Season in Review

On the heels of one of the best seasons in school history, the 2006-07 men's and women's swimming and diving teams might have upped the ante even more for next season after another great year.

With the return of 12 letterwinners on the men's side and 14 letterwinners on the women's side in 2006-07, improvement was almost sure to come. Thanks to the leadership of those returning letterwinners and some fine performances from a strong freshman class, the women again posted one of the best records in school history with an 8-2 mark in dual meet action, while the men also finished with one of the best records in school history at 7-4 in duals.

The Tigers capped the season with strong performances at the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) championship meet. The women matched the program's best finish ever at third, matching the 2005-06 season, while the Tiger men placed fifth, also the same as the 2005-06 season. 

The women's team has posted the best finish for either the Tiger men or women since Wittenberg joined the NCAC in 1989 in back to back seasons. The men finished fifth for a second straight year, losing out on a close competition for positioning behind Kenyon and Denison, two of the top teams in the nation again in 2006-07. 

Junior diver Courtney Roth (Gurnee, Ill./Lake Forest) again led the awards ceremony for Wittenberg as she was named the NCAC Diver of the Year for the second year in a row. Roth swept the diving events at the NCAC meet, finishing first in both the 1-meter and 3-meter events. Last year at the NCAC meet, Roth finished second in the 1-meter event and fourth in the 3-meter event.

Roth was not the only one to enjoy success at the NCAC meet, though, as juniorLindsay Smith (Mount Vernon, Ohio/Mount Vernon) found her way into the Wittenberg record books while at the meet. After topping her own mark in the 50-yard freestyle on the first day of competition, Smith came back the second day with a school record mark of 53.64 in the 100 free on Saturday, topping a 17-year-old record.

Smith was also part of the school-record 800-meter freestyle relay on Friday, so it was only fitting that she anchored the 400 free relay to a school record on Saturday. The quartet of freshman Adeline Brym (Mansfield, Ohio/Lexington), freshman Kristin Elber (Brunswick, Ohio/Brunswick), freshman Janna House (St. Thomas, Ontario/Central Elgin Collegiate Institute) and Smith touched the wall in 3:36.88, eclipsing a record set last year and coming within one second of an NCAA B Cut.

Also of note on the women's side were top-eight finishes in the 1650 free by juniorKaitlin Clark (Wakeman, Ohio/Firelands) and senior Katie Spittler (Carlisle, Ky./Lexington Catholic), who finished sixth and eighth respectively to lead a strong Wittenberg contingent in the event.

Courtney Roth

For the second year in a row, the Tiger men were also led by a div as senior Cody Nicely (Knoxville, Tenn./Bearden) placed fourth in the 1-meter - his fourth All-NCAC conference honor - and fourth in the 3-meter.

In the pool, the highlight was unquestionably the meet-ending 400 free relay as the Tigers turned in a third-place finish to earn All-NCAC honors for junior Ryan Hamilton (Mount Vernon, Ohio/Charisland Academy), freshman Neil Anderson (Lakewood, Ohio/Lakewood), senior Sean Wolf (White Lake, Mich./Walled Lake Central) and junior Brian Harris (Harrisonburg, Va./Harrisonburg). With a time of 3:11.49, the relay finished just off both a school record and an NCAA B Cut.

Individually, Anderson and Harris paced the Tigers top individual finishes as Anderson finished fifth in the 200 free and ninth in the 500 free and 200 butterfly. Harris finished ninth in the 50 free and seventh in the 100 free. Freshman Taylor Smith (Mansfield, Ohio/Senior) also enjoyed some individual awards as he earned a sixth place finish in the 100 backstroke and a ninth place finish in the 200 backstroke. Sophomore Chris Banas (Huntington Woods, Mich./Detroit Catholic Central) turned in one of his best performances of the year, finishing eighth in the 1650 free.

The 400 free relay was not the only relay scoring points for the Tigers as the 200 free relay team finished fourth. Wolf, Hamilton, Smith, and Harris teamed up to turn in a great performance.

Natalie Koukis (Ohio Wesleyan '99) completed her third year as head coach of the Tiger's swimming and diving teams. She took over as head coach of the Tigers in July 2004, coming from the Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) in Worcester, Mass., where she led WPI to their best finishes in school history.

Since her arrival at Wittenberg the swimming and diving teams have improved in each of her three years. In 2006 the Tiger women finished with the best finish in school history. The Tiger men improved their standing from a year ago in the ultra competitive NCAC. Koukis was awarded NCAC Coach of the Year honors in 2006 for the resounding success the Tigers enjoyed during the 2005-06 season. In 2007, the team was recognized for their outstanding academic achievements as well, as the team was awarded with a College Swimming Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) Team Academic Award. Under her direction, the Tigers have broken over a dozen school records and have placed over 10 student-athletes on the All-NCAC honor rolls.