Posted by: Ryan Maurer

Eric Cusick

The Tiger men's tennis team accomplished the first of several lofty goals last week as they wrapped up the North Coast Athletic Conference West Division title with a 4-3 home victory over defending champion Denison on Wednesday. That win came a day after the Tigers captured a 5-2 victory over NAIA scholarship program Cedarville on Tuesday, also at home.

Wittenberg wrapped up its traditional dual match season on Monday with a 7-0 victory over visiting Capital. The Tigers finished the regular season with a 13-4 overall record, heading into this weekend's NCAC Championship, which pits the conference schools in a dual match format tournament over three days at Denison. The Tigers and East Division champ Kenyon are the top seeds in the competition. Kenyon defeated Wittenberg 4-3 early this season.

Four of the Tigers' six singles players have winning records and five of the six have a winning mark against NCAC West competition. Senior No. 1 player Casey Clagett (Steamboat Springs, Colo./Steamboat Springs) is 21-9 overall and 4-0 in the NCAC West; senior No. 3 player Eric Cusick (Lima, Ohio/Senior) is 20-5 and 4-0; senior No. 4 player Mike Herzog (Springfield, Ohio/Northwestern) is 15-9 and 4-0; and senior No. 5 player Ben Hodgkiss-Lilly (Cleveland Heights, Ohio/Cleveland Heights) is 15-7 and 3-1.

All three doubles teams have winning records with at least 13 victories on the campaign. None of the combinations have lost an NCAC West match.

Next: 4/25-27 NCAC Championships at Denison

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Emily Figel

The Tiger women's team played just one match last week, but even that was a big one against a quality opponent as Wittenberg prepares for the annual NCAC Championship Tournament. That competition, which features a dual match format, is slated for this weekend at Denison.

Last Thursday, Wittenberg upended the Ohio Athletic Conference's top team, the Ohio Northern Polar Bears, by a 7-2 count at the Albright Tennis Complex. The only two losses Wittenberg suffered were in three sets at the No. 5 and 6 singles positions.

Three of the six singles players have winning records and five of them have more wins than losses in NCAC action. Senior No. 2 singles player Shannon Oliphant (Columbus, Ohio/Hilliard Davidson) leads with records of 17-3 overall and 4-0 in the NCAC, sophomore Emily Figel (Ft. Wayne, Ind./Homestead) carries marks of 11-9 and 4-1, and junior No. 6 singles player Deana Nowakowski (Uniontown, Ohio/Lake) checks in with records of 10-7 overall and 3-2 in the NCAC. In addition, freshman No. 4 singles player Kristyn Russell (Loveland, Ohio/Mt. Notre Dame) has a 10-11 overall record but a perfect 5-0 record against NCAC foes.

The Tigers wrap up the regular season with a dual match against Otterbein on Tuesday, and then they head into the NCAC Championships. Wittenberg has finished third behind nationally ranked Kenyon and Denison each of the last two years.

Next: 4/22 at Otterbein, 3:30 p.m.
4/25-27 NCAC Championships at Denison

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Rebecca Russ

The Tiger women's lacrosse team didn't have the busiest of weeks, but it was undoubtedly one of the most productive of the 2003 season. Wittenberg upended preseason NCAC favorite Wooster 6-4 on Thursday.

The player of the game, and consequently of the week in the NCAC, was senior goalkeeper Rebecca Russ (Louisville, Ky./Sacred Heart), who turned away 22 shots in the victory. Russ, who moved back to goalkeeper after the first four games of the season due to an injury to freshman Alyssa Yackee (Wauseon, Ohio/Wauseon), had a save percentage of 84 percent in the game and improved her season mark in that category to 64 percent, tops in the conference.

Offensively, sophomore Jenny Burns (Dublin, Ohio/Coffman) and senior Cara Romanowski (Collegeville, Pa./Perkiomen Valley) carried the load, scoring four goals and two goals respectively. Burns leads the team with 31 goals, six assists and 37 total points on the year. Romanowski has 30 goals and total points. Both rank among the NCAC's best in both goals and total points.

This is a big week for the Tigers as they host Kenyon in a crucial NCAC game at Edwards-Maurer Field on Wednesday and then take to the road for a nonconference game at Medaille on Saturday and another important NCAC game on Sunday at Allegheny. Both NCAC games will go a long way toward determining positioning in the NCAC Tournament next month.

Next: 4/23 vs. Kenyon, 4:30 p.m.
4/26 at Medaille, 1 p.m.
4/27 at Allegheny, 1 p.m.

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Dane Sandridge

The Tiger men's golf team turned in its best finish of the 2003 season over the weekend, shooting lights out on Day 2 of the College of Wooster Parlor Invitational to end up in fourth place in a loaded 15-team field. The tourney was played at the difficult Wooster Country Club and included six NCAC teams, including the nationally ranked host team that had won the Denison Invitational the previous week.

Two highlights stand out following the weekend's action. Freshman Kristopher Schmelzer (Lancaster, Ohio/Lancaster) carded a personal collegiate best two-day score of 155 (79, 76). That was good for a third-place tie, also his best finish in his inaugural season in the Red & White. The other highlight was turned in by freshman Dane Sandridge (Westfield Center, Ohio/Lodi Cloverleaf), who also had his best collegiate finish (158, tie for 16th place). His biggest shot of the weekend came on Day 2 when he made a hole-in-one at the 168-yard eighth hole with a seven-iron.

Junior Adam Knowlton (Springfield, Ohio/Shawnee) finished tied for 21st with a 160, freshman Clinton Anderson (Mechanicsburg, Ohio/Mechanicsburg) finished tied for 25th with a 161 and sophomore Andy Bonar (Lancaster, Ohio/Lancaster) rounded things out with a 163, good for a tie for 30th place.

This week, the Tigers again face a strong field on a tough course as Ohio Wesleyan hosts its annual Strimer Invitational tournament on Saturday and Sunday. The host Bishops are the defending NCAC champion and are annually among the top teams in the nation. The tourney is played at Oakhaven Golf Club, just north of Delaware.

Next: 4/26-27 Ohio Wesleyan Strimer Invitational

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LaRissa O'Neal

The Tiger track and field teams had another outstanding weekend, even as half the athletes went to Earlham and the other half competed in a meet at Butler.

For the women at Earlham, junior Geri Woessner (Dayton, Ohio/Oakwood) finished first in the javelin with a throw of 112-1, second in the shot put with a throw of 36-0 and fourth in the 100-meter high hurdles in 17.7. Senior LaRissa O'Neal (Indianapolis, Ind./Broad Ripple) finished first in the pole vault with a school-record mark of 9-6. Freshman Jenny Brigham (Depew, NY/Depew) placed second in the 400 meters in a time of 65.8. Freshman Rebecca Stewart (Knoxville, Tenn./The Webb School) claimed third in the 400 meters in 66.6. And freshman Anna Finkelstein (Whitehall, Mich./Reeths-Puffer) took runner-up honors in the 100 meters in 13.0 and also had a personal-best 27.4 en route to a seventh-place finish in the 200 meters.

For the men at Earlham, senior Joel Drake (Springfield, Ohio/Shawnee) took first in shot put with a mark of 47-8, third in the javelin with a personal-best mark of 131-4 and second in the discus with a 144-11. Freshman David Bazzel (Tipp City, Ohio/Tippecanoe) placed third in the long jump with a personal best 19-0.5 and fifth in the 200 meters in 23.5. Freshman Matt Locke (South Charleston, Ohio/Southeastern) placed second in 110 high hurdles in 15.4 and second in 400 intermediate hurdles in a personal-best 59.3. Junior Alex Yurovitsky (Richmond Heights, Ohio/Richmond Heights) claimed top spot in the javelin with a mark of 147-8 and third in 100 meters in 11.4. Senior Mark Trempe (Springfield, Ohio/St. Paris Graham) placed first in the 400 meters in 50.7 and second in the 200 meters in 22.8.

For the women at the Indy Relays, hosted by Butler, junior Kelly Zilli (Dayton, Ohio/Kettering Alter) finished third in the 800 meters with a personal-best 2:19.02 and junior Kristen Mumper (Cincinnati, Ohio/Purcell Marian) took fourth in the 400 meters in a school record time of 58.23 and fifth in the triple jump with a mark of 10.95 meters.

For the men at the Indy Relays, junior Skip Ivery (Columbus, Ohio/Groveport-Madison) took 11th in 100 meters in 11.24 and fifth in the 110 high hurdles in a personal-best and NCAA provisional qualifying time of 14.49 and junior Tim Gaal (Amanda, Ohio/Clearcreek) finished second in the javelin with a throw of 57.84 meters.

Next: 4/23 & 25 at Otterbein
4/26-27 NCAC Multi-Event (Home)

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Katie Carver

The Tiger softball team won two more games last week to run their recent hot streak to six wins in the last seven games. Wittenberg defeated Thomas More 5-4 and 13-3 in a doubleheader on Tuesday at Betty Dillahunt Field.

The Tiger bats were quite warm in those two games. In the opener, junior Katie Gildow (Bellefontaine, Ohio/Bellefontaine), sophomore Norah Gillam (Canfield, Ohio/Canfield), sophomore Christy Cartaya (Mason, Ohio/Mt. Notre Dame) and junior Carmen Montgomery (South Charleston, Ohio/Southeastern) each had two hits. Montgomery had the biggest hit of the day, an RBI single in the sixth inning that turned out to be the game winner.

Game 2 provided what will certainly be one of the season's highlights for the Tigers as sophomore Katie Carver (Enon, Ohio/Greenon) homered and drove in five runs to lead an offensive outburst. In addition, junior Kristen Hillebrand (Cincinnati, Ohio/McAuley) had three hits and three RBI to run her hitting streak to six games.

Wittenberg now heads into the biggest week of the season. The Tigers are at Kenyon on Wednesday, home to two-time defending NCAC champion Denison on Thursday and back on the road Saturday at Allegheny. Wittenberg is all but assured of qualifying for the NCAC Tournament next month, but the six games this week will determine home field advantage and tournament positioning for the top four teams that advance to the postseason.

Next: 4/23 at Kenyon, 3:30 p.m.
4/24 vs. Denison, 3:30 p.m.
4/26 at Allegheny, 1 p.m.

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Ryan Born

The Tiger baseball team appeared to be in transition in 2003, but after a fast start it was hoped that the young talent called upon to replace huge graduation losses of a year ago was maturing unusually fast. After five losses last week that dropped the Tigers out of contention for the NCAC Tournament, which only includes the top two teams in each division, it has become clear that is not the case.

The week opened with a 7-5 loss to Thomas More on Tuesday. In that game, the Tigers moved out to a 4-1 lead in the fifth inning, but Wittenberg was unable to put together a big inning, something the Saints did in the sixth and seventh as they struck for six runs. Offensively, sophomores Matt Foster (Granville, Ohio/Granville) and Jon Komperda (Bay Village, Ohio/Bay) each had three hits, while freshmen Brad Koopman (Pleasant Hill, Ohio/Newton) and Adam Keller (Mechanicsburg, Ohio/Mechanicsburg) added two base knocks apiece.

On Thursday, the Tigers dropped both ends of a doubleheader at NCAC West leader Denison, 8-2 and 7-1. In those games, the Tigers fell behind in the first inning both times and couldn't quite catch up. Sophomore Brandon Godzik (Vandalia, Ohio/Butler) had two RBI in the opener and another in the nightcap, while freshman K.R. Schlievert (Findlay, Ohio/Findlay) collected three hits and had the lone run in the second game.

On Saturday, the Tigers wrapped up a disappointing week with losses of 5-4 and 16-9 to the Big Red. In the first game, Wittenberg wasted a strong starting performance by senior Adam Abraham (Granville, Ohio/Granville), who allowed just two earned runs. Godzik had three hits and senior Ryan Born (Marion, Ohio/Pleasant) added two hits and two RBI to lead the offense.

In Game 2, freshman Bret Wiseman (New Richmond, Ohio/New Richmond) had two hits and three RBI off the bench, Schlievert added two hits and Foster scored two runs.

The Tigers' late-season slide continued Monday in a 13-9 defeat against Ohio Northern at the Municipal Stadium Annex. The game was a microcosm of the team's 2003 season - a young team that was competitive but was unable to take advantage of its offensive opportunities. Born crushed two home runs and had four RBI, but the Polar Bears scored three unearned runs in the top of the ninth to gain just enough cushion to stave off a late Tiger rally.

This weekend, Wittenberg heads to Ohio Wesleyan for four games against the defending NCAC West champion Bishops. The season wraps up next week with nonconference games against Mt. St. Joseph and Otterbein and one final NCAC doubleheader to-be-determined.

Next: 4/26 at Ohio Wesleyan (DH), 1 p.m.
4/27 at Ohio Wesleyan (DH), Noon

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The Tiger men's lacrosse team lost its third straight North Coast Athletic Conference game last week, falling to nationally ranked NCAC champion Ohio Wesleyan 20-0 on Wednesday at Edwards-Maurer Field.

This week, the Tigers will face Ohio Wesleyan again, this time in a non-conference game hosted by the Bishops.

Next: 4/23 at Ohio Wesleyan, 4:30 p.m.