Posted January 31 2001, 02:03 pm
Posted by: Ryan Maurer
Tiger swimming completes regular season with wins, track gets off to
impressive start, men's basketball remains tied for first in NCAC
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Coach Bill Brown (eighth season)
Wittenberg picked up a pair of wins last week and remains tied for first place in the North Coast Athletic Conference with Wooster.
The Tigers scored an 87-72 win at Denison (Jan. 24), then rolled in the second half for an 85-50 victory over Oberlin (Jan. 27).
At Denison, Wittenberg used a 20-0 run early in the game to build a 46-31 halftime lead, then used a three-point goal by senior forward Ryan Taylor (Waynesfield, Ohio/Goshen) to pull away, after Denison had moved to within eight points with four minutes left in the game.
Senior center Chris Fillmore (Barberton, Ohio/Barberton) had a game and season-high 21 points to lead the Tigers. Sophomore forward Kevin Longley (Vandalia, Ohio/Butler) added a career-high 20 points and a game-high 10 rebounds and Taylor had 10 points.
Wittenberg shot 56 percent (28 of 50) from the field and a season high 86.7 percent (26 of 30) from the free throw line.
The Tigers struggled in the first half with a determined Oberlin team, led by interim head coach Mike Cavey, a 1999 Wittenberg graduate. The Yeomen opened up a six-point lead in the first four minutes and led for a large part of the first 20 minutes.
Wittenberg took a 34-28 halftime lead and blew the game open with a 21-2 run early in the second half.
Longley led the Tigers with 15 points and was named the NCAC player of the week, Taylor had 12 and sophomore backup center B.J. Harris (Riverside, Ohio/Stebbins) added a game-high 10 rebounds.
The Tigers host third place Earlham on Wednesday, then head north to face Hiram on Saturday.
Next vs. Earlham (1/31)
at Hiram (2/3)
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Women's Basketball (12-6, 6-4 NCAC)
Coach Pam Smith (15th season)
Wittenberg went through another up and down week at home, losing to Earlham 70-57 (Jan. 24) and defeating Oberlin 62-49 (Jan. 27). The team now stands fifth in the NCAC, one-half game behind fourth-place Earlham and one full game behind third-place Denison.
Against Earlham, the Tigers dug themselves a 16-point first half deficit, a shocking development considering Wittenberg had mauled Earlham, 87-35, on Nov. 29 in Richmond, Ind.
Wittenberg rallied in the second half and finally tied the game at 51-51 on a three-point goal by sophomore forward-guard Kate Rolf (Fort Wayne, Ind./Carroll) with 5:24 left. But the team managed to score just six points the rest of the game.
Rolf scored 20 points and was the only Tiger to score in double figures.
Against Oberlin, Wittenberg built a 29-22 halftime lead and never allowed the visitors any closer than that in the second half.
Rolf scored a game and career-high 21 points while senior center Jamie Brafford (Monroe, Ohio/Lakota) matched a season high with 10 points.
The Tigers are idle on Wednesday, but will make up for it with back to back games in less than 24 hours at the HPER Center over the weekend. Conference leader Allegheny comes calling on Friday night, followed by Hiram on Saturday afternoon.
Next vs. Allegheny (2/2)
vs. Hiram (2/3)
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Men's & Women's Swimming & Diving
Coach Bob Rueppel (sixth season)
The Tigers men's and women's swimming and diving teams completed their regular season with wins over visiting Case Western Reserve (Jan. 27). The men won 136-87 and the women were victorius by a score of 137.5-90.5.
Both men's and women's teams finish the season 7-4 in dual meets, the first winning seasons for either team under Coach Bob Rueppel.
Seniors Jason Cross (Parma, Ohio/Parma) and Aaron Edsall (Circleville, Ohio/Circleville) each had two indvidual wins to pace the Tiger men's team. Cross took firsts in both 1-meter (164.33) and 3-meter diving (119.85) while Edsall won the 100 backstroke (54.21) and 200 freestyle (148.52).
Wittenberg also had first places from junior Joe Hill (Springfield, Ohio/Shawnee) in the 1000 freestyle (1027.16), junior Bob Rafferty (Mount Vernon, Ohio/Mount Vernon) in the 100 freestyle (50.41), junior Jeremy Lazarus (Moens, France) in the 100 breaststroke (101.96) and freshman Brandon Morris (Centerville, Ohio/Centerville) in the 500 freestyle (510.37). The 200 medley relay team (142.23) also took a first in the meet.
In the women's meet, junior Rachel Juergens (Springfield, Ohio/Catholic Central) led the Tigers with a pair of firsts in the 500 (510.07) and 1000 (1036.12) freestyle events. Wittenberg's 200 medley relay team (153.92) also took a first.
Posting individual wins for the women were seniors Allison Dingus (Lexington, Ky./Catholic) in the 100 butterfly (102.96) and Melanie Edsall (Circleville, Ohio/Circleville) in the 100 backstroke (103.25). Juniors Courtney Paul (Columbus, Ohio/Hilliard Davidson) won the 50 freestyle (25.95), Melissa Beck (Williamsville, N.Y./Carmel) in the 100 freestyle (54.80) and Paula Hauser (Mason, Ohio/Mount Notre Dame) in the 100 breaststroke (110.44).
Wittenberg post wins with a pair of freshmen in diving. Jennifer Ingwalson (Lake Mary, Fla./Lake Highland Prep) in 1-meter (159.15) and Holly Erikson (Saint Paul, Minn./Central) in 3-meter (151.35).
Both Tiger teams are idle this week as they prepare for the NCAC championships, Feb. 8-10 in Canton, Ohio.
Next NCAC Championships at Canton, Ohio (Feb. 8-10)
Men's and
Women's Indoor Track and Field
Coach Steve Shutt (second season)
The Tigers indoor teams got off to a great start Jan. 27 in the NCAC relays at Denison. The men finished fourth out of 10 teams and the women were third out of nine.
The men's best finishes were a pair of second places. The 55-meter hurdle relay ran a time of 16.30 and the 1600 relay ran a 331.98.
On the women's side, the distance medley relay not only posted a win, but also set a meet record and school record (12:47.47) in the process. The relay consisted of junior Sarah Weide (Fort Wayne, Ind./Homestead) , freshman Mary Blonder (Lake Forest, Ill./Lake Forest) , freshman Kelly Zilli (Dayton, Ohio/Kettering Alter) and sophomore Abi Gerstle (Kettering, Ohio/Fairmont).
The Tigers travel to Ohio Northern for a dual meet on Friday, and participates in the ONU elite meet on Saturday.