Phil Steffes

SPRINGFIELD, Ohio — The Wittenberg University men’s and women’s basketball teams have the highest winning percentages in North Coast Athletic Conference history, and neither has ever finished lower than third place in the regular season standings, so it’s hardly surprising that both teams were given a great deal of respect in the 2005-2006 NCAC preseason polls conducted during today’s media day conference call.

The men’s balloting among both the coaches and the media put the Tigers on top. Wittenberg, which has won three of the last five NCAC regular season titles and captured the 2005 NCAC Tournament crown, corralled 98 of a possible 100 points in the coaches poll, including eight of the 10 first-place nods. Wittenberg, coming off a 25-4 overall record in 2004-05 that included an NCAA Division III record 23rd trip to the national tournament, was the leading vote-getter among media members as well, taking 17 of a possible 24 first-place votes and led the voting with 231 of a possible 240 votes.

The women’s balloting went against the Tigers for the first time in four years after Wittenberg’s three-year run atop the NCAC regular season standings came to an end last year. Coming off a 17-10 campaign in 2004-05 that included a 12-4 mark in the NCAC, good for a second-place tie with Denison, Wittenberg received one of the nine first-place votes from the coaches and two of the 20 from the media. With 69 votes in the coaches poll and 147 points in media balloting, Wittenberg was second in both polls, behind only defending champion Kenyon. The media poll side forecasts a second-place tie with Denison for a second straight year.

Click Here To Read The NCAC Release (Complete With Polls)

The Tiger men, led for a 13th year by Head Coach Bill Brown, class of 1973 , have also garnered national recognition in several preseason publications and will open the season at No. 10 in the weekly d3hoops.com poll. Wittenberg returns eight letterwinners in 2005-06, including three starters in post Daniel Russ of Louisville, Ky., post Dane Borchers of Russia, Ohio, and wing Phil Steffes of Centerville, Ohio, all class of 2006. Russ was the 2005 NCAC Player of the Year and Tournament MVP, while Borchers was the Tigers’ leading scorer and rebounder during the 2004-05 season. Along with wing Kenny Brady of Reading, Ohio, also class of 2006, Wittenberg is loaded with experienced, talented post players but does have some question marks on the perimeter with the loss of four outstanding players to graduation.

Katie Gregorevich

Wittenberg ’s 2005-06 men’s basketball season starts with a trip to Rochester, N.Y. for a season-opening tournament hosted by the University of Rochester, an NCAA Division III Tournament finalist a year ago. The Tigers will face Tufts in the tournament opener on Friday, Nov. 18.

The Tiger women, led for a 20th straight year by Head Coach Pam Smith, class of 1982, return 11 letterwinners, including three starters in point guard Brittany Landreth of Mantua, Ohio, class of 2006, post Kathy Hittle of Noblesville, Ind., class of 2007, and post Ali Rohlfs of Cincinnati, Ohio, class of 2008. Hittle, Rolfs and post Katie Gregorevich of Northfield, Ohio, class of 2008, form a potent frontline trio, and the Tigers have a large number of versatile players who can fill in around them. For a second straight year, the Tigers have a great deal of talent and depth, but they are searching for steady perimeter points production to loosen up opposing defenses.

Wittenberg ’s 2005-06 women’s basketball season starts with a trip to Virginia Beach, Va., for a season-opening tournament hosted by Virginia Wesleyan University. The Tigers will face the University of the Ozarks in the tournament opener on Friday, Nov. 18.