Tigers Kick Off Second Half Of Season With Two Home Meets

The Wittenberg men's and women's swimming and diving teams haven't been involved in a competition since Dec. 4 at the DePauw Invitational. That doesn't mean the teams have been sitting around simply enjoying the holiday season.

No, they've been working out in preparation for the stretch run of the 2004-05 season, which starts this weekend with home meets against Transylvania on Friday and perennial powerhouse Denison on Saturday. Along with the usual on-campus workouts, the teams enjoyed their annual Florida training trip over the New Year's holiday. A lot of hard work was mixed with fun in the sun as the Tigers prepped for the final weeks of the campaign.

Junior Becca Searcy (Shelbyville, Ky./Shelby County) has once again been the team's standout through the first half of the season, and she is currently the only Tiger swimmer with an NCAA "B" Cut time. Already a two-time honorable mention All-American, Searcy hopes to be joined by several teammates at this year's NCAA Division III meet. Among the top contenders for qualification for the national meet are junior Betany Yeakley (Wilmington, Ohio/Wilmington), junior Amy Conner (Noblesville, Ind./Noblesville) and sophomore Jenny Mulligan (Cheyney, Pa./Delaware Valley Friends), all of whom have achieved B Cut times in past years.

On the men's side, the Tigers are in a rebuilding year, but there have been strong performances turned in throughout the early portion of the schedule and expectations are high that many of the youngest swimmers will mature quickly as the season winds to a close. Leading the charge are sophomore diver Cody Nicely (Knoxville, Tenn./Bearden), who looks to defend his two NCAC titles next month, and freshman Ryan Schramm (Cincinnati, Ohio/Roger Bacon), who was outstanding in distance freestyle races early in the season.

Next: 1/14 vs. Transylvania, 6:30 p.m.
1/15 vs. Denison, 1 p.m.