WOOSTER, Ohio – The Wittenberg men's and women's swimming and diving teams got their dual-meet seasons started on Saturday with a clash at the College of Wooster, with the men prevailing 157-142 and the women falling 165-121.
The men's side came down to the end, with the 200-yard freestyle relay team of senior A.J. Burt (Wyoming, Ohio/Wyoming), freshman Kyle Smith (Springboro, Ohio/Springboro), freshman Jacob Griffith (Pickerington, Ohio/North) and senior James Dumstorf (Louisville, Ky./St. Xavier), combining for a first-place time of 1:29.94 with the meet on the line for the win.
On the women's side, feshman Nicole McCollum (Fort Myers, Fla./Estero) won the 1,000-yard freestyle for the women in a time of 11:06.41, while freshman Julia Valentine (Columbus, Ohio/Thomas Worthington) took top honors in the 100-yard breaststroke on a time of 1:09.95.
Freshman Kaitlyn Black (Fort Wayne, Ind./Homestead) won both the one- and three-meter diving competitions with scores of 234.25 and 232.30, respectively, and the 200-yard freestyle relay team of freshman Emily Faas (Mason, Ohio/Mason), sophomore Emalie Taylor (Ann Arbor, Mich./Dexter), sophomore Maggie Simmons (Ashland, Ohio/Ashland) and senior Allie Fisher (Tinley, Ill./Victor J. Andrew) won their race at 1:46.39.
The 200-yard medley relay team placed second, consisting of sophomore Amy Schulz (Waterloo, Ill./Waterloo), junior Madeline Kraft (Cape Elizabeth, Maine/Cape Elizabeth), Valentine and junior Dani Lacy (Louisville, Ky./Louisville Collegiate School). Freshman Kelsey Gregory (Eaton, Ohio/Eaton) grabbed second in the 1,000-yard freestyle, junior Margaret White (Westfield, Ind./Westfield) did the same in the 200-yard freestyle, and freshman Samantha Petruzzi (Medina, Ohio/Medina) matched in both the 100- and 200-yard butterfly events. Valentine posted a second-place finish in the 200-yard breaststroke and McCollum was second in the 500-yard freestyle.
For the men, sophomore Stephen Stuthers (Pittsburgh, Pa./Central Catholic) was a winner in the 500- and 1,000-yard freestyle events on times of 5:01.66 and 10:30.35, respectively, as well as the 200-yard individual medley, with a time of 2:03.73. Burt wanted in on the fun with a first-place finish in the 200-yard freestyle thanks to a time of 1:48.65. Burt followed that with a 100-yard breaststroke victory on a time of 1:01.57.
Dumstorf got in on the act with top honors in both the 200-yard butterfly, finishing in 1:59.35, and the 200-yard breaststroke on a time of 2:13.16. Senior Eric Roberts (Willits, Calif./Willits) swept the diving events with a one-meter score of 262.35 and a three-meter score of 276.10.
The Tigers continue the dual-meet schedule with a 1 p.m. visit from Ohio Wesleyan in the HPER Center Natatorium on Saturday, Nov. 1.
John Strawn '07