Courtesy: Ohio State Athletics
COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Ohio State men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams will compete against teams from Rutgers and Penn State universities Saturday at the McCorkle Aquatic Pavilion. This is the first competition for the swimming programs, under the direction of Bill Dorenkott, since March 2020, when their championship seasons ended prior to the NCAA championships because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The women’s meet will begin at 10 a.m. and the men’s meet will begin at 2 p.m. The meets are not open to the public.
Dorenkott is in his 13th year at Ohio State and his fourth year as director of men’s and women’s swimming and diving. His programs are among the best, if not the best, in the Big Ten Conference. Consider:
- The 2019-20 women’s team won the Big Ten championship;
- The 2019-20 men’s team was Big Ten runner-up;
- Each program has finished in the Top 3 at the Big Ten championships for three consecutive years;
- Dorenkott was named the women’s swimming coach of the year last year, his second such honor; and
- Diving coach Justin Sochor was named men’s diving coach of the year, also for the second time.
Sochor is in his eighth season as head diving coach.
Three meets per team
The Big Ten Conference announced the 2021 men’s and women’s swimming and diving schedules for the entire conference. Every team will compete three times during the regular season – only against conference foes – followed by the Big Ten Championships and then the NCAA Championships.
Ohio State’s lone home meet this season will be Saturday’s meet with Penn State and Rutgers. The Buckeyes will travel to Indiana for a dual meet next weekend (Jan. 22-23) and then finish the regular season at Michigan on the weekend of Feb. 5-6.
Seniors
A total of 21 men’s and women’s senior swimmers and divers will be honored prior to the respective meets. The 13 women who will be honored are:
- Laura Banks, a biology major with research distinction from Rocky River, Ohio. She is minoring in Spanish. Laura will be applying to medical school in May with hopes of becoming a physician while continuing to research head and neck surgeries at Nationwide Children’s Hospital.
- Lexie Barker, from Larkspur, Colo. And who will receive her Zoology degree this spring. She plans to become an EMT after graduation.
- Kendyl Ferrara, a Cincinnati native who will graduate this spring with a degree in communication as well as a minor in fashion and retail studies. She has already accepted a position as an incoming associate in the Leadership Acceleration Program for Highmark Health in Pittsburgh.
- Nicole Fye, who is majoring in microbiology and pursuing minors in Spanish and forensic science. She is planning to attend medical school in the fall and is from Ashburn, Va.
- Brooke Glesenkamp, a health and rehabilitation sciences major who is minoring in intergrative medicine. She is from From Delaware, Ohio and hopes to attend Ohio State’s grad entry nursing program and become a nurse practitioner.
- Hanna Gresser is from Akron, Ohio and is majoring in biology and pursuing a minor in psychology. She plans on attending a physician assistant’s program after graduation.
- Ali House is a diver from Newark, N.Y., who is majoring in health sciences and minoring in human development and family science. She plans to attend physician’s assistant school to earn her master’s and ultimately work in pediatrics or orthopedics.
- Natalia Jaspeado is majoring in food science and technology and has dreams of starting her own business some day. But first: she plans on attending graduate school in the fall. Natalia is from Mexico City, Mexico.
- Taylor Petrak is from Ellwood City, Pa., and is majoring in marketing and minoring in fashion and retail studies. She plans to begin her marketing career as a sales development program associate with Highmark Health.
- Freya Rayner is from Sunderland, United Kingdom and is majoring in world literature.
- Kristin Romano is picking up dual degrees in anthropology and political science and is minoring in Spanish. She is from Lancaster, N.Y.
- Sarah Sperber is a neuroscience major from Xenia, Ohio. Following graduation this spring Sarah will be applying to medical school.
- Katie Trace is already an Ohio State graduate and is working on her master’s of science degree in kinesiology with hopes to continue working in collegiate athletics after graduation. She is from Upper Arlington, Ohio.
The eight seniors on the men’s team who will be honored include:
- Carson Burt, A finance major from Cincinnati, Ohio. He intends to move to Jacksonville, Fla., after graduation to begin his career working for Johnson & Johnson.
- Joe Canova is from Gaithersburg, Md., and is majoring in data analytics with a specialization in data visualization. He plans to work in the video gaming industry after he graduates.
- Paul DeLakis is from Eau Claire, Wisc., and a biology major who plans on going to optometry school.
- Connor Isings, from Beaconsfield, Quebec, Canada, is majoring in mechanical engineering/robotics and automation. He plans on working one more year at Ohio State on research before embarking on a career in product manufacturing and design.
- Colin McDermott is from Granville, Ohio and is majoring in finance.
- Evan McFadden is from Oreland, Pa., and is majoring in aeronautical engineering and plans to earn his PhD in the field.
- Jacob Siler is a diver from Knoxville, Tenn. He is a speech and hearing science major who will be attending graduate school for speech pathology at Ohio State next fall.
- Evan Stapp, from Tipp City, Ohio, is a sport industry major who plans on pursuing his master’s degree in kinesiology.