Oakland University’s women’s swimming and diving team claimed its second consecutive National Independent Conference championship title, edging out Northern Arizona by only one point. Along the way, the Golden Grizzlies set four NIC records, five pool records and 10 school records.

OU’s men’s team finished fourth with 528 points, while Southern Methodist captured its second consecutive championship with 771 points. Hawaii came in second with 676 and Western Kentucky was third with 538. The Oakland men set two NIC records, two pool records and 11 school records. Two OU swimmers also qualified for the men's NCAA championship meet March 27-29 in Austin, Texas.

The four-day meet, which was held at OU and concluded March 1, was an exciting one for the women as it came down to the last event - the 200 freestyle relay. A close battle between Northern Arizona and Oakland saw the two teams only seven points apart before the relay (Northern Arizona with the lead). However, the Golden Grizzlies prevailed by winning the relay in a time of 3:21.23 to capture the NIC championship with 896 points.

Junior Tanya Korniyenko (Almaty, Kazakhstan) was named NIC Women’s Swimmer of the Year as she led the Golden Grizzlies in individual points to help capture the championship title.

Records set by the OU women include:

• Korniyenko placed first and set a school record in the 100 fly, beating her old records by two hundredths of a second with a time of 55.16. She also took the 200 fly with a time of 2:00.08 to set a new school, pool and NIC record.
   
• Freshman Line Jensen (Silkeborg, Denmark) set a school record in the 200 individual medley race with a time of 2:02.38. She has had the fastest time at every meet so far during the 2002-2003 season and has yet to finish second in the event. Jensen broke another school record in the 400 individual medley with a time of 4:24.77. She finished second in the event behind Northern Arizona’s Emily Simon.
   
• Senior Danielle Ward (Brighton, Mich.) captured the 100 freestyle title and set a new school record with a time of 50.06.
   
• Sophomore Tara Berringer (Eugene, Oregon) came in first place and set a school record in the 100 back with a time of 56.41.
   
• Freshman diver Linda Keskey (Cokato, Mich.) set a school record in the 5-meter platform with 321.70 points. She came in second place.
   
• The 200 free relay team of sophomore Karoline Freytag (Kronach, Germany), Jensen, sophomore Oksana Strelets (Kazakhstan) and Ward finished first while setting a new NIC, pool and school record in a time of 1:32.62.
   
• The 200 medley relay team of Jensen, Korniyenko, Strelets and Ward came in first and set a school, pool and NIC record in a time of 1:43.43.
   
• The 400 free relay team of Freytag, Jensen, Strelets and Ward placed first and set a school, pool and NIC record with a time of 3:21.23.
   
• The 800 freestyle relay team of Freytag, Jensen, Holly Miller (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) and Ward came in first and set a new pool record in a time of 7:26.57.

• Sophomore Chris Sullivan (Rockford, Mich.) took first place and set school, pool and NIC records in the 50 freestyle in a time of 19.63. His preliminary time of 43.62 in the 100 free set a new school, pool and NIC record. In the finals of that event, he came in first with 43.78. He qualified in both events for the NCAA championship. Sullivan also came in second place and set a school record in the 100 fly with a time of 48.50.
   
• Mid-Con Newcomer and Co-Swimmer of the year Scott Dickens (Ancaster, Ontario) made the NCAA qualifying time in the 100 breast in a school-record time of 54.17. The race was closely fought with Hawaii’s Cheyne Bloch, finishing one-thousandth of a second ahead of Dickens to set a new pool and NIC record at 54.13. Dickens, a freshman, also set a school record in the 200 individual medley with a time of 1:49.06. He finished the race in third place behind Bloch, who set a new pool record in the event with a time of 1:46.43.
   
• Freshman Andrew Coupland (Ottawa, Ontario) set a school record in the 200 freestyle in a time of 1:37.80. The race was close with the winner being Peter Thew of Hawaii in a pool record-breaking time of 1:36.80.
   
• Junior diver Scott Wygal set a school record in the 5-meter tower with 263.70 points.
   
• The 200 free relay team of Broadbent, Dickens, senior Doug Drazin (West Bloomfield, Mich.) and Sullivan came in first and set a new school record in a time of 1:19.71. The team caught up to opponents Southern Methodist and both teams hit the pads at the same time, tying for the event title.
   
• The 200 medley relay team of junior Sean Broadbent (Windsor, Ontario), Dickens, freshman Eric Lynn (Plymouth, Mich.) and Sullivan took first place and set a school record with a time of 1:28.19.
   
• The 400 free relay team of Broadbent, Coupland, Dickens and Sullivan set a school record with a time of 2:56.65. Sullivan, who led the race, broke his previous time in the 100 free with a split of 43.27.
   
• The men’s 400 medley relay of Dickens, freshman Ehud Segal (Givat Zeev, Israel), freshman Bryant Steele (Novi, Mich.) and Sullivan finished in second place with a school record in a time of 3:17.39.