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Ohio Heads to MAC Championships
Feb. 19, 2008
ATHENS, Ohio - The Ohio swimming and diving team heads to Buffalo, N.Y., Wednesday for the 2008 Mid-American Conference Women's Swimming and Diving Championships at Alumni Arena Natatorium. The Bobcats will be looking to capture their 10th MAC title and their first since 2001. The 2008 MAC Championships, hosted by the University at Buffalo, begin Wednesday, Feb. 20, and run through Saturday, Feb. 23. The competition gets underway Wednesday at 7 p.m. with the championship races in the 200-yard medley and 800-yard freestyle relays. Preliminary heats will take place Thursday through Saturday at 11 a.m. each day with the finals beginning at 7 p.m. Last season Ohio finished second at the championships with 618 points, behind Eastern Michigan's 665 points. Ohio crowned five MAC Champions last year and had nine swimmers selected All-MAC. Eight of the nine All-MAC performers returned to the team this season and along with a strong group of freshmen, helped lead the Bobcats to a 12-1 overall record and a 6-1 MAC mark. Senior co-captain Emily Wylam (Yorktown, Va.) and junior Ashley Marion (London, Ontario) have each captured two MAC titles apiece the last two years. Wylam is the two-time defending conference champion in the 100-yard backstroke and 200-yard backstroke and Marion is the two-time defending champion in the 200-yard individual medley and the 400-yard individual medley. At the 2006 championships, Wylam established a MAC record in the 100-yard backstroke with a time of 55.69. Seniors Michaela Hahn-Lawson (Painesville, Ohio) and Ilse Petersen (Johannesburg, South Africa) have been exceptional at the MAC Championships for the Bobcats throughout their careers, both being named All-MAC First Team each of the last three seasons. Last year Hahn-Lawson placed fourth in the 200-yard individual medley, the 400-yard individual medley and the 200-yard breaststroke. Petersen took second in the 500-yard freestyle, third in the 200-yard freestyle and fourth in the 100-yard freestyle last season. Ohio also had four swimmers named to the All-MAC Second Team at last years championships. Seniors Mallory Rico (Mentor, Ohio) and Sigal Simsolo (Kibbutz Yakum, Isreal), along with sophomores Caitlin Drozin (Cuyahoga Fall, Ohio) and Rachel Kloosterman (Whitby, Ontario), all were named second-team all-conference for their outstanding performances at last year's championships. In addition to the strong group of returners, one of Ohio's strong points all season has been its talented freshmen class. Freshmen Stacey Huber (Gainesville, Fla.), Rachel Heim (San Diego, Calif.), Amanda Cecere (Chelmsford, Mass.) and Amanda Traylor (Los Alamitos, Calif.) have all won multiple events this season for the Bobcats. Team depth is an influential factor at the championships and if the freshmen are able to contribute as well as they have all season, it will provide the Bobcats with the depth needed to compete for the championship. Ohio has won the MAC Championship nine times, winning in 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 2000 and 2001. Ohio's most recent title came when the championships were last held in Buffalo, N.Y. in 2001. Individual session tickets and an all-session pass are available for those attending the meet. Tickets are $6.00 for adults, $4.00 for seniors, $3.00 for students per session. All-session passes are available for $25.00 for adults, $18.00 for seniors and $10.00 for students and are good throughout the meet. Buffalo is also providing a webstream of the championships which can be viewed at the Bulls Multimedia Center by clicking here. ---------------------------- |
