| Strong Finish Lifts YSU to Highest Ever Finish in League Meet |
| Sunday, February 25 2007 |
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| Chicago -- Five Youngstown State swimmers scored in the 1,650-yard freestyle and three more scored in the 100 free to vault the Penguins into a fifth-place finish at the Horizon League Championships. YSU entered the day tied for fifth with Cleveland State but outscored the Vikings 86-52 in the final day to earn its best-ever finish at the league meet. Olivia Arnold finished ninth in the 1,650 while Natasha Bray, Erin-Michelle Gordon, Leah Krout and Hilary Barrett also placed in the top 16. Megan Rupe moved into second-place on YSU's all-time list in the 100 free with an eighth-place time of 53.38, and Becky Bertuzzi swam the top time in the consolation final of 53.31. Brittany Senn added a 15th-place time of 54.66. Bertuzzi added a personal-best time of 2:13.44 to finish 10th in the 200 fly, and Julia Darling posted a 14th-place time of 2:33.01 in the 200 breast. Bertuzzi also teamed up with Rupe, Senn and Jessica Front to finish fifth in the 400 freestyle relay with a time of 3:36.08, which was the second-fastest in YSU history. The final day capped an all-around impressive effort for the Penguins during the championship week. Brittany Senn, Megan Rupe, Leigh Bareman and Jessica Front set the school record in the 200 freestyle relay with a time of 1:38.51. The previous record had stood since March 1, 1986. Senior Becky Bertuzzi broke a 24-year-old school record in the 200 free with a time of 1:55.11. Bertuzzi also posted career-best times in the 100 free and 200 fly that rank her as the third-fastest in school history in each event. Freshman Megan Rupe posted personal-best times in the 50 and 100 free to move into the top five all-time in both events. Natasha Bray, Erin-Michelle Gordon, Leah Krout and Hilary Barrett all swam personal-best times in the 1,650 free and all rank in the top eight in school history. Freshman Jennifer Johnstone became the third-fastest 100 breast swimmer in school history with her 15th-place time of 1:09.93. Natasha Bray and Lara Munro swam personal-best times in the 400 IM that rank in the top 10 all-time. Senior diver Cortney Harless finished 12th in the 1-metter and 13th in the 3-meter, which were both the highest in her career. 21 new entries were made to YSU's all-time list and swimmers posted 23 personal-best times. |
| Bertuzzi Breaks 200 Free Record, Penguins Tied for Fifth |
| Saturday, February 24 2007 |
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| Youngstown State -- Youngstown State senior Becky Bertuzzi broke the school record in the 200-yard freestyle in day three of the Horizon League Swimming & Diving Championships on Friday. Bertuzzi posted a time of 1:55.11 to break Janet Kemper's mark of 1:55.51 set in 1983. Bertuzzi and the Penguins are currently tied for fifth with Cleveland State at 166.5 points with one day remaining. Bertuzzi's time was good enough for sixth place, which is the top for any YSU swimmer so far at the League meet. Olivia Arnold also placed 10th in the 400 IM (4:44.54) on Friday. The Penguins will look to surpass the Vikings tomorrow with six events - 1,650 free, 200 back, 100 free, 200 fly and 400 free relay - remaining. |
| YSU Set to Compete at Horizon League Championships on Wednesday |
| Thursday, February 22 2007 |
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| Chicago -- The Youngstown State swimming and diving team will look to ride a more veteran team to an improved finish at the Horizon League Championships beginning today at the UIC Natatorium. The Penguins have finished sixth at the league meet the past three seasons, but the team has already beaten Butler and Cleveland State in dual meets this season. Last season the Penguins had just 11 swimmers, only three of whom were upperclassmen, to fill the championship's 19 events but still managed to finish 50 points ahead of Butler. This season the squad has three seniors and seven more talented swimmers. The event begins Wednesday morning with the 3-meter diving prelims and run through Saturday evening. Excluding Wednesday, each day will have a morning preliminary session beginning at 11:30 a.m., an afternoon diving session beginning at 3:00 p.m., and an evening finals session beginning at 7:00 p.m. Sophomore Olivia Arnold enters the meet as the top-seeded YSU swimmer with a fourth-place ranking in the 400 IM. Junior school-record holder Julia Darling is seeded ninth in the 100 breast and 11th in the 200 breast, and junior Leigh Bareman is seeded 10th in the 50 free. |
| Penguins Post 11 Wins in 104-91 Victory Over Cleveland State |
| Friday, February 2 2007 |
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| Youngstown -- Six different Penguins recorded individual victories and Youngstown State trailed for only one event in a 104-91 victory over Cleveland State on Thursday evening at the Beeghly Natatorium. YSU posted the top finisher in each freestyle event, including two wins in the sprints by freshman Megan Rupe. Senior Becky Bertuzzi won the 200 free in her second-to-last home meet, and Olivia Arnold won the 1,000 free. Bertuzzi and fellow seniors Kim Hanley and Cortney Harless will be honored at tomorrow evening's meet against California (Pa.) and Slippery Rock at 5 p.m. Rupe posted a personal-best time of 54.35 in the 100 free to edge CSU's Marianne Lionell, and her time of 25.29 in the 50 free was just .01 seconds behind her previous personal-best. Arnold's winning time of 10:50.36 in the 1,000 free was the fastest by any Penguin this season. Natasha Bray finished second in the event with a time of 10:52.75. In the 200 free Bertuzzi posted a season-best time of 1:58.80 to out-touch Jessica Front (1:58.84), and Erin-Michelle Gordon finished third. Gordon posted the top time of 5:21.60 in the 500 free. Darling recorded the top times in the 200 IM (2:17.01) and the 200 breast (2:31.37), Cortney Harless won both diving events and Lara Munro won the 200 fly (2:13.63). |