GREENCASTLE, Ind. — The Wittenberg swimming teams finished the fall portion of their schedule in style, the women taking second and the men third at the DePauw Invitational, while the divers took first place in three out of four events at the companion Rose-Hulman Diving Invitational.
The women improved on their third-place 2008-09 finish in the same event, led by junior Megan Shubitowski (Columbus, Ohio/Watterson), who swept the diving events. In the lanes, freshman Ward McNulty (Glencoe, Ill./New Trier), senior Janna House (St. Thomas, Ontario/Central Elgin Collegiate Institute), sophomore Cecilia Wille (Knoxville, Tenn./Farragut) and sophomore Sinjin McNicholl (Indianapolis, Ind./Ben Davis) took first in the 400 free relay, leading a smattering of successful events for the Tigers.
The Tiger women also took first in the 100 fly behind sophomore Keaton Hannon (Peachtree City, Ga./McIntosh), whose time of 58.72 earned her an NCAA provisional qualifying time for the national meet. She was backed up by freshman Jane Tsivitse (Wyoming, Ohio/Wyoming) in second. Freshman Adrienne Andrews (Bristol, Ind./Northridge) took second in the 400 individual medley, followed closely by sophomore Rachel Lee (Hickory, NC/Hickory) in fourth. Wittenberg secured three of the top five places in the 50 free, with McNulty in second, Wille in fourth and McNicholl in fifth. McNulty's 24.52 set a school record while narrowly missing a provisional qualifying time. Rounding out the best performances by the women was sophomore Megan Tassone (Cincinnati, Ohio/Ursuline) with third in the 200 backstroke.
Holders of the 2008-09 title in the DePauw Invitational, the Tiger men posted a solid third-place finish this time around. Senior diver Matt Erenpreiss (Columbus, Ohio/Centennial) won the 1-meter competition among a field of 17 and placed second in the 3-meter event among 12 others, while sophomore Gus Appenbrink (Naperville, Ill./Neuqua Valley) helped with second from the 3-meter board.
In the lanes, seniors Taylor Smith (Mansfield, Ohio/Senior) and Neil Anderson (Lakewood, Ohio/Lakewood) led with two second-place finishes, Smith in the 100 backstroke and Anderson in the 200 free, an event in which he set the meet record with a time of 1:43.48 a year ago. Both Anderson and Smith swam on the Tigers' third-place 400 free relay team, along with junior Zach Stewart (Vincennes, Ind./Lincoln) and senior Bobby Ritzi (Beavercreek, Ohio/Beavercreek). Rounding things out, freshman Michael Garza (Dayton, Ohio/Hampton) placed fourth in the 200 breaststroke.
The Tigers settle in for finals and a winter break trip before starting back up in January at 6 p.m. on the 15th, hosting Denison.