The Ohio State men’s swimming and diving team defeated Cincinnati, 160-119, Friday evening in the squad’s season-opening dual at McCorkle Aquatic Pavilion. The Buckeyes recorded the fastest time in 13 races, while earning the top score in both the one- and three-meter diving events.
The Buckeyes started the evening strong, with a sweep in the 200 medley relay. Behind swims from Andrew Appleby, DJ MacDonald, Matt McHugh and Josh Fleagle, Ohio State’s “A” relay claimed first in a time of 1:29.80. In the runner-up spot, the Buckeye squad of Connor McDonald, Jack Barone, Tamas Gercsak and Michael DiSalle earned a mark of 1:33.06.
With an exciting finish in the 1000 freestyle, freshman Brayden Seal outlasted Cincinnati’s Chris Bready to pick up the first win of his Buckeye career. Seal finished with a time of 9:17.68, while Bready followed closely in 9:17.83.
Sophomore Steffen Hillmer touched first in the 200 freestyle (1:38.81), just beating out teammate and runner-up finisher Rowan Williams. In the 100 backstroke, the Buckeyes once again came away with a sweep, with McHugh leading the way in a time of 49.57.
Ohio State finished one-two in the 200 butterfly. Newcomer Ching Lim earned his first win as a Buckeye (1:51.85), while Gercsak, a senior this season, touched second with a time of 1:52.22. The 50 freestyle also went the Buckeyes’ favor with veterans Fleagle and DiSalle earning first and second in 20.20 and 20.71, respectively.
After a break in action, Fleagle returned with yet another strong performance, this time in the 100 freestyle. The St. Mary’s, Ohio, native posted a 44.36 in the 100 freestyle for the win.
In the 200 backstroke, Ohio State recorded the four-fastest times of the event. Williams earned first with a time of 1:48.92, while Appleby and Depietro followed in second and third, respectively. The Buckeyes followed it up in similar fashion with a repeat sweep in the 200 breaststroke. This time, MacDonald earned the win with a time of 2:01.96.
Distance specialist Jovan Mitrovic placed first in the 500 freestyle event, touching in 4:32.39.
The remainder of the meet Ohio State individual competitors scratched scores. However, the team continued to contest at a high level. McHugh recorded the fastest time in the 100 butterfly (49.29) and Gercsak dropped a top-time of 1:53.66 in the 200 individual medley.
In diving, senior standout Shane Miszkiel had a strong season-opener, earning the highest point total in both the one-meter (350.95) and three-meter (364.90).
In the home-opener of the 2014-2015 campaign, the Ohio State women’s swimming and diving team took down Purdue, 165-134, and Cincinnati, 238-60, Friday evening in Columbus, Ohio. The meet marked the second of three contests this weekend for Ohio State. The Buckeyes will next travel to Athens, Ohio to face the Ohio University Bobcats on Saturday.
With a demanding schedule to kick start the season, the Buckeyes have responded thus far to the challenge.
“This is what defines a team – when you can get up time after time, session after session,” senior Ashley Vance said. “We’ve put up good races to compete with good teams.”
“I think it is important to have challenges early in the season so you can prepare for Big Tens and NCAAs,” said senior Aliena Schmidtke. “It sets you up well for a big meet.”
Ohio State’s 200 medley relay team of Camey Rabold, Vance, Annelise Sprau and Zhesi Li opened up the meet with an early win for the Buckeyes (1:41.97).
Sophomore Lindsey Clary dominated early on in the evening by setting a McCorkle Aquatic Pavilion record, as well as a personal best, in the 1000 freestyle with a mark of 9:54.61. She kept up the momentum to take the win in the 500 freestyle as well (4:50.30).
Ohio State swept the 100 backstroke with strong performances from Rabold (56.32), Erin Dunseith (56.45) and Lauren Davis (56.85). Rabold claimed the victory, while Dunseith and Davis followed in second and third, respectively.
Vance captured her first individual win of the season in the 100 breaststroke with a time of 1:02.81. Following a brief break in action, Vance picked up another solid victory with a first-place touch in the 200 individual medley (2:02.94).
In diving action, Taylor Ford posted an overall score of 300.20 on the three-meter apparatus, claiming the top mark in the competition.
Annie Gillig brought the Buckeyes back into swimming action with a victory in the 200 backstroke (2:00.57). Gillig was followed by teammates Amy Bopp and Vance, who claimed the first and second spots in 2:15.72 and 2:16.04, respectively.
The contingent of Rachael Dzierzak, Li, Annie Jongekrijg and Schmidtke closed the meet with a close second place finish to the Boilermakers (3:23.68) in the 400 free relay.
