President's Message:
Help Future Buckeyes Find Their Way
I grew up in the heart of Buckeye Country, specifically in the small town of Pataskala just east of Columbus. Like all central Ohio natives, I was constantly immersed in Ohio State fanfare. As it turns out, I didn't much care for it in my youth.
Although I was a huge Buckeye football fan, I didn't think about the university beyond its performances on the gridiron. I thought it was the school everyone went to when they didn't have the grades to get into some place better. By the time I started to care about the academic prowess of any university, I was more than half way through high school.
I had become determined to make a hasty exit from Columbus, because I was bored with the place. I wanted to get out and see other areas of the country and meet different people. Ohio State was therefore near the bottom of my list of colleges, and it didn't help that nearly everyone I knew was going there.
Then something happened.
Well, several things happened. My parents pointed out that I could go to that excellent engineering school in Indiana if I wanted to, but I was going to have substantial student loans to pay back when I graduated. The alternative was to go to OSU for less than a quarter of the cost and still graduate from a top-notch engineering program. I thought they had gone mad when they made that statement.
However, a close family friend had recently graduated from Ohio State with a Chemical Engineering degree. I thought about it and realized he had been valedictorian of his class in high school. He probably could have gone anywhere he wanted.
That intrigued me, and I decided to do some research. I found out that OSU was ranked among the best in the country in several engineering disciplines. Suddenly my decision was easy to make, and today I can't imagine having made a different one.
It's true that I was a naive teenager with the wrong priorities when I was trying to choose a college, but teenagers haven't changed all that much over the years. I was living in Columbus and had almost no idea what Ohio State had to offer.
Now imagine if I had grown up in Virginia. Communicating the opportunities that exist at our university is important work for us here. I encourage you to participate in the club's student recruitment efforts in the spring and fall, or just spend some time talking to any high school students you may know.
Even if they aren't interested in Ohio State, they will benefit from your insights on life at a large university. And just maybe they'll think it's worth a visit to see what Buckeye Country is all about.
Jay Merringer
Engineering '95
Swimmers Soak Up 25th Title
By Adam Jardy (The Lantern)
Most people would be hard-pressed to name something better than winning five-consecutive national championships. This is not the case for the Ohio State synchronized swimming team.
The Buckeyes won their fifth-straight national championship, and their 25th title in the 28 years of the tournament.
"This year was extra special because it's our silver anniversary: title No. 5," junior Lindsay Newbill said. "It never gets old."
OSU claimed first place on Saturday at the 2004 Collegiate National Championships, held in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Stanford was the close runner-up to the Buckeyes, and won the only event that OSU did not win. Buckeye swimmers captured titles in the duet, trio and team finals.
In the duet final, freshmen Kate Hoovan and Becky Kim won their first collegiate titles, narrowly edging two Stanford swimmers by a score of 95.667 to 95.500. Kim and Hoovan were named to the Division I All-Collegiate Team. The team consists of three members; two of them are from OSU. Newbill, Hooven and Kim were named All-American swimmers, while sophomores Chelsea Luker and Carly Grimshaw were named honorary members.
"Our whole team is so strong," junior Lauren Marsh said. "Other teams have three or four great swimmers and a few weak ones. That doesn't happen here. We have no weak points."
The trio finals were won by Kim, Hoovan and Newbill. Again, Stanford swimmers took a close second, losing to the Buckeyes by a score of 95.667 to 95.550. Stanford did take the solo final, but it was not enough to overtake OSU. The Buckeyes' final team score of 98.167 held off Stanford, who finished with 96.833.The OSU 'B' Team took fourth with a score of 95.167.
The players attribute some of their success to their rabid alumni fans.
"The stands were full of alumni," Newbill said. "The atmosphere was like a basketball game. The excitement we felt when we won the championship was something great we could share with them."
Achieving a winning streak like this has not been easy. Players constantly work out and practice, and cite all of their teammates for the overall success of the program. Most of them even live together.
"We never stop working," junior Heather Burdick said. "We keep each other going. If someone has a problem, someone else on the team is there for them."
Newbill was quick to agree with Burdick. "I would do anything for the team. It takes so much work and effort, but at Nationals it's worth it," she said.
The Buckeyes have one more meet this season. The team now advances to the U.S. National Championships on April 28th in Palo Alto, California. The meet showcases the top synchronized swimming programs from all levels of competition.
"We typically take third place there," Newbill said. "We take collegiates really personally, but we want to win this next tournament this year."
According to Burdick, the coaches have a unique method of motivating the athletes before meets during the season. To inspire the players, the coaches pull out all of the national championship rings. All 25 of them, now. At the end of the day, all the players are glad to see their hard work finally pay off in the form of a championship.
"We had the biggest group hug when we won," Burdick said. "Every year is better and better."
