Season Outlook

2003-04 Wittenberg University swimming and diving seniors: (from left) (kneeling, from left) Alex Berger, Courtney Galliger, Kyle Dunaway, Holly Erickson. (standing, from left) Laura Stapula, Jessica Forsberg, Paul Miller, Steve Rader, Scott Olmsted, Nicole Kinzeler.

The Wittenberg men's and women's swimming and diving teams come into 2003-04 with plenty of momentum after strong conference and national finishes a year ago. Third-year Head Coach Leslie Ramsey welcomes back 11 letterwinners each on the men's and women's teams, led by All-Americans Steve Rader (Painesville, Ohio/St. Ignatius) and Becca Searcy (Shelbyville, Ky./Shelby County).

Rader, a senior, is a three-year NCAA Division III Championships qualifier, and he has posted three fourth-place finishes in individual events in his outstanding career. As one of the top returning swimmers in the nation, Rader will lead a squad blessed with great talent and experience. The Tigers have high hopes of competing with the best teams in the North Coast Athletic Conference, which just happen to be the best teams in the nation as well.

Among the other top returning swimmers on the men's side are senior Alex Berger (Findlay, Ohio/Findlay), senior Kyle Dunaway (Warren, Ohio/Howland) and juniorBlake Troxel (Bluffton, Ind./Norwell). Berger earned one NCAA "B" cut in the 100-yard breaststroke and has multiple All-NCAC designations, Dunaway is a two-year team captain, teaming with Rader in 2003-04, and Troxel scored numerous team points in the NCAC meet, specializing in the individual medley and breaststroke events. Among a group of six new swimmers, freshmen Cody Nicely (Knoxville, Tenn./Bearden), a diver, and Sean Wolf (White Lake, Mich./Walled Lake Central), a freestyler, are expected to make an immediate impact at the conference and national levels.

Searcy competed in three events at the 2003 NCAA Division III Championships and earned Honorable Mention All-America status in two of them. She leads a deep and talented team, led by sophomores Betany Yeakley (Wilmington, Ohio/Wilmington), Amy Conner (Noblesville, Ind./Noblesville) and Leslie Banas (Huntington Woods, Mich./Mercy) and seniors Nicole Kinzeler (Centerville, Ohio/Kettering Alter), Courtney Galliger (Eagan, Minn/Eagan) and Jessica Forsberg (Wickliffe, Ohio/Notre Dame Cathedral Latin). Yeakley posted two NCAA "B" cuts in both backstroke events a year ago, Conner just missed a qualifying time in both breakststroke events, Banas was a finalist in the distance events and Kinzeler, Galliger and Forsberg are standouts on relays.

An outstanding group of freshmen figures to add a great deal to the team's efforts in 2003-04, led by Jenny Mulligan (Cheyney, Pa./Delaware Valley Friends) andShantel Sechrist (Saltsburg, Pa./Saltsburg) in the backstroke events, Mollie Coulton (Dayton, Ohio/Xenia Christian) and Katie Spittler (Carlisle, Ky./Lexington Catholic) in the distance events, and Mary Workman (Medina, Ohio/Cloverleaf), a high-caliber diver.