Scot Women Sweep Opening Dual-Meet Weekend, Men Split

Shannon McIntyre

The College of Wooster men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams launched the dual-meet portion of their season with strong showings against Mt. Union College on Friday (Oct. 31) and Wittenberg University on Saturday (Nov. 1). Wooster’s women’s team swept its two opponents, cruising past Mt. Union at home (132-74) and dominating Wittenberg in similar fashion on the road (134-107), while the men’s team produced a victory over Mt. Union (114-69), but lost to Wittenberg (145-96).

On Friday, the Scot women started off the meet with four 1-2-3 sweeps. During the first event, Wooster’s 400 medley relays, consisting of the teams of sophomore Patti Ross, juniors Jess Metcalf and Sophie Brym, and senior Tanya Tarasenkov (4:21.41); senior Jen Jenkins, juniors Lizzie Smith and Nicole Greene, and freshman Abby Herberger (4:26.58); and freshman Amanda Kaschalk and Leslie Richards, junior Elizabeth Herbert, and sophomore Gretchen Nofsinger (4:41.70) came in first, second, and third, respectively.

Another Scot sweep occurred in the 1000 freestyle with sophomore Noel Wells winning the event (11:17.04), followed by freshman Kathryn Lehner (12:06.73) and sophomore Courtney Lee (12:10.93). In the 200 freestyle, Greene (2:05.05), senior Holly Duff (2:05.52), and Lizzie Smith (2:10.07) captured the top-three places, and the 50 freestyle saw senior twins Sonya and Tanya Tarasenkov touch the wall first and second, respectively, while senior co-captain Lindsey Howell finished third.

Also noteworthy on Friday, sophomore Shannon McIntyre won both the one-meter and three-meter diving competitions.

Wooster carried over its strong performances the next afternoon with 10 first-place finishes at Wittenberg. The 200 medley relay team consisting of sophomore Kim Chambers, junior Liz Whittam, and seniors Kayla Heising and Tanya Tarasenkov, and the 200 freestyle relay team of Sonya and Tanya Tarasenkov, Brym, and freshman Adrienne Smith were both victorious with respective times of 1:54.07 and 1:42.77.

Individual double winners on Saturday were junior Elizabeth Roesch in the 1000 freestyle (10:42.57) and the 500 freestyle (5:17.31), Chambers in the 200 freestyle (1:58.58) and the 100 backstroke (1:02. 31), and Heising in the 50 freestyle (24.50) and the 100 butterfly (1:01.83). The Scot women’s other two wins came via Sonya Tarasenkov in the 100 freestyle (55.53) and Whittam in the 100 breaststroke (1:12.90).

The Wooster men had a similarly impressive showing against Mt. Union, posting wins in every event en route to their victory. Notable victories included the 400 medley relay team of seniors Jim Gilchrist and Curtis Wolfe, sophomore David Brumbaugh, and freshman Brandon Dugar (4:21.41); senior Adam Yack in both the 1000 freestyle (11:18.77) and 200 butterfly(2:20.11); sophomore Aaron Bergman on both the one- and three-meter diving boards; and freshman Nathan Bray in the 200 (1:58.49) and 500 freestyles.

Rounding out the list of individual victors on Friday were senior Mike Moore in the 50 freestyle (23.65), Dugar in the 100 freestyle (50.82), as well as junior Kevin Wolfe in the 200 backstroke (2:13.97).

Top highlights for the men during Saturday’s meet included Curtis Wolfe and Mike Moore placing first (23.52) and second (23.53) in the 50 freestyle, respectively, while Dugar won the 100 butterfly by hitting the wall in 55.90

Next for the Fighting Scots, they will travel to Meadville, Pa., on Nov. 7-8 for an annual invitational hosted by Alleghney College.