day competition.
Katie Bell earned her then-first collegiate win when she scored 299.05 points to overtake the competition on the 10-meter platform event. Griet Buelens also recorded a win for the Buckeyes, swimming a NCAA `B’ time of 4:50.20 in the 500-yard freestyle. Buelens clocked a second NCAA `B’ qualifying standard in the 100-yard butterfly (55.82). Gulsah Gunenc and Buelens finished second and third, respectively, in the 200-yard butterfly, both posting NCAA `B’ standards in the event.
COACH Jeanne Fleck
Head women’s swimming coach Jeanne Fleck is in her eighth season at the helm of the Ohio State women’s swimming program. She has become accustomed to her teams displaying excellence in the water and in the classroom throughout her coaching career.
Last season, Fleck coached the first swimmer since 1995 to All-American status. During her tenure at Ohio State she has geared the Buckeyes to 11 school records. The Buckeyes had the highest grade point average in the Big Ten Conference in 2004 and was ranked ninth in the country during fall quarter of 2003. In six seasons, Fleck has had 48 Academic All-Big Ten selections and 89 OSU Scholar-Athletes.
ABOUT COACH PANZANO
Vince Panzano is in his 28th season as coach of the Ohio State men’s and women’s diving teams. Panzano, who was named the 2004 Big Ten Diving Coach of the Year for the eighth time in his career, has produced one world champion, one junior world champion, two Olympic medalists, 22 U.S. Diving champions, ten NCAA champions, 14 NCAA runners-up, 45 Big Ten champions and 68 NCAA All-Americans.
UP NEXT
Ohio State is set to play host to the 2008 Women’s Swimming and Diving Big Ten Championships, as well as the 2008 NCAA Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships at the Bill and Mae McCorkle Aquatic Pavilion in Columbus.
### GO BUCKS! ###
