Sean Wolf
The Wittenberg University men's and women's swimming and diving
teams have done all they can to prepare. Now it's time to get it
done in the biggest meet of each year, the North Coast Athletic
Conference championships at C.T. Branin Natatorium in Canton,
Ohio.
As always, the Tigers are facing the daunting prospect of competing
in the toughest swimming conference in the country. The Kenyon
men's and women's squads are the defending champions, with the
Lords winning 18 of the 19 NCAC crowns contested and the Ladies
winning all 19 previous championships. The Kenyon men are also the
24-time defending national champion, with Denison annually right on
their heels. The Kenyon women also have more than 20 national
titles to their credit, with Denison the only team to break up the
party in the last two decades.
The Tiger men will rely on senior Steve Rader (Concord,
Ohio/St. Ignatius) to score significant points. In the
past, he has been runner-up in the 100-yard butterfly and the
200-yard Individual Medley, and he is a three-time All-American.
Senior Kyle Dunaway (Warren, Ohio/Howland), a team
co-captain with Rader, competes in the freestyle and IM events.
Senior Alex Berger (Findlay, Ohio/Findlay) is the
team's top breaststroker. He met the NCAA cut in the 100 breast as
a junior.
Newcomers Sean Wolf (White Lake, Mich./Walled Lake
Central) in the distance events and Cody Nicely
(Knoxville, Tenn./Bearden) in diving are expected to
compete for conference crowns. The Tigers are hoping to improve
upon last year's fifth-place finish.
On the women's side, Wittenberg returns just one all-conference
performer, but the Tigers have a large number of talented swimmers
who have scored points in past championship meets. The team will be
shooting for a top-four finish for the third year in a row, likely
behind only national top 10 team Kenyon, Denison and Wooster.
Sophomore distance specialist Becca Searcy (Shelbyville,
Ky./Shelby County) is having another outstanding season
after earning All-NCAC honors and Honorable Mention All-America in
2003, and she is expected to contend in the 400-yard IM and
1650-yard freestyle. Freshman Jenny Mulligan (Cheyney,
Pa./Delaware Valley Friends) and sophomore Betany
Yeakley (Wilmington, Ohio/Wilmington) are threats in the
backstroke events, both with national qualifying times already this
season, while sophomore Amy Conner (Noblesville,
Ind./Noblesville) earned an NCAA B cut in the breaststroke
races in 2003.
Next: 2/11-14 NCAC Championships at Canton,
Ohio