Springfield, Ohio – The Wittenberg University swimming & diving teams opened the night by celebrating the careers of its three senior athletes, and put the icing on the cake for the celebration by night's end with a pair of wins over the Hiram College Terriers. The men's team posted a 126-46 victory over Hiram, while the women's team topped the Terriers by a 119-41 margin.
The men's team also swept the relay events on Saturday afternoon, highlighted by senior Charles North anchoring the 400 medley relay team that hit the wall first in 3:56.22. North was joined on the team by freshman Casey Conrad, freshman Benjamin Hongell and sophomore Trey Gregory. The Tigers also got a victory in the 400 free relay (3:35.37) from the team of junior Bradley Barren, Conrad, sophomore Connor Flanagan and Gregory, while senior Ward Bright swam the second leg of the Wittenberg "B" team that finished second in the 400 free relay with a time of 3:41.42. Three swimmers went on to post wins in multiple events on the night, led by Barren winning both the 50 and 100 freestyle events with times of 22.67 and 50.89, respectively. Hongell topped the field in the 200 free (1:49.71) and 200 breast (2:22.69), while freshman Anthony Petruzzi hit the wall first in both the 400 IM (4:30.63) and 500 free (5:07.50).
The women's team bookended the night with a pair of relay wins, opening with the team of freshman Jessica Crowder, junior Annelise Gibson, junior Marita Banta-Long and freshman Abigail Dunasky hitting the wall first in the 400 medley relay in 4:23.27. The Tigers then closed out the night with a winning time of 4:19.30 in the 400 free relay with the team of junior Claire Bergefurd, freshman Emma Menjivar, freshman Sophia Spriggs and Banta-Long. Siefert also picked up and individual event victory in her final collegiate competition at the HPER Center Natatorium with a winning time of 11:46.18 in the 1,000 free, while Dunasky was the lone double winner on the night for the women's team with individual event wins in the 200 free (2:06.25) and 500 free (5:30.45).
With the regular season schedule now complete, Wittenberg will now shift its attention towards training for the 2019 NCAC Swimming & Diving Championships, which are set to take place at Denison University's Trumbull Aquatics Center, February 13-16.