Cara Romanowski

Jenny Burns

It was quite a week for the Wittenberg women's lacrosse program. After a week off, the Tigers opened the 2002 North Coast Athletic Conference schedule with a pair of overtime thrillers at Edwards-Maurer Field.

On Saturday, the Tigers defeated Oberlin in a 9-8 overtime decision. Less than 24 hours later, Allegheny was the victim in comeback fashion as Wittenberg rallied on several occasions to finally pull out a 13-12 overtime victory and hand Tiger Head Coach Nancy Beck her 100th career victory. The wins pushed Wittenberg into the early NCAC lead at 2-0 and 4-3 overall, heading into an important week of conference action that includes a road game at Earlham on Wednesday and a home game against Denison on Saturday.

The two wins were keyed by the play of junior Cara Romanowski (Collegeville, Pa./Perkiomen Valley), who had eight goals (four in each game), three assists, 15 ground balls and five caused turnovers in the two games. Her outstanding performances earned effusive praise from her coach and NCAC Player of the Week honors.

While Romanowski was hard at work, freshman teammate Jenny Burns (Dublin, Ohio/Coffman) was making her mark as well. The team's second-leading scorer behind Romanowski, a defender, Burns had the first and last goals in the win over Oberlin to go along with a second-half assist. Against Allegheny, she one-upped herself with three of Wittenberg's last five goals, including two in overtime after the Gators had taken a brief lead. The game-winner came with just six seconds left in the game.

Also playing well was senior Erin Jacobsen (Fairport, NY/Penfield), who found the back of the net four times, including three in the clutch come-from-behind win over Allegheny.

Next:
4/10 @ Earlham, 4 p.m.
4/13 vs. Denison, 1 p.m.

Rob Postma

Things get serious for the Tiger men's tennis team this week as they take on three North Coast Athletic Conference foes, including two from the West Division. A fourth NCAC match, against perennial national powerhouse Denison, was rescheduled for April 19 due to rain on Tuesday, April 9.

Even without the match against the Big Red, a dual that likely could determine the eighth and final NCAA tournament position from the Great Lakes Region, the Tigers have a lot to look forward to this week. Unbeaten through the first two months of the season, the Tigers host Ohio Wesleyan on Thursday and Earlham and Oberlin on Saturday.With the NCAC tournament on the horizon, the Tigers have three players in possession of the top marks at their singles flight positions. Junior Casey Clagett (Steamboat Springs, Colo./Steamboat Springs) is tops with a 14-2 mark at No. 1 singles, junior Mike Herzog (Springfield, Ohio/Northwestern) shows the way at No. 4 singles with a 10-3 record and senior Rob Postma (Tallmadge, Ohio/Tallmadge) is the best currently at No. 6 singles with a 7-1 mark.

Next:
4/11 vs. Ohio Wesleyan, 4 p.m.
4/13 vs. Earlham, 9 a.m.
4/13 vs. Oberlin, 9 a.m.

Ryan Goldschmidt

Trent West

Despite sometimes inclement weather and harsh temperatures, the Tiger baseball team played five games in a busy week, losing to nationally ranked Marietta and Wooster and defeating Cedarville and Ohio Northern to finish the week 2-3.

Things don't get any easier this week as the Tigers are off until heading to Division I Dayton on Thursday for a 3 p.m. match-up. Then NCAC West Division play will be back on the Tigers' plate for the weekend as Earlham hosts Wittenberg for three games.Against Marietta, which was 14-2-1 after an 11-3 win over the Tigers last Tuesday, the Wittenberg highlights were almost solely provided by junior outfielder Trent West (Cincinnati, Ohio/Purcell Marian), who went 4-for-4. He is currently second on the team in batting average at .413.

Against Cedarville on Thursday, sophomore righthanded pitcher Kurt Hartfelder (Upper Arlington, Ohio/Upper Arlington) went eight strong innings for the win. He was supported offensively by senior outfielder Scott Hirsch (Cincinnati, Ohio/Colerain) and freshman outfielder Matt Foster (Granville, Ohio/Granville), who had identical lines of three hits in four at-bats, two runs scored and two runs batted in. Hirsch is the team's leading hitter with a .459 batting average.

Against Wooster, freshman Ryan Goldschmidt (Ft. Loramie, Ohio/Ft. Loramie) pitched well in the opener, but the Tigers managed just two hits in a 2-0 loss to the third-ranked team in the nation. In the nightcap, the Scots got the best of things again by a 12-5 count. Senior centerfielder Lance Dill (Bellville, Ohio/Clear Fork) had a 3-for-4 day offensively and freshman Jon Komperda (Bay Village, Ohio/Bay) was 2-for-2 off the bench, but it wasn't enough.

The Tigers rounded the week out with a Sunday afternoon affair opposite Ohio Northern. In a 14-12 slugfest, Wittenberg got the best of things as five players put together multiple-hit games, led by West with four hits and three runs scored, and junior first baseman Ryan Born (Marion, Ohio/Pleasant), who had three hits and three RBI.

Next:
4/11 @ Dayton, 3 p.m.
4/13 @ Earlham (DH), Noon
4/14 @ Earlham, Noon

Sarah Weide

Nick Dewald

The Tigers ran well on their own track on Friday in a non-scoring meet that included competitors from Findlay, Kentucky State and Capital. It was the first of two Friday night meets at the Earl F. Morris Track that rings Wittenberg's Edwards-Maurer Field.

Among the top Tiger performances were those turned in by senior Sarah Weide (Ft. Wayne, Ind./Homestead) and junior Nick Dewald (Mansfield, Ohio/Senior), both of whom won the steeplechase in their first time running the event.

Sophomore Kelly Zilli (Dayton, Ohio/Kettering Alter) had a personal best in the long jump, while sophomore Geri Woessner (Dayton, Ohio/Oakwood), sophomore Haley Warden (Loveland, Ohio/Indian Hill) and freshman Ashley Allen (Columbus, Ohio/Groveport-Madison) finished in a 1-2-3 sweep with personal bests of 107-3, 106-1 and 81-11 respectively.

Sophomore Skip Ivery (Columbus, Ohio/Groveport-Madison) had a personal best of 14.92 in the 110-meter Hurdles, a mark that was just short of an NCAA provisional standard. Freshman Jason Toman (Greenville, Ohio/Greenville) had a personal best in both hurdles events and freshman Greer Illingworth (Irvine, Calif./University) also had a personal best in the 400 Hurdles.

The Tigers had a 1-2-3 sweep in the men's long jump as freshman Joe Rumschlag (Maumee, Ohio/Toledo Christian), senior Brian Gehle (Huntsville, Ohio/Indian Lake) and sophomore Tim Gaal (Amanda, Ohio/Clearcreek) all posted strong marks, backed by a personal best by junior Adrian Crane (Indianapolis, Ind./Ben Davis). In the discus, sophomore Dorian Dixon (Cincinnati, Ohio/Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy), Clyde Mayer (Hilliard, Ohio/Davidson) and sophomore Mike Rill (Columbus, Ohio/Grandview) all had personal bests in the discus and sophomore Alex Yurovitsky (Richmond Heights, Ohio/Lyndhurst Brush) and Eric Weber (Huntington Valley, Ohio) had personal best tosses in the javelin.

Next:
4/12, Wittenberg Invitational

Nate Reed

Cory Essig

The Wittenberg men's lacrosse team is now on a four-game win streak heading into a crucial mid-season stretch. Over the last week, the Tigers have beaten Marietta 12-1, dispatched Oberlin in a nonconference game on Saturday by a 17-0 score and defeated first-year program Washington & Jefferson on Monday by a 28-2 margin.

Against Marietta, senior Nate Reed (Cincinnati, Ohio/Moeller) had a big day, netting four goals, while freshman Cory Essig (Columbus, Ohio/Dublin Scioto) chipped in with three goals and an assist. Against Oberlin, a team the Tigers had taken the measure of in conference action by a 15-0 margin two weeks earlier, Essig found the back of the net four times and junior Dan Patterson (St. Louis, Mo./DeSmet Jesuit) spearheaded the offensive attack with three goals and three assists. Rounding things out, the Tigers had seven different players score at least three goals against Washington & Jefferson in Monday night's romp. Patterson and Essig were joined in the offensive barrage by freshman Trevor Carlson (Upper Arlington, Ohio/Upper Arlington), sophomore Nick Azar (St. Louis, Mo./St. Louis University), senior Shannon Miller (Wallingford, Pa./Strath Haven), senior Alex Nichols (Phoenix, Md./Dulaney) and sophomore Hans Rydquist (Hudson, Ohio/Hudson).

The intensity level is sure to rise this week as the Tigers hit the road on Wednesday for an NCAC game at Kenyon and a nonconference tilt opposite Wooster on Saturday. The Tigers are in the middle of the conference pack currently with a 1-1 mark.

Next:
4/10 @ Kenyon, 4:30 p.m.
4/13 @ Wooster, 1 p.m.

Beth Walters

With just 10 healthy players in uniform on Saturday, it was not surprising that the Tigers tumbled to their eighth and ninth straight losses of an increasingly difficult 2002 season.

In a doubleheader defeat at the hands of NCAC rival Allegheny, the Tigers did get a triple and a double in Game 1 from sophomore Carmen Montgomery (South Charleston, Ohio/Southeastern) and junior Beth Walters (Columbus, Ohio/DeSales) respectively. In the nightcap, Wittenberg was led offensively by freshman Katie Niemeyer (Findlay, Ohio/Findlay), who had a 2-for-4 day at the plate.

The Tigers will get at least one member of the walking wounded club back this week, in time for the second of a pair of NCAC doubleheaders. On Tuesday, Ohio Wesleyan comes calling and on Saturday the opposition is Oberlin.

Next:
4/9 vs. Ohio Wesleyan, 3:30 p.m.
4/13 @ Oberlin, 1 p.m.

It was a busy week for the Tigers that went fairly well. On Tuesday, neighboring rival Cedarville provided the opposition and Wittenberg was a 6-3 victor. Then on Thursday and Saturday, the Tigers split a pair of NCAC matches, falling on the road to Ohio Wesleyan 5-4 and then rallying for a win over Allegheny at home on Saturday by a 5-4 count.

Against Cedarville, sophomore Deana Nowakowski (Uniontown, Ohio/Lake) had a singles and doubles win to key the win. Against OWU, the Tigers were swept in doubles and lost by the narrow margin despite winning the top four singles positions. And against Allegheny, the key to victory was provided by freshman Ellie Hazelbaker (Cincinnati, Ohio/Roger Bacon), who was the team's only player to win in both singles and doubles.

Wittenberg's top two players are both among the best in their respective NCAC flights currently. Freshman Emily Figel (Ft. Wayne, Ind./Homestead) is second at the No. 1 singles position with a 13-3 overall mark and 2-0 in the NCAC, while junior Shannon Oliphant (Columbus, Ohio/Hilliard Davidson) is 9-4 overall and 2-0 in the NCAC, good for the third-best mark among conference competition.

More important NCAC matches are on tap for the week, starting with a road date opposite Denison Tuesday. Earlham and Oberlin come calling this weekend for matches on Saturday.

Next:
4/9 @ Denison, 3:30 p.m.
4/13 vs. Earlham, 9 a.m.
4/13 vs. Oberlin, 9 a.m.

Steve Spittle

The Wittenberg golf team put together a solid performance in the Kenyon Cup over the weekend, finishing sixth in a strong 15-team field that included all nine NCAC teams that sponsor golf. In that battle within the war, the Tigers were fourth, just one stroke back of Denison with a score of 631. Nationally ranked conference foes Ohio Wesleyan and Allegheny finished one-two in the competition.Individually, freshman Andy Bonar (Lancaster, Ohio/Lancaster) showed the way for the Tigers with a two-day total of 155. Junior Jonathan Orr (Huntingdon, Pa./Huntingdon) was next with a 158, junior Steve Spittle (Dublin, Ohio/Coffman) finished with a 159, junior Pat Reist (Hamilton, Ohio/Hamilton) tabulated a 160 and sophomore Adam Knowlton (Springfield, Ohio/Shawnee) rounded things out with a 161.

The tournament was held at the Apple Valley Golf Course in Mt. Vernon, site of the NCAC championship tournament May 3-4. That finish came on the heels of solid but unspectacular finish at the Muskingum Invitational the previous week in which the Tigers finished ninth in a 12-team field. They were paced by Bonar and fellow freshman Mike Aughenbaugh (Aurora, Ohio/Aurora), who carded a 156 and 157 respectively.
Next:
4/13 @ Denison Spring Invitational
4/14 @ Denison Spring Invitational