OSU swim meet

by Nicole Jomantas
FOR THE POST

The Ohio swimming and diving team had its share of tricks and treats this weekend.

The Bobcats opened the season at home with victories against Ohio State (137-106) and Youngstown State (121-83) on the women's side and a loss to OSU for the men (144-92).

"I'm very happy with our performance this weekend," coach Greg Werner said. "Going in we weren't sure what to expect, but we were pleasantly surprised."

Friday afternoon the women cleaned up against Youngstown State with victories in 10 out of 12 events.

The women repeated their performance Saturday by winning nine out of 13 events. Kim van Selm dominated the freestyle events, taking the 200, 500 and 1000 with little contest from her opponents.

Tricia Kessler also turned in an impressive show with wins in the 200 individual medley, 100 butterfly and as the anchor of the 400 free relay that also included teammates Emily Frasco, Stephanie Gotschall and Emily Bresser.

Diver Stephanie Hay set a standard for the year by snagging the points needed for the qualifying rounds of the March NCAA championships in both the 3-meter and 1-meter events.

"To qualify (for the meet) at the beginning of the year gives me a lot of hope for the rest of the season," Hay said. "It shows me that hard work can pay off."

The men's team did not fare nearly as well against the Buckeyes, taking only two of 13 events. Stephen Stanley won the 200 breaststroke while Bryan Bansbach, Adam Osweiler, Dustin Frazier and Jason Folt won the 400 free relay.

"We competed very well. You just have to take your hat off to OSU. We were pretty good, but they were that much better." Werner said.

"They were definitely top-notch competition," said Jonathan Friend, co-captain of the men's team. "But our guys stood strong, raced tough and weren't intimidated.

"They were winning three-deep in some events and it's hard to beat that," he said.

Ohio's next opponent is Kenyon, a Division III powerhouse with 21 consecutive men's national championships and 17 consecutive women's titles under its belt.

"Kenyon isn't your typical Division III school. They're more like Division I," Werner said. "We've got to be ready to work hard to go against them."

The matchup against Kenyon starts at 4 p.m. Wednesday at the Aquatic Center.