Twenty-Seven Wittenberg Student-Athletes Claim Spring Sport All-Conference Awards
A solid spring sports season has reaped individual rewards for 27 Wittenberg University athletes who were selected to All-North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) teams over the last two weeks.
Stephanie Zorn
Brooke Boswell
Amy Myser
Cameron Catalfu
Matt Steinke
Andy Karcher
Erik Larkin
Curt Weidner
Manoach Lamarre
Nicole Bailey
Katie Shoemaker
Allison Walker
Springfield, Ohio — A solid spring sports season has reaped individual rewards for 27 Wittenberg University athletes who were selected to All-North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) 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. Individual finishes at conference championship events determined All-NCAC selections in men's golf and men's and women's track and field.
Leading off, the Tiger SOFTBALL team finished second in the NCAC regular season standings with an 11-3 record. After placing fourth in the NCAC Tournament, the Tigers finished the campaign with a 27-13 overall record.
Freshman outfielder Cameron Catalfu (Loveland, Ohio/Loveland)led the all-conference selections as she garnered first-team honors to go along with NCAC Newcomer of the Year after leading the top hitting team in the conference with 39 runs scored. Catalfu was joined on the first team by senior third baseman Stephanie Zorn (Grapevine, Texas/Colleyville), the 2005 NCAC Player of the Year, who was second on the team in batting average and first in runs batted in. Zorn, who broke school records for career base hits and walks, was a three-time first-team All-NCAC honoree, in addition to a second-team designation in 2004.
Freshman Brooke Boswell (Hamilton, Ohio/Fairfield) and juniorAmy Myser (Columbus, Ohio/Upper Arlington) also earned first-team All-NCAC nods. Boswell filled a utility player position after splitting her time between pitcher and the outfield, while Myser made it as an outfielder after starting 38 of the team's 40 games and setting a school record with 18 sacrifice hits (15 bunts and three sacrifice flies).
In addition, junior shortstop Sarah Fetters (Maumee, Ohio/Maumee) picked up second-team All-NCAC mention for a second straight year after leading the team in almost every offensive category. She was joined on the second team by sophomore pitcher Rachael Hatcher (West Carrollton, Ohio/West Carrollton), who is on pace to shatter several school records after posting a 15-6 overall record with a 2.53 earned run average in 23 appearances, including 20 starts. (NCAC Softball Press Release)
In MEN'S GOLF, Wittenberg finished third for a second straight year in the NCAC Championships May 5-6 at The Legends Golf Club in Massillon, Ohio. The Tigers were paced by sophomores Dan Buchan (Dublin, Ohio/Worthington Christian) and Jeff Hochstetler (Plain City, Ohio/Jonathan Alder), who finished seventh and 11th respectively in the final year-long NCAC individual standings. Buchan had a four-tournament score of 709, including a sizzling 232 in the three-round NCAC Championships. Hochstetler finished with an overall score of 713. (NCAC Men's Golf Press Release)
The Wittenberg BASEBALL team finished the season 18-19 overall and 8-8 in the NCAC West Division, good for third place in the regular season standings.
Three Tigers made the All-NCAC baseball honor roll, led by junior catcher Matt Steinke (Wapakoneta, Ohio/St. Mary's Memorial), who was selected to the first team. Steinke started 36 games in the 2007 season, batting .336 with team-bests of 33 runs scored, 10 doubles, three triples and two home runs to go along with 20 runs batted in and a stellar .977 fielding percentage.
Seniors Andrew Wellman (Huntington, W.Va./Huntington), a first baseman, and Tyler McClain (Springfield, Ohio/North), a starting pitcher, earned honorable mention status. Wellman overcame an early-season injury to lead the Tigers with a .443 batting average in 21 games. McClain was the team's most consistent pitcher, despite a hard-luck 2-4 record. He led the starters with 55 innings pitched to go along with a 4.75 earned run average. (NCAC Baseball Press Release)
MEN'S AND WOMEN'S TRACK AND FIELD athletes earn All-NCAC recognition with a top-three finish in the NCAC meet. The Tiger men claimed fourth place in the championship meet, while the Tiger women finished seventh.
Individually, four Tiger men turned in five all-conference performances during the outdoor championship meet. The lone first-place finish was turned in by senior Andy Karcher (Oceola, Ohio/Bucyrus Wynford), who defended his title in the hammer. In addition, sophomore Erik Larkin (Cincinnati, Ohio/Country Day)placed second in the high jump and third in the triple jump, freshman Curt Weidner (Harrison, Ohio/Harrison) took third in the 110-meter hurdles and junior Manoach Lamarre (Miami, Fla./Bellen Jesuit)added a third in the 100-meter dash.
On the women's side, three student-athletes captured individual all-conference awards. Sophomore Katie Shoemaker (Arcanum, Ohio/Franklin-Monroe) finished second in the 400 meters, junior Nicole Bailey (Cincinnati, Ohio/Summit Country Day) placed third in the 100 meters and junior Allison Walker (Columbus, Ohio/Academy) added a second in the hammer throw with a school-record mark of 134-11. (NCAC Outdoor Track and Field Press Release)
After posting records of 6-6 overall and 1-4 in the NCAC, good for fifth place, the Tiger MEN'S LACROSSE team placed four players on the all-conference rolls, with two players on the second team and two more reaching honorable mention status.
Senior defender Bryan Arnold (Dublin, Ohio/Scioto) garnered second-team All-NCAC honors for a second straight season. A team captain for a second consecutive year, Arnold started all 12 games and ranked among the team leaders with 27 ground balls. He was joined on the second team by freshman midfielderJeff Capella (Worthington, Ohio/Kilbourne), who led the Tigers with 27 goals and 33 total points.
Senior defender Brandon Schwind (Columbus, Ohio/Upper Arlington) and junior attacker Brandon Hulett (Hilliard, Ohio/Davidson) garnered honorable mention status. Despite an injury that cost him three games, Schwind ranked third on the team with 36 ground balls, while Hulett started all 12 games and led the Tigers with 16 assists. (NCAC Men's Lacrosse Press Release)
The Tiger WOMEN'S LACROSSE team finished up the 2007 season with records of 3-11 overall and 0-6 in the NCAC. Three players earned All-NCAC awards as junior Amber Cupples (Wooster, Ohio/Wooster), who led the team with 23 goals, 11 assists and 34 total points on the season, and sophomore defender Beth Vonderbrink (Cincinnati, Ohio/Mount Notre Dame), who ranked among the NCAC leaders in both ground balls and caused turnovers, both took second-team honors. Sophomore Megan Meige (Columbus, Ohio/DeSales) claimed honorable mention status after finishing with 12 goals, nine assists and 21 total points. (NCAC Women's Lacrosse Press Release)
The WOMEN'S TENNIS team posted an overall record of 9-8, a regular season NCAC mark of 4-3 and a fifth-place finish at the conference tournament. The Tigers were represented on the All-NCAC honor roll by sophomore Allison Earhart (Yorktown, Ind./Yorktown), who posted an overall singles record of 6-8, including a mark of 4-6 at No. 1 singles. (NCAC Women's Tennis Press Release)
Rounding things out, the MEN'S TENNIS team finished 2-16 overall and 1-7 in NCAC regular season play, and the Tigers landed in eighth place in the annual NCAC Tournament. Sophomore Brad Seymour (Chillicothe, Ohio/Chillicothe)earned second-team all-conference honors after compiling an 9-10 overall record in 2006-07, including a respectable 7-8 mark at the No. 1 singles position. (NCAC Men's Tennis Press Release)
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