Posted by: Ryan Maurer

Jill Hobelman

Ashley Smith

This is exhibit A on how to finish the season with a bang. Ten goals in two games last week, while conceding just one, earned the Tigers both the North Coast Athletic Conference regular season championship and an NCAC semifinal victory over Oberlin. The top-seeded Tigers, who are ranked No. 14 in the latest National Field Hockey Coaches Association national poll and No. 1 in the Midwest Region, moved into the NCAC tournament title game against Wooster on Saturday, Nov. 9.

Wittenberg started off with a 6-1 win over Ohio Wesleyan on Senior Recognition Night on Oct. 29, a game that was televised by Time Warner Cable twice during the week. For the second time this season, senior forward Emily Duh (Hellertown, Pa./Saucon Valley) scored four goals in a game against the Battling Bishops. Her offensive barrage came after the Tigers had fallen behind 1-0 early in the game.

The Tigers opened the first-ever NCAC tournament with a 4-0 defeat of Oberlin last Tuesday. Duh scored a goal in the game and was joined on the scoresheet by junior forward Katie Babcock (Phoenix, Md./Dulaney). Senior defender Jill Hobelman (St. Louis, Mo./Villa Duchesne) and sophomore forward Ashley Smith (Pittsford, NY/Mendon) both scored their first goal of the season.

The Tigers dominated the game against Oberlin, outshooting the Yeowomen 15-9 with seven different players taking shots at the goal. Duh hammered four of them and Rebecca Russ (Louisville, Ky./Sacred Heart Academy) took three others. It was another solid all-around team performance for the Tigers, who hope to keep that momentum for the NCAC title game and possibly the NCAA Division III tournament, which begins next week at regional sites around the nation.

Duh is now tied for third in the country with 54 points, a total that ranks first in Wittenberg history for points in a season and second in conference history in that statistical category. She is also fourth in the country with 23 goals, and her point and goal totals both lead the NCAC. In addition, the defense has done its job exceedingly well. The team defense is ranked eighth in the nation for goals against (12 in 19 games). Sophomore goalkeeper Jen Meyer (Solon, Ohio/Hathaway Brown) is seventh nationally in goals against average (0.64) and she is eighth in save percentage of 89.7 percent. As a team, the Tigers set a school record with just seven goals against in 12 NCAC games.

Next: 11/9 vs. Wooster, 6 p.m.
NCAC Tournament Title Game

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Lindsay Nelson

Sarah Yuskewich

Somebody forgot to tell the Tiger volleyball team to read the script before the start of the first-ever Wittenberg National Quad. Facing three of the top six-ranked team in the nation - Washington University (1), Juniata (3) and Mount St. Joseph (6) - the Tigers came up with the goods to win the tournament and prove that they are a force to be reckoned with as the 2002 NCAA Division III tournament approaches.

What made the wins more remarkable was the fact that Wittenberg entered the tourney as the lowest ranked team of the four, checking in at No. 11 in the previous poll. Wittenberg moved all the way up to No. 3 in the latest AVCA poll, released on Wednesday, and No. 1 in the Great Lakes Region. The Tigers' first test was Mount St. Joseph, a team that has been the nemesis of Wittenberg for several years. After numerous defeats against the Mountie Lions over the last two years, Wittenberg scored a stunning 3-0 win, 30-17, 30-23, 31-29. Sophomore outside hitter Monica McDonald (Newark, Ohio/Catholic) and junior outside hitter Lindsay Nelson (Massillon, Ohio/Tuslaw) were the offensive standouts for the team with 17 and 16 kills respectively. Sophomore setter Sarah Yuskewich (Columbus, Ohio/Watterson) was her usual reliable self with 52 assists and four aces. Sophomore outside hitter Emilie Schmid (Canton, Ohio/Massillon Jackson) stepped up on defense with 11 digs.

Washington University, the No. 1 team in the nation and the Division III runner-up in 2001 was the next opponent, and once again the Tigers pulled off a stunner. The first game was tight as Wittenberg narrowly won 37-35, but that was as close as it got. The Tigers captured the next two games 30-19 and 30-24 to have post a surprisingly comfortable 3-0 victory over the previously unbeaten Bears. The usual suspects were all there again as McDonald finished with 13 kills, Yuskewich 50 assists, three aces and 12 digs and Schmid with 14 digs.

The last match was much tighter as Wittenberg completed the landmark weekend sweep with a 3-2 defeat of third-ranked Juniata, a national semifinalist a year ago and one of the traditional powers on the national scene. The home team took the lead each time but Juniata kept pulling back to level until Wittenberg took the final game and complete the tournament. Yuskewich had her second-highest assist total of the season with 72 and McDonald pounded 29 kills.

To recognize her phenomenal performance during the weekend, Yuskewich was named National Player of the Week by the American Volleyball Coaches Association.

Next: 11/8-9 NCAC Tourn. First Round

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Skip Ivery

Jason Stephan

The Tiger football team continued to play with a purpose and a passion last Saturday, walloping visiting Allegheny College to the tune of 49-3. It was the biggest margin of victory in the 14-game history of this normally intense NCAC rivalry, and it was Allegheny's worst regular season loss since 1953.

The win improved the 12th-ranked Tigers to 7-1 overall and 4-1 in the NCAC. Wittenberg remains one game behind league-leading Wabash in the NCAC standings, but the Little Giants clinched the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III playoffs today with a 42-22 victory over Wooster. The Tigers also remain alive for one of just three Pool C bids into the NCAA Division III tournament, which kicks off with first round games on Saturday, Nov. 23.

In this game, the Tigers were dominant from the start. With 5:37 remaining in the first quarter, junior wide receiver Skip Ivery (Columbus, Ohio/Groveport-Madison) capped a six-play, 82-yard drive with a 40-yard touchdown reception from senior quarterback Greg Cornett (Franklin, Ohio/Franklin). After sophomore defensive tackle Jarrett Brown (Columbus, Ohio/St. Charles) intercepted the first pass of his collegiate career, senior tailback Jason Stephan (Brookville, Ohio/Brookville), making his first start of the season, scored on a two-yard run with 2:14 left in the opening stanza.

The second quarter offered more of the same as Stephan dove across the finish line for a one-yard touchdown and Ivery hauled in a 32-yard scoring strike to open up a 28-0 lead. In the second half, it was the Jason Stephan show. Filling in for All-American tailback Daniel Grove (Uhrichsville, Ohio/Claymont), who is sidelined with a broken foot, Stephan rushed for 123 yards in the second half and crossed the goal line three more times. He finished the day with career highs of 23 rushes, 181 yards and five touchdowns.

Rounding out the offensive numbers, Cornett had another outstanding game, finishing 14-of-20 passing for 231 yards and two touchdowns. Ivery had three catches for 88 yards and senior wide receiver Adrian Crane (Indianapolis, Ind./Ben Davis) chipped in with six receptions for a game-high 91 yards. Defensively, the Tigers stifled the Gators, holding them to just 141 total yards on 53 plays.

Next: 11/9 vs. Kenyon, 1 p.m.

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Josh Curtis

Brian Armstrong

Five wins in their final six games weren't quite enough for the Tiger men's soccer team, who finished up the 2002 season with a 6-0 win at Hiram last Saturday. Going into the regular season finale, Wittenberg needed a win and two other NCAC rivals to lose. The Tigers did their part, but the other teams didn't and the Tigers finished the season with a 7-10-1 overall record, including a 5-4 mark in the NCAC, which was good for sixth place in the final standings.

In the win over Hiram, senior forward Brian Armstrong (Delaware, Ohio/Dublin Coffman) ran his goal tally to 14 for the season by scoring four goals, providing small consolation in the face of the team falling just one point short of qualifiying for the NCAC tournament. Armstrong finished the regular season with 14 goals and six assists, good for 34 total points, best in the NCAC.

Senior midfielder Matt Lapish (Grosse Pointe Farms, Mich./South) and junior forward Taggart Studdes (Ostrander, Ohio/Dublin Coffman) both got into the scoring act as well against Hiram. Senior defender Josh Curtis (Dublin, Ohio/Coffman) was instrumental in the offensive barrage, providing four assists.

Next: Season Complete

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Abi Gerstle

Wittenberg hosted the 19th annual NCAC Men's and Women's Cross Country Championships last Saturday at John Bryan State Park near Yellow Springs. It was the second race this season that Wittenberg hosted at picturesque the park, following the successful Wittenberg Invitational on Sept. 7.

Senior Abi Gerstle (Kettering, Ohio/Fairmont) took home the the individual NCAC women's cross country title for a second straight year, but it wasn't enought to bring victory to Wittenberg in the team standings. Her time of 18:46 was more than five seconds faster than the rest of the field. Overall, the women finished seventh of nine teams as Allegheny took the women's title.

Gerstle wasn't the only Tiger runner to post one of her best times of the season as freshmen Sarah Gearhart (Enon, Ohio/Greenon), Anna Finkelstein (Whitehall, Mich./Reeths-Puffer) and Tracy Butler (Fort Wayne, Ind./Homestead) all neared their career bests for a five-kilometer race and junior Becky Barnes (Williamsport, Ohio/Westfall) turned in a personal best.

The men didn't finished ninth of 10 teams, with senior Nick Dewald (Mansfield, Ohio/Senior) the highest place finisher, coming in 29th with a time of 27:34. His time was one second short of the season best for an eight-kilometer event.

Next: 11/16 NCAA Great Lakes
Region Championships
at Ada, Ohio

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The Tiger men's basketball team was named the preseason favorite in media and coaches balloting during the annual NCAC Basketball Media Day on Tuesday. Wittenberg, the two-time defending regular season champions after posting back-to-back 15-1 NCAC records, was the favorite in both polls in very balanced voting that handed first-place votes to four different teams.

The College of Wooster was No. 2 in the balloting, followed by Wabash and Ohio Wesleyan. All three of those teams received first-place votes, and all are expected to offer serious challenges to the Tigers' supremacy.

Wittenberg, the winningest men's basketball program in NCAA Division III history, returns six letterwinners and two starters from last year's squad that finished 26-4 and advanced to the NCAA Division III tournament for a second straight year. In 2001-02, the Tigers won the NCAC regular season and tournament championships before losing to DePauw in the second round of the national tourney.

Wittenberg starts the 2002-03 campaign on Friday, Nov. 22 in the Kiwanis-Wittenberg Tip-Off Classic in the HPER Center. The Tigers take on Alma College in one semifinal game, while John Carroll and Ohio Dominican will square off in the other game.

Next: 11/22-23 Kiwanis-Wittenberg
Tip-Off Classic

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The Tiger women's basketball team joined the men's team as the 2002-03 preseason NCAC favorite in balloting by both the media and coaches. The information was also released during the conference's annual media day festivities on Tuesday.

In the women's balloting, the Tigers took 25 first-place votes, 19 of 32 from the media and six from league coaches to outdistance defending NCAC tournament champion Ohio Wesleyan. The Tigers have claimed eight NCAC titles and is the defending regular season champion. They return three starters and 10 letterwinners from a team that went 21-6 a year ago.

The season starts on Friday, Nov. 22 in the Kiwanis-Wittenberg Tip-Off Classic at the HPER Center. Wittenberg opens against Albion in the first semifinal game, while St. Thomas and Otterbein will face one another in the other semifinal.


Next: 11/22-23 Kiwanis-Wittenberg
Tip-Off Classic

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Steve Rader

Betany Yeakley

The Tiger men's and women's swimming and diving teams are off to a strong start with an impressive showing against the College of Wooster this weekend. The men were victorious over the Scots by a 118-113 score while the women were narrowly defeated by a count of 109-126.

There were many notable swims for the men, including first-place finishes by Steve Rader (Painesville, Ohio/Cleveland St. Ignatius) in the 200-yard freestyle (1:49.96) and 100 butterfly (54.13). Matt Werbach (Painesville, Ohio/Hawken) had season-best times in the 100 free (50.25) and 200 free (1:51.79), placing first and second respectively.

Brandon Morris (Centerville, Ohio/Centerville) stood out in the distance events by taking first in the 500 free (5:16.89) and second in the 1,000 free (10:48.47). Blake Troxel (Bluffton, Ind./Norwell) finished first in the 200 IM (2:09.62) and Alex Berger (Findlay, Ohio/Findlay) scored blue in the 100 breaststroke (1:03.55).

The team of Rader, Werbach, Berger and Scott Olmsted (Castle Rock, Colo./Cherry Creek) teamed up in the 200 free relay to take first (1:31.24).

The women found it tough to score first-place points against the Scots. Newcomer Betany Yeakley (Wilmington, Ohio/Wilmington) was the only Tiger to take home the top honor. Yeakley finished in first in the 100 backstroke (1:02.30) and second in the 200 IM (2:16.81).

Notable swims were achieved by Rebecca Searcy (Shelbyville, Ky./Shelby County Bloomington) who scored a pair of second-place finishes in the 1,000 free (11:02.62) and the 500 free (5:26.96). Swimming sprint freestyle, Courtney Galliger (Eagan, Minn./Eagan) had season-best swims in the 50 (25.57) and in the 100 (56.47).

Catherine Gray (Fort Thomas, Ky./Highlands) and Ashley Tipple (Columbus, Ohio/Grandview) each took home top honors in the diving competition. Gray scored 189.25 points in the 1-meter competition, while Tipple scored 142.9 in the 3-meter.

On Friday, the Tigers will match-up against Ohio Wesleyan and Wilmington at home. Saturday they will take to the road against the toughest competition of the season - perennial NCAA champion Kenyon College.

Next: Next: 11/8 vs. Wilmington & Ohio Wesleyan, 6 p.m.

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