The 10th-ranked Ohio State men’s swimming and diving team concluded day one of competition vs. the Princeton Tigers and Denison Big Red Friday with a lead of 133-53 and 155-31, respectively. Hosted at McCorkle Aquatic Pavilion, the two-day, double-dual meet will continue tomorrow with races scheduled to begin at 11 a.m.
“The teamwork has been very good tonight and they have worked well as a group,” Ohio State head coach Bill Wadley said. “The good news is that we’re competing at a high level and continue to get better every meet.”
Junior Josh Fleagle attained three wins, while the team took seven of eight swimming events. In diving, Shane Miszkiel and Stephen Romanik posted top scores in the three-meter competition.
A tightly contested 200 freestyle relay race opened meet, with the contingent of Fleagle, Michael DiSalle, Matt McHugh and Steffen Hillmer outlasting the competition for a first-place finish in 1:21.15.
Fleagle wasted no time, as he claimed the second race of the evening as well. With a time of 1:37.44, he picked up a win in the 200 freestyle. Senior Steven Zimmerman followed in a successful fashion with a first-place showing in the 100 backstroke (48.75).
DJ MacDonald made his meet debut, capturing a win in the 100 breaststroke at a mark of 55.21. Freshman standout Ching Lim continued building momentum for the Buckeyes with a victory in the 200 butterfly (1:46.75).
Ohio State’s success went unmatched as Fleagle tallied a third first-place finish in the 50 freestyle with a 20.22 touch. Freshman Brayden Seal dominated competition in the 1650 freestyle when he clocked in at 15:39.31.
The Buckeye relay team of Zimmerman, MacDonald, McHugh and Hillmer closed out the evening with a 400 medley relay victory (3:17.21).
In the three-meter diving competition, Miszkiel and Romanik earned first- and second-place scores of 392.60 and 372.95, respectively.
The 15th-ranked Ohio State women’s swimming and diving team opened its two-day, double-dual meet against Princeton and Denison Friday with strong leads over both teams. Hosted at McCorkle Aquatic Pavilion in Columbus, the Buckeyes currently hold a 144-42 total over Princeton, while maintaining a 155-30 lead over Denison heading into day two.
“I am really pleased with how we came out firing,” Ohio State head swimming coach Bill Dorenkott said. “The girls came to race tonight and it’s showing. We’re going to have a great week of training ahead of us going into the invite.”
Senior Ashley Vance achieved two individual victories for the Buckeyes, while seven other team members added first-place point totals to the board. In diving, freshman Brittany Menninger and senior Taylor Ford dove for two of the top spots in the 3-meter competition.
A strong performance by Zhesi Li, Annie Jongekrijg, Rachael Dzierzak and Macie McNichols in the 200 freestyle relay (1:32.61) gave the Scarlet and Gray its first win of the meet. Distance specialist Lindsey Clary clocked in at 16:32.96 to capture an individual win in the 1650 freestyle.
Senior Aliena Schmidtke sustained the Buckeye momentum with a touch at 1:50.75 in the 200 freestyle. Camey Rabold followed in the 100 backstroke, setting a personal-best time of 56.00 and claiming the win.
Vance closed out the first portion of the meet on a strong note when she won the 100 breaststroke with a time of 1:03.53, as well as the 200 individual medley at 1:03.13 shortly after.
When action returned, Amy Bopp touched the wall at 1:59.73 to assert a first-place win in the 200 butterfly, while Li tallied her second season-best time in the 50 freestyle with a mark of 22.67.
Ohio State closed evening by sweeping the 400 medley relay. The quartet of Rabold, Vance, Schmidtke and Li posted a first-place time of 3:45.91.
Competition will resume tomorrow with events scheduled to begin at 11 a.m.
