While the Division III powerhouse Kenyon fell to Division I foes Ohio State this Friday, the uneven match-up still sparked some strong swimming from both sides.
Sophomore Hannah Orbach-Mandel threw down two of the Ladies‘ three wins – before the Buckeyes began swimming exhibition. She came away with victories in the 100 and 200 freestyle events. The 51.33 in her 100 puts her at the top of the Division III standings this year by .8 seconds and is exactly .81 seconds under the B cut for this year. However, Orbach-Mandel’s 200 freestyle might be even more impressive. She put up a 1:50.0 at the NCAC Relay Meet and then from a flat start this weekend recorded a 1:49.99.
For a dash of perspective, Orbach-Mandel’s lifetime best is a 1:49.96 from the 800 freestyle lead off at NCAAs last season. The time she just swam in a dual meet would have put her 4th at the 2015-16 NCAA Championships, and less than three tenths away from runner-up.
Orbach-Mandel also swam on both the 200 medley and 400 freestyle relays. She joined Summer Otazu, Laura Duncan, and Hollie Hopf for the medley, anchoring in 23.06 – the fastest leg in the field by more than half a second. While her effort managed to hold off OSU‘s B relay squad, it wasn’t quite enough to catch the A team.
In the final event of the evening, Orbach-Mandel teamed with Abby Wilson, Princess Ferguson-Nguyen and Zoe Toscos to claim first-place points in the 400 freestyle relay. (Ohio State swam exhibition after the women’s 500 freestyle.)
Orbach-Mandel wasn’t the only one throwing down against a DI foe. After leading off the runner-up 200 medley relay just .01 slower than OSU‘s Marianne Kahmann, Otazu came back in the 100 backstroke for the victory. She held off a late charging Kahmann to win in 57.37. That’s the third fastest 100 backstroke so far this season in Division III.
Other top finishers for the Ladies included distance specialist Marysol Arce taking third and fourth in the 500 and 1000, respectively. Her 10:26.06 puts her at the top of the DIII heap in the 1000, while a 5:06.71 effort in the 500 places her fifth so far this season.
Delaney Ambrosen and Caitlin Foley pulled off a 2-3 finish in the 200 backstroke, going 2:07.29 and 2:08.10, respectively. Foley also had a fourth place finish in the 100 back (58.91).
Finally, Toscos secured an individual third place in the 50 freestyle (24.56).
The Ladies will return to the pool November 11th for a dual meet with NCAC rival Denison University.
For complete women’s results, click here.
On the men’s side of things, the Kenyon Lords also fell to OSU, outscored 186-103. OSU‘s team got their hands on the wall first in every event, but near the end of the meet swam exhibition.
While Orbach-Mandel paced the Ladies, distance specialist Arthur Conover worked on doing the same for the Lords. Conover claimed a runner up finish in the 1000, and first place points in the 500. (The 500 was the first event the Ohio State Buckeyes swam exhibition, so Conover was actually second to the wall behind Brayden Seal.) His times (9:26.81 in the 1000 and 4:35.45 in the 500) have him ranked first and second, respectively in Division III so far this year.
Jon Zimdars, Ian Reardon and the Lords‘ 400 freestyle relay quartet also collected first place points after OSU went into exhibition mode.
Zimdars’ contribution came in the 100 fly (51.83), after a third place finish in the 200 fly earlier in the evening (1:54.04). That swim puts him second in Division III ranks this season by just .05 seconds. Teammate David Perez went 3-4 with Zimdars, clocking in at 1:54.32 in the 200 fly which puts him third in Division III.
Not to be outdone, Mick Bartholomew put up a third place finish in the 200 backstroke (1:52.60), squeaking into a loaded field of top backstrokers in Division III, the top six of which are all freshmen. Bartholomew also finished behind Reardon in the 200 IM for runner up points (1:55.96).
Reardon’s 200 IM (1:55.80) netted him first place points. The 400 freestyle relay quartet of Austin Pu, Tommy Weiss, Connor Rumpit and Ambert Sawaya also added to the Lords‘ tally with a 3:11.96 effort. Pu’s lead off leg (47.58) was actually the fastest of the quartet. Earlier in the meet, Pu also earned a 4th place finish in the 50 freestyle (21.34) for the Lords.
The Lords will return to the pool November 11th for a dual meet with NCAC rival Denison University.