All-Sports Release

Lindsay Smith

The Wittenberg men's and women's swimming and diving teams served notice over a busy weekend that they are a program on the rise. Riding a wave of season- and personal-best performances, the Tiger men finished second in a strong 11-team field at the DePauw Invitational, while the Tiger women captured the DePauw Invitational title for the second straight year.

In addition, sophomore Courtney Roth (Gurnee, Ill./Lake Forest) continued her phenomenal performance, taking first place in both the 1-meter and 3-meter competitions at the Wabash Diving Invitational. Junior Cody Nicely (Knoxville, Tenn./Bearden) placed second in the 3-meter and eighth in the 1-meter men's diving competitions.

The Tiger women picked up outstanding performances from athletes across a wide range of events, and their depth was the key in overcoming a tough challenge from the host DePauw Tigers. Wittenberg finished 90 points better than DePauw and well ahead of the next group of teams, which included established programs Transylvania, Centre and Illinois Wesleyan.

In the sprint freestyle events, sophomore Lindsay Smith (Mount Vernon, Ohio/Mount Vernon) and freshman Jenny Riehle (Enon, Ohio/Greenon) earned a lot of team points with their strong finishes. Smith placed second in both the 100 and 50-yard freestyle events, while Riehle took fifth and third respectively. Smith finished eighth in the total individual points standings.

As always, the Tigers' top point-scorer was senior Becca Searcy (Shelbyville, Ky./Shelby County), who is approaching the NCAA B Cut standards in several events in a bid to join the select company of four-time NCAA qualifiers in Wittenberg history. Searcy placed first in the 500 freestyle, second in the 400 Individual Medley and first in the 1,650 freestyle en route to a third-place finish in total individual points, just three back of the DePauw swimmers who shared that crown.

Senior Betany Yeakley (Wilmington, Ohio/Wilmington) also had a tremendous meet, finishing fifth in the total individual points standings after taking second in the 200 IM, second in the 200 backstroke and first in the 100 backstroke.

Top-five finishes were also turned in by senior Amy Conner (Noblesville, Ind./Noblesville) in the 100 and 200 breaststroke events, junior Jenny Mulligan (Cheyney, Pa./Delaware Valley Friends) in the 100 and 200 backstroke events, sophomore Kaitlin Clark (Wakeman, Ohio/Firelands) in the 400 IM and 200 freestyle, junior Shantel Sechrist (Saltsburg, Pa./Saltsburg) in the 100 backstroke and sophomore Katie Spittler (Lexington, Ky./Catholic) and senior Leslie Banas (Huntington Woods, Mich./Mercy) in the 1,650 freestyle.

On the men's side, junior Matt Reiss (Beavercreek, Ohio/Dayton Carroll) and sophomore Ryan Schramm (Cincinnati, Ohio/Roger Bacon) were the Tigers' top two individual performers, but once again it was depth that was a factor in the outstanding team finish.

Reiss finished fourth in the 200 IM and second in the 100 and 200 breaststroke events en route to finishing eighth in the total individual points standings. Schramm topped the field in the 500 freestyle, and he added a second place finish in the 400 IM and a third in the 1,650 freestyle on his way to finishing fifth in the total individual points standings.

Other quality performances abounded, including top-five finishes by sophomore Brian Harris (Harrisonburg, Va./Harrisonburg) in the 50 and 100 freestyle events, junior Sean Wolf (White Lake, Mich./Walled Lake Central) in the 100 freestyle, freshman Mike Finlay (Marietta, Ga./Kennesaw Mountain) in the 50 free, freshman Ryan Hamilton (Mount Vernon, Ohio/Charisland Academy) in the 200 free and freshman Chris Banas (Huntington Woods, Mich./Detroit Catholic Central) in the 1650 free.

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

Daniel Russ

The Wittenberg men's basketball team is off to its best start in 12 years, but the third-ranked Tigers will be put to the test this week with games at NAIA Division II fifth-ranked Cedarville on Tuesday and at second-ranked North Coast Athletic Conference rival Wooster on Saturday.

The Tigers are a perfect 5-0 overall and 1-0 in the NCAC after opening conference action last Saturday with a 70-52 victory over Denison. The win avenged an NCAC-opening double overtime loss in the Big Red's home gym a year ago.

The Tigers were led by senior post Daniel Russ (Louisville, Ky./Trinity), who enjoyed his finest game to date this season. Russ hit for 16 points, four rebounds, four assists and two blocked shots in the win over the Big Red.

That performance came less than a week after Russ became just the 28th player in program history to top the 1,000-point plateau for career scoring with 12 points in a 62-51 victory at Transylvania on Nov. 27. Heading into Tuesday's contest against Cedarville, Russ has 1,023 career points, just two behind Eddie Ford '75 and Anthony Robinson '96. At his current pace, Russ, who shares scoring honors through five games with senior wing Kenny Brady (Reading, Ohio/Reading) at 11.2 points per game, will likely move into the top 15 in school history for scoring.

Senior post Dane Borchers (Russia, Ohio/Russia) also enjoyed an outstanding game against Denison, going for 15 points, seven rebounds, three assists and two blocked shots. Borchers and Russ combined to make 13-17 shots from the field in the game.

Of equal importance to the best frontcourt game of the season was the play of the young Tiger perimeter players, including freshman wing D.J. Corbett (Villa Hills, Ky./Dixie Heights), who contributed 11 points off the bench. He hit 4-of-6 from three-point range, loosening up the defense for the big guys down low.

The last time Wittenberg started 5-0, the Tigers reeled off 26 straight victories before losing to Kenyon in the 1994 NCAC Tournament championship game. After three more wins, the Tigers were stopped in the NCAA Division III Final Four by Lebanon Valley in overtime before finishing third in the nation with a program-best 30-2 overall record.

Any plans to duplicate such a remarkable winning streak will hinge upon the Tigers' continued outstanding defense and efficient, balanced offense. The Tigers lead the NCAC in scoring defense and field goal percentage defense, while also ranking first in free throw percentage and second in field goal percentage.

Wooster, on the other hand, is averaging nearly 100 points per game in the early going and has attempted twice as many three-point field goals as Wittenberg. On Saturday, one of the most intense college basketball rivalries in the nation will be renewed with teams of contrasting styles lacing them up. The Tigers and Scots have split the 16 NCAC regular season titles since Wittenberg entered the conference in 1989 almost evenly.

Details about the Tigers’ season can be found on the team's schedule/results page and season statistics page.

Megan Miller

The Wittenberg women's basketball team broke a three-game losing streak on Saturday with an 83-37 thrasing of winless Oberlin.

The win - in Wittenberg's North Coast Athletic Conference and home opener - evened the Tigers' overall record at 3-3 overall. It also served notice to the rest of the conference that the extraordinarily deep Tigers, who gave 17 players at least eight minutes of action in the game, will be a force to be reckoned with again in the conference title chase.

Wittenberg jumped out to a 16-2 lead in the opening minutes of the game and never looked back, quickly burying memories of a disappointing performance in an 18-point loss at perennial Ohio Athletic Conference powerhouse Wilmington on Dec. 1. By game's end, junior wing Megan Miller (Lancaster, Ohio/Lancaster) had drilled five three-pointers to finish with a game-high 15 points and freshman post Lauren Rivers (Powell, Ohio/Worthington Christian) added a career-high 12 points in just 10 minutes off the bench. Rivers hit all of her five shots from the field and both free throws.

Miller ranks second on the team with 11.7 points per game, but more importantly she is hitting nearly 55 percent of her three-point shots, a key statistic for a young team in search of an offensive identity. Combined with the outstanding all-around play of junior post Kathy Hittle (Noblesville, Ind./Noblesville), who leads the Tigers with 12.3 points and 10.2 rebounds per outing, Miller's three-point shooting could help keep opposing defenses off balance.

Also of note has been the steady play of senior guard Brittany Landreth (Mantua, Ohio/Valparaiso (Ind.)). She is shooting above 50 percent for the first time in her career, and she leads the Tigers with 14 assists (against just nine turnovers) and 15 steals.

The Tigers are off until Saturday, when they will head to Wooster to play the Scots in a key early-season game. With defending regular season champion Kenyon and defending conference tournament titlist Denison off to a combined 13-1 start this season, the Tigers must keep pace early in preparation for what appears to be a very competitive conference title chase in 2005-06.

Details about the Tigers’ season can be found on the team's schedule/results page and season statistics page.

Emily Dixon

The Wittenberg volleyball team came so close the players and coaches could almost feel that famed Walnut & Bronze NCAA Division III Championship trophy in their hands. After a 3-2 loss to defending national champion Juniata in the NCAA Tournament semifinals on Nov. 18 in Salem, Va., the Tigers have much to be proud of, however, and much to look forward to as well.

Wittenberg capped its season with a 34-5 overall record after making the program's first-ever appearance in the NCAA Division III Tournament semifinals. On two previous occasions, the Tigers had advanced to the national quarterfinals only to lose, but in 2005 they rallied from an 11-7 deficit in the fifth game to defeat New York University 3-2.

The Tigers then had their 18-match win streak snapped in most unlikely fashion against Juniata, which lost 3-2 in the championship match the next night to Wisconsin-Whitewater. Wittenberg led 14-10 in the fifth game, but Juniata responded with six straight kills to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.

Champions of the North Coast Athletic Conference Tournament for the ninth straight year and Great Lakes Regional titlists for the third time in the last four years, Wittenberg finished the season ranked third in the nation, matching the Tigers' preseason ranking. The national semifinals berth was the first for a Wittenberg team since 1994 when the men's basketball team advanced that far and it was the best finish ever for a women's program representing the university.

While several players shined brightly at the national tournament - including sophomore outside hitters Emily Bell (Fort Wayne, Ind./Concordia Lutheran) and Jan Kehres (Alliance, Ohio/Alliance), the team leaders in kills and digs - senior middle hitter Emily Dixon (Granville, Ohio/Granville) stepped up her game most of all. She contributed a career-high 14 blocks in the quarterfinal win over NYU and then another 10 blocks in the semifinal loss to Juniata.

For her efforts, Dixon was recognized with NCAA Division III All-Tournament team honors. She is the first Wittenberg player to ever receive such an accolade, and she was the only player on the 2005 all-tournament team from a team other than Wisconsin-Whitewater or Juniata.

Details about the Tigers' season can be found on the team's schedule/results page and season statistics page.