 THE WINTER SPORTS SEASON at Denison saw dozens of records fall and three conference titles raised thanks to brilliant performances by the Big Red swimming and diving, and women’s basketball teams. Swimming and Diving
 | NCAC Men’s Swimmer of the Year
John Geissinger ’09
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On their annual pilgrimage to Canton, Ohio, for the North Coast Athletic Conference Swimming and Diving Championships, the Big Red had redemption on their minds after so many narrow defeats to their conference rivals from Gambier. Featuring some star athletes sporting shiny-new technical suits like the ones that made their debut in last summer’s Olympics, the Denison men and women each earned their second NCAC championship and staked their claim as a legitimate national title contender when the NCAA Division III Championships roll around in mid-March.
The men’s team led the meet wire-to-wire and was paced by senior John Geissinger of Darien, Conn., who won seven conference championships and set new meet records in every race. Overall, the men won 16 of the 20 events and set 13 NCAC records while posting the largest margin of victory (375.5 points) since 1994. This is the men’s second conference title and their first since 1997.
 | | | NCAC Women’s Swimmer of the Year
Olivia Zaleski ’10
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The women’s results mirrored that of the men in many ways as junior Olivia Zaleski of Corry, Pa., repeated as the Female Swimmer of the Year after seven championships and seven NCAC records. After suffering a 15-point defeat to Kenyon in the final event of the meet at last year’s NCAC Championship, the Big Red put some distance between themselves and their rivals to pull off a 131-point victory and earn their first NCAC win since 2004. Along with Geissinger’s and Zaleski’s top honors, individual conference awards also went to Denison’s Russ Bornschein, Men’s Diver of the Year; Brett Balling, Women’s Diver of the Year; Gregg Parini, Men’s and Women’s Swimming Coach of the Year; and Steve Ritter, Women’s Diving Coach of the Year.
Link here to read more about the NCAC Men’s Swimming and Diving Championships.
Link here to read more about the NCAC Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships.
Link here for a gallery of images from the 2009 North Coast Athletic Conference Swimming and Diving Championships.
Women’s Basketball
 | | | Carolyn Simpson ’09, DU’s leading rebounder and second-leading scorer.
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The recent success of the DU women’s basketball team under head coach Sara Lee has been well documented but the latest incarnation has found new ways to place their own stamp on the record books. After four consecutive NCAC Tournament victories and a conference title in 2007, this year’s Big Red team became the first women’s basketball team in school history to post a perfect 16-0 record in NCAC play. DU ran the table in conference play and won a school-record 16 consecutive games between January 2 and February 24. Despite falling in the semifinals of the conference tournament, snapping a four-year, 13 game winning streak in the NCAC postseason classic, seniors Carolyn Simpson (Dublin, Ohio), Ellen O’Brien (Bethesda, Md.), Sarah Perrine (Springfield, Ohio), Katie St. Clair (Granger, Ind.), Amber Clites (Oakmont, Pa.) and Caitlin Graessle (Galloway, Ohio) leave with 84 career wins, two regular season titles and three NCAA Tournament appearances.
Simpson and O’Brien were joined by Shaina Kaiser, a sophomore wing from Ostrander, Ohio, on this year’s All-North Coast Athletic Conference first team. In addition, Kaiser was named as the 2008-09 NCAC Women’s Basketball Player of the Year.
Link here to read more about the women’s basketball team winning the 2009 conference championship.
Link here for a gallery of images from the 2008-09 Denison women’s basketball season.
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