February 8-10 -- Oberlin's swimming and diving teams will compete in the annual NCAC Championships this weekend in Canton, Ohio. Results and highlights from the competition on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday will be posted below as soon as they become available.

Thursday, February 8

Morning Prelims

The Yeomen and the Yeowomen had an excellent start to the 2006-2007 North Coast Athletic Conference Championships this morning in Canton. Sophomore Scott McInerney led the men's team by posting a 21.65 time in the 50-yard free, which seeds him seventh for tonight's finals. His time was nearly a half second faster than his seed time entering today's competition.

Sophomore Bryne Ulmschneider and junior Kiri Ulmschneider put forth great efforts in the 500-yard free, finishing 12th (5:18.83) and 15th (5:22.12), respectively. First-year Laura Fries also swam well in the event, dropping her best time of the season by nearly 23 seconds with an effort of 5:30.40.

"From top to bottom, everyone swam very, very well," Head Coach Mark Fino said. "Everyone was pretty much right on their taper and we're looking forward to improving upon those times tonight."

Evening Finals

S. McInerney

Oberlin returned to the pool this evening to compete in the finals of a number of events in Canton. Scott McInerney moved up from his seventh-place preliminary finish to place sixth overall with a time of 21.72, earning the Yeomen 24 points.

The women's 200-freestyle relay team consisting of Bryne Ulmschneider, sophomore Ploy Keener, senior co-captain Emily Spence, and first-year Shannon Gallagher swam the second fastest time in school history with a sixth-place effort of 1:42.99. Bryne Ulmschneider (25.29) and Gallagher (24.98) both had outstanding splits for the Yeowomen. Additionally, the Ulmschneider sisters had very good swims this evening in the 500-yard free. Bryne placed 11th with a time of 5:15.06, while Kiri touched the wall in 5:19.47 for 15th.

The Yeowomen's 400-yard medley relay squad (K. Ulmschneider, Gallagher, senior Kim Meinert, and first-year Laura Fries) put together an excellent time (4:09.14) in the event, unfortunately the group was disqualified for a false start.

Tomorrow morning, the men's and women's teams will return to action for day two of the NCAC Championships. The action is slated to commence at 10:00 a.m.

Friday, February 9

Morning Prelims

B. Ulmschneider

Day two of the NCAC Championships at Branin Natatorium in Canton went swimmingly for the Yeomen and the Yeowomen, as the group continued to taper and a school record also went down by the end of the morning.

Bryne Ulmschneider led the women's team by breaking her own school record in the 200-yard free by a tenth of a second (1:58.17). Ulmschneider will enter tonight's finals seeded 10th. Shannon Gallagher finished just a second by Ulmschneider and is seeded 13th.

Scott McInerney continued to pace the men's team by earning a ninth-place seed in the 100-yard butterfly. The sophomore swam an Oberlin all-time top ten time with an effort of 52.49. McInerney aims to better his best time of the season, 52:12, later this evening in the finals.

Kiri Ulmschneider also had a strong morning, placing seventh in the preliminaries of the 400-yard individual medley with a time of 4:47.92. She owns the school record in the event (4:44.36), and her swim today was the third-fastest time in Oberlin history.

Said Coach Fino, "Hopefully we can score some more points this evening and capitalize on our good swims from yesterday and this morning."

Evening Finals

With just one day left in the NCAC Championships, Oberlin concluded tonight's competition with another round of strong efforts. Kiri Ulmschneider paced the Yeowomen in the 400-yard individual medley by placing sixth in a time of 4:45.08, bringing home 24 points for the women's team. For the Yeomen, junior Cory Myers led the way by placing fifth in the three-meter diving competition. Myers garnered a score of 367.50 to net 25 points for his squad.

Seniors Kate Boyd and Lisa Weigle also boasted quality swims in the 400-yard IM, placing 14th and 17th, respectively.  Boyd's time was a personal best. Scott McInerney finished the 100-yard fly in 14th place (53.15). The Yeowomen ended today's events by moving up in the team rankings to sixth (339 points).

The final day of competition in Canton will begin tomorrow at 10:00 a.m.


Saturday, February 10

Morning Prelims

Laura Fries

Oberlin's finals day of swimming and diving at the NCAC Championships got off to a great start this morning, setting the tone for what should be an exciting evening of championships.

Laura Fries topped her best time of the season in the 200-yard backstroke by over three seconds by earning a ninth-place seed in 2:12.85. Sophomore Mark Muthersbaugh gutted out a great swim in the 100-yard free, eclipsing his best time of the 2006-2007 campaign by touching the wall in 51.59.

Also shining for the Yeowomen this morning were Kiri Ulmschneider and Shannon Gallagher. Ulmschneider garnered a 10th-place seed with a time of 2:18.27 in the 200-yard fly, while Gallagher boasted a 14th-place time of 55.21 in the 100-yard free.

The action starts tonight at 6:00 p.m. at Branin Natatorium.

Evening Finals

The three-day NCAC Championship event came to a close tonight in Canton as both the Yeowomen and Yeomen came away from Branin Natatorium with plenty to be happy about. Both squads boasted a wealth of outstanding individual performances, while the Yeowomen ended the competition with their best NCAC Championship team finish in five years.

Kiri Ulmschneider capped off an excellent weekend by placing 10th in the 200-yard fly in a time of 2:16.46, which was just half of a second off her own school record. Laura Fries garnered the highest individual finish of the night in the 200-yard backstroke. The first-year from Bow, N.H., placed ninth in the event with a time of 2:11.63. Classmate Shannon Gallagher also had a fine night, finishing the 100-yard free in 55.04, good for 13th place.

Scott McInerney closed out a great three days of swimming by placing 12th in the 200-yard fly (2:03.70). Cory Myers placed fifth in the one-meter diving competition with a score of 347.20. First-year Dan Holm also put forth a strong effort in the 200-yard breast with a time of 2:20.41.


"The all-around efforts from the men's and women's teams this weekend were excellent," Coach Fino said. "It's been a very successful season and a great step forward for our program."

Final Results | NCAC Championship Web Site | NCAC Release (.pdf)