Season Outlook

Tiger team members get fired up prior to a 2007 home meet.

The Wittenberg men's and women's swimming and diving teams come off solid performances in the 2007-2008 North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) championship meet hungry to continue making improvement. With rosters stocked with talent and experience and bolstered by the addition of 21 promising newcomers, the time may be right for the Tiger teams to do just that. 

The Tiger women return 14 letterwinners, highlighted by NCAA B standard qualifierAdeline Brym (Mansfield, Ohio/Lexington), a junior who excels in the 200- and 500-yard freestyle events, as well as the 100-yard backstroke. Brym, who holds the school record in the 200 free, is a versatile performer who will continue to provide outstanding swims in a variety of events. Brym has earned multiple all-conference honors in her first two collegiate seasons, both individually and as a member of relay teams.

Seniors Kelly Eggers (Rye, N.Y./Rye) and Allison Reed (Duluth, Ga./Duluth) are co-captains on this year's squad and are expected to provide leadership for the Tiger women both in and out of the pool.

The junior class goes much deeper than Brym, including several other returning all-conference honorees. Janna House (St. Thomas, Ontario/Central Elgin Collegiate Institute) and Kristin Elber (Brunswick, Ohio/Brunswick) were members of the 800 free relay with Brym that garnered all-conference honors last season. The trio was also part of the record-setting 200 free relay. In addition,Megan Bundy (Canfield, Ohio/Canfield), Melissa Capelli (Beavercreek, Ohio/Beavercreek), Emily Elliot (Cincinnati, Ohio/Clark Montessori), Laura Joseph (Weston, Conn./Weston) and Amy Prugh (Indianapolis, Ind./North Central) were all key contributors for the Tigers last season and added to an already deep team.

The sophomore class is headlined by standout diver and all-conference award-winner Megan Shubitowski (Columbus, Ohio/Watterson). Other returning sophomores include diver Christen Brown (Independence, Ohio/Independence),Ingrid Holda (Strongsville, Ohio/Strongsville) and Katie Sbrocco (Highland Heights, Ohio/Mayfield).

The Tiger women welcomed 13 newcomers to the program this fall, including potential impact performers Keaton Hannon (Peachtree City, Ga./McIntosh) in the butterfly, Rachel Lee (Hickory, N.C./Hickory) in the distance freestyle, Megan Tassone (Cincinnati, Ohio/Ursuline) in the breaststroke and Cecilia Wille (Knoxville, Tenn./Farragut) in the sprint freestyle. Those new student-athletes have the potential to help the Tigers move back into the upper echelon of the ultra-competitive NCAC again in 2008-09 after a sixth-place finish a year ago.

The Tiger men enter the 2008-09 season with great momentum after the team's best conference finish since 2001. Much of that momentum is provided by junior NCAA B standard qualifiers Taylor Smith (Mansfield, Ohio/Senior) and Neil Anderson (Lakewood, Ohio/Lakewood). Smith was the Tigers' lone representative at the NCAA Division III championship meet, where he swam the 100 and 200 back and 50 free. Anderson had a remarkable season as well, highlighted by his record-breaking performance in the 500 free, in which he shattered the school record by four seconds. Anderson also holds the school record in the 200 free.

The Tiger men return 17 letterwinners, led by seniors Chris Banas (Huntington Woods, Mich./Detroit Central Catholic), Andy Bates (Lawrenceburg, Ind./East Central) and Robby McNeese (Cincinnati, Ohio/Turpin), who will serve as tri-captains for the Tigers in 2008-09 season. All three made strong contributions in the 2007-08 NCAC meet.

Junior diver Matt Erenpreiss (Columbus, Ohio/Centennial) had a fine year on the boards as he placed in the top eight in the three-meter event at the NCAC Championships. Fellow juniors Brandon Bock (Bryan, Ohio/Bryan), Pat Deering (Chagrin Falls, Ohio/Kenston) and Bobby Ritzi (Beavercreek, Ohio/Beavercreek) also played key roles in the team's improvement a year ago.

Returning from an injury-plagued 2007-08 season to lead the sophomore class areChris Culkin (Novi, Mich./Northville) and Zach Stewart (Vincennes, Ind./Lincoln), who both figure to make significant contributions now that they are healthy. In addition, Matt Higbee (Columbus, Ohio/Upper Arlington) missed an NCAA B standard in the 100 back by .09 seconds last season. Other sophomore contributors include Parker Browning (Cincinnati, Ohio/Turpin), Danny Nicholas (Indianapolis, Ind./North Central), Conor O'Rourke (Mendham, N.J./Canterbury School), Phil Bambach (Dublin, Ohio/Jerome), Adam Schick (Bloomington, Ind./North) and Matt Smith (Clayton, Ind./Cascade).

On top of one of the deepest teams in school history, the Tiger men added nine newcomers this fall, all of whom are expected to immediately contribute. Among the newcomers expected to have the most immediate impact are divers Gus Appenbrink (Naperville, Ill./Neuqua Valley) and Liam McDonald (Lakewood, Ohio/Lakewood), sprint freestyler Andrew Tran (Columbus, Ohio/Upper Arlington)and butterfly and backstroke specialist Ted Hutchinson (Sudbury, Mass./Lincoln-Sudbury Regional).

Written By: Robby McNeese '09
Photo By: Robert Gantt