Jan. 29, 2011
MORGANTOWN, W. Va. - In a dual meet marked by back-and-forth efforts from both squads, the Ohio swimming and diving team prevailed over West Virginia Saturday afternoon by a score of 176-122, giving Ohio its eighth win of the season.
"We were extremely happy to come away with wins this weekend," said head coach Greg Werner. "It's difficult to travel and perform well, but we came away with some good victories despite that fact."
The Bobcat Relay teams demonstrated their camaraderie early on in the 200 Medley Relay as Rachel Heim (San Diego, Calf.), Petra Chomicz (King's Lynn, Norfolk, England), Amanda Cecere (Chelmsford, Mass.), and Annie Donovan (Findlay, Ohio) took first place with a time of 1:46.69. Lauren Funk (Springfield, Ohio) and the young guns trio of Katey Brooks (North Royalton, Ohio), Molly Slattery (Fredericksburg, Va.), and Anastasia Bocharnikova (Nizhny Tagil, Russia) followed closely behind in second place with a time of 1:47.44, giving Ohio a 15-2 lead right off the bat.
West Virginia would respond, however, in the 1000 Free, grabbing 11 points despite second and third-place finishes from Stacey Huber (Gainseville, Fla.) and Laurin Williams (Shoreline, Wash.) with times of 10:15.36 and 10:16.07, respectively. Stella Johnson (Jacksonville, Fla.) also took fifth with a time of 10:39.44. The Mountaineers would again cause problems for Ohio, taking the top two spots in the 200 Free. Heim finished third in the event with a time of 1:54.76, while Sarah Owen (Portsmouth, Hampshire, England) and Annika Games (Brea, Calif.) took fourth and fifth with times of 1:57.56 and 2:00.18, respectively.
The Bobcats bounced back in the 100 Back as Bocharnikova lead the way with a first-place time of 57.99, while Rachel Stearns (Minnetonka, Minn.) finished third with a time of 59.37, regaining the lead for Ohio.
"I thought Megan Gegesky, Kristyn Repke, Anastasia Bocharnikova, Rachel Heim, and Amanda Cecere deserve some recognition today," said Werner. "They led the way today and gave us some breakthrough performances."
The 100 Breast saw the top four times separated by only a few points of a second as the Mountaineers took the top two spots, while Chomicz and Brooks finished third and fourth with times of 1:06.76 and 1:08.18, respectively. A trio of Bobcats earned a valuable nine points for Ohio next in the 200 Fly as Cecere, Deidre Geroni (Emmaus, Pa.), and Kristen Witham (Fort Wayne, Ind.) finished second, third, and fourth with times of 2:06.44, 2:09.64, and 2:10.20, respectively.
"They had to fight through some stiffness and fatigue today, but that's what makes a tough team and it shows that they have the ability to fight and bounce back," said Werner.
Ohio seemed to find their stride in the next two events as the Bobcats dominated the 50 Free and 1-meter boards. The Donovan, Funk, and Abby Corcoran (Tucson, Ariz.) combination filled the top three spots in the 50 Free with times of 24.04, 24.37, and 24.64, respectively. Freshman diver Kristen Capcik (Milwaukee, Wisc.) had one of her best performances of the year as she took first on the 1-meter boards with a personal best score of 241.20. Lindsay Hamilton (White City, Saskatchewan) and Alexa Gordish (North Canton, Ohio) took second and third with scores of 239.85 and 188.85, respectively to give Ohio command of the lead.
"You have to mention Kristen Capcik for her performance today," said Werner. "Anytime you have personal bests, you know you're doing something special."
Strong performances by Funk and Brooks in the 100 Free kept things rolling for the `Cats, while Owen and Bocharnikova added to their impressive days in the 200 Back with first and second-place finishes. The Mountaineers would not go away, however, as they won the 200 Breast and 500 Free despite efforts from Chomicz and Huber. Heim, Cecere, and Slattery answered the call, though, in the 100 Fly as they took first, third, and fourth with times of 55.77, 58.85, and 59.33, respectively, giving Ohio a healthy lead with only three events remaining. Hamilton owned the 3-meter boards with a score of 321.22, while Capcik and Gordish contributed with scores of 246.52 and 220.27, respectively.
West Virginia attempted a final comeback in the 200 IM, but it was the Bobcat 200 Freestyle Relays squads that sealed the deal for Ohio, as they took first, second, and fourth with times of 1:36.06, 1:38.85, and 1:40.28, respectively.
"Today's victory was really just a tribute to the team," said Werner. "Their depth prevailed even though we didn't win every event."
The Bobcats now only have two regular season dual meets left as they hit the pool next against Xavier on Feb. 4, followed by a confrontation with rival Miami on Feb. 5. Action is set to begin at 5 p.m. and 1 p.m., accordingly.
