Tigers Earn First Win of the Season at Bluffton

LIMA, OH - In the second consective double dual meet to open the 2025-26 season, Wittenberg Men's and Women's Swimming and Diving traveled to Lima, Ohio, to take on the host Bluffton Beavers and the Anderson Ravens in search of their first win of the season. Against Anderson, the Tigers fell by a score of 107-72, but against Bluffton, the Tigers ran away with an easy win, 120-11. Wittenberg took first in four different events and finished second in another six events.

As far as first-place finishes go, Andrew Tackett (Cuyahoga Falls, OH / St. Vincent-St. Mary) had the first one of the day for the Tigers as he finished the 1000-yard freestyle in a time of 12:59.90. The next Tiger to finish first was Mason Steen (Leroy, OH / Riverside) in the 50-yard freestyle in 23.27. In the 1-meter diving event, Owen Gabel (New Bremen, OH / New Bremen) added another first-place finish for the Tigers with a final score of 117.40. The last first-place finish of the day for Wittenberg came in the 200-yard freestyle relay as the team of Gabel, Steen, Nathan Rabun (Marion, OH / Wynford) and Tatum Paglia (Indianapolis, IN / Ben Davis) finished in 1:34.29.

The second-place finishes were led off by the 200-yard medley relay team of Gabel, Steen, Rabun, and Paglia with a time of 1:47.01. MJ Fantroy (Indianapolis, IN / Warren Central) notched another second-place spot in the 200-yard freestyle in 2:13.62. Aidan Dannenfelser (Cincinnati, OH / St. Xavier) added another with a time of 1:05.68 in the 100-yard butterfly. In the 100-yard backstroke, Rabun added to the list with a 1:04.77. Along with his first-place finish, Tackett added a second in the 500-yard freestyle in a time of 6:16.23. Dannenfelser wrapped up the second-place finishes as he finished the 100-yard breatstroke in 1:14.46.

Written By: Grant Martin