Wittenberg University

Spring Seasons Heat Up; Beth Walters, Becky Barnes
and Joe Rumschlag Earn NCAC Athlete of the Week Honors

Posted by: Ryan Maurer

K.R. Schlievert

It was a frigid weekend in Springfield, and unfortunately the action on the field played out in a disappointing fashion for the Tiger baseball team, which dropped three of four North Coast Athletic Conference West Division games to Wabash College at the Municipal Stadium Annex.

The weekend's opener may have set the tone. After the game was delayed by two hours due to heavy rains overnight on Friday, the Tigers took a 5-3 lead into the seventh inning. But with two outs, the Little Giants struck for three runs on four straight hits to shock the Tigers and claim a 6-5 win. Five Wittenberg players had multi-hit games in the defeat, led by freshman shortstop K.R. Schlievert (Findlay, Ohio/Findlay), who put together three hits in as many appearances and scored two runs in the leadoff spot.

In the Saturday nightcap, the Tigers fell behind 6-0 in the second inning, rallied for nine runs in the bottom of that inning and then allowed the Little Giants to move back ahead 13-9 in the third inning. Wittenberg chipped away at the lead, but get no closer than 13-11 in the defeat. Schlievert had two hits, two runs and three runs batted in and sophomore Tom Pickering (Newark, Ohio/Catholic) added three hits and two runs, but the Tigers missed numerous opportunities to score more.

On Sunday, it started out as more of the same for the hard-luck Tigers, who committed three errors leading to three unearned runs in a 6-3 defeat as the snow flurries swirled around overhead. Sophomore Brandon Godzik (Vandalia, Ohio/Butler) went 3-for-4 in the game, but the Tigers left seven runners on base in the seven-inning game.

The Tigers finally got back into the win column in the Sunday series finale, but even that victory had its tense moments. After Wittenberg sprinted out to an 8-2 lead, on the strength of three-hit games by Godzik and senior Ryan Born (Marion, Ohio/Pleasant), but then had to stave off another Little Giant rally to win 8-6. Junior pitcher Jason Flick (Hamilton, Ohio/Middletown Fenwick) pitched two innings of shutout relief to save the game and the series for the Tigers.

Statistically, the Tigers lead the NCAC in batting with a robust .377 average, and Born leads the conference individually with a .545 average. Godzik ranks second in the NCAC in that category and Schlievert checks in at No. 5. Godzik leads the conference in hits (33), runs (28), total bases (62) and home runs (7).

The best news of the week was that it is still early in the 2003 season and there will be a total of 16 NCAC West Division games played this year. The Tigers are currently two games behind Wabash and nationally ranked defending NCAC champion Ohio Wesleyan in the standings. This week will be a busy one for the Tigers, but it will not include any West Division games.

Next: 4/2 vs. O. Dominican, 6 p.m.
4/3 @ Cedarville, 4 p.m.
4/5 @ Wooster (DH), 1 p.m.
4/6 vs. Capital, 2 p.m.

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Beth Walters

If a tie is like kissing your sister, what does that make a doubleheader split? Better than losing and not as good winning, perhaps, but as spring weather finally arrives in Central Ohio, the Tiger softball team will gladly take the three wins and three losses of last week and move on into NCAC action this week.

The Tigers split with Heidelberg on Monday, split with Mount St. Joseph on Thursday and split with Albion on Sunday, all at home. The top pitching performance of the week was turned in by sophomore Christy Cartaya (Mason, Ohio/Mt. Notre Dame), who shut out Heidelberg 1-0 in the week's opener. She allowed just five hits and one walk in going the distance for the win. In the nightcap, sophomore Jen Fleming (Dayton, Ohio/Chaminade-Julienne) also tossed a complete game and allowed just one earned run, but a lack of offense and two timely errors contributed to the loss.

Against Mount St. Joseph, the Tigers' defense let them down again as they committed four errors in the first game, an 8-3 defeat. In the nightcap, freshman Megan Ulbright (Wooster, Ohio/Wooster) tossed a five-inning complete and earned the win when the Tigers broke out with four runs in the fifth. The game was concluded at that point due to darkness.

On Sunday, the Tigers started slowly again, losing the opener 4-1 despite a solid complete-game pitching performance by junior Katie Gildow (Bellefontaine, Ohio/Bellefontaine). Wittenberg earned the split by banging out 17 hits in the second game, led by three hits apiece by Norah Gillam (Canfield, Ohio/Canfield), Katie Niemeyer (Findlay, Ohio/Findlay) and Jen Meyer (Solon, Ohio/Hathaway Brown).

Among all the names already mentioned, the player of the week for the Tigers and in the NCAC was senior outfielder Beth Walters (Westerville, Ohio/Columbus DeSales), who went 10-for-16 with six runs and four RBI on the week. She ranks third in the conference in batting average with a mark of .400, and she tops the team in hits (20), runs (12), RBI (11) and total bases (24).

This is an important week for the Tigers as they travel to Ohio Wesleyan on Thursday and then host Oberlin on Saturday. No team in the NCAC has a winning record currently, so the league race is clearly wide open heading into the first week of action.

Next: 4/3 @ O. Wesleyan, 3 p.m.
4/5 vs. Oberlin, 1 p.m.

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Mike Herzog

The Tiger men's tennis team is rounding into form following a difficult early-season non-conference schedule that included regionally ranked DePauw, Kenyon and Wheaton, and a second-place finish in the Wabash Invitational to nationally ranked Washington University. That makes this an interesting week as the Tigers travel to Wooster for a nonconference match on Thurdsay and then St. Louis, Mo. for a tri-match with Washington University and Wisconsin-Eau Claire.

Last week was a light one for the Tigers as they upended Wabash on Saturday 7-0. No singles player for Wittenberg allowed more than eight games to a Little Giant opponent.

Four of the Tigers' six singles players have winning records, led by senior No. 1 player Casey Clagett (Steamboat Springs, Colo./Steamboat Springs), who is 16-7. Other top singles records are owned by senior No. 3 player Eric Cusick (Lima, Ohio/Senior) (13-5), senior No. 4 player Mike Herzog (Springfield, Ohio/Northwestern) (11-6) and senior No. 5 player Ben Hodgkiss-Lilly (Cleveland Heights, Ohio/Cleveland Heights) (10-5). All three doubles teams have winning records with at least seven victories on the campaign.

Next: 4/3 @ Wooster, 3:30 p.m.
4/5 vs. UW-Eau Claire*
4/5 @ Washington Univ.*
* 4/5 matches played at Washington Univ. in St. Louis, Mo. at 9 a.m. and 1 p.m.

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Deana Nowakowski

The Tiger women's tennis team ended a long layoff with an 8-1 win at Wooster on Saturday. The Tigers swept the singles courts after winning two of three in the doubles competition.

The best singles record on the team is owned by senior Shannon Oliphant (Columbus, Ohio/Hilliard Davidson), who has a 10-3 mark at No. 2 singles, a mark that also ranks best in the NCAC at the second singles flight.

In addition, junior No. 6 singles player Deana Nowakowski (Uniontown, Ohio/Lake) checks in with a record of 7-4 and sophomore No. 1 singles player Emily Figel (Ft. Wayne, Ind./Homestead) has a mark of 7-6. Two of the three doubles teams have winning records.

The Tigers, who have already played a very difficult nonconference schedule, head back into action this week against NAIA scholarship program Ohio Dominican and matches against national contenders Wisconsin-Eau Claire and Washington University in St. Louis, Mo. on Saturday.

Next: 4/2 vs. O. Dominican, 4 p.m.
4/5 vs. UW-Eau Claire*
4/5 @ Washington Univ.*
* 4/5 matches played at Washington Univ. in St. Louis, Mo. at 9 a.m. and 1 p.m.

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Tim Gaal

The Tiger men's and women's track and field teams proved once again this weekend that they can compete extremely well against top competition. At the Rhodes/U. of Memphis Big Cat Classic, Wittenberg athletes posted several top finishes in a field loaded with Division I and NAIA schools, including Vanderbilt, Austin Peay and Murray State.

No team scores were kept.

Leading the charge were a trio of first-place finishers: sophomore Joe Rumschlag (Maumee, Ohio/Toledo Christian), senior Joel Drake (Springfield, Ohio/Shawnee) and junior Tim Gaal (Amanda, Ohio/Clearcreek).

Rumschlag, who was named NCAC Field Events Athlete of the Week, took first place in the long jump with a mark of 22-0.5, a personal best. Drake, the 2003 NCAC Indoor champion in the shot put, claimed first in the same event in Memphis with a mark of 47-9. Gaal claimed first place in the javelin with an NCAA provisional mark of 202-9. He is already approaching his 2002 best throw of 211-0, which was a school record and an NCAA automatic qualifying mark. He finished 11th in the nation in the event.

Other top finishers included junior Kelly Zilli (Dayton, Ohio/Kettering Alter), who finished third in the 800 meters, junior Skip Ivery (Columbus, Ohio/Groveport-Madison) finished second in the 110-meter high hurdles and junior Becky Barnes (Williamsport, Ohio/Westfall) turned in a pair of personal best performances, including a time of 19:06.49 in the 5000 meters that was good for third place. Barnes' performance earned her NCAC Distance Runner Athlete of the Week recognition.

Next: 4/4-5 Wittenberg Challenge Multi-Event

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Adam Knowlton

The Tiger men's golf team got off to a solid start to the spring 2003 campaign with a sixth place finish in the Muskingum Invitational last weekend at Eagle Sticks Golf Club in Zanesville, Ohio. Thirteen teams from around the state were involved in the competition, including five NCAC schools, and of the conference schools involved the Tigers trailed only the top two teams in the entire tournament, nationally ranked Ohio Wesleyan and Denison.

The top score of the weekend was turned in by sophomore Andy Bonar (Lancaster, Ohio/Lancaster), who finished 12th with a solid two-day total of 151. Freshman Kristopher Schmelzer (Lancaster, Ohio/Lancaster) added a 14th place finish with a two-day total of 153. Both golfers were in the 70s both days.

The best rounds of the tournament for the Tigers was turned in by junior Adam Knowlton (Springfield, Ohio/Shawnee), who finished with a 76 on the first day and a two-day total of 157, good for 25th place, and Bonar, who had a 74.

Next: 4/5-6 at Kenyon Cup

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Andy Joly

The Tiger men's lacrosse team has won two straight games and now heads into the heart of the 2003 schedule with three interesting games this week.

Starting things off is a rescheduled contest at Denison, the defending NCAC champion, on Tuesday. On Wednesday, the Tigers will play Marietta at Mariemont High School in Cincinnati. And action concludes this week with a conference game at Oberlin, a team the Tigers walloped 18-1 in nonconference action on March 22.

Last week, the Tigers won their lone game at Washington & Jefferson 11-4 on Wednesday. Freshman Andy Joly (St. Louis, Mo./DeSmet Jesuit) led the offense with three goals, while senior Dan Patterson (St. Louis, Mo./DeSmet Jesuit) and sophomore Trevor Carlson (Upper Arlington, Ohio/Upper Arlington) added two tallies each. The Presidents managed just seven shots on goal in the game, compared to 17 by the Tigers.

Next: 4/1 @ Denison, 7:30 p.m.
4/2 vs. Marietta*, 7:30 p.m.
4/5 @ Oberlin, 1 p.m.
* Played at Mariemont High School in Cincinnati, Ohio

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Cara Romanowski

The Tiger women's lacrosse team hung tough with another quality opponent last week before falling 13-10 to Ohio Wesleyan in their NCAC opener on Tuesday at Edwards-Maurer Field. Senior Cara Romanowski (Collegeville, Pa./Perkiomen Valley) led the Tigers in scoring for a fourth consecutive game as she found the back of the net five times. It was the second time this season that Romanowski scored five goals in a game.

The 2002 NCAC Defensive Player of the Year and the NCAC's leading scorer a year ago, Romanowski has a team- and NCAC-best 17 goals on the season. She has scored at least three goals in each game so far this year. Sophomore Jenny Burns (Dublin, Ohio/Coffman) is second on the team with 13 goals and two assists for 15 total points.

Defensively, senior Rebecca Russ (Louisville, Ky./Sacred Heart) and junior Katie Babcock (Phoenix, Md./Dulaney) lead with 16 ground balls. Russ, last year's goalkeeper, leads the team with 10 caused turnovers.

Next: 4/5 @ Oberlin, 2 p.m.

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