South Carolina Women Win Ohio State Invitational

COLUMBUS, Ohio, December 3. SOUTH Carolina took home the women's title after scoring 793 points in the three-day meet, just 14 points in front of the Buckeyes (779) at the Ohio State Swimming and Diving Invitational Sunday at the Bill and Mae McCorkle Aquatic Pavilion. The University of Utah finished in third place with 679 points.

Utah opened the final day of competition by claiming the Top 2 places in the 1,650-yard freestyle. The only athlete to swim the event in less than 17 minutes, Rachael Curci picked up the win with a time of 16:56.96. Teammate Karly Roberts touched in next at 17:03.56. Haley Mitchell (Fr., Walled Lake, Mich./Walled Lake Western) found herself on the podium for the second time this weekend with a third-place finish in the distance event. She swam the race in a lifetime best of 17:03.66. Farriss Blaskovits (Fr., Nepean, Ontario/Mother Theresa) also competed in the championship final. She finished eighth in 17:37.69.

Denver garnered its first win of the invitational in the 200-yard backstroke when Kelsey Totura touched in first in a meet record time of 1:59.11. Utah swimmer Shannon McQueen was the next to finish the race, touching in at 2:00.53. Both women recorded NCAA ‘B' times in the event. Mariann Fulop stopped the clock third at 2:01.51. Jill Lockhart (Fr., Munice, Ind./Yorktown) posted Ohio State's fastest time of 2:03.03 in the event. The time earned her fourth place.

Utah swimmers Amber Walter (50.63) and Ali McInturff (50.93) went 1-2 in the 100-yard freestyle. Their times qualify as NCAA ‘B' standards. Sharntelle McLean hit the wall third in a time of 51.01. Annie Rennenbom (Jr., Columbus, Ohio/Thomas Worthington) finished fourth to record Ohio State's fastest time of 51.99. Elaine Chan (So., Hong Kong China/ Hupp Yenn) also finished in the Top 8. Her time of 52.06 put her in fifth place.

South Carolina swimmers swept the Top 3 places with Lindsey Tiberio (2:17.36), Amanda Dunnigan (2:18.52) and Carly Hensel (2:19.40) going 1-2-3 in the 200-yard breaststroke. Tiberio's time was a meet record and NCAA ‘B' qualifying standard. The Buckeyes had two swimmers in the championship final. Megan Alexander (Fr., Worthington, Ohio/Worthington Kilbourne) swam to fourth place in a time of 2:19.72, while Colleen Schweitzer (Fr., Highlands Park, Colo./Highlands Ranch) swam the sixth fastest time of 2:23.94 in the event.

Gamecock Christy Williams earned the 200-yard butterfly title in meet-record time of 1:59.10. Behind her were Ohio State swimmers Gulsah Gunenc (Sr., Edirne, Turkey/Edirne Anatolian) and Griet Buelens (Jr., Kapelle-Op-Den-Bos, Belgium/Ursuline Academy). Gunenc hit the wall second for a time of 2:01.24, while Buelens touched in just one-tenth of a second later at 2:01.34 for third. All three swimmers swam NCAA ‘B' standards in the distance-fly event. Both Guence and Buelens have recorded NCAA ‘B' times in the event on two previous occasions this season.

Kati Bell (Fr., Cincinnati, Ohio/Graham School) concluded the diving portion of the meet with her first collegiate victory on the 10-meter platform in a score of 299.05. It was Bell's first time competing in the event this season. Miami's Heather Bounds was the runner-up with a score of 281.80. Lauren Hallyburton of Purdue filled the bronze-medal position with a score of 223.55.

Utah ended the final day of competition with a win in the 400-yard freestyle relay in meet record time of 3:23.81. The Gamecocks finished the race in 3:24.68 for the silver. Both teams recorded NCAA ‘B' standards. The Ohio State relay team of Buelens, Chan, Linda Lund (Jr., Roennede, Denmark/Haslev.) and Rennebohm swam to third place in a season-best time of 3:24.91.

"We swam awesome," Jeanne Fleck, Ohio State head swimming coach, said. "We did a really great job. I would have liked to won the meet, but I can't be disappointed with how we swam. We did everything we could to win. The girls stayed with it until the end."

Following winter break, the women will return to action Jan. 6 with a dual meet in Athens against Ohio University at 1 p.m.

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