Scots Continue Prep for NCACÍs With Grove City Dual This Week

Eric Babbitt

With less than a month remaining before the North Coast Athletic Conference Championships, The College of Wooster swimming and diving teams will hit the water for competition again on Saturday, Jan. 20, when the Fighting Scots welcome non-league foe Grove City College (10-1 men, 5-7 women) to Timken Natatorium for a dual at 1 p.m. The two squads met last season, with the Wooster women prevailing 123-108 and the Grove City men edging the Scots 127-101. Noteworthy, the last time Grove City was scheduled to visit Wooster (Jan. 22, 2005), the meet was cancelled due to weather.

    Last Week: On Jan. 12-13, the Scots resumed regular dual-meet action after a month-long layoff from competition, which included a training trip to Florida, and cruised to two victories. Wooster swept conference foe Hiram College 149-80 (men) and 132-105 (women) at Timken Natatorium Friday night and turned around the next afternoon to post 137-99 (men) and 141-91 (women) wins at Ohio Wesleyan University, another NCAC institution.
    Leading the Scot men during the weekend was Eric Babbitt (Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif. / Santa Margarita Catholic), who was a double-winner at each meet. Against Hiram, Babbitt emerged victorious in the 200 IM (2:06.22) and the 500 freestyle (5:15.50), and then cruised to first-place swims in the 200 free (1:49.40) and the 200 butterfly (2:08.03) at Ohio Wesleyan. Kyle Oaks (Franklin, Ind. / Franklin Community) won the 50 free during both meets, clocking in at 22.93 on Friday and 23.25 Saturday, while in the longest race, Wooster’s Joe Witkowski (Bloomfield Hills, Mich. / Groves) cruised to an individual victory in the 1650 freestyle (18:52.02) versus Ohio Wesleyan. In the Hiram meet, Dan Noble (Akron, Ohio / Revere) won the 100 free (50.69), Mateo Chinchilla (North Olmsted, Ohio / North Olmsted) took home first-place honors in the 100 breaststroke (1:06.28), Matt Dominski (Winnetka, Ill. / New Trier Township) touched the wall first in the 100 butterfly (56.57), and Logan LaBerge (Towson, Md. / Towson) did so in the 100 backstroke (57.16), while Michael Saltzman (Evansville, Ind. / Asheville School – N.C.) contributed an individual victory in the 200 backstroke (2:14.22) in the Ohio Wesleyan meet. Additional winners for the Scots over the weekend included the 200 medley relay of LaBerge, Andrew Olsen (Evanston, Ill. / Evanston Township), Brandon DuGar (Cleveland Hts., Ohio / Cleveland Heights), and Ryan Radtke (Willoughby, Ohio / ND-CL) with a time of 1:43.12 against Hiram, and against Ohio Wesleyan, the 400 freestyle relay of Babbitt, Noble, Oaks, and Radtke in a time of 3:27.00.
    On the women’s side, Syd Kelly (Edina, Minn. / Edina) paved the way for Wooster, winning three events as she took home first in the 200 IM (2:20.29) and the 100 breaststroke (1:13.03) Friday and in the 200 IM again (2:22.08) on Saturday. Teammate Alice Case (Berkeley Hts., N.J. / Mount Saint Mary Academy) was also a triple-winner, capturing the 50 free (25.28) against Hiram as well as the 100 free (56.75) and 200 free (2:03.71) at Ohio Wesleyan, while Molly Bittner (Westfield Ctr., Ohio / Cloverleaf) finished first in the 100 free (56.60) against Hiram and the 50 free (26.19) at Ohio Wesleyan. Kate Kosenick (Fanwood, N.J. / Scotch Plains-Fanwood) placed first in a pair of races as well – the 100 backstroke (1:03.68) against Hiram and the 200 backstroke (2:20.12) at Ohio Wesleyan. Also winning races for the Scots were Jessica Sender (Normal, Ill. / Normal Community), who took the 1000 free (11:27.14) Friday, Amanda Bailey (Westlake, Ohio / Westlake), a winner in Friday’s 500 free (5:34.16), and Elaine Coladarci (Evanston, Ill. / Evanston Township), who hit the wall first in the 200 butterfly (2:25.37) at Ohio Wesleyan. Highlighting relay action, the 200 medley team of Kosenick, Lindsey Dorko (Chardon, Ohio / Perry), Case, and Allie Kibler-Campbell (Benton Harbor, Mich. / St. Joseph) was victorious with a time of 1:55.40 against Hiram and the 400 medley team of Heather Moore (Fairport, N.Y. / Fairport), Kibler-Campbell, Coladarci, and Denise Koessler (Knoxville, Tenn. / Farragut) posted a winning time of 4:25.01 at Ohio Wesleyan.
    In the diving competition, Wooster’s Julie Pinzur (Northbrook, Ill. / Glenbrook North) won both one-meter events over the weekend, scoring 207.70 against Hiram and 132.40 at Ohio Wesleyan, while teammate Caitlin McNulty (Sequim, Wash. / Sequim) was the top finisher during Saturday’s three-meter board competition (166.60).