Ohio State
Penn State & Rutgers
Ohio State Tops Penn State, 157-141, in 2021 Opener
1/16/2021 1:30:00 PM | Women's Swim & Dive
COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Ohio State women's swimming and diving team won their opening meet of the 2021 season over Penn State and Rutgers Saturday at the McCorkle Aquatic Pavilion. The Buckeyes' posted a winning score of 157 points while Penn State took second with 141. Rutgers only sent divers. The meet featured eight different lead changes between the Buckeyes and the Nittany Lions.
This was the first competition for the program, under the direction of Bill Dorenkott, since March 2020 when the team's championship season ended prior to the NCAA championships because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The women had just recently won the 2020 Big Ten Conference championship and were poised for a high finish at NCAAs before the stoppage.
"It's been 10 months since we competed and, my goodness, that felt good just to be able to compete," Dorenkott said. "I want to thank Gene Smith and everyone in our athletics department who worked so hard to make today a reality. We talk about hope and opportunity around here. Today showed that those are more than words if you are a Buckeye.
"I do also want to thank Penn State and coach Tim Murphy for navigating the pandemic with his team, for their willingness to come to Columbus and race and for competing really well."
Junior Sally Tafuto claimed the first win of the season for Ohio State, in the 1,000 freestyle, but Penn State built a 77-54 lead after the first seven swimming events. Ohio State soared back off a sweep on the 3-meter springboard event, though. Sophomore Mackenzie Crawford won with 374.60 points with senior Lexie Barker and freshman Ciera McGing second and third, respectively. The sweep closed the Buckeyes to within 10 points of the lead, at 80-70.
The Buckeyes then took the lead, 86-83, with a sweep in the 100 freestyle led by seniors Taylor Petrak and Freya Rayner, who went one-two, and were followed by sophomore Amy Fulmer.
Penn State regained the lead with its own top-three sweep in the 200 backstroke, and after sophomore Josie Panitz's win for Ohio State in the 200 breaststroke, the team scores were Penn State 104 and Ohio State 103.
Back came the Buckeyes. A one-two finish by juniors Sally Tafuto and Georgia Mosher in the 500 freestyle put Ohio State back into the lead, 118-108. But only momentarily, because the Nittany Lions took the top three places in the 100 butterfly to regain the lead at 124-121.
Another sweep by Crawford, Barker and McGing on the 1-meter board enabled Ohio State to regain the lead, 137-125, with just two events remaining.
Ohio State held the lead by seven points after the 200 individual and then clinched the team victory with a win in the 400 freestyle relay by a team that featured freshman Katherine Zenick along with Petrak, Rayner and Fulmer.
Seniors
There were 13 senior swimmers and divers who were honored prior to the start of the meet on "senior day".
"The highlight of the day was being able to recognize our senior class," Dorenkott said. "That is a special group of young ladies with incredibly bright futures. They have left an indelible mark on our program and university. To be able to have a Senior Day was very important to everyone involved, especially when it looked like it might not happen at various points throughout this academic year. That was a victory in itself."
The 13 Ohio State seniors (and Big Ten champions) honored:
- Laura Banks, a biology major with research distinction from Rocky River, Ohio;
- Lexie Barker, from Larkspur, Colo., and is majoring in Zoology;
- Kendyl Ferrara, a Cincinnati native who is majoring in communications;
- Nicole Fye, who is majoring in microbiology and is from Ashburn, Va.;
- Brooke Glesenkamp, a health and rehabilitation sciences major from Delaware, Ohio;
- Hanna Gresser, from Akron, Ohio and who is majoring in biology;
- Ali House, a diver from Newark, N.Y., who is majoring in health sciences;
- Natalia Jaspeado, from Mexico City and who is majoring in food science and technology;
- Taylor Petrak, from Ellwood City, Pa., and who is majoring in marketing;
- Freya Rayner, who is from Sunderland, United Kingdom and is majoring in world literature;
- Kristin Romano, who is earning dual degrees in anthropology and political science and is from Lancaster, N.Y.;
- Sarah Sperber, a neuroscience major from Xenia, Ohio; and
- Katie Trace, who is from Upper Arlington, Ohio and who already is an Ohio State graduate and is working on her master's in kinesiology.
Team Scores
Ohio State – 157
Penn State – 141
Event Results
(All Ohio State point scorers listed)
200 medley relay: 1. PSU, 1:40.23; 2. OSU A (Crane, Bach, Zenick, Fulmer), 1:41.10; 3. OSU B (Kraus, Panitz, Russo, Petrak), 1:42.17
1,000 freestyle: 1. Sally Tafuto, OSU (10:03.05); 2. Emily Crane, OSU (1:41.10; 3. Morgan Kraus, OSU (1:42.17)
200 freestyle: 1. Sadie Schumann, PSU (1:50.23); 3. Kristen Romano, OSU (1:51.21; 4. Amy Fulmer, OSU (1:51.66)
100 backstroke: 1. Marie Schobel, PSU (:53.83); 2. Emily Crane, OSU (:55.10); 4. Brynna Wolfe, OSU (:55.32)
100 breaststroke: 1. Carly Hart, PSU (1:01.53); 2. Josie Panitz, OSU (1:01.86); 3. Hanna Gresser, OSU (1:02.49); 4. Hannah Bach, OSU (1:02.97)
200 butterfly: 1. Brooke Matthias, PSU (2:01.51); 2. Katie Trace, OSU (2:02.44); 5. Aislinn Walsh, OSU (2:06.10)
50 freestyle: 1. Maddie Cooke, PSU (:22.78); 2. Freya Rayner, OSU (:23.09); 3. Emily Crane, OSU (:23.28); 4. Katherine Zenick, OSU (:23.37)
3-meter diving: 1. Mackenie Crawford, OSU (374.60); 2. Lexie Barker, OSU (337.50); 3. Ciera McGing, OSU (306.55)
100 freestyle: 1. Taylor Petrak, OSU (:50.74); 2. Freya Rayner, OSU (:50.78); 3. Amy Fulmer, OSU (:51.19)
200 backstroke: Marie Schobel, PSU (1:57.35); 4. Brynna Wolfe, OSU (2:03.51); 5. Katie Trace, OSU (2:03.72)
200 breaststroke: 1. Josie Panitz, OSU (2:14.95); 3. Hanna Gresser, OSU (2:17.13); 4. Janessa Mathews, OSU (2:19.15)
500 freestyle: 1. Sally Tafuto, OSU (4:56.79); 2. Georgia Mosher, OSU (4:57.81); 4. Kristen Romano, OSU (4:58.62)
100 butterfly: 1. Brooke Matthias, PSU (:54.63); 5. Morgan Kraus, OSU (:55.95); 7. Catherine Russo, OSU (:56.18)
1-meter diving: 1. Mackenie Crawford, OSU (320.30); 2. Lexie Barker, OSU (296.50); 3. Ciera McGing, OSU (282.70)
200 individual medley: 1. Margaret Markvardt, PSU (2:01.87), 2. Kristen Romano, OSU (2:03.47); 4. Hanna Gresser, OSU (2:04.01); 5. Katie Trace, OSU (2:04.92)
400 freestyle relay: 1. Ohio State A (Zenick, Petrak, Rayner, Fulmer), 3:20.71; 3. Ohio State B (Crane, Russo, Wolfe, Roman), 3:27.27
Players Mentioned
