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Oct. 18, 2002
Penguins Embark on 2002-03 Campaign
After introducing 12
newcomers last season and recruiting
six more for their 2002-03 campaign,
the Youngstown State swimming and
diving team is hoping to improve on
its seventh-place finish last season
in the Horizon League by featuring a
youthful, yet talented and
experienced group.
Head Coach Jackie Bak said that with the sophomores having
one season under their belts and
senior leadership, the team
possesses a solid mixture that
should have a strong year.
At the head of the team, there is a mixture in itself in the
team captains. Senior diver Mandie
Smail will join two swimmers,
classmate Katie Kohut and sophomore
Erin Carter, as the elected leaders
of the squad. Bak said combining
youth and experience along with
swimming and diving will be
extremely beneficial.
"It’s a big plus for us having two seniors and a sophomore
because it brings both youth and
experience," Bak said. "Having a
diver and swimmers helps out too
because we practice at different
times and get feedback from both
programs."
Smail and Carter are both coming off of solid years in the
pool. Last season, Smail finished
third in both the one-meter and
three-meter dives at the Horizon
League Championship and qualified
for the NCAA Region C Diving Zones.
She also holds the school record in
the one-meter dive. Carter was the
team’s co-MVP and showed her
versatility as a freshman, placing
14th in the 200-yard freestyle and
the 100-yard and 200-yard backstroke
at the league meet.
Coming into the season, the Penguins are strong in every
race, especially in the sprint
freestyle, the backstroke, and the
middle-distance freestyle, according
to Bak.
In the sprint freestyle, lone-junior Lena Arens and sophomore
Missy Wiese will look to continue
their success from last season.
Arens, a member of the YSU
volleyball team, will step right
from the court to the pool to lead
the sprint group. Last season at the
Horizon League meet, she placed 16th
in the 100-yard sprint. Wiese came
on strong in the second half last
season and is expected to make a big
impact in her sophomore campaign.
Joining Arens and Wiese in the sprints will be freshman Katy
Malys. Malys, a Boardman native, has
shown in practice that she is ready
to contribute immediately and is set
to play a significant role in the
sprint freestyle, backstroke, and
butterfly.
The backstroke will be one of the deeper events for
Youngstown State. Sophomores Megan
Blazek and Michelle Von Duhn will be
joined by the versatility of Carter,
Malys, Jordan Dunn and April
Gellatly, who can all compete in
nearly every event.
In the freestyle distance events, Von Duhn will combine with
Erika Gregos and freshman Lauren
Connolly to head the Penguins. At
last year’s league meet, Gregos and
Von Duhn placed 19th and 20th
respectively in the 1,650-yard
competition. Connolly has made the
college transition quickly and is
expected to contribute in her debut
season.
Sophomore Danielle Blagg will anchor the breaststroke and
will be partnered with Carter, Dunn,
and sophomore Amanda Howard. In the
butterfly, Gellatly and freshman
Valerie Keim will lead the Penguins.
Bak has been very pleased with the team’s performance and
enthusiasm in the offseason and is
excited for the season to start.
"I’m the luckiest coach here because the team is reliable,
supportive of one another, very
coachable, they are willing to try
new things, and they are training
very hard," she said.
The 2002-03 diving squad will feature two established
competitors and two newcomers.
Returning with Smail is sophomore
Kalyn Leveto. Leveto came on strong
at the end of last season, finishing
fourth in the three-meter dive and
eighth in the one-meter dive at the
league meet. She also qualified for
the NCAA Region C Diving Zones in
both the one and three-meter events,
finishing 33rd and 34rd,
respectively. Joining Leveto and
Smail will be freshman Becky Herman
and YSU volleyball captain Cameron
Drake.
Leveto and Smail will have to take charge of a team that lost
four-year team MVP Brandi Goettsch,
last season’s Horizon League Diver
of the Year and a three-team
conference diver-of-the-year honoree
in her career.
Head diving coach Nick Gavolas said that overcoming the loss
of Goettsch will be a hard task, but
he still anticipates having a
successful season.
"We have some big shoes to fill with Brandi leaving, but I
think Mandie and Kalyn are more than
ready and able to step up," he said.
"I’m looking to go into the
conference meet and win it."
Both the swimming and diving teams will start their season
today at the Bowling Green Relays.
They will then return home for the
first of seven meets to be held at
the Beeghly Natatorium to compete
against Marshall on Oct. 26. The
team will take an 11-day training
trip to Florida in January where
they will compete in the
International Hall of Fame Meet on
Jan. 3. The Penguins will host the
YSU Invitational on Feb. 9 to
prepare for the Horizon League
Championships, which will be held at
Cleveland State from Feb. 26 to
March 1. The NCAA Zone Championships
will be March 13-15 at Indiana
University in Bloomington, Ind. |
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