October 2007

Two School Records Fall in Season's First Dual Meet
Monday, October 29 2007
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Youngstown -- Freshman Ashley Williamson broke the school record in the 200 backstroke and junior Olivia Arnold topped her own school record in the 1,000 free against Marshall and Green Bay on Friday evening at the Beeghly Natatorium.

Williamson, competing in her first collegiate dual meet, swam the 200 back in 2:08.51 to top the previous record more than a second. Arnold edged her previous school record by just .17 seconds by swimming a time of 10:42.53 in the 1,000 free. Both swimmers finished second overall in their respective races.

"This was a great way to start out the season with two school records falling," YSU head coach Matt Anderson said. "Both were fantastic swims - one by a veteran and one by a freshman. I think that shows we have some depth, and it is a positive sign toward what is going to come over the next couple of months."

Senior Brittany Senn added a second-place overall finish in the 50 free (25.38), and sophomore Megan Rupe placed second overall in the 100 free (54.53).

Jessica Front finished fifth in the 200 free (2:01.92), and Arnold added a fifth-place showing in the 500 free (5:22.37). Williamson, Laura Hanley, Senn and Rupe finished fifth in the 400 medley relay, and Senn, Alana Kane, Front and Rupe placed third in the 400 free relay.

Williamson's time eclipsed Gwynee Stacy's previous school record of 2:09.57. Erin Carter now ranks third in school history with her time of 2:12.87, and the fourth-place time is 2:18.20 by Lori Greenlee.

The Penguins will have a busy weekend next week with a dual meet at Wright State on Friday and a double dual with Butler and Illinois State on Saturday.
 
 
Penguins Impressive in Opening Meets at Bowling Green, Clarion
Wednesday, October 24 2007
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Youngstown -- Youngstown State got off to a strong start to the 2007-08 swimming and diving season with impressive efforts at the Tom Stubbs Relays and Clarion Diving Invitational over the weekend.

At the Relays, the Penguins posted five third-place finishes after earning two fourth-place finishes at the same meet last year.

The 200 medley relay of Ashley Williamson, Jennifer Johnstone, Brittany Senn and Megan Rupe posted a time of 1:53.18, which is already faster than the time YSU recorded at the Horizon League Championships a year ago.

Williamson also led off the 300-yard backstroke relay with a 100-yard split of 1:00.91, which ranks her third in school history and 0.57 seconds behind the school record. That time is also more than three seconds faster than YSU's top mark in the backstroke last year.

Junior Olivia Arnold led off the 1,500 free relay with a 500-yard split of 5:17.66, which is a second-and-a-half faster than her best time last season.

In addition to the 200 medley relay, the Penguins earned third-place finishes in the 300 back relay, the 200 free relay, the 1,500 free relay and the 400 free relay.
At the Clarion Diving Invitational on Sunday, freshman Sara Weigel finished fifth in the 1-meter and seventh in the 3-meter to lead the Penguins. Her score of 215.20 in the 1-meter ranked behind three of the top eight divers at last year’s Division II National Championships, and she finished with a score of 185.80 in the 3-meter. Freshman Amanda Carpin placed ninth in the 3-meter and 10th in the 1-meter.

The Penguins will open up the dual meet portion of their schedule on Friday with a double-dual at home against Marshall and Green Bay. The meet will start at 5 p.m. inside the Beeghly Natatorium.
 
 
Red Squad Edges White in Scrimmage, Three Seniors Named Team Captains
Sunday, October 14 2007
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Youngstown -- Brittany Senn and Olivia Arnold won two events apiece to lead the red squad to a narrow 102-97 victory over the white team in Youngstown State's intrasquad scrimmage on Saturday morning at the Beeghly Natatorium.

Senn and fellow seniors Julia Darling and Amanda were also named the team captains for the 2007-08 season that will get underway Friday at the Tom Stubbs Relays.

Senn and Arnold swam the final two legs of the 400 medley relay to lead the red team to its first of eight wins in the 13-event meet. Arnold got right back in the pool to win the 1,000 free and later took first in the 500 free. Senn earned wins in the 50 free and the 200 fly.

Freshman diver Sara Weigel also had two wins for the red team while Jessica Front added a victory in the 200 free.

Freshman Laura Hanley won the 200 IM and 200 breast to lead the white squad. Megan Rupe and Natasha Bray added wins in the 100 free and 200 back, and the pair teamed up with Alana Kane and Leah Krout to win the 400 free relay.