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Swimming and Diving Returns to Action with Home Meet Friday
Jan. 7, 2009
ATHENS, Ohio - After over a month off from competition, the Ohio University swimming and diving team returns to the pool Friday, Jan. 9 for a dual meet with Division III Denison University. The Bobcats (3-2, 2-2 Mid-American Conference) have been training vigorously over the past month, after capturing their second-straight Zippy Invitational Dec. 7 in their last outing. At the 13-team Zippy Invite hosted by the University of Akron, Ohio won 11 of the 20 events, including all five relays, en route to 1,517.5 points, 284 more than second-place Illinois State. Senior Ashley Marion (London, Ont.) was on all five winning relay teams at the Zippy Invitational, while junior Chelsey Bower (Bethel Park, Pa.) and sophomore Rachel Heim (San Diego, Calif.) were on four of the five. Marion also won the 100 backstroke in the seventh-fastest time in Ohio history (56.91), while Heim took first in the 100 butterfly in meet-record time (55.91). Junior diver Lindsay Hamilton (White City, Sask.) won both the 1-meter and 3-meter events, scoring season highs in both. Sophomore Amanda Cecere (Chelmsford, Mass.) touched first in the 200 butterfly, while freshman Sarah Owen (Portsmouth, England) won the 500 freestyle for Ohio, as well. Denison (3-2, 2-1 North Coast Athletic Conference) enters the meet coming off a month-long break from competition as well, having finished sixth out of nine teams at the Miami Invitational in its last contest Dec. 6. The Big Red finished ahead of Division I schools Cincinnati, Wright State and Marshall at the Invite and picked up dual-meet wins over Oberlin, Ohio Wesleyan and Calvin College earlier in the season. A year ago, the Bobcats defeated Denison 136-105, as Ohio touched the wall first in nine of the 13 events. Bower, Cecere and Heim all registered an individual win in last season’s meeting, as well as current ’Cats Stacey Huber (Gainesville, Fla.) and Leah Giancarli (Akron, Ohio). The 200 medley relay, which kicks off the 16-event dual meet, is set to begin at 5 p.m. at the Ohio University Aquatic Center. |
