Wooster Swimming Opens Dual Meet Season With Success

Laura Dunn set a record in the 200 backstroke (2:13.92) against Wittenberg.

The College of Wooster men's and women's swimming and diving teams had two dual meets this past weekend, hosting Mount Union on Friday and travelling to Wittenberg on Saturday. Wooster posted two victories against the Purple Raiders, with the women winning 180-56 and the men winning 159-65. On Saturday, the women were victorious again, beating the Tigers 174-69, however, the men fell short in a 127-107 losing effort to Wittenberg.

Against Mount Union, it was a very successful meet for the Scot women as they set two pool records at Timken Natatorium. The first was by sophomore Jessica Ritchie, who finished the 100 backstroke with a time of 1:01.56. The second was the 200 freestyle relay team, which consisted of junior Michelle Cady, senior Laura Dunn, junior Jamie Pullin, and Ritchie, with a record-setting time of 1:41.30. Also turning in impressive results for the women was the 200 medley relay of Ritchie, sophomore Beth Starling, freshman Erin Popelka, and Cady, who had a preliminary national qualifying-cut time of 1:52.08. Adding to the winning effort as well was sophomore Sarah Connolly, who claimed both the one-meter and three-meter diving events.

On the men's side, Wooster junior Wes Bennett had an extraordinary night, winning both the 50 and 100 freestyle events. In the 50 freestyle, he registered a preliminary national qualifying-cut time of 21.31. Another double winner for the men was freshman Alex Hastie, who posted firsts in the 200 and 500 freestyle with times of 1:54.14 and 5:20.21 respectively.

Following the victories over Mount Union, Wooster head coach Keith Beckett said, "The women's meet was an important victory. Every woman on the team contributed. The men's win against Mount Union was exceptional as well, as they were up to the task and really dominated last year's Ohio Athletic Conference champs".

On Saturday, the women easily downed the Wittenberg Tigers and set two pool records in the process. The 400-medley relay team of Ritchie, Popelka, Starling, and Cady established the Wittenberg pool record with a time of 4:08.16. Setting the other record was Dunn, who had a time of 2:13.92 in the 200 backstroke. Another major contributor was senior Leah Becki, who won both the 200 freestyle and 200 butterfly events with times of 2:02.31 and 2:14.83, respectively. Also for the Scots, Ritchie won the 50 freestyle in a time of 25.75 and the 100 freestyle with a time of 55.72.

The men may have fallen short to the Tigers, but they put forth excellent swims in the 50, 100, and 500 freestyles. Bennett took both the 50 and 100 freestyle events with times of 22.03 and 49.46, respectively, while distance standout Hastie won a close race in the 500 freestyle with a time of 5:08.48. Also for Wooster, the 400-freestyle relay team of senior Steve Bayuk, Bennett, sophomore Eric Knauss, and junior Dale Edwards captured first place with a time of 3:22.91.

Beckett commented, "The women swam very well against the Tigers, while the men's loss to Wittenberg was difficult after a strong win on Friday. Overall, I'm very happy with the records we set, as well as the preliminary national-qualifying times."