Divers Excel At RHIT, Swimmers Second At DePauw Invitational
The Tiger swimming and diving teams put the finishing touches on the first half of the 2011-12 season with outstanding performances at both the DePauw Invitational and the Rose-Hulman Diving Invitational.
GREENCASTLE/TERRE HAUTE, Ind. — The Tiger swimming and diving teams put the finishing touches on the first half of the 2011-12 season with outstanding performances at both the DePauw Invitational and the Rose-Hulman Diving Invitational.
The swimmers put together a stellar finish at the DePauw Invitational, finishing second to the host Tigers out of eight teams in both the men's and women's team competitions. Wittenberg's women trailed DePauw 993-776.5 but easily outpointed Illinois Wesleyan, which finished more than 300 points behind the Tigers in third place. The Tiger men were lapped by DePauw 1146-532, but Wittenberg finished 38 points clear of third-place Rose-Hulman.
Meanwhile, a trio of divers competed in a non-scoring invitational at Rose-Hulman. Senior Gus Appenbrink (Naperville, Ill./Neuqua Valley) was the big story for the Tigers, winning the 3-meter competition with a score of 365 and the 1-meter with a score of 407.15, just seven points off the school record. Freshman Eric Roberts (Willits, Calif./Willits) placed second in both events, finishing with 290.8 in the 3-meter event and 274.4 in the 1-meter event.
Several women were big point-scorers in the meet, starting with junior Jane Tsivitse (Wyoming, Ohio/Wyoming), who finished first in the 200-yard Individual Medley and 100-yard freestyle, in addition to second in the 100-yard butterfly. She was also a member of the winning 200-yard freestyle relay with freshman Logan Griffith (Pickerington, Ohio/North), junior Ward McNulty (Glencoe, Ill./New Trier) and senior Sinjin McNicholl (Indianapolis, Ind./Ben Davis) and the winning 400-yard medley relay with sophomore Sarah Wilson (Centennial, Colo./Arapahoe), senior Keaton Hannon (Peachtree City, Ga./McIntosh) and sophomore Molly Gustafson (West Hartford, Conn./Conard).
In addition, Tsivitse was a member of the second-place 400-yard freestyle relay with McNicholl, McNulty and junior Claire Shannon (Cincinnati, Ohio/Turpin), and the second-place 800-yard freestyle relay with Shannon, sophomore Courtney Carani (Lake Bluff, Ill./Lake Forest) and senior Rachel Lee (Hickory, N.C./Hickory).
Shannon added second-place finishes in the 500-yard freestyle and 1650-yard freestyle, while Hannon chipped in with a first in the 100-yard butterfly and a third in the 200-yard butterfly. In addition, Wilson claimed first place in the 100-yard backstroke and third in the 200-yard backstroke and McNulty contributed a victory in the 50-yard freestyle.
The top point-scorer among the Tiger men was freshman A.J. Burt (Wyoming, Ohio/Wyoming), who took third in the 100-yard breaststroke and 1650-yard freestyle to go along with a first-place finish in the 400-yard Individual Medley, accomplished in a school record time of 4:12.76. Burt was also a member of the third-place 200-yard freestyle relay with junior J.B. Easley (Cincinnati, Ohio/Seven Hills), freshman James Dumstorf (Louisville, Ky./St. Xavier) and freshman Jared Crum (Galveston, Ind./Lewis Cass), and the third-place 800-yard freestyle relay of senior Matt Parker (Delaware, Ohio/Hayes), freshman Ed Young (Shaker Heights, Ohio/University School) and Easley.
Dumstorf added a second in the 200-yard breaststroke and third in the 200-yard Individual Medley. He also swam the opening leg of the second-place 400-yard freestyle relay, followed by Easley, Crum and junior Brendan Eggers (Rye, NY/Rye).