Preview: Women's Swimming & Diving team looking to claim its 8th OAC Championships crown in 2014-15
By Tim Glon
ADA — The Ohio Northern women's swimming and diving team enters the 2014-15 season looking to continue its impressive run of success.
ONU has won seven OAC Championships titles in the past eight seasons, including the last six in a row, and has captured nine straight OAC Regular Season crowns.
Northern will open its 2014-15 season on Saturday at the Kenyon Relays.
The Polar Bears, under 11th-year head coach Peggy Ewald, return 14 letter winners from last year's OAC Championship squad that went 6-5 overall and were a perfect 4-0 in OAC dual meets.
Add to the mix an outstanding incoming freshman class and it's easy to see why optimism abounds entering the 2014-15 campaign.
"We have a very young team with a great deal of talent," Ewald said. "They are looking to step up to the challenges of collegiate swimming.
"We tend to bring forth vision and energy that is sometimes a bit different from the mainstream. Hopefully this will transcend into something great by the time we get to the OAC and NCAA Championships."
In all, six swimmers return as OAC Champions.
Juniors Lindsey Inkrott and Allison Lohnes lead the list of returners, as the pair have combined for 16 OAC titles and have scored 308 OAC Championships points between them.
Inkrott is a 9-time OAC Champion and has earned All-OAC kudos on 11 different occasions.
She has won back-to-back titles in the 100 back, won the 200 back in 2013 and has been part of six of ONU's OAC Championship relay teams.
Lohnes is a 7-time OAC champ and has earned All-Conference accolades nine times.
She won the 200 back and the 100 I.M. crowns, as well titles on four relay teams in 2014, and has been a part of five OAC championship relay teams in her career.
A strong senior class of Taylor McCabe, Ashley Zoeller and Erin Adkins also returns with 306 career OAC Championships team points to their credit.
McCabe won the 400 I.M. title in 2012 and is a 5-time All-OAC honoree.
Zoeller was part of ONU's winning 800 free relay team in 2014 and is a 4-time All-OAC honoree.
Adkins has scored OAC Championships 67 points in the distance, breast and I.M. events and has a fifth place OAC finish in the 1650 free to her credit.
Sophomores Jill Chapman and Emily Uhrin also return with seven OAC crowns as members of winning relay teams to their credit.
Chapman also has All-Conference accolades in the 50 and 100 free events, while Uhrin was also named All-OAC in the 50 free in 2014.
Junior Abigail Barlage, sophomores Kelsey Brebberman, Jennifer Collopy, Stacie Melody, Brianna Tingley, Melyssa Weaver and Molly Wheeler also return.
The seven women have combined to score 127 OAC Championships team points.
A strong class of six incoming freshmen will also contribute right away.
"Swimming has such a long season, so resilience to the long schedule and hard training regime will be crucial," Ewald said. "It's difficult to keep them healthy through the better part of two semesters and through so many breaks."
The Polar Bears will get their season underway on Oct. 17 at the Kenyon Relays and will compete at the OAC Championships on Feb. 19-21 at the Ocasek Natatorium at the University of Akron.
The NCAA Championships are March 18-21 at Shenandoah, Tex.