Granville, Ohio- Following three total events on night one action at the 2019 NCAC Swimming & Diving Championships, the Wittenberg University Swimming & Diving programs both picked up key points in the team standings. With two total events in the books, the women's team has accumulated 71 total points and sits in seventh-place overall, while the men picked up 50 points on night one and currently sit eighth overall in the team standings.
Denison currently holds the lead in the women's team standings with 158 points, while Kenyon sits atop the men's standings with 70 points.
On the women's side, the Tigers opened the action with a sixth-place showing in the 800-free relay, as the team of freshman Abigail Dunasky, senior Morgan Siefert, junior Claire Bergefurd and junior Marita Banta-Long reached the wall with a season-best time in the event of 8:11.68. Their time in the event was nearly 32 seconds better than the time team's previous top mark in the event of 8:43.98, set at the Transylvania Invitational back in early December. In addition to the relay squad, sophomore Kateleigh Lorimer was also in action on night one as she finished 13th overall in the women's three-meter diving competition with a score of 172.00.
In the men's 800-free relay on the opening night of the championships, the Wittenberg men's team of freshman Benjamin Hongell, freshman Anthony Petruzzi, junior Nick Angeli and junior Drew Suffoletta finished eighth overall with a time of 7:18.90.
The 2019 NCAC Swimming & Diving Championships continue through Saturday evening, February 16th, at Denison University. Preliminary events start at 9:30 a.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday, while the final sessions begin each night at 6:00 p.m.