Sarah Yuskewich

The Wittenberg volleyball team opens NCAA Division III Tournament play this week after winning three straight North Coast Athletic Conference matches last week to capture the NCAC Tournament title. Wittenberg, ranked No. 5 in the nation in the latest American Volleyball Coaches Association poll, will host the Great Lakes Regional at the HPER Center.

Play opens on Thursday with preliminary round matches between Alma and Thomas More at 4:30 p.m. and Ohio Northern and Chatham at 7 p.m. On Friday, the winner of the Ohio Northern/Chatham match advances to play Mount St. Joseph and the Alma/Thomas More winner advances to play Wittenberg at 7 p.m.

Wittenberg has now won 51 straight NCAC regular season matches, dating back to Oct. 18, 1997 and at Case Western Reserve, and 21 consecutive NCAC Tournament matches, dating back to a loss to Ohio Wesleyan in the 1996 championship match. Wittenberg has also won seven straight regular season and tournament titles. The Tigers are hoping to extend the successes of a year ago, when they finished 34-8 overall and won the first Great Lakes Regional title in school history. Wittenberg lost to eventual national champion Wisconsin-Whitewater in the national quarterfinals a year ago after defeating Ohio Northern and Mount St. Joseph in regional tourney matches at the HPER Center.

Last Tuesday, Wittenberg overwhelmed No. 8 seed Ohio Wesleyan, 3-0, in the NCAC tournament quarterfinals. Among the statistical leaders were senior Michelle Emming (West Chester, Ohio/Mount Notre Dame), who had 13 digs and 10 kills, senior Jennifer Emming (West Chester, Ohio/Mount Notre Dame), who had 11 digs and 10 kills, and senior Katie Preuss (Glenview, Ill./Glenbrook South), who finished with 21 assists and 11 digs.

On Friday, Wittenberg easily defeated No. 4 seed Denison, 3-0, in the NCAC tournament semifinals. Junior Kristin Fox (Galion, Ohio/Galion) recorded 11 kills and the Tigers got 10 more from senior Lindsay Nelson (Massillon, Ohio/Tuslaw). Sophomore Emily Dixon (Granville, Ohio/Granville) added five blocks, junior Emilie Schmid (Canton, Ohio/Massillon Jackson) was tremendous defensively with 28 digs and junior Sarah Yuskewich (Columbus, Ohio/Watterson) put forth her usual stellar performance with 44 assists.

On Saturday, Wittenberg put the finishing touches on yet another perfect NCAC regular season and tournament championship with a 3-0 victory over Hiram. With the win, the Tigers advanced claimed their seventh consecutive NCAC tournament title on the heels of the seventh consecutive NCAC regular season title, and moved on to their eighth straight NCAA Division III Tournament. Wittenberg got 14 kills from Michelle Emming, 22 digs from Schmid, seven blocks from Dixon and 45 assists from Yuskewich. The Tigers were never threatened in the championship match, and they completed the season with a perfect 33-0 record in games this season against NCAC foes.

Yuskewich was named NCAC Tournament MVP. Fox and Schmid were also chosen for the all-tournament team.

Next: 11/14 vs. Alma/Thomas Winner, 7 p.m.
NCAA Division III Great Lakes Regional Semifinal

---

Katie Babcock

The Wittenberg field hockey team is back in the NCAA Division III Field Hockey Tournament for a second straight year after capturing the North Coast Athletic Conference Tournament championship in thrilling fashion Saturday with a 1-0 in overtime over Wooster. The Tigers, who tied for the NCAC regular season title and have a 13-6 overall record, open the national competition on Saturday, Nov. 15, with a second-round game against Cortland State on its home campus in Cortland, N.Y.

Wittenberg and Cortland State are two of four teams involved in the NCAA Division III regional bracket at Cortland, the others being Virginia Wesleyan College and Williams College. The Tigers and Red Dragons lock horns at 11 a.m., followed by a 1 p.m. start for Virginia Wesleyan and Williams. The winners of Saturday's second-round game will square off Sunday, and that winner will advance to the national semifinals Nov. 21 at Lebanon Valley College in Annville, Pa.

In the NCAC Tournament championship game, tournament Most Valuable Player Katie Babcock (Phoenix, Md./Dulaney), a senior forward, scored the game-winning goal with 3:17 remaining in overtime. The assist went to sophomore forward Julia Wickham (Columbus, Ohio/Grandview), who was joined on the all-tournament team by junior goalkeeper Jen Meyer (Solon, Ohio/Hathaway Brown), freshman midfielder Rachel Dunn (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Allegheny), junior defender Carrie Happ (Pittsburgh, Pa./Vincentian) and Babcock.

In the first half, Wittenberg was the team with more chances, outshooting the visiting Scots 12-3, but failing to penetrate the Wooster goal. In the second half, Wooster was the team with the offensive momentum, outshooting Wittenberg 12-7. The Tigers needed several tremendous saves by Meyer to keep the game scoreless. In the overtime, Wittenberg simply outran Wooster on a pair of two-on-one breakouts. The Tigers missed on their first opportunity as a penalty stroke went inches wide. On the second transition opportunity, Wittenberg didn't miss. Wickham carried the ball forward and pushed the ball across to Babcock, who hammered it home from point-blank range.

The Tigers, who have won 10 in a row and have claimed 12 wins in the last 14 games after starting the season 1-4, will be shooting for the first NCAA tournament victory in school history when they take on Cortland State, champion of State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC). The Red Dragons started the season by winning 14 straight games, but are actually entering tournament play on a two-game losing streak. This is Wittenberg's sixth appearance in the NCAA Division III Tournament.

Next: 11/15 at Cortland State, 11 a.m.
NCAA Division III Tournament Second Round

---

Skip Ivery

The Wittenberg football team made one of the longest in-season road trips in school history and came away with a 45-21 nonconference victory over Huntingdon College on Saturday.

The Tigers got big offensive games from senior wide receiver Skip Ivery (Columbus, Ohio/Groveport-Madison), junior quarterback Ryan Holmes (Oxford, Ohio/Talawanda) and freshman tailback Joe Brumfield (Springfield, Ohio/Kenton Ridge) to help the top-scoring team in the North Coast Athletic Conference to another lop-sided victory. Ivery caught six passes for 104 yards, including three touchdowns to move his career total to 22 (fourth-most in school history). Holmes completed 15 of 25 passes for 239 yards and the three TDs to Ivery. Brumfield filled in for injured starter Raymar Hampshire (Lima, Ohio/Elida), who went down after three carries for 25 yards in the first quarter, and the freshman posted a career-high 107 yards on 25 carries.

Hampshire started the scoring with an 11-yard touchdown run four minutes into the first quarter, and that was followed by a one-yard TD plunge by freshman fullback Tyler Harmon (Indianapolis, Ind./Perry Meridian). Ivery added touchdown receptions of 36, 18 and 1 yard and senior kicker Conrad Hindert (Terrace Park, Ohio/Mariemont) added a 27-yard field goal to round the Tigers' first-half scoring. The final Tiger touchdown came in the third quarter on a two-yard run by Brumfield.

Hindert set a school record in the win by making all six of his point-after attempts to extend his streak of successful extra-point attempts to 38, breaking the previous record of 33. He is also 5-of-5 this season on field goals after hitting a 37-yarder against Huntingdon.

Eight different Tiger players caught at least one pass, including sophomore Jered Glover (Middletown, Ohio/Middletown), who had six catches for 95 yards. Harmon was the second-leading ground gainer with 36 yards on eight carries, while sophomore quarterback George Andress (Mansfield, Ohio/Senior) was solid in his time during the second half as he completed six of 10 passes for 62 yards.

Defensively, freshman safety Mitch Fonseca (Miami, Fla./Christopher Columbus) led with seven tackles, while junior Chris Vennefron (Somerville, Ohio/Edgewood), sophomore Mike Freeman (Huber Heights, Ohio/Wayne) and freshman Devon Combs (Columbus, Ohio/South) all added six tackles.

The Tigers put the finishing touches on the 2003 season this weekend against the College of Wooster at Edwards-Maurer Field in Springfield. Nine seniors will be honored prior to their final home game: Tim Gaal (Amanda, Ohio/Clearcreek), Gary George (Cincinnati, Ohio/Purcell Marian), Conrad Hindert (Terrace Park, Ohio/Mariemont), Peter Franz (Chagrin Falls, Ohio/Kenston), Chad Thompson (Ft. Thomas, Ky./Highlands), Andrew Wheeler (Dayton, Ohio/Kettering Alter), Kurt Forrest (Mechanicsburg, Ohio/Mechanicsburg), Skip Ivery (Columbus, Ohio/Groveport-Madison) and Mike Flickinger (Cincinnati, Ohio/Oak Hills). All nine have started at least three games for the 2003 team, and all have made great contributions to the Wittenberg football program.

This year's senior class has a four-year record of 41-7, one of the best in school history. The group has been involved in three NCAA Division III Tournaments, spanning a total of seven games, and the Tigers won a pair of NCAC titles (2000 and 2001).

Next: 11/15 vs. Wooster, 1 p.m.

---

Katie Spittler

The Wittenberg men's and women's swimming and diving teams came away from a busy weekend of dual meet action with matching 3-1 records. On Friday, both the men and women claimed comfortable victories over Wilmington and Ohio Wesleyan in a tri-meet hosted by the Quakers. On Saturday, Wittenberg hosted perennial powerhouse DePauw and split with the women winning handily, 136-104, and the men falling, 141.5-99.5. No scores or results were available from the Wilmington meet, as of Nov. 12.

In the meet against DePauw, the Tiger women stepped up with several strong performances. Wittenberg got first-place finishes from freshman Katie Spittler (Carlisle, Ky./Lexington Catholic) in the 500-yard freestyle and 1000-yard freestyle, sophomore Betany Yeakley (Wilmington, Ohio/Wilmington) in the 200-yard freestyle and 200-yard backstroke, senior Courtney Galliger (Eagan, Minn./Eagan) in the 50-yard freestyle, sophomore Becca Searcy (Shelbyville, Ky./Shelby County) in the 200-yard Individual Medley and sophomore Amy Conner (Noblesville, Ind./Noblesville) in 200-yard breaststroke.

On the men's side, first-place finishes were turned in by freshman Sean Wolf (White Lake, Mich./Walled Lake Central) in the 1000-yard freestyle, senior Steve Rader (Concord, Ohio/St. Ignatius) in the 200-yard Individual Medley and 100-yard freestyle and senior Alex Berger (Findlay, Ohio/Findlay) in the 200-yard breaststroke.

The Tigers jump back into dual meet action this weekend with a home meet against NCAC rival Oberlin Saturday and a men's only dual at another NCAC rival, Wabash, on Friday.

Next: 11/14 at Wabash, 7 p.m. (men)
11/15 vs. Oberlin, 1 p.m.

---

The Tiger teams will put the finishing touches on the 2003 season this weekend at the NCAA Division III Great Lakes Regional at Hanover College. If any Tiger runner can work his or her way into the top eight, the NCAA Division III National Championship meet is slated for Nov. 22 at Hanover.

Next: 11/15 NCAA Division III Great Lakes Regional
at Hanover College