The Oberlin Review
<< Front page Sports February 22, 2008

Yeoswimmers Stroke Toward Success

It is common knowledge that humans — unlike cars — do not possess brake lights on the rear side. But if people did, that is the only part of senior Kiri Ulmschneider that the other athletes in the B final of the 200-yard butterfly would have seen.

Ulmschneider claimed a victory with a time of 2 minutes, 12.23 seconds at the North Coast Athletic Conference championships this past weekend. She was one of many Oberlin athletes who competed in the NCAC swimming and diving championships held from February 14 to February 16 in Wittenberg University.

Led by first-year standout Sara Kadi, the women’s team finished the first day of the three-day meet in fifth place with 186 points. Kadi earned points for Oberlin with a fifth-place finish in the 200 individual medley event that she completed in 2:10.87.

First-year Christine Martin competed in the diving category, claiming a third place finish in the 3 meter event with a score of 291.75. Martin is the first Obie to ever place higher than fourth in the event.

Sophomore Shannon Gallagher and junior Bryne Ulmschneider also contributed to the 186 points with the 200 IM and 200 breast stroke respectively. Bryne and Gallagher came together in the 400 medley relay with Kadi and first-year Jordan Jancosek to set a new school record. The quartet completed the event in 3:41.70, beating the previous record of 3:42.92 that was set in 2006.

The men’s team didn’t see as much success on the first day, finishing in ninth place with 114 points. Major contributions came from senior Corey Myers, junior Scott McInerney and first-years John Vimr and Corey Spiro. Myers finished fourth in the one meter diving event with a score of 380.70.

The Oberlin’s women’s team continued their performance on day two of the championships, scoring 239 points to bring their total up to 425, enough to keep them in fifth place. The men’s total was 272 points by the end of the second day.

Kadi showed well again, breaking her own Oberlin record in the 100 butterfly as she tapped the wall in 58.61. Kadi would later join the Ulmschneider sisters and first-year Jenny Meltz to break the Oberlin record in the 800 freestyle relay. The team completed the event in 8:01.87 to finish in fourth place. To explain why she just can’t stop breaking records, Kadi said, “Winning a race is nice, but improving my time (or a relay time) is really exciting. Next year (or even the year after), I hope to have a time that will take me to nationals.”

During the final day of the championship, Oberlin put up strong performances in the relays and individual events. Kadi and Kiri led the team as the athletes added 254 point to bring their total to 659 good for a fifth place finish — the best finish in Yeowomen swimming history.

The entire swim team was pleased with its progress this season. “I feel really proud to be part of such a strong year for the team. Going to the conference meet really showed that we are a team that supports one another. We were always at the end of our teammates’ lanes during races, cheering the whole time. We all performed well in our races, and that is why we scored so well. It was exciting,” said Kadi.

The men finished in ninth place with 327 points overall, but the meet was crowned on the last day with performances from Vimr, Spiro and sophomore Daniel Holm.

The NCAC championships bring the 2007-2008 season to a close for the Oberlin swim team. With records broken and limits exceeded in many events, this closes a chapter in pursuit of athletic excellence at Oberlin College.


 
 
   

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