BEREA, OHIO - The Baldwin Wallace University men's swimming and diving team placed second and the women finished in fifth tonight (Saturday, February 21, 2009) at the 2009 Ohio Athletic Conference Championship Meet hosted by Baldwin Wallace at the University of Akron's Ocasek Natatorium.
BW had four individuals garner All-OAC honors on day three, including sophomore All-American diver Todd Richert's (North Royalton) second consecutive championship in the one-meter dive.
Ohio Northern's men totaled 303 points to take a fifth consecutive OAC crown. They were followed by Baldwin Wallace (202) in second place, John Carroll University (164) in third, Mount Union College (121) in fourth and Wilmington College (59) in fifth.
The Polar Bear women totaled 310 points to win their second OAC title in the last three seasons. They were followed by John Carroll (214.5) in second place, Mount Union (187) in third, Wilmington (82.5) in fourth and Baldwin Wallace (57) in fifth.
Richert (North Royalton) won the one-meter dive for the second consecutive year with 495.15 points and nationally qualified for both the one and three-meter dives.
Senior Sean Sonnenberg (Napoleon) set two school marks in the 1,650-yard freestyle. His 1,000-yard split time of 10:03.60 and his second-place time of 16:42.82 broke previous school records and earned him All-OAC honors for the 15th time in his career.
Senior Nick Gatozzi (Strongsville) joined Sonnenberg as an All-OAC recipient, the first of 2009 and fifth of his career, with a second place, 2:12.95 performance, in the 200-yard breaststroke. He was just .05 seconds off the winning pace. Zach Pfeil (Sandusky/ Perkins) followed Gatozzi with a time of 2:14.88.
The 200-yard butterfly saw three Yellow Jackets finish in the top-five. Sophomore Hector Diaz (El Paso, Texas/ Cathedral) finished third in 2:00.12 to earn his second All-OAC honor of 2009 and fourth of his career. He was followed by sophomore Matt Diamond (Ashtabula/ Lakeside) in fourth place (2:00.63) and sophomore Mike Demitrieff (Parma/ Normandy) in fifth (2:01.22).
Junior Vince Cowell (Parma/ Normandy) also had a top-five finish with a 2:01.29 time in the 200-yard backstroke.
In women's action, freshman Jess McClarren (Bucyrus/ Senior) finished fourth in the 200-yard butterfly in 2:18.22. Her time was just .26 seconds shy of garnering All-OAC accolades.
For more information, please visit the official tournament website atwww.bw.edu/athletics/sd/09oacchampionships.
FOR MORE Baldwin Wallace University Sports Information, please call Sports Information Director Kevin Ruple at 440-826-2327 and you can e-mail him at kruple@bw.edu or Assistant SID Nick Minerd at 440-826-2780 and e-mail him at nminerd@bw.edu.
