Dow Looks For Repeat in Backstroke: Guins Head to Championships
The Youngstown State swimming and diving team heads to the Horizon League Championships this Wednesday through Saturday at the UIC Flames Natatorium in Chicago.
Headlining the Penguins efforts will be sophomore Ashley Dow who will be vying to become the first YSU swimmer to defend an event title. Dow was the 2012 HL Champion in the 100-yard backstroke with a time of 54.83 seconds, a league record. She will compete in the 200 IM on Thursday, the 100 fly on Friday, defend her 100 back title on Friday and participate in the 200 back final on Saturday. Dow was named the
She will have strong competition in both backstroke events. Entering the meet she sits fourth with a seed time of 56.93 seconds behind UWM's Becky Yokosh and Diandra Prutton and Cleveland State's Alex Johansson. In the 200, Dow has the second best seed time of 2:03.88, which is five seconds of the leader Yokosh.
Senior diver Casey Hill and freshman diver Bec Stafford will look to have a strong meet. For Hill, its her final chance to pick up another League title. Overall, 18 divers in the competition in the one-meter with Stafford ranking third and Hill fifth. Of the 18 in the three meter, Stafford sits third and Hill is sixth. Hill won the Horizon League Championship in the three-meter in 2011 and was second in both events in 2012.
Samantha Roberts is fourth in the 200 breaststroke with a time of 2:23.88 behind Milwaukee's Emily McClellan, UIC's Monica Pinkus and CSU's Alice Summerville. She is ninth in the 100-yard event and will also swim the 400 IM. Roberts has twice placed fifth in the 200 at hte HL Championships and is coming off a pair of seventh-place finishes in both events last year.
Junior Laura Paz is one of the top butterfly event swimmers in the league. Paz sits in sixth in the psych sheets in the 100-yard fly with a time of 58.34 seconds. She ranks ninth in the 200-yard fly. Her previous best finish in the 100 was ninth while she has placed in the top 10 each of the past meets in the 200.
In 2012, YSU scored 364 points in the event, the most by the school in any of its 11 Horizon League Championship appearances. Last year, the Penguins were sixth in the team standings, but this year they own a dual win over Wright State, which placed fifth last year.
Events on Wednesday are the 200 freestyle relay, 1,000-yard frestyle, three-meter dive and 200 medley relay. On Thursday, the 500 freestyle, 200 IM, 50 free and 400 medley relay will take place. Friday's events include the 400 IM, 100 fly, 200 free, 100 breast, 100 back, one-meter dive and 800 freestyle relay. The meet concludes on Saturday with the 1,650 free, 200 back, 100 free, 200 breast, 200 fly and 400 freestyle relay.
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