Tiger fall sports teams head to crunch time of 2000 seasons in position to challenge for NCAC titles

Nick DeWald

Abi Gerstle

MEN'S and WOMEN'S CROSS COUNTRY

The Tigers traveled to Delaware, Ohio on Friday for an opportunity to measure themselves against the rest of the collegiate runners in the state in the All-Ohio Invitational.

On the men’s side, Wittenberg finished 32nd out of 36 teams in the field and 14th of the 18 Division III squads running. Sophomore Nick DeWald (Mansfield, Ohio/Senior) paced the Tigers, finishing 92nd overall and 25th in Division III in a time of 28:23. Junior Dave Hyde (Naperville, Ind./Naperville Central) finished 158th overall and 60th Division III in 29:26.

The Tiger women’s team fared better against a similarly loaded field. Wittenberg finished 25 out of the 36 teams involved, and against just Division III runners, the Tigers were 10th of 18. Sophomore Abi Gerstle (Kettering, Ohio/Fairmont) topped the Wittenberg runners with a 74th place finish overall and 12th place finish among the Division III contestants in a time of 21:05. Junior Sarah Weide (Ft. Wayne, Ind./Homestead) wound up 91st overall and 21st among Division III runners with a time of 21:18.

Next 10/20 @ Wilmington Invitational

Kelly McMullen

FIELD HOCKEY (10-2, 8-1 NCAC)

Coach Marianne Beshara (first season)

The Tigers broke out again on offense after dropping their first North Coast Athletic Conference game to Denison the previous week, exploding for victories of 6-0 over Kenyon and 5-0 over Earlham, both at home. Wittenberg has now recorded five NCAC shutouts in nine outings this season, a testament to a strong defensive team effort that didn’t allow the Quakers but a single weak shot in the senior night victory on Oct. 14.

In that win, freshman Barb Keselman (Ann Arbor, Mich./Huron) scored the first goal off an assist from junior Jessica Martin (Powell, Ohio/Worthington Kilbourne). From then on, the seniors took over on their night as Kati Robbins (Collegeville, Pa./Methacton) controlled the midfield and set up the action for forwards Kelly McMullen (East Amherst, NY/The Nichols School), who had two goals and an assist, and Kacy Heinmiller (Bexley, Ohio/Bexley), who contributed two goals of her own.

In the win over Kenyon, sophomore Emily Duh (Hellertown, Pa./Saucon Valley) was the story, recording her second hat trick of the season with the first goal of the game and then two more in the second half. Heinmiller, Keselman and freshman Katie Babcock (Phoenix, Md./Dulaney) added the other three scores. Keselman also had two assists.

The Tigers headed to Philadelphia on Sunday for games against Neumann College and Gwynedd Mercy. Results were not available at the time of this press release. Wittenberg returns to NCAC action again on Saturday with a crucial two-and-one-half game stretch. On Oct. 21 the Tigers square off with Ohio Wesleyan in Delaware; then on Oct. 25 the two teams will play the second half of their suspended game here in Springfield; and then on Oct. 22 the regular season concludes with a game at the College of Wooster.

Next 10/21 @ Ohio Wesleyan.

Casey Donaldson

FOOTBALL (7-0, 4-0 NCAC)

Coach Joe Fincham (fifth season)

Wittenberg kept its 2000 record perfect on Saturday, responding to a stern test offered by the visiting College of Wooster Fighting Scots by breaking a 26-26 tie late in the third quarter and moving out to a 42-26 victory. The Tigers, who now have won 28 straight regular season games and 19 consecutive NCAC contests, remain alone atop the conference standings in their quest for a third straight outright championship heading into this weekend’s battle with Ohio Wesleyan University in Delaware.

Senior tailback Casey Donaldson (South Charleston, Ohio/Southeastern) was named NCAC Player of the Week for the ninth time in his illustrious, record-breaking career. You can read more about Casey and the rest of the football team on the football-only press release posted on the Wittenberg athletics page. Next 10/21 @ Ohio Wesleyan

Matt Brewer

MEN'S SOCCER (8-5-1, 2-3 NCAC)

Coach Steve Dawson (18th season)

The Tigers started the week well, but they couldn’t keep the momentum going, dropping a crucial NCAC match at Wooster on Oct. 14 after winning on Oct. 10 against visiting Cedarville.

The win over Cedarville was a hard-earned 3-2 in double overtime victory that came only after the Tigers coughed up a 2-0 lead in the final 10 minutes of regulation. Wittenberg recovered and won in dramatic fashion as senior Matt Brewer (Cincinnati, Ohio/Turpin) scored the game-winner with just under one minute remaining.

The Tigers then traveled to Wooster and fell 1-0 to the Scots, also in double overtime. Wittenberg goaltender Danny Carman (Louisville, Ky./Male) again played well, yielding just the one overtime goal to improve his goals against average to a paltry 1.42.

Wittenberg has now played seven games decided by one goal this season, and the Tigers have fared well in those tight affairs with a 5-2 record. To round the 2000 campaign, Wittenberg takes on four straight NCAC opponents. The Tigers probably must win three of the four games to qualify for the NCAC tournament.

Next 10/21 @ Hiram

Geri Woessner

WOMEN'S SOCCER (9-5, 3-4 NCAC)

Coach Fran Kulas (second season)

The Tigers emerged last week from the painful lessons taught to them by four straight conference road losses and won twice to keep their slim NCAC playoff hopes alive. Wittenberg entered the week 1-4 in the conference but mathematically alive for the four-team tournament — and the Tigers put together back-to-back wins over Earlham, 4-1 on Oct. 11, and Oberlin, 1-0 on Oct. 14.

In the win over Earlham, the Tigers fell behind 1-0 before scoring the next four goals in a physical contest. Freshman forward Geri Woessner (Dayton, Ohio/Oakwood) scored two goals, while senior midfielder Natalie Estep (Fairborn, Ohio/Fairborn) contributed two goals of her own and an assist. Sophomore midfielder Emily Gersbach (Hamilton, Ohio/Badin) assisted on two of the goals. Still, the win was rather costly as four Wittenberg players left the game with injuries and did not return.

In the win over Oberlin, freshman goalkeeper Jen Biehl (Swanton, Ohio/Swanton) played very well to pick up her first collegiate shutout in just her second start of the season. She was protected by the Tigers’ solid defensive corps, and Woessner finally knocked home the game-winner in the 85th minute.

Wittenberg steps out of NCAC action this week with a final home appearance at Bill Edwards Field on Thursday. Then the Tigers wrap up their NCAC schedule with a game on Saturday at Hiram. Next 10/19 vs. Cedarville

Brittany Baume

VOLLEYBALL (22-6, 6-0 NCAC)

Coach Connie Surowicz (seventh season)

The Tigers took another step toward winning a third straight regular season NCAC championship by whipping rival Ohio Wesleyan 3-0 on Oct. 11. Then the Tigers took an even bigger step toward establishing themselves on the national scene by winning the Spike It Up! Invitational at Colorado College over the weekend.

Wittenberg defeated 15th ranked California State Hayward 3-1, previously ranked host Colorado College 3-1, Westminster 3-0 and Webster 3-0 to take the title. Sophomore Brittany Baume (South Charleston, Ohio/Southeastern) was named the tournament’s MVP, just days after the NCAA Division III statistics came out with her standing No. 10 in kills. She was joined on the all-tournament team by sophomore Teresa Murphy (Blacklick, Ohio/Newark Catholic) and senior Melodi Mann (Anna, Ohio/Jackson Center).

In addition to Baume earning tournament MVP honors, Murphy was named NCAC Player of the Week, sophomore Shelli Habegger (Curtice, Ohio/Oregon Clay) was ranked No. 1 in the country in assists, and sophomore Tiffany Keller (Massillon, Ohio/Tuslaw) was ranked No. 20 in the country in hitting percentage. The rankings were for matches through Oct. 8.

Next 10/21 @ Wooster w/ Oberlin