Football (2-1, 0-0 NCAC)
Coach: Joe Fincham (sixth season)

The Wittenberg football team got a jolt over the weekend, losing its first regular season game since Nov. 4, 1997. The nationally ranked Tigers fell at Alma College 26-24 on a field goal with 2:20 remaining in the game and then falling one yard short of a crucial first down at the Alma 38-yard-line on the ensuing drive.

In the loss, which comes on the heels of blowout home victories over Urbana and Heidelberg to open the season, several Wittenberg players did play very well. Junior defensive end Allen D'Andrea (Naples, Fla./Barron Collier) had a team-high nine tackles, including three sacks. Junior running back Daniel Grove (Uhrichsville, Ohio/Claymont) had his second straight 100-yard game and scored two touchdowns in his third straight game. And senior wide receiver Michael Aljancic (Louisville, Ohio/Louisville) caught 10 passes - just two short of the Wittenberg record - for 143 yards.

Next up for the Tigers is a seven-game North Coast Athletic Conference schedule that will determine the team's postseason fate, beginning with Saturday's home contest opposite Wabash College, which is 1-1 on the season thus far. Last year, Wittenberg defeated the Little Giants 41-10 in a bizarre game that featured two lengthy delays and a change of venue. For more information on the football team, watch for game notes that will be posted online by Friday morning.

Next: 9/22 vs. Wabash, 1 p.m.

Shelli Habegger

Teresa Murphy

The Wittenberg volleyball team is off to its typical strong start in 2001, finishing second in each of its first two regular season tournaments before handing Head Coach Connie Surowicz her 200th victory last Friday night in a straight-set home win over Cedarville. Surowicz has 230 wins in 10-plus seasons overall, including three years heading the Walsh University program. Wittenberg's only two losses thus far in 2001 have been to national title contenders Mt. St. Joseph and Elmhurst, both of which hosted their own tournaments and defeated the Tigers in the respective championship games.

The Tigers feature a balanced offensive attack led by junior outside hitter Teresa Murphy (Blacklick, Ohio/Newark Catholic) and her 3.16 kills per game and junior setter Shelli Habegger (Curtice, Ohio/Oregon Clay) and her 8.16 assists per game. Five different players have led the Tigers in kills in a match already this season.

Next: 9/22 @ Wooster/Hiram, 11 a.m.

The Wittenberg field hockey team has moved out to a 4-0 season-opening record for a second consecutive year. To open the 2000 season, the Tigers won their first six games under first-year head coach Marianne Beshara.

In 2001, Wittenberg has shut out three of its four opponents, yielding only a pair of goals in an important early-season 3-2 victory at Wooster on Sept. 8. The Tigers also have a 1-0 shutout over DePauw, a 3-0 win over Ohio Wesleyan and a 2-0 whitewashing of Rhodes to their credit.

On offense, sophomore Barb Keselman (Ann Arbor, Mich./Pioneer) and freshman Ciaran Kisling (Washington, NJ/Warren Hills) have three goals apiece to show the way. The defense, spearheaded by junior backs Rebecca Russ (Lousville, Ky./Sacred Heart) and Heather House (Dayton, Ohio/Oakwood) and senior goalkeeper Georgina Klinzing (Gasport, NY/Royalton Hartland), did not yield a single shot on goal in Friday's victory.

Next: 9/22 vs. Oberlin, 6 p.m.

Danny Carman

Taggart Suddes

The Wittenberg men's soccer team continues to show promise in the early-going, compiling a 5-2 record that included a split of two games at the Anderson Invitational over the weekend. Head Coach Steve Dawson is now just five wins away from 200 for his fine career. On Saturday, the Tigers dropped a hard-fought 2-0 decision to Ohio Athletic Conference power Heidelberg. But as they have all season, Wittenberg rebounded strongly to overcome another OAC squad, Baldwin-Wallace, by a 2-1 count in overtime.

In the most recent game, sophomore forward Taggart Suddes (Ostrander, Ohio/Dublin Coffman) had both Tiger goals, giving him a team-best six for the season. It was the third time this year that Suddes had scored two goals in a game.

The three goals senior goalkeeper Danny Carman (Louisville, Ky./Male) surrendered in the two weekend games left him with just eight goals allowed in seven games. Carman has allowed two goals in a game on just two occasions thus far in the 2001 season.

Next: 9/19 vs. Muskingum, 4 p.m.

It has been an uneven start to a promising 2001 season for the Wittenberg women's soccer team, made more difficult by a tough early schedule that leads into an even tougher North Coast Athletic Conference schedule that is set to kick off this week. First up for the Tigers is a road date at nationally ranked Ohio Wesleyan on Wednesday.

Wittenberg has claimed victories over Mt. St. Joseph and Rose-Hulman, was dealt losses against DePauw and Transylvania, and has played to ties against Heidelberg and Wilmington. Four of those teams are ranked among the top-10 in their respective regions.

Freshman Katie Mazzio (Wilmington, Del./A.I. duPont) leads the Tigers with five goals and 10 total points, while sophomore Jill Rekers (Springboro, Ohio/Springboro) has chipped in with four goals and an assist and sophomore Geri Woessner (Dayton, Ohio/Oakwood) has a team-best four assists in 2001. Rekers scored three goals and an assist in three games last week alone.

Next: 9/19 @ Ohio Wesleyan

Sarah Weide

The Wittenberg cross country program has not competed since Sept. 1, when the Tiger teams both ran third in the University of Dayton Invitational. Senior Sarah Weide (Ft. Wayne, Ind./Homestead) was the Tigers' top finisher in sixth place individually. Wittenberg heads back to the course this weekend at Cedarville. That meet kicks off a busy month of action that will culminate with the NCAC and Great Lakes Regional meets Oct. 27 and Nov. 10 respectively.

Next: 9/22 @ Cedarville Invitational

Upcoming Tiger Sports Action:

September 18
*Volleyball @ Findlay (JV),  7 p.m.

September 19
*Men's Soccer  vs. Muskingum, 4 p.m.
*Women's Soccer @ Ohio Wesleyan, 7 p.m.

September 22
*Volleyball @ Wooster/Hiram, 11a.m.
*Football vs. Wabash, 1 p.m.
*Women's Soccer @ Elmhurst, 2 p.m.
*Field Hockey  vs. Oberlin, 6 p.m.
*Men's Soccer @ Denison, 7 p.m.
*Cross Country @ Cedarville, 11 a.m.