Kathy Jittle
SPRINGFIELD, Ohio — An outstanding 2005-06 winter sports season continues for the Wittenberg University Tigers as the men's basketball team prepares for the sectional round of the NCAA Division III Tournament and a member of the women's swimming and diving team heads to Minnesota for another NCAA Division III Championship meet.
While there is more to come for some Wittenberg student-athletes, the North Coast Athletic Conference has put the finishing touches on its winter season. Six Wittenberg student-athletes were recognized by the NCAC with all-conference honors in last week's announcements on men's and women's basketball. Another 18 Wittenberg student-athletes claimed All-NCAC honors based on individual finishes at championship events for men's and women's swimming and diving (Feb. 9-11) and men's and women's indoor track and field (March 3-4). In addition, two coaches earned NCAC honors.
Individually, junior women's basketball post Kathy Hittle (Noblesville, Ind./Noblesville) was named NCAC Player of the Year and women's basketball Head Coach Pam Smith, a 1982 graduate of Wittenberg, earned NCAC Coach of the Year.
Pam Smith
Hittle and Smith led the Tiger women's basketball team to a 19-8 overall record, including a mark of 14-2 in the NCAC regular season, good for the 11th title in school history. After winning the regular season title for the fourth time in the last five seasons, the Tigers bowed out of the NCAC Tournament in the semifinals for a second straight year.
Hittle led the team in scoring, blocked shots and rebounding for a second straight season, in the process advancing from the second-team All-NCAC honors she earned a year ago. Sophomore post Katie Gregorevich (Northfield, Ohio/Walsh Jesuit) picked up second team honors for her outstanding play during the 2005-06 season, and junior wing Megan Miller (Lancaster, Ohio/Lancaster) was chosen honorable mention. It was the first conference recognition for either player. Gregorevich was the Tigers' top reserve, and she was second on the team in scoring and third in rebounding. Miller was the Tigers' top perimeter shooting threat after leading Wittenberg with 44 three-pointers.
Smith was recognized for one of the best coaching performances of her career as she guided a relatively young team to the top of the conference heap. Now with a career record of 386-158 in 20 years at the helm of her alma mater's women's basketball program, Smith earned NCAC Coach of the Year honors for the seventh time.
The Tiger men's basketball team heads into this weekend's NCAA Division III Sectional Tournament with a 27-3 overall record and No. 3 national ranking. Wittenberg will play host to No. 2 ranked Hope in one of two Friday night Round of 16 games, immediately following a game between No. 20 Transylvania and No. 8 Mississippi College. All four teams in the sectional won their conference championships and are on win streaks of at least five games.
Wittenberg was shut out of the individual men's basketball NCAC awards this year, but three players did receive conference recognition. Senior post Daniel Russ (Louisville, Ky./Trinity), the 2005 NCAC Player of the Year, earned first-team All-NCAC for a second straight year. Also a second-team honoree in 2004, Russ leads the Tigers with 15.3 points per game and blocked shots with 54 on the season.
Senior post Dane Borchers (Russia, Ohio/Russia) was selected to the All-NCAC second team for a second consecutive season. The team leader in points and rebounds a year ago, Borchers is second in scoring and tops in rebounding in 2005-06. Rounding things out, senior wing Kenny Brady (Reading, Ohio/Reading), who stands third on the team in points and rebounds, was chosen honorable mention. Brady was a second-team all-conference choice in 2004, but he didn't garner any honors a year ago after missing much of the season with an injury.
Track and swimming athletes earn All-NCAC recognition with a top-three finish in the NCAC championship meets.
Natalie Koukis
In swimming and diving, the Tiger women took third place and the Tiger men finished fifth. The women's third place finish was the best ever for a Wittenberg swimming and diving team in the NCAC Championships, leading to NCAC Coach of the Year honors for Tigers Head Coach Natalie Koukis.
Sophomore Courtney Roth (Gurnee, Ill./Lake Forest) put the finishing touches on a breakout season with NCAC Diver of the year honors. Roth finished second in the 1-meter diving competition to earn All-NCAC honors for the first time in her career, and she followed that up with a fourth-place finish in the 3-meter event.In the pool, the Tigers were led by senior Becca Searcy (Shelbyville, Ky./Shelby County), who became just the fourth female Wittenberg swimmer to reach the national meet all four years of her career with her time of 17:20.75 in the 1650-yard freestyle, which was good for second place and All-NCAC honors. Searcy, who has five honorable mention All-America awards in her career, will compete for her first All-America designation at this week's NCAA Division III Championship meet in Minneapolis, Minn.
Searcy was also a part of two of the three Wittenberg relay teams that broke school records during the weekend, including the 800-yard freestyle relay that placed third to garner All-NCAC honors for the four swimmers involved. Searcy, senior Betany Yeakley (Wilmington, Ohio/Wilmington), sophomore Lindsay Smith (Mount Vernon, Ohio/Mount Vernon) and sophomore Kaitlin Clark (Wakeman, Ohio/Firelands) touched the wall in 7:55.59 to break a five-year-old school record.
The Tiger men had several outstanding finishes in both relays and individual events, capped by an All-NCAC performance by junior Cody Nicely (Knoxville, Tenn./Bearden). The 2004 NCAC Diver of the Year, Nicely placed third in the 1-meter diving competition and sixth in the 3-meter event. The third-place finish in the 1-meter event was Nicely's fourth All-NCAC honor, and it came in most spectacular fashion as he shattered a 15-year-old school record with a score of 384.64.
Courtney Roth
In track, the Tiger men claimed fifth place in the championship meet, and the Tiger women finished fourth.
For the women, sophomore Nicole Bailey (Cincinnati, Ohio/Summit Country Day) provided many of the individual highlights for a second straight year as she defended her title in the 55 meters and took second in the triple jump for a second consecutive year. She now has five indoor track and field All-NCAC honors in her collegiate career.
In addition, the women's 4x200-meter relay team claimed an NCAC title, crossing the finish line in 1:49.15. Members of the relay included freshman Kristy Parker (Hamilton, Ohio/Ross), freshman Katie Shoemaker (Arcanum, Ohio/Franklin-Monroe), freshman Tara Osborne (Oxford, Ohio/Talawanda) and senior Anna Finkelstein (Whitehall, Mich./Reeths-Puffer). Shoemaker added a third-place finish in the 200 meters.
On the men's side, there were three individual All-NCAC finishes and a third-place relay performance. The lone first-place finish for Wittenberg came in the triple jump as freshman Erik Larkin (Cincinnati, Ohio/Country Day) claimed the top spot with a mark of 44-6, just an inch and a half short of the school record.
Freshman Manoach Lamarre (Miami, Fla./Bellen Jesuit) claimed third place in the 55 meters and sophomore Mike Echols (Springfield, Ohio/North) crossed the finish line in third in the 800 meters. In addition, the 4x200-meter relay quartet of senior David Bazzel (Tipp City, Ohio/Tippecanoe), sophomores Derrick and Desmond Braziel (Brook Park, Ohio/West Springfield (Va.)) and freshman Mark King (Indianapolis, Ind./North Central) hit the line in third place to earn each of them All-NCAC honors.
Posted by: Ryan Maurer