Geron Stokes

The Wittenberg football team hasn’t suffered through a worse three-game start to a season in 50 years, but the Tigers made a solid turnaround at the right time on Saturday, defeating visiting Denison, 31-6, in the North Coast Athletic Conference opener for both teams. It was the 16th straight year that Wittenberg beat Denison.

The Tigers, who are now 1-3 overall, but more importantly 1-0 in the NCAC, continue to get tremendous production from senior tailback Tristan Murray (New Carlisle, Ohio/Tecumseh), who surpassed the 100-yard mark for the third time in four games. At 136.0 rushing yards per game, he leads the NCAC and ranks among the national leaders. Murray also scored three times against the Big Red.

The breakout performance of the day was turned in by senior wide receiver Jered Glover (Middletown, Ohio/Middletown), who caught five passes for 53 yards after coming into the game with just nine receptions for 50 yards. The team leader in receptions each of the last three years, Glover now tops the squad again in 2005 and he reached a career milestone as well. With his fifth catch on Saturday, Glover tied the school record of 147 career receptions set four years ago by Michael Aljancic.

To top it off, Glover’s 70-yard punt return, the third return touchdown of his illustrious collegiate career, provided the biggest score of the game against Denison. He took it to the house with his team clinging to a 17-6 third-quarter lead.

Junior quarterback Geron Stokes (Urbana, Ohio/Urbana) made his first start under center against Denison, and he was solid, completing 12-of-18 passes for 135 yards. He is the third different quarterback to start a game for the injury-riddled Tigers.

Defensively, the stars have been a punter, a defensive end and a safety. The punter, senior Jacob Thomas (New Albany, Ohio/New Albany), leads the conference and the nation in average by a wide margin, and earlier this season he tied a school record with a 77-yard boot. The defensive end is senior Chris Vennefron (Hamilton, Ohio/Somerville Edgewood), who is blossoming as a leader on a unit that has struggled to this point in the season. Vennefron had three tackles for loss and five total stops in the win over Denison.

Finally, junior safety Mitch Fonseca (Miami, Fla./Christopher Columbus) has been the team’s leading tackler in three of the first four games, including a whopping 18 in the season opener against Capital. Fonseca ranks among the NCAC and NCAA Division III leaders in tackles and solo tackles.

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: 10/8 @ Earlham

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Jackie Williams

The Wittenberg volleyball team had a recent hiccup, but three wins in the last week, including a three-game sweep against North Coast Athletic Conference challenger Wooster, provide all indications that the Tigers remain on course for another outstanding season.

The Tigers, ranked fifth in the country currently, stand 15-3 overall and 3-0 in the NCAC at the midway point of the 2005 season. Coming off the best season in school history at 35-3, the numbers are somewhat pedestrian at first glance - until it is noted that this year’s team features just three returning starters and is getting contributions from numerous inexperienced underclassmen.

Wittenberg’s three losses this season - to No. 1 ranked Washington University, No. 2 ranked defending national champion Juniata and Ohio Athletic Conference contender Muskingum - are more a product of an extremely challenging schedule than any obvious weaknesses on the team. Two of the defeats were in five games, including the most recent against Muskingum in the final match at the Waynesburg Tournament on Sept. 24.

Since then, the Tigers have bounced back to take the measure of Earlham and Wooster in NCAC action and Otterbein in a non-conference tilt on Saturday, Oct. 1. In each case, the Tigers swept all three games.

Despite nagging injuries to several key players, Wittenberg continues to roll. Offensively, no Tiger players will be appearing among the NCAC or NCAA Division III leaders in 2005 because the wealth is spread around so evenly. Three players have topped the 100-kill plateau - sophomore outside hitters Jan Kehres (Alliance, Ohio/Alliance) and Emily Bell (Fort Wayne, Ind./Concordia Lutheran) and freshman outside hitter Jackie Williams (Rocky River, Ohio/Magnificat). Williams has come on strong of late, and she leads the Tigers on a per-game average at 3.29. Three other players have at least 90 kills on the season.

Defense has been a trademark of Tiger teams under the leadership of third-year Head Coach Paco Labrador, and in 2005, freshman libero Laura Fender (Toledo, Ohio/St. Ursula) has been outstanding from the very beginning. She leads the team and ranks among the conference and national leaders with 6.14 digs per game, followed closely by Kehres and Bell, who both have more than 250 digs on the season. The Tigers also block well, as sophomore middle hitter Caitlin Augustus (Springfield, Ohio/Shawnee) leads with 67 and senior middle hitter Emily Dixon (Granville, Ohio/Granville) is next with 49.

All of the details about the Tigers are documented in game stories found on the team's schedule/results page. Season statistics can be found by clicking here.

Next: 10/4 @ Kenyon

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Joe Zeller

The Wittenberg men’s soccer team is playing as well right now as it has all season, despite a spate of injuries that have forced Head Coach Steve Dawson to get creative with his lineup. The Tigers have captured back-to-back home victories over Kenyon and Denison in the last 10 days to open the North Coast Athletic Conference schedule with a 2-0 record for the second straight year.

Overall, the Tigers now stand 5-3-3 heading into a relatively quiet week that includes just one game at Oberlin on Saturday. It is a much-needed respite as the team tries to heal up several key players in preparation for what could be an exciting stretch run to the 2005 season.

Offensively, this year’s edition of Wittenberg men’s soccer is putting up big numbers, scoring 19 goals in the first 11 games, including a four-goal outburst during the first half of Friday night’s win over Denison. Several different players have gotten into the act, most recently sophomore forward Joe Zeller (Springfield, Ohio/North), who scored the first two goals of the game against the Big Red.

Freshman midfielder Matt Borland (Kettering, Ohio/Alter) leads the Tigers with five goals, five assists and 15 total points. He has gotten stronger and stronger as the season has progressed, stepping up his play at a time when the Tigers need him most.

Freshman Mike Conley (Xenia, Ohio/Beavercreek) and Zeller are second on the team with three goals each. Conley is second on the team with seven total points.

Defensively, the Tigers have had their struggles, allowing 18 goals through 11 games, but junior goalkeeper Adam Horrocks (Delaware, Ohio/Hayes) has played well for the most part behind a youthful defensive front. Horrocks has made 10 of the 11 starts and has recorded three shutouts, most recently in a 2-0 NCAC-opening win on Sept. 24 against Kenyon.

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: 10/5 @ Oberlin

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Meghan O'Rourke

The Wittenberg women’s soccer team was coasting along at 8-0 before coming back down to earth in the last week with two losses in its last three games. All is certainly not lost at this point, however, as the Tigers have almost their entire North Coast Athletic Conference schedule and the postseason tournament still in front of them.

The wake-up call came on Sept. 24 in a 2-1 overtime loss at Westminster. Playing a quality opponent less than 24 hours after defeating Washington & Jefferson, 3-0, the Tigers had a couple of defensive breakdowns and they paid dearly for them. A school record seven-game shutout streak came to an end that night, as did the eight-game win streak, which was just three shy of the 1995 team’s mark of 11 in a row to open a season.

After rebounding with a 2-0 win over Wilmington on Tuesday, the Tigers were shutout for the first time this season by fourth-ranked Denison. In a rematch of a classic shootout thriller in the semifinals of last year’s NCAC Tournament - which was won by Wittenberg - the Big Red picked up an early goal and made it stand up to get the upper hand on the Tigers in what appears to be a wide open 2005 conference title chase.

The defensive-minded Tigers have yielded just four goals through 11 games in 2005, while they have scored 18. Several players have gotten in on the offensive act, led by sophomore forward Lisa Rusch (Columbus, Ohio/Worthington Kilbourne), who has four goals, three assists and 11 total points. Sophomore forward Amanda Farrell (Loveland, Ohio/Loveland), junior forward Liz Volz (Cincinnati, Ohio/Seton) and senior forward Lindsay Zigler (Columbus, Ohio/Upper Arlington) all have three goals on the season to tie for second on the team. Volz, however, has suffered a season-ending injury.

Defensively, the Tigers have sparkled again, despite the fact that just one of the four backfield starters remains in place from last year’s team. Sophomore goalkeeper Meghan O’Rourke (Columbus, Ohio/Worthington Kilbourne) is among the conference and national leaders with a goals against average of 0.36 and a saves percentage of .90.

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: 10/5 @ Earlham

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Mackenzie Huber

The Wittenberg field hockey team is heating up at just right time. The three-time defending North Coast Athletic Conference regular season and tournament champions have won five of their last six games to climb back to 5-5 overall and, more importantly, 4-2 in the NCAC.

A 1-0 win over Oberlin, which had won six straight games to take the early lead in the NCAC, on Saturday pulled the Tigers back even with the pack in a wide open conference title chase. Freshman Mackenzie Huber (Milford, Ohio/Mount Notre Dame) scored the second-half game-winner and sophomore goalkeeper Nicole Irvin (Gettysburg, Pa./Littlestown) turned away 10 shots in recording her second straight 1-0 win and the fourth shutout of the 2005 season.

For Huber, it was the second time in three games that she had a hand in a game-winning score, coming less than a week after she assisted on a goal by sophomore Alison Voigt (Louisville, Ky./Ballard) that provided the 3-2 margin of victory over Sewanee. For her efforts, Huber was named NCAC Player of the Week.

After losing four times in overtime in the first three weeks of the season, the Tigers may be finding the right formula, which starts with a stout defense. Irvin has a supporting cast around that is almost entirely new in 2005, yet the Tigers have hardly missed a beat a year after allowing just 20 goals in 19 regular season games. Through 10 games this year, Wittenberg has given up just 11 scores, and nine of their opponents have been held to two goals or fewer.

Offensively, it has been a struggle for the Tigers, who scored a whopping 64 goals in 2004. Wittenberg has 11 goals all season, with junior forward Katy Barrett (Powell, Ohio/Watterson) leading the way with four scores. It was her second-half tally against Ohio Wesleyan last Wednesday that pushed the Tigers over the .500 mark for the first time in 2005.

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: 10/5 @ Kenyon

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Abby McCutcheon

The Wittenberg men’s and women’s cross country teams are heading into the stretch run of the 2005 season with what the runners and Head Coach Steve Shutt hope can be considered a head of steam. In the last two weeks, the Tigers have prepped with solid finishes in deep fields at the Maroon Invitational at Roanoke College and at the Quaker Invitational at Earlham College.

This week, the Tigers will get a good idea of where they stand in the North Coast Athletic Conference and the Great Lakes Region when they compete in the All-Ohio Championships on Friday at Ohio Wesleyan University. Seven of the 10 schools in the NCAC will be in action in the huge annual meet in nearby Delaware.

On the men’s side, sophomore Mike Echols (Springfield, Ohio/North) continues to lead the charge. He has finished first among Tiger runners in every meet of his collegiate career, including the last two weeks at Roanoke and Earlham. He has two top-five finishes on the season - in the Wittenberg Invitational at John Bryan State Park and at the Broughton Invitational at Marietta College - with his best time of 28:00 recorded in the home meet. Sophomore Mike Wismer (Avon, Ohio/Avon) was the second Tiger finisher in the first four meets, while sophomore Shawn Hils (Hiram, Ohio/Crestwood) took team runner-up honors at Earlham.

On the women’s side, the last two meets have featured freshmen Abby McCutcheon (Lancaster, Ohio/Lancaster) and Jessica Rizzo (Benningtor, Ind./South Dearborn) in the top two spots. McCutcheon has led Wittenberg in four of the five meets so far this season, and freshmen have accounted for three of the team’s five scorers in each of the five events. Freshman Erin Hedrick (Springfield, Ohio/Shawnee) led Wittenberg in the first meet of the year, and she has continued to run well despite some struggles due to illness.

Details about the Tigers' season can be in links on the team's schedule/results page.

Next: 10/7 @ Ohio Wesleyan

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Brandon Sweaney

The Wittenberg men’s and women’s golf teams have just about put the finishing touches on the annual fall season, with the women scheduled to play in their fifth and final event on Sunday at John Carroll. The men wrapped things up with a sixth-place finish in a tough 15-team field at Denison last weekend.

The Tiger men were seventh in a strong 15-team field in the season-opening Wittenberg Invitational on Sept. 10-11 and then placed second out of seven teams in the Tiger Invitational the following week. At Denison, Wittenberg moved up one spot to sixth with a strong second-day total of 300.

On both days at Denison, the Tigers put four of their five players below 80 for the round, a positive omen so early in the season for a team that featured three freshmen, a junior and a senior in the starting lineup (four scores count out of five players). Freshman Garrett Smith (Powell, Ohio/Worthington Christian) led the way with a 12th-place finish as he carded a two-day total of 146, just four over par. Junior Brandon Sweaney (Westerville, Ohio/DeSales) was one stroke behind with a 147, good for a tie for 15th place.

The women have had their struggles as a team, but individually, freshman Jenny Petro (Louisville, Ky./Sacred Heart) has made a tremendous first impression. After shooting in the low 90s in each of her first three collegiate outings, Petro carded a school-record 84 to place second in the Muskingum Invitational on Oct. 2.

Details about the Tigers' season can be in links on the men's team's schedule/results page and the women's team's schedule/results page.

Next: Fall Season Complete (M)
10/9 @ John Carroll (W)

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Mallory Meyer

The Wittenberg men’s and women’s tennis teams are now finished with their annual fall seasons. The men lost to Ohio Dominican, 5-4, in their only dual match and had several solid finishes in the Wittenberg Invitational and Wilson/Intercollegiate Tennis Association Central Region Tournament. The women defeated Ohio Dominican, 5-4, in their only dual match of the fall campaign and also did well in the same two tourneys.

The women picked up two wins in the Wittenberg Invitational, a singles/doubles sweep against Ohio Dominican and a singles win in the ITA Tournament from freshman Allison Earhart (Muncie, Ind./Yorktown) for the best fall performance overall. Also of note was the play of senior Mallory Meyer (Lake Forest, Ill./Darien (Conn.)), who won a pair of main draw three-setters in singles at the ITA, and the doubles team of sophomore Amanda Williams (Mason, Ohio/Capistrano Valley (Calif.)) and senior Kristyn Russell (Loveland, Ohio/Mount Notre Dame), who rebounded from a first-round loss to advance to the consolation semifinals at the ITA, which Wittenberg hosted.

For the men, senior Shane Hutton (Charleston, W.Va./Catholic) was the most successful, winning a pair of singles matches and a doubles match in the ITA Tournament. Against Ohio Dominican, junior John Shields (New Kensington, Pa./Valley) did all he could, recording wins in both singles and doubles.

Details about the Tigers' season can be in links on the men's team's schedule/results page and the women's team's schedule/results page.

Next: Fall Season Complete