2003-04 Wittenberg University swimming and diving
seniors: (from left) (kneeling, from left) Alex
Berger, Courtney Galliger, Kyle Dunaway, Holly Erickson. (standing,
from left) Laura Stapula, Jessica Forsberg, Paul Miller, Steve
Rader, Scott Olmsted, Nicole Kinzeler.
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The Wittenberg men's and women's swimming and diving teams
come into 2003-04 with plenty of momentum after strong conference
and national finishes a year ago. Third-year Head Coach Leslie
Ramsey welcomes back 11 letterwinners each on the men's and women's
teams, led by All-Americans Steve Rader
(Painesville, Ohio/St.
Ignatius) and Becca Searcy
(Shelbyville, Ky./Shelby County).
Rader, a senior, is a three-year NCAA Division III
Championships qualifier, and he has posted three fourth-place
finishes in individual events in his outstanding career. As one of
the top returning swimmers in the nation, Rader will lead a squad
blessed with great talent and experience. The Tigers have high
hopes of competing with the best teams in the North Coast Athletic
Conference, which just happen to be the best teams in the nation as
well.
Among the other top returning swimmers on the men's side are
senior Alex Berger (Findlay,
Ohio/Findlay), senior Kyle
Dunaway (Warren, Ohio/Howland) and
juniorBlake Troxel (Bluffton,
Ind./Norwell). Berger earned one NCAA "B" cut in the
100-yard breaststroke and has multiple All-NCAC designations,
Dunaway is a two-year team captain, teaming with Rader in 2003-04,
and Troxel scored numerous team points in the NCAC meet,
specializing in the individual medley and breaststroke events.
Among a group of six new swimmers,
freshmen Cody Nicely (Knoxville,
Tenn./Bearden), a diver,
and Sean Wolf (White Lake, Mich./Walled Lake
Central), a freestyler, are expected to make an
immediate impact at the conference and national levels.
Searcy competed in three events at the 2003 NCAA Division III
Championships and earned Honorable Mention All-America status in
two of them. She leads a deep and talented team, led by
sophomores Betany Yeakley (Wilmington,
Ohio/Wilmington), Amy Conner
(Noblesville,
Ind./Noblesville) and Leslie
Banas (Huntington Woods, Mich./Mercy) and
seniors Nicole Kinzeler (Centerville,
Ohio/Kettering Alter), Courtney
Galliger (Eagan,
Minn/Eagan) and Jessica
Forsberg (Wickliffe, Ohio/Notre Dame Cathedral
Latin). Yeakley posted two NCAA "B" cuts in both
backstroke events a year ago, Conner just missed a qualifying time
in both breakststroke events, Banas was a finalist in the distance
events and Kinzeler, Galliger and Forsberg are standouts on
relays.
An outstanding group of freshmen figures to add a great deal
to the team's efforts in 2003-04, led by Jenny
Mulligan (Cheyney, Pa./Delaware Valley
Friends) andShantel Sechrist
(Saltsburg, Pa./Saltsburg) in the backstroke
events, Mollie Coulton (Dayton, Ohio/Xenia
Christian) and Katie
Spittler (Carlisle, Ky./Lexington Catholic) in
the distance events, and Mary Workman (Medina,
Ohio/Cloverleaf), a high-caliber diver.