Bobby Ritzi
DELAWARE, Ohio — The Wittenberg men's and women's swimming and diving teams both soundly defeated Ohio Wesleyan in the Tigers' first North Coast Athletic Conference meet and the opening dual meet of the 2009-10 season. The men took the win with 124.5 points to the Battling Bishops' 96.5, while the women took a 134.5 to 89.5 victory.
The men and women combined took first place in 16 of the 24 events, led by senior Bobby Ritzi (Beavercreek, Ohio/Beavercreek), who picked up three first-place finishes, including the 50- and 100-yard freestyle events and as the lead leg of the Tigers' winning 200-yard free relay team. From the same relay team, freshman J.B. Easley (Cincinnati, Ohio/Seven Hills) also topped the field in the men's 200-yard freestyle competition. The relay team was rounded out by freshman Brendan Eggers (Rye, N.Y./Rye) and sophomore Andrew Tran (Columbus, Ohio/Upper Arlington).
Also in the men's portion, junior Chris Culkin (Novi, Mich./Northville) snagged top honors in the 500 free, and fellow junior Conor O'Rourke (Mendham, N.J./Canterbury School) finished first in the 100-yard butterfly. Rounding out the men's first-place events was the 1-meter diving, in which senior Matt Erenpreiss (Columbus, Ohio/Centennial) bested the competition. Altogether, the men won seven of their 12 events.
On the women's side, sophomore Rachel Lee (Hickory, N.C./Hickory) and freshman Ward McNulty (Glencoe, Ill./New Trier) each had a hand in three first-place finishes, while sophomore Keaton Hannon (Peachtree City, Ga./McIntosh), senior Janna House (St. Thomas, Ontario/Central Elgin Collegiate Institute), freshman Sinjin McNicholl (Indianapolis, Ind./Ben Davis) and junior Katie Sbrocco (Highland Heights, Ohio/Mayfield) each took first in two events.
Hannon and House swam in the lead and anchor legs, respectively, of the first-place 200-yard freestyle relay team, joined by McNicholl and McNulty. Lee, McNicholl and McNulty each participated in the winning 200-yard relay, along with Sbrocco.
Hannon also took top honors in the 100-yard butterfly, while House won the 200-yard freestyle event, McNulty took the 50-yard freestyle, and Lee won the 1000-yard free by nearly 20 seconds. Sbrocco picked up the top prize in the 100-yard breaststroke, while senior Emily Roesch (Oakland, Mich./Lake Orion) placed first in the 500-yard free and sophomore Megan Tassone (Cincinnati, Ohio/Ursuline) led the 200-yard individual medley to round out the women's No. 1-finishes. The women won their first six events and nine of 12 overall.
The Wittenberg pool crew opens the home schedule with a dual meet against fellow NCAC member the College of Wooster in the HPER Center Natatorium at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 31.