The 12th-ranked Ohio State men’s swimming and diving team notched wins over No. 4 Louisville, 190-110, and No. 9 Indiana, 187-113, Saturday afternoon at McCorkle Aquatic Pavilion. The Buckeyes had an outstanding day overall, earning wins in 10 events, while recognizing 15 seniors prior to the meet.
The quartet of veterans Steven Zimmerman, Keanu Stevenson, Matt McHugh and Josh Fleagle kicked off the afternoon meet with a victory in the 200 medley relay in a time of 1:27.98.
The 1000 freestyle came down to the final leg as Louisville’s Marcelo Acosta outlasted Buckeye rookie Brayden Seal for the win. Seal earned runner-up honors with a time of 9:09.74. Senior Michael DiSalle followed it up with a top-three finish in the 200 freestyle (1:37.81).
McHugh picked up another win for the Buckeyesm, as he took first in the 100 backstroke with a time of 47.71. Dj Macdonald made his first appearance of the meet, with a solid showing in the 100 breaststroke for a second-place finish (54.91).
Before a break in competition, the Buckeyes claimed back-to-back wins in the 200 butterfly by Tamas Gerscak (1:47.21) and 50 freestyle by Fleagle (20.08).
Returning to racing, Fleagle continued to dominate, earning a first-place touch in the 100 freestyle with a time of 44.24.
The seniors maintained the momentum as Zimmerman asserted a second first-place time of 1:45.49 in the 200 backstroke. Ohio State had three swimmers – Macdonald, Stevenson and Andrew Braun – post top-five times in the 200 breaststroke.
Seal took control of the 500 freestyle with a solid time of 4:26.99 for the win. In the 100 butterfly, McHugh placed first with a time 47.84.Ching Lim added first-place points for the Buckeyes with a top time of 1:48.44 in the 200 individual medley.
Buckeye swimming rounded out the meet with a first-place touch in the 400 freestyle relay. With a contingent of Fleagle, McHugh, DiSalle and Steffen Hillmer, the Buckeyes finished in a time of 2:57.24.
In the three-meter diving event, senior standout Stephen Ettienne earned third with a finals score of 382.20. Also, finishing in the top-five in the event was veteran Shane Miszkiel, who placed fourth. The 1-meter event mirrored its counterpart in terms of standings, with Ettienne again claiming third (370.65) and Miszkiel placing fourth.
The Buckeyes return to McCorkle Aquatic Pavilion for a dual meet vs. Wright State on Saturday, Feb. 7 at noon.
The Indiana men’s swimming and diving team closed its dual meet schedule against two of the top programs in the country, falling 187-113 to Ohio State and losing a squeaker to Louisville by a score of 151-149 Saturday afternoon at the McCorkle Aquatic Pavilion in Columbus, Ohio.
Bob Glover, Tanner Kurz, Max Irwin and Ali Khalafalla took fourth in the 200 medley relay to open the meet with a time of 1:30.15. That was followed by a third-place finish in the 1,000 freestyle from Jackson Miller, clocking in at 9:11.61.
Blake Pieroni posted Indiana’s first win of the day as he took the 200 freestyle with a time of 1:36.33, an NCAA B cut. Ryan Gordon was the top Hoosier in the 100 backstroke, placing seventh in 49.57.
Kurz posted a fourth-place finish in the 100 breaststroke with a time of 56.30. It was a pair of Hoosiers posting top-five finishes in the 200 butterfly as Steve Schmuhl finished second (1:47.78), with Irwin fourth (1:48.75).
Two more Hoosiers were among the first five to the wall in the 50 freestyle, with Khalafalla second with a time of 20.63. Anze Tavcar came in fourth at 20.76.
Pieroni was the second-place finisher in the 100 freestyle with this time of 44.43, while Khalafalla again found himself in the top five, taking fourth in 45.52. For the second time on the day Gordon was the top IU finisher in a backstroke race, taking seventh in the 200 back with a time of 1:48.79.
Indiana went 1-2 in the men’s 3-meter springboard competition as Michael Hixon won the event with a score of 426.50. James Connor was second with his posting of 405.35, the only two competitors to break 400 points in the competition. It was the same order of finish on the men’s 1-meter springboard with a score of 391.15 from Hixon and 376.30 from Connor.
Mike Hurley finished sixth in the 200 breaststroke (2:03.35), while Miller took second in the 500 free in 4:27.77. Irwin placed fourth in the 100 fly with a mark of 48.82.
Schmuhl touched the wall third in the 200 individual medley (1:49.82), followed by Hurley at 1:50.06.
Pieroni, Anze Tavcar, Yianni Thermos and Khalafalla closed the day with a second-place showing in the 400 freestyle relay, coming home in 2:59.30.
The Hoosier men return to the pool Feb. 25-28 at the 2015 Big Ten Championships in Iowa City, Iowa.
