Wittenberg Enjoys Strong First Day At NCAC Championship Meet

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Tiger swimmers prep for the finals of the 400-yard medley relay (Photo courtsey Wabash College)

CANTON, Ohio — Two standout individual performances highlighted a solid first day at the 2007 North Coast Athletic Conference Swimming and Diving Championship meet at C.T. Branin Natatorium in Canton, Ohio.

At the conclusion of the opening day's activities, Wittenberg's women were situated in third place with 208.5 points, while the Tiger men stood fifth with 193 points. Both Wittenberg teams are in pitched battles for the No. 3 position in the meet with two days remaining, as perennial powerhouses and top-five ranked Kenyon and Denison have already created some separation in the overall team competitions. Just 36 points separate the third, fourth and fifth place teams on the women's side, and just 14 points separate the 3, 4 and 5 squads in the men's competition.

The best individual performances were turned in by senior Jen Mulligan (Cheyney, Pa./Delaware Valley Friends) and junior Lindsay Smith (Mount Vernon, Ohio/Mount Vernon). Mulligan earned the seventh NCAA B Cut of her outstanding collegiate career with a time of 59.92 in the 100-yard backstroke as she led off the 400 medley relay for the Tigers. Mulligan's mark came in the morning's preliminary race, but the Tigers slipped from third to fifth in the evening's finals.

Smith finished eighth in the intense 50-yard freestyle race with a time of 24.78. That time, and the mark of 24.73 she posted in the preliminary round, both topped her previous school record of 24.83 established in 2005.

Also on the women's side, All-NCAC honors - distributed to student-athletes earning top-three finishes in an event - went to the 200-yard freestyle relay foursome of freshman Kristin Elber (Brunswick, Ohio/Brunswick), freshman Adeline Brym (Mansfield, Ohio/Lexington), freshman Janna House (St. Thomas, Ontario/Central Elgin Collegiate Institute) and Smith, who captured third place in a time of 1:39.9, about one-half second slower than their time in the prelim.

The Tiger men were led by a fourth-place finish by the 200-yard freestyle relay. The quartet of senior Sean Wolf (White Lake, Mich./Walled Lake Central), freshman Taylor Smith (Mansfield, Ohio/Senior), sophomore Ryan Hamilton (Mount Vernon, Ohio/Charisland Academy) and junior Brian Harris (Harrisonburg, Va./Harrisonburg) teamed up for a time of 1:26.99, less than one-half of a second off All-NCAC honors.

Also of note, freshman Neil Anderson (Lakewood, Ohio/Lakewood) posted a time of 4:40.57 in the B finals of the 500 freestyle, his best time as a collegian. The time, which was good for ninth place in an event that featured six B Cuts, was just two seconds shy of provisional qualification to the NCAA Division III championship meet next month in Houston, Texas.