Head Coach Readies Tigers To Make Big Splash At NCAC Championship

The Wittenberg men's and women's swimming and diving teams have reached the big moment, and after three meets in the last two weeks as primers, first-year Head Coach Natalie Koukis has high hopes that the Tigers are ready to make a big splash at the North Coast Athletic Conference championship meet in Canton, Ohio, Feb. 10-12.

The dual meet season concluded with meets against Ohio Northern at home on Jan. 21, Wright State on the road on Jan. 28 and Case Western Reserve at home on Jan. 29. The men beat ONU but lost the last two for a 6-6 finish to the 2004-05 dual meet season. The women beat ONU and CWRU and lost to NCAA Division I Wright State to cap their duals campaign at 8-3 overall. For the women, the strong finish in the dual meets buoyed hopes for an equally strong finish in the conference championship meet, which will feature three of the top 10 teams in the nation in Kenyon, Denison and Wooster. The Tigers have been slowly making up ground on the league's heavy-hitters in recent years, including a school-record point total in 2004 en route to a fourth-place finish.

Against Ohio Northern, the Tiger women won 129-98 as sophomore Katie Spittler (Lexington, Ky./Catholic), junior Becca Searcy (Shelbyville, Ky./Shelby County), sophomore Shantel Sechrist (Saltsburg, Pa./Saltsburg), freshman Kaitlin Clark (Wakeman, Ohio/Firelands), freshman Courtney Roth (Gurnee, Ill./Lake Forest), sophomore Colleen Costigan (Chagrin Falls, Ohio/Kenston), sophomore Jen Mulligan (Cheyney, Pa./Delaware Valley Friends), junior Leslie Banas (Huntington Woods, Mich./Mercy) and junior Amy Conner (Noblesville, Ind./Noblesville) all claimed individual victories.

Against Wright State, Searcy won three times, including the 1650-yard freestyle in which she posted an NCAA B Cut time, while junior Betany Yeakley (Wilmington, Ohio/Wilmington) also claimed an individual first. Rounding things out, Searcy was good for three more wins in a 137-101 victory over Case Western. She was joined in the winners' circle by freshman Lindsay Smith (Mount Vernon, Ohio/Mount Vernon) and Roth with two wins and Yeakley and Conner with single victories.

For the men, there was a 129-105 win over Ohio Northern, followed by a pair of fairly decisive losses. Still, there were plenty of individual highlights, starting with two individual wins apiece against ONU by sophomores Matt Reiss (Beavercreek, Ohio/Dayton Carroll) and Cody Nicely (Knoxville, Tenn./Bearden). Also touching the wall first were sophomore Sean Wolf (White Lake, Mich./Walled Lake Central), freshman Brian Harris (Harrisonburg, Va./Harrisonburg) and senior Jonathan Newcomer (Valencia, Pa./Mars Area).

After getting shut out against Wright State, the Tigers rebounded with individual victories from senior Blake Troxel (Bluffton, Ind./Norwell), freshman Corey Schramm (Cincinnati, Ohio/Roger Bacon) and freshman Ryan Schramm (Cincinnati, Ohio/Roger Bacon).

Next: 2/10-12 @ NCAC Championships