Rustad

Harris

It was a script that Hollywood screenwriters would envy. Last Saturday, the Wittenberg University men's and women's basketball teams both concluded their regular seasons in dramatic fashion, wrapping up North Coast Athletic Conference championships with wins over top contenders.  The Tiger men put the wraps on a historic day by taking out archrivalWooster 68-66 on the Scots' home court before 3,200 boisterous fans. The Tigers, who held a slim one-game lead over Wooster coming into the game,

The week started off with a tough match-up against Earlham, one that the Tigers won with a strong second half. The hard-fought 81-60 victory over the Quakers clinched a share of a share of the NCAC title. 

The two teams played a tight first half as Earlham stayed close to Wittenberg by outscoring the host Tigers 24-3 from behind the three-point arc. But in the paint, the Tigers were eating up the Quakers behind the one-two punch of junior forward Kevin Longley (Vandalia, Ohio/Butler) and junior center B.J. Harris (Riverside, Ohio/Stebbins). 

In the second half, Wittenberg turned up the defensive pressure and continued its frontal assault at the offensive end. The result was 29 percent shooting by the Quakers in the second half and a 41-23 Tiger advantage. Another key stat that contributed to the eventual 21-point margin of victory was Wittenberg's rebounding advantage, a 42-27 difference.
 

Four players finished in double figures in scoring, led by Harris' 19 points and seven rebounds. Rustad played a fine all-around game with 15 points, six assists and 8-for-8 shooting from the free throw line while committing no turnovers in 26 minutes of action. Longley finished with his first double-double of the season with 13 points and 10 rebounds, and senior center Brian Gratsch (Madeira, Ohio/Madeira) came off the bench to contribute 10 points and five rebounds in just 17 minutes.  Against Wooster on Saturday, the Tigers once again showed why basketball is a team game and that they have plenty of members who can step up in the clutch.  Wooster led the game by six at intermission and led almost the entire game. But Wittenberg wasn't to be denied as the Tigers won the regular season finale at Wooster for a second straight year. Trailing 50-38 atthe 13:55 mark of the second half, the Tigers slowly began to whittle the lead down. A dunk off a steal by Longley brought the Tiger crowd to itsfeet at the 8:32 mark, but the Scots pushed the lead back out to nine at the 4:23 mark. That's when Wittenberg

Gratsch

went on a 12-0 run that included two lay-ups by sophomore forward PeterWalker (Louisville, Ky./St. Xavier), a free throw by Longley and then a three-pointer by Rod Emmons (South Bend, Ind./John Adams). Then Rustad took a pass in the corner and was fouled while making a three-pointer with 2:03 remaining and made it a four-point play after making the ensuing foul shot. 

That gave Wittenberg its first lead since the 4:08 mark of the first half, a lead that was preserved when freshman guard Danny Brywczynski(Dayton, Ohio/Northmont) stole an inbounds pass with four seconds left. Longley and Harris shared Tiger scoring honors with with 12 points, while Harris added a game-high 10 rebounds for his ninth double-double of the season. Emmons chipped in with 11 points on 4-of-4 shooting from the field, including 3-of-3 from three-point range, while Rustad wound up with 10 points. 

The Tiger men are riding a streak of 46 consecutive non-losing seasons and have now won 29 Ohio Athletic Conference or North Coast Athletic Conferenceregular season titles since 1960, including nine crowns in the 13 years in which the Tigers have competed in the NCAC. Wittenberg is the No. 1seed in the conference tournament and will likely host the conference tournament semifinals and finals this weekend. Tourney action gets underway on Tuesday as eighth-seeded Earlham comes calling at the HPER Center at 7:45 p.m. 

Next: 2/19 vs. Earlham, 7:45 p.m.

Women's Basketball (19-5, 14-2 NCAC)
Coach: Pam Smith (16th season) 
 

Gaydos

Swary

The Tigers used a 16-1 second-half run to bury the visiting Denison Big Red 65-43 on Saturday to claim their first outright conference crownsince 1998. The win improved Wittenberg to 19-5 overall and 14-2 in the NCAC, the team's best conference record since 1999, when the Tigers shared the regular season title with Ohio Wesleyan with matching 14-2 marks.  Winners of eight regular season NCAC championships in 13 years as members of the conference, Wittenberg now enters the NCAC tournament as the No.1 seed and will likely host the conference tournament semifinals and finals. Wittenberg hosts No. 8 seed Wooster on Tuesday

at 5: 30 p.m., and if the Tigers win they will host the semifinals on Thursday at 5:30 and 7:45 p.m. and the finals on Saturday at 4 p.m. A win on Tuesday would have the added significance of being the 300th career win for Tiger Head Coach Pam Smith. Her career record heading into the tourney is 299-128.The Tigers started the week by doing some heavy lifting in an 81-61 win at Oberlin that clinched a share of the NCAC regular season championshipon Wednesday. 

Wittenberg slowly pulled away during the first half and then maintained a double-digit lead through most of the second half. All five starters finished in double figures for the Tigers, led by senior guard MeghanGaydos (Concord, Ohio/Mentor Lake Catholic) and her career-high 14 points. Gaydos was efficient with a 4-for-6 performance from the field,including 2-for-3 from three-point range and 4-for-4 from the free throw line. Also in double figures were senior forward Jill Swary (Columbus, Ohio/Grandview) with 12 points, junior guards Kate Rolf (Ft. Wayne, Ind./Carroll) and Stephanie Campbell (South Charleston, Ohio/Southeastern)with 11 points apiece, and junior forward Tiffany Keller (Massillon, Ohio/Tuslaw) with 10. 
 

Then on Saturday, escaped a close game against Denison with the aforementioned16-1 run midway through the second half to capture the NCAC regular season championship outright. The Tigers, who improved to 19-5 overall and 14-2in the NCAC with the win, put away Denison by a final of 65-43.  The Tigers pulled out to a 34-20 lead by halftime by holding the Big Red to just 22 percent shooting from the field. For the game, Denison was limited to just 24.6 percent shooting, the primary difference in a game that was otherwise fairly well played. Wittenberg topped its visitors on the boards by five, but the difference was that Wittenberg shot 39 percentfrom the floor and 73.7 percent from the free throw line.  The game was still a close one after Denison opened the second halfwith an 8-0 run and pulled to within five points at 40-35. But the Tigers responded with five straight points from Campbell en route to a 16-1 run that broke the game open. Campbell, who shared scoring honors with Rolf,finished the game with 11 points to lead the Tigers. Both also had five rebounds. Also turning in a strong offensive game was junior forward/centerRebecca Meers (Moline, Ill./Moline), who dropped in nine points on 3-of-6 shootingfrom the field and 3-of-4 from the line.  Three seniors were honored before the game - Gaydos, Swary and guardJen Korsberg (Dayton, Wash./Dayton).

Rolf Keller

Next: 2/19 vs. Wooster, 5:30 p.m.

Men'sand Women'sSwimming & Diving
Coach: Leslie Ramsey (first season) 
 

The Wittenberg men's and women's swimming and diving teams posted extremely strong finishes at the North Coast Athletic Conference championship meet last week at C.T. Branin Natatorium in Canton, Ohio. Competing in the toughest NCAA Division III swimming and diving conference in the nation, the Tiger women finished behind defending conference medalist Kenyon, defending national champion Denison and perennial

national title contender Wooster. The Tiger men, competing with just 13 team members, had a solid finish behind defending national champion Kenyon, last year's national No. 2 team Denison and perennial contender Wabash. 
 

Juergens Rader

The meet - which Head Coach Leslie Ramsey termed "outstanding" - was highlighted by the performances by senior Rachel Juergens (Springfield, Ohio/Catholic Central) and sophomore Steve Rader (Painesville, Ohio/ClevelandSt. Ignatius), both of whom are almost assured of qualifying for the NCAA Division III championship meet for a second straight year. In addition, of 86 times recorded by Wittenberg swimmers, 59 of them were lifetime bests- with dozens of times dropping by several seconds.  Juergens continued her outstanding final collegiate season by finishing in the top 10 in each of her individual events. Included among those fine performances was a fifth-place finish in the 400-yard Individual Medley in a school-record time of 4:38.85, a time which has her provisionally qualified for the NCAA Division III championship meet scheduled for next month at Miami University. In the 1650 freestyle she made an NCAA National automatic cut with a time of 17:24 and a third-place finish, and in the 500 free she wound up with another provisional or "B" cut time of 5:04.21.  Rader captured a first place finish in the 200 IM and was the only Tiger swimmer to be an individual conference champion. In addition, Rader finished second in the 100 butterfly and fourth in the 200 butterfly. He posted NCAA "B" cut times in the 200 IM and 100 butterfly, which will qualify him for the NCAA National Championships to be held next month at Miami University.

Senior Paula Hauser (Mason, Ohio/Mt. Notre Dame) finished sixth in the 200 breaststroke seventh in the 100 breaststroke. Her efforts in the 200 breast earned her an NCAA "B" cut. Senior Melissa Beck (Williamsville,N.Y./Carmel (Ind.)) was close behind Hauser with an 11th place finish in the 100 fly and a 13th place finish in the 200 fly.  Sophomore Nicole Kinzeler (Centerville, Ohio/Kettering Alter)turned in top marks for the Tigers in the 100 backstroke, finishing ninth overall. Kinzeler also posted an 11th place finish in the 200 free anda 19th place finish in the 50 free. For the backstroke events, sophomoreJessica Forsberg (Wickliffe, Ohio/Notre Dame Cathedral Latin) took 13th in the 100 and 17th in the 200.  Courtney Galliger (Eagan, Minn./Eagan) also fared well in backstroke,coming in 10th in the 100 back and 17th in the 100 free. Betsy Godin(Downington, Pa./Downingtown) led the women in the butterfly eventswith a 12th in the 200 and 14th in the 100.  Elizabeth Bradley (Columbus, Ohio/Worthington Kilbourne) made impressive strides in the distance events. Bradley turned in an 11th place in the 1650 freestyle, 14th in the 400 IM and 15th in 500 freestyle. FreshmanAnneOverly (Kalamazoo, Mich./Portage Northern) stepped up close behind Hauser in the breaststroke events, by finishing 13th in the 200 and 16thin the 100.

Lazarus Bradley

Kinzeler Dunaway

In 1-meter diving, sophomore Jennifer Ingwalson (Lake Mary, Fla./LakeHighland) finished eighth. On the 3-meter, junior Ashley Tipple(Columbus, Ohio/Grandview) finished 10th and sophomore Holly Erikson(St. Paul, Minn./Central) placed 12th.  Back on the men's side, senior Jeremy Lazarus (Moens, France/Ferney-Voltaire)finished fifth in the 100 breast, eighth in the 200 breast, and 14th in the 200 IM. Lazarus, a national qualifier a year ago, made an NCAA "B" cut in the 100 breast, which could qualify him for the NCAA meet.  Sophomore Alex Berger (Findlay, Ohio/Findlay) finished fourthin the 100 breast, in addition to 10th place finish in the 200 breast and a 15th place finish in the 100 free.  Senior captain Bob Rafferty (Mt. Vernon, Ohio/Mt. Vernon) took home a pair of 10th place finishes for the Tigers in the 50 and 200 free events. He also placed 12th in the 100 free.  Sophomore Kyle Dunaway (Warren, Ohio/Howland) finished 11th in the 400 IM and 12th in the 200 fly, sophomore Scott Olmsted (Castle Rock, Colo./Cherry Creek) took 18th in the 100 free, and 17th in the 50 free and sophomore Matt Werbach (Painesville, Ohio/Hawken) finished 16th in the 100 back and 17th in the 100 free.

Sophomore Brandon Morris (Centerville, Ohio/Centerville) lead the distance events for the Tigers. He finished 10th in the 1650 free, 15th in the 500 free and 14th in the 400 IM, sophomore Jon Bradley (Columbus,Ohio/Worthington Kilbourne) picked up a pair of 15th place finishes in the 500 free and 200 free and junior Josh Schnacke (Bowling Green,Ky./Bowling Green) finished 13th in the 100 butterfly. 

Next: 2/23 @ Case Western Reserve

Men'sand Women'sTrack & Field
Coach: Steve Shutt (third season) 
 

Blonder

It was another strong week for the Wittenberg track and field teamsat the Scarlet and Grey Invitational at Ohio State University. The Tigers were the only Division III shool in the field.  On the women's side, sophomore Kristen Mumper (Cincinnati, Ohio/PurcellMarian) took ninth in the long jump with a mark of 16-4.75 and captured fifth in the triple jump with a 35-0.5, which was a school record for a third straight week. In addition, sophomore Becky Barnes (Williamsport, Ohio/Williamsport) was sixth in the 600 meters at 1:53.90 and 10th in the mile at 5:48.61, sophomore Kelly Zilli (Dayton, Ohio/Kettering Alter) finished seventh in the 800 with a time of 2:23.05 and sixth in the pole vault at 8-6.25, and the 1600-meter relay quartet of freshman Marissa Davoll (Cincinnati,

Ohio/Anderson), sophomore Mary Blonder (Lake Forest, Ill./LakeForest), senior Sarah Weide (Ft. Wayne, Ind./Homestead) and Zilli wound up in seventh place with a time of 4:15.22. 

On the men's side, senior Mark Trempe (Springfield, Ohio/Greenon)was fifth in the 600 at 1:32.08, sophomore Skip Ivery (Columbus, Ohio/Groveport-Madison)wound up fifth in the 60-meter hurdles at 8.38, the 1600 relay foursome of sophomore MattFrost (South Vienna, Ohio/Northeastern), sophomore Alex Yurovitsky(Richmond Heights, Ohio/Richmond Heights), sophomore Derek Thompson(South Charleston, Ohio/Southeastern) and sophomore Demetrius Ellison(Cleveland, Ohio/Trinity) was 10th at 3:32.41, freshman Joe Rumschlag(Maumee, Ohio/Toledo Christian) was fifth in the triple jump with a personal-best mark of 41-7.25 and junior Joel Drake (Springfield, Ohio/Shawnee)was 10th in the shot put with a mark of 44-6.75. 

Next: 2/23 @ DePauw

NCAC Men's and Women's Basketball Ticket Information
 

For Tuesday's quarterfinal games, tickets are good for both the men's and women's games and are priced at $4 for adults, $1 for students with a college ID, $1 per person for faculty/staff members and their families, and $1 for children. One ticket is good for both games each day.  If Wittenberg hosts both the men's and women's tournament semifinals and finals, ticket prices for Thursday's women's semifinals and Friday's men's semifinals are $7 for adults, $2 for students with college ID, $2 per person for faculty/staff members and their families, and $2 for children. One ticket is good for both games each day. Ticket prices for the Saturdaychampionship events are $8 for adults, $3 for students with college ID, $3 per person for faculty/staff and their families, and $3 for children. Tickets for each game will be sold separately.

 
 

February 
19     Women'sBasketball       NCAC Quarterfinals vs. Wooster       5:30 p.m. 
          Men's Basketball          NCAC Quarterfinals vs. Earlham        7:45 p.m. 

21     Women'sBasketball*     NCAC Semifinals vs. TBA                 7:45 p.m. 

22     Men'sBasketball*         NCAC Semifinals vs. TBA                 7:45 p.m. 

23     Track& Field               @ DePauw 
         Swimming & Divings     @ Case Western                                11 a.m. 
         Women's Basketball*    NCAC Finals vs. TBA                         4 p.m. 
          Men's Basketball*        NCAC Finals vs. TBA                         7 p.m.

* If necessary.