Tiger swimers salute their seniors at the 2008-09 home finale
Springfield, Ohio — Wittenberg University's women's swimming and diving team made waves both in and out of the pool during the 2008-09 school year. The Tigers finished in the top half of one of the most competitive swimming and diving conferences in NCAA Division III and recently earned accolades from the College Swimming Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) for outstanding academic performance.
The Tiger women posted a 3.24 team grade point average (GPA) to earn a 2008-09 CSCAA Team Scholar All-Academic Award. The award honors teams that display excellence in the classroom by maintaining at least a 3.0 cumulative team GPA on a 4.0 scale.
Individually, Kristin Elber, class of 2010 from Brunswick, Ohio, Megan Tassone, class of 2012 from Cincinnati, Ohio, and Rachel Lee, class of 2012 from Hickory, N.C., were all honorable mention Scholar All-Americans for 2008-09. Honorable mention status is conferred to student-athletes who earn provisional (B Cut) qualifying times for the NCAA Division III Championship meet while maintaining a cumulative GPA of 3.5 or better on a 4.0 scale.
Elber and Lee were both members of Wittenberg's 800 freestyle relay that finished third in the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) championship meet with an NCAA B Cut time of 7:52.17. Tassone and Elber were members of the 200 medley relay that also earned an NCAA B Cut time of 1:48.62 at the conference championships. Both relays set school records.
Additionally, Tassone rounded out her tremendous freshman collegiate campaign with an NCAA B Cut time of 1:06.46 in the 200 freestyle.
"Student-athletes must budget their time and organize themselves well to meet the challenges of both schoolwork and collegiate athletics," said Wittenberg Head Coach Natalie Koukis, a two-time NCAC Coach of the Year honoree. "I'm very proud of the fact that the student-athletes in this program can reach a high level of achievement in both areas."
The Tigers open the 2009-10 season on Oct. 24 at the annual NCAC Relays, hosted by Kenyon College. The dual meet portion of the schedule begins at 6 p.m. Friday, Oct. 30, when the Ohio Wesleyan Battling Bishops play host to Wittenberg.