Seniors - Rustad, Gratsch, and Mossing.

It was back to business for the Wittenberg Tiger men's basketball team last week, and back to their usual form as well. After playing a tough stretch of conference games, including an exciting 75-70 win over arch-rival Wooster on Jan. 26, the Tigers put together a pair of dominating performances last week in defeating Earlham on Wednesday and Allegheny on Saturday. The two wins moved Wittenberg to 11-1 in the North Coast Athletic Conference, tied with Wooster, which hosts the Tigers in their annual regular season finale on

Last week against the Quakers, Wittenberg held its hosts scoreless for the first eight minutes of the game, and coasted from that point to a 70-38 win. The Tigers punished Earlham with their strong inside game as both junior forward Kevin Longley (Vandalia, Ohio/Butler) and junior center B.J. Harris (Riverside, Ohio/Stebbins) had double-figure scoring nights. Longley had his best scoring night of the season, hitting for 20 points on 9-of-15 shooting from the field. Harris, the team's leading scorer and rebounder, had another fine all-around game with 10 points and nine boards, just missing his eighth double-double of the season. He also had a season-high three blocks.

Wittenberg led 11-0 through the first eight minutes of the game and held a 28-16 advantage by halftime. The Tigers, who shot just below 50 percent while holding the Quakers to just 25.5 percent shooting for the game, then outscored Earlham 42-22 in the second half.

Returning home on Saturday, the Tigers did all the little things they had to do in capturing an 86-61 home victory over the Allegheny Gators. After Allegheny pulled to within three points with 8:38 remaining in the first half, the Tigers went on a 12-0 run to start to pull away. Harris had five points during that run and sophomore forward Peter Walker (Louisville, Ky./St. Xavier) had four. After taking a 13-point lead into the locker room, Wittenberg was struggling early in the second half before getting it going again, taking off on a 22-10 run in the middle of the half to enlarge the lead to 19 again. Freshman forward Andy Bucheit (Cincinnati, Ohio/LaSalle) had two of his four three-pointers during the run, while Harris added five of his game-high 17 points.

Harris wound up with his eighth double-double of the season with 17 points and 12 rebounds. Longley chipped in with 15 points and eight boards, senior forward Chad Mossing (Maumee, Ohio/Holland Springfield) had 10 points and four caroms, and Bucheit came off the bench to stroke 4-of-5 three-pointers to finish with 14 points.

The Tigers have two more busy weeks of NCAC action remaining before the conference tournament opens with quarterfinal action on Feb. 19. Wittenberg is already assured of a home game in the quarterfinals, and would secure home court advantage for the last two rounds by winning the regular season title for a second straight year.

After a pivotal road game on Wednesday against Ohio Wesleyan, the Tigers return home for Senior Recognition Day against Hiram. Three Tiger players will be honored  - Mossing, center Brian Gratsch (Madeira, Ohio/Madeira) and guard Greg Rustad (Lakewood, Ohio/Lakewood). At halftime of that game, athletes from all Wittenberg sports will be recognized for their accomplishments in a special annual ceremony.

Next: 2/6 @ Ohio Wesleyan, 7:30 p.m.
          2/9 vs. Hiram, 7:30 p.m.

Seniors- Gaydos, Korsberg, Swary

A dose of reality. That was what the Wittenberg Tiger women's basketball team received last week in winning twice before getting upset at Allegheny on Saturday to break a season-best six-game win streak. The good news is that the Tigers remain firmly in control of their own destiny as the conference race tightened with Wittenberg's loss and Denison's eighth, ninth and 10th straight wins, which pulled the Big Red into a first-place deadlock by week's end. The Tigers and Big Red are both 10-2, one-half game ahead of three-time defending NCAC titlist Ohio Wesleyan, with four games left apiece, including a Feb. 16 date in Springfield that could be a head-to-head match-up for all the regular season marbles.

Last week, Wittenberg started things off a defensive struggle - and a crucial 57-41 home win over perennial NCAC contender Kenyon on Wednesday. Wittenberg shot just 23 percent in the first half and 34.5 percent for the game, just one player wound up in double figures in scoring, and the team's leading rebounder was the team, which had eight. No matter, the Tigers turned up the defensive pressure to force 30 Kenyon turnovers and force 36.7 percent shooting. In addition, Wittenberg pulled down nine more rebounds than the Ladies, a key stat in a game that was close until midway through the second half.

Leading the charge statistically for the Tigers was junior guard Stephanie Campbell (South Charleston, Ohio/Southeastern), who had a game-high 13 points. Senior forward Jill Swary (Columbus, Ohio/Grandview) was the next highest scorer with eight points in just 10 minutes off the bench. The team's leading rebounder was sophomore forward Haley Warden (Loveland, Ohio/Indian Hill), who pulled down seven boards in 13 minutes off the bench.

On Friday, the Tigers made it six wins in a row on Friday evening with a 70-28 victory over the Hiram Terriers. The Terriers' 28 points were the lowest point total for a Wittenberg opponent since Allegheny scored 28 points on Feb. 6, 1999. Six Tiger opponents since 1985 have scored less than 28 points in a game.

The Tigers were dominant from the outset, scoring the first 13 points of the game en route to a 43-9 lead by halftime. By the time the dust cleared, all 16 Wittenberg players in uniform had played at least 10 minutes in the game, 13 of them had scored at least two points and 15 of them had pulled down at least one rebound. The Tigers forced 32 Hiram turnovers, outrebounded their hosts 53-31 and limited Hiram, now 3-15 overall and 0-11 in the NCAC, to 26.7 percent shooting from the field.

With the statistical wealth spread so evenly through the lineup, Wittenberg's top scorer was freshman guard Emilie Schmid (Canton, Ohio/Massillon Jackson) with nine points, while Swary and junior guard Kate Rolf (Ft. Wayne, Ind./Carroll) each chipped in with eight. Sophomore forward Amanda Lewis (Mechanicsburg, Ohio/Mechanicsburg) showed the way with eight rebounds in 16 minutes off the bench.

One of the longest, most difficult road trips of the season ended badly for the Tigers on Saturday as they dropped a 78-69 decision at Allegheny on Saturday. The two teams battled through a tight first half, one that included eight ties. After Wittenberg took a 41-40 lead early in the second half, the Gators, who were beaten in Springfield 94-41 on Jan. 5, went on a decisive 22-11 run over the next 10 minutes. Wittenberg rallied on several occasions but never pulled closer than seven the rest of the way.

Rolf was the only Tiger player to score in double figures, as the team shot just 33 percent from the field and was outrebounded 55-40 by the Gators. Sophomore forward Geri Woessner (Dayton, Ohio/Oakwood) topped the Tigers in rebounds with eight in 18 minutes off the bench.

The Tigers have no time to rest as they head to Earlham on Wednesday for a battle with the Quakers, who Wittenberg already has beaten twice this year. On Saturday, it's back home for a confrontation with Wooster.

Next: 2/6 @ Earlham, 7:30 p.m.
          2/9 vs. Wooster, 2 p.m.

The Wittenberg men's and women's swimming and diving teams have done everything they can to prepare for the final stretch. The dual meet season wrapped up last weekend with losses for both teams at Case Western Reserve, dropping the Tiger men to 6-4 on the season and the women to 4-5-1. Both were 7-4 a year ago under eventual NCAC Coach of the Year Bob Rueppel

The scores were deceiving, however, as some of the season's best times were posted for the Tigers on both the men's and women's side of the board.

The women were defeated in 12 of 13 events, while the men fared a fraction better with first place swims in 10 of 13 events. The lone winner on the women's side was sophomore Courtney Galliger (Eagan, Minn./Eagan), who took first place by a full three seconds in the 100-yard backstroke.

For the men, sophomore Alex Berger (Findlay, Ohio/Findlay) narrowly won the 100 breaststroke by .03. Sophomore Steve Rader (Painesville, Ohio/St. Ignatius) finished first in the 100 butterfly. And the foursome of Rader, sophomore Matt Werbach (Painesville, Ohio/Hawken), sophomore Scott Olmsted (Castle Rock, Colo./Cherry Creek) and senior Bob Rafferty (Mt. Vernon, Ohio/Mt. Vernon) took first in the 200 freestyle relay, posting not only the fastest time of the meet, but also the fastest time the Tigers have seen this season.

Several women posted notable swims. Senior Elizabeth Bradley (Columbus, Ohio/Worthington Kilbourne) cruised to a personal best in the 1,000 free with a time of 11:01.06, good for second place.

Senior Melissa Beck (Williamsville, N.Y./Carmell (Ind.)) captured a pair of second place finishes for the Tigers in the 200 Individual Medley and the 100 back. Sophomore Nicole Kinzeler (Centerville, Ohio/Kettering Alter) tagged a season-best time and a second place finish in the 100 free. Senior Carolyn Scaia (St. Louis, Mo./Parkway North) also had a season-best time in the 100 fly. Galliger took second in the 50 free, followed closely by sophomore Jessica Forsberg (Wickliffe, Ohio/Notre Dame Cathedral Latin) in the same event.

Diving for the women, sophomore Jennifer Ingwalson (Lake Mary, Fla./Lake Highland) took second in the 1-meter competition, while sophomore Jamie Cook (Indianapolis, Ind./Cathedral) too third on the same board. In the 3-meter competition, sophomore Holly Erikson (St. Paul, Minn./Central) finished third.

Back to the men, sophomore Brandon Morris (Centerville, Ohio/Centerville) posted his best time in the 1,000 free and took second place. Morris, was followed by sophomore Jon Bradley (Columbus, Ohio/Worthington Kilbourne), who finished fourth in the same event. Senior Jeremy Lazarus (Moens, France/Ferney-Voltaire) took second place in the 200 IM, while Rader had the same finish in the 500-yard freestyle.

In an interesting finish, Morris and sophomore Kyle Dunaway (Warren, Ohio/Howland) tied for fourth place in the 500-yard freestyle. Rafferty chipped in with two individual third-place finishes with season-best swims in both the 100 and 200 free. Sophomore Paul Miller (Middletown, Ohio/Middletown) also posted a season-best time in the 100 breaststroke.

 Next: 2/14-16 @ NCAC Championships - Canton, Ohio

The Wittenberg men's and women's track and field teams put together some strong performances last weekend at the Ohio Northern Debow Freed Midwest Elite Meet, hopefully getting their bearings at the site of the 2002 NCAA Division III Indoor Track and Field Championship Meet.

The men's team was led once again by sophomore Skip Ivery (Columbus, Ohio/Groveport-Madison), who turned in a second-place finish in the 55-meter hurdles, but more importantly posted an NCAA Provisional Qualifying mark of 7.80.

Other men who finished among the top eight and scored points for Wittenberg in the meet were: sophomore Demetrius Ellison (Cleveland, Ohio/Trinity) in the 400, junior Nick Dewald (Mansfield, Ohio/Senior) in the 1500, sophomore Derek Thompson (South Charleston, Ohio/Greenon) in the 55 hurdles, junior Nate Henderson (Dayton, Ohio/Carroll) in the 55 hurdles, freshman Joe Rumschlag (Maumee, Ohio/Toledo Christian School) in the long jump, sophomore Joel Drake (Springfield, Ohio/Shawnee) in the shot put and 35# weight, freshman Clyde Mayer (Hilliard, Ohio/Davidson) in the shot put, senior Chris Silliman (Upper Arlington, Ohio/Upper Arlington) in the 35# weight and sophomore Dorian Dixon (Cincinnati, Ohio/Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy) in the 35# weight.

In addition, two relays ran strong to finish seven and fifth respectively: the 800-meter relay that included Ellison, freshman Chris Primavera (Dublin, Ohio/Scioto), Rumschlag and sophomore Cody Martin (Bellefontaine, Ohio/Bellefontaine) and the 1600-meter relay that included freshman Jason Toman (Greenville, Ohio/Greenville), sophomore Mike Torsell (Springfield, Ohio/Catholic Central), freshman Chad Kresser (Findlay, Ohio/Findlay) and Ellison.

On the women's side, three performances stood out from the crowd. Junior Erin Zayicek (Solon, Ohio/Solon) set a school record in the 20# weight as she finished seventh in the meet. Sophomore Becky Barnes (Williamsport, Ohio/Williamsport) dropped her personal best time by an astounding 30 seconds in the 5,000 to finish in fifth place. And sophomore Kristen Mumper (Cincinnati, Ohio/Purcell Marian) set a school record in claiming second place in the triple jump with a mark of 34-feet, 3-inches. She also placed fifth in the long jump with a mark of 15-11, 3/4-inches. The performance was good for recognition as the North Coast Athletic Conference Women's Field Events Athlete of the Week.

Also performing well and capturing top eight finishes were sophomore Jackie Spray (Newark, Ohio/Newark) and LaRissa O'Neal (Indianapolis, Ind./Broad Ripple) tied for eighth in the pole vault, freshman Marissa Davoll (Cincinnati, Ohio/Anderson) in the 400, senior Sarah Weide (Ft. Wayne, Ind./Homestead) in the 800 and sophomore Kelly Zilli (Dayton, Ohio/Kettering Alter) in the 800. In addition, two relays finished fourth and fifth respectively: the 1600-meter relay run by Davoll, sophomore Mary Blonder (Lake Forest, Ill./Lake Forest), Zilli and Weide and the 800-meter relay run by freshman Tina Valerius (Cincinnati, Ohio/Mt. Notre Dame), Blonder, Mumper and Davoll.

Next: 2/8, @ Findlay Open, 5 p.m.

February
6    Women's Basketball     @ Earlham                   7:30 p.m.
      Men's Basketball          @ Ohio Wesleyan        7:30 p.m.

8    Track & Field              @ Findlay Open            5 p.m.

9    Women's Basketball     vs. Wooster                  2 p.m.
      Men's Basketball          vs. Hiram                     7:30 p.m.