ATHENS, Ohio - After sweeping Denison on Friday night, the Ohio women's and men's swimming and diving squads were able to register a split with Ohio State in dual meet action this afternoon. The Bobcat women kept their home dual meet winning streak alive, now at 54-straight, with a 157-143 victory while the men fell to the Buckeyes by a final of 163-111.
The Ohio women (6-1-1, 2-1-1 MAC) won just six of the meet's 15 events, but placed high in nearly every competition to hold off the Buckeyes (5-3, 0-2 Big Ten). For the second day in a row, freshman Michaela Hahn-Lawson (Painesville, Ohio) paced the Bobcat attack. She set three season-best times in taking first in the 200 individual medley (2:08.27) and capturing runner-up finishes in the 100 (1:06.70) and 200 breaststroke (2:24.15) events. Hahn-Lawson also swam the second leg on the winning 200 medley relay, helping the team to their fastest performance of the season to date.
Ilse Petersen (Johannesburg, South Africa) was a winner for Ohio in the 200 freestyle with a 1:53.81 finish while taking second place in the 500 freestyle with a time of 5:04.29. Emily Wylam (Yorktown, Va.) captured the 100 backstroke in 59.14 and finished as the runner-up to teammate Sigal Simsolo (Kibbutz Yakum, Israel) in the 200 backstroke with a time of 2:06.88. Simsolo, who also took third-place in the 200 freestyle with a time of 1:56.52, had a winning effort of 2;06.82 in the 200 backstroke.
The Bobcat women took both relay events with Wylam, Hahn-Lawson, Barbara de Sa' (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil), and Becky McGaughey (Nicholasville, Ky.) turning in a time of 1:47.93 in the 200 medley. Petersen, Simone Swanepoel (Pretoria, South Africa), de Sa', and McGaughey teamed to capture the 400 freestyle relay in a season-best time of 3:33.23. Debbie Thornbury (Orange Park, Fla.) led the Ohio divers with a second-place finish in the one-meter event with a score of 253.43 and finished third in the three-meter competition with a 224.70 tally.
On the men's side, the Bobcats (1-4, 0-2 MAC) were unable to build on the momentum of gaining their first win on Friday in this afternoon's dual with Ohio State (7-0, 1-0 Big Ten). Luke Herlehy (Batavia, Ill.) was a double-event winner for the Bobcats, taking the 500 freestyle (4:50.53) and 200 individual medley (2:03.33) competitions. The distance specialist also finished fifth in the 1650 freestyle with a 16:54.00 clock. Mike Shelby (New Albany, Ohio) contributed the only other individual swimming victory for Ohio, taking the 100 butterfly in a time of 52.67.
Brian Teske (Dayton, Ohio) led other key contributors for Ohio, placing second in the 200 breaststroke (2:18.00) and third in the 100 breaststroke (1:01.73). Donald Jupp (Stow, Ohio) finished as the runner-up in the 50 freestyle (21.69) and took third in the 100 freestyle in 48.28. The senior also finished third in the 200 butterfly, turning in a time of 1:58.52. Matthew Bey (Gahanna, Ohio) added a second place finish in the 500 freestyle with a time of 4:57.66, following up teammate Herlehy.
Shelby, Jupp, Jan Wuttig (Solon, Ohio), and Bey teamed to capture the 200 freestyle relay with a 1:27.40 clock. Richard Wade (Wooster, Ohio) represented the Bobcat diving squad, taking first in the one-meter event with a 272.48 tally, while finishing fourth in the three-meter dive with a score of 281.33.
The loss for the Ohio State women was their first of the year against anon-Big Ten foe. The Buckeyes were paced by Griet Buelens' three individual victories while Nicole Maglich and Rebekah Rychvalsky each captured two events. Anesa Beard won both diving contests.
The Buckeye men, ranked 24th in the latest CSCAA Top 25 poll, took each of the first eight competitions and exhibitioned a number of events down the stretch. Nate King, Robert Kausher, and Tommy Seay were each two-event winners for the Buckeyes.
The Bobcats women will resume competition on Jan. 22 at the Ohio Aquatics Center against Bowling Green while the Ohio men are not in action again until Jan. 28 at Miami.
