Michelle Emming

The Wittenberg volleyball team is back to its winning ways as the 2003 North Coast Athletic Conference race heats up. Winners of six straight NCAC regular season and tournament championships, the Tigers are off to a 3-0 start this year.

All three of those wins - over Allegheny and Kenyon on Saturday and Earlham on Wednesday - have come by lopsided 3-0 decisions. Every active player on the Tigers' roster has gotten ample opportunity in those matches to join the action. In the win over Allegheny, junior Sarah Yuskewich (Columbus, Ohio/Watterson) finished with 26 assists and senior Jen Emming (West Chester, Ohio/Mt. Notre Dame) chipped in with 19 digs. Against Kenyon, junior Emilie Schmid (Canton, Ohio/Massillon Jackson) expertly patrolled the backcourt for 18 digs to lead the team. And against Earlham, senior Katie Preuss (Glenview, Ill./Glenbrook South) posted 32 assists, Schmid had 13 digs, sophomore Aubrey Anderson (Northbrook, Ill/Glenbrook North) finished with career highs of six kills and five aces and senior Michelle Emming (West Chester, Ohio/Mt. Notre Dame) showed the way with 10 kills and 19 digs.

The team returns to action this weekend for the annual Wittenberg Invitational. Eight teams will compete over a two-day span, beginning at 2 p.m. Friday, Sept. 26, and winding up with championship and third-place matches at 3:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 27.

Along with the host Tigers, competing in this year's Wittenberg Invitational are Calvin, Defiance, Hope, Ohio Northern, Thomas More, Ithaca and Franklin. Every team in the Wittenberg Invitational has at least a .500 record. Wittenberg is ranked No. 6 in the nation in the American Volleyball Coaches Association poll, while Ohio Northern is ranked No. 13.

Ohio Northern, a perennial NCAA Division III Tournament qualifier, is 11-4 after a key early-season Ohio Athletic Conference win over Mount Union. Calvin is one of the top teams in the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association every year and comes in with an 11-2 record. Hope is second in the MIAA currently with a mark of 8-4 overall. Ithaca is off to a 12-4 start to the season. Defiance is 11-0 in 2003 and recently extended its win streak to 15 matches dating back to the 2002 season. Franklin, which is coming off a 26-8 record in 2002, is 7-6 so far in 2003. Rounding things out, Thomas More comes in with an 8-8 record.

Next: 9/27-28 Wittenberg Invitational

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Sebastian Missura

The Wittenberg men's soccer team got off to a tough start with a young roster and a difficult nonconference schedule. But in the last week, the Tigers have put together three straight one-goal victories to work their way back to 4-5 overall heading into the NCAC schedule.

After losing back-to-back 3-2 decisions to NAIA scholarship programs Cedarville and Mount Vernon Nazarene, the Tigers rebounded to defeat Muskingum 2-1 in overtime on Sept. 17, Urbana 1-0 on Sept. 21 and Wilmington 3-2 in overtime on Sept. 24. Wittenberg has played nine games in 2003, eight of which have been decided by one goal. The Tigers are 4-4 in those games. In overtime games, Wittenberg is 2-2.

In the win over Muskingum, sophomore Andy Stewart (Huber Heights, Ohio/Wayne) scored the overtime game-winning goal after freshman David Ross (Columbus, Ohio/Upper Arlington) had earlier given the Tigers' their lone tally in regulation. Freshman Adam Horrocks (Delaware, Ohio/Hayes) recorded his first collegiate shutout against Urbana in support of an offense that recorded a game-winning second-half goal by freshman Sebastian Missura (Quito, Ecuador/American School). And against Wilmington, a traditional regional power, the Tigers got a first-half goal from sophomore Matt Berry (Tipp City, Ohio/Tippecanoe), a second-half, game-tying tally from senior Steve Doring (Dayton, Ohio/Wayne) and the overtime game-winner from Missura.

Next up for the Tigers is the most important stretch of games to date. Games against conference contenders Wooster and Ohio Wesleyan, on Saturday and Wednesday respectively, figure to test whether the Tigers are going to be in the race for the NCAC. Wittenberg has completed the nonconference portion of the 2003 schedule.

Next: 9/27 vs. Wooster, 3:30 p.m.

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Lucia Cornett

The Wittenberg women's soccer team seems to be making the progress necessary to be a force to be reckoned with in the upcoming NCAC title chase. The Tigers have posted three wins in their last four games to move back to the .500 mark.

Since an 0-3-1 stretch culminated in a 2-2 tie with visiting Mount Union on Sept. 13, the Tigers have played well almost every time out. The results were hard-fought 1-0 wins over Ohio Dominican and Wilmington on Sept. 16 and 18 respectively, a 4-3 loss at Susquehanna on Sept. 21 and a 2-0 win at Muskingum on Sept. 24.

Against Susquehanna, a game played a day after the team attended a Women's World Cup doubleheader in Philadelphia, the Tigers struggled through several defensive lapses in the first half to fall behind 4-1. A furious second-half rally, highlighted by a goal by senior Geri Woessner (Dayton, Ohio/Oakwood) and the second goal of the game by freshman Lucia Cornett (Cincinnati, Ohio/Oak Hills), ended just short as the Tigers dropped a 4-3 decision.

Wittenberg rebounded against Muskingum as Woessner and freshman Mandie Dimenna (Blacklick, Ohio/Gahanna Lincoln) scored the goals and senior goalkeeper Jenny Miller (Cincinnati, Ohio/Mother of Mercy) posted her fourth shutout of the season.

The season's schedule offers nonconference games against Cedarville and Urbana over the next week, a pair of local NAIA scholarship programs, on Friday and Wednesday, Oct. 8, sandwiched around the NCAC opener at Earlham on Wednesday, Oct. 1. The conference chase will be an extremely challenging one for the young Tigers as four NCAC teams are currently ranked among the top 10 in the region and three in the top 15 in the nation.

Next: 9/26 at Cedarville , 7 p.m.

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Yusef Abdul-Zahir

The Wittenberg football program is off to a 2-0 start to the 2003 season, the seventh straight year that Wittenberg has won its first two games. The campaign opened at Albion on Sept. 6 with a 34-7 victory and a 38-12 win over Urbana on Sept. 13.

The Tigers are outgaining opponents by a whopping 423.0-195.5 margin per game. Junior Raymar Hampshire (Lima, Ohio/Elida) leads the Tigers' rushing attack with 257 yards and three touchdowns, and he is averaging a robust 7.8 yards per carry. He has carried the ball 33 times and has been stopped for a loss just once. Through the air, junior quarterback Ryan Holmes (Oxford, Ohio/Talawanda) has three touchdowns, 343 yards and no interceptions. His chief targets have been senior Skip Ivery (Columbus, Ohio/Groveport-Madison) with nine catches for 160 yards and sophomore Jered Glover (Middletown, Ohio/Middletown) with eight receptions for 107 yards.

Defensively, the Tigers, who have led the North Coast Athletic Conference in total defense 10 of the last 11 years, have been dominant again. Even with nine new starters, the unit is holding opponents under 200 yards and 10 points per game. Sophomore safety Yusef Abdul-Zahir (Canton, Ohio/McKinley) leads the way with 23 total tackles, including 15 against Urbana.

After a week off, the Tigers are back in action on Saturday with a home game against Thomas More. The Saints bring a 1-2 record into the game, but they have posted back-to-back winning seasons, including a playoff appearance in 2001. Wittenberg has defeated Thomas More each of the last two seasons.

Next: 9/27 vs. Thomas More, 1 p.m.

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Sarah Wallace

The Wittenberg field hockey team is now into the meat of the NCAC schedule, and a once dormant offense is showing signs of life. Since losing 2-0 at Oberlin on Sept. 13, the Tigers picked up a 3-1 home win over Earlham on Sept. 17, lost 1-0 at preseason conference favorite Wooster on Sept. 20 and rebounded with a 6-5 win over Kenyon back at Edwards-Maurer Field on Wednesday.

Interestingly, Wittenberg is 3-0 at home this year and currently riding a 15-game win streak on the astroturf of Edwards-Maurer Field. Since Head Coach Marianne Beshara came on board in 2000, the Tigers have a sparkling 26-3 overall record at home.

Against Wooster, the Tigers were outshot 28-9, but All-America goalkeeper Jen Meyer (Solon, Ohio/Hathaway Brown) was up to the challenge, turning away 11 shots and only yielding a lone Wooster score on a second-half penalty stroke. Against Kenyon, Wittenberg took commanding first-half leads of 3-0 and 5-2 before hanging on for a 6-5 win. Junior Blair Ufer (Ann Arbor, Mich./Pioneer) finished with two goals and one assist, sophomore Julia Wickham (Columbus, Ohio/Grandview) added one goal and one assist and junior Sarah Wallace (Reston, Va./South Lakes) chipped in with a pair of goals to lead the offensive barrage.

Wittenberg travels to Greencastle, Ind. to face always-tough DePauw on Saturday for the second-to-last nonconference game of the season. The Tigers return to NCAC action next Wednesday against Ohio Wesleyan before heading into a key trio of conference match-ups the following week against front-runners Denison, Oberlin and Wooster.

Next: 9/27 at DePauw, 2 p.m.

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Becky Barnes

The Wittenberg cross country teams competed in the Cedarville Friendship Invitational at John Bryan State Park on Sept. 20 and came away feeling pretty good about the improvement they showed in one week's time. The teams ran the same course two weeks in a row for the Wittenberg Invitational and the Cedarville competition.

While the women finished sixth in the six-team competition, all five teams above them were members of NCAA or NAIA scholarship divisions. Senior Becky Barnes (Williamsport, Ohio/Westfall) showed the way with a personal-best time of 19:45, which was good for 13th place.

That was one of five personal-best times turned in by Tiger women runners, along with seven other season-best times. The other four scorers for the Tigers were sophomore Tracy Butler (Fort Wayne, Ind./Homestead), sophomore Anna Finkelstein (Whitehall, Mich./Reeths-Puffer), freshman Sarah Yehle (West Lafayette, Ind./West Lafayette) and senior Nikki Norcia (Brunswick, Ohio/Brunswick). All four had either a season-best or personal-best time.

On the men's side, the Tigers again finished sixth in a field of all scholarship programs. Sophomore Chris Petrik (Highland Heights, Ohio/Mayfield) led the team with a 32nd-place finish with a time of 28:59. He was followed by two runners who finished with personal-best times, freshman Matt Dilworth (New Carlisle, Ohio/Tecumseh) and senior Jeff Domingus (London, Ohio/London). Rounding out the scorers for Wittenberg were senior Tim Damopoulos (Grove City, Ohio/Grove City) with a season-best time and sophomore John Compton (Springfield, Ohio/Shawnee). In all, six men turned in personal-best times and two others had season bests.

After a week off, the Tigers will be back in action next weekend at Dickinson College.

Next: 10/4 at Dickinson Long-Short