Posted March 22 2001, 12:03 am
Posted by: Ryan Maurer
Swimmers cap off one of best seasons in history as spring seasons get into full swing
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Men's and
Women's Swimming
Coach: Bob Rueppel (sixth season)
Even the weather couldn't cool off the Wittenberg University men's and women's swimming & diving teams in March. The Tigers capped one of the best seasons in school history by scoring 36 points in the women's NCAA Division III meet March 8-10 and 34 points in the men's NCAA Division III meet March 15-17.
With more swimmers qualified for the national meet than ever before, the women's team made the trip first in hopes of continuing the season-long trend of school records and unprecedented accomplishments. The mission was accomplished, led by junior Rachel Juergens (Springfield, Ohio/Catholic Central) , who earned All-America honors and set three more school records in leading the team to a 21st-place finish.
Juergens broke school records throughout the season and qualified for her first national championship meet in multiple events. Her best finish at the NCAA meet was a fifth-place swim in the 1650-yard freestyle. Her school-record time of 17:13.26 was good for All-American honors, her first as a collegian, and she set an additional school record during the race with a 10:21.65 in the first 1000 meters.
In addition, Juergens finished 10th in the 500 free, breaking the school record by four seconds with a time of 5:01.36. The finish was good for honorable mention All-American honors.
The men's team, also carrying a school-best four members to the NCAA meet, followed a week later and again the Tigers didn't disappoint. Senior Aaron Edsall (Circleville, Ohio/Circleville) concluded his career by becoming just the second swimmer in school history to earn All-America honors for four consecutive years. He joins Julien Lazarus, who swam from 1994-98 and recorded the best finish in school history with a second in the 100 breaststroke.
One of two Tiger swimmers to win individual North Coast Athletic Conference titles in February, Edsall finished eighth in the 100 backstroke in a time of 51.36, which was less than a second off his school record time. It was his second straight eighth place finish in the event at the NCAA meet.
Edsall also claimed a pair of honorable mention All-America awards as part of two record-setting relays. The 400 medley relay foursome of freshman Steve Rader (Concord, Ohio/St. Ignatius) , junior Bob Rafferty (Mt. Vernon, Ohio/Mt. Vernon) , junior Jeremy Lazarus (Moens, France/Ferney-Voltaire) and Edsall finished 10th at the NCAA meet in a school-record time of 3:27.28. Head Coach Bob Rueppel noted in particular Rader's performance in the butterfly leg as he turned in a split time of 50.20.
Then in the 200 medley relay, the same quartet of Tiger swimmers posted a school-record time of 1:35.39. That was good for 13th place and honorable mention All-America honors. Rueppel noted the freestyle split time of 21.04 turned in by Rafferty and the breaststroke split time of 26.14 by Lazarus as the keys to that finish.
Rounding out the men's NCAA performance, Lazarus missed the finals in the 100 breaststroke by the slimmest of margins while the 400 free relay was also a top alternate after just missing the 16-team cut.
Rounding out the women's side, junior Melissa Beck (Williamsville, NY/Carmel) also earned honorable mention All-America. She finished 13th in the 100 butterfly with a time of 59.22. In her other individual event, Beck finished the 50 free in a school-best 24.94.
Two women's relays swam well enough to qualify for honorable mention All-America status. The 200 medley relay finished 13th and the 400 medley relay wound up 15th. Senior Melanie Edsall (Circleville, Ohio/Circleville) and junior Paula Hauser (Mason, Ohio/Mt. Notre Dame) , who also swam in individual events but didn't place, joined Juergens and Beck on the relays.
Rueppel, who earlier claimed NCAC Coach of the Year honors for both men's and women's swimming and diving, was particularly pleased with the performance of the relays. "It's very difficult to go to that meet with relays and swim faster than the time you qualified with," he said. "But that's what our relays did."
The team's performance at the NCAA meets came on the heels of Wittenberg's exciting finishes at the NCAC Championships a month earlier in Canton, Ohio. The women's team, which finished 7-4 in dual meets, scored the most points in school history to finish fourth behind 17-time conference champion Kenyon, eventual national champion Denison and Wooster, which wound up 10th in the NCAA meet. The men's team, which was 7-4 in dual meets, also scored more points than ever before in finishing fourth behind eventual national champ Kenyon, Denison, which wound up fifth in the nation, and Wabash.
"This was our most successful season since I came here," said Rueppel, who in six years has coached half of the All-Americans in Wittenberg's history. "It's a very special group of people who set out to achieve some lofty goals this season. And they exceeded them in the end, which makes me very proud."
Next Season Complete
Men's and
Women's Indoor Track and Field
Coach Steve Shutt (second season)
The Wittenberg University Men's and Women's Track & Field teams didn't win any championships during the 2001 indoor season, but the lack of hardware isn't an accurate indicator of how successful the Tigers' season was. The women set seven school records and three athletes made the All-North Coast Athletic Conference team, while the men posted four school records and five athletes made the All-NCAC.
The strength of the Tiger women's squad was in the middle distance and distance running events, where a pack of young athletes set and re-set several records during the indoor campaign. Leading the charge was sophomore Abi Gerstle (Kettering, Ohio/Fairmont) , who built on her NCAA Division III Cross Country Championships appearance last fall by winning the 1500-meter run at the NCAC Indoor Track & Field Championships. Gerstle crossed the finish line in 4:46.45, more than three seconds ahead of the nearest competitor, to claim the team's only individual crown.
Junior Sarah Weide (Ft. Wayne, Ind./Homestead) also earned a pair of All-NCAC honors with her third-place finish in the 1500, in which she crossed the line in 4:52.20, and a second place in the 800, in which she broke her own school record with a time of 2:19.97. In addition, freshman Kelly Zilli (Dayton, Ohio/Archbishop Alter) was all-conference with a third-place finish in the 800 in a time of 2:22.29.
In terms of school records, Zilli set the mark in the 500 (1:21.37) at the Ohio Northern Invitational, and she was one of three pole vaulters - the others being senior Amy Sonnanstine (Plymouth, Mich./Canton) and sophomore LaRissa O'Neal (Indianapolis, Ind./Broad Ripple) - to establish a new standard of 9-1/4. Weide set a record in the 600 with a time of 1:39.79 at the DePauw Invitational, and she joined with Zilli to set two relay records - the 1600 relay and the distance medley relay. In each race, Weide and Zilli were joined by Gerstle and freshman Kristen Mumper (Cincinnati, Ohio/Purcell Marian).
Finally, sophomore Erin Zayicek (Solon, Ohio/Solon) posted a mark of 34-feet, 9-inches in the 20-pound weight throw to establish a new standard.
"The women really had a great indoor season," said Head Coach Steve Shutt, who is in his second season at Wittenberg. "I'm really encouraged by the way they performed."
On the men's side, freshman Skip Ivery (Columbus, Ohio/Groveport-Madison) was an individual winner in the NCAC Championships as he claimed the 55-meter hurdles title in a time of 7.98. Joining him as All-NCAC were the four members of the 1600 relay - freshman Demetrius Ellison (Cleveland, Ohio/Garfield Heights Trinity) , freshman Matt Frost (South Vienna, Ohio/Southeastern) , freshman Alex Yurovitsky (Richmond Heights, Ohio/Richmond Heights) and sophomore Mark Trempe (Springfield, Ohio/Greenon) - who finished second at the conference meet in a time of 3:30.43.
In terms of records, Ellison set a school record in the 200-meter dash, posting a time of 23.16 in the preliminaries at the NCAC Championships. Junior Tony Pelletiere (Gurnee, Ill./Warren Township) blistered the track in the 800 in a time of 1:59.20 at the Butler Invitational. Sophomore Joel Drake (Springfield, Ohio/Shawnee) established a new standard in the 35-pound weight with a mark of 44-8. And senior Josh Guerreri (Avon, Ohio/Avon) , who performed an NCAA Division III provisional standard last year in the decathlon, put up a school record point total of 3309 in the pentathlon.
Heading into the spring outdoor season, Shutt says he is pleased with the progress his athletes have made already this year. "Most of our athletes put up their best numbers at the end of the season, which is what you strive to do," Shutt said.
The outdoor season could be even better as the team's gain the services of several athletes who competed on other winter and fall teams. They will frequently be competing on the Tigers' home track as Wittenberg hosts its own invitational March 30, the Wittenberg Quad April 12, the Wittenberg Open April 27 and the NCAC Heptathlon/Decathlon April 28-29.
Next University of Indianapolis Invitational (March 24)
Baseball(6-2-1, 0-0 NCAC)
Coach: Jay Lewis (fifth season)
The Wittenberg University baseball team ran its early-season win streak to four last week with a 14-11 win over Wilmington on March 14. Doubleheaders scheduled at Walsh and Mount Union over the weekend were cancelled, however.
The Tigers' season started with a Spring Break trip to Ft. Myers, Fla. in which the team compiled a 5-2-1 record.
In the win over Wilmington, junior catcher Nate Williams (Urbana, Ohio/Urbana) had the biggest offensive day of his career, collecting three doubles and driving in eight runs. The first three hitters in the order - junior shortstop Scott Hirsch (Cincinnati, Ohio/Colerain) , junior centerfielder Lance Dill (Bellville, Ohio/Clear Fork) and senior rightfielder Ryan Peters (London, Ohio/London) - each scored at least three runs.
Next up for the Tigers is the Wittenberg Invitational March 22-25. Games will be played at four sites during the four-day tournament - Wittenberg, Urbana, Wilmington and Cedarville. Joining the four host schools are Hiram, Malone, Walsh, Pitt-Bradford, John Carroll and Muskingum.
Next Wittenberg Invitational (March 22-25)
Softball(5-5, 0-0 NCAC)
Coach: Becky Hall (third season)
The Tigers, fresh off a 5-5 Spring Break trip to Ft. Myers, Fla., had a home game against Anderson cancelled on Saturday due to inclement weather. The Tigers' season gets back under way this weekend against Ohio Athletic Conference rival Heidelberg and then the games pick up in regularity the following week.
Next vs. Heidelberg (March 24)
Men's (4-2, 0-0 NCAC)
& Women's
(5-5, 0-0 NCAC) Tennis
Coach: Dave Engle (fourth season)
Following a successful 3-2 Spring Break trip to Grenelefe, Fla. two weeks ago, the Wittenberg women's tennis team returned to Ohio and lost to one of the top teams in NCAA Division III on March 15. DePauw visited the Tigers and came away with an 8-1 victory.
The Tigers lone victory came at No. 2 doubles as sophomore Shannon Oliphant (Columbus, Ohio/Hilliard Davidson) and senior Sara Deskin (Youngstown, Ohio/Ursuline) were victorious.
Including last fall's matches, No. 1 singles player Erin Beach (Dayton, Ohio/Vandalia-Butler) has compiled a 9-5 overall record while Oliphant has put together an 8-5 mark at No. 2 singles. As a team, the Tigers' record is a bit misleading as they have put together a 3-2 mark against Division III competition and a record of 2-3 against everyone else, including Division I rivals Wright State and Dayton.
Wittenberg's men's team is off to a 4-2 start, led by No. 1 singles player Bryan Heft (Gahanna, Ohio/Lincoln), who has an 8-2 mark. Casey Clagett (Steamboat Springs, Colo./Steamboat Springs) has compiled a 6-3 mark at No. 2 singles. Heft and Clagett have a 6-2 record at No. 1 doubles.
Next Men vs. Dayton (March 26)
Men/Women at Wooster (March 31)
Men's Lacrosse (1-2, 0-0 NCAC)
Coach: Vinnie Lang (first season)
After the Tigers lost both games on their Spring Break trip to Virginia two weeks ago, losing 10-1 to Marymount and 10-5 to Randolph Macon. Wittenberg rebounded to win its North Coast Athletic Conference opener on March 17 at Oberlin by a score of 16-0.
Sophomore Zach Kulow (Wooster, Ohio/Wooster) scored six goals, while senior Mario Cassani (Chesterfield, Mo./Desmet) added four tallies.
Next at Denison (March 27)
Women's Lacrosse (2-2, 0-0 NCAC)
Coach: Nancy Beck (15th season)
The Tigers may have lost two of their three games during Spring Break in Panama City, Fla. but the improvement was evident in the team's first game back in chilly Ohio. Wittenberg dismantled visiting St. Vincent on March 16 at Edwards-Maurer Field by a final score of 18-3.
The Tigers got four goals from senior Jennie Stone (Damascus, Md./Damascus) in the offensive blitz, and three more tallies from sophomore Mollie Stone (Damascus, Md./Damascus).
Next at Earlham (March 28)
Golf
Coach: J.J. Searls (first season)
The Wittenberg golf team will make its debut under new coach J.J. Searls March 29-30 at the Muskingum Invitational. The Tigers, coming off a sixth-place finish in the NCAC a year ago, feature a very young team with five sophomores and two freshmen carrying the sticks this year.
Next Muskingum Invitational (March 29-30)
Upcoming Tiger Sports Action:
For the week of March 19-25
Thursday, March 22
Baseball, Wittenberg Invitational, All Day
Friday, March 23
Baseball, Wittenberg Invitational, All Day
Saturday, March 24
Baseball, Wittenberg Invitational, All Day
Softball vs. Heidelberg (DH), 1 p.m.
Sunday, March 25
Baseball, Wittenberg Invitational, All Day