Posted October 31 2000, 09:43 pm
Posted by: Ryan Maurer
Several fall sports seasons come to a close while others heat up
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MEN'S and WOMEN'S CROSS COUNTRY
The Wittenberg University Tigers headed into the North Coast Athletic Confence championship meet at Oberlin College last weekend with the momentum of several straight weeks of improving performances. And while the Tigers runners continued that trend with several more season-best times, the men's team finished seventh in the league meet while the women wound up ninth.
Vince Evener of Kenyon won the men's race and led his team to the overall title. Wittenberg's top finisher was sophomore Nick DeWald (Mansfield, Ohio/Senior), who ran a strong time of 26:24.3 to finish 17th and earn Honorable Mention All-NCAC honors. His time was just 107 off Evener's winning time.
In the women's race, the Tigers had several impressive finishes, but the team as a whole just couldn't quite keep pace. Sophomore Abi Gerstle (Kettering, Ohio/Fairmont) finished third in 18:50.9, which was a high enough finish for her to claim First Team All-NCAC honors. Her time was just 10 seconds off the winning time turned in by Earlham's Shannan Rieder.
Also recognized among the conference's elite was junior Sarah Weide (Ft. Wayne, Ind./Homestead), who ran 13th in a time of 19:33.3. That finish earned her in Second-Team All-NCAC status.
For most of the team's runners, the season will conclude next Saturday at the Great Lakes Regional Championships at Hanover, Ind. Only the top finishers will advance to the NCAA Division III National Championship meet in Spokane, Wash. on Nov. 18.
Next 11/11 @ Great Lakes Regional Championships (Hanover, Ind.)
Wittenberg field hockey closes season with a bang, wins regional tournament
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FIELD HOCKEY (15-4, 10-2 NCAC - tie first place)
Coach Marianne Beshara (first season)
The Wittenberg University field hockey team ended its 2000 season with one of its best records ever, and the Tigers did it in dramatic fashion. Participating in the KIT/NCAC Regional Tournament in Memphis, Tenn. over the weekend, Wittenberg won a pair of thrilling double overtime affairs against ranked opponents DePauw and Denison.
Despite the heroics, which pushed the Tigers to the 15-win plateau for the third time in four years, Wittenberg was denied a berth in the 18-team NCAA Division III tournament. Denison, a team the Tigers defeated twice this season, earned the conference's automatic bid by virtue of a tiebreaker (the team's were co-champions with 10-2 records), and then Wittenberg was denied one of the two at-large bids awarded to Amherst and Williams.
The Tigers were grouped in a bracket with the top two teams in the KIT and Denison. They started the weekend off on Saturday with a double-overtime, 2-1 win over DePauw, a team Wittenberg had defeated early in the season. Freshman forward Katie Babcock (Phoenix, Md./Dulaney) continued her late-season scoring surge with an unassisted first-half goal, but that was all the scoring the Tigers could muster and the two teams went into extra time. With just 13 seconds before the two teams would have been forced to settle things with a stick-off, senior forward Kelly McMullen (East Amherst, NY/The Nichols School) found the back of the cage off an assist from sophomore Cara Romanowski (Collegeville, Pa./Perkiomen Valley) for the heart-stopping game-winner.
In the championship match, Romanowski was the difference, scoring an unassisted first-half goal to knot the game at 1-1, and then stunning the Big Red with an overtime tally off an assist from sophomore Emily Duh (Hellertown, Pa./Saucon Valley). Junior goalkeeper Georgina Klinzing (Gasport, NY/Royalton Hartland) played a large part as well, turning away 11 shots to give her team a chance to win the contest.
McMullen, one of just three seniors on the roster this year - along with Kacy Heinmiller (Bexley, Ohio/Bexley) and Kati Robbins (Collegeville, Pa./Methacton) - finished the season as the team's top scorer with 11 goals and six assists. Klinzing concluded the campaign as the NCAC's top goaltender with a save percentage of 86.2. She allowed just 18 goals all season and recorded five shutouts in NCAC regular season action.
The Wittenberg field hockey team will be receive their championship trophy on Saturday during the final regular season football game at Edwards-Maurer Field.
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FOOTBALL (9-0, 6-0 NCAC)
Coach Joe Fincham (fifth season)
The Wittenberg University Tigers, ranked No. 4 in the nation by the American Football Coaches Association, kept their 2000 record perfect on Saturday and clinched at least a share of a fourth consecutive NCAC championship with a 66-0 victory over visiting Hiram College on Homecoming weekend in Springfield.
Wittenberg had it going from the outset as senior quarterback Anthony Crane (Indianapolis, Ind./Ben Davis) and junior wide receiver Michael Aljancic (Louisville, Ohio/Louisville) played pitch and catch on the Tigers first play from scrimmage. Eighty-three yards later the Tigers had a lead they would never relinquish and Aljancic was in the record books for the longest pass play in school history. It was one of many highlights for Wittenberg, which recorded its first shutout of the 2000 season and never allowed Hiram to move the ball past the Tiger 36-yard line.
The Tigers, who now have won 30 straight regular season games and 21 consecutive NCAC contests, stand alone atop the conference standings in their quest for a third straight outright championship, which can be captured with a Senior Recognition Day victory over Earlham this weekend. The winningest senior class in Wittenberg history will be honored during the game, the 1975 national championship squad will be honored at halftime, and Head Coach Joe Fincham will attempt to win his 50th game in just 54 attempts.
Next 11/4 vs. Earlham
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Tigers' top scorer in 2000 |
MEN'S SOCCER (10-7-1, 4-5 NCAC--sixth place)
Coach Steve Dawson (18th season)
The Wittenberg Tigers and longtime head coach Steve Dawson rode the rollercoaster throughout the 2000 season but unfortunately pulled into the station at the bottom of the loop after a pair of NCAC losses last week that cost them a shot at the a berth in the first-ever postseason tournament.
The Tigers started off the week with a 3-1 loss on Wednesday at Earlham, another of the eight teams that entered the week battling for tourney bids. As usual, it was the team's struggles on offense that did them in. Wittenberg took 13 shots but managed just one second-half goal - by freshman Greg Zeller (Springfield, Ohio/North) off an assist from junior Steve Cassiere (Cincinnati, Ohio/Turpin) - after spotting the host Quakers two goals.
Then on Saturday, following the annual Homecoming Weekend Alumni Game, the Tigers dropped a heart-breaking 2-0 decision to visiting Denison at Bill Edwards Field. Wittenberg took 18 shots, including 14 in a frenzied second half, but couldn't find the back of the net and lost out on the final NCAC tournament spot. Denison, by virtue of the win, advanced to this week's competition.
The Tigers ended the season with a winning record for the 13th time in Dawson's 18 seasons and the 11th time in the last 12 years. However, the sixth-place finish Wittenberg was relegated to by the two season-ending losses was the Tigers' lowest since joining the NCAC in 1989.
The stage may be set for more good things in 2001, however, as much of the team's nucleus returns. Among them are expected to be starting goaltender Danny Carman (Louisville, Ky./Male), Cassiere and defender Josh Curtis (Dublin, Ohio/Coffman), perhaps this defensive-minded team's most valuable player.
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held top-seeded Allegheny to just two goals in NCAC tournament defeat |
WOMEN'S SOCCER (10-7, 4-4 NCAC--fourth place)
Coach Fran Kulas (second season)
The 2000 edition of the Wittenberg University women's soccer team featured a roster of 15 freshman among 20 players. The team was raw, but it also showed flashes of the brilliance that may be to come as it posted the program's first winning record since 1995.
This precocious group of young Tigers also earned the program's first postseason tournament bid, rallying from a 1-4 NCAC record and four straight road losses to finish 4-4 and in a three-way tie for fourth place. Wittenberg was awarded the fourth seed in the first-ever NCAC tournament by virtue of tiebreaker criteria, and ventured to Meadville, Pa. with dreams of upsetting the top-seeded and nationally Allegheny College Gators last Wednesday.
The hallmark of Wittenberg's run to double-digit victories this season was offense, but in this game the Tigers managed few legimate shots at the Allegheny goal. The Gators, meanwhile, chalked up one score in the first four minutes of the game and another in the final four minutes to move into the championship round opposite Ohio Wesleyan University.
For the Tigers, the loss was disappointing but also potentially a springboard for next season. Just two starters, seniors Shana Ryan (London, Ohio/London) and Natalie Estep (Fairborn, Ohio/Fairborn), are not expected to return. Among those who will be back in the fold will be the NCAC's leading scorer, freshman Geri Woessner (Dayton, Ohio/Oakwood), who tied a school record with 18 goals, along with freshman goaltender Jenny Miller (Cincinnati, Ohio/Mother of Mercy), who posted three shutouts this season.
Wittenberg volleyball heads into NCAC tournament as No. 1 seed
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VOLLEYBALL (27-8, 8-0 NCAC - first place)
Coach Connie Surowicz (seventh season)
The Wittenberg University Tigers are used to having the bulls-eye on their backs. It comes with the territory after more than a decade of winning seasons and three straight perfect North Coast Athletic Conference regular seasons. This week, the Tigers will once again carry that mantle into the conference tournament, which is scheduled to begin Tuesday at home against No. 8 seeded Hiram. Game time is 7 p.m.
Wittenberg concluded the regular season portion of the 2000 schedule with an uneven week. On Senior Night last Wednesday, the Tigers cruised to easy wins in the first two games against visiting Thomas More before suddenly hitting the wall. The Saints rallied to win three straight games and stun the Tigers 2-3 (15-8, 15-2, 10-15, 9-15, 14-16). Wittenberg dropped the non-conference decision despite 73 assists by sophomore setter Shelli Habegger (Curtice, Ohio/Oregon Clay) and double-digit kill totals for four players - sophomore outside hitters Brittany Baume (South Charleston, Ohio/Southeastern), Tiffany Keller (Massillon, Ohio/Tuslaw) and Teresa Murphy (Blacklick, Ohio/Newark Catholic) and freshman middle hitter Sarah Muzi (Canton, Ohio/GlenOak).
Muzi continued her hot play over the weekend and helped the Tigers bounce back to finish third in the Calvin College Invitational. Wittenberg started off the weekend with a pair of victories on Friday night over Bluffton, 3-0 (15-7, 16-14, 15-10), and the host school, 3-0 (15-8, 15-4, 15-11). Murphy showed the way against Bluffton with 19 kills, while Baume was tops in the nightcap with 17 kills.
On Saturday, the Tigers ran into stiffer competition and dropped a 0-3 (10-15, 12-15, 13-15) decision to DePauw. Then in the consolation match for third place, Wittenberg came back to beat former Ohio Athletic Conference rival Baldwin-Wallace 3-1 (15-7, 15-5, 11-15, 15-6). Muzi, who was named to the All-Tournament team for her performance in the four matches, topped the team in kills against DePauw with 15. And Murphy pounded out 25 kills in the victory over B-W.
Baume, the 1999 NCAC Player and Newcomer of the Year, leads the conference and ranks 11th nationally with 426 kills in 93 games, good for a 4.58 average in matches through Oct. 22. Habegger ranks first in the conference and second nationally with 1395 assists in 103 games, good for a 13.54 average.
This week's NCAC tournament will continue for the winner of Tuesday's first round matches on Friday at the site of the highest seeded team remaining. The semifinals are slated for 530 and 8 p.m. on Friday, while the championship match will begin at 2 p.m. on Saturday. Denison is the No. 2 seed behind Wittenberg, while Allegheny grabbed the No. 3 seed and Ohio Wesleyan rounds out the top four. The Tigers defeated all four in the regular season handily, dropping just a single game to the Big Red.
Next 10/31 vs. Hiram