With an NCAC title already in hand, the Tigers played what appeared to be little more than a tune-up against Earlham last Saturday. It turned into a record-breaking day for the Tigers, who claimed a 38-3 victory over the host Quakers. Wittenberg won its record 29th straight NCAC game, dating back to Nov. 4, 1997, and also earned its fifth straight conference title and fourth consecutive outright crown, both NCAC records.  Senior wide receiver Michael Aljancic (Louisville, Ohio/Louisville) caught eight passes for 63 yards to push his season totals to a school-record 54

Junior tailback Daniel Grove (Uhrichsville, Ohio/Claymont), who has emerged as a tremendous offensive weapon for the Tigers. Grove carved up the Earlham defense for 204 yards on just 23 carries, good for an 8.7 yards per carry average. He added three touchdowns - a 30-yard run in the first quarter, a three-yard burst early in the fourth quarter and a game-breaking 59-yard jaunt with 8:20 left in the game.

Grove finished the season with 1,260 yards rushing, the eighth-best total in school history. In addition, Grove scored 21 touchdowns on the season, just one score short of Casey Donaldson's record-setting TD total of a year ago. For his career, Grove has 1,942 rushing yards.

Wittenberg had 354 yards rushing and 198 yards passing behind another efficient performance by junior quarterback Greg Cornett (Franklin, Ohio/Franklin), who extended his run of quarters without an interception to 19. He finished the game 19-of-27 passing for 174 yards and one touchdown. For the season, Cornett had 140 completions, just one short of the Wittenberg record set by Tim Green in 1987, and 1,872 passing yards, good for second-best in Tiger history behind Charlie Green's 1963 total of 2,181.

Defensively, Wittenberg was tremendous again, holding its fourth 2001 opponent to a single-digit scoring total. Senior linebacker Nic Black (Piqua, Ohio/Piqua) topped the team with seven tackles and senior defensive tackle Juan Howard (Wooster, Ohio/Wooster) chipped in with 6.5, including two for loss. Senior defensive end Tim Daoust (Toledo, Ohio/Central Catholic) had a half sack in the game to up his season total to eight and his career total to 27.5, tied for second-most in Wittenberg history.

Next: 11/17 vs. TBD, Noon
NCAA Division III Playoffs
 

Brittany Baume, Shelli Habegger, Teresa Murphy and Tiffany Keller

The Wittenberg University women's volleyball team won its fifth consecutive - and eighth in the last 10 years - North Coast Athletic Conference volleyball tournament championship last weekend. The title earned the Tigers an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III tournament and the No. 2 seed in the Great Lakes Regional.  Wittenberg gets a first round bye in the regional tournament hosted by top-seeed Mt. St. Joseph. The Tigers, who are making their sixth straight appearance in the NCAA Division III tournament and seventh since 1993, will play the winner of a first round match between No. 3 seed Ohio Northern, the Ohio Athletic Conference champion, and No. 6 seed Johnson & Wales, champions of the Great Northeast Athletic Conference. The Tigers advanced by winning three straight NCAC matches without dropping a game. Wittenberg dispatched Oberlin,

The Tigers have participated in the national tournament every year since 1996. While Wittenberg has dominated the conference, compiling a 61-3 regular season NCAC record since Surowicz arrived in 1994 and winning eight of the last 10 tournament crowns, the Tigers are 4-6 in NCAA tournament action. Two of those NCAA wins came last year in the same Great Lakes Regional as Wittenberg defeated the U.S. Merchant Marines and Ohio Northern before falling to the top-seeded host team, Mt. St. Joseph, for the fifth time in the 2000 season.

McDonald led the conference in kills per game this season and is a strong candidate for NCAC Newcomer of the Year. Her best competition may be freshman setter Sarah Yuskewich (Columbus, Ohio/Bishop Watterson), who ranked among the conference's elite in assists.

Next: 11/9-10 vs. Ohio Northern/Johnson & Wales, 5 p.m. NCAA Division III Regional Tournament @ Mt. St. Joseph, Cincinnati, Ohio.
 

Harris

Longley

The Wittenberg Tigers, the winningest team in NCAA Division III history, return eight letterwinners from one of the deepest, most relentless teams in the country in 2000. Despite the loss of NCAC Player of the Year and second-team All-American Ryan Taylor and three other seniors, the Tigers return a solid nucleus in 2001-02.  Leading the way is junior forward Kevin Longley (Vandalia, Ohio/Butler), who was second on the team in scoring and first in rebounding on a team that led the nation in rebound margin at more than 14 per game in 2000-01. A second-team All-NCAC selection last year, Longley also paced the team in steals with 39 and ranked second in field goal percentage at .587.

Also figuring prominently in the Tigers' plans are senior guard Greg Rustad (Lakewood, Ohio/Lakewood), a long-range sharpshooter who started all 28 games last year and contributed 7.8 points per game, and junior forward B.J. Harris (Riverside, Ohio/Stebbins), who came off the bench to contribute 8.8 points and 6.8 rebounds per game. They will be joined in the 2001-02 rotation by two sophomores who gained valuable experience in their inaugural collegiate season, point guard Mark Borland (Kettering, Ohio/Archbishop Alter) and forward Peter Walker (Louisville, Ky./St. Xavier), senior three-point bomber Chad Mossing (Maumee, Ohio/Holland Springfield) and senior center Brian Gratsch (Madeira, Ohio/Madeira). Only Mossing didn't appear in all 28 games last year due to injury.

Wittenberg will be trying to extend its phenomenal string of non-losing seasons to 45 consecutive. The Tigers' last losing campaign was in 1955-56, and the current streak includes one .500 record, in 1967-68.

Next: 11/16-17
@ Wheaton Tournament
 

Campbell

Gaydos

The Wittenberg Tigers have strung together 12 consecutive winning seasons under the steady direction of Pam Smith. Coming off an 18-8 record in 2000-01, the Tigers appear primed in 2001-02 for another run at the NCAC championship.  The Tigers return 10 letterwinners and 13 players who saw action in 2000-01. Five of the eight players who started at least one game last year are back in the fold, including four of the five starters in the Tigers' NCAC tournament defeat at Ohio Wesleyan, and the team's top four scorers and top five rebounders will suit up again in 2001-02.

Leading the charge will be the junior guard duo of Stephanie Campbell (South Charleston, Ohio/Southeastern) and Kate Rolf (Ft. Wayne, Ind./Carroll), a tandem that led the Tigers in every statistical category in 2000-01. Rolf had a breakout season a year ago, leading the team in scoring and rebounding and earning first-team All-NCAC honors. Campbell, a transfer from Taylor University, fit in well and led the Tigers in minutes, three-point shooting percentage, steals and floor burns due to her hustle.

Also returning to the starting lineup are senior point guard Meghan Gaydos (Concord, Ohio/Lake Catholic) and junior forward Tiffany Keller (Massillon, Ohio/Tuslaw), who came on strong after helping the Wittenberg volleyball team to the NCAA Division III playoffs. Senior forward Jill Swary (Columbus, Ohio/Grandview) also started 15 games and figures to be a key frontcourt player, along with sophomore Geri Woessner (Dayton, Ohio/Oakwood) and junior Rebecca Meers (Moline, Ill./Moline), who both contributed a great deal off the bench.

Next: 11/16-17
@ Kalamazoo Tournament
 

Gerstle and Weide

The Tigers may not have taken part in any competition over the weekend, but they remained busy. Just a few short days remain before the NCAA Great Lakes Regional meet at Kalamazoo College.  For most of the hundreds of runners taking part in the men's and women's competitions, the regional meet will be one last hurrah in the 2001 season. The Tigers, in particular junior Abi Gerstle (Kettering, Ohio/Fairmont) and senior Sarah Weide (Ft. Wayne, Ind./Homestead), have high hopes of making a strong impression at the meet and possibly moving on to the NCAA Division III National Championship meet on Nov. 17 at Augustana College in Rock Island, Ill.  Gerstle is trying to make the national meet for the second straight year after she became the first Tiger runner to win an individual NCAC title and Runner of the Year honors. Gerstle, who was the first Wittenberg runner to make the NCAA meet a year ago, crossed the finish line at the Oct. 27 NCAC meet in 19:09.45, more than seven seconds faster than anyone else in the field.

Weide turned in a career-best seventh in a time of 19:41 at the NCAC meet. 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) leads a team that must lower its times significantly to qualify for the national meet. The tri-captain has paced the Tigers in every meet this season.

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

Morris

Juergens

A week after making an outstanding debut under new coach Leslie Ramsey, the Tigers were back at it on Saturday, turning in another fine performance in the first dual meet of the 2001-02 season. The men's team, with three returning All-Americans leading the way, scored an impressive 139-84 victory over visiting NCAC rival Wooster, while the women, also with three returning All-Americans on the roster but only two of them currently with the team, were beaten by Wooster 154-86.

The Tiger men got several strong performances in the win and captured 11 of the 13 events in the dual competition. Sophomore Brandon Morris (Centerville, Ohio/Centerville) won the 1000-yard freestyle and 500 free, both by comfortable margins. Sophomore Steve Rader (Concord, Ohio/St. Ignatius) was also a double-winner with a runaway victory in the 200 butterfly and the 200 free.

On the women's side, the story was scripted similarly to a year ago. The team was unable to stay with the Scots, who finished 10th in the nation a year ago, but senior Rachel Juergens (Springfield, Ohio/Catholic Central) picked up right where she left in 2000-01, winning three events. She captured the 200 free by almost four seconds, the 500 free by nearly nine seconds and the 1000 free by 26 seconds.

Next: 11/9 @ Ohio Wesleyan w/ Wilmington, 6 p.m.
 

November

9	Swimming & Diving @ Ohio Wesleyan w/ Wilmington	6 p.m.
	Volleyball  vs. Ohio Northern or Johnson & Wales   NCAA Division III Regional Tournament @ Mt. St. Joseph	5 p.m.
10	Volleyball TBA NCAA Division III Regional Tournament @ Mt. St. Joseph	7 p.m.
	Cross Country NCAA Great Lakes Regionals @ Kalamazoo College
	Swimming & Diving @ Ohio Northern	1 p.m