Carrie Happ was all-region and all-conference in 2003
The Wittenberg field hockey team may be in a state of coaching
transition, but that doesn't mean the Tigers have lowered their
expectations. With a strong senior class used to winning North
Coast Athletic Conference championships, and a strong group of
eight incoming freshmen, the Tigers have set their usual set of
lofty goals in 2004.
Fitting into Head Coach Kiki Chesterton's up-tempo style is the
first order of business, and a core group of five outstanding
seniors will be asked to be leaders both on and off the field
during this season of transition. All five - midfielders
Sarah Wallace (Reston, Va./South Lakes) and
Blair Ufer (Ann Arbor, Mich./Pioneer) and
defenders Ashley Smith (Pittsford, NY/Mendon),
Melanie Boss (Dayton, Ohio/Kettering Fairmont)and
Carrie Happ (Pittsburgh, Pa./Vincentian)- have
earned at least two varsity letters and four of the five have been
starters for almost their entire collegiate careers.
In 2004, the team appears to have a nice mix of experience and
youth at every position, starting with the forwards. Junior
Julia Wickham (Columbus, Ohio/Grandview), who
assisted on the game-winner in last year's 1-0 overtime thriller
against Wooster in the NCAC Tournament title game, and sophomore
Katy Barrett (Powell, Ohio/Watterson), who topped
the squad with 11 goals and 24 total points, are both back in 2004.
They are joined in the attacking zone by sophomore Melissa
Jackson (Worthington, Ohio/Thomas Worthington), who scored
two goals in seven games a year ago, and freshmen Caroline
Mason (New Canaan, Conn./New Canaan) and Claire
Johnson (Mason, Ohio/Mount Notre Dame)
In the midfield, Ufer is the key player. A third-team All-America
honoree in 2003 and a two-time all-conference and all-region
selection, Ufer started all 20 games a year ago and finished with a
team-best nine assists and 23 total points, good for second on the
team. Wallace and sophomore Holly McHugh (Randolph,
NJ/Randolph) are the other two returning letterwinners in
the midfield, and they are joined this year by freshmen
Laura Prince (Haren, The Netherlands/Praedinius)
and Alison Voigt (Louisville, Ky./Ballard).
The team's defense should be a strength in 2004, although it's not
without concerns as well. Gone is All-American goaltender Jen
Meyer, who is studying at Duke University this fall, and in her
place is freshman Nicole Irvin. She will be protected by a group of
defenders that returns almost intact from 2003. Boss and Happ were
All-NCAC honorees a year ago, Smith was a starter in the midfield
and sophomores Kirsten Enevoldsen (Columbus,
Ohio/Worthington Kilbourne), who appeared in 18 games in
2003, and Rachel Dunn (Pittsburgh, Pa./North
Allegheny), who started all 20 games and made the NCAC
All-Tournament team. They are joined in 2004 by freshmen
Kate Bucher (Oxford, Ohio/Talawanda),
Christina Irwin (Bexley, Ohio/Bexley) and
Sadie Mummert (Hanover, Pa./Littlestown).