2004 Wittenberg Field Hockey Seniors: (standing - from left) Carrie Happ, Ashley Smith, Sarah Wallace and Melanie Boss hold Blair Ufer
SPRINGFIELD, Ohio — The Wittenberg University field hockey team, the North Coast Athletic Conference champion for the third straight year, has earned the opportunity to play in the NCAA Division III Tournament for the seventh time in school history. The Tigers received a first-round bye in the 18-team tournament and will begin second round play at William Smith College at 11 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 13.
William Smith, nicknamed the Herons and located in Geneva, N.Y., won the Liberty League championship last weekend. The Herons, ranked fifth in the latest National Field Hockey Coaches Association poll with a 16-2 overall record, have made the NCAA Division III Tournament 15 times and won three national championships. Saturday's second match pits Ursinus (19-1) against the winner of a first round contest between Keene St. (14-7) and Maine-Farmington (14-5). The third round is set for Sunday, with the winner of that game advancing to the Final Four Nov. 19-20 at Westfield State College in Westfield, Mass.
Wittenberg concluded the 2004 season, the first under Head Coach Kiki Chesterton, with a 15-4 overall record, including an 9-3 mark in the NCAC, which was good for an outright championship, the Tigers' seventh in school history. Last week, Wittenberg added a third straight conference tournament title to earn the automatic bid into the national tournament with wins over Wooster on Wednesday and Kenyon on Saturday.
The Tigers have made six previous NCAA appearances (1994, '95, '97, '98, 2002, '03) and are looking for their first NCAA win. Last fall Wittenberg fell to Cortland State, 6-0, in the second round. The Tigers have the conference's leading scorer in senior Blair Ufer (Ann Arbor, Mich./Pioneer), who has averaged 2.47 points per game off 17 goals and 13 assists in 19 games. The 2004 NCAC Tournament MVP, Ufer headlines an outstanding five-person senior class that also includes all-conference defenders Carrie Happ (Pittsburgh, Pa./Vincentian) and Melanie Boss (Kettering, Ohio/Fairmont) and starting midfielders Sarah Wallace (Reston, Va./South Lakes) and Ashley Smith (Pittsford, N.Y./Mendon). In addition, freshman goalkeeper Nicole Irvin (Gettysburg, Pa./Littlestown) leads the NCAC with nine shutouts in 19 games. She has a 1.34 goals against average.
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