Posted by: Ryan Maurer

Rebecca Russ

Jill Hobelman

Heather House

Emily Duh

The Tiger field hockey team had an up-and-down week but remains very much on the upside as the regular season winds to a close tonight at Edwards-Maurer Field. On Tuesday, Wittenberg clinched a share of the North Coast Athletic Conference regular season championship by defeating Ohio Wesleyan 6-1 on Senior Recognition Night at Edwards-Maurer Field.

With the win, the Tigers' four seniors - Rebecca Russ (Louisville, Ky./Sacred Heart), Heather House (Dayton, Ohio/Oakwood), Emily Duh (Hellertown, Pa./Saucon Valley) and Jill Hobelman (St. Louis, Mo./Villa Duchesne) - capped their careers in remarkable style. The quartet has been part of a 53-22 overall record since 1999, including a mark of 36-12 in the NCAC and a 25-6 home record. The squad is perfect at home in 2002, heading into the NCAC tournament, which will start with a home semifinal game against Oberlin on Saturday.

Against OWU, the Tigers rallied from an early 1-0 deficit behind Duh's phenomenal offensive work. For the second time this season, Duh scored four goals against the Battling Bishops, running her season totals to 22 goals and 51 points, both of which rank third in school history. For her career, Duh has 95 points (third in school history), 38 goals (tied for third), 19 assists (third), 73 games played (tied for seventh) and 385 shots (second).

Last week, the Tigers took a trip east and ended up 1-1 against perennial powerhouse programs Juniata and Lebanon Valley. Against Juniata on Sunday, Oct. 20, Wittenberg absorbed a 2-0 defeat despite another sterling performance by goaltender Jen Meyer (Solon, Ohio/Hathaway Brown). But the Tigers turned the tables on Tuesday, Oct. 22, capturing a 2-1 decision against nationally ranked Lebanon Valley. Wittenberg received goals from Duh and freshman Emma Rufleth (Clinton, Conn./The Morgan School), while assists were doled out by House and sophomore Katie Houchens (Denver, Colo./Kent Denver).

Rounding things out, the Tigers were defeated 1-0 at Wooster last Saturday. Wittenberg took more shots in the game, but they couldn't find the back of the cage.

Next up is the first-ever NCAC tournament on Saturday. A win by the first-seeded Tigers against the No. 4 seed, Oberlin, will bring the championship game to Springfield on Nov. 9. Denison and Wooster are playing the other semifinal game Saturday in Granville.

Next: 11/2 vs. Oberlin, 6 p.m.

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Sarah Yuskewich

Tiffany Keller

To be the best, you have to beat the best. That's not just a cute saying. It's a fact, and few teams take more shots at the best than Connie Surowicz and her Tiger volleyball team. Last weekend, Wittenberg traveled to the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, home to the sixth-ranked team in the nation and last year's NCAA Division III tournament runner-up. The Warhawks hosted a tournament that featured six nationally ranked teams competing in a round robin format.

When the hitting finally concluded, the Tigers finished a very respectable 2-2 in the competition, defeating two teams ranked in the top 11 nationally on Friday and then losing in five games to the No. 4 and No. 6 squads in the country on Saturday.

Wittenberg defeated Wartburg, the No. 11 team, 3-1 in the opener and then put the hammer down on the No. 5 team, Wisconsin-River Falls, by a 3-0 final. On Saturday, the Tigers met their match(es), however, losing 3-2 to No. 6 Wisconsin-Whitewater and 3-2 to No. 4 Trinity. Against the host team, Wittenberg rallied from down two games, only to lose 15-10 in the final game. Against Trinity, the Tigers held a 2-1 lead before seeing their lead evaporate and a 15-12 Game 5 decision go against them.

The kills were spread around over the weekend, with sophomore Monica McDonald (Newark, Ohio/Catholic), the top hitter in the NCAC with more than 4.5 kills per game, showing the way with 74 putaways. Senior Tiffany Keller (Massillon, Ohio/Tuslaw) finished with 58, senior Teresa Murphy (Blacklick, Ohio/Newark Catholic) tallied 54 and junior Lindsay Nelson (Massillon, Ohio/Tuslaw) chipped in with 44.

Running the show once again was sophomore setter Sarah Yuskewich (Columbus, Ohio/Watterson), who put up 15.3 assists per game. Among her phenomenal total of 260 assists in the tournament were 85 in the loss to Trinity, the second-highest total in school history. In recognition of her continued outstanding play, the North Coast Athletic Conference named Yuskewich its Player of the Week. It was the first time she had been so honored.

Next up for the Tigers is the first-ever Wittenberg National Quad on Friday and Saturday. Scheduled to appear are No. 1 ranked and undefeated Washington University and nationally ranked Mount St. Joseph and Juniata. All three visitors to the HPER Center this weekend were in the NCAA Division III tournament quarterfinals a year ago. Matches start at 5:30 p.m. on Friday.

Next: 11/1-2 Wittenberg National Quad

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Josh Curtis

Brian Armstrong

Time is running short on the Tiger men's soccer team, but Wittenberg is doing its best to make things exciting.

Facing elimination from contention for the NCAC regular season championship every game for a week, the Tigers responded with victories over Kenyon and Oberlin in the last seven days. One game remains, at Hiram on Saturday, and Wittenberg must win the game and hope for help to make the NCAC tournament. Only the top four teams in the conference qualify for the tourney, and the Tigers are in sixth place right now.

Against Kenyon last Wednesday, goals were scored by senior forward Brian Armstrong (Delaware, Ohio/Dublin Coffman), junior midfielder Steve Doring (Huber Heights, Ohio/Wayne) and senior defensive back Josh Curtis (Dublin, Ohio/Coffman). Doring and Curtis each also added assists as the Tigers rallied from a 1-0 first-half deficit to claim the win.

The Tigers followed that up with an exciting one-goal victory at Oberlin on Saturday. It was just the third one-goal victory of the season for Wittenberg, against seven defeats by the same margin. Armstrong, who leads the team and ranks among the best in the NCAC in goals and total points, had the game-winning score in the second overtime period. That came after regulation scores by junior defensive back Greg Zeller (Springfield, Ohio/North), junior forward Mike Walsh (Springfield, Ohio/North) and junior forward Taggart Suddes (Ostrander, Ohio/Dublin Coffman).

Next: 11/2 @ Hiram, 1 p.m.

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Jim Lackmeyer

Greg Cornett

On Saturday, the Tiger football team defeated Ohio Wesleyan, 58-17, in a surprisingly lop-sided game made possible by a tremendous defensive effort spearheaded by senior defensive end Jim Lackmeyer (Cincinnati, Ohio/Purcell Marian) and a potent aerial attack led by senior quarterback Greg Cornett (Franklin, Ohio/Franklin).

Lackmeyer posted career-highs of 10 total tackles,six solo tackles and 5.5 tackles for a loss of 21 yards. He was one of three Wittenberg players to finish in double-digits in tackles - the others being senior linebackers Dustin Goldsbury (Columbus, Ohio/Ready) and Gary George (Cincinnati, Ohio/Purcell Marian). The Tigers gave up 357 total yards on 82 plays, including 218 yards on 55 rushing attempts, but the defense was opportunistic, intercepting two passes and limiting the Bishops to 6-of-17 on third-down conversions.

The scoring started on a 28-yard field goal by sophomore kicker Jacob Thomas (New Albany, Ohio/New Albany) at the 12:33 mark of the first quarter, a score set up by a 55-yard pass play between Cornett and junior wide receiver Skip Ivery (Columbus, Ohio/Groveport-Madison) on the game's first play from scrimmage. Less than two minutes later, after an interception by senior safety John Hauser (Columbus, Ohio/Hartley), sophomore tailback Alex Smith (Blue Bell, Pa./Germantown Academy) went into the end zone from nine yards out to stake the Tigers to a 10-0 lead.

Wittenberg scored on its first three possessions of the second stanza, all on picture-perfect passes by Cornett. The first was a two-yard lob to senior tight end Erich Schoeneberger (Pittsburgh, Pa./Plum), his first catch of the year and first touchdown of his career. The second was a nine-yard pitch to senior wide receiver Adrian Crane (Indianapolis, Ind./Ben Davis). And the third was a 42-yard bomb down the sideline to senior wide receiver Josh McCoy (Wooster, Ohio/Wooster). Cornett then operated the two-minute drill to perfection following an OWU score, nailing Crane with another scoring pass with just 11 seconds left in the half.

The second half opened with three more Wittenberg scores as sophomore fullback Raymar Hampshire (Lima, Ohio/Elida) had a one-yard scoring plunge, Smith added a five-yard burst and freshman Adam Hewitt (Piqua, Ohio/Lehman Catholic) rounded things out with a fine 17-yard scoring jaunt two minutes into the fourth quarter.

Individually, it may have been Cornett finished with 16 completions in 19 attempts for 262 yards and a career-high tying four touchdowns, all thrown in the second quarter. His favorite target was Ivery, who had 111 yards on six receptions, while Crane finished with five catches for 83 yards and two scores. Hampshire topped the team in rushing with 42 yards on eight carries.

Wittenberg is now 6-1 overall and 3-1 in the NCAC, and more importantly the Tigers remain very much alive for either the conference title or one of three at-large berths in the NCAA Division III tournament. Wittenberg, the five-time defending NCAC champion and the 12th-ranked team in the nation in the latest American Football Coaches Association poll, returns home for another crucial match-up against Allegheny next Saturday.

Next: 11/2 vs. Allegheny, 1 p.m.

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Wittenberg plays host to the 19th annual NCAC Men's and Women's Cross Country Championships on Saturday at John Bryan State Park near Yellow Springs. This will be the second race this season that Wittenberg has hosted at picturesque John Bryan State Park, following the successful Wittenberg Invitational on September 7.

Nineteen teams will compete in the conference championship meet, including men's and women's teams from member schools Allegheny, Denison, Oberlin, Kenyon, Earlham, Wooster, Ohio Wesleyan, Hiram and Wittenberg and the men's team from Wabash. Races start at 11 a.m. for the men, who run eight kilometers, and noon for the women who run five kilometers. There will be a presentation for the award winners at 1 p.m.

Kenyon won both the men's and women's team competitions a year ago. In a preseason poll of the NCAC cross country coaches, the Kenyon men were picked to repeat as champions, while the women were predicted to finish in second behind the coaches' unanimous choice, Allegheny. The Gators were picked to finish second in the men's race, followed by Wooster and Wabash. On the women's side, Denison was tabbed third, followed by Oberlin and Wooster.

So far this season, Nick Dewald (Mansfield, Ohio/Senior) has been Wittenberg's top finisher in all but two races this season. For the women Abi Gerstle (Kettering, Ohio/Fairmont) has taken the plaudits by leading the squad each week, and she is the top returning runner in the NCAC overall. In 2001, Gerstle became the first Wittenberg runner, male or female, to win an individual conference championship and Runner of the Year honors.

Click here for more information.

Next: 11/2 NCAC Championships
@ John Bryan State Park
(Hosted by Wittenberg)

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The Wittenberg Swimming & Diving teams officially opened the 2002-03 season with a strong showing at the annual NCAC Relays, hosted by Kenyon on Saturday. The diving portion was hosted by Denison, also on Saturday.

The Tigers are in a rebuilding mode after several All-Americans graduated in the last two years. Still, Wittenberg competed well against some of the finest teams in NCAA Division III, finishing fifth in both the men's and women's meets, fourth when factoring only the swimming portions of each team competition.

For the women, veterans Courtney Galliger (Eagan, Minn./Eagan) and Nicole Kinzeler (Centerville, Ohio/Alter) lead the team with exceptional performances. Newcomers Rebecca Searcy (Shelbyville, Ky./Shelby County Bloomington), Betany Yeakley (Wilmington, Ohio/Wilmington), Amy Conner (Noblesville, Ind./Noblesville) and Sarah Schick (Bloomington, Ind./North) debuted their talent for the Tigers as they swam to strong finishes in each relay event.

The junior class led the way for the men as Matt Werbach (Painesville, Ohio/Hawken), Scott Olmsted (Castle Rock, Colo./Cherry Creek), Steve Rader (Painesville, Ohio/Cleveland St. Ignatius), Alex Berger (Findlay, Ohio/Findlay), Kyle Dunaway (Warren, Ohio/Howland) and Steven Barry (Rocky River, Ohio/Rocky River) produced strong points for the team's total. Also producing a strong finish was sophomore Blake Troxel (Bluffton, Ind./Norwell), a transfer student who the Tigers have high hopes for in 2002-03.

The swimming and diving teams will kick off their dual meet season on Saturday with a match-up against the College of Wooster. It is the start of a busy dual meet schedule in which Wittenberg will square with a number of the top teams in the nation, including Kenyon, Denison and Emory.

Next: 11/2 @ Wooster, 1 p.m.

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Jenny Miller

The Wittenberg women's soccer team put the wraps on a tough, injury-plagued season last weekend with a 2-0 loss at nationally ranked Denison. Junior goalkeeper Jenny Miller (Cincinnati, Ohio/Mother of Mercy) had one of her best games of the season, turning away six Big Red shots in the loss.

Despite the loss, a young team gained a great deal of experience in 2002, competing in perhaps the finest NCAA Division III conference in the nation (Wooster, Ohio Wesleyan and Denison are all currently ranked in the top 15 in the nation and those three along with Allegheny are all among the top eight in the region). Injuries took their toll, however, as no less than four projected starters were forced to the sidelines by the final game of the season.

Next: Season Complete