Volleyball  (23-8, 8-0 NCAC)
Coach: Connie Surowicz (eighth season)
 

Keller

McDonald

Yuskewich

The Tigers have ranked among the nation's elite for several years, but last weekend at the Trinity (Texas) Invitational coach Connie Surowicz hopes her team enjoyed a breakthrough of sorts. With a fourth straight outright regular season North Coast Athletic Conference championship already sewn up, the Tigers hit the road for one last time in the regular season and came away with three wins in four matches, including a pair of victories over teams ranked in the top five nationally.Wittenberg

defeated Texas Lutheran in three sets to open action, then beat No. 2 ranked Juniata in five and No. 3 Wartburg in five before finally running out of steam against the host team, ranked No. 5, in another grueling five-setter.

It was the fourth time this year that Wittenberg had made it to the final match of a round robin regular season tournament without a loss, only to be denied the crown. The Tigers also lost in the final match at Mt. St. Joseph, Elmhurst and in their own tournament earlier this year.

Junior middle hitter Tiffany Keller (Massillon, Ohio/Tuslaw continued her impressive play, pounding 46 kills in 89 total attempts, good for a phenomenal .463 attack percentage. She also paced the team in blocks with 19. Her outstanding performance earned her recognition as NCAC Player of the Week.

A pair of freshman also continued to play well as the season heads toward what the Tigers hope is another exciting conclusion. Outside hitter Monica McDonald (Newark, Ohio/Catholic) led the team in kills over the weekend and continues to rank among the conference's best in that category. Setter Sarah Yuskewich (Columbus, Ohio/Bishop Watterson) had more than 70 assists in one of the matches and leads the team with more than eight per game this season.

Wittenberg is back in action this week as the probable host team of the NCAC Tournament. Oberlin, the eighth seed, comes calling in quarterfinal action on Tuesday. A win against the Yeowomen will earn the top-seeded Tigers the right to host the semifinals and finals of the tournament over the weekend, with action getting underway on Friday at 5 p.m.

Next: 10/30 vs. Oberlin, 7 p.m.

Men's and Women's Cross Country
Coach:  Steve Shutt (third season)
 

Abi Gerstle

All season, junior co-captain Abi Gerstle (Kettering, Ohio/Fairmont) has paced the Tiger women's team to strong finish after strong finish. On Saturday at the NCAC Cross Country Championship Meet, Gerstle was at her best, becoming the first Tiger runner to win the individual title and earning Runner of the Year honors in the process. Gerstle crossed the finish line in 19:09.45, more than seven seconds faster than anyone else in the field. Gerstle's first-place finish led the Tigers to fifth place in the meet overall. Her outstanding finish was backed by the efforts of senior co-captain Sarah Weide (Ft. Wayne, Ind./Homestead), who was a career-best seventh in a time of 19:41. That finish was good for first-team All-NCAC honors, the first time Weide has earned such an award in cross country after taking home second-team honors the last two years.

On the men's side, senior Dave Hyde (Naperville, Ill./Central) led the team again, this time finishing 21st in a time of 27:33, which was good for honorable mention All-NCAC honors. Hyde's finish was the brightest spot for the Tigers, who wound eighth in the 10-team field.

Next: 11/10 @ Great Lakes Regional Meet
Hosted by Kalamazoo College

Football (8-1, 5-0 NCAC)
Coach: Joe Fincham (sixth season)
 

Grove                       Cornett

The Tigers continued their march toward a fifth consecutive NCAC championship with a 39-0 victory at Hiram on Saturday. The victory earned the Tigers at least a share of that title and also gained the team its fourth consecutive berth in the NCAA Division III playoffs. A win over Earlham this weekend would be Wittenberg's 29th consecutive NCAC victory, and would give the Tigers their unprecedented fifth straight NCAC title and fourth straight outright conference crown. In addition, the Tiger seniors would become the first group of football players in school or league history to never lose a conference game in its four years. Junior tailback Daniel Grove (Uhrichsville, Ohio/Claymont) continued his hot streak against Hiram with a career-high four touchdowns and 115 yards rushing, including three running scores in the first half. He added a TD on a 39-yard pass play from junior quarterback Greg Cornett (Franklin, Ohio/Franklin) in the third quarter. The four TDs gave Grove an NCAC-best 18 on the season and also gave him 10 in the last three weeks. Senior wide receiver Michael Aljancic (Louisville, Ohio/Louisville) caught three passes for 25 yards to inch closer to several school receiving records. His biggest contribution to Saturday's victory came on a reverse as he took a handoff from Grove, got a huge block from Cornett and scampered 20 yards for a first-quarter touchdown. Defensively, it was a record-setting game for the Tigers. Hiram completed just one pass for a six-yard loss. The negative six yards passing tied an NCAA Division III record set by Central (Iowa) against Simpson in 1985.

Next: 11/3 @ Earlham, 1 p.m.

Women's Soccer (7-7-3, 4-3-1 NCAC)
Coach: Fran Kulas (third season)
 

Woessner

Rekers

The Tigers faced a schedule packed with top-notch regional and national competition and never blinked. And while moral victories are never the team's goal, it must be noted that Wittenberg was extremely competitive every night out during the 2001 season, including in the season finale last Wednesday night at Ohio Wesleyan in the semifinals of the NCAC Tournament. The second-ranked Bishops jumped on the young Tigers for three first-half goals and then held on as Wittenberg rallied with a pair of its own late in the game to claim a 4-2 victory. OWU then defeated Denison in the title match to advance again to the NCAA Division III playoffs, which begin this week.

In the loss, sophomore Geri Woessner (Dayton, Ohio/Oakwood) and sophomore Jill Rekers (Springboro, Ohio/Springboro) both had goals. Woessner, last year's NCAC Newcomer of the Year, finished the year 10th in the NCAC in points per game with 22 (eight goals and six assists).

Next: Season Complete

Field Hockey (13-6, 10-2 NCAC)
Coach: Marianne Beshara (second season)
 

Muller

Meyer

Coming into the 2001 season, second-year coach Marianne Beshara didn't know what to expect. She knew the Tigers had some strong players returning and some talented players coming into the program, but there were holes to be filled and questions to be answered. Beshara got those answers as the 2001 season went on, although not every response was the one she was looking for. The Tigers started the season 8-0, but a couple of midseason missteps cost them the NCAC championship and an opportunity to participate in the NCAA Division III playoffs. Still, Wittenberg finished with a strong 13-6

record (13-3 against Division III opponents) and a school record-tying 10-2 NCAC mark. Hardly accomplishments to be scoffed at.

Last week, the Tigers were busy again as they played four games in lousy weather against quality opponents. They got things started on Senior Night at Edwards-Maurer Field with a 2-0 win over Earlham, thanks to goals by freshmen Amy Burlingame (Dennis, Mass./Yarmouth-Dennis) and Katie Houchins (Denver, Colo./Kent-Denver) and the final shutout of senior goalkeeper Georgina Klinzing's (Gasport, NY/Royalton Hartland) fine career. Also appearing in her final home game as a Tiger was midfielder Jessica Martin (Powell, Ohio/Thomas Worthington).

Then on Thursday, the Tigers came from behind to defeat defending conference medalist Denison 2-1 on the road as junior Emily Duh (Hellertown, Pa./Saucon Valley) scored the equalizer with three minutes left in regulation and sophomore Barb Keselman (Ann Arbor, Mich./Huron) hammered home the game-winner in overtime.

The season came to an end over the weekend at the KIT/NCAC Regional Championship at Kenyon. The Tigers defeated Rhodes 2-0 on Saturday behind goals by Duh and freshman Deb Muller (Weston, Conn./The Millbrook School) and shutout netminding by freshman Jenny Meyer (Solon, Ohio/Hathaway Brown). Then in the championship game on Sunday, the Tigers were defeated by NAIA power Lindenwood 2-0.

Next: Season Complete

Men's Soccer (10-7-1, 4-5 NCAC)
Coach: Steve Dawson (19th season)
 

Sword

Carman

Cassiere

Atwood

A season that seemed to hold so much promise just two weeks ago came to a disappointing conclusion last week as the Tigers were beaten twice at home and missed out on the NCAC Tournament for the second straight year. The Tigers opened the week with a 4-3 loss to Wooster on Wednesday. The Scots scored

the game-winner with just 23 seconds left in regulation, knocking Wittenberg out of contention for the postseason. Sophomore Taggart Suddes (Ostrander, Ohio/Dublin Coffman), junior Matt Lapish (Grosse Pointe Farms, Mich./South) and freshman Doug Farrell (Liberty Twp., Ohio/Lakota East) all scored goals in the loss.

On Senior Day at Edwards Field, the Tigers couldn't get the engines going again, losing a heart-breaking 1-0 game to the visiting Allegheny Gators. It was Wittenberg's third straight one-goal loss to close the season. Senior goalkeeper Danny Carman (Louisville, Ky./Male) had three saves in his final game in the net. Also playing a final game in Red & White were seniors Ezra Sword (Somerset, Ky./Somerset), Steve Cassiere (Cincinnati, Ohio/Turpin) and Chad Atwood (Nashport, Ohio/Tri-Valley).

Next: Season Complete

Men's and Women's Swimming & Diving
Coach: Leslie Ramsey  (first season)

It was a fine debut for the Tigers and new coach Leslie Ramsey. In the season-opening NCAC Relays, an event that involves a variety of relay competitions and the opportunity to get every swimmer into the pool, Wittenberg finished fourth in both the men's and women's competitions. National powerhouses Kenyon, Denison and Wooster showed the way on the women's side (all finished in the top 10 at the 2001 NCAA meet), while Kenyon, Denison and Wabash were 1-2-3 on the men's side (all finished in the top 20 at the 2001 NCAA meet).

 Last year, Wittenberg was fifth in the both the men and women's competitions. The Tigers moved up to fourth each in the NCAC Championship meet last February.

Among the best performances were the ones turned in by the women's 200 medley relay of sophomore Nicole Kinzeler (Centerville, Ohio/Kettering Alter), senior Paula Hauser (Mason, Ohio/Mason), senior Betsy Godin (Downington, Pa./Downington) and sophomore Courtney Galliger (Eagan, Minn./Eagan), and the men's 200 breaststroke relay of sophomore Alex Berger (Findlay, Ohio/Findlay), sophomore Steve Rader (Painesville, Ohio/Cleveland St. Ignatius), sophomore Steve Barry (Rocky River, Ohio/Rocky River) and senior Jeremy Lazarus (Moens, France/Ferney-Voltaire).

In addition, Ramsey cited the women's diving duo of sophomore Holly Erickson (St. Paul, Minn./Central) and sophomore Jennifer Ingwalson (Lake Mary, Fla./Lake Highland) for their outstanding performance.

Next: 11/3 vs. Wooster, 1 p.m.

October

30

Volleyball vs. Oberlin  (NCAC Quarterfinals)

7 p.m.

November

2	Volleyball NCAC Semifinals	TBD
3	Football  @ Earlham	1 p.m.
	Volleyball NCAC Finals	TBD
	Men's and Women's Swimming vs. Wooster	1 p.m.