Forty-Three Wittenberg Student-Athletes Earn Spring Sport Postseason Awards

Another banner spring sports season has reaped rich rewards for 43 Wittenberg University athletes who were selected to All-North Coast Athletic Conference teams over the last two weeks.

May 14, 2004

Skip Ivery

Tim Gaal

Carmen Montgomery

Sammy Hong

SPRINGFIELD, Ohio - Another banner spring sports season has reaped rich rewards for 43 Wittenberg University athletes who were selected to All-North Coast Athletic Conference teams over the last two weeks.

Announcements for men's and women's lacrosse, men's and women's tennis, softball and baseball have come in separate releases from the NCAC office in the last two weeks. Individual finishes at conference championship events the last two weekends determined All-NCAC selections in golf and men's and women's track and field.

Several Wittenberg athletes were chosen for individual conference honors. Senior softball outfielders Carmen Montgomery (South Charleston, Ohio/Southeastern) was named Player of the Year, senior men's track standout Tim Gaal (Amanda, Ohio/Clearcreek) was named Field Events Athlete of the Year for the second straight year, senior men's track standout Skip Ivery (Columbus, Ohio/Groveport-Madison) was named Sprinter/Hurdler of the Year and men's lacrosse attackman Sammy Hong (Dublin, Ohio/Worthington Kilbourne) earned Newcomer of the Year.

Track athletes earn All-NCAC recognition with a top-three finish in the NCAC meet. The Tiger men claimed second place in the championship meet for the second straight year and have two athletes who are provisionally qualified for the NCAA Division III Outdoor Track and Field Championships May 27-29 at Millikin University in Decatur, Ill. The Tiger women finished fourth for a second straight year, and they have one athlete provisionally qualified for the national meet.

Gaal and Ivery were the biggest individual stories for the Tiger men for a second straight year. Tim Gaal successfully defended his decathlon title with a career-best point total of 5,720, and he won his third NCAC crown in javelin with a mark of 184-6. In addition, he finished third in the long jump with a mark of 21-11 1/2, placed sixth in the high jump and eighth in the triple jump. The finishes in the decathlon, javelin and long jump were all good for All-NCAC honors.

Gaal is provisionally qualified for the national meet for the third straight year. He finished 11th in the javelin in 2002 and second in the event a year ago. He holds the school and NCAC records in the event, and he is currently ranked among the top 10 nationally.

Ivery won the 110-meter hurdles in an NCAA provisional qualifying time (14.83) and the 400-meter hurdles in a time of 55.00. The 110-meter hurdles crown was his fourth straight and the two individual titles gave Ivery eight NCAC hurdles first-place finishes in his career, including the three 55-meter hurdles titles he has won in the indoor championships. Ivery is hoping to defend his 110-meter hurdles NCAA Division III title at the national meet later this month. He also is a two-time All-American in the 55-meter hurdles in the indoor championships.

While Ivery and Gaal were scoring big points for the Tigers as a team, neither scored as many as junior Joe Rumschlag (Maumee, Ohio/Toledo Christian), who took All-NCAC honors with a third-place finish in the 100 meters, second in the 200 meters, second in the decathlon, second in the triple jump and first in the long jump for the second straight year. In addition, junior Jason Toman (Greenville, Ohio/Greenville) placed third in the 400-meter hurdles to garner All-NCAC honors for a second straight year.

In the relay events, Wittenberg placed third in both the 1600- and 400-meter events. In the 400-meter relay, sophomore David Bazzel (Tipp City, Ohio/Tippecanoe), senior Alex Yurovitsky (Richmond Heights, Ohio/Lyndhurst Brush), freshman Gregg Carter (Wellsville, Ohio/Wellsville) and sophomore Matt Locke (South Charleston, Ohio/Southeastern) teamed up for the All-NCAC finish. In the 1600-meter relay, Locke, Yurovitsky, Toman and Rumschlag were the All-NCAC quartet.

On the women's side, senior Geri Woessner (Dayton, Ohio/Oakwood) claimed first place in the heptathlon for the third time in four years and all-conference honors in the event. The mark of 4,455 broke her own school and conference records, and it was an NCAA provisional qualifying mark. She added her first career title in the javelin with an NCAA provisional mark of 132-3, a school record. Woessner also was all-conference with a third-place finish in the long jump with a mark of 16-6 1/2. She scored team points in six different events during the NCAC meet.

Senior Kelly Zilli (Dayton, Ohio/Alter) finished first in the 800 meters for the second straight year and just missed the NCAA provisional qualifying time in the process. She also anchored the second-place 1600-meter relay. The first three legs of that event were run by sophomore Anna Finkelstein (Whitehall, Mich./Reeths-Puffer), freshman Antonette Green (Euclid, Ohio/Euclid) and freshman Jessica McClish (Shelby, Ohio/Shelby).

Rounding things out, senior Becky Barnes (Williamsport, Ohio/Westfall) broke the school record in the 10,000 meters with a time of 38:54.06, good for third place, and she followed that with a second-place finish in the 3,000-meter steeplechase in a time of 11:58.71. Freshman Lisa Nicholls (North Bend, Ore./North Bend)placed third in the hammer throw with a mark of 105-9.

In men's golf, Wittenberg finished fourth in a loaded NCAC field that included three NCAA Division III Tournament teams. Junior Andy Bonar (Lancaster, Ohio/Lancaster) made first-team All-NCAC for a second straight year after placing third in the championship tournament. Freshman Scott Aker (Springfield, Ohio/Shawnee) placed 12th and sophomore Kristopher Schmelzer (Lancaster, Ohio/Lancaster) finished 14th as both earned their first conference honors in the honorable mention category.

In softball, Wittenberg finished third in the NCAC regular season with a 10-4 record and bowed out of the conference tournament with a third-place finish and an overall record of 20-15. The Tigers placed four players on the All-NCAC first team - Montgomery, junior pitcher Norah Gillam (Canfield, Ohio/Canfield), junior designated player Katie Carver (Enon, Ohio/Greenon) and sophomore infielderKatelyn Beddow (Lexington, Ohio/Ashland). In addition, freshman shortstopStephanie Zorn (Grapevine, Texas/Colleyville) earned a spot on the second team.

It was Montgomery's third all-conference honor, and her second straight season on the first-team after she batted .405 from the leadoff spot and committed just one error all season while playing multiple positions. Gillam was on the first-team for the third straight season and Carver for the second year in a row. Beddow and Zorn were making their first appearances on the All-NCAC honor roll.

The Wittenberg baseball team finished the year 21-15 overall and 9-7 in the NCAC West Division. Junior outfielder Matt Foster (Granville, Ohio/Granville) and junior second baseman Jon Komperda (Bay Village, Ohio/Bay) were rewarded for their outstanding play during the 2004 season with second team status. Foster led the team in home runs, runs batted in and walks, while Komperda batted .441 to rank among the league-leaders and led the team in almost every other offensive category. Senior pitcher Tom Fox (Urbana, Ohio/Urbana) and sophomore pitcherSteve Less (Sheffield, Ohio/Elyria Catholic) made honorable mention after leading the staff with five and six wins respectively.

The women's tennis team posted an overall record of 11-4, a regular season NCAC mark of 3-2 and a fourth-place finish at the conference tournament. Junior No. 1 singles and doubles player Emily Figel (Ft. Wayne, Ind./Homestead) was named first-team All-NCAC for a third straight year and second-team all-conference in doubles after teaming with senior Deana Nowakowski (Uniontown, Ohio/Lake) for an 8-6 overall record. In addition, junior Sarah Fassler (Cincinnati, Ohio/St. Ursula) was chosen for honorable mention all-conference after finishing a team-best 14-3 record at the No. 2 singles position.

The men's tennis team finished 9-6 overall on the season and tied for first place in the NCAC West Division with a 3-1 mark. In the NCAC Tournament, the Tigers landed in sixth place. Sophomore Shane Hutton (Charleston, W.Va./Central Catholic) earned honorable mention for his singles play at the No. 2 position.

The Tiger men's lacrosse team finished with records of 4-12 overall and 2-3 in the NCAC, good for fourth place behind tri-champions Wooster, Denison and Ohio Wesleyan. Sophomore attacker Cory Windle (Columbus, Ohio/Worthington Kilbourne) earned the team's lone first-team All-NCAC honor after leading the offensive attack with 30 goals, 18 assists and 48 total points. Senior attacker Hans Rydquist (Hudson, Ohio/Hudson) claimed second-team honors after finishing second on the team with 46 total points and tying for the team lead in goals with 30.

Hong, who finished the season with 39 points, freshman attacker Adam Morrison (Columbus, Ohio/Hilliard Davidson), sophomore defender Jonathan Smiley (Columbus, Ohio/Worthington Kilbourne), senior goalkeeper Kyle Prussing (Concord, Mass./Concord-Carlisle) and junior defender Bill Fortune (Grosse Pointe, Mich./South) all garnered honorable mention status.

In women's lacrosse, the Tigers wound up with records of 2-8 overall and 2-4 in the NCAC in the first season under the direction of Head Coach Katherine Haney. Senior attacker Katie Babcock (Phoenix, Md./Dulaney) was the team's lone first-team selection after finishing the season third on the team with eight goals and third on the team in total points with 13.

Sophomore defender Emily Hiscar (Pataskala, Ohio/Watkins Memorial) made second team, her first conference honors in the sport after garnering mention each of the last two years in soccer. Freshman goalkeeper Clare Bucheit (Cincinnati, Ohio/McAuley) was rewarded for her fine play, which included a save percentage of .514, with second-team honors as well. In addition, junior midfielder Rachel Ridgeway (Montclair, NJ/The Taft School) and freshman midfielder Kari Thomas (Dublin, Ohio/Coffman) took home honorable mention honors. Thomas led the team with 15 goals and 15 total points.

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