GRANVILLE, Ohio — The Wittenberg men's and women's swimming & diving teams took to the road and resumed their dual meet schedule at Denison. Facing the reigning men's and women's North Coast Athletic Conference champions, the men fell to 7-3 on the season with a 168-103 loss, while the women dropped to 6-4 with a 153-125 defeat.
Molly Gustafson (West Hartford, Conn./Conard) headlined the meet with an outstanding first-place finish in the 100 breaststroke on a time of 1:08.42. The time represents the second best performance in the event in school history. Only junior Megan Tassone (Cincinnati, Ohio/Ursuline), the school record holder at 1:06.46, has performed better.
The women started the meet led by a solid 1:53.47 finish in the 200-yard medley relay, good for fourth, a team that consisted of freshman Sarah Wilson (Centennial, Colo./Arapahoe), Gustafson, junior Keaton Hannon (Peachtree City, Ga./McIntosh) and sophomore Ward McNulty (Glencoe, Ill./New Trier).
The men posted a matching fourth-place finish in the same event, thanks to a time of 1:40.87 on solid legs from junior Ted Hutchinson (Sudbury, Mass./Lincoln-Sudbury Regional), senior Phil Bambach (Dublin, Ohio/Jerome), senior Conor O'Rourke (Mendham, N.J./Canterbury School) and freshman Jon Drewsen (Fond du Lac, Wisc./Fond du Lac).
Senior Chris Culkin (Novi, Mich./Northville) then turned in a time of 10:10.11 in the 1000 free, good for third, just before Gustafson turned heads with her time in the 100 breast.
Sophomore Michael Garza (Dayton, Ohio/Hampton) followed Gustafson's performance with a fourth-place finish in the men's version on a time of 1:03.11.
Hutchinson added a time of 2:02.61 for a fourth-place finish in the 200 fly, and Drewsen was just edged in third place in the 50 free on a time of 22.60.
The Tigers return to the water with a home meet hosting the Hiram Terriers tomorrow, Saturday, Jan. 15, at 1 p.m. in the HPER Center Natatorium.