Steven To Compete At NCAA Women's Swimming Championships
March 12, 2001
CORVALLIS, Ore. - -
It hasn't happened often for Oregon State women's swimming, but for the second time in the history of its program, OSU will send a swimmer to the NCAA Championships, as Birte Steven qualified for the prestigious event in both the 100- and 200-yard breaststrokes.
Steven's top time in the 100 breast was a school-record 1:02.24, which she swam at the Pacific-10 Conference Championships in February. Her time of 2:14.43 in the 200 came at the Speedo Cup in December, and also stands a school-best.
Regarded as the second-fastest meet in the world, next to the Olympic Games, the NCAA Championships represent a huge step for Oregon State swimming. To qualify means to be among the top 50 programs in the nation, and of those 50, roughly five are newcomers each year, so to be among that group is an impressive feat.
"This is huge," OSU head coach Mariusz Podkoscielny said. "Birte's qualifying puts us in among the elite programs in the country. To be a new team in that field is a great accomplishment. It's pretty hard to break in to that group, so hopefully we're here to stay.
Steven had a strong showing at the Pac-10s, placing eighth in both the 100 and 200 breaststrokes while swimming against some of the top competitors in the world. Steven set school records nine times this year - including five in the 100 breaststroke.
The last OSU swimmer to swim in the NCAAs was Amy van Loben Sels, who qualified in 1994 and 1995 in the freestyle sprints and earned All-America status.
"Birte's excited and ready to go," Podkoscielny said. "The outcome will depend a lot on what heat she draws, but hopefully she can get that second swim at night (in the finals) and earn All-America honors."
"She will have seen quite a few of the same swimmers at the Pac-10s, so she knows how strong the competition will be. The qualifying times this year were unusually fast - much faster than most years, so we know this will be a great challenge."
HEAD COACH MARIUSZ PODKOSCIELNY: Mariusz Podkoscielny completed his fifth season as head coach at Oregon State. In his first five years, OSU has a dual meet record of 21-30 overall and 2-14 in the Pacific-10, including 7-5 overall this year and 0-3 in the Pac-10. Podkoscielny, 32, is a 9-time All-American and 2-time Olympian.
Prior to coming to OSU in the fall of 1996, Podkoscielny had been an assistant men's and women's coach at Arizona since 1993.
A native of Gdansk, Poland, Podkoscielny was a member of the Arizona swim team from 1988-92 and was one of the fastest distance swimmers in UA history. He was also on the Polish National Team from 1980-92 and competed in the 1988 and 1992 Olympics.
OSU AT THE PAC-10s: The Beavers finished ninth this year with a score of 285 at the Championships, which included six of the nation's top 17 programs. Five of those teams were ranked 10th or higher.
The Beavers broke four school records: Birte Steven in the 100 breaststroke, and the 200 freestyle team of Bonnie Renwick and Suzanne Starkey.
Steven became just the third OSU swimmer to place in the top eight of an event, as she placed eighth in the 100 and 200 breaststrokes. Teammate Paula Finlay placed eighth two years ago in the 100 breaststroke.
The highest OSU has placed at the Pac-10s was seventh, in 1991. OSU placed second at the Northwest Regionals three times, most recently in 1983.
BEAVER SENIORS LEAD THE WAY: The five seniors on this year's squad - Arianna Higuera, Amy Imwalle, Erin Buckley, Kristen Severance, and Melissa Hsieh - hold 17 of the spots on OSU's top-10 performers list, 63 of which are held by current squad members. Higuera has five, Imwalle four, Hsieh and Severance three each, and Buckley two.
OSU WINS SEVEN DUALS: For the second season in a row, the Beavers won seven dual meets. Prior to the 2000 campaign, OSU had not won seven duals since 1991, nor had they enjoyed a winning season since the same year.
SOPHOMORE REWRITING THE RECORDBOOKS: Sophomore Naya Higashijima owns four of the 14 individual school records, and has broken school marks five times this season. Here's a look: 500 freestyle, 4:54.99, 1,000 freestyle, 10:14.31, 1,650 freestyle: 16:54.91, 200 butterfly, 2:01.43.
STEVENS NATATORIUM: For the second season in a row, Oregon State scheduled all its home swim meets on campus as the Beavers moved into Stevens Natatorium in the 1999-2000 season. OSU had a 2-2 dual meet record at home this year, and went 3-1 last season.
Stevens Natatorium is adjacent to Dixon Recreation Center, near Gill Coliseum. The pool opened in 1994 but was not outfitted for competition until prior to the 1999-2000 season.
OSU had scheduled its home meets at Corvallis' Osborn Aquatic Center since the community pool opened for the 1979-80 season. A few meets were still held on campus at Langton Pool.
OREGON STATE SCHOOL RECORDS: Oregon State has set school records 19 times this season. Here's a look at the records that have been set - nine of which have been posted by freshman Birte Steven:
1,000 freestyle Naya Higashijima 10:16.57, Oct. 21 at San Jose State 100 breaststroke Birte Steven, 1:03.23, Oct. 21 at San Jose State 200 breaststroke Birte Steven, 2:17.29, Oct. 21 at San Jose State 100 breaststroke Birte Steven, 1:03.22, Nov. 11 vs. Nevada 400 medley relay Starkey, Steven, Renwick, Higuera, 3:49.01, Nov. 30 at Speedo Cup 200 medley relay Starkey, Steven, Renwick, Higuera, 1:44.90, Dec. 1 at Speedo Cup 100 butterfly Bonnie Renwick, 57.04, Dec. 1 at Speedo Cup 100 breaststroke Birte Steven, 1:02.67, Dec. 1 at Speedo Cup 100 breaststroke Birte Steven, 1:02.45, Dec. 1 at Speedo Cup 400 individual medley Birte Steven, 4:27.99, Dec. 1 at Speedo Cup 100 backstroke Suzanne Starkey, 57.15, Dec. 1 at Speedo Cup 200 breaststroke Birte Steven, 2:15.55, Dec. 2 at Speedo Cup 200 breaststroke Birte Steven, 2:14.43, Dec. 2 at Speedo Cup 200 butterfly Naya Higashijima, 2:01.43, Dec. 2 at Speedo Cup 1,000 freestyle Naya Higashijima, 10:14.96, Jan. 13 at Washington 200 freestyle relay Higuera, Hedlind, Renwick, Starkey, 1:35.73, Feb. 22 at Pac-10s 100 breaststroke Birte Steven, 1:02.24, Feb. 23 at Pac-10s 1,000 freestyle Naya Higashijima, 10:14.31 (1,650 split), Feb. 24 at Pac-10s 1,650 freestyle Naya Higashijima, 16:54.91, Feb. 24 at Pac-10s
OREGON STATE EVENT WINNERS: In the dual meet season, Birte Steven and Naya Higashijima led the Beavers with 24 wins. A look at this season's winners (not including relay events): (Wins while swimming as an exhibtion entry are in parentheses, those wins are not included in total)
1. Birte Steven (1) **24 2. Naya Higashijima (2) 24 3. Paula Finlay 13 4. Arianna Higuera 8 5. Suzanne Starkey 5 6. Erin Buckley 1 tie. Bonnie Renwick (1) 2 tie. Jill McMinn 1 tie. Jessica Randleman (1) *- represents a win at the Speedo Cup, Nov. 30-Dec. 2.
BEAVERS' PLACES ON SCHOOL TOP-10 LISTS: The 2000-2001 Oregon State team holds 63 of the 140 places on the list of top-10 performers in each event. Current OSU squad members hold 10 of the 14 individual school records, including four by Higashijima. Steven holds three, while Renwick, Finlay, and Starkey have one apiece.
Here are the members of the 2000-2001 OSU squad with the most entries on the school's all-time leaders list:
1. Naya Higashijima 7 (200 free, 500 free, 1,000 free, 1,650 free, 100 fly, 200 fly) 2. Paula Finlay 6 (200 free, 200 back, 100 breast, 200 breast, 200 IM, 400 IM) 3. Arianna Higuera 5 (50 free, 100 free, 200 free, 100 fly, 200 IM) tie. Bonnie Renwick 5 (50 free, 100 free, 100 back, 100 fly, 200 IM) tie. Suzanne Starkey 5 (50 free, 100 free, 100 back, 200 back, 100 fly) tie. Birte Steven 5 (100 breast, 200 breast, 200 IM, 400 IM, 500 free) 6. Sarah Cohen 4 (100 breast, 200 breast, 200 IM, 400 IM) tie. Amy Imwalle 4 (200 free, 500 free, 1,000 free,1,650 free)WHERE THE BEAVERS RANK ON SCHOOL LISTS: Here are OSU's school records and where members of the 2000-2001 Beavers (listed in bold type) rank on the school's top-10 lists through March 12:
50 FREESTYLE 1. Amy van Loben Sels 23.11 1994 4. Arianna Higuera 23.99 2001 6. Suzanne Starkey 24.32 2001 7. Bonnie Renwick 24.36 2001 10. Trista Hedlind 24.56 2001 100 FREESTYLE 1. Amy van Loben Sels 50.64 1995 4. Arianna Higuera 52.11 2001 6. Suzanne Starkey 52.56 2001 8. Bonnie Renwick 53.19 2000 10. Trista Hedlind 53.25 2000 200 FREESTYLE 1. Traci Lamoure 1:50.91 1998 3. Naya Higashijima 1:52.89 2000 4. Melissa Hsieh 1:54.28 1998 5. Arianna Higuera 1:54.57 2000 7. Paula Finlay 1:54.99 2000 8. Amy Imwalle 1:55.12 1999 9. Erin Buckley 1:55.19 1998 10. Trista Hedlind 1:55.52 2000 500 FREESTYLE 1. Naya Higashijima 4:54.99 2000 5. Birte Steven 5:05.31 2001 7. Amy Imwalle 5:06.95 1999 10. Jill Personius 5:10.63 2000 1,000 FREESTYLE 1. Naya Higashijima 10:14.31 2001 4. Jill McMinn 10:38.50 2000 5. Amy Imwalle 10:38.58 2001 6. Dana Stoddard 10:44.56 1999 1,650 FREESTYLE 1. Naya Higashijima 16:54.91 2001 4. Amy Imwalle 17:28.21 1999 5. Dana Stoddard 17:35.08 1999 7. Jill Personius 17:45.61 2001 8. Jill McMinn 17:51.30 2000 100 BACKSTROKE 1. Suzanne Starkey 57.15 2001 7. Bonnie Renwick 59.44 2001 9. Erin Buckley 1:00.50 2001 200 BACKSTROKE 1. Christy Ryerson 2:03.41 1994 4. Paula Finlay 2:05.45 2001 5. Suzanne Starkey 2:05.93 2001 100 BUTTERFLY 1. Bonnie Renwick 57.04 2001 2. Naya Higashijima 57.17 2001 3. Kristin Martinec 57.20 1999 4. Suzanne Starkey 58.00 2001 5. Melissa Hsieh 58.03 1998 10. Arianna Higuera 59.31 1999 200 BUTTERFLY 1. Naya Higashijima 2:01.43 2001 3. Melissa Hsieh 2:07.67 1998 5. Kristin Martinec 2:09.34 1999 10. Jill McMinn 2:11.28 2000 100 BREASTSTROKE 1. Birte Steven 1:02.24 2001 2. Paula Finlay 1:04.39 2000 3. Kristen Severance 1:05.94 2001 4. Sheila Tehranchi 1:06.26 2001 9. Sarah Cohen 1:07.81 1999 200 BREASTSTROKE 1. Birte Steven 2:14.43 2001 3. Sheila Tehranchi 2:21.17 2001 4. Paula Finlay 2:21.23 2000 5. Kristen Severance 2:21.58 2001 6. Sarah Cohen 2:21.70 1999 200 INDIVIDUAL MEDLEY 1. Paula Finlay 2:05.46 2000 2. Birte Steven 2:05.84 2001 4. Arianna Higuera 2:08.10 1999 7. Kristen Severance 2:09.44 2001 8. Sarah Cohen 2:10.96 1999 9. Bonnie Renwick 2:11.20 2000 400 INDIVIDUAL MEDLEY 1. Birte Steven 4:27.99 2001 3. Paula Finlay 4:28.30 2001 5. Sarah Cohen 4:34.82 1999 8. Naya Higashijima 4:35.85 2000 10. Sheila Tehranchi 4:41.33 1999NOTE: This list complete through Mar. 12
BEAVER SPORTS INFORMATION: Oregon State women's swimming sports information director Travis Lahman can be reached at (541) 737-3720.
