Recap: Women's Swimming & Diving team wins fifth straight OAC title; Elmer advances to NCAA Diving Regionals in 2012-13
By Tim Glon
ADA — The Ohio Northern women's swimming and diving team won its fifth consecutive Ohio Athletic Conference Championships title in 2012-13.
Northern won the title for the sixth time in the last seven years under ninth-year head coach Peggy Ewald.
The Polar Bears (7-6 overall) also won the OAC Regular Season title for the seventh straight season, finishing with a 4-1 league record.
The Polar Bears finished with 865 points and set eight OAC records, 12 school records and seven NCAA "B" Cuts and won 12 of the championships' 20 events.
Mount Union was second with 714 points, John Carroll was third with 660 points, new OAC member Transylvania (Ky.) was fourth with 424 points, Wilmington was fifth with 290 points and Defiance was sixth with 133 points.
Senior Amy Elmer was named the OAC Women's Diver of the Year after winning the 1-meter and 3-meter events with ONU record and NCAA "B" Cut scores of 439.85 and 458.65 points, respectively.
Head coach Peggy Ewald and her staff were named the OAC Women's Coaching Staff of the Year for the fifth time in the last eight years.
Senior Amanda Brown, Sarah Fiffick and Mackenzie Hoffman, juniors Lindsey Rayhill and Katherine Lorson and sophomore Ashley Zoeller were all named Academic All-Conference.
Elmer finished sixth in the 1-meter and was in the 11th in the 3-meter diving competition at the NCAA III Central Region Diving Championships at Grand Rapids, Mich.
Elmer was selected as the first alternate to compete at the NCAA III Championships March 20-23 in Shenandoah, Tex.
Rayhill won her third consecutive title in the 200 fly, shattering her own OAC and ONU record and besting the NCAA "B" Cut with an effort of 2:06.97.
She also won her third straight 100 fly crown in an OAC and ONU record and NCAA "B" Cut :57.11 and finished the meet with six OAC titles as she was part of ONU's winning 400 free, 800 free, 200 medley and 400 medley relay teams.
Rayhill now has 13 OAC titles in her career.
Freshman Lindsey Inkrott swept the 100 and 200 back titles, winning in OAC and ONU records and NCAA "B" Cuts of :56.77 and 2:02.04, respectively.
She was also All-Conference with a second place finish in the 50 free in :24.57.
Inkrott was also part of ONU's winning 400 free, 200 medley and 400 medley relay teams.
Fiffick won the 200 free title in 1:56.70 and senior Mackenzie Hoffman won the crown in the 500 free in 5:14.41.
Fiffick and Hoffman ended the meet with four OAC titles each, as they each were on three of ONU's winning relay teams.
The Polar Bears also won four of the five relay events, setting OAC and ONU records in all four races.
Hoffman, Rayhill, Fiffick and Inkrott won the 400 free relay in 3:34.46 and Hoffman, Rayhill, Fiffick and sophomore Ashley Zoeller won the 800 free relay in 7:48.99.
Inkrott, Hartsel, Rayhill and Fiffick set an NCAA "B" Cut in the 200 medley relay in 1:46.99 and Inkrott, Hartsel, Rayhill and Hoffman won the 400 medley relay in 3:54.91.
Fiffick and Hoffman finished 2-3 in the 100 free to earn All-OAC honors. Fiffick was second in :54.06 and Hoffman was third in :54.35.
Zoeller earned All-OAC accolades in the 1650 free, finishing second in 18:33.99, and in the 500 free, finishing third in 5:17.10.
Freshman Allison Lohnes also earned All-Conference accolades in the 200 back, finishing third in 2:07.04.
Junior Jennifer Hartsel and sophomore Taylor McCabe finished 2-3 in the 200 breast to grab All-Conference honors.
Hartsel was second in 2:27.71 and McCabe was third in 2:28.57. This marks the second straight year that McCabe was All-OAC in the event.
Hartsel also earned All-OAC kudos in the 100 breast, finishing third in 1:08.33 and McCabe was All-Conference in the 400 I.M. with a third place finish in 4:44.81.
The top three individuals and the top two relay teams in each event earn All-OAC kudos.
Inkrott, Lohnes, Hoffman and Fiffick set an ONU record in the 200 free relay, finishing third in 1:38.11.