Courtesy: Ohio State Athletics
COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Ohio State swimming and diving team is set to open the 2018-19 season with a home dual meet against Alabama on Thursday, Sept. 27 at McCorkle Aquatic Pavilion. The Buckeyes and Crimson Tide will square off at 6 p.m. ET.
Admission to the meet is free and fans can park in the Neil Avenue Garage right next to McCorkle Aquatic Pavilion for $5 beginning at 5 p.m. ET.
MEET SCHEDULE
400 Medley Relay
1000 Freestyle
200 Freestyle
100 Backstroke
100 Breaststroke
Break (15 minutes)
100 Freestyle
200 Backstroke
200 Breaststroke
500 Freestyle
100 Butterfly
Break (20 minutes)
200 Individual Medley
400 Freestyle Relay
Diving is scheduled to begin at 6:05 p.m.
WAYS TO FOLLOW
All home meets will be streamed on BTN Plus (BTN2Go.com). A live results link will be made available closer to the event. Follow @OhioStSwimDive on Twitter and Facebook for more information, and for live updates.
Men’s Season Primer
The Buckeyes return eleven athletes that competed at the NCAA Championships a year ago. All five of Ohio State’s Honorable Mention All-Americans are still on the squad for the 2018-19 season, including the 800 Free Relay quartet of Matt Abeysinghe, Paul DeLakis, Nick Hogsed and Andrew Loy and the 400 Free Relay grouping of Abeysinghe, Loy, DeLakis and Mossimo Chavez.
Five Ohio State record holders are back for more this upcoming season, including Noah Lense, who improved his 200 Fly time to 1:40.83 on the way to a Big Ten silver medal. Lense also picked up a bronze medal in the 100 Fly at the conference meet. DeLakis returns after an outstanding freshman campaign featuring school records in the 200 Free and 200 IM in addition to the 800 Free Relay, taking bronze medals in both individual events.
Aaron Daniels-Freeman, Ohio State’s top performer on the one-meter board at the Big Ten Championships (337.30) and Christo Law, a top performer on both the three-meter and platform at Big Ten Championships and NCAA Championships, both enter their senior year wearing the Scarlet and Gray.
Thirteen athletes are new to the Ohio State roster this year, all of which are freshmen. Sem Andreis, Stefano Batista, Jacob Fielding, Ruslan Gaziev, Trey Gibble, RJ Kondalski, Ben Kuriger, Jason Mathews, Hudson McDaniel, Josef Pohlmann, Colin Roy, John Sampson and Lain Weaver begin their Ohio State career.
Top Returners – Men
50 Freestyle – Kalvin Koethke – 19.58
100 Backstroke – Henrique Painhas – 47.46
100 Breaststroke – Connor Isings – 52.79
100 Freestyle – Matt Abeysinghe – 42.53
100 Butterfly – Noah Lense – 45.41
200 Freestyle – Paul DeLakis – 1:32.86
200 Butterfly – Noah Lense – 1:40.83
200 Breaststroke – Paul DeLakis – 1:55.06
200 Backstroke – Brad Shannon – 1:45.09
200 Individual Medley – Paul DeLakis – 1:42.83
500 Freestyle – Nick Hogsed – 4:16.19
1000 Freestyle – Nick Hogsed – 9:03.99
1650 Freestyle – Nick Hogsed – 15:03.67
Women’s Season Primer
Eleven of Ohio State’s NCAA qualifiers return to the squad for the season, including First Team All-Americans Maria Coy, Molly Kowal, Freya Rayner and Lara Tarvit. Coy and Rayner teamed up on the 200 Free Relay, placing seventh with a time of 1:28.17, while Kowal claimed seventh in the 1650 Free by posting a career-best time of 15:52.80. Tarvit finished fifth overall on the platform at the NCAA Championships, scoring 296.80.
Coy and Rayner will defend their 200 Free Relay title this season after setting the school record at the Big Ten Championships with a time of 1:27.08. Kristen Romano begins her second season with the team after being crowned Big Ten Freshman of the Year. Romano broke several Puerto Rican national records over the summer while competing at the Central American and Caribbean Games.
Overall, eight Ohio State swimmers with top times from the 2017-18 season are still competing in the Scarlet and Gray, including Rebekah Bradley, who set the 100 Back record (52.51) at the Big Ten Championships and Hanna Gresser, a member of the school record-setting 400 Medley Relay group.
The Buckeyes added seven newcomers to the roster for the 2018-19 season. Junior Grace Kowal (Virginia Tech) and sophomore Emma Hellmann (Penn State) transferred to Ohio State, while Alissa Cook, Georgia Mosher, Amanda Palutsis, Sally Tafuto and Georgia White suit up for their freshman season at OSU.
Top Returners – Women
50 Freestyle – Freya Rayner – 22.09
100 Backstroke – Rebekah Bradley – 52.51
100 Breaststroke – Hanna Gresser – 59.69
100 Freestyle – Freya Rayner – 48.43
100 Butterfly – Rebecca Luft – 54.49
200 Freestyle – Kristen Romano – 1:45.03
200 Butterfly – Katie Trace – 1:58.52
200 Breaststroke – Hanna Gresser – 2:10.78
200 Backstroke – Kristen Romano – 1:52.86
200 Individual Medley – Kristen Romano – 1:56.05
500 Freestyle – Molly Kowal – 4:40.21
1000 Freestyle – Molly Kowal – 9:38.31
1650 Freestyle – Molly Kowal – 15:52.80
WE MEET AGAIN
The Ohio State and Alabama swimming & diving teams meet for the second time in as many seasons. Last year, the Buckeyes traveled to Tuscaloosa, Ala., and came away with two Top 25 wins at the Alabama Aquatic Center.
The No. 11 women’s team took down the No. 23 Crimson Tide by a score of 180-118, and the No. 16 Buckeye men defeated No. 17 Alabama with a score of 168-132. OSU had four swimmers win multiple events during the meet, including Kathrin Demler (200 Free, 500 Free) and Noah Lense (100 Fly, 200 Fly). Ohio State dominated the men’s 200 Fly, taking all top five finishes in the event. The Scarlet and Gray diving squad took four victories, with Lara Tarvit and Stephen Romanik winning the one-meter and Genevieve Angerame and Jacob Siler claiming the three-meter titles.
SCOUTING THE CRIMSON TIDE
The Alabama men finished the season at No. 17, while the women finished with the No. 25 ranking. The men came in eighth at the SEC Championships and followed that up with a 13th-place finish at the NCAA Championships. On the women’s side, the Crimson Tide took ninth at the conference meet and 30th at the NCAA Championships.
Alabama opened the season on Friday, Sept. 16, hosting Delta State. The men won by a score of 213-82, and the women took the win with a tally of 206-88. The team travels to Columbus, Ohio, for its first away meet of the season.
EARLY BIRDS
This is the earliest season-opener for Ohio State swimming & diving since at least 1998, and opens a four-meet homestand for the Buckeyes. Following the meet vs. Alabama, OSU is set for the Scarlet vs. Gray meet on Friday, Oct. 5 and the alumni meet on Saturday, Oct. 6. The next weekend is features a big test in a tri-meet against Texas A&M and Louisville Friday-Saturday, Oct. 12-13.
