Wittenberg Record: 18-39 (2001-present)
Career Record: 39-56 (1998-present)
E-mail
Office Phone: (937) 327-6451

Postal Address: Wittenberg University P.O. Box 720 Springfield, Ohio 45501

Package Shipping Address: Wittenberg University 225 Fountain Ave. Springfield, Ohio 45504

Vinnie Lang was named head coach at Wittenberg in 2001 and has compiled an 18-39 record at the helm. He arrived in Springfield after three seasons at Mercyhurst College in Erie, Pa. Lang took over midway through the 1998 season and guided the Lakers to a 7-5 record in their final season of Division I lacrosse. The program moved to the Division II level in 1999, and in 2000, the Lakers went 8-3 and finished the season ranked 10th in the nation.

Lang played at Oswego State University for four seasons (1984-88), and played for the club lacrosse program at Purdue University for four years. He earned Big 10 midfielder of the year honors from 1992-94. His accomplishments also include second team All-Empire Lacrosse League and team MVP honors at Oswego in 1988.

Lang was involved with the German National Team for several years in the late 1990s and early 2000s. In his first year, Lang was a starting defenseman for the squad at the World Games held in Baltimore, Md. In 1999, Lang was Team Germany's captain at the European Lacrosse Championships held in Manchester, England, in late July. He was voted "Best Defender" in the tournament and was named All-European. In 2000, Lang was again captain of the team at the European Championships in Glasgow, Scotland. The team finished second to England for a second straight year. In 2001, Lang coached the team in the European Championships in Wales.

Lang has worked numerous lacrosse camps, including the Warrior Lacrosse Camp, the All-American camp, Notre Dame camps and Syracuse camps. He introduced a Wittenberg lacrosse camp in 2002.

A graduate of Baldwinsville High School near Syracuse, N.Y., Lang holds a bachelor's degree in movement and sports science from Purdue (May, 1993) and a master's degree in exercise physiology (May, 1997). He served in the United States Marine Corps for nine years and reached the rank of sergeant. He spent six months in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, fighting in the first Gulf War.

Lang and his wife, Terry, reside in Springfield. He has a son, Nikko.

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E-mail
Office Phone: (937) 327-6496

Norm Riker joined the Wittenberg men's lacrosse program as an assistant coach in 2003 after a year working as an assistant in the women's lacrosse program. He helped the Tiger women's lacrosse team to an 8-6 record in his only year with that program, including a 5-2 mark in the NCAC, which was good for third place.

Riker came to Wittenberg in March 2002 to take over the Tiger women's soccer program. He has led the Tigers to a 25-26-6 overall record in three seasons at the helm, including a breakout 2004 campaign that included an 11-4-5 overall record.

Prior to his arrival at Wittenberg, Riker was the interim head coach of the women's soccer team at Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. for the 2000 season, and he also served as the men's lacrosse assistant coach. During the 2000 season, Riker led Vassar to its second Northeast Regional ECAC Championship. He served as an assistant in both programs from 1994 to 1999 and again in 2002, and he also served as the building manager of Walker Fieldhouse on the Vassar campus.

A native of Block Island, R.I., Riker was a four-year lacrosse letterwinner at Springfield College (Mass.). He was a captain of the lacrosse team as a senior and he was selected to participate in a pair of senior all-star games. He holds a bachelor of arts in history from Springfield, attained in 1992, and he has since attained a master of professional studies in humanistic education from the State University of New York, New Paltz.

Riker lives in Springfield with his wife Gabrielle and their children Isabelle and Sofia.

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