Jan. 31, 2013

Get To Know Your Buckeyes: Alex Miller

COLUMBUS, Ohio - The No. 10 Ohio State men's swimming and diving team travels to face No. 1 Michigan in a two-day dual meet Friday-Saturday at Canham Natatorium. The Buckeyes (8-1, 1-1 Big Ten) are returning to action after defeating Cincinnati last week, while the Wolverines (6-0, 4-0 Big Ten) are back in the pool following a two-week break from competition.

 SCHEDULE OF EVENTS

HOLMES, KEILY NAMED CAPTAINS
Head swimming coach Bill Wadley announced this season that seniors Zach Holmes and Andrew Keily have been named captains for the Buckeyes. Both natives of Houston, Texas, Wadley said he is excited with the leadership the team has a month away from the Big Ten championships.

"We are pleased that both Andrew and Zach were chosen as captains by the team to lead this team," Wadley said. "They are great young men who are fantastic Buckeyes in every way."

Holmes, a 2012 Second Team All-Big Ten and honorable mention All-American, is a three-time OSU Scholar-Athlete and Academic All-Big Ten. Holmes has been a part of the "A" free relay team since his freshman year and has the team's fastest 200 free time (1:53.83) and second-fastest 100 free time (43.92).

Keily, a three-time OSU scholar-Athlete and Academic All-Big Ten, Keily has specialized in distance freestyle for the Scarlet and Gray.  A sports and leisure studies major, Keily has the fourth fastest time in the 1650 freestyle this season.

NATIONALLY RANKED
Ohio State enters this weekend's competition ranked No. 10 by the College Swimming Coaches Association of America. Seven Big Ten Conference teams are currently ranked, with Michigan (No. 1) and Indiana (No. 8) ahead of Ohio State. Minnesota (15), Purdue (18), Penn State (19) and Iowa (20) round out the standings.

MISZKIEL WINS FIFTH BIG TEN WEEKLY AWARD
Junior Ohio State diver Shane Miszkiel earned the Big Ten Conference's Diver of the Week award for the fifth time, the conference announced Tuesday.

Miszkiel has now won seven career weekly awards and becomes the first men's diver to earn five Big Ten laurels since former Boilermaker and 2012 Olympian David Boudia accomplished the feat during the 2010-11 campaign.   A native of Victoria, B.C., Miszkiel was first in the one-meter (406.50) and three-meter (420.98) diving events last weekend to help the No. 10 Buckeyes defeat Cincinnati at McCorkle Aquatic Pavilion.

LAST TIME OUT
The Buckeyes defeated Cincinnati, 152-133, Jan. 26 at McCorkle Aquatic Pavilion. The Ohio State senior class was honored before the start of the competition vs. the Bearcats. Overall, four different seniors picked up event individual victories against Cincinnati.

Senior Jason Schnur earned wins in the 50 freestyle (20.58), 100 butterfly (52.45) and was also a part of the 200 medley relay (1:28.80), while junior Shane Miszkiel swept both diving events, winning the 1-meter spring board with a score of 406.50, while picking up the win in the 3-meter with a score of 420.98.

OHIO STATE INVITE
In the best competition field to date at the OSU Invitational, the Buckeyes posted its fourth-consecutive championship with 1,306 total points. Ohio State claimed the title by a 300-point margin of victory, while then fifth-ranked Florida earned runner-up honors with 997.5 points.

An outstanding three-day team effort, Nov. 30 - Dec. 2, resulted in 10 of 18 races going in the Scarlet and Gray's favor. A total of six different Buckeyes registered an individual win, while six more Buckeyes were part of a victorious relay team or teams.

In diving, junior Shane Miszkiel, a four-time Big Ten Diver of the Week honoree, captured the platform finals with a total score of 363.10.

BIG TEN CO-SWIMMER OF THE WEEK
Jason Schnur was named Big Ten Co-Swimmer of the Week, the conference office announced on Dec. 4. The Buckeye senior shared the honor with Miguel Oritz of Michigan.

Schnur, from Oak Hills High in Cincinnati, helped Ohio State claim its fourth-consecutive OSU Invitational with five first place finishes and three NCAA automatic qualifying marks. The two-time Big Ten champion won the 100 freestyle (43.31) and was a part of four first-place relay teams including the 200 free (1:17.84), 400 free (2:53.15), 200 medley (1:26.79) and 400 medley (3:10.55). Schnur also finished second in the 50 free (19.93).

TOP TIME NOTES

• An attest to Ohio State's depth, 23 swimmers have times in the Top 100 in the nation.
• A month out from the Big Ten championships, the Buckeyes have recorded 37 times which rank in the Top 50 nationally.
• Two Ohio state swimmers, Tamas Gercsak (6th, 200 butterfly) and Steven Zimmerman (10th, 200 backstroke), hold a Top 10 national ranking in their respective events.
• Three members hold Top 50 marks in the 200 backstroke, including  Connor McDonald,  Zimmerman and Garrett Trebilcock
• Fourteen Buckeyes hold Top 5 individual times thus far in the Big Ten Conference: Zach Holmes, Jason Schnur, Zach Birnbrich, Michael DiSalle, Rowan Williams, Garrett Trebilcock, Zimmerman, Alex Miller, Connor McDonald, Stone, Gercsak, Chris Cowley, Chris DePietro and Luke Stirton.
• In the 200 freestyle, OSU maintains three Top 5 spots in the Big Ten.
• Holmes (200 freestyle) and Gercsak (200 butterfly) each earned a runner-up Big Ten ranking in their respective events.