Jan. 22, 2011
ATHENS, Ohio - On a day to honor its 2010-11 senior class, the Ohio swimming and diving team delivered an impressive victory Saturday as they knocked off Akron 172.5-116.5. The Bobcats improved to 6-2 (3-1 MAC) as Ohio took first in almost every event of the afternoon.
The Bobcat relay teams opened the action with first and second place finishes. Rachel Stearns (Minnetonka, Minn.), Amanda Cecere (Chemlsford, Mass.), Petra Chomicz (King's Lynn, Norfolk, England), and Annie Donovan (Findlay, Ohio) took first with a time of 3:54.74, while Anastasia Bocharnikova (Nizhny Tagil, Russia), Morgan Sprosty (Irvine, Calif.), Liz Bishop (Hales Corners, Wisc.) and Lauren Funk (Springfield, Ohio) finished second with a time of 3:56.92.
The distance duo of Stacey Huber (Gainesville, Fla.) and Laurin Williams (Shoreline, Wash.) took first and second in the 1650 Free with times of 17:04.51 and 17:16.33, respectively. Rachel Heim (San Diego, Calf.) followed next with a first-place finish in the 200 Free with a time of 1:54.71, while Sarah Owen (Portsmouth, Hampshire, England) took third with a time of 1:55.62.
Bocharnikova and Sprosty cruised to first and second-place finishes in the 100 Back with times of 58.23 and 1:00.58, respectively. The Chomicz, Brooks, and Bishop combination secured the top three spots in the 100 Breast with times of 1:06.67, 1:08.15, and 1:08.97, respectively.
Another trio of Bobcats were atop the list in the 200 Fly as Cecere, Deidre Geroni (Emmaus, Pa.), and Kristen Witham (Fort Wayne, Ind.) as they took first, second, and third with times of 2:06.61, 2:08.99, and 2:09.51, respectively. Donovan, Funk, and Abby Corcoran (Tucson, Ariz.) dominated the 50 Free as they too took first, second, and third with times of 23.98, 24.24, and 24.53, respectively, increasing Ohio's lead to 105.5 to 25.5 at the halfway point.
Brooks and Corcoran took first and second in the 100 Free with times of 52.97 and 53.51, respectively, while Owen, Stearns, Annika Games (Brea, Calf.) and Katie Power (Ottawa, Ontario) finished first, second, third, and fourth in the 200 Back with times of 2:05.78, 2:08.65, 2:09.39, and 2:10.78, respectively.
Cecere was the only Bobcat to place in the 500 Free, as she took first with a time of 5:10.34. Heim flattened the competition in the 100 Fly with another first-place finish and a time of 56.48.
Ohio controlled the one-meter boards as Lindsay Hamilton (White City, Saskatchewan) took first with a total score of 300.67, while Kristin Capcik (Milwaukee, Wisc.) and Alexa Gordish (North Canton, Ohio) took sixth and seventh with scores of 229.04 and 202.72, respectively.
The Bobcats return to action Friday Jan. 28 as they travel to Pittsburgh, Pa. to take on Duquesne. The meet is set to begin at 5 p.m.
