Ohio State finished first in 12 of 16 events as it kicked off the second half of its 2013-14 season with a 206.5-93.5 victory over Toledo at the UT Student Recreation Center on Saturday. With the win, the Buckeyes improve to 8-1 on the season while Toledo is now 4-2.
Leading the way for Ohio State was senior Michelle Williams, who registered four first place finishes. Additionally, senior Kelly Ann Baird and freshman Amy Bopp also won multiple events. The Buckeyes finished first-second in 10 of the 16 events.
The meet started with the 200 medley relay where Ohio State had the first and second-place finishing teams. Williams, Bopp, Aliena Schmidtke and Annie Jongekrijg finished first with a time of 1:44.78, followed closely behind in second place by the team of Erin Dunseith, Rachael Dzierzak, Alex Norris and Ashley Vance (1:45.38).
Dunseith took the momentum from her first race and finished second in the next event, the 1000 free, where she clocked a time of 10:15.33. Freshman Kaitlyn Ferrara was second (10:21.25).
In the 200 freestyle, Baird picked up the first of her two first-place finishes on the day when she touched the wall in 1:50.22. Sophomore Katy Luchansky was second (1:51.61).
Junior Lauren Davis continued to power the Buckeyes into the next event, the 100 backstroke, when she finished in a tie for first place with Toledo’s Maria Bargardi, who each touched the wall in 57.21. Freshman Zulal Zeren finished fourth for Ohio State (57.62).
In the 100 breaststroke, Bopp notched the first of her two first-place finishes when she registered a time of 1:04.12. That event was followed by the 200 butterfly, where Norris was second (2:03.10).
In the 50 freestyle, Williams was first with a time of 23.53 while Jongekrijg was first in the 100 free (51.05). The next two events, the 200 backstroke and 200 breaststroke, saw Baird finish second (2:02.72) and Bopp finish first (2:19.18).
In the 500 freestyle, Annie Gillig continued the Buckeye dominance with a first-place showing (5:01.37) while Williams notched her third win of the day in the next event, the 100 butterfly, when she touched the wall in 55.92.
The meet was closed out when Baird won the 400 individual medley (4:21.81) and the 200 free relay team of Dzierzak, Williams, Vance and Annelise Sprau took first place (1:34.76).
In the diving event, Taylor Ford was third in the 1-meter (247.13) and second in the 3-meter (284.03).
The Buckeyes return to action next weekend, Jan. 17-18, against Oakland, Cincinnati, Ashland and Kenyon in Gambier, Ohio.
