Ohio State Stays In Second at Invite – Ohio State Buckeyes
12/6/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Swim & Dive
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Ohio State, on the strength of a strong preliminary session Saturday morning that qualified 20 swimmers into point-scoring position, remains in second place in the Ohio State Swimming and Diving Invitational with 545 points after the second day. Nationally ranked Minnesota continues to lead the 11-team field (there are five diving-only schools) with 817 points. West Virginia is third with 350.5 points.
Coach Bill Dorenkott sent 31 swimmers to the starting blocks in the five morning preliminary events and 20 of those swimmers – or 64 percent – advanced through to a second swim of the day in either a final or semifinal Saturday night.
“Our main focus was to swim well in the morning,” Dorenkott said. “The morning session today may have been the best swimming session by this team in my two years as coach.”
No less than six Buckeyes swam to a personal best time in the morning session. Three Buckeyes came through the session having qualified for a Saturday final or consolation final in two individual events: Samantha Cheverton (200 free final and 100 back consolation), Angela Severn (400 IM final and 100 breaststroke consolation) and Haley Mitchell (200 free final and 100 back final).
Severn, a freshman from Harleysville, Pa. (just west of Philadelphia), was impressed with the team’s effort.
“Every time I finished a swim and looked at the clock I was amazed,” Severn said. “Everybody was doing so well.”
Jackie Brousseau echoed her teammate’s comments and those of her coach.
“I felt as if we were strong as a team in every event,” Brousseau, from Thousand Oaks, Calif. (near Los Angeles) said. “We took half the [finals] places in the 400 IM and we had three in the 100 backstroke.”
The good, good vibrations from the morning session continued into the evening. The first final was the 200 medley relay and the team of Kelsey Moran, Catherine Eitel, Shannon Draves and Megan Detro took second in a school-record time of 1:41.61. A second relay, featuring Elisabeth Tavierne, Colleen Schweitzer, Kimberly Bowman and Lisa Narum, was eighth.
Katelyn Brix led the quartet of point-scorers in the 400 individual medley by taking more than three seconds off her preliminary swim time and finishing third in 4:19.47. Severn was fifth, Jill Lockhart sixth and Emily Creran placed eighth.
Cheverton swam to victory in the 200 freestyle in a time of 1:47.73. Anita Beck moved up four places to take fifth and Mitchell was eighth.
Eitel was third in the 100 breaststroke with a personal best time of 1:03.38 with Schweitzer finishing eighth. Shannon Draves was fourth in the 100 butterfly in 55.42.
And in the 100 backstroke, Lauren Massey was fifth with Elisabeth Tavierne and Mitchell placing seventh and eighth, respectively. Kelsey Moran, scoring points in 10th place, had a personal best swim of 56.60 in the event.
The final swimming event of the night, the 800 freestyle relay, had the Ohio State team of Beck, Cheverton, Mitchell and Detro finishing in second place in a time of 7:17.41.
On the 1-meter springboard, Ohio State’s Bianca Alvarez was third with 292.50 points and Chelsea Davis was fifth with 285.50 points.
Day 2 Notes and More from the Pool Deck
Lots of Learning Experiences “We learn from every race we swim,” Jackie Brousseau said when asked about the team’s improvement this week from two weeks ago at the Purdue Invite – another three-day, championship format meet. “Purdue was a learning experience.”
Rested But Not Really Rested The Buckeyes are rested, but not completely rested for this meet. The swimmers lifted weights twice last week. Granted, they are outfitted in the latest generation of racing suits this weekend, but their second-place showing is a result of the team’s competitiveness.
“We are pumped,” Angela Severn said. “There is no nervousness this week. Everybody is just getting after it.”
Record Breakers Rock-and-rolling at the invitational so far has been these individuals who have broken personal record/best times:
- Megan Detro – Personal best in the 50 free (23.27);
- Shannon Draves – Personal best in the 200 IM (2:05.36);
- Catherine Eitel – Personal best in the 100 breaststroke (1:03.38);
- Lauren Massey – Personal best in the 100 back (56.60);
- Haley Mitchell – Personal best in the 500 free (4:51.88);
- Kelsey Moran – Personal best in the 100 back (57.47);
- Megan Nunan – Personal best in the 200 free (1:58.49);
- Angela Severn – Personal best in the 400 IM (4:20.74) and 100 breaststroke (1:04.89).
This Duck is a Buck Arizona State women’s and men’s diving coach Mark Bradshaw grew up in Springfield, Ore., which is essentially Eugene, Ore., home of Ohio State’s Rose Bowl opponent, the Oregon Ducks. Bradshaw will be rooting for the Buckeyes in the game. That’s because he was an Ohio State diver under coach Vince Panzano. He was the 1983 NCAA champion on the 3-meter springboard in addition to being a four-time All-American and a five-time Big Ten champion.
And Admission is Still Free Stop by tomorrow for the final day of the Invitational competition. Prelims start at 9 a.m. and finals begin at 3 p.m. A men’s and women’s team champion will be crowned.
Click on “View Photos” above for action images of some of this weekend’s swimmers who set personal bests.
Women’s Swimming
Day 2 at Ohio State Invitational
Saturday, Dec. 5, 2009
Columbus, Ohio
Team Scores: 1. Minnesota 841; 2. Ohio State 575; 3. West Virginia 350.5; 4. Penn State 296; 5. Miami (Fla.) 220; 6. Pittsburgh 161.5; 7. Notre Dame 24; 8. Duke 23; 9. Purdue 19; 10. Arizona State 16; 11. South Carolina 13; 12. Indiana 2.5.
Event Winners & Ohio State Top Finishers: 200 medley relay – 1. Minn. (1:40.23); 2. Moran, Eitel, Draves, Detro, OSU (1:41.61); 400 IM – 1. Kristen Steenvoorden, Minn. (4:17.71); 3. Katelyn Brix (4:19.47); 100 butterfly – 1. Kaylee Jamison, Minn. (53.98); 4. Shannon Draves, OSU 55.42); 200 freestyle – 1. Samantha Cheverton, OSU (1:47.73); 100 breaststroke – 1. Jillian Tyler, Minn. (1:00.58); 3. Catherine Eitel, OSU (1:03.38); 100 backstroke – 1. Hannah Whitehead, Minn. (55.13); 5. Lauren Massey, OSU (56.62); 1-meter diving – 1. Kelci Bryant, Minn. (324.90); 3. Bianca Alvarez, OSU (292.50); 800 free relay – 1. Minn. (7:15.88); 2. Beck, Cheverton, Mitchell, Detro, OSU (7:17.41).
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