Women’s Swim Season Opens Friday vs. Kenyon – Ohio State Buckeyes
10/29/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Swim & Dive
COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Ohio State women’s swimming team hosts Division III power Kenyon College Friday, Oct. 30 at 7 p.m. in the McCorkle Aquatic Pavilion. The meet is a double dual event with the Ohio State and Kenyon men’s teams. Admission is free.
In addition to starting the season, the meet will commence Year 2 of the Bill Dorenkott coaching era at Ohio State. The three-time Big Ten champion coach (2002, 2005, 2006) admits that his second team still has plenty of work to do to get to where he wants it to be as a program, but he is pleased with the progress the swimmers have made from last year to this point.
“We are a vastly different team on all levels from a year ago, and I’m saying that not to take anything away from last year’s team because the three seniors we had last year really did a terrific job,” Dorenkott said. “We accomplished so much this summer, though, with 16 of our 18 returning swimmers staying here to train and compete. We have an optimistic attitude, better practice habits and more talent on this team. Any variable you want to choose, we’re a stronger team this year.”
The Seniors & More
Ohio State swimming will feature seven seniors this year: Megan Alexander, Farriss Blaskovits, Jill Lockhart, Haley Mitchell, Sarah Ratica, Colleen Schweitzer and Mary Ann Wiser. There are 31 swimmers and divers on the roster with the breakdown as such: nine seniors; seven juniors; four sophomores; and 11 freshmen.
Six Among Inaugural Distinguished Scholars List
Six swimmers, including four current student-athletes, were named earlier this year as members of the Big Ten Conference’s inaugural class of Big Ten Distinguished Scholars. The Ohio State swimmers, who all have a minimum grade point average of 3.7 or higher for the previous academic year, are seniors Megan Alexander and Farriss Blaskovits, juniors Sam Cheverton and Morgan Menzie and two Buckeyes who exhausted their collegiate eligibility this past season: Courtney Brayman and Griet Buelens.
Divers Open Season Nov. 13 vs. Miami
The Ohio State divers, under the direction of Vince Panzano, will not compete this week against Kenyon. The diving “Fab Four” – seniors Chelsea Davis and Katie Bell, junior Kristen Asman and sophomore Bianca Alvarez have each earned All-American status at least once in their career – will compete Nov. 13 at Miami University for the first time this season.
Returning Point Scorers
The team returns six of the seven swimmers who scored points for the Buckeyes at the Big Ten championships last year. Senior Jill Lockhart (200 back and 200 & 400 IMs) and juniors Samantha Cheverton (500 free, 100 back and 200 back) and Katelyn Brix (200 breaststroke and 200 & 400 IMs) led the way with three points-producing individual events apiece. Seniors Megan Alexander (100 & 200 breaststroke) and Colleen Schweitzer (100 & 200 breaststroke) and junior Anita Beck (200 free and 200 fly) scored in two individual events each. In addition, 75 percent of the swimmers on the five Big Ten relay teams also return, including sophomore Lisa Narum, who swam on four of the five relays, senior Haley Mitchell and sophomore Catherine Eitel.
Recruiting Class Ranked 2nd
Collegeswimming.com released its rankings of the top recruiting classes and coach Bill Dorenkott and assistant coach Stefanie Williams’ initial class of recruits was ranked as the second-best class in the Big Ten Conference and a Top 20 class overall (19th).
Collegeswimming.com: “Ohio State head coach Bill Dorenkott cares about results. He can afford to because he’s got a record of producing results. Some of those best results, in fact, have come not from the stars, but from the kids willing to outwork the stars. The importance of this Buckeye team goes beyond the sum of the points they’ll score. These are Dorenkott-type swimmers who will work hard, get better, and set the stage for even bigger things in Columbus.”
New to the Program
The class of 2013 includes freshmen student-athletes from six states and Canada: Kimberly Bowman (Surrey, British Columbia), Jackie Brousseau (Thousand Oaks, Calif.), Emily Creran (Haddonfield, N.J.), Megan Detro (Carmel, Ind.), Shannon Draves (Gilbertsville, Pa.), Lauren Massey (Indianapolis), Angela Severn (Harleysville, Pa.), Elisabeth Tavierne (St. Charles, Ill.), plus three swimmers from Ohio: Evann Heidersbach (Grafton), Kelsey Moran (Lakewood) and Megan Nunan (West Chester).
Head Coach Bill Dorenkott
Bill Dorenkott is in his second season as coach of the Buckeyes after arriving on campus in July 2008. His first Ohio State team set 12 school records and 12 individuals scored points at the Big Ten championships. “Pride, passion and resolve was established in the McCorkle Aquatic Pavilion,” Dorenkott said about his first season. This season will be his 12th as a women’s head coach in the Big Ten Conference. His teams have won three Big Ten titles: in 2002, 2005 and 2006. He also has an impressive dual meet record of 97-30.
Champion Assistants: Stefanie Williams & Susan Johnson
Four-time NCAA national champion and 24-time All-American swimmer Stefanie Williams is in her second year as Dorenkott’s No. 1 assistant coach and her fifth year as a Division I assistant coach. Williams, a 2003 graduate of the University of Georgia, helped the Bulldogs to three consecutive national championships. In her second year as a graduate assistant with the program is University of Wisconsin graduate Susan Johnson, a two-time Big Ten champion. She is pursuing her master’s degree in nursing at Ohio State.
Gray Wins Scarlet & Gray Meet
The Ohio State Gray team defeated the Scarlet team in come-from-behind fashion last Friday, 136-123, behind a pair of wins from Sam Cheverton in the 100 and 200 butterfly events and a pair from Katelyn Brix in the 200 butterfly and 200 individual medley. Scarlet was led by freshman Megan Detro, who had wins in the 50, 100 and 200 freestyle events, respectively.
No Meet Next Week vs. UC
The originally scheduled swimming meet between Ohio State’s men’s and women’s swimming teams vs. Cincinnati at Cincinnati has been cancelled. The Buckeyes will be in action next Nov. 13 vs. Denison at 5 p.m. right here in the McCorkle Aquatic Pavilion.
Up Next
Ohio State swimmers and divers will travel to West Lafayette, Ind., to compete in the Purdue Invitational Nov. 20-22. Purdue will host the 2010 Big Ten and NCAA women’s championships, respectively.
###OhioStateBuckeyes.com###
