onSPORTS

A periodic feature in onCampus, onSPORTS highlights the academic, administrative and athletic accomplishments of less-visible sports and activities.

Photos courtesy of the Department of Athletics OSU synchronized swimmers Lauren Marsh, left, and Chelsea Luker practice their competition routine in the varsity pool in Larkins Hall.

Swimmers synchronize demands of athletics, academics

Coaches, swimmers head to 2004 Olympics

By RANDY GAMMAGE, onCAMPUS staff

Eight women swimmers move gracefully through the waters in the varsity pool in Larkins Hall, each movement in synch with the others and in step with a beautiful instrumental music piece.

A series of arm movements are followed by a progression of leg kicks, with toes pointed perfectly and torsos submerged underwater, as they drift as a group from one end of the pool to the other.

The entire group disappears underwater, and then, as the music crescendos, two of the swimmers suddenly soar from the water like dolphins and perform perfect back flips in the air after being catapulted by their teammates.

As they continue their practice session, the swimmers "rest" by treading water in the pool, which graduates from 7 feet deep at one end to 12 feet deep at the other.

"To be good at synchronized swimming you have to have the endurance of a competitive swimmer, the kinesthetic awareness of a diver, the grace of a ballet dancer, the flexibility of a gymnast, and it's like running a 10K race while holding your breath," said Linda Witter, head coach of the Ohio State synchronized swimming team.

Currently in her ninth season, Witter has guided the team to six collegiate national titles in eight years. Yet last year's championship stands out among the rest. Senior co-captains Victoria Bowen and Suzanna Hyatt led the team to an upset win over archrival Stanford.

"We graduated seven seniors in 2002 and came back with a brand new team last year and won the collegiate nationals when no one expected us to win," Witter said.

The team finished the year with a 33-1 record and a third-place finish at the U.S. National Championships.

The team's athletic success, coupled with a remarkable run of academic achievements, gives Witter plenty of firepower to keep up with her rival on the recruiting trail.

"The challenge is to convince recruits that Ohio State can keep pace with the academic standards that Stanford has set," she added.

No problem. For starters, the Ohio State team's overall GPA is 3.09. Fifteen of the 25 team members are scholar athletes (3.0 GPA or higher); nine of those 15 have a 3.25 or higher GPA. Last year, the team fielded 12 Academic All-Americans, an honor bestowed on an athlete that maintains a 3.25 GPA and qualifies for the national championships, said Holly Vargo Brown, assistant coach of the team for the past 12 years and a former OSU synchronized swimmer. Additionally, Bowen won the Big Ten Medal of Honor, the highest award available to an OSU scholar athlete.

Leading the charge this year is Carly Grimshaw, a sophomore from Canada, with a team-leading GPA of 3.58. She and OSU teammate Chelsea Luker, who team up in the duet competition, will represent Great Britain at the 2004 Olympic Games, to be held Aug. 13-29 in Athens, Greece.

"She is really the epitome of what it takes to be a strong student-athlete," Vargo Brown said.

Duet competitors Chelsea Luker, left and Carly Grimshaw will represent Great Britain in the 2004 Olympics.

She said the team sets regular goals when they meet with academic counselors, and their competitive nature carries over into the classroom.

"They want to do well at everything they do," Vargo Brown said.

Witter said she is in awe of their ability to juggle school, swimming, social life and community service. Team members are required to practice 20 hours a week but many put in six to seven hours a day with additional practice, weightlifting, running, flexibility and land drills.

"We work hard, but we really have fun," Witter said.

The squad is undefeated this season after two competitions, and returns to action Feb. 7 when they host the OSU College Association Meet at the Mike Peppe Aquatic Center in Larkins Hall. The team will be shooting for another title this season at the March 25-27 National Collegiate Championships, to be held at Ann Arbor, Mich. They'll follow that up with the U.S. National Championships, April 29-May 1 in Palo Alto, Calif.

Witter has been named the assistant coach for the 2004 U.S. National Synchronized Swimming Team that will compete at the 2004 Olympics.

"It's scary because the pressure at the international level is unbelievable," Witter said. "But it will be an amazing experience. To have the opportunity to travel to Greece where they held the first Olympics, can you imagine that?"

Yet, she has reservations because she has to take a leave of absence while the national team practices in California -- from March to mid-April, about the time the OSU squad will be wrapping up the collegiate season. She said she is coaching every day as though it is her last, stressing motivation, team leadership and less dependence on herself.

"I may need to look at some of Woody Hayes' old quotes to come up with something lasting that will motivate them while I'm gone," Witter said with a smile.

Vargo Brown will serve as interim head coach in her absence.

Witter is excited about the future of the synchronized swimming program at OSU, particularly the opportunities that will arise when the first phase of the new student recreation complex opens in winter 2005, complete with a new aquatic center. She envisions christening the new facility by hosting a public exhibition, with the synchronized swimming team and its alumni performing to a live concert by the OSU Marching Band.

"We do a pretty mean ‘Script Ohio' in the pool," Witter said.

Right on target

Jessica Marshall, Academic All-Big Ten and first-team All-American, led the team to a fourth-place finish in the National Collegiate Championships last year. This year, she won four of five events as the team captured the Jan. 27 ROTC Classic.   Photos courtesy of the Department of Athletics

Sweeney leads pistol squad; reflects on diverse OSU career

By RANDY GAMMAGE, onCAMPUS staff

Jim Sweeney has reason to be proud as he reflects on a career that has spanned more than four decades of teaching and coaching at Ohio State.

The retired professor of sport pedagogy enjoyed success as head coach of the men's gymnastics team from 1966-77, earning NCAA Mid-East Coach of the Year in 1968, and has served as coach of the Ohio State pistol team since 1999. He also served as interim coach for the pistol team in 1986 and 1987.

Jim Sweeney has coached and taught at Ohio State since 1966.

The high point of his athletic career was leading the pistol squad to victory in the National Collegiate Championships at the close of the 1999-2000 season.

"In the history of collegiate pistol shooting, no civilian team had ever won it; the military academies always took home the title," Sweeney said. "On top of that, we did it with a two male/two female lineup, which is unheard of," Sweeney said.

It was coincidence that the same four shooters for OSU were the best in each of three events that year; normally teams field from 8-10 different shooters, he added.

Last season his squad finished fourth in the National Collegiate Championships.

Sweeney has been involved in shooting sports for more than 28 years. He is an active competitor and also directs the State of Ohio International Pistol Championships as well as leagues in air gun, action pistol and bull's eye.

He savors the contrast between the calm approach to shooting competition and the reckless abandon exercised in gymnastics and hydroplane racing, one of many sports he has participated in over the years.

"Shooting is a sport of inward calm, self control, focus and discipline," Sweeney said.

His interest in shooting developed during his childhood, when he and his dad went out and shot at tin cans on the farm where they lived.

A walk-on with the OSU freshman football team in 1952, Sweeney said he discovered gymnastics "by accident" as he searched for ways to rehabilitate a shoulder injured in football. He went on to letter in gymnastics from 1953-56, and captained the team and qualified for nationals in 1956.

Sweeney was the OSU men's varsity assistant gymnastics coach from 1960-62, the men's varsity gymnastics head coach at Washington State University from 1962-66, and served as men's varsity gymnastics head coach at Ohio State from 1966-77.

One of his greatest sources of pride is that of coaching two Conference Medal of Honor winners in two different sports -- Bruce Trott in gymnastics, and more recently, Laura Murray in pistol. The honor is awarded to the top male and female athletes at Ohio State each year.

Sweeney retired as gymnastics coach in 1978 and devoted himself to teaching full time. He said he gave up coaching gymnastics when the physical demands became too heavy.

"Even with the new safety devices being employed, such as foam pits for safer landings, it's still a very vigorous and demanding sport to coach," he said.

Sweeney earned a bachelor's degree in physical education from Ohio State in 1957. After teaching and coaching in Erie, Mich., he returned to the university in 1960 as an instructor and earned his master's degree in curriculum design that year. From 1962-66, he was an assistant professor at Washington State. During the summers he returned to Columbus and received his Ph.D. in educational pedagogy in 1965.

Sweeney returned to Ohio State in 1966 as an assistant professor and became an associate professor in 1979. During his career, he worked in the area of teacher preparation while instructing college classes in rifle, pistol, archery, bicycling and backpacking.

He retired in 1994 but continues to teach with emeritus status.

Coaching appointments in pistol are part-time positions at Ohio State. Sweeney works in tandem with Assistant Coach Donna Knisley, an office assistant for the university's Medical Center. Knisley helped coach the 2000 national championship team, and is an accomplished competitor in rifle and pistol, evidenced by her 1993 state championship in air pistol.

The team will wrap up the season with a March 6 invitational meet and the March 16-21 collegiate nationals, both held at Ft. Benning, Ga.

For more details, visit the Athletic Department Web site at http://ohiostatebuckeyes.ocsn.com/ and select "Pistol."

SIDELINES

Krenzel named 2003 Draddy Award winner

Craig Krenzel was named the winner of this year's Draddy Award. Often referred to as the Academic Heisman, the Draddy Award is given to the nation's top scholar-athlete and awards a $25,000 post-graduate scholarship. Seldom has a player risen to the top of both the academic and athletic world like Craig Krenzel has. His 3.68 GPA in molecular genetics proves his academic prowess, and his leadership on the gridiron led Ohio State last year to its first National Championship in 32 years. Named 2003 Academic All-American of the Year, Krenzel received the Sporting News Socrates Academic Award and recorded a perfect 4.0 in four quarters. A three-time Academic All-Big Ten Conference selection, he received the Ohio State Academic Achievement Award three times, dean's list recognition six times and the Ohio State Exceptional Academic Award 11 times.

Men's tennis player Wurtzman ranked No. 1

Buckeye senior Jeremy Wurtzman received the No. 1 spot in the recent Intercollegiate Tennis Association national polls. Wurtzman is the first Buckeye to receive a top national ranking in program history. Wurtzman became the first Buckeye in history to claim a national tournament title after he won the ITA National Indoor Championship.

Women's soccer honored for academic success

The Ohio State women's soccer team and head coach Lori Walker not only posted its finest season in the history of the program with a 13-5-3 mark and a trip to the second round of the NCAA tournament, but also equaled the success academically with a 3.18 team GPA. The academic performance proved worthy of recognition by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America as a 2002-03 Team Academic Award winner.

Dascoli joins women's tennis staff

Former Ohio State women's tennis standout Kristy Dascoli (1999-2001) has been named assistant tennis coach for the squad. As the university's all-time singles wins leader with 104, Dascoli was named Ohio State's Player of the Century for women's tennis and is widely regarded as one of the best players ever to play in the Big Ten.

Immordino captures All-American honors

Vanessa Immordino, a senior field hockey player, was named a first-team All-American for her efforts throughout the 2003 season. Immordino was also named a finalist for the Honda-Broderick award, which salutes female student-athletes for their efforts in their respective sports. In addition to athletics, the award honors those student-athletes who have exemplified academic excellence and community service.

Athletes earn Academic All-Conference honors

Fifty-four Ohio State student-athletes were named to the 2003 Big Ten Academic All-Conference Team for the fall. To be eligible for Academic All-Big Ten selection, a student-athlete must be a letter-winner in at least their second academic year at their institution and carry a career GPA of 3.0 or better. In all, a total of 573 conference student-athletes were honored.

Buckeye Bits

The Ohio State baseball team is ranked 26th in the nation by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association. The team also is ranked 31st by Collegiate Baseball and 32nd by Baseball America ... The men's cross-country team concluded its 2003 season as they finished 15th at the 2003 NCAA Championships at Northern Iowa's Irv Warren Memorial Golf Course. The Buckeyes, who made their second consecutive NCAA championships appearance, finished the event with 418 total team points ... Junior Randy Monahan was recently named the NCAA Men's Gymnast of the Week by Inside Gymnastics and the Men's Big Ten Gymnast of the Week ... Two former members of the Ohio State men's lacrosse team, Curtis Smith and Pat Myers, were selected in the 2003 National Lacrosse League Entry Draft, both by the Colorado Mammoth ... The third annual Ohio Collegiate Charity Classic raised nearly $10,000, the highest total in the three-year history of the event, which will be donated to the Stefanie Spielman Fund for Breast Cancer Research at the Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute. Next year's event is scheduled for Oct. 2-3 ... Dan Taylor was recently named USA Track and Field's Athlete of the Week after setting an American collegiate record in the weight throw ... The Ohio State men's volleyball team started its 2004 season ranked 12th in the USA Today/American Volleyball Coaches Association Division I-II Men's Coaches Top 15 Poll. OSU closed out the 2003 season ranked 15th in the poll ... The American Volleyball Coaches Association has named outside hitter Stacey Gordon as a second team AVCA All-American. A committee of coaches selected the teams.

Compiled by David Bhaerman

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