The Wittenberg men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams have kicked off the 2005-06 season with a strong finish in the North Coast Athletic Conference Relays on Oct. 22 at Kenyon and a split against arch-rival Wooster in an Oct. 29 dual meet.

At the NCAC Relays, the Tiger women placed fourth, just four points behind Allegheny in the chase to follow national powerhouses Kenyon and Denison. The Tiger men placed fifth, tied with Allegheny with 78 points.

The Tigers’ best finish in the NCAC Relays was turned in by the quartet of senior Becca Searcy (Shelbyville, Ky./Shelby County), senior Amy Conner (Noblesville, Ind./Noblesville), sophomore Kaitlin Clark (Wakeman, Ohio/Firelands) and freshman Mackenzie Yamamoto (Ann Arbor, Mich./Pioneer) in the 200-yard breaststroke event. Wittenberg placed fifth in that event.

On the men’s side, the best finish was also in the 200-yard breaststroke relay as the quartet of junior Ben Weible (Lakewood, Ohio/Lakewood), sophomore Ryan Schramm (Cincinnati, Ohio/Roger Bacon), sophomore Jordan Brown (Lexington, Ky./Tates Creek) and junior Matt Reiss (Beavercreek, Ohio/Dayton Carroll) finished sixth.

Against Wooster, the Tiger women won 136-101 behind Searcy and her three individual wins. Also of note were a pair of diving wins by sophomore Courtney Roth (Gurnee, Ill./Lake Forest) and first-place finishes by senior Betany Yeakley (Wilmington, Ohio/Wilmington) and junior Jenny Mulligan (Cheyney, Pa./Delaware Valley Friends).

The Tiger men fell 126-113 to Wooster. Junior Cody Nicely (Knoxville, Tenn./Bearden) won both diving events, while Ryan and Corey Schramm (Cincinnati, Ohio/Roger Bacon) and sophomore Nick Pierson (Indianapolis, Ind./North Central) all enjoyed individual victories during the meet.

Next: 11/4 vs. Ohio Wesleyan
11/5 vs. DePauw