Betany Yeakley
The Wittenberg men's and women's swimming and diving teams
turned in solid performances in a dual meet at Denison University
last Saturday, the Tigers' first meet since Dec. 5-6, 2003. The
competition kicked off the second half of the 2003-04 season.
Sophomore Betany Yeakley (Wilmington,
Ohio/Wilmington) led the charge for the Tiger women, who
dropped a 146-114 decision to the Big Red, who are perennially in
the top five nationally. Yeakley won a pair of individual events,
the 200-yard backstroke and the 200-yard Individual Medley. In the
backstroke victory, Yeakley touched the wall in an impressive time
of 2:10.99, good for an NCAA "B" Cut.
In addition, sophomore Becca Searcy (Shelbyville,
Ky./Shelby County) finished first in the 1000-yard
freestyle in a time of 10:47.69. Searcy is also a candidate for the
national meet with two NCAA qualifying times already under her
belt. Freshman Jenny Mulligan (Cheyney, Pa./Delaware Valley
Friends) was a winner in the 100-yard backstroke in a time
of 1:01.04.
On the men's side, the Tigers were beaten 166-92 by the Big Red, a
top-five finisher in the national meet in 2003. Top individual
finishers for Wittenberg were junior Blake Troxel
(Bluffton, Ind./Norwell), who touched first in the
200-yard IM in a time of 2:07.82, and senior Steve Rader
(Concord, Ohio/St. Ignatius), who captured the 200-yard
butterfly in a time of 1:59.47. Senior Kyle Dunaway
(Warren, Ohio/Howland) also turned in a strong swim,
clocking 0:57.48 in the 100-yard backstroke to finish third.
The stretch run of the season continues this weekend with a pair of
challenging meets. On Friday, NCAA Division I scholarship program
Wright State comes calling for the annual dual with the Tigers. And
then on Saturday, Wittenberg competes in a tri-meet at the
University of Kentucky with Transylvania and Emory, one of the top
swimming programs in NCAA Division III every year.
The Tigers are working toward the North Coast Athletic Conference
championship meet, which is slated for Feb. 11-14 at C.T. Branin
Natatorium in Canton, Ohio.
Next: 1/23 vs.Wright State, 5 p.m.