Tigers Pull Out Narrow Wins At Ohio Wesleyan

DELAWARE, Ohio - It went down to the wire between Wittenberg and Ohio Wesleyan before the Tigers pulled out a pair of narrow, hard-fought victories.

The women's competition provided a bit of breathing room for Wittenberg, which pulled away down the stretch to secure a 126-97 victory. But on the men's side, the Tigers needed every last point as they scored big points in the final two events for a 116-115 win.

The wins evened both teams' dual meet records at 1-1.

For the Tiger women, the key was clearly depth as Wittenberg scored a host of key points with second, third and fourth-place finishes throughout the meet. In addition, Wittenberg finished first in six individual events and the 200-yard medley relay, featuring the quartet of senior Erin Swardenski (Fremont, Calif./Washington), junior Amy Schulz (Waterloo, Ill./Waterloo), sophomore Samantha Petruzzi (Medina, Ohio/Medina) and senior Dani Lacy (Louisville, Ky./Louisville Collegiate School).

Lacy added a first-place finish in the 50-yard freestyle, Petruzzi touched the wall first in the 100-yard butterfly, Swardenski was tops in the 100-yard backstroke and Schulz led the way in the 100-yard breaststroke. Wittenberg also got first-place points from sophomore Kaitlyn Black (Fort Wayne, Ind./Homestead) in both diving events.

For the Tiger men, diving also was key as freshman Willie Smith (Goldsboro, NC/Eastern Wayne) topped a Wittenberg-only two-diver field in both the 1- and 3-meter events. In addition, freshman Sam Bott (Des Moines, Iowa/Dowling) led the way in the 1650-yard freestyle and senior Steve Stuthers (Pittsburgh, Pa./Central Catholic) touched the wall first in the 100-yard butterfly.

Rounding things out was a first-place finish for the men's 200-yard medley relay. The relay included freshman Paul Salay (Glenview, Ill./Glenbrook South), sophomore Kyle Smith (Springboro, Ohio/Springboro), Stuthers and senior Sean Oberschlake (Columbus, Ohio/Grandview).

Written By: Ryan Maurer