College swimming news of interest

University of Georgia vs Emory-

 11/16/2012                        

                                    Results                                   

Event 7  Women 50 Yard Freestyle

===============================================================================

          22.05  A A Std

          22.99  B B Std

    Name               Age School                           Finals       Points 

===============================================================================

  1 VanLandeghem, Chan  18 Georgia-GA                       23.18          9  

          r:+0.80                                                              

  2 Dobben, Anna L      21 Emory-GA                         24.08          4  

          r:+0.72                                                              

  3 Boggs, Olivia A     19 Georgia-GA                       24.23          3  

          r:+0.78                                                              

  4 Rosenkranz, Renee   21 Emory-GA                         24.30          2  

          r:+0.78                                                              

  5 Schafer, Ellen C    20 Emory-GA                         24.60          1  

          r:+0.72                                                              

  6 Molnar, Megan K     19 Georgia-GA                       24.71        

          r:+0.82                                                              

  7 Brosnahan, Kenzie   18 Emory-GA                         25.14        

          r:+0.72                                                              

Event 15  Women 100 Yard Freestyle

===============================================================================

          48.03  A A Std

          49.99  B B Std

    Name               Age School                           Finals       Points 

===============================================================================

  1 Boggs, Olivia A     19 Georgia-GA                       51.43          9  

     r:+0.75  25.07       51.43 (26.36)                                        

  2 Larson, Nancy E     19 Emory-GA                         52.48          4  

     r:+0.73  25.55       52.48 (26.93)                                        

  3 Peters, Courtney E  19 Georgia-GA                       52.66          3  

     r:+0.81  25.73       52.66 (26.93)                                        

  4 Rosenkranz, Renee   21 Emory-GA                         52.82          2  

     r:+0.77  25.15       52.82 (27.67)                                        

  5 Pak, Jennifer M     20 Emory-GA                         53.35          1  

     r:+0.70  25.75       53.35 (27.60)                                        

  6 Vernon, Nicole E    19 Georgia-GA                       54.20        

     r:+0.68  26.28       54.20 (27.92)                                        

  7 Brosnahan, Kenzie   18 Emory-GA                         55.10        

     r:+0.73  26.23       55.10 (28.87)                                        

Event 25  Women 200 Yard Freestyle Relay

===============================================================================

        1:29.80  A A Std

        1:30.62  B B Std

    School                                                  Finals       Points 

===============================================================================

  1 Emory University-GA  'A'                              1:36.46         11  

     1) Dobben, Anna L 21               2) r:0.04 Rosenkranz, Renee 21    

     3) r:0.30 Larson, Nancy 19         4) r:0.27 Schafer, Ellen 20       

     r:10.55  23.97       47.84 (23.87)     1:12.40 (24.56)     1:36.46 (24.06)

2 Emory University-GA  'B'                              1:39.38          4  

     1) Carnley, Mikayla L 18           2) r:0.19 Hackler, Leslie 21      

     3) r:0.04 Pak, Jennifer 20         4) r:0.23 Brosnahan, Kenzie 18    

     r:+0.76  24.90       50.17 (25.27)     1:14.58 (24.41)     1:39.38 (24.80)

Women - Team Rankings - Through Event 26                    

  1. Georgia, University of              111   2. Emory University                     86

                    Men - Team Rankings - Through Event 26                     

  1. Georgia, University of              114   2. Emory University                     83

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University of WI – Eau Claire vs University of WI – LaCrosse

11/10/2012

3 Meter Diving

2^nd Place         Justin Bublitz   SO       UWL    268.10

1 Meter Diving

3^rd Place          Justin Bublitz   SO       UWL    217.00

Women Result

UW LaCrosse   146                UW Eau Claire            88

Men’s Result

UW Eau Claire  121                US LaCrosse              120

=---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Roger Ahlman Invitational at Macalester College

- 11/17/2012

Women - Team Rankings - Through Event 34                   

  1. University of St. Thomas               592                  2. St. Catherine University                     321

  3. Macalester College                       289                  4. Concordia College                               173

  5. Augsburg College                         121                  6. Hamline University                               95

  7. Saint Mary's University of Min       38                    8. St Olaf                                                       8

                    Men - Team Rankings - Through Event 34                    

  1. University of St. Thomas               744                  2. Macalester College                283.5

  3. Hamline University                        249.5               4. Saint Mary's University of Min       69

  5. St Olaf                                             23                                            

___________________________________________________________________________-

Gophers Announce New Recruiting Class

Minnesota commits six women on Wednesday's signing day

Nov. 16, 2012

The University of Minnesota women’s swimming and diving team signed on five new swimmers and one diver that will join them beginning in the 2013 school year. Ellen Bloom, Maddie Hoch, Katelyn Holmquist, Allison Schumacher, Breanne Siwicki and Lexi Tenenbaum will swim for the Gophers.

Assistant Swimming Coach and Recruiting Coordinator Ryan Purdy commented on the recruiting class.

"Our coaching staff is extremely pleased and excited to announce the names of the young women in the recruiting class of 2013. The six newly committed Student-Athletes will add to an already dedicated and talented Women’s team! The coaches readily recognized that they would be an excellent fit for the University of Minnesota program! All of them have very high expectations for their contribution to the success of our team as we pursue program goals of remaining at the top of the Big Ten Conference and improving our position at the NCAA Championship Meet. Our entire coaching staff looks forward to seeing this year’s recruiting class in Maroon and Gold!"

Ellen Bloom

Sartell, MN

Sartell High School

Edina Swim Club; Coach Jeff Rodriguez

*2011 Minnesota State High School Champion in the 200 IM and 100 Backstroke

*NISCA High School All-American

*USA Swimming Winter National Qualifier in the 100 Backstroke

*Scholastic All-American

Maddie Hoch

Mechanicsburg, PA

Mechanicsburg Area Senior High School

West Shore YMCA; Coach G. Michael Gobrecht

*Qualified for USA Swimming Senior Nationals in the 400 IM.

*Multiple Time Finalist at the YMCA Nationals

*USA Swimming Junior National Qualifier in the 100, 200, and 500 Free; and the 100 Back

*National Honors Society Member

Katelyn Holmquist

Janesville, WI

Milton High School

Fort Atkinson Swim Team; Coach Miles Allie

*Wisconsin State High School Champion in the 100 Backstroke in 2011.

*Wisconsin Division 2 State Record Holder in the 400 Freestyle Relay.

*USA Swimming Junior National Qualifier in the 100 Backstroke.

Allison Schumacher

Rochester, MN

John Marshall High School

Med-City Aquatics; Coach Billy Howard

*NISCA High School All-American

*2011 Minnesota State High School Runner-Up in the 100 Butterfly

*USA Swimming Winter National Qualifier in the 100 Butterfly

Breanne Siwicki
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Grant Park High School
MANTA Swim Club; Coach Tom Hainey
*5th Place in the 400 IM at 2012 Canadian Olympic Trials
*Ranks 13th on Canada’s All-Time Top Times list in the 400 IM Long Course
*Member of Team Canada for the 2012 Junior Pan Pacific Championships in Honolulu, HI

Lexi Tenenbaum
Maple Grove Senior High School
*USA Diving Senior Zone Qualifier
*Finalist at the 2011 Minnesota State High School Championships
*Multiple Time Minnesota High School Sectional Champion and Section Record Holder

How does achieving a goal, leave a bad taste in our mouth?

The 2012 MSHSL Girls Swimming & Diving Championships is in the books and the Winhawks were there. They made their goal, they made it to state. Yet, they seemed, unfulfilled, sad or frustrated even. A general sense that for the Winhawks, swimming in State prelims was not enough, they wanted more. 

Everyone on the team tapered for Sections. The goal was to get best swims at Sections, you do that, and going to State falls into place. That goal was met with flying colors. By my count, there were a total of 73 splashes at Sections, swims, relay splits and dive entries. Of those, 61 splashes achieved personal bests! 

SUCCESS!

So why the down turned faces? 

Michelangelo said, “The greater danger for most of us lies not in setting our aim too high and falling short; but in setting our aim too low, and achieving our mark.”

The Winhawks have evolved, making it to State is not enough; swimming in Finals appears to be the goal. Granted, one has to place at or make time at Sections to go to State, but if the goal is Finals at State, those too will happen. I was told that the Section 6AA meet is so competitive, that the State Qualifiers went 9 deep into the results of some events. At Section 1AA Finals, parents were wondering if a person could even qualify for State from the Consolation Round. At Section 6AA they already learned and don’t even distinguish between the two finals with regards to State, it is all about time. Where you place at Sections is irrelevant to making that State Cut time standard. 

At State Prelims and Finals, typically half or more of the competitors drop time over their Sections Seed. Their goal was to perform at State, their goals was to train hard enough to have their time at Sections get them there, and perform after they arrived. 

In the bigger picture, the powerful of Section 1AA were somewhat humbled upon their arrival at State. Rochester John Marshall finished 9^th overall, Rochester Mayo, once ranked 6^th in the State, finished 16^th. Sections runner-up Hastings took 20^th place. Farmington, which finished behind them at Sections, placed 19^th. Century fell in at 32^nd place in a TIE with Winona. 

ALL IN ALL  listen to Ernest Hemingway, “It is good to have an end to journey toward; but it is the journey that matters, in the end.”

The real win, in the dual meet season, the Conference Meet, the Sections Meet, and State, were the Winhawks being together.

“Friendships born on the field of athletic strife are the real gold of competition. Awards become corroded, friends gather no dust.” - Jesse Owens

Know when to hold 'em,........ how about knowing HOW to hold 'em?

I bet you didn't think of high school swimmers as such big gamblers. 

They do in the water!


Yep,at the end of the season, you taper, but for what end point? Sections or State, State or Sections, what should I do?

"I gotta place at Sections to make state, but if I taper for Sections to make State, do I have anything left FOR State?"

CAN I HOLD MY TAPER?

Or do I taper for state, planning on making state by place or time standard, and GAMBLE with my State appearance as it twere.

OH WHAT TO DO?

The Winhawks gambled and might have rolled snake eyes. They qualified more people and events for State than in recent history.

Best times all around, and a contingent going to the Big Show, but in Swimming, what goes down, must come up.

It is just a matter of when. Could be inactivity, could be age, or it could be post-taper!

The Medley Relay was the First Winhawk stab at seeing if the taper held.
The girls were ready, they were psyc'ed, I could tell, they were staring right at me at the end of Lane 2. The Winhawks had the 14th seed, could they hold their times, or would they slip? They slipped but so did practically everyone else.

Of the top eight finishers 6 dropped time in the prelims. Of the remaining 19 teams, 3 held their seed and the majority, 13 got slower since Sections. The Winhawks slid from 14th seed to finish in 21st place.

The 50 Freestyle has little room for fluctuation. Alex was seeded 12th. She slid, just a hair off her seed, a mere 14 hundredths.
But that was enough to slide her back into a tie for 16th place.
There would have to be a swim off to determine who got to come back Saturday and swim, and who just came back Saturday.
In the swim off (at the end of the Prelims), Alex duplicates her previous swim right down to the hundredth, (24.55 seconds) but her competitor drops more time than earlier and takes the Finals appearance away form Alex.

Haley was the 17th seed. She needed to drop even more time from Sections to pass Alex and make it up into the finals. She couldn't hold her taper here either and adds a mere 6 tenths which is 75 hundredths more than will make Finals.


Next up after a break is the 100 Freestyle and Haley swimming in the 20th seed. Dropping time and moving up 4 spots in a 53 second race is a tall order.
Seeds 1-9 all dropped time, the next 14 of 17 gained time, as did Haley, and another prelims hope was dashed.

The 200 Freestyle Relay was next, and it was a similar story. All the girls gained time from Sections, anywhere from 11 hundredths to 6 tenths, but that was enough.
The Winhawks finished in 23rd place.

Alex Zuelke was the last Winhawk to hit the water in prelims, her 100 Breaststroke at Sections was magnificent to watch.
Here at State, she only fell off her Sections time by 6 tenths, but that was 2 tenths too much, and she finishes 17th, one place out of Consolation Finals.

Now for Finals Day, the Winhawks have Crystal Franzwa, Sr. Co-Captain Diver to cheer on. Sitting in 10th, she has an excellent chance to make the podium stand. 

The swimming Winhawks had a great season. They also learned a lot about tapers, how to plan them, and the gamble on when to end them.

They say you are judged by the company you keep.

Winhawks, you add a lot of style and determination to a likewise stellar bunch of State Championship swimmers & divers.

Thursday starts the spectacle that I like to refer to as THE BIG SHOW, The Minnesota State High School Swimming & Diving Championships. Held at the University Of Minnesota Aquatic Center in the Dorothy L. Sheppard Pool, The Aquatic Center has been the site for some of the top swimming and diving events in the country: nine Big Ten Championships, six NCAA Championships, many national and international competitions, they will host the Women’s Big 10 Championships this Spring and were just chosen as the site for the NCAA Women’s Championships in 2014. 

The 2013 Girls’ Swimming & Diving Championships seeding sheet is out and here are my insights to help you follow some of the interesting plots and twists that will take place at the MN State swimming & Diving Championships Prelims!

Seeding for Championship meets are staggered to spread the field out over the 3 final qualifying heats. So the fastest seed is in the Final Heat Lane 4, the second fastest seed is in Lane 4 of the 2^nd to last heat, and the third fastest seed is in Lane 4 of the 3^rd to the last heat. The seeds then follow the same order in Lane 5, then in lane 3, Lane 6, Lane 2, Lane 7, Lane 1 and then Lane 8 has the final 3 fastest seeds. Any remaining seeds follow normal seeding in in the next heat and subsequent heats until everyone is seeded.  

The Winhawks will be bringing both experience AND youth to this year’s State Championships. Appearing first on Thursday will be returning State Qualifier Senior Co-Captain Crystal Franzwa after successfully defending her Section Crown. Senior Co-Captain Alexandra Zuelke, Juniors Haley O’Neill and Reese Galewski were all part of last year’s 200 Medley Relay. Joining Alex and Haley in last year’s 4x50 Free Relay was Cotter Junior Emily Thurow and of course Alex was in last year’s 100 Breaststroke. Making her Big Show debut will be Cotter Freshman Morgan Whyte filling the graduated MacKenzie Brosnahan’s shoes very very well in both the Medley Relay and the 4x50 Free Relay! 

First up for the Winhawks, the 200 Medley Relay. The Winhawks return their Medley relay for the 2^nd year in a row, both qualifying by time standard! 

The Winhawk Medley Relay of Cotter Freshman Morgan Whyte, Cotter Senior Co-Captain Alexandra Zuelke, Winhawk Junior Reese Galewski and Winhawk Junior Haley O’Neill draw a great seeding in my analysis. They are the 14^th seed in a field of 27 entries. That lands them in Lane 2 in the third heat (4 total heats). By three heats in, the capacity crowd should have the place pretty well rocking and if the girls weren’t feeling it already, they will be by now! They are bracketed by the two highest qualifiers from Section 8, Buffalo in Lane 1 and Elk River in Lane 3. Having a couple of close rivals on both sides of you will help step up the intensity a little bit and if they are pushing each other you can feed off of that! Add to that, Elk River is returning the same four girls that qualified for last year’s Consolation Final. This year they are seeded 8^th and will be dying to make that Championship Final, grab onto their coat tails and ride on with them! On the inside of Elk River in Lane 3 will be the Defending Champion Edina Hornets. They are seeded 2^nd, and are sure to get out and flex their muscles, stepping up things for every one! As an added bonus, there will be some familiar faces in the heat! The Rockets of John Marshall are down the way in Lane 5 and who do we find out in Lane 7 but our friends from the first meet of the Year, St. Michael Albertville. Mix some intensity with some easing familiarity and you concoct success! On a side note, in that opening swim meet of 2012, STMA took the Winhawks by 2 seconds. Their seedings show the edge going to Winona as the ‘Hawks are 4 tenths faster!

We get to enjoy ourselves basking in the competition of the 200 IM before our next Winhawks head to the start end. 

The 50 Freestyle has two Winhawk competitors for the first time in a few years! Senior Co-Captain Alexandra Zuelke placed 4^th at the Section 1AA Championships and her teammate, Junior Haley O’Neill finished right behind her in 5^th.  Because of the seeding protocol, Alexandra will be up first swimming in Lane 6 of the second heat. To her inside in Lane 5 is Liz Cane, a senior from Minnetonka that, like Alex, will likely have swum in the opening 200 Medley Relay. She is a Backstroker that has also qualified here in the 13^th seed. She was at the Championships last year in those same 3 events, finishing 19^th in the 50 Free, 11th in the Medley Relay and 14^th in the Backstroke. Suffice it to say she is quite experienced.  To Alex’s other side is Allison Schwab from Elk River. They should be getting to know each other quite well. They should have just swum side-by-side in the Medley relay as they are both Breaststrokers. They were both in last year’s 100 Breaststroke event and will both be again this year, albeit different prelim heats.  Next in Heat 3 we get to watch Winhawk Junior Haley O’Neill make her State 50 Free debut in the 17^th seed. She will be in Lane 7 and will do well to hitch her wagon and then shoot ahead of Mary Whiting next to her in Lane 6. The Osseo/MCA Freshman finished 16^th in last year’s Big Dance and qualified in a time under last year’s performance. 

We get to watch diving Finals on Saturday between swimming events, but that will be the last 3 dives of Senior Co-Captain Crystal Franzwa’s list. Her first 8 dives will be on Thursday evening in the preliminaries and semi-finals. There are 32 divers qualified for the Big Show, the top four divers from the eight Section meets. Their diving list is made up of a combination of voluntary dives and optional dives. The Voluntary dives (Front Dive, Back Dive, Reverse Dive, Inward Dive and Twister) cannot add up to more than 9.0 degree of difficulty. The Optional dives, are dives from each of the voluntary groups but done in higher degree of Difficulty (DD) positions and variations (multiple somersaults and twists) They will perform 5 dives, any two voluntary dives & three optional dives, and cut the field from 32 to 20 by points scored. They will perform another 3 dives, consisting of 2 voluntary dives and 1 optional dive. The field will then be cut from 20 down to 16 based on points scored. The final 3 dives performed Saturday night between the 50 Freestyle and the 100 Butterfly will consist of their final voluntary dive and 2 optional dives. Crystal’s diving order position is right in the middle of the pack (15 of 32), the diver immediately before her from Buffalo is a senior but did not appear in last year’s State Championships. 

Next up for the Winhawks, Junior Haley O’Neill is seeded 20^th in the 100 Freestyle. That seed buys her Lane 1 in the 3^rd of 4 total heats. On her right will be the Referee. Not me I am very sorry to say but I am sure he/she will be very a pleasant individual, just little help in the water. On her left will be a Junior Abby Saddler from Minnetonka. She was not in this event last year, but was a pure sprinter for the Skippers at last year’s Championships anchoring their Medley Relay (11^th place) their 4x50 Free Relay (2^nd) as well as finishing 14^th in the 50 Freestyle (in which she is also seeded 13^th this year). Not bad company to be in and a GREAT person I would think about drafting off of!

After some rest during 4 heats of the 500 Freestyle, the 200 Freestyle Relay will step to the blocks. The Winhawk foursome of Haley O'Neill, Morgan Whyte, Emily Thurow, and Alex Zuelke are seeded 18^th. There are 4 heats and their seed lands them in Lane 7 of the second heat. Because of the seeding rules, Lane 8 next to them is empty even though there is a prior heat. That could be a major plus as there will be no wall to their left but nice quiet water! On their right in Lane 6 is Chanhassen. One of 5 teams to qualify out of Section 6, it appears everyone but the Lunch ladies could meet the standard in that Section. To be fair, the Section includes the likes of the Defending Champion Edina, Runner up Minnetonka and 5^th place Eden Prairie in last year’s 4x50 Free championships. The wind shear alone probably helped the other 2 get sucked into the standard. Once again, the Winhawks can relax behind the blocks as they wave to their friends from St. Michael Albertville, seeded 15^th down in Lane 2. In their dual meet, STMA had the edge by a full second; here the Winhawks have cut that margin in half. Both squads will be gunning to make that 16^th place cut and swim again on Saturday!

Last but not least, or in her case is it last but never last, is Senior Co-Captain Alexandra Zuelke in the 100 Breaststroke. Alex’s victory in the Section1AA Championships earned her the 11^th seed which fell into Heat 2 Lane 6. To her outside is the 2^nd Place finisher out of Section 8, Kristin Podratz  from Eastview. An experienced State qualifier, she just missed the 100 Fly Consolations last year along with being on 2 relays.  To Alex’s right will be, I know it’s a theme, but St. Michael Albertville’s Kasey Roberts. Although their teams met in the first meet of the year, these two did not. Kasey was busy winning the 200 IM and the 100 Butterfly in that meet, Alex walked away with the 100 Breaststroke. Now the two swim side-by-side. Kasey placed 6^th in last year’s State Championships in this event. Alex will be well advised to stay with her and the two of them can be repeating this performance in the Saturday evening finals.

The Meet looks to be another great contest and the Winhawks are well poised to improve on their 28^th place finish last year. Every seed they have is inside or just on the edge of the top 16. Stay loose, stay focused, and for gosh sakes enjoy the moment, smile, have fun, savor that time behind the blocks, and the rest will fall into place!

See you ON Deck!