Posted by: Ryan Maurer

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Emma Rufleth

Jen Meyer

The Wittenberg field hockey team had an inspiring start to the 2002 season, winning its first four games and moving all the way to No. 13 in the first National Field Hockey Coaches Association poll on Sept. 10. The start is a replica of last season's, which led the Tigers to a 13-6 overall record, including a 10-2 NCAC mark and a second-place finish in the conference race.

In their first match of the season, the Tigers traveled to Rhodes College in Memphis, Tenn. and recorded a convincing shutout win. The 2-0 victory came courtesy of strikes from Emma Rufleth (Clinton, Conn./The Morgan School), who was playing in her first collegiate game as a freshman, and Deb Muller (Weston, Conn./The Millbrook School). Credit must also be shared with goaltender Jen Meyer (Solon, Ohio/Hathaway Brown), who recorded five saves in the shutout win.

The opening shutout wasn't repeated in the second match in a hard-fought game against NAIA program Lindenwood, also played at Rhodes. Rufleth continued her outstanding start by contributing a goal and an assist to the winning effort. Emily Duh (Hellertown, Pa./Saucon Valley) continued her form from last season when she was a Regional All-American with the overtime winning goal after chipping in with two assists. The Tigers made it to overtime thanks to a goal by Katie Houchens (Denver, Colo./Kent Denver).

The Tigers' home opener was also the site of the first NCAC game of the season. Recovering from their previous overtime victory the Tigers recorded a comfortable 3-0 win over Earlham. Goals in the game came courtesy of Houtchens, Muller and Duh, who also added an assist.

Duh continued to have the hot hand as she added two more goals - giving her four on the still-young season - in a 3-0 victory over NAIA visitor Houghton University. Junior Katie Babcock (Phoenix, Md./Dulaney) also had a goal, her first of the season.

The Tigers, who have never had a losing record at any time during the last three seasons under Head Coach Marianne Beshara, now have outscored four quality opponents by a whopping 11-2 cumulative score. The program has 996 goals and 99 NCAC victories all-time, adding intrigue to Tuesday's showdown with perennial conference contender Denison.

Next: 9/10 vs. Denison, 7 p.m.

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Monica McDonald

Sarah Yuskewich

Not to be outdone the Tiger volleyball team has also gotten off to its usual flying start this season. Through two tournaments, they have a 6-2 record under some of the most outstanding competition any NCAA Division III team has faced nationally. The Tigers, of course, are aiming for their sixth consecutive NCAC championship after finishing 8-0 last season.

The first tournament of the season was hosted by Great Lakes Region nemesis Mount St. Joseph, and the Tigers came so close to pulling out a championship there, going 3-1 en route to a second-place finish for a second straight year. The first match was a convincing 3-1 victory over Baldwin-Wallace. Star players in the match were sophomore outside hitter Monica McDonald (Newark, Ohio/Catholic), who had her best match of the tournament statistically with 20 kills. Also impressive was the play of sophomore setter Sarah Yuskewich (Columbus, Ohio/Watterson), who picked up where she left off a year ago in contributing 54 assists. Senior outside hitter Teresa Murphy(Blacklick, Ohio/Newark Catholic) added 33 digs.

The host Mountie Lions were the only stumbling block for the weekend. In a closely contested match, the home team emerged with a 3-2 victory that featured five tight games. Yuskewich had her best match statistically with 56 assists and the usual supporting cast played well, as McDonald and Murphy topped the team in kills and Emilie Schmid (Canton, Ohio/Massillon Jackson) added 25 digs.

The Tigers bounced back from the loss to rout Savanah College of Art and Design. The usual suspects were again prominent as McDonald finished with 14 kills, Yuskewich with 44 assists and Schmid with 19 digs.

The fourth and final match was another credible victory against Emory, usually a top contender nationally, by game scores of 30-23, 30-27 and 30-28. The results left Wittenberg with a mark of 3-1 and Sarah Yuskewich was named to the all-tournament team.

The second tournament provided a similar story line. Wittenberg again went 3-1, but this time they did it against unfamiliar NCAA Division II opponents. Their first match against Southern Arkansas resulted in a 3-2 win Yuskewich continued to improve on the previous weekend, contributing 69 assists. McDonald added a remarkable 26 kills and Murphy chipped in with 26 digs.

Their winning streak continued as the Tigers exhibited some stingy defense and conceded no games in a shutout victory of the University of Texas A&M-Kingsville. McDonald led the way with 14 kills.

The host team, the University of West Florida was again another narrow victory, as the Tigers claimed a 3-2 decision. The 15-9 final game score secured the win for Tigers and assured that they went on to the tournament final. Tiffany Keller (Massillon, Ohio/Tuslaw), the 2001 NCAC Player of the Year, was outstanding as usual in the middle with 10 kills to go along with McDonald's 25 kills and Yuskewich's 65 assists.

The final proved to be the only stumbling block for Wittenberg as they lost to West Florida in a rematch, 3-1.

Next: 9/13-14 at Washington U. Tourn.

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Skip Ivery

Daniel Grove

The first test for Tigers football team was Albion College, a traditionally strong Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association squad that was coming off an 8-2 season in 2001. As season openers go, this was appeared to be a barnburner on paper, but it didn't materialize as the homestanding Tigers used several big plays to break the game open early and cruise to a convincing 44-7 win.

After a first-quarter blocked punt put the Tigers under early pressure, the Wittenberg defense forced a fumble and the next play resulted in a new Wittenberg record as senior quarterback Greg Cornett (Franklin, Ohio/Franklin) hit the junior wide receiver Skip Ivery (Columbus, Ohio/Groveport-Madison) on a 94-yard touchdown pass. Jacob Thomas (New Albany, Ohio/New Albany) converted a 24 yard field goal to end the quarter to put the Tigers up 10-0.

The second period turned into a scoring frenzy as Wittenberg put 21 points on the board and Albion registered its only touchdown. The home team's second touchdown came on a great defensive play as the defensive line forced an interception by senior linebacker Dustin Goldsbury (Columbus, Ohio/Ready), who ran it back 19 yards to register his first score of the season.

The second period also was when senior tailback Daniel Grove (Uhrichsville, Ohio/Claymont) come alive and registered the first two of his four touchdowns. He ran through the Albion defense on a 77-yard scoring play and then added a 1-yard run five minutes later.

The second half was more a formality than anything else as Grove added the only score in the third on a 2-yard run following a 13-play drive of 76 yards. Grove finished his excellent day in style with a 94-yard run, the second-longest rushing play in Tiger history.

In addition to his touchdown, Goldsbury starred for the defense, finishing the game with four solo tackles and four assists. He was ably assisted by Andy Pope (Hamilton, Ohio/Lakota East), who completed three solo tackles and six assists.

For his outstanding performance in the game, which included three receptions for 122 yards, all of which went for either a first down or a score, Skip Ivery was named NCAC Offensive Player of the Week.

Next: 9/14 at Urbana, 7:30 p.m.

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Mike Walsh

Taggart Suddes

The Tiger men's soccer team put a poor start behind them over the weekend to clinch their first win of the season and a tie against one of the top teams in the nation.

Going into the weekend with a record of 0-3 the Tigers visited nationally ranked DePauw and Rose-Hulman on back-to-back days. Against DePauw on Saturday, Wittenberg went into halftime with a 2-0 lead, but the home team to catch up and take a 3-2 lead. The Tigers rallied late in the second and the hard work paid off with a Mike Walsh (Springfield, Ohio/North) goal with just 7 minutes left in regulation time. It was his third goal of both the game and the season. The first tally came in the first half off a cross from Greg Zeller (Springfield, Ohio/North) and the second first-half score came after Steve Doring (Huber Heights, Ohio/Wayne) provided the long ball over the defense. The 3-3 tie was a valuable starting point and showed signs of improvement that will be necessary if the Tigers are to improve on last season's 10-7-1 record.

On Sunday the Tigers capitalized on the previous day's tie with a victory over Rose-Hulman. Walsh turned from scorer to provider for the first goal, which was scored by Taggart Studdes (Ostrander, Ohio/Dublin Coffman). Studdes then doubled his tally seven minutes later after Brian Armstrong (Delaware, Ohio/Dublin Coffman) provided a breakaway pass from the right side for the junior to slot home.

Next: 9/14 at Mt. Vernon Nazarene, 2 p.m.

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Geri Woessner

Eileen Quinn

The Tiger women's soccer team also got on the winning side of the ledger over the weekend in Indiana, falling on a penalty kick against perennial powerhouse DePauw on Saturday before finally breaking out with a 4-0 win over Rose-Hulman on Sunday.

Prior to the win over Rose-Hulman, the Tigers had lost to 2001 NCAA Division III tournament participants Mount St. Joseph and DePauw, and perennial Ohio Athletic Conference contender Wilmington. The losses to MSJ and DePauw were both by 1-0 scores, while the Quakers broke out for three second-half goals in a 4-1 victory.

Against Rose-Hulman, the Tigers may have finally found the offensive combination as junior Geri Woessner (Dayton, Ohio/Oakwood) had two goals and an assist, freshman Lindsay Zigler (Columbus, Ohio/Upper Arlington) had a goal and an assist, juniors Cristin Gill (Loveland, Ohio/Loveland) and Kaitlin Hiscar (Pataskala, Ohio/Watkins Memorial) had goals and freshman Emily Hiscar (Pataskala, Ohio/Watkins Memorial) chipped in with an assist. Getting her first start in goal, sophomore Eileen Quinn (Glenview, Ill/Glenbrook) recorded a shutout, making three saves along the way.

The Tigers continue with non-conference action this week with road games at Ohio Dominican and Transylvania, and a home game next Wednesday opposite Muskingum, giving Wittenberg time to straighten things out before the always grueling NCAC conference race.

Next: 9/11 at Ohio Dominican, 4 p.m.

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Caleb Arnold

Abi Gerstle

The Tiger cross country teams kicked off their season on Aug. 31 at the University of Dayton in a non-scored meet and then hosted the Wittenberg Invitational at John Bryan State Park in Yellow Springs on Sept. 7. In both events, the Tigers turned in some strong individual times as they begin to build toward big meets in October and the NCAC Championship meet on Nov. 2, which will also be hosted by Wittenberg in Yellow Springs.

On the men's side, freshman Caleb Arnold (Enon, Ohio/Greenon) has emerged as the team's front-runner in both races, turning in times of 17:11 in the 5K race at UD and 28:36 in the 8,000-meter race hosted by Wittenberg. He finished 15th at UD and 11th at Wittenberg.

Right behind Arnold is senior Nick Dewald (Mansfield, Ohio/Senior), the team's No. 1 or 2 runner each of the last years. He finished 20th at UD in a time of 17:55 and 12th at Wittenberg in 28:47. At each meet, the next three men's finishers, in various order, have been freshman John Compton (Springfield, Ohio/Shawnee), freshman Chris Petrik (Highland Heights, Ohio/Mayfield) and junior Tim Damopoulos (Grove City, Ohio/Grove City).

On the women's side, a familiar face is once again leading the Tiger pack. Senior Abi Gerstle (Kettering, Ohio/Fairmont), fresh off back-to-back appearances in the NCAA Division III national championship meet the last two years, was the team's leading finisher at the University of Dayton and then set a course record of 19:44 at the Wittenberg Invitational. She defeated all challengers in the Wittenberg meet by at least eight seconds, including several runners expected to challenge for her 2001 NCAC individual title.

In recognition of her outstanding performance in finishing first at the Wittenberg Invitational, Gerstle was named NCAC Women's Cross Country Runner of the Week.

Following Gerstle in both meets was freshman Tracy Butler (Fort Wayne, Ind./Homestead), who turned in a time of 20:39 at the Wittenberg Invitational, good for eight place. Freshman Anna Finkelstein (Whitehall, Mich./Reeths-Puffer) and sophomore Marissa Davoll (Cincinnati, Ohio/Anderson) have turned in top-five scoring times for the Tigers in each meet as well.

Next: 9/14 at Cedarville Friendship Invitational