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Tim Gaal
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Beth Walters
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Becky Hall
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Dave Engle
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Nancy Beck
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SPRINGFIELD, Ohio - Another banner spring sports season has
reaped rich rewards for 51 Wittenberg University athletes who were
selected to All-North Coast Athletic Conference teams over the last
two weeks.
Announcements for men's and women's lacrosse, men's and women's
tennis, softball and baseball have come in separate releases from
the NCAC office over the last two weeks. Individual finishes at
conference championship events held May 2-3 determined
all-conference selections in golf and men's and women's track.
Two Wittenberg athletes were chosen as an NCAC Player of the Year
for a spring sport. Senior softball outfielder Beth Walters
(Westerville, Ohio/DeSales) was named Player of the Year
and junior men's track standout Tim Gaal (Amanda,
Ohio/Clearcreek) was named Field Events Athlete of the
Year. It was the first such honor for Walters and Gaal.
In addition, three Tiger coaches were named Coach of the Year in
their respective sport. Men's and women's tennis Head Coach
Dave Engle earned the award on the men's side for
the second time in his seven seasons at the helm, softball Head
Coach Becky Hall claimed her second such award in
her five seasons leading the team and women's lacrosse Head Coach
Nancy Beck earned the honor for the first time in
her 17 years leading the Tigers.
In softball, Wittenberg finished second in the NCAC regular season
with a 10-4 record before coming up big with three straight wins in
the conference tournament championship to advance to the NCAA
Division III Tournament. After one win, the first in school
history, in three games at the Great Lakes Region, Wittenberg
concluded the 2003 season with a 25-21 overall record.
The Tigers placed five players on the All-NCAC first team -
Walters, sophomore utility player Norah Gillam (Canfield,
Ohio/Canfield), sophomore second baseman Katie
Niemeyer (Findlay, Ohio/Findlay), junior outfielder
Carmen Montgomery (South Charleston,
Ohio/Southeastern) and junior catcher Kristen
Hillebrand (Cincinnati, Ohio/McAuley). It was the second
straight first-team honor for Walters and Gillam, who doubled as
the NCAC Tournament Most Outstanding Player. Sophomore pitcher
Jen Fleming (Dayton, Ohio/Chaminade-Julienne) was
named Honorable Mention All-NCAC.
The men's tennis team concluded another outstanding season with a
15-5 overall record and a best-ever second-place finish in the NCAC
tournament. Senior No. 1 player Casey Clagett (Steamboat
Springs, Colo./Steamboat Springs) was named first-team
All-NCAC for a second straight year, earning such honors for both
singles and doubles, and he concluded his career with an appearance
in the NCAA Division III Singles Tournament. Senior Mike
Herzog (Springfield, Ohio/Northwestern) claimed first-team
All-NCAC honors in doubles after pairing with Clagett. Junior No. 2
singles player Duby Lakos (Lynchburg,
Va./Heritage) was named second-team All-NCAC for the first
all-conference honors of his career. And senior Eric Cusick
(Lima, Ohio/Senior), who had the team's best singles
record at 23-6 at the No. 3 position, made honorable mention, the
third time he has claimed an all-conference award.
The women's tennis team posted an overall record of 11-8 and an
NCAC mark of 6-2, including a third-place finish at the conference
tournament. Sophomore No. 1 player Emily Figel (Ft. Wayne,
Ind./Homestead) was named first-team All-NCAC for a second
straight year, and senior No. 2 singles player Shannon
Oliphant (Columbus, Ohio/Hilliard Davidson) joined her on
the top team for the first time in her career. Figel and Oliphant
also earned first-team All-NCAC honors as a doubles team after they
posted a 13-6 overall record. In addition, sophomore Sarah
Fassler (Cincinnati, Ohio/St. Ursula) was chosen for
honorable mention all-conference after playing strong at the No. 3
singles position.
Track athletes earn All-NCAC recognition with a top-three finish
in the NCAC meet. The Tiger men claimed second place in the
championship meet and have two athletes who are provisionally
qualified for the NCAA Division III Outdoor Track and Field
Championships May 22-24 in Canton, NY. The Tiger women finished
fourth. Tim Gaal was the biggest individual story
for Wittenberg as he earned NCAC Field Events Athlete of the Year
for finishing first in the decathlon and javelin, third in the long
jump, sixth in the high jump and eighth in the pole vault. He is an
NCAA provisional qualifier in the decathlon and javelin, an event
in which he placed 11th in the nation a year ago.
Junior Skip Ivery (Columbus,
Ohio/Groveport-Madison) extended his dominance in the high
hurdles events, winning his third straight NCAC outdoor 110-meter
hurdles championship. He also has two NCAC indoor 55-meter hurdles
championships and finished second in the nation in that event in
March. He is an NCAA provisional qualifier.
Other individual champions on the men's side were senior
Curtis Lundgren (Alliance, Ohio/Alliance) in the
800 meters, junior Joel Drake (Springfield,
Ohio/Shawnee) in the discus and sophomore Joe
Rumschlag (Maumee, Ohio/Toledo Christian) in the long
jump. Making All-NCAC were Drake with a second place in the shot
put, freshman Jered Glover (Middletown,
Ohio/Middletown) with third place finishes in the 200
meters and triple jump, sophomore Clyde Mayer (Hilliard,
Ohio/Davidson) with a third in the discus and sophomore
Jason Toman (Greenville, Ohio/Greenville) with a
second in the 400-meter hurdles.
In addition, the 400-meter relay quartet of freshman David
Bazzel (Tipp City, Ohio/Tippecanoe), junior
Demetrius Ellison (Cleveland, Ohio/Trinity),
senior Mark Trempe (Springfield, Ohio/St. Paris
Graham) and Ivery finished second and the 1600-meter relay
foursome of Lundgren, Trempe, Ellison and sophomore Chad
Kresser (Findlay, Ohio/Findlay) finished third.
On the women's side, junior Kristen Mumper (Cincinnati,
Ohio/Purcell Marian) finished first in the triple jump and
third in the long jump to claim a pair of All-NCAC awards. Junior
Geri Woessner (Dayton, Ohio/Oakwood) claimed
second in the heptathlon and third in the javelin, senior
Amanda Young (London, Ohio/London) finished first
in the high jump, senior Abi Gerstle (Kettering,
Ohio/Fairmont) turned in a school-record time of 11:40.19
in finishing second in the 3000-meter steeplechase, junior
Kelly Zilli (Dayton, Ohio/Alter) finished first in
the 800 meters and sophomore Ayisha Kinamore (Cincinnati,
Ohio/Colerain) was second in the 400-meter hurdles.
In addition, the 400-meter relay quartet of sophomore Tina
Valerius (Cincinnati, Ohio/Mt. Notre Dame), sophomore
Marissa Davoll (Cincinnati, Ohio/Anderson), Mumper
and Kinamore took third place to gain All-NCAC honors. The
1600-meter relay foursome of freshman Anna Finkelstein
(Whitehall, Mich./Reeths-Puffer), Davoll, Valerius and
Zilli finished second.
In women's lacrosse, the Tigers started the season with four
straight losses but came on strong to put together one of the best
records in school history at 8-6 overall and a school-record 5-2 in
the NCAC. Senior defender Cara Romanowski (Collegeville,
Pa./Perkiomen Valley), the Wittenberg record-holder for
career goals scored and the 2002 NCAC Defensive Player of the Year,
junior defender Katie Babcock (Phoenix,
Md./Dulaney) and sophomore attacker Jenny Burns
(Dublin, Ohio/Coffman), the team's leading scorer, were
named first-team All-NCAC for their outstanding play in 2003.
Sophomore midfielder Rachel Ridgeway (Montclair, NJ/The
Taft School) made second team all-conference. Sophomore
attacker Erin Kelly (Edina, Minn./Edina) and
senior goalkeeper Rebecca Russ (Louisville, Ky./Sacred
Heart) made honorable mention All-NCAC.
In golf, Wittenberg finished fifth in a loaded NCAC field that
included three NCAA Division III Tournament teams. Leading the
charge were sophomore Andy Bonar (Lancaster,
Ohio/Lancaster) and freshman Clinton Anderson
(Mechanicsburg, Ohio/Mechanicsburg), who earned first and
second-team All-NCAC honors respectively. Bonar finished third, up
from sixth a year ago, in the NCAC tournament at Oberlin Golf Club,
while Anderson tied for 10th.
The Wittenberg baseball team finished the year 17-22-1 overall and
4-12 in the NCAC West Division, missing out on the NCAC Tournament
for the first time since 2000. Senior Ryan Born (Marion,
Ohio/Pleasant), the team's leading hitter with a .411
batting average and 40 runs batted in, claimed first-team All-NCAC
honors. Freshman shortstop K.R. Schlievert (Findlay,
Ohio/Findlay) and sophomore outfielder Matt Foster
(Granville, Ohio/Granville) were awarded Honorable Mention
status.
Rounding things out, the Tiger men's lacrosse team finished with
records of 4-9 overall and 1-4 in the NCAC. Senior attacker
Dan Patterson (St. Louis, Mo./DeSmet Jesuit)
earned first-team All-NCAC honors after leading the team in scoring
and serving as team captain. Freshman defender Jonathan
Smiley (Worthington, Ohio/Kilbourne) garnered second-team
honors in his inaugural collegiate season.
Four Tiger players also made honorable mention All-NCAC: sophomore
attacker Trevor Carlson (Upper Arlington, Ohio/Upper
Arlington), senior midfielder Ross Mellgren
(Toledo, Ohio/Sylvania Northview), junior midfielder
Hans Rydquist (Hudson, Ohio/Hudson) and junior
goalkeeper Kyle Prussing (Concord,
Mass./Concord-Carlisle).
024-03