To Highlight Successful Fall Sports Season
Posted by: Ryan Maurer
Coach: Paco Labrador
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Laura Fender
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Wittenberg is now on a 17-match win after winning the North Coast Athletic Conference Tournament championship on Nov. 5 and the regional title on Nov. 12. The Tigers improved to 33-4 overall on the season with wins on their home court against eighth-seeded Fontbonne University on Thursday, fifth-seeded Ohio Northern University on Friday and third-seeded Calvin College on Saturday.
The Tigers will take on New York University in a national quarterfinal match hosted by the Old Dominion Athletic Conference in Salem, Va. Wittenberg plays at 1 p.m., the first of four matches that day, with the winners advancing to the national semifinals on Friday at the same site. The national championship match is scheduled for 7 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 17, in Salem, Va.
Wittenberg has never advanced beyond the quarterfinal round. The Tigers reached it previously in 2002 and 2004 before losing to the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater and La Verne University respectively.
If things turn out differently in 2005, a pair of precocious freshmen may well be credited with the breakthrough. Libero Laura Fender (Toledo, Ohio/St. Ursula) leads the Tigers in digs, and she has filled in for graduated two-time NCAC Libero of the Year Emilie Schmid quite well. Outside hitter Jackie Williams (Rocky River, Ohio/Magnificat) has become a key offensive weapon for the Tigers since stepping into the lineup midway through the season, and she now leads the team in kills and is on pace to break the school record for attack percentage. Williams was one of four Tiger players honored by the NCAC last week as she became the first Wittenberg player in four years to claim Newcomer of the Year honors.
Also of note has been the performance of the sophomore setting tandem of Ashley Anderson (Northbrook, Ill./Glenbrook North) and Sarah Matesich (Granville, Ohio/Granville), who expertly worked the ball around on offense during the Great Lakes Tournament. The Tigers finished with a significantly higher attack percentage in each of the three matches last weekend, in part thanks to good ball movement by the setters.
Details about the Tigers' season can be found on the team's schedule/results page and season statistics page.
Next: 11/17 vs. New York UniversityNCAA Division III Tournament Quarterfinals (Salem, Va.)
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Matt Reiss
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In the last two weeks, the Tiger men have defeated Ohio Wesleyan and Oberlin and lost to Wabash and DePauw. Of the team's three losses, two have been 13 points - against Wooster in the season opener and Wabash - a narrow margin in the world of dual meet swimming and diving.
The Tiger women, on the other hand, have been rolling. In winning four dual meets, Wittenberg has won by at least 31 points against quality opponents Wooster, Ohio Wesleyan, DePauw and Oberlin. Both teams are scheduled for another busy weekend ahead, starting with a Thursday night meet at Hiram, followed by a Saturday afternoon competition at Wilmington.
Leading the way for the women is senior Becca Searcy (Shelbyville, Ky./Shelby County), who has won at least two individual events and at least one relay in each of the first four dual meets. Searcy is hoping to become on a select few Wittenberg swimmers ever to qualify for the national meet all four years of her college career.
In 2005-06, the dual meet wins for the Tiger women have truly been a team effort. Coming off an 8-3 record in 2004-05, the Tigers are getting contributions from many athletes, including familiar faces like senior Betany Yeakley (Wilmington, Ohio/Wilmington) and juniors Jenny Mulligan (Cheyney, Pa./Delaware Valley Friends) and Katie Spittler (Carlisle, Ky./Lexington Catholic) and newcomers like Jenny Riehle (Springfield, Ohio/Greenon), who took first place in the 50-yard freestyle against Ohio Wesleyan.
The Tiger men are paced for a second straight year by sophomore Ryan Schramm (Cincinnati, Ohio/Roger Bacon), who is consistently turning in winning times through the early portion of the 2005-06 season after recording an NCAA B Cut mark as a freshman. In addition, strong first-place swims have been recorded by junior Matt Reiss (Beavercreek, Ohio/Dayton Carroll), sophomore Nick Pierson (Indianapolis, Ind./North Central) and freshmen Andy Bates (Lawrenceburg, Ind./East Central) and Ryan Hamilton (Mount Vernon, Ohio/Charisland Academy).
Also of note, the diving performances by junior Cody Nicely (Knoxville, Tenn./Bearden) and sophomore Courtney Roth (Gurnee, Ill./Lake Forest) continue to be first rate. Neither has lost an event in a dual meet yet this season, and Nicely's scores have been particularly impressive, including a 232 against Oberlin in the 1-meter event.
Details about the Tigers' season can be found on the team's schedule/results page.
Next: 11/17 @ Hiram11/19 @ Wilmington
Coach: Bill Brown
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Daniel Russ
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The program may have suffered deep player graduation losses, but lofty annual goals remain the same for the 2005-06 season. A program with the highest of high expectations - thanks to an average of 22 wins per season since 1955 and an NCAA-record 23 appearances in the NCAA Division III Tournament - Wittenberg returns three starters and eight letterwinners overall a year after compiling a 25-4 season record and reaching the second round of the NCAA national tourney.
The Tigers' four losses came in most heartbreaking fashion. Wittenberg lost a three-point game in regulation, two regular season North Coast Athletic Conference games in overtime and a double-overtime game against John Carroll in the second round of the NCAA Division III Tournament. Conversely, the outstanding 2004-05 season was punctuated with several big-game wins. The Tigers were victorious three times against opponents who were ranked No. 1 in the country at some point during the season, including wins over Cedarville and Wooster that knocked those teams out of the top spots in the polls. In addition, Wittenberg won regular season games at Capital, Otterbein and Ohio Northern in a unique road sweep of the second, third and fourth-seeded teams in the season-ending Ohio Athletic Conference Tournament.
A trio of outstanding seniors provide the foundation for what could be another special team. Daniel Russ (Louisville, Ky./Trinity) is a 6-9 post player who, while second on the team in points and rebounds a year ago, came up big time and again in the biggest games, leading to North Coast Athletic Conference Player of the Year honors. A first-team All-Great Lakes Region and third-team All-America honoree, Russ was the NCAC Tournament MVP as the Tigers won that title to take the conference's automatic berth into the national tourney.
The team's leading scorer, Dane Borchers (Russia, Ohio/Russia), a 6-8 post player, had the breakthrough season his coaches knew was possible from the moment he and his surgically repaired back reached campus in 2002. After missing his entire freshman year with the back injury, Borchers progressed steadily in an outstanding sophomore season before breaking his wrist in the conference tournament title game. Fully healthy in 2004-05, Borchers was tremendous, leading the team in scoring and rebounding and ranking among the national leaders in shooting percentage. He earned second-team All-NCAC honors.
The Tigers' third proven inside-outside player is Kenny Brady (Reading, Ohio/Reading), perhaps the most skilled of the trio overall. After an insignificant freshman campaign, Brady, a 6-4 wing player, broke out in 2003-04, averaging more than 10 points, four assists and five rebounds en route to earning second-team All-NCAC honors. Prior to the 2004-05 season, Brady went down with an ankle injury that required surgery and forced him to the sidelines until early January. He rounded into shape well, however, finishing fourth on the team in scoring and rebounding and playing a key role in the Tigers' run through the conference tournament.
The big question is who will surround Russ, Borchers and Brady. Four perimeter players graduated in May, leaving a quartet of gaping holes in the 10-man rotation typically desired by Head Coach Bill Brown. Four other letterwinners return in 2005-06, led by senior Phil Steffes (Centerville, Ohio/Centerville), a 6-1 guard, who started all 29 games a year ago for the Tigers. Also back are junior wing Billy Bowen (Hamilton Heights, Ind./Arcadia) and junior post players Jack Hemenway (Centerville, Ohio/Centerville) and Mark Huelsman (Urbana, Ohio/Urbana).
Details about the Tigers’ season can be found on the team's schedule/results page.
Next: 11/18-19 @ University of RochesterTip-Off Tournament
Coach: Pam Smith
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Kathy Hittle
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The Tigers have high expectations after finishing the 2004-05 season with a 17-10 overall record and tied for second place in the North Coast Athletic Conference, which broke a three-year run atop the standings. Wittenberg returns 11 letterwinners, including seven players who started at least one game a year ago, in hopes of heading back to the top of the NCAC heap in 2005-06. The Tigers return seven of the eight players to average five points or more last year, led by junior post Kathy Hittle (Noblesville, Ind./Noblesville), a first-team All-NCAC honoree in 2005 who has become a fixture in the paint after an up-and-down freshman campaign. She topped the team in points and rebounds a year ago with averages of 9.2 and 7.3 respectively. She also set a school record with five blocks in a key late-season win over rival Ohio Wesleyan.
The Tigers figure to be strong in the post again in 2005-06, as Hittle will be joined down low by sophomores Ali Rohlfs (Cincinnati, Ohio/Mount Notre Dame) and Katie Gregorevich (Northfield, Ohio/Walsh Jesuit). Rohlfs started 15 games and averaged 7.7 points and 4.2 rebounds per outing, while Gregorevich started five times and averaged 7.1 points and 4.3 boards per contest. Both went through hot and cold streaks through the season, as Rohlfs had eight games in double figures for points and Gregorevich had seven, including a 22-point effort against eventual NCAC regular season champion Kenyon.
The perimeter positions are perhaps of most concern to Head Coach Pam Smith entering her 20th season leading the Tigers. The Tigers lost second-team all-conference guard Emilie Schmid, the team's second-leading scorer and rebounder in 2004-05, and two-year starting guard Alison Nahrup to graduation, while senior guard Carrie Jones (Greenville, Ohio/Greenville) is still recovering from a knee injury suffered at the end of the 2004-05 season.
The only returning starter in the backcourt is senior Brittany Landreth (Mantua, Ohio/Valparaiso (Ind.)), who averaged three points and two assists per game while finishing with an equal number of assists and turnovers in her first year of steady action at the point. Landreth, who led the Tigers and ranked among the conference leaders with 59 steals, split time evenly with junior Andrea Hackett (Springfield, Ohio/Catholic Central), who hit for 2.8 points per game and finished with 37 assists against 40 turnovers on the campaign.
Junior wing Megan Miller (Lancaster, Ohio/Lancaster) is a long-range shooting threat who averaged 7.5 points per game a year ago, junior wing Rachel Clark-Haggy (Springfield, Ohio/Southeastern) is a versatile performer who made seven starts and averaged 3.5 points and 3.3 rebounds per contest in 2004-05, and sophomore wing Ellie Stonecash (Springboro, Ohio/Middletown Fenwick) came off the bench to provide 5.5 points per game in her first collegiate campaign.
Details about the Tigers’ season can be found on the team's schedule/results page.
Next: 11/18-19 @ Virginia WesleyanTip-Off Tournament
Coach: Joe Fincham
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Ken Bibb
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The Wittenberg football team rounded out the 2005 season with its best performance in a 45-0 win over Wooster on Nov. 5 and then one of its worst in a 31-21 road defeat against Allegheny on Nov. 12. The Tigers wound up with a 5-5 overall record, including a mark of 5-2 in the North Coast Athletic Conference, good for a third-place tie with Ohio Wesleyan.
The .500 record was the program's first non-winning mark since 1991 and just the third since 1955, and it was the first time Wittenberg has finished out of the top two in the conference since 1992.
Against Wooster, the Tigers were dominant from start to finish, especially on defense. The Scots came into the game ranked second in the conference in scoring and total offense, but the Tigers recorded their third shutout in four games and limited Wooster to just 145 yards total offense. Wittenberg picked up 10 tackles from junior linebacker Tyler Harmon (Indianapolis, Ind./Perry Meridian) and seven more from senior linebacker Ken Bibb (Cincinnati, Ohio/Purcell Marian), who also added his first career interception and a forced fumble that led to a touchdown return by junior safety Mitch Fonseca (Miami, Fla./Christopher Columbus).
Against Allegheny, however, the defense was unable to come up with timely stops and just enough big plays went against the Tigers. Senior tailback Tristan Murray (New Carlisle, Ohio/Tecumseh) added two more 100-yard rushing games, giving him eight on the season. The 2004 NCAC Newcomer of the Year, Murray finished the 2005 season first in the conference in rushing yards, all-purpose yards and points per game.
Senior wide receiver Jered Glover (Middletown, Ohio/Middletown) finished his final season in the Red & White with a team-best 34 receptions for 420 yards and five touchdowns. The team's leading receiver in each of his four seasons, Glover capped his career as the program's career leader in receptions and receiving yards.
Details about the Tigers' season can be found on the team's schedule/results page and season statistics page.
Next: Season Complete
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Anna Finkelstein
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No Tiger runners qualified for the NCAA Division III National Championship meet, which is scheduled for Nov. 17 at Ohio Wesleyan University. The Tiger women finished 24th in the 31-team field 677 team points. Freshman Erin Hedrick (Springfield, Ohio/Shawnee) topped the women's finishers, placing 94th in a time of 23:47. The next Wittenberg finisher was senior Anna Finkelstein (Whitehall, Mich./Reeths-Puffer), who crossed the finish line in 24:30, good for 130th place.
The Tiger men finished 27th in a 34-team field 756 team points. Sophomore Mike Echols (Springfield, Ohio/North) rounded out his second season in the Red & White with yet another top finish among Tiger runners, placing 86th in 26:59. Echols has now led Wittenberg in every meet the last two years. The Tigers' next-best finisher was sophomore Shawn Hils (Hiram, Ohio/Crestwood), who crossed the tape in 27:49, good for 140th place.
Details about the Tigers' season can be found on the team's schedule/results page.
Next: Season Complete
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