Women's Swimming & Diving wins fourth consecutive OAC Championships crown

February 18, 2012

By: Tim Glon

AKRON — The Ohio Northern women's swimming and diving team won its fourth consecutive team title Thursday-Saturday at the 2012 Women's Ohio Athletic Conference Championships at the University of Akron's Ocasek Natatorium.

The Polar Bears won the crown with 859 points, Mount Union was second with 776, John Carroll was third with 646, Baldwin-Wallace was fourth with 380, Wilmington was fifth with 277 and first-year participant Defiance was sixth with 197 points.

Northern won the title for the fifth time in the last six years under eighth-year head coach Peggy Ewald.

ONU won five of the 20 events and had 11 women earn All-Conference kudos in the meet.

The Polar Bears also set three school records and two OAC records during the competititon.

The top three finishers in the individual races and the top two relay teams earned All-OAC honors.

Sophomore Lindsey Rahill won three events to lead the Polar Bears, sweeping the butterfly events and being a part of ONU's 400 winning medley relay team.

She won the 100 fly in :58.71 and set OAC and ONU records in winning the 200 fly in 2:08.72.

Rayhil is now a 7-time OAC Champion in her two seasons as a Polar Bear.

Freshman Taylor McCabe was ONU's other individual event winner, touching first in the 400 I.M. in a school-record 4:40.18. She also earned All-OAC honors with a second place finish in the 200 breast in 2:24.80 and a third place finish in the 200 I.M. in 2:31.16.

Northern won the 200 and 400 medley relay events, setting one OAC record in the process.

Sophomores Jamie Garbash, Kasey Manko and Cait Munro and senior Alison Garbash won the 200 medley relay in an OAC record 1:49.10 and Jamie Garbash, Manko, Rayhill and junior Mackenzie Hoffman won the 400 medley relay in 3:59.40.

Northern's 200 free relay team of Hoffman, freshman Danielle Wildman, sophomore Alena Anderson and Alison Garbash earned All-OAC kudis with a second place finish in 1:39.13.

Hoffman earned All-Conference honors in five events. Including her 400 medley relay victory, she is now a 4-time OAC Champ and a 15-time All-OAC performer.

She finished second in the 200 free in 1:57.54, was third in the 100 free in :54.31, was third in the 500 free in 5:15.08 and was part of the 200 free relay team that finished second.

Manko was a two-time OAC Champ in the 200 and 400 medley relays and was a 4-time All-OAC honoree. She was third in the 100 breast in 1:07.90 and was third in the 200 breast in 2:31.16.

Junior Amy Elmer earned All-OAC honors in the 1- and 3-meter diving events, surpassing the NCAA Qualifying Standard in both. She finished second in the 1-meter diving with a score of 407.55 points and was second in the 3-meter diving with 424.75 points.

Her 3-meter score shattered her own school record in the event by 50.75 points.

With her two relay finishes, Alison Garbash wrapped up her ONU career as a 9-time OAC Champion and a 14-time All-OAC award winner.

Senior Michelle Eggers was second in the 1650 free in 18:12.13, wrapping up her career as a 12-time All-OAC honoree.

Ohio Northern sophomore Amanda Everlove set a new American Paralympic (S8 Classification) record in the 200 fly, finishing her prelim exhibition swim in 2:31.67 Saturday afternoon.