Kenyon Wins Men's and Women's
NCAC Swimming & Diving Championships

Feb. 11, 2006

CANTON -- The Kenyon College Lords' and Ladies' domination of the North Coast Athletic Conference Swimming & Diving Championships continues, as both teams successfully defended their team titles at the event, which concluded this evening.

The Lords, who now own 21 NCAC titles, won 11 events and recorded 41 total top-five finishes to total 1646 points to edge second-place Denison by margin of 40 points. The Big Red won 8 events to en route to their 1606 points. Wabash placed third for the fifth time in 7 years with 974 1/2 points, the second highest total in Little Giant history. Wooster placed fourth with 796.0 points, followed by Wittenberg (754.5), Oberlin (577), Allegheny (562), Hiram (393) and Ohio Wesleyan (245) in positions five through nine, respectively.

The Ladies, who also have won 21 conference crowns, won 11 events and recorded 35 total top-5 finishes to total 1611 points. Second-place Denison recorded 4 first-place finishes on the way to 1512 1/2 points and its 21st second-place finish. Wittenberg placed third with 827 points, Wooster compiled 786 1/2 points to place fourth, followed by Allegheny (775), Hiram (609), Ohio Wesleyan (601 1/2) and Oberlin (578.5) in positions five through eight, respectively.

Hiram senior Beth Groselle closed out her NCAC career as the Female Swimmer of the Year. Tonight she established a new conference mark in the 100 freestyle with a time of :51.28. The time surpassed the old record set in 1992 by Kenyon's Carla Ainsworth. Groselle won 3 individual events, setting a record with her win in the 200 individual medley (2:04.65) on Thursday and picking up a win in the 100 breaststroke (1:05.35) on Friday in addition to today's victory. All 3 times met NCAA automatic qualifying standards. Groselle was also a member of the third-place 400 medley relay (4:01.42) and the fourth-place 200 medley relay (1:51.65) squads.

Kenyon junior Jessica Connors broke her own record in the 200 breaststroke, set last winter, when she turned in a time of 2:19.48. Her time also met the NCAA automatic qualifying standard. Connors was also a member of Thursday's winning 400 medley relay squad (3:53.89), as well as Friday's winning 200 medley relay squad (1:46.65).

Kenyon senior Andrejs Duda closed out his NCAC career as the Male Swimmer of the Year. Tonight he led a Lords comeback with a win in the 200 butterfly (1:49.44). Kenyon had fallen into second place, trailing Denison by 3 points. Then Duda won the 200 butterfly and was followed by six other Lords in places 25 and 7. The Lords jumped to a 126-point lead and secured the championship. Overall, Duda claimed 3 individual wins, picking up titles in the 100 backstroke (50.35) and in the 200 IM (1:51.36). All three times met NCAA automatic qualifying standards. Duda was also a member of the winning 400 medley relay (3:28.67), the winning 800 free relay (6:50.55) and the second-place 400 free relay (3:04.64) teams.

Wittenberg sophomore Courtney Roth finished second on the 1-meter board (351) and was fourth on the 3-meter board (287.70) to earn Female Diver of the Year honors.

Denison sophomore Stephen Julka finished third on the 3-meter board (372.40) and won the 1-meter board (421.50) to earn Male Diver of the Year honors for the second straight year.

Wittenberg's Natalie Koukis and Oberlin's Dick Michaels were voted Women's and Men's Swimming Coaches of the Year, respectively. Michaels earned the award for the third time, while Koukis earned her first honor. Allegheny's Cheryl Rambish was named Women's Diving Coach of the Year for the first time after her divers took three of four diving events. Denison's Stephen Ritter was named Men's Diving Coach of the Year. The award is his first.

2006 NCAC Men's & Women's Swimming & Diving Championships

2006 NCAC Men's & Women's Swimming & Diving Special Awards
Women's Swimmer of the Year: Beth Groselle, Hiram
Men's Swimmer of the Year: Andrejs Duda, Kenyon
Women's Diver of the Year: Courtney Roth, Wittenberg
Men's Diver of the Year: Stephen Julka, Denison
Women's Swim Coach of the Year: Natalie Koukis, Wittenberg
Men's Swim Coach of the Year: Dick Michaels, Oberlin
Women's Diving Coach of the Year: Cheryl Rambish, Allegheny
Men's Diving Coach of the Year: Stephen Ritter, Denison

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