Ohio State women’s swimming and diving brings home a conference title

For the first time in more than three decades, the Ohio State women’s swimming and diving team took home a Big Ten conference championship — the sixth in program history. The squad took the first-place spot in the first day of competition, and didn’t relinquish its lead throughout the remainder of competition in Iowa City.

Ohio State finished competition with 1,503.5 points - 197 ahead of second-place finisher Michigan. Indiana, Northwestern and Wisconsin rounded out the top-five.

The Buckeyes were anchored by three individual Big Ten champions, including senior Kathrin Demler (500 free), senior Molly Kowal (1,650 free) and freshman Mackenzie Crawford (1-meter springboard), as well as a 200 freestyle relay championship. In all, seven Buckeyes earned First Team All-Big Ten honors.

The Big Ten men’s swimming and diving championships are scheduled for Feb. 26-29 in Bloomington.

Hockey goes a collective 4-0 over conference rivals

The No. 5 women’s team, in the squad’s final regular season series, posted a 3-0 conquest Friday and a 6-3 win Saturday in Columbus.

With the regular season in the books, the Buckeyes, who sit at 20-8-6 overall and 13-6-5 in conference, are third in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association’s standings behind Wisconsin and Minnesota. Ohio State is scheduled to host the WCHA first round in Columbus in a three-game series against the six-seed Minnesota State.

Both Ohio State men’s and women’s hockey swept their respective series over the weekend. The 12th-ranked men’s team overcame Michigan State in East Lansing, posting a 1-0 win Friday and 4-2 victory Saturday.

The men’s team wraps up its own regular season with a two-game series against Wisconsin this weekend in Columbus. The Big Ten Hockey Tournament is scheduled to begin March 6.

Women’s tennis sweeps week

The No. 6 Ohio State women’s tennis team defeated Kentucky and No. 24 Arizona State last week to move to 6-3 on the year. Friday, the Buckeyes topped the Wildcats 4-1 in Columbus. Ohio State took the doubles point early, and with singles wins — all in straight sets — from sophomore Kolie Allen, redshirt junior Shiori Fukuda and freshman Irina Cantos, the Buckeyes secured a decisive win.

Sunday, Ohio State overcame the Sun Devils with a 5-0 sweep. The Buckeyes once again took the doubles point, and all the singles players once again won in straight sets with victories from Fukuda, Allen, Cantos and sophomore Isabelle Boulais.

Next up, the Buckeyes face Purdue in West Lafayette Thursday in the team’s Big Ten opener.

The No. 3 men’s team, meanwhile, cancelled its weekend match against Notre Dame after several Ohio State players came down with the flu this week. The squad will be back in action Sunday against No. 21 Georgia.

In other news…

• Ohio State fencing swept the Midwest Fencing Conference Championships, taking all six individual titles Saturday and the team competitions Sunday in Columbus. Next up, fencing heads to the NCAA Regionals in Detroit, scheduled for March 7.
• Track and field competed in the Alex Wilson Invitational hosted by Notre Dame in South Bend. Headlining Ohio State’s performance were senior Tamani Wilson, who took the 200-meter dash title, and junior Adelaide Aquilla, who won the women’s shot put event. On the men’s side, senior Ryan Harrington won the 400-meter dash. Ohio State will be back in action Friday at the Big Ten Indoor Championships in Geneva, Ohio.
• Ohio State softball went 3-2 on the team’s weekend trip to California. The Buckeyes took their opener against UC Santa Barbara 5-1 Friday before falling 9-4 to Fresno State later in the day. Saturday, Ohio State dropped its first game of the day to UC Santa Barbara 5-2, but the squad bounced back with a 6-2 victory over Pacific. Rounding things out Sunday, the Buckeyes posted a 4-3 win over UIC. With five more games on the books, Ohio State moves to 6-7 overall on the young season. The squad has next week off, but will be back in action against Oregon State, Wright State, Arizona State and Lehigh March 6-9 in Arizona.
• Baseball did not fare so well this weekend, falling in all three of its matchups against No. 21 Georgia Tech in Atlanta. The Buckeyes, who are now 2-4 on the season, look to bounce back this weekend in their three game series against Lipscomb in Nashville.
• New Big Ten commissioner Kevin Warren was in the house for Ohio State synchronized swimming’s match against Yale Saturday.
• Ohio State rifle fell in the team’s NCAA qualifier Saturday in Columbus to end the 2019-20 season. The Buckeyes fell to Akron 4,683-4,651.
• After a 15-10 victory over Cincinnati Wednesday, Ohio State women’s lacrosse fell to No. 2 Notre Dame 18-7 in South Bend. With the loss, the Buckeyes move to 4-2 on the season. They’ll look to get back on track next Sunday when they head to Atlanta to face UMass.
• The men’s lacrosse team fared better this weekend, earning a 15-11 win on the road against Bucknell. Sophomore Jack Myers and senior Tre Leclaire each totaled four goals on the day, while junior Jackson Reid added three. With the win, the Buckeyes move to 3-1 on the year, and are scheduled to return home to face Cornell Sunday.
• Ohio State men’s volleyball lost both of its road matches this weekend, falling first to Loyola-Chicago 3-1 Friday and No. 14 Purdue Fort Wayne 3-1 Saturday.
• Ohio State women’s gymnastics posted a third-place finish with a season-high score of 196.475 at the Big Five Meet in Toledo Friday. The Buckeyes finished behind No. 16 Nebraska and No. 23 Illinois and ahead of Illinois and Rutgers. The squad will be back in action Friday against Missouri and Minnesota in Columbia.
• Ohio State women’s basketball fell 59-57 to Rutgers Saturday in Piscataway, breaking the team’s six-game win streak. Sophomore forward Dorka Juhasz led the team with 17 points and 10 rebounds. The 17-10 Buckeyes have just two games remaining in the regular season, and will be back in action Tuesday against No. 16 Northwestern.
• After the opening day of competition at the Westbrook Invitational in Arizona, Ohio State women’s golf is tied for ninth as a team. The Buckeyes are led by sophomore Aneka Seumanutafa, who was sitting at the No. 12 spot, having posted a two under par 70 in her opening round.