SPRINGFIELD, Ohio As a new season dawned last fall, Wittenberg University Mens and Womens Swimming and Diving Head Coach Bob Rueppel was flush with optimism. As both the mens and womens teams put together winning dual meet records for the first time since he arrived on campus six years ago, the evidence began to build that he was indeed training a team on the rise.
At the North Coast Athletic Conference Swimming & Diving Championships at C.T. Branin Natatorium in Canton, Ohio Feb. 8-10, the Tigers broke through. No, they didnt end the greatest dynasty in all of sports Kenyon Colleges men and women, who have won 33 of a possible 34 NCAC titles over the last 17 years, took their customary positions atop the standings, while Denison University proved once again that it has fielded teams that will rank among the top four or five teams in the country.
But Wittenberg did move up to fourth place in both the mens and womens standings in 2001. It was the best finish for either team in years, and the 805.5 points on the mens side and 770 points on the womens side were easily the most ever scored by Tiger teams in the NCAC Championships. In addition, a school-record nine Tiger swimmers advanced to the NCAA Division III National Championship meet in Buffalo, N.Y. March 8-10 (women) and 15-17 (men), and a total of 17 Wittenberg school records took a tumble.
And just for good measure, Head Coach Bob Rueppel earned Coach of the Year honors for the improvement shown on both the men's and women's sides.
Leading the charge was senior Aaron Edsall of Circleville, Ohio, who captured the NCAC title in the 100-yard backstroke in a school-record time of 51.22. Edsall, who is just the third Tiger swimmer to advance to the NCAA Championships four straight years, made the national meet in the 200 back and 50 freestyle, and he swam a school record 46.30 in the 100 free, as well. He also plans to compete in the 400 medley relay, 200 medley relay, 400 free relay and 200 free relay (teams that advance four or more swimmers to the NCAA meet can enter those competitors in relay events) there.
Wittenbergs other individual conference champion was junior Jeremy Lazarus of Moens, France, who followed in his brothers footsteps by winning the 100 breaststroke at the conference meet. Julien Lazarus was a four-time champion in the event from 1995-98, and he remains the schools only four-time All-American.
A total of four men qualified for the national meet. Freshman Steve Rader of Concord, Ohio swam well enough in the 200 Individual Medley to automatically gain a berth, and he will also compete there in the 100 butterfly, 100 free and all four relays. Rader, Edsall and Lazarus will be joined in those relays by junior Bob Rafferty of Mount Vernon, Ohio, whose times in the splits at the conference meet advanced him for the first time in his career and contributed to two school records. In the 400 free relay, Edsall, Rafferty, Lazarus and Rader posted a record time of 3:10.24, and then in the 800 free relay, Edsall, Rafferty, Rader and freshman Matt Werbach of Painesville, Ohio put up a mark of 7:03.91.
On the womens side, junior distance freestyle specialist Rachel Juergens, a graduate of nearby Catholic Central High School in Springfield, turned in one of the greatest individual performances in school history, finishing second in the 200 free and 1650 free and contributing to two third-place relay finishes as well. She qualified for the national meet in the 1650 free, 500 free and 200 free, is scheduled to compete in the 400 medley relay, 400 free relay and 200 free relay there as well, and, most remarkably, set four individual school records in the process. Juergens posted Wittenberg-best times of 1:55.85 in the 200 free, 5:04.09 in the 500 free, 17:24.28 in the 1650 free, and 10:29.21 in the 1000 free (recorded as a split during the 1650 competition).
Juergens was also an integral part of three of Wittenbergs four record-setting relay times posted in Canton over the weekend. Joining her on the 400 free relay, which posted a time of 3:37.61, were junior Melissa Beck of Williamsville, N.Y., seniorAlison Dingus of Lexington, Ky., and freshman Courtney Galliger of Eagan, Minn. The 800 free relay foursome of Beck, Dingus, junior Betsy Godin of Downington, Pa., Dingus and Juergens finished in school record time of 7:57.32. The 200 medley relay of senior Melanie Edsall of Circleville, Ohio, junior Paula Hauser of Mason, Ohio, Beck and Galliger swam a time of 1:50.15 to establish a new standard. And the 400 medley relay quartet of Edsall, Hauser, Beck and Juergens recorded a new school best in a time of 4:00.57.
In all, five women will be making the trip to Buffalo for the big meet. Hauser advanced to the national meet for the first time by setting school records in the 100 and 200 breaststroke events, putting up times of 1:08.58 and 2:26.66 respectively. Beck, who also will be making her first trip to nationals, qualified in the 100 butterfly and 100 free. Melanie Edsall put up times in several relays that were enough to qualify her for the year-end competition. And Galliger also swam well enough in her splits of the relays to gain a national meet berth.