Matt Reiss
The Wittenberg men's and women's swimming and diving teams are off to an outstanding start as they near the end of a whirlwind season-opening six-week stretch. The Tiger women are 4-0 in dual meets and the men are a deceiving 2-3 in duals.
In the last two weeks, the Tiger men have defeated Ohio Wesleyan and Oberlin and lost to Wabash and DePauw. Of the team's three losses, two have been 13 points - against Wooster in the season opener and Wabash - a narrow margin in the world of dual meet swimming and diving.
The Tiger women, on the other hand, have been rolling. In winning four dual meets, Wittenberg has won by at least 31 points against quality opponents Wooster, Ohio Wesleyan, DePauw and Oberlin. Both teams are scheduled for another busy weekend ahead, starting with a Thursday night meet at Hiram, followed by a Saturday afternoon competition at Wilmington.
Leading the way for the women is senior Becca Searcy (Shelbyville, Ky./Shelby County), who has won at least two individual events and at least one relay in each of the first four dual meets. Searcy is hoping to become on a select few Wittenberg swimmers ever to qualify for the national meet all four years of her college career.
In 2005-06, the dual meet wins for the Tiger women have truly been a team effort. Coming off an 8-3 record in 2004-05, the Tigers are getting contributions from many athletes, including familiar faces like senior Betany Yeakley (Wilmington, Ohio/Wilmington) and juniors Jenny Mulligan (Cheyney, Pa./Delaware Valley Friends) and Katie Spittler (Carlisle, Ky./Lexington Catholic) and newcomers like Jenny Riehle (Springfield, Ohio/Greenon), who took first place in the 50-yard freestyle against Ohio Wesleyan.
The Tiger men are paced for a second straight year by sophomore Ryan Schramm (Cincinnati, Ohio/Roger Bacon), who is consistently turning in winning times through the early portion of the 2005-06 season after recording an NCAA B Cut mark as a freshman. In addition, strong first-place swims have been recorded by junior Matt Reiss (Beavercreek, Ohio/Dayton Carroll), sophomore Nick Pierson (Indianapolis, Ind./North Central) and freshmen Andy Bates (Lawrenceburg, Ind./East Central) and Ryan Hamilton (Mount Vernon, Ohio/Charisland Academy).
Also of note, the diving performances by junior Cody Nicely (Knoxville, Tenn./Bearden) and sophomore Courtney Roth (Gurnee, Ill./Lake Forest) continue to be first rate. Neither has lost an event in a dual meet yet this season, and Nicely's scores have been particularly impressive, including a 232 against Oberlin in the 1-meter event.
Next: 11/17 @ Hiram
11/19 @ Wilmington