SPRINGFIELD, Ohio — The Wittenberg swimming and diving teams put the wraps on the home portion of the 2011-12 dual meet season with a celebration of its 14 seniors during a meet against North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) rival Denison.
The Tiger men dropped a 201-90 decision to the Big Red, ranked second in the nation behind only NCAC rival Kenyon in the latest College Swim Coaches Association of America NCAA Division III poll. Meanwhile, the Tigers fell by a 191-104 margin on the women's side. The Big Red are also ranked second in the latest national women's poll, behind only Emory and one spot ahead of Kenyon.
The score was secondary on this night, however, as 14 Wittenberg seniors were honored during the meet, starting with a beautiful rendition of the Star Spangled Banner by the women's a cappella group Just Eve, including senior Keaton Hannon (Peachtree City, Ga./McIntosh).
Gus Appenbrink (Naperville, Ill./Neuqua Valley), Ted Hutchinson (Sudbury, Mass/Lincoln-Sudbury Regional), Mickey Murphy (Carmel, Ind./Carmel), Matt Parker (Delaware, Ohio/Hayes) and Zachary Stewart (Vincennes, Ind./Lincoln) were the men's senior honored with their parents.
Hannon was joined in the special ceremony during the meet by her women's teammates Nicole George (Independence, Ohio/Independence), Jessica Konczak (Mansfield, Ohio/Madison), Rachel Lee (Hickory, N.C./Hickory), Rachel Leeds (Bexley, Ohio/Bexley), Sinjin McNicholl (Indianapolis, Ind./Ben Davis), Jenna Montali (Richmond Heights, Ohio/Regina), Victoria Parker (Columbus, Ind./North) and Megan Tassone (Cincinnati, Ohio/Ursuline).
In the pool, sophomore Molly Gustafson (West Hartford, Conn./Conard) finished second in the 50-yard breaststroke by a mere .01 and added a second in the 100-yard breaststroke as well. Also on the women's side, sophomore Sarah Wilson (Centennial, Colo./Arapahoe) placed second in the 50-yard backstroke and junior Jane Tsivitse (Wyoming, Ohio/Wyoming) added a second in the 100-yard butterfly.
For the men, freshman AJ Burt (Wyoming, Ohio/Wyoming) placed second in the 50-yard breaststroke and freshman James Dumstorf (Louisville, Ky./St. Xavier) took runner-up honors in the 100-yard breaststroke.
The Tigers, who were competing for the first time since a training trip to Florida during the winter break, will return to action at Hiram at 1 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 14. The men will carry a 5-3 dual meet record into the competition, while the women sport a 7-1 dual meet mark.