Wittenberg University Athletics - Women's Lacrosse 2004 News Releases

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2004 News Releases

All Releases Written by: Ryan Maurer
Director of Sports Information
E-Mail: rmaurer@wittenberg.edu

May 14, 2004

Forty-Three Wittenberg Student-Athletes Earn Spring Sport Postseason Awards
SPRINGFIELD, Ohio - Another banner spring sports season has reaped rich rewards for 43 Wittenberg University athletes who were selected to All-North Coast Athletic Conference teams over the last two weeks.Read More..

May 12, 2004

2004 All-NCAC Selections - pdf file
CLEVELAND -- Wooster sophomore attack Megan Sward (Sewickley, PA/Sewickley Academy) and
senior defenseman Nicole Pritchard (Wildwood, MO/Lafayette) have been named Offensive and
Defensive Players of the Year to highlight the 2004 All-North Coast Athletic Conference women's lacrosse
selections.Read More..

April 30, 2004

Rachel Ridgeway

The Wittenberg women's lacrosse team put the wraps on the 2004 season on Monday with a 13-6 home victory over Oberlin. It was the Tigers' second win of the season against eight defeats, and the team's second win in North Coast Athletic Conference action against four losses.

In that game, junior Rachel Ridgeway (Montclair, NJ/The Taft School) and junior Erin Kelly (Edina, Minn./Edina) score three goals each to lead the Tiger offense. Freshman Melissa Jackson (Worthington, Ohio/Thomas Worthington) added two scores.

That season-ending win, on senior day in which Katie Babcock (Phoenix, Md./Dulaney) made her final appearance in the Red & White, was preceded by disappointing losses on the road against Kenyon on April 21 and at home against Denison on April 24. The loss to Kenyon came by a 14-10 count and turned out to be the deciding game in terms of qualification to the NCAC Tournament, which opens Friday, April 30 at Kenyon. Then came a 15-3 loss to Denison.

In the loss to Kenyon, Babcock finished with three goals and two assists for the best offensive output of her career and junior Jenny Burns (Dublin, Ohio/Coffman) and freshman Kari Thomas (Dublin, Ohio/Coffman) each tallied two goals. Freshman goaltender Clare Bucheit (Cincinnati, Ohio/McAuley) was solid in net with 12 saves.

Against Denison, the Tigers trailed 9-1 by halftime against the NCAC's second-place team and never seriously threatened the Big Red. Ridgeway, Thomas and Babcock scored goals for the Tigers and Bucheit came up with 16 saves, including 12 in the second half.

Next: Season Complete

April 23, 2004

Cara Romanowski, Kati Robbins Selected to NCAC 20th Anniversary All-Decade Women's Lacrosse Team
CLEVELAND -- Wooster’s Beth Hemminger and Denison’s Laura Peace head an impressive list of stellar athletes named to
the North Coast Athletic Conference’s 20th Anniversary women’s lacrosse team. Hemminger and Peace are two of the 12 former NCAC Players of the Year represented on the 17-person squad. They are also two of three four-time, first-team All-NCAC selections named.Read More..

April 21, 2004

Katie Babcock

The Wittenberg women's lacrosse team won its first official game of the season on April 3 at home against Allegheny by an 8-4 score. The Tigers defeated Earlham on March 31, but the game does not count toward official statistics since the Quakers are a club organization in 2004.

In the win over Allegheny, the Tigers got a stellar game from freshman goaltender Clare Bucheit (Cincinnati, Ohio/McAuley), who came up with 10 saves. Offensively, freshman Kari Thomas (Dublin, Ohio/Coffman) showed the way with four goals. Freshman Melissa Jackson (Worthington, Ohio/Thomas Worthington) added two goals and senior Katie Babcock (Phoenix, Md./Dulaney) chipped in with three assists.

On April 7, the Tigers gave the preseason NCAC favorite Wooster a solid run for its money before falling at home by an 8-5 count. Bucheit had her best game as a collegian, turning away 16 Wooster shots in the defeat. Thomas led the offense with two goals, junior Jenny Burns (Dublin, Ohio/Coffman) added one goal and one assist and junior Rachel Ridgeway (Montclair, NJ/The Taft School) also finished with one goal and one assist.

After an eight-day layoff, the Tigers got back into action with their third straight home game and things didn't go as planned against nationally ranked Colorado College. Playing their third nationally ranked nonconference opponent of the 2004 season, Wittenberg was walloped 19-2. Jackson and Ridgeway had the goals and Bucheit came up with 15 saves in the loss.

This is a big week for the Tigers, who return to action with key NCAC games at Kenyon on Wednesday and at home against Denison on Saturday. Wooster leads the conference currently, but four teams have two losses, including Wittenberg. Among the teams chasing the final three NCAC Tournament spots (along with Wittenberg) are Kenyon, Denison and Ohio Wesleyan.

Next: 4/21 at Kenyon, 4:30 p.m.
4/24 vs. Denison, 7 p.m.

April 1, 2004

Kari Thomas

The Wittenberg women's lacrosse team had a rough weekend in Pennsylvania, but the Tigers recovered nicely to defeat Earlham on Wednesday, 17-5.

The win, which will not count on Wittenberg's official record because the Quakers have been downgraded to club status for 2004, was made possible by three goals each by junior Jenny Burns (Dublin, Ohio/Coffman), senior Katie Babcock (Phoenix, Md./Dulaney), freshman Kari Thomas (Dublin, Ohio/Coffman), junior Rachel Ridgeway (Montclair, NJ/The Taft School) and junior Sarah Buchenroth (Worthington, Ohio/Thomas Worthington).

Over the weekend, the Tigers had bus problems getting to Pennsylvania, adding a great deal of time to an already long roadtrip. The results were predictably disappointing as the Tigers lost 13-8 to St. Vincent on Saturday and 13-5 to unbeaten Frostburg State on Sunday.

Against St. Vincent, freshman Melissa Jackson (Worthington, Ohio/Thomas Worthington) finished with four goals and junior Erin Kelly (Edina, Minn./Hopkins) added two more. Against Frostburg, the Tigers trailed only 8-5 at halftime but were shut out in the second half. Freshman Michelle Hanners (New Albany, Ohio/Columbus School for Girls) led the way with two goals.

The last week started with an NCAC loss at Ohio Wesleyan on March 24. The Tigers led 10-3 at halftime before the unbeaten Battling Bishops put on a charge and stole the win. Burns finished with four goals, Jackson added three tallies and Babcock and Thomas both chipped in with two scores.

The Tigers are back in NCAC action with a critical game Saturday at 5 p.m. against Allegheny at Edwards-Maurer Field.

Next: 4/3 vs. Allegheny, 5 p.m.

March 23, 2004

Melissa Jackson

The 2004 Wittenberg women's lacrosse team in a state of transition. The fresh faces are everywhere, starting with Head Coach Katherine Haney, who arrived last summer and is ready to put her stamp on this team.

No stranger to successful women's lacrosse after graduating from Denison in 2000, Haney will build her program this year around a strong core of returning players. Leading the charge is junior midfielder Jenny Burns (Dublin, Ohio/Coffman), a first-team All-North Coast Athletic Conference and third-team All-America selection in 2003. She led the team with 62 total points on 44 goals and 18 assists.

Burns, junior attacker Erin Kelly (Edina, Minn./Hopkins) and junior midfielder Rachel Ridgeway (Montclair, NJ/The Taft School) were three of the team's top four scorers in 2003, and all are back in the fold to spearhead the offense. But they will be forced to pick up more of the scoring load this year with the departure of the top goal scorer in school history, Cara Romanowski. The 2003 NCAC Defensive Player of the Year, Romanowski had 54 goals in 14 games a year ago, while also leading the team in caused turnovers with 31 and ranking among the leaders in ground balls with 46.

Several freshman will be asked to step into that scoring void as attackers, including Lauren Bouton (Roswell, Ga./Roswell), Melissa Jackson (Worthington, Ohio/Thomas Worthington) and Michelle Hanners (New Albany, Ohio/Columbus School for Girls). In the midfield, Kari Thomas (Dublin, Ohio/Coffman) is the lone new face, joining holdovers Emily Hiscar (Pataskala, Ohio/Watkins Memorial), a sophomore, and Ridgeway, Burns and Motoko Hanatani (Kyoto, Japan/The Perkiomen School (Pa.)), all juniors.

Defensively, the team's lone senior is Katie Babcock (Phoenix, Md./Dulaney), who is coming off a strong 2003 season in which she started every game and led the team with 56 ground balls and ranked second in caused turnovers with 19. Junior Carrie Happ (Pittsburgh, Pa./Vincentian) finished with 30 ground balls in 14 starts in the defensive backfield. Three rookies will get their opportunities as well, Lauren Fraley (Delaware, Ohio/Olentangy), Carly Mayer (Westerville, Ohio/Thomas Worthington) and Sarah Buchenroth (Worthington, Ohio/Thomas Worthington).

Perhaps the area of greatest concern is in goal. All-NCAC honoree Rebecca Russ, who started 10 games in net and four others in the field in 2003, has departed, taking a league-leading .615 save percentage with her. Freshman Clare Bucheit (Cincinnati, Ohio/McAuley) will attempt to fill that void in her first collegiate experience.

The Tigers got off to a rough start to the season, opening with a 16-1 loss to Ursinus on March 11 in St. Petersburg, Fla. The "northern" portion of the schedule opens today at 4:30 p.m. with a game at NCAC rival Ohio Wesleyan.

Next: 3/24 at Ohio Wesleyan, 4:30 p.m.

March 5, 2004

Jenny Burns

The Wittenberg women's lacrosse team is under new leadership for the first time in nearly two decades, and much of the roster has turned over. First-year Head Coach Katherine Haney anticipates a strong season, however, in part thanks to the return of seven letterwinners, including third-team All-American Jenny Burns (Dublin, Ohio/Coffman).

The Tigers will kick the 2004 season off next week against Ursinus in St. Petersburg, Fla., the highlight of a Spring Break training trip. A full season outlook and results from that game will be included in next week's all-sports release.

Next: 3/11 vs. Ursinus, 10 a.m. in St. Petersburg, Fla.

July 8 , 2003

Wittenberg University Selects Katherine Haney as New Women's Lacrosse Head Coach
SPRINGFIELD, Ohio - Former Denison University lacrosse standout Katherine Haney has been named head women's lacrosse coach at Wittenberg University, Director of Athletics and Recreation Garnett Purnell announced. Read More..