The Wittenberg Tigers, winners of eight regular season North Coast Athletic Conference titles since 1989, figure to be back to their winning ways again in the 2002-03 season. Coming off a 21-6 overall record and an outright regular season conference title in 2001-02, the Tigers return 10 letterwinners and three starters this year in hopes of building on those accomplishments this year.
Five outstanding seniors, all of whom will play an important role on this year's team, lead the long list of letterwinners in 2002-03. Senior guards Kate Rolf (Ft. Wayne, Ind./Carroll) and Stephanie Campbell (South Charleston, Ohio/Southeastern) lead the charge for a third consecutive season starting together in the backcourt. Rolf paced the Tigers in scoring, rebounding and assists each of the last two years while earning All-NCAC honors twice. Campbell ranked second on the team in scoring and rebounding and led the Tigers in steals each of the last two years.
The third returning starter is forward Tiffany Keller (Massillon, Ohio/Tuslaw), who always joins the team late due to time commitments as one of the top volleyball players in the Great Lakes Region. Keller started the last 19 games of the 2001-02 season and ranked among the team's leaders in scoring, rebounding, blocks and shooting percentage after earning NCAC Volleyball Player of the Year honors during the fall season.
The other starting spots are up in the air, with two other seniors figuring prominently in the mix. Senior forward Meghan Bruggeman (Middletown, Ohio/Fenwick) came on strong last year after seeing limited playing time her first two seasons in Springfield. She is a strong post player who averaged 5.5 points and 3.6 rebounds per game in 2001-02. The other senior is post Rebecca Meers (Moline, Ill./Moline), who has appeared in every game the last two years, primarily off the bench. Last year, she averaged 4.2 points and 4.1 rebounds per outing.
Other returning letterwinners include junior guard Christina Fischer (Norwood, Ohio/Cincinnati St. Ursula), junior forward Haley Warden (Loveland, Ohio/Cincinnati Indian Hill), junior guard Amber Bishop (Batavia, Ohio/Batavia) and sophomore guard Emilie Schmid (Canton, Ohio/Massillon Jackson), who will join the team after the conclusion of Wittenberg's run in the NCAA Division III Volleyball Tournament. The other returner is junior forward Geri Woessner (Dayton, Ohio/Oakwood), who is sidelined until February with a knee injury suffered during soccer season this fall.
Wittenberg has its usual difficult schedule, including three teams with winning records involved in the Kiwanis-Wittenberg Tip-Off Classic Nov. 22-23 at the HPER Center. Among the other heavyweights the Tigers will face this year: perennial national title contenders Baldwin-Wallace, Capital, DePauw and Calvin. In addition, the NCAC appears to be very balanced, making a repeat 14-2 regular season record that much more of a challenge.
2002-03 Wittenberg University women's basketball seniors: (from left) Stephanie Campbell, Meghan Bruggeman, Rebecca Meers, Tiffany Keller, Kate Rolf
Team Information
Letterwinners Returning: (10)
Tiffany Keller (F, 5-10, Sr.)
Christina Fischer (G, 5-6, Jr.)
Stephanie Campbell (G, 5-7, Sr.)
Amber Bishop (G, 5-8, Jr.)
Kate Rolf (G, 5-7, Sr.)
Geri Woessner (F, 5-10, Jr.)
Rebecca Meers (C, 6-0, Sr.)
Emilie Schmid (G, 5-7, So.)
Meghan Bruggeman (F, 5-9, Sr.)
Haley Warden (F, 5-9, Jr.)
Letterwinners Lost: (5)
Jen Korsberg
Meghan Gaydos
Jill Swary
Leigh Ann Forshey
Amanda Lewis
Other Returning Players / Newcomers (14)
Alison Nahrup (G, 5-9, So., Loveland, Ohio/Mt. Notre Dame)
Kari Kitchen (G, 5-7, Jr., Springfield, Ohio/Southeastern)
Ayisha Kinamore (G, 5-4, So., Cincinnati, Ohio/Colerain)
Carrie Jones (G, 5-8, Fr., Greenville, Ohio/Greenville)
Natalie Muir (F, 6-0, So., Noblesville, Ind./Noblesville)
Joyce Dindo (P, 5-11, Fr., Akron, Ohio/Walsh Jesuit)
Chelsea Hill (C, 5-10, So., North Lewisburg, Ohio/Triad)
Katherine Kitchen (G, 5-2, Fr., Springfield, Ohio/Southeastern)
Brittany Landreth (G, 5-5, Fr., Valparaiso, Ind./Valparaiso)
Megan Michael (F, 6-0, Fr., Urbana, Ohio/Urbana)
Andrea Puthoff (G, 5-9, Fr., Houston, Ohio/Russia)
Amber Roane (F, , Jr., Mechanicsburg, Ohio/Kenton Ridge)
Kelly Wenger (G, 5-9, Fr., Tipp City, Ohio/Tippecanoe)
Lakishann Woods (G, 5-9, Fr., Columbus, Ohio/Centennial)