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Jan Kehres
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After beating three other nationally ranked teams already this year, Wittenberg has moved up one place from No. 4 to No. 3 in the national rankings. The Tigers have won their last seven matches, including four straight without dropping a game during last weekends Border Battle, which featured the top teams in Ohio and Michigan.
Most recently, the Tigers opened North Coast Athletic Conference action with a 3-0 win at Ohio Wesleyan on Wednesday. Wittenberg has now won 60 straight NCAC regular season matches, dating back to a 1997 loss at Case Western Reserve.
Statistically, the Tigers are more balanced than ever before, led by the sophomore outside hitting duo of Emily Bell (Fort Wayne, Ind./Concordia Lutheran) and Jan Kehres (Alliance, Ohio/Alliance), both of whom rarely take a break and have become the focal points of a diverse offensive attack. Bell ranks second on the team in kills and digs and first in service aces, while Kehres leads in kills, is second in aces and is third in digs.
All of the details about the Tigers, including strong performances by sophomore outside hitter Lindsey Penrod (Piqua, Ohio/Piqua), sophomore setter Sarah Matesich (Granville, Ohio/Newark Catholic), senior middle hitter Emily Dixon (Granville, Ohio/Granville), senior outside hitter Linda Young (Minster, Ohio/Minster), freshman libero Laura Fender (Toledo, Ohio/St. Ursula) and sophomore middle hitter Caitlin Augustus (Springfield, Ohio/Shawnee) are well documented in game stories found on the team's schedule/results page.
Season statistics can be found by clicking here.
Next: 9/23-24 @ Waynesburg Tourn.
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Jamie McIntyre
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The Tigers are winning in most impressive fashion, having outscored their first seven opponents by a whopping 10-1 margin in running up a perfect 7-0 record. The only goal allowed all season was in the first half of the opener at Illinois Wesleyan on Sept. 2. Since rallying for a 2-1 win in that game, the Tiger defense has been the closest thing to perfection there is in soccer, shutting out six straight opponent to break the school record of five set in 1995.
The 2005 Tigers are chasing that landmark team of a decade ago in a lot of ways. That team streaked out to an 11-0 start before finishing 15-3 overall and ranked No. 7 in the nation. The NCAA Division III Tournament was a much more selective affair back in those days, and the Tigers were snubbed in their hopes of obtaining an at-large selection after finishing third in the NCAC.
The Tiger defense is led again this year by junior back Jamie McIntyre (Columbus, Ohio/Grandview), who has been nothing short of sensational this year after earning NCAC Defensive Player of the Year honors in 2004. Along with fellow defensive starters sophomore Amy Meige (Columbus, Ohio/DeSales), sophomore Lindsey Rusch (Columbus, Ohio/Worthington Kilbourne) and freshman Suzanne Medwid (Columbus, Ohio/Upper Arlington), McIntyre allows very few scoring opportunities to Wittenberg’s foes. When they do take a shot, most find their way into the arms of sophomore goalkeeper Meghan O’Rourke ( Columbus, Ohio/ Worthington Kilbourne).
Offensively, the Tigers have one of the best in the business in sophomore forward Lisa Rusch (Columbus, Ohio/Worthington Kilbourne), the team’s leading scorer in 2004 and so far in 2005 as well. The 2004 NCAC Newcomer of the Year lost one of her primary running mates recently, however, as junior forward Liz Volz ( Cincinnati, Ohio/Seton), second on the team in scoring, went down for the year with a knee injury.
All of the details about the Tigers, are well documented in game stories found on the team's schedule/results page. Season statistics can be found by clicking here.
Next: 9/23 @ Washington & Jefferson
9/24 @ Westminster
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Matt Borland
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The Tigers stand at the halfway point of the 2005 season with a 3-3-3 record after playing an extremely challenging early season schedule. Since opening the campaign with a tie and a loss against Ohio Athletic Conference powers Otterbein and John Carroll, respectively, in the Wittenberg Invitational, the Tigers, who feature no less than 10 freshmen in their regular playing rotation, have been inconsistent, especially on defense, but also entertaining and competitive.
Three of the team’s top four scorers are freshmen, led by midfielder Matt Borland (Kettering, Ohio/Alter), who has asserted himself as the team’s playmaker on offense. Freshman Mike Conley (Xenia, Ohio/Beavercreek) has come on strong with seven total points and freshman Shane Price (Minford, Ohio/Minford) has dazzled with his speed on the outside in accumulating five total points despite a recent injury.
Also of note is the play of junior midfielder Brian Mutton (Fort Wayne, Ind./ Canterbury), who has six points on the season, which doubles his total scoring output of the last two seasons combined. He has been a physical force in the midfield, something necessary in the absence of junior Sebastian Missura (Quito, Ecuador/American School), who has missed the entire season so far due to injury after leading Wittenberg in scoring each of the last two seasons.
All of the details about the Tigers, are well documented in game stories found on the team's schedule/results page. Season statistics can be found by clicking here.
Next: 9/24 vs. Kenyon
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Nicole Irvin
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To do that, however, the Tigers are going to have to find ways to get the ball into the back of the cage. Offensively, Wittenberg is still trying to find its way after losing several outstanding players from one of the most successful senior classes in school history following the 2004 season. Through six games this year, the Tigers have managed just six goals and have suffered three shutout defeats.
The top scorers on the team so far are junior forwards Katy Barrett (Powell, Ohio/Watterson) and Melissa Jackson (Worthington, Ohio/Thomas Worthington), both with two goals on the season.
Defense has been a different story in 2005, in large part thanks to the outstanding play of sophomore goalkeeper Nicole Irvin ( Gettysburg, Pa./Littlestown). Irvin has allowed just eight goals all season, but six of those goals came in just two games, losses to Kenyon and Denison. She has saved 84 percent of the shots headed her way.
All of the details about the Tigers, are well documented in game stories found on the team's schedule/results page. Season statistics can be found by clicking here.
Next: 9/24 @ Centre
9/25 vs. Sewanee (@ Centre)
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Tristan Murray
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Wittenberg lost to Capital in the season opener on Sept. 3, 54-0, and then hit the road for losses at Dayton, 41-23, on Sept. 10 and at Alma, 38-27, on Sept. 17. It is unquestionably one of the most challenging nonconference schedules in the entire nation in NCAA Division III, and despite the results, there have been some positive things to emerge.
The positives start on offense, and most of them revolve around the performance of senior tailback Tristan Murray (New Carlisle, Ohio/Tecumseh). Murray, the 2004 NCAC Newcomer of the Year, has been nothing short of outstanding so far in 2005 despite being the focus of each opposing team’s defensive gameplan. After compiling more than 100 yards of total offense against Capital in the opener, he exploded for 239 yards rushing against Dayton and then added more than 200 yards from scrimmage against Alma.
Murray has scored two touchdowns in each of the last two games, including three scores of more than 50 yards. The highlight was a 96-yard burst on the first play from scrimmage against Dayton, the second-longest run in school history.
With senior quarterback Ryan Holmes (Oxford, Ohio/Talawanda) out since the second quarter of the opener due to injury, the Tigers have had to make significant adjustments. Against Alma, junior quarterback Geron Stokes (Urbana, Ohio/Urbana) made his first appearance in the Red & White a memorable one, throwing for 207 yards in a little more than two quarters and nearly helping the Tigers pull off the comeback victory.
Defensively, the Tigers have been paced by the outstanding play of junior safety Mitch Fonseca (Miami, Fla./Christopher Columbus), who has led the team in tackles in each of the first three games and ranks second in the NCAC with 39 stops on the season. He also ranks among the national leaders with 13 tackles per game.
Also of note has been the performance of senior punter Jacob Thomas (New Albany, Ohio/New Albany), who set a school record with a 43.2 yards per punt average in 2004. Thomas has picked up right where he left off a year ago, leading the nation by a wide margin with a 45.2 average so far in 2005. That average was aided by a school record-tying 77-yard bomb in the second quarter against Alma.
All of the details about the Tigers, are well documented in game stories found on the team's schedule/results page. Season statistics can be found by clicking here.
Next: 10/1 vs. Denison
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Mike Echols
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Sophomore Mike Echols (Springfield, Ohio/North) is the story for the men’s team as he continues to pace the squad in every meet. A year after leading Wittenberg in every race and several months after earning All-North Coast Athletic Conference honors for his performance at the 2005 Outdoor Track and Field Championships, Echols has been in the top 10 at Franklin, the Wittenberg Invitational and at Marietta already this year. He is aiming to become the first Wittenberg men’s runner to earn all-conference status in cross country in three years.
On the women’s side, a pair of freshmen have done the same thing that two now-sophomores did a year ago - lead the team in two of the first three races. Freshmen Abby McCutcheon (Lancaster, Ohio/Lancaster) and Erin Hedrick (Springfield, Ohio/Shawnee) have consistently set the pace for the Tigers in 2005, followed closely by sophomores Mary Beth Lintz (Englewood, Ohio/Northmont) and Alissa Goble (Sunfield, Mich./Lakewood). Several other Tiger runners have also scored in 2005, showing the kind of depth necessary to compete with the top teams in the NCAC.
Details about the Tigers' season can be in links on the team's schedule/results page.
Next: 9/24 @ Roanoke
