Posted by: Ryan Maurer

Jason Toman

Clyde Mayer

Kristen Mumper

Skip Ivery

At the halfway point, the 2003 men's and women's track and field campaign has all the makings of one of the best in school history.

The indoor season concluded March 15 with a bang. Junior Skip Ivery (Columbus, Ohio/Groveport-Madison) finished second in the 55-meter high hurdles at the NCAA Division III Men's Indoor Track and Field Championship meet at DePauw. Ivery broke his own school record with a blistering time of 7.51 in the finals of the national meet. He was one of three competitors within .01 seconds of one another in a fantastic photo finish.

Also an all-conference wide receiver on the Wittenberg football team, Ivery matched the best finish for an individual athlete in NCAA competition in school history in his first appearance at a national track and field championship event. The top eight competitors in each event are designated as All-America. As a team, Wittenberg wound up tied for 23rd in the nation thanks to Ivery's eight points.

Ivery then picked up where he left off last weekend at the Muskingum Invitational, where he posted a first-place finish in the 110-meter high hurdles. Ivery has lost just one high hurdles race in which Division III runners were exclusively the competition.

Sophomore Joe Rumschlag (Maumee, Ohio/Toledo Christian) and junior Tim Gaal (Amanda, Ohio/Clearcreek) picked up blue ribbons during the meet as well. Rumschlag took a first in the long jump and also finished in the top eight in the 100 meters, 200 meters and triple jump events as well. Gaal, the team's lone national outdoor qualifier in 2002, threw the javelin in competition for the first time in 2003 and took top honors with an NCAA provisional qualifying mark of 192-8.

Other top finishes were turned in by senior Nate Henderson (Kettering, Ohio/Dayton Carroll), third in the 400-meter intermediate hurdles with a personal-best time, sophomore Jason Toman (Greenville, Ohio/Greenville) captured second place in the 400 hurdles with a personal-best time, and sophomore Clyde Mayer (Hilliard, Ohio/Davidson) finished third in the discus with a personal-best throw, followed closely by teammate Joel Drake (Springfield, Ohio/Shawnee), a senior who finished fourth.

Toman was named NCAC Sprinter/Hurdler Athlete of the Week, while Mayer earned NCAC Field Events Athlete of the Week for their outstanding performances.

On the women's side, the effort was again led by junior Kristen Mumper (Cincinnati, Ohio/Purcell Marian), who captured first place in the 400 meters, long jump and triple jump and ran a leg of the fifth-place 4x100-meter relay. For her efforts, she earned NCAC Sprinter/Hurdler Athlete of the Week as well.

Other top finishers included junior Kelly Zilli (Dayton, Ohio/Kettering Alter), who finished second in the 800 meters and ran a leg of the 4x400-meter relay that finished third, junior Becky Barnes (Williamsport, Ohio/Westfall), who had personal-bests in the 1500 and 5000 meter races, senior Abi Gerstle (Kettering, Ohio/Fairmont), who claimed runner-up honors in the 3000-meter steeplechase, and junior Geri Woessner (Dayton, Ohio/Oakwood), who had top-eight finishes in the shot put and javelin in her first meet since suffering a knee injury during soccer season last fall.

No team scores were tabulated at the Muskingum Invitational.

Next: 3/29 @ Rhodes (Outdoor Track Season)

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Rebecca Searcy

Steve Rader

The 2002-03 swimming and diving season was another one of firsts for the Wittenberg program, and it ended with two fantastic performances at the NCAA Division III Championship meets.

Junior Steve Rader (Painesville, Ohio/Cleveland St. Ignatius) also earned All-America honors. A three-time national meet qualifier, Rader matched his best performance ever with a pair of fourth-place finishes at the NCAA Division III Men's Swimming and Diving National Championships at Emory University March 20-22. Also a two-time All-American in 2002, Rader finished fourth in the 200-yard Individual Medley and fourth in the 200-yard butterfly, the latter in a school record time of 1:51.48. In addition, Rader finished 12th (Honorable Mention All-America) in the 100-yard butterfly in a school-record time of 50.57.

Like track and field, the top eight in each event are designated All-America. As a team, Wittenberg posted a school-record tying 35 points, all scored by Rader, en route to 21st place.

Rounding things out, freshman Rebecca Searcy (Shelbyville, Ky./Shelby County Bloomington) finished 10th in the 400-yard Individual Medley, 11th in the 1650-yard freestyle and 23rd in the 500-yard freestyle at the NCAA Division III Women's Swimming and Diving National Championships at Emory University March 15-17. All three finishes were a result of personal-best times by Searcy, with the first two being good for Honorable Mention All-America honors. As a team, Wittenberg finished 40th nationally with 13 points, all scored by Searcy.

Next: Season Complete

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Ryan Born

Brandon Godzik

After weeks of monotonous practice sessions indoors due to the cold and snow of Winter 2003, the Tiger baseball team got away for a Spring Break week in Florida.

Accordingly, the Tigers' bats heated up in the Sunshine State as Wittenberg averaged more than 15 runs per game en route to a 7-1-1 record to start the season. In Florida, Wittenberg won its first six games, defeating Carroll College, 20-12 and 18-7, St. Joseph's College, 9-7, 14-1 and Central College, 3-2 and 15-12 before finally dropping one against Central, 12-6. The week wrapped up with 15-3 victory over Monmouth and a 14-14 tie with Benedictine in a game that was suspended due to time limits.

Since returning to Springfield, the Tigers have split four games to arrive at their current 9-3-1 overall record. On Saturday at Muskingum, Wittenberg won the opener 2-1 behind a complete-game pitching performance by sophomore righthander Ryan Goldschmidt (Ft. Loramie, Ohio/Ft. Loramie) and fell 10-2 in the nightcap. On Sunday, the Tigers dropped the opener at Wilmington 12-3 before rallying in the second game to win 7-5 on the strength of home runs by sophomores Brandon Godzik (Vandalia, Ohio/Butler) and Matt Foster (Granville, Ohio/Granville).

Individually, senior Ryan Born (Marion, Ohio/Pleasant) leads the NCAC with a .595 batting average. He has 18 RBI, two hom runs and 25 hits in just 13 games. Godzik is right on his heels, ranking fourth in the conference with a robust .490 batting average and leading the NCAC with 25 RBI, 23 runs scored and seven round-trippers. In addition, freshman shortstop K.R. Schlievert (Findlay, Ohio/Findlay) ranks seventh in the conference with a .469 average and fourth in runs scored with 18.

The Tigers have a four-game weekend series against Wabash coming up. The Saturday doubleheader will be broadcast by WULM 1600 AM.

Next: 3/29 vs. Wabash (DH), Noon
3/30 vs. Wabash (DH), 1 p.m.

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Katie Gildow

Jen Fleming

Like the baseball team, the Tiger softball squad happily departed for Spring Break in Ft. Myers, Fla. Unlike their baseball brethren, however, the softball team didn't light up the scoreboards and returned home 5-5.

Wittenberg defeated Webster 8-4, Lakeland 14-8, Haverford 1-0, Curry 3-2 and Wesleyan 5-0. Losses were dealt to the Tigers by Rockford 13-7, Wheaton 17-8, Wilmington 3-1, Drew 3-0 and Ursinus 1-0 in eight innings. Since returning to Springfield, Wittenberg managed to get one doubleheader played, a split on Monday with visiting Heidelberg (1-0 win in Game 1 and a 2-1 loss in Game 2).

Individually, Wittenberg has three of the top 15 hitters in the NCAC, based upon batting average. Junior Katie Gildow (Bellefontaine, Ohio/Bellefontaine) leads the team with a .400 average with five RBI and three runs scored in 11 games. Sophomore Norah Gillam (Canfield, Ohio/Canfield) is hitting .333 with seven RBI, which ranks her fourth in the conference. Senior Beth Walters (Westerville, Ohio/Columbus DeSales) ranks 14th in the NCAC with a .375 average and a team-best eight runs batted in.

On the mound, sophomore Jen Fleming (Dayton, Ohio/Chaminade-Julienne), who missed almost all of last season with a broken leg, has compiled a 1-3 record with an earned run average of 2.48. She leads the team with 29 innings pitched.

Next: 3/27 vs. Mt. St. Joseph, 3 p.m.
3/30 vs. Albion, 1 p.m.

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Dan Patterson

Trevor Carlson

The Tiger men's lacrosse team has posted mixed results so far in 2003, losing a pair of Spring Break trip games in Virginia to traditional national powers Randolph-Macon and Virginia Wesleyan before returning home and whipping Oberlin in a nonconference game at home on Saturday.

The season's opening was delayed due to old man winter, which caused a March 1 game against Ohio Wesleyan to be postponed until April 15, a March 2 against Whittier to be cancelled and a March 19 game against Denison to be moved to April 1.

Against Randolph-Macon, the Tigers fell behind 6-2 by halftime and couldn't make up enough ground in the second half, losing 14-10. Junior Hans Rydquist (Hudson, Ohio/Hudson) and senior Dan Patterson (St. Louis, Mo./DeSmet Jesuit) scored three goals each and junior goalkeeper Kyle Prussing (New Concord, Mass./Concord-Carlisle) turned away nine shots.

Against Virginia Wesleyan, the Tigers again fell behind early, this time trailing 15-3 by halftime, en route to a 22-7 defeat. Prussing faced 46 opposing shots, turning away 10, while the offense was led by Patterson and freshman Cory Windle (Columbus, Ohio/Worthington Kilbourne) with two goals each.

Against Oberlin, the Tigers controlled the action throughout in claiming the comfortable victory. Sophomore Trevor Carlson (Upper Arlington, Ohio/Upper Arlington) scored five goals and Patterson added three tallies as Wittenberg outshot its visitors 37-12.

Next: 3/26 @ Washington & Jefferson, 7 p.m.

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Jenny Burns

The Tiger women's lacrosse team is off to a tough start to the 2003 campaign, falling on March 4 to the University of the Redlands 17-9, Rochester Polytechnic Institute 12-10 and undefeated Washington College 19-6.

The offensive leaders have been consistent through the first three weeks of the season. Sophomore Jenny Burns (Dublin, Ohio/Coffman) stands third in the NCAC with 11 goals and two assists for 13 total points in three games. She has scored at least three goals in each of the games thus far.

Senior Cara Romanowski (Collegeville, Pa./Perkiomen Valley), the 2002 NCAC Defensive Player of the Year and the NCAC's leading scorer a year ago, has a team-best 12 goals on the season, which also paces the conference. She also has scored at least three goals in each game so far.

Next: 3/26 vs. Ohio Wesleyan, 7 p.m.

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Shannon Oliphant

The Tiger women's tennis team has played against some excellent competition in 2003, including nationally ranked Kenyon, DePauw and Rhodes, NCAA Division II Ashland and NCAA Division I Evansville. The result is a slightly misleading 2-5 start to the campaign.

The best singles record on the team is owned by senior Shannon Oliphant (Columbus, Ohio/Hilliard Davidson), who has a 9-3 mark at No. 2 singles. In addition, junior No. 6 singles player Deana Nowakowski (Uniontown, Ohio/Lake) checks in with a record of 6-4 and sophomore No. 1 singles player Emily Figel (Ft. Wayne, Ind./Homestead) has a mark of 6-6.



Next: 3/29 vs. Wooster, 1 p.m.

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Eric Cusick

The Tiger men's tennis squad is off to another strong start toward what they hope is an NCAA Division III Tournament berth. Playing a very difficult schedule, however, it looks like the Tigers may come up just short of that goal.

Wittenberg, ranked ninth in the Central Region in the latest polls, has absorbed dual match losses to Kenyon, DePauw and Wheaton, three of the teams ranked ahead of the Tigers, and placed second behind top-ranked Washington University at last weekend's Kerry Seward Invitational at Wabash College. Those results leave Wittenberg with little room for error heading into NCAC West Division action later this week and next month.

Senior No. 1 singles player Casey Clagett (Steamboat Springs, Colo./Steamboat Springs), who won the regional singles championship last fall, has the best record on the team at 15-7. Senior No. 3 singles player Eric Cusick (Lima, Ohio/Senior) checks in at 12-5, senior No. 4 singles player Mike Herzog (Springfield, Ohio/Northwestern) has a record of 10-6 and senior No. 5 singles player Ben Hodgkiss-Lilly (Cleveland Heights, Ohio/Cleveland Heights) carries a mark of 9-5.

Next: 3/29 @ Wabash