GREENCASTLE/TERRE HAUTE, Ind. — The Wittenberg Tiger swimming and diving teams fared well in a pair of invitationals hosted by NCAA Division III rivals in the state of Indiana.
The men's and women's swimming squads both placed second in a strong DePauw Invitational field, finishing only behind the nationally ranked host team in each standings. A few hours downstate, divers representing the Tiger teams turned in respectable finishes in the Rose-Hulman Invitational.
In the diving competition, junior Gus Appenbrink (Naperville, Ill./Neuqua Valley) was the top men's finisher in the both the 1-meter and 3-meter events. He placed third out of 12 divers in the 1-meter with a mark of 383.1, and he followed that with a fourth-place finish (out of nine) in the 3-meter event with a 354.9. On the women's side, senior Megan Shubitowski (Columbus, Ohio/Watterson) was tops in both events, placing fourth out of 20 in the 3-meter with a mark of 345.8 and eighth out of 16 in the 1-meter with a mark of 320.75.
The Tiger men finished with 686 points in the meet, well behind DePauw's 911.5 but 49 points clear of third-place Rose-Hulman. The top scorer for Wittenberg was senior Chris Culkin (Novi, Mich./Northville), who was the team's lone first-place finisher in any individual event. He placed first in the 500 freestyle and first in the 1650 freestyle, in addition to a fourth-place finish in the 200 freestyle.
Freshman Jon Drewsen (Fond du Lac, Wisc./Fond du Lac) was impressive as well, touching the wall in third place in the 100 freestyle, second place in the 500 freestyle and fifth place in the 200 freestyle. Junior Ted Hutchinson (Sudbury, Mass./Lincoln-Sudbury Regional) also had a top-three finish, taking second place in the 200 backstroke to go along with a fifth place in the 100 backstroke, as did freshman Blake Bosworth (Grandville, Mich./Grandville) with a third place finish in the 1650 freestyle to go along with a fifth place in the 500 freestyle.
The Tiger women finished with 660 points in the meet, 349 behind DePauw but 130 ahead of third-place Illinois Wesleyan. The top scorer for Wittenberg was junior Keaton Hannon (Peachtree City, Ga./McIntosh), who was her team's lone individual first-place finisher. She claimed the top spot in the 100 butterfly, in addition to a fourth place finish in the 200 Individual Medley and a third place finish in the 200 butterfly.
Other top-three finishes were posted by junior Megan Tassone (Cincinnati, Ohio/Ursuline) with a third in the 200 Individual Medley to go along with a fifth in the 100 breaststroke, freshman Sarah Wilson (Centennial, Colo./Arapahoe) with a second in the 100 backstroke to go along with a fifth in the 200 backstroke, sophomore Jane Tsivitse (Wyoming, Ohio/Wyoming) with a third in the 100 butterfly to go along with a fourth in the 200 butterfly, sophomore Ward McNulty (Glencoe, Ill./New Trier) with a second in the 50 freestyle, and freshman Molly Gustafson (West Hartford, Conn./Conard) with a second in the 100 breaststroke.