Seniors on the Wittenberg Swimming and Diving team were honored on Saturday, Jan. 28 during their meet against Hiram.
Hiram appeared to be strong only in the doggy-paddle, as the Tigers outscored the Terriers 168-26 on the women’s side, and 135-29 on the men’s side.
The women premiered four seniors: Amber Luke, Amy Schlulz, Emalie Taylor and Maggie Simmons. A 200-yard freestyle relay comprised the four seniors, which finished first with a time of 1:49.5, outpacing Hiram’s A-team by over 10 seconds. The four senior women contributed 54 points to the Tiger win.
Because of her performance during her last home meet of her career, Schulz was named swimmer of the week for the North Coast Athletic Conference. Schulz placed first in two individual events and two relay teams, including the one previously mentioned.
The men’s team sported two seniors, Braden Crouse and Patrick Rittenhouse. Crouse single-handedly took on the 100-yard backstroke, finishing with an impressive 1:12.24. Rittenhouse pushed through three events, placing third, second and first respectively. The two senior men contributed 26 points to the Tiger win.
Samantha Patruzzi, ‘18, finished strong continuously through the day, claiming first place in three separate events. Along with Schulz, Taylor and Annelise Gibson, Patruzzi pushed the third leg for a team finish under two minutes. Individually, she finished ahead of the crowd in the 200-yard freestyle and 100-yard butterfly.
Paul Salay, ‘19, and Kyle Smith, ‘18, rounded out the day for the men. Salay and Smith, along with Lucas George and Bradley Barren were victorious in the 200-yard medley relay. Individually, Salay scored a first place finish in the 200-yard freestyle, clocking in at 1:53.18, and then wrapping up his day as part of the 200-yard freestyle relay team. Smith contributed a first place victory with a time of 1:03.78 in the 100-yard breaststroke.
The home meet also marked the public unveiling of the brand new scoreboard put up in the natatorium. The board is complete with capabilities to output clear pictures and live timing. Also revealed were recently donated flags for the swimming lanes. The pool will soon feature a new American flag as well.
The Tigers will soon travel to Granville, Ohio to compete in the NCAC Championships hosted by Denison University on Feb. 8 – 11.
