Blake Troxel
The Wittenberg men's and women's swimming and diving teams
turned in solid performances in a dual meet at Denison University
last Saturday, the Tigers' first meet since Dec. 5-6, 2003. The
competition kicked off the second half of the 2003-04
season.
Sophomore Betany Yeakley (Wilmington,
Ohio/Wilmington)led the charge for the Tiger women,
who dropped a 146-114 decision to the Big Red, who are perennially
in the top five nationally. Yeakley won a pair of individual
events, the 200-yard backstroke and the 200-yard Individual Medley.
In the backstroke victory, Yeakley touched the wall in an
impressive time of 2:10.99, good for an NCAA "B" Cut.
In addition, sophomore Becca Searcy
(Shelbyville, Ky./Shelby County) finished first
in the 1000-yard freestyle in a time of 10:47.69. Searcy is also a
candidate for the national meet with two NCAA qualifying times
already under her belt. FreshmanJenny Mulligan
(Cheyney, Pa./Delaware Valley Friends) was a
winner in the 100-yard backstroke in a time of 1:01.04.
On the men's side, the Tigers were beaten 166-92 by the Big
Red, a top-five finisher in the national meet in 2003. Top
individual finishers for Wittenberg were
junior Blake Troxel (Bluffton,
Ind./Norwell), who touched first in the 200-yard IM
in a time of 2:07.82, and senior Steve Rader
(Concord, Ohio/St. Ignatius), who captured the
200-yard butterfly in a time of 1:59.47.
Senior Kyle Dunaway (Warren,
Ohio/Howland) also turned in a strong swim,
clocking 0:57.48 in the 100-yard backstroke to finish
third.
The stretch run of the season continues this weekend with a
pair of challenging meets. On Friday, NCAA Division I scholarship
program Wright State comes calling for the annual dual with the
Tigers. And then on Saturday, Wittenberg competes in a tri-meet at
the University of Kentucky with Transylvania and Emory, one of the
top swimming programs in NCAA Division III every year.
The Tigers are working toward the North Coast Athletic
Conference championship meet, which is slated for Feb. 11-14 at
C.T. Branin Natatorium in Canton, Ohio.