Taylor Smith
CANTON, Ohio - The Tiger swimming and diving teams took one step closer to historic finishes at the 2009 North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) Championships with another tremendous performance on Day 2 at C.T. Branin Natatorium. The men moved one day away from claiming their highest finish ever in the meet, while the women find themselves in a dead heat with Allegheny for a coveted top-three finish.
A slow start to the day did not keep Natalie Koukis' women from reaching several national qualifying standards and breaking even more school records en route to a fourth-place position heading into the final day. Sophomore Megan Shubitowski (Columbus, Ohio/Watterson) placed third in the 3-meter diving competition to take All-NCAC honors for the second time in as many years. Meanwhile, in the pool, the Tigers' showing was highlighted by freshman Keaton Hannon (Peachtree City, Ga./McIntosh) in the 100 butterfly. The first-year student took ninth place, winning the B final while taking an NCAA 'B' cut in the process. Her time of 58.20 eclipsed the cut time by over a half-second, and it also established a new program standard.
That was followed by one of the evening's highlights as the 200 medley relay, including junior Adeline Brym (Mansfield, Ohio/Mansfield), freshman Megan Tassone (Cincinnati, Ohio/Ursuline), Hannon and junior Kristin Elber (Brunswick, Ohio/Brunswick), earned an NCAA B cut and broke a school record with a time of 1:48.62.
The evening finished even stronger than it started thanks to a 'B' cut effort from the 800 freestyle relay team of freshman Rachel Lee (Hickory, N.C./Hickory), Elber, freshman Cecilia Wille (Knoxville, Tenn./Farragut) and Brym. The quartet touched in a time of 7:52.17, clipping the cut by three hundredths of a second while also breaking the school record. Lee also led the Tigers in the 100 back, where she took 10th in a time of 1:00.93.
Brym added a seventh-place finish in the 200 freestyle, good for an NCAA B cut and a school record. That was followed by an NCAA B cut and school record time by Tassone, who won the first consolation race in the 100 breaststroke to finish ninth in a time of 1:06.46.
On the men's side, the pursuit of third place received an early boost when the Tigers placed four individuals in the 400 individual medley. Leading the way for the Tigers, sophomore Phil Bambach (Dublin, Ohio/Jerome) touched in 14th place with a time of 4:20.34. One event later, fellow sophomore Zach Stewart (Vincennes, Ind./Lincoln) added a seventh-place mark in the 100 fly; his time of 50.86 also a 'B' standard and broke a school record in the process.
Junior Taylor Smith (Mansfield, Ohio/Senior) kept the string of Tiger NCAA standards going with a 'B' cut himself, his effort coming in the 100 back with a time of 52.18. Sophomore Matt Higbee (Columbus, Ohio/Upper Arlington) added a 'B' cut of his own in the same event, taking ninth with a time of 52.13.
To cap off the night, the Tiger 800 free relay took third place with a time of 6:57.07, another NCAA standard and another school record. Stewart joined Chris Culkin (Novi, Mich./Northville), Matt Parker (Delaware, Ohio/Hayes) and Neil Anderson (Lakewood, Ohio/Lakewood) in the event. Anderson placed sixth in the 200 freestyle individually before posting an NCAA B cut time as the anchor leg of the 800 freestyle relay. That came after the Tigers' 200 medley relay to start the evening session finished sixth in the race but broke a school record in a time of 1:35.36. Smith, sophomore Adam Schick (Bloomington, Ind./North), Anderson and Higbee made up that relay.
The final day includes the 1650 free, the 200 in each of the back, breast, and fly, as well as the 400 free relay to conclude the festivities. The men hold an 85.5 point lead over fourth-place Allegheny, while the women look to come from a slight defecit to reclaim third from the Gators. Preliminaries begin at 10 a.m. with the finals to follow at 6:30 p.m. from Canton, Ohio.