Rachel Clark-Haggy and teammates must turn up the defensive pressure to win their 11th tournament title in 21 years.
SPRINGFIELD, Ohio —The Wittenberg University men's and women's basketball teams welcome an outstanding field of eight teams for the 2006 Charles B. Zimmerman Memorial Classic. The competition is scheduled for Friday, Dec. 29, and Saturday, Dec. 30, at Wittenberg's HPER Center Arena with games on both days scheduled for 12:30, 2:45, 5:30 and 7:45 p.m.
Men's tournament participants for 2006 include Indiana University-Southeast from New Albany, Ind., York College from Jamaica, N.Y., Thiel College from Greenville, Pa., and Wittenberg. Action gets under way Friday at 5:30 p.m. as IU-Southeast and Thiel square off, followed by a clash between the host Tigers and York at 7:45 p.m. or 30 minutes following the conclusion of the first game. On Saturday, the consolation game is slated for 2:30 p.m. or 30 minutes following the conclusion of the women's consolation game, and the championship contest is slated for 7:45 p.m. or 30 minutes following the conclusion of the women's championship game.
Wittenberg has won 20 of the 23 title games in the tournament's history, with the lone exceptions being in 1986 against Centre College, 1997 against the University of Chicago and 2002 against Ohio Dominican University. The Tigers have won three straight, including a 63-49 championship game victory over NAIA foe Marian College (Ind.) a year ago.
This year, the men's tournament includes just one nationally ranked team - the host Tigers, who stood sixth in the nation with a 6-1 overall record, including a mark of 1-1 in the North Coast Athletic Conference, through Dec. 18. Wittenberg's first-round opponent, York, is off to a 6-4 start after reaching the NCAA Division III Tournament last year. IU-Southeast is an NAIA scholarship program that has a 9-3 overall record, and Thiel has a 2-5 overall record.
Jack Hemenway's hustle has been a key part of the Tigers' success in the early going of the 2006-07 season.
Women's tournament participants for 2006 include Baldwin-Wallace College from Berea, Ohio, Centre College from Danville, Ky., Edison Community College from Piqua, Ohio, and Wittenberg. Action gets under way Friday at 12:30 p.m. as Baldwin-Wallace and Centre square off, followed by a game between the host Tigers and Edison at 2:45 p.m. or 30 minutes following the conclusion of the first game. On Saturday, action opens with the consolation game at 12:30 p.m. and the championship game at 5:30 p.m.
Wittenberg has won 10 of the 20 title games in the women's tournament history, with the last title coming in 2004 by virtue of wins over Centre and Hanover College. Last year, the Tigers dropped a 55-50 decision to Albion in the championship game.
This year, the women's tournament features an outstanding field. In the first round, the host Tigers, currently with a 3-3 overall record and a mark of 2-0 in the NCAC, will square off with Edison, which checks in at 5-4 in the early going of the 2006-07 season. The other first round game involves B-W, ranked third in the nation and the preseason favorite in the always challenging Ohio Athletic Conference, and Centre, which is 3-4 on the young season. Baldwin-Wallace is 6-1 overall and 3-0 in the OAC.
Formerly known as the Kiwanis Wittenberg Holiday Classic, the annual basketball competition was dedicated in 2005 to the late Charles B. Zimmerman, Wittenberg Class of 1956, a longtime Tiger fan and a local attorney.