WITTENBERG PROFILES Rachel Juergens Senior Springfield, Ohio/Catholic Central Early Childhood and Special Education Major Swims All Strokes Tiger Co-Captain In just two seasons in the Wittenberg pool, Rachel Juergens has established herself as one of the finest swimmers in school history. A transfer from Miami University, Juergens set nine school records during the 2000-01 season, including a trio during her outstanding performance at the NCAA Division III Championship meet. A former high school All-American and two-time state qualifier, Juergens led Wittenberg to its best North Coast Athletic Conference finish in nearly a decade in 2001, finishing second in the 200 freestyle and 1650 freestyle and contributing to two third-place relays. She qualified for the national meet in three individual events and as a member of three relays, and she set four school records at the events, one of which she later broke at nationals. At the 2001 national meet, Juergens led the Tigers to their best finish in school history by finishing fifth in the 1650-yard freestyle. In earning All-America honors in the event, Juergens swam a school-record 17:13.26, including a school-record time of 10:21.65 in the first 1000 yards. Juergens is a Dean's List student who is involved in the university's Education Honorary Society. Jeremy Lazaru Senior Moens, France/Ferney-Voltaire Art Major Swims Breaststroke/IM Tiger Co-Captain Jeremy Lazarus has emerged from his brother's shadow to establish himself as one of Wittenberg University's most decorated swimmers. The brother of four-time All-American Julien Lazarus, Jeremy holds school records as a member of three relays and made All-North Coast Athletic Conference in the 100- and 200-meter breaststroke events last year. In the conference meet last year, Lazarus put together his best performance as a collegian, swimming personal best times of 1:08.1 in the 100 breaststroke, 2:07 in the 200 breaststroke and 1:57 in the 200 Individual Medley. His time in the 100 breast was good for an NCAC championship in the same event his brother won four times during his days at Wittenberg. Lazarus is hoping to add to his lengthy list of accomplishments of a year ago. A former high school member of the prestigious Geneva Swim Team, Lazarus made Honorable Mention All-American in two relay events at the 2001 NCAA Division III NCAA Championship meet. He has performed well again this season, including a runner-up finish in the 200 breaststroke and a pair of third-place finishes at the DePauw Invitational in December. __________________________________________________________________________ WOOSTER PROFILES Eric Knauss Senior Euclid, Ohio St. Ignatius H.S. Freestyle/Backstroke A five-time All-American as part of five relay teams, Eric Knauss is a co-captain of a young Wooster team this season, which has gone 3-3 in dual meets, highlighted by a 2-1 mark against fellow conference schools. He has been one of the team's top sprint freestylers and also plays an integral role in the backstroke events. At the Zippy Invitational on Nov. 30-Dec. 2, which featured several Division I and II teams, Knauss scored in the 100 freestyle (50.71), as well as in several relays. The biggest moment of his Scot swimming career came at the 2000 NCAA Championships, where he swam the third leg of both the third-place 200 freestyle relay team (1:23.22) and the fifth-place 400 freestyle relay team (3:06.88). Out of the pool, Knauss is busy completing his degree, while majoring in mathematics and minoring in computer sciences. His future plans include going to a graduate school, where he can study sports administration. Beth Starling Senior Wooster, Ohio Wooster H.S. Breaststroke/Butterfly Four years ago, Beth Starling made the decision to go to college in her home town, and the Wooster women's swimming program has certainly reaped the benefits ever since. Starling has turned into one of the top breaststrokers in Division III, placing as high as third at the national meet in the 200 (2:22.90) as a sophomore, and winning the conference championship in the 200 (2:23.16) that same season. For her career, Starling has received nine All-American certificates - four as an individual and five as a relay member - and will almost assuredly add to that total this year. She owns the sixth-fastest times in the nation thus far in both the 100 breaststroke (1:06.74) and the 200 breaststroke (2:24.12). An all-star in the classroom and as a leader as well, Starling will be a candidate for academic All- American honors. The business economics major and team tri-captain also is a STEPS volunteer at Liberty Center and plans to go to graduate school to get a Masters in Business Administration. __________________________________________________________________________ OHIO WESLEYAN PROFILES Tony Andersson Sophomore Delaware, Ohio Butterfly, freestyle Versatile sophomore Tony Andersson was one of the Bishops' top performers at last year's NCAC championship meet, turning in top-10 finishes in the 100 butterfly and the 200 butterfly and swimming on Ohio Wesleyan's top relay team. Andersson won one event and helped a relay team take another first in a dual meet win over Ohio Northern this season. He has the team's second-fastest time in the 100 butterfly this season. Lauren Wagner Senior Toledo, Ohio Breaststroke, IM, Butterfly Zoology major Once again one of the Bishops' top swimmers, Wagner has been a key figure in Ohio Wesleyan's 5-1-1 season. Last year, Ohio Wesleyan won 7 dual meets, the most for the Bishops since 1978, and this year, Ohio Wesleyan could break the school record of 8 dual meet wins set in 1975. Wagner set a school record in the 200 breaststroke last year. She has the team's best times in the 100 and 200 breaststrokes, the 200 butterfly and the 200 and 400 IMs this season. She turned in top-10 finishes in the 100 and 200 breaststrokes at last year's NCAC championship meet. __________________________________________________________________________ OBERLIN PROFILES Burt Betchart Sophomore Concord, NH Physics Major IM/Free Salutatorian of his high school class, a National Merit Scholar, and an Oberlin College Merit Scholar- ship recipent, Burt Betchart is is a student-athlete who succeeds in and out of the pool. He is an all stroke swimmer who demolished all of his high school personal records last season as a freshman. He narrowly missed NCAA qualifying times in several events, while placing in the top six in the tough NCAC Championships in all three of his individual events. His freestyle personal bests are 21.6, 47.4 and 1:44.2 while his backstroke times are 53.3/1:56.0. He has swum a 1:56.35 in the 200 IM, and a 52.8 in the 100 butterfly. Celeste Mercer Senior Montrose, CO Physics Major All strokes Co-Captain A varsity record holder in eight individual events and in all five relays, Celeste Mercer is the best female swimmer in Oberlin history, She holds varsity records in 50, 100 and 200 freestyle (24.53, 54.10 and 1:58.99 respectively) 100 and 200 backstrokes (58.29/2:09.37) 200 IM (2:10.90), 100 butterfly (59.07) and 100 breast- stroke (1:09.60). As a sophomore, she became Oberlinís first-ever female All-American when she placed at NCAAís in both the 100 backstroke and 50 freestyle. She is a three-time most valuable swimmer, and was valedictorian of her high school class. She spent last summer as an intern at Cal Tech studying the surface of Mars for signs of water. __________________________________________________________________________ HIRAM PROFILES Cate Donald Junior Boulder, Colorado Communications Major Sprinter A two-year captain, Cate Donald is providing the veteran experience to lead the turn around of the Hiram womenís swimming & diving program. However, its what she has done out of the pool that is more impressive. The Terriers leading sprinter, Donald is currently embarking on the second study abroad session of her academic career. Thanks to the Hiram Plan, Cate has been able to take advatnge of the three-week learning sessions. Last fall, she traveled with a group of students to Zimbabwe and is currently continuing her global experience by studying in Costa Rica. On campus, Donald is also active in numerous clubs and organizations, including serving as the vice president of S.A.A.C. Jason Groselle Sophomore Hiram, OH Business Economics Major Breastroke & sprint freestyles Sophomore Jason Groselle displays maturity beyond his age both in and out of the pool. The school record holder in the 200-meter breaststoke is serving as Hiramís captain for the second straight season. Groselle is also a member of both the 200 freestyle and 200 medley relay teams that have set school records during his two seasons with the Terriers. Groselle is arguably the most talented swimmer at Hiram since another Groselle, his father and current Hiram head coach, Jack swam his way to a NCAA Division III National Championship in the 50 meter freestyle in 1976. Out of the pool, Jason serves as the mení swim team representative to S.A.A.C. In addition, while balancing swimming and being a full-time student, Jason completed his Emergency Medical Technition training last year and graduated from Fire School. He currently serves as a member of the Hiram Fire Department.