CANTON, Ohio - From the opening days of conditioning, the Tiger swimming and diving teams knew that this season had potential to be one of the best in program history. A combination of ripened veterans and exuberant youth had the Tigers primed for a record-setting year that included the first-ever dual sweep of Wooster and the men's first-ever dual victory over Wabash. From there, the momentum snowballed into talk of the men's program's first-ever top-three finish in the NCAC, while the women look to return the top three after a one-year hiatus. With the NCAC Championships under way, the Tigers continued to turn heads with season-best performances and NCAA 'B' cut times en route to third-place finishes in the standings through Day 1.
The men kicked off action in fine fashion, claiming a third-place relay in the 200 freestyle, good for All-NCAC honors and a school record. Sophomore Zach Stewart (Vincennes, In./Lincoln) led off for the Tigers, before juniors Taylor Smith (Mansfield, Ohio/Senior) and Bobby Ritzi (Beavercreek, Ohio/Beavercreek) and sophomore Matt Higbee (Columbus, Ohio/Upper Arlington) closed out a 1:24.14. The time exactly matched the NCAA 'B' cutoff time, while edging fourth-place Allegheny by one-hundredth of a second. Higbee also led the Tiger effort in the 50 freestyle, taking tenth-place in a time of 21.28. As for Smith, his opening leg of the 400 medley relay proved to be good enough for another Tiger 'B' cut.
Individually, Neil Anderson (Lakewood, Ohio/Lakewood) began his pursuit of big points and national qualifying cuts with a successful 500 freestyle. The junior logged a time of 4:37:01, almost two full seconds under the 'B' cut time while taking sixth-place in a deep distance field. Chris Culkin (Novi, Mich./Northville) tallied 16 points with his 11th place mark in the same event. Also of note was Smith's backstroke leg in the 400 medley relay, which was good for another NCAA 'B' standard.
Anderson was not the only Tiger to make a national cut in the 500 freestlye, as junior Adeline Brym (Mansfield, Ohio/Lexington) headlined the women's strong day one with a time of 5:02.31 in the day's distance event. Her effort, good for ninth place, would only be the start for her strong Day 1. Brym then led off the night-capping Tiger 400 medley relay that took fourth-place in a time of 3:56.61, a time worthy of another 'B' standard and also set a school record. A trio of freshmen - Megan Tassone (Cincinnati, Ohio/Ursuline), Keaton Hannon (Peachtree City, Ga./McIntosh), and Cecilia Wille (Knoxville, Tenn./Farragut) - joined Brym on the NCAA standard time. Brym's backstroke leg itself was also under a NCAA 'B' standard.
Hannon also led the way of the Tigers in the 200 IM, claiming 13th spot overall in a time of 2:11.84, followed by Tassone, who finished less than two-tenths of a second and one place behind.
On the diving board, Matt Erenpreiss (Columbus, Ohio/Centennial) led a parade of Tiger divers who helped light up the scoreboard. Erenpreiss took fourth in the 3 meter diving event with a score of 373.05. Meanwhile, sophomore Megan Shubitowski (Columbus, Ohio/Watterson) claimed the fourth-spot in the 1-meter dive, scoring 329.10.
The Tiger men accrued 297.5 points in Day One, more than 70 points clear of fourth-place Allegheny, while the women sit at 272 in a tight battle with the Gators, who follow 23 points behind. Day 2 includes the 200 Medley Relay, the three sprints in the breast, back, and fly, and the 800 freestyle relay.