Tiger Women Capture DePauw Invitational Title For Second Straight Year

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Lindsay Smith

The Wittenberg men's and women's swimming and diving teams served notice over a busy weekend that they are a program on the rise. Riding a wave of season- and personal-best performances, the Tiger men finished second in a strong 11-team field at the DePauw Invitational, while the Tiger women captured the DePauw Invitational title for the second straight year.

In addition, sophomore Courtney Roth (Gurnee, Ill./Lake Forest) continued her phenomenal performance, taking first place in both the 1-meter and 3-meter competitions at the Wabash Diving Invitational. Junior Cody Nicely (Knoxville, Tenn./Bearden) placed second in the 3-meter and eighth in the 1-meter men's diving competitions.

The Tiger women picked up outstanding performances from athletes across a wide range of events, and their depth was the key in overcoming a tough challenge from the host DePauw Tigers. Wittenberg finished 90 points better than DePauw and well ahead of the next group of teams, which included established programs Transylvania, Centre and Illinois Wesleyan.

In the sprint freestyle events, sophomore Lindsay Smith (Mount Vernon, Ohio/Mount Vernon) and freshman Jenny Riehle (Enon, Ohio/Greenon) earned a lot of team points with their strong finishes. Smith placed second in both the 100 and 50-yard freestyle events, while Riehle took fifth and third respectively. Smith finished eighth in the total individual points standings.

As always, the Tigers' top point-scorer was senior Becca Searcy (Shelbyville, Ky./Shelby County), who is approaching the NCAA B Cut standards in several events in a bid to join the select company of four-time NCAA qualifiers in Wittenberg history. Searcy placed first in the 500 freestyle, second in the 400 Individual Medley and first in the 1,650 freestyle en route to a third-place finish in total individual points, just three back of the DePauw swimmers who shared that crown.

Senior Betany Yeakley (Wilmington, Ohio/Wilmington) also had a tremendous meet, finishing fifth in the total individual points standings after taking second in the 200 IM, second in the 200 backstroke and first in the 100 backstroke.

Top-five finishes were also turned in by senior Amy Conner (Noblesville, Ind./Noblesville) in the 100 and 200 breaststroke events, junior Jenny Mulligan (Cheyney, Pa./Delaware Valley Friends) in the 100 and 200 backstroke events, sophomore Kaitlin Clark (Wakeman, Ohio/Firelands) in the 400 IM and 200 freestyle, junior Shantel Sechrist (Saltsburg, Pa./Saltsburg) in the 100 backstroke and sophomore Katie Spittler (Lexington, Ky./Catholic) and senior Leslie Banas (Huntington Woods, Mich./Mercy) in the 1,650 freestyle.

On the men's side, junior Matt Reiss (Beavercreek, Ohio/Dayton Carroll) and sophomore Ryan Schramm (Cincinnati, Ohio/Roger Bacon) were the Tigers' top two individual performers, but once again it was depth that was a factor in the outstanding team finish.

Reiss finished fourth in the 200 IM and second in the 100 and 200 breaststroke events en route to finishing eighth in the total individual points standings. Schramm topped the field in the 500 freestyle, and he added a second place finish in the 400 IM and a third in the 1,650 freestyle on his way to finishing fifth in the total individual points standings.

Other quality performances abounded, including top-five finishes by sophomore Brian Harris (Harrisonburg, Va./Harrisonburg) in the 50 and 100 freestyle events, junior Sean Wolf (White Lake, Mich./Walled Lake Central) in the 100 freestyle, freshman Mike Finlay (Marietta, Ga./Kennesaw Mountain) in the 50 free, freshman Ryan Hamilton (Mount Vernon, Ohio/Charisland Academy) in the 200 free and freshman Chris Banas (Huntington Woods, Mich./Detroit Catholic Central) in the 1650 free.

Next: 1/5 vs. Monmouth
During Florida Training Trip