Nov. 10, 2005
Youngstown, Ohio - The Cleveland State women's swimming team put up its most resilient effort of the season on Thursday (Nov. 10) night at Youngstown State, rallying twice from big deficits but coming up short in the end, as the Penguins claimed a 118-116 victory.
YSU jumped out to substantial advantages on two occasions, but the Vikings came roaring back both times, taking the lead once and coming up just short in the final push.
With Youngstown State leading 64-42 after the first six events, Cleveland State went on a tear in the subsequent three events to reclaim the advantage at 85-78.
Freshmen Katie Bellew and Kristine Bunker got things started thanks to a 1-2 finish in the 200 fly with times of 2:16.82 and 2:18.96, respectively. A 1-2 finish in the 100 free by junior Marianne Lionell (54.49) and sophomore Lesley Jones (54.75) brought the Vikings to within six before CSU claimed a 1-2-3 sweep in the 200 backstroke. Freshman Jen MacLauchlan (2:14.57) paced senior Wendy Peel (2:15.46) and Sandra Bunker (2:22.94) to recover the advantage.
The Penguins would reclaim a large advantage following the three meter boards and hold a 108-90 lead with only two events to go, but CSU responded once again.
Senior Kirsty McKechnie picked up a win in the 200 breaststroke in 2:29.84, while Bellew (2:33.16) and senior Nicole Reddout (2:59.70) helped to cut into the YSU lead.
The 400 free relay team of Lionell, sophomore Deanna Raedel, Jones and MacLauchlan got the Vikings even closer with a win in 3:39.61, but a second-place showing by the Youngstown State team proved to make the difference in the end.
"We didn't have some of our faster times in the first half, but we didn't just lay down," head coach Mike Lehto said. "We kept battling. You never want to lose, but after we got down like that, we came back and performed like we are supposed to. It was just one race too short.
"We get to see them again at our pool, and we are looking forward to facing them again."
McKechnie added a second win on the night in the 200 free with a time of 1:59.88. The 400 medley relay team of Peel, Bellew, Bunker and Alexandra Bagi got the Vikings out in front early with a top time of 4:18.92.
Freshman Olivia Arnold tallied three wins for the Penguins, recording top marks in the 1,000 free (10:49.71), 200 IM (2:16.51) and the 500 free (5:14.95).
The Vikings and Penguins will square off again on Feb. 4.
The Cleveland State men's and women's teams return to action on Nov. 16 when they host Baldwin-Wallace, Gannon, John Carroll and Oberlin at 4:00 p.m. at Busbey Natatorium.
