GRANVILLE, Ohio - The Wittenberg men's and women's swimming and diving teams rose to the occasion on Day 3 of the 2015 North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC), turning in a host of top-15 finishes, including a trio of all-league performances and a school record.
As a team, Wittenberg's men were the meet's big mover of the day, jumping three spots in the standings to fifth place with 444.5 points. Denison leads the way, followed closely by Kenyon, while DePauw and Wabash are in a tight battle for third place. The Tigers are just 3.5 points ahead of Wooster heading into the final day of the competition.
The Tiger women maintained their fifth-place finish for a third straight day with 582.5 points. Denison and Kenyon are battling for the top spot here as well, with DePauw comfortably in third and Oberlin in fourth, 46.5 points clear of the Tigers.
The day started with a third-place finish from the women's 200-yard medley relay in a time of 1:47.55. That finish was good for All-NCAC honors for the quartet of sophomore Amy Schulz (Waterloo, Ill./Waterloo), junior Madeline Kraft (Cape Elizabeth, Maine/Cape Elizabeth), freshman Julia Valentine (Columbus, Ohio/Thomas Worthington) and junior Dani Lacy (Louisville, Ky./Louisville Collegiate School).
Schulz added a sixth-place finish in the 100-yard backstroke, Valentine went on to take seventh in the 100-yard breaststroke and Kraft rounded out her day in eighth in the 100-yard breaststroke. Also earning top-15 points were junior Erin Swardenski (Fremont, Calif./Washington) in 12th in the 100-yard butterfly and 10th in the 100-yard backstroke, freshman Samantha Petruzzi (Medina, Ohio/Medina) in 14th in the 100-yard butterfly, and sophomore Emily Faas (Mason, Ohio/Mason) in 12th in the 400-yard Individual Medley.
Finally, freshman Kaitlyn Black (Fort Wayne, Ind./Homestead) earned her second All-NCAC award of the meet as she picked up third place in the 1-meter diving competition.
On the men's side, the individual highlight was provided by senior James Dumstorf (Louisville, Ky./St. Xavier), who touched the wall in a flat tie for third place in the 100-yard breaststroke to earn All-NCAC honors. His time of 56.44 was a significant improvement from his seed time and improved Dumstorf's standing nationally in the event.
Dumstorf also swam a leg of the 200-medley relay that placed fifth while setting a new school record. The quartet of junior Stephen Stuthers (Pittsburgh, Pa./Central Catholic), senior AJ Burt (Wyoming, Ohio/Wyoming), Dumstorf and senior Jared Crum (Galveston, Ind./Lewis Cass) bettered its seed time by nearly six seconds to establish the new program standard.
Burt added a ninth-place finish in the 400-yard Individual Medley and sxith in the 100-yard breaststroke, and Stuthers contributed a 10th in the 400-yard Individual Medley and 12th in the 100-yard backstroke. In addition, freshman Luke George (Brecksville, Ohio/Independence) took 15th in the 400-yard Individual Medley and freshman Kyle Smith (Springboro, Ohio/Springboro) placed 13th in the 100-yard breaststroke.
Written By: Ryan Maurer