Tiger Sports Release

December 4, 2000

Tiger basketball teams off to hot start to 2000-2001 season

MEN'S BASKETBALL (4-0, 0-0 NCAC)

Coach Bill Brown (eighth season)

After nearly two weeks off due to the postponement of a game at Case Western Reserve on Nov. 21, the Wittenberg University Tigers came out on fire last week to win a pair of home games over Cedarville College and Thomas More College.

On Nov. 28, the Tigers unleashed all of their weapons in a 119-66 victory over an up-tempo outfit from nearby Cedarville that heaved up 32 three-pointers. Senior forward Ryan Taylor (Waynesfield, Ohio/Goshen) racked up 23 points in just 20 minutes of action, leading five players in double figures. Sophomore forward Kevin Longley (Vandalia, Ohio/Butler) and sophomore forward B.J. Harris (Riverside, Ohio/Stebbins) each added 16 points, with Harris recording a double-double with 11 rebounds in just 16 minutes of action. Wittenberg, as usual the taller of the two teams, outrebounded the Yellow Jackets 55-29 in the game.

On Dec. 2, Wittenberg romped to another victory over a smaller, undermanned squad from Thomas More, posting an 82-65 victory to improve to 4-0 for the first time since starting the 1993-94 campaign with 26 straight victories. That was Head Coach Bill Brown's first season at the helm, and the Tigers advanced to NCAA Division III Final Four.

Against Thomas More, the Tigers jumped out to a double-digit lead midway through the first half and never allowed the visitors to pull any closer than eight points the rest of the way. Taylor and Longley each posted double-doubles, while junior guard Greg Rustad (Lakewood, Ohio/Lakewood) and freshman Peter Walker (Louisville, Ky./St. Xavier) also scored in double figures. Next game at Ohio Wesleyan (12/6)

Women's Basketball (4-1, 1-0 NCAC)

Coach Pam Smith (15th season)

The Tigers entered the week with a full head of steam, having defeated nationally ranked Capital by a point on Nov. 21. Wittenberg rallied for the win by scoring five points in the final 2.3 seconds.

On Nov. 27, the Tigers took on the other nationally ranked Ohio Athletic Conference favorite, Baldwin-Wallace. This time, the miracles ran short for Wittenberg as BWC captured an 87-64 victory on its home court. Sophomore guard Stephanie Campbell (South Charleston, Ohio/Southeastern) led the team with 16 points, while sophomore Kate Rolf (Ft. Wayne, Ind./Carroll) chipped in with 15. The Tigers shot just 34.9 percent from the field and were outrebounded 53-29 in the game.

On Nov. 29, Wittenberg rebounded quite well, taking out some frustrations on host Earlham College in the North Coast Athletic Conference opener for both teams. The Tigers, who had 17 players score in the game and outscored their hosts 57-15 in the second half, defeated Earlham 87-35. Rolf topped the team offensively with 12 points, while sophomore Rebecca Meers (Moline, Ill./Moline) chipped in with 10 points and a team-best six rebounds off the bench.

Next game vs. Defiance (12/6)

Men's & Women's Swimming & Diving

Coach Bob Rueppel (fifth season)

Wittenberg traveled to the Akron Invitational and made a fine showing against a 10-team field filled with Division I and II teams. It capped a fine fall campaign in which the Tigers' men's and women's teams both went 6-1 in dual meets.

Leading the charge was junior Rachel Juergens (Springfield, Ohio/North), who won a pair of distance freestyle events. First she captured the 500-yard free in a time of 5:09.10, a full two seconds ahead of the second place swimmer from Duquesne University. In the 1650 free, Juergens topped the field by more than eight seconds in a time of 17:55.09.

On the men's side, a pair of second-place finishes were the best for the Tigers. Freshman Steve Rader (Concord, Ohio/Cleveland St. Ignatius) was second in the 100 butterfly, while senior Aaron Edsall (Circleville, Ohio/Circleville) was second in the 100 backstroke.

Next at Kenyon (1/13)

FIELD HOCKEY (15-4, 10-2 NCAC - tie first place)

Coach Marianne Beshara (first season)

She was honored for leading her team to a 10-2 NCAC record, a share of the regular season championship, and the KIT/NCAC regional championship, where the Tigers defeated DePauw, 2-1, and NCAC co-champ Denison, 2-1, both in double overtime.The Tigers were the winningest team in the country to miss out on the NCAA Division III tournament, as Denison got the automatic bid based on tiebreaker criteria.

Tigers bow to Mount Union in NCAA Quarterfinals

FOOTBALL (12-1, 7-0 NCAC)

Coach Joe Fincham (fifth season)

Wittenberg University's dreams of capturing its first national championship in 25 years crumbled amid three costly turnovers in a 32-15 defeat at the hands of No. 1 ranked Mount Union College Saturday in Alliance, Ohio. The loss came after 12 straight victories, including two home NCAA tournament wins over Hanover and Aurora, and ended yet another playoff run short of the ultimate national championship goal.

The Tigers started off well enough, stopping Mount Union on its first possession and then scoring the game's first touchdown on an 80-yard pass from senior quarterback Anthony Crane (Indianapolis, Ind./Ben Davisto junior wide receiver Michael Aljancic (Louisville, Ohio/Louisville) on their first play from scrimmage. But a fumble that was returned for a touchdown and an interception deep in their own territory led to another six points by the opportunistic Purple Raiders before the end of the first quarter, and the Tigers never recovered.

Wittenberg rallied in the second half, but another interception - this one in the end zone early in the fourth quarter - stymied efforts to make the final moments interesting. Senior tailback Casey Donaldson (South Charleston, Ohio/Southeastern) was held under 100 yards for the first time in seven playoff games the last three years, but senior wide receiver Labon Storts (Columbus, Ohio/Westland) picked up the offense with 128 yards receiving on nine catches, all in the second half. Defensively, junior linebacker Dustin Goldsbury (Columbus, Ohio/Bishop Ready) finished with 13 tackles as he played his best game of the season, and junior defensive tackle Juan Howard (Wooster, Ohio/Wooster) posted eight tackles, including three for loss.

Despite the loss, the Tigers have much from the 2000 season to be proud of. The Senior Class of 2001 won a school-record 43 games in their careers against just four losses. Wittenberg won at least a share of a fourth straight North Coast Athletic Conference championship and recorded a third consecutive perfect 10-0 regular season as well. And the 2000 squad became the first at Wittenberg to win two games in the NCAA playoffs since 1979.

Donaldson broke the school and NCAC career rushing, scoring and touchdowns records, and he also became the first Tiger player to win the NCAC's Mike Gregory Offensive Player of the Year award three times. He was named NCAC Player of the Week three times and Don Hansen National Weekly Football Gazette Player of the Week twice during the season. And Donaldson will cap his career on Dec. 16 as a member of the United States Division III All-Star team competing in the Aztec Bowl against a Mexican College Division All-Star team.