Tigers Open Season With NCAC Relays At Kenyon

The Wittenberg Swimming & Diving teams officially opened the 2002-03 season with a strong showing at the annual NCAC Relays, hosted by Kenyon on Saturday. The diving portion was hosted by Denison, also on Saturday.

The Tigers are in a rebuilding mode after several All-Americans graduated in the last two years. Still, Wittenberg competed well against some of the finest teams in NCAA Division III, finishing fifth in both the men's and women's meets, fourth when factoring only the swimming portions of each team competition.

For the women, veterans Courtney Galliger (Eagan, Minn./Eagan) and Nicole Kinzeler (Centerville, Ohio/Alter) lead the team with exceptional performances. Newcomers Rebecca Searcy (Shelbyville, Ky./Shelby County Bloomington), Betany Yeakley (Wilmington, Ohio/Wilmington), Amy Conner (Noblesville, Ind./Noblesville) and Sarah Schick (Bloomington, Ind./North) debuted their talent for the Tigers as they swam to strong finishes in each relay event.

The junior class led the way for the men as Matt Werbach (Painesville, Ohio/Hawken), Scott Olmsted (Castle Rock, Colo./Cherry Creek), Steve Rader (Concord, Ohio/Cleveland St. Ignatius), Alex Berger (Findlay, Ohio/Findlay), Kyle Dunaway (Warren, Ohio/Howland) and Steven Barry (Rocky River, Ohio/Rocky River) produced strong points for the team's total. Also producing a strong finish was sophomore Blake Troxel (Bluffton, Ind./Norwell), a transfer student who the Tigers have high hopes for in 2002-03.

The swimming and diving teams will kick off their dual meet season on Saturday with a match-up against the College of Wooster. It is the start of a busy dual meet schedule in which Wittenberg will square with a number of the top teams in the nation, including Kenyon, Denison and Emory.

Next: 11/2 @ Wooster, 1 p.m.