Junior Tamas Gercsak won both the 200 butterfly and 200 individual medley as No. 11 Ohio State finished in first place at Kenyon Winter Invite on Saturday. The Buckeyes totaled 741 points, ahead of Oakland (347), Kenyon (324), Cincinnati (188) and Ashland (125).
Overall, Ohio State won seven of the eight races on the day and was led by a balanced attack that included individual wins by six different swimmers.
The day’s action got started with the 400 medley relay where the team of Tim Phillips, Steven Zimmerman, Keanu Stevenson and Josh Fleagle touched the wall first with a time of 3:16.64. In the next event, the 1000 freestyle, senior Alex Miller continued his stellar campaign with a first-place finish (9:15.61). Sophomore Jovan Mitrovic finished second (9:30.59).
In the 200 individual medley, Gercsak earned his first individual win of the day (1:51.77). He was followed in second place by Dmitry Dolgov (1:52.14).
Michael DiSalle finished second in the 200 freestyle (1:39.60) and Ohio State got right back to its winning ways in the next event, the 50 freestyle, as Fleagle touched the wall first in 20.56.
Zimmerman claimed a victory in the 200 backstroke (1:47.56) and DJ MacDonald followed that up with a win in the 200 breaststroke (2:02.95). Ohio State was particularly dominant in the 200 breaststroke, as the Buckeyes had the top four finishers.
Gercsak notched his second individual win of the day in the next event, the 200 butterfly (1:50.85), and the day’s action closed out with the 400 freestyle relay, which was won by the team of DiSalle, Phillips, Steffen Hillmer and Fleagle (2:59.02).
Ohio State returns to action next Saturday, Jan. 25, when it travels to Ypsilanti, Mich., for a tri-meet with Eastern Michigan and Ball State.
The Ohio State women’s swimming and diving team continued breaking pool records on Saturday as it claimed first place at the Kenyon Winter Invite. The Buckeyes finished in first place in all eight events and set three more pool records.
Ohio State totaled 795.5 points, ahead of Cincinnati (279), Oakland (246), Kenyon (244.5) and Ashland (140). Individual standouts for the Buckeyes included senior Alex Norris, who set a pool record in the 200 freestyle and had a hand in setting another in the 400 freestyle relay. In total, Norris played a part in setting four pool records this weekend. Additionally, senior Kelly Ann Baird set a pool record in the 1000 freestyle.
The final day of competition got started with the 400 medley relay where the team of Zulal Zeren, Norris, Taylor Vargo and Williams touched the wall first in 3:47.03. Right behind them in second place was Annie Gillig, Aliena Schmidtke, Ashley Vance and Annie Jongekrijg (3:48.87).
In the next event, the 1000 freestyle, Baird set the first of Ohio State’s three pool records of the day when she finished first in 9:58.00. Lindsey Clary was second (10:14.97).
Vance posted a first-place showing in the 200 individual medley (2:05.76), an event that was dominated by Buckeyes. Ohio State had the top six placeholders, including Katy Luchansky (second, 2:07.01), Kristyn Fulcher (third, 2:07.35), Gillig (fourth, 2:08.10), Bopp (fifth, 2:09.76) and Sarah Cruzan (sixth, 2:09.76).
Williams notched her second win of the day when she touched the wall first in the 50 freestyle (23.27). Gillig and Zeren went 1-2 in the next event, the 200 backstroke (2:01.45 and 2:02.67, respectively), while Vargo won the 200 breaststroke (2:18.17).
Freshman Amy Bopp was the next Buckeye to get into the winning act, placing first in the 200 butterfly (2:04.17). To close out the meet, the 400 freestyle relay team of Norris, Cater, Jongekrijg and Williams set a pool records and finished in first place (3:23.67).
Ohio State returns to action next Saturday, Jan. 25, when it travels to Ypsilanti, Mich., for a tri-meet with Eastern Michigan and Ball State.
Jorden Merrilees won the men's 200 free while Tricia Grant and Jordan Welling were winners on the diving boards as the Oakland men's and women's swimming and diving team concluded the two-day Kenyon College Winter Invitational Saturday afternoon at the Kenyon Aquatic Center. The Oakland men held on to a second-place finish from Friday's swims, while the women dropped to third place in the five-team meet.
"I think today was like yesterday for us; we faced some quality competition and that got us out of our comfort zone, so in that respect, we had a good weekend," Oakland head coach Pete Hovland said.
After a pair of second-place finishes on Friday, Merrilees was victorious in the 200 free with a time of 1:39.42, his fastest time of the season. Merrilees then took second in the 200 backstroke, posting a time of 1:48.74. For the weekend, and including relays, Merrilees was in the top six in six events, with five top-three finishes.
On the diving board for the men, Welling captured his first victory of the season with a score of 267.40 on the 1-meter board. Welling edged teammate Robin Nickell, who took second with an effort of 250.50, his season-best score.
The men also had a strong performance from Amr el Sayed, who took third in the 1000 free (9:34.47) and finished fifth in the 200 free (1:42.67). el Sayed and Merrilees combined with Grant Harding and Tuomas Kiviluoma to take third in the 400 free relay to end the day's action in the pool.
"Jorden Merrilees had a fantastic weekend, and Grant Harding and Tuomas Kiviluoma each swam well and kept us in the meet." Hovland said.
Individually, Harding added a fourth-place finish in the 50 free (21.13) while Kiviluoma captured fourth place in the 200 IM (1:52.87) for his second-best mark of the year. Also earning top-five finishes for Oakland were Mitch Alters in the 200 fly (3rd, 1:52.30) and Hrafn Traustason in the 200 breast (5th, 2:05.46).
On the women's side, Grant won both the 1-meter and 3-meter events, marking the sixth time this season she has done so. Grant scored a 308.95 on the 1-meter board for her highest score of the season and added a 271.05 mark on the 3-meter.
Hannah Oswald had Oakland's top individual finish in the pool, taking sixth place in the 200 fly (2:09.91).
Patricia Aschan was seventh in the 1000 free (10:29.34) while Kyra Rietveld and Takara Martin added seventh-place finishes in the 50 free and 200 breast, respectively. Rietveld posted a time of 24.44 while Martin finished the 200 breast in 2:24.85.
The quartet of Karin Tomeckova, Martin, Julia Vela and Nikki Flynn placed fifth in the day-opening 400 medley relay (3:53.45).
Oakland will swim at in-state foe Michigan State Thursday, Jan. 23 at 6 p.m. before returning home to host Cleveland State and Xavier Saturday, Jan. 25 at 1 p.m. for the team's final home meet of the season.
Men - Team Rankings - Through All Events
1. Ohio State University 741
2. Oakland University 374
3. Kenyon College 324
4. Cincinnati, University of 188
5. Ashland University 125
Women - Team Rankings - Through All Events
1. Ohio State University 795.5
2. Cincinnati, University of 279
3. Oakland University 246
4. Kenyon College 244.5
5. Ashland University 140
