Tigers Win Home Meet Against Battling Bishops

SPRINGFIELD, Ohio – The Wittenberg men's and women's swimming and diving teams hosted the first of just two home meets this season by welcoming Ohio Wesleyan and winning both sides of the event.

The men took home a 176-115 victory headlined by a new diving record and the women won 152-98.

Senior diver Eric Roberts (Willits, Calif./Willits) provided the highlight of the day by breaking the HPER Center Natatorium record in the three-meter/six-dive category with a score of 300.40. He won the event and the one-meter edition against a field of teammates.

Other big victories for the men included the 400-yard medley relay team's first-place finish on a time of 3:43.25. The team was made up of junior Stephen Stuthers (Pittsburgh, Pa./Central Catholic), senior A.J. Burt (Wyoming, Ohio/Wyoming), freshman Jacob Griffith (Pickerington, Ohio/North) and senior James Dumstorf (Louisville, Ky./St. Xavier), who would go on to score all of the Tiger men's swimming victories.

Stuthers went on to win the 100-yard backstroke on a time of 56.39 and the 200-yard version at 2:06.31. Burt tacked on victories in the 100-yard breastroke at 1:01.73 and the 400-yard individual medley at 4:23.38. Dumstorf took home first place in the 200-yard butterfly on a time of 1:59.03, pairing that with a 52.70 time to win the 100-yard edition, and topped it all off with the blue ribbon in the 200-yard breaststroke at 2:15.61.

For the women, sophomore Amy Schulz (Waterloo, Ill./Waterloo) was one of two multiple-event winners, taking home first-place honors in the 100-yard backstroke on a time of 1:03.73 and the 200-yard backstroke on a time of 2:17.82. Freshman Samantha Petruzzi (Medina, Ohio/Medina) was the other, putting her name at the top of the 200-yard butterfly with a time of 2:18.12 and the 100-yard race at 1:02.72.

Freshman Nicole McCollum (Fort Myers, Fla./Estero) touched first in the 1,000-yard freestyle and freshman Julia Valentine (Columbus, Ohio/Thomas Worthington) won the 100-yard breaststroke with a time of 1:10.42, while junior Dani Lacy (Louisville, Ky./Louisville Collegiate School) turned in a 56.81 to win the 50-meter freestyle.

Adding to the parade of names was junior Madeline Kraft (Cape Elizabeth, Maine/Cape Elizabeth), who edged the competitors in the 200-yard breaststroke at 2:32.88, and freshman Kaitlyn Black (Fort Wayne, Ind./Homestead), the 3-meter diving winner with a score of 197.75. Freshman Courtney Speakman (Springfield, Ohio/Tecumseh) touched the wall before anyone else by swimming a 5:03.33 in the 400-yard individual medley.

The Tigers are back at it next weekend with a tri-meet at Transylvania University in Lexington, Ky., facing the Pioneers and the Wilmington (OH) Quakers.

John Strawn '07