Witt men, women each picked fourth in NCAC basketball poll

By David Jablonski | Thursday, November 5, 2009, 01:35 PM

From the North Coast Athletic Conference:

WOOSTER MEN, OHIO WESLEYAN WOMEN FAVORED AS NCAC PREPS FOR 26TH BASKETBALL CAMPAIGN

CLEVELAND — Wooster’s men and Ohio Wesleyan’s women were tabbed as the favorites in preseason voting by coaches of the North Coast Athletic Conference.

Five-time defending NCAC champion Wooster topped Ohio Wesleyan in the men’s balloting by a 20-point margin after picking up nine of 10 possible first-place votes to total 99 points. The Battling Bishops were second with 79 points. North Coast tournament finalist Wabash was a point behind (78) in third, followed closely by Wittenberg (74) in fourth with the remaining first-place vote. Hiram totalled 65 points for the fifth spot in the poll, while Allegheny (50), Kenyon (42), Denison (31), Earlham (21) and Oberlin (11) rounded out places six through 10, respectively.

The Fighting Scots return nine letterwinners and four starters from a team that went 23-7 overall and won the NCAC Tournament. The Scots will look to junior guards Ian Franks (Greenwich, OH/South Central) and Nathan Balch (Westerville, OH/Olentangy) and sophomore forward Justin Hallowell (Worthington, OH/Thomas Worthington) for leadership.
All three were All-NCAC performers a season ago, and Hallowell was the North Coast’s Newcomer of the Year and conference tournament MVP.

Defending NCAC tournament champion Ohio Wesleyan took seven of nine first-place votes for 78 points in the women’s coaches’ poll to outdistance Kenyon by a 14-point margin. The coaches predicted the three-time NCAC champion Ladies (64) would finish second. Defending conference champion Dension received the remaining two first-place nods and was tabbed third with 61 points, followed by 11-time North Coast champs Wittenberg (57) in fourth, and 2009 tournament finalist Allegheny (48) in fifth. Wooster (39), Hiram (29), Earlham (15) and Oberlin (14) rounded out the women’s poll in positions six through nine, respectively.

The Battling Bishops return 12 letterwinners and four starters from a team that won its fifth NCAC tourney crown after entering the event as the fourth seed. Ohio Wesleyan compiled an 17-12 overall record a year ago and bowed out in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. A trio of juniors, post Kayla Gordon (St. Louis, MO/Mehlville), guard Pam Quigney (Mentor, OH/Mentor) and wing Tyler Cordell (Columbus, OH/St. Francis DeSales) are returning all-conference performers.

The 2009-10 season begins on Sunday, November 15. The NCAC Tournament will be held at the end of February, with the men’s and women’s semifinals and finals at the site of the respective high seeds on Feb. 26-27.

-NCAC-

2009-10 Men’s Poll (Coaches)

    1.      Wooster (9)     99
    2.      Ohio Wesleyan 79
    3.      Wabash  78
    4.      Wittenberg (1) 74
    5.      Hiram 65
    6.      Allegheny 50
    7.      Kenyon  42
    8.      Denison 31
    9.      Earlham 21
    10.     Oberlin 11

2009-10 Women’s Poll (Coaches)

    1.      Ohio Wesleyan (7) 78
    2.      Kenyon  64
    3.      Denison (2) 61
    4.      Wittenberg 57
    5.      Allegheny 48
    6.      Wooster 39
    7.      Hiram   29
    8.      Earlham 15
    9.      Oberlin 14

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Wittenberg climbs to No. 2 in D-III football regional rankings

By David Jablonski | Wednesday, November 4, 2009, 05:19 PM

Trailing only top-ranked Mount Union, Wittenberg ascended to No. 2 in the North Region, as the NCAA released its Division III regional rankings Wednesday.

The Tigers can clinch a playoff berth and a share of the NCAC title by beating Allegheny at home Saturday, Nov. 7. The regional rankings help determine playoff seeding.

If it wins its last two games against Allegheny and Wooster, Wittenberg would likely gain a high seed and and a home playoff game (or games).

The Tigers ranked No. 12 in the American Football Coaches Association poll and No. 14 in the D3Football.com poll.

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Wittenberg climbs to 14th in latest poll

By David Jablonski | Sunday, November 1, 2009, 08:26 PM

Wittenberg rose from 17th to 14th in the latest D3football.com Top 25 Poll.

The Tigers beat Denison 41-7 on Saturday, Oct. 31, to improve to 8-0 and 5-0 in the North Coast Athletic Conference.

The Tigers have outscored their eight opponents 202-0 in the first half and 264-3 in the first three quarters. Witt’s opponents hold a 34-30 edge in the fourth quarter. Wittenberg has been denied three shutouts because of scores in the final two minutes.

The Tigers host Allegheny on Nov. 7. The Gators are coming off a big win over Wooster. They trail the Tigers by one game in the NCAC.

Season photos.

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On this date in area sports history …

By David Jablonski | Friday, October 30, 2009, 06:00 AM

Thirty seven years ago on this date, Oct. 30, 1972, Sports Illustrated listed a Wittenberg soccer player in its Faces in the Crowd:

Howard Hendershott, a freshman soccer player at Wittenberg University in Springfield, Ohio, set a new school scoring record for one game with five goals in a 10-1 victory over Capital University, accomplishing the feat in only a minute and 11 seconds.

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John Legend sings National Anthem at World Series

By David Jablonski | Thursday, October 29, 2009, 07:51 PM

Springfield native John Legend sang the National Anthem before tonight’s Game 2 of the World Series at Yankee Stadium.

From the Wall Street Journal:

WSJ: A lot of veteran performers have screwed up the national anthem. They take it for granted and they forget the words. What are you doing to avoid that?

John Legend: I don’t want to jinx myself, but I’ve done the national anthem a few times before. It’s challenging because you do it by yourself a cappella in front of millions of people. The song itself, the way it’s composed, it can be tough: it’s low at the beginning and high at the end. You want to start in the right pitch, so you end on the right pitch. Some singers start too high at the beginning and they have no where to go at the end. I’ll be fine.

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Football playoff potentials for area teams

By Brian Plasters | Wednesday, October 28, 2009, 04:33 PM

Very unscientific and I won’t project who beats who, but here’s how area teams could advance to the state playoffs. This will be in Friday’s paper, as well.

• Springfield (6-3) needs to beat Wayne for a spot in Division I, Region 3 playoffs. It’s that simple, and also that difficult. Wayne (6-3) and hasn’t lost to a Springfield team since 2002.

• Tecumseh’s almost assured a first-round game, yet the Arrows (8-1) still have much to play for. A win at Bellefontaine gives them a share of the Central Buckeye Conference Kenton Trail Division and possibly a higher Region 8 seed.

• West Liberty-Salem (9-0) can clinch an undefeated regular season and the Ohio Heritage Conference by winning at Cedarville. Region 20 is especially crowded at the top, so a Tigers’ home playoff game is not automatic.

• Southeastern (7-2) needs to beat Triad to ensure its first playoff appearance since 2002. Should the Trojans beat Triad they have a shot at a playoff home game.

• Shawnee (6-3) needs to beat Stebbins (0-9) and hope a couple things fall in place to go to the Region 12 playoffs.

• Graham (7-2) first needs to beat rival Urbana (5-4), then a win and some help puts the Falcons in the Region 10 playoffs. The Falcons already clinched a share of the CBC Mad River title.

• A scenario exists for Catholic Central (5-4) to make the Region 24 playoffs. First the Irish need to beat Mechanicsburg (6-3), one of its biggest rivals. Mechanicsburg’s run of seven straight playoff appearances looks to be over, even with a win.

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Mascot Faceoff: Wittenberg vs. Wooster

By David Jablonski | Monday, October 26, 2009, 04:23 PM

News release from Wittenberg University:

First-Ever Online Mascot Face-Off Between Wittenberg and Wooster Builds Collegiate Spirit, Highlights Competition and Provides Comic Relief

Imagine the scene. Wittenberg’s beloved Tiger mascot going head-to-head with Wooster’s Fighting Scot mascot in a face-off destined to define the ages. For Wittenberg University and The College of Wooster, the fate of their respective mascots will come down to the votes of fans as the first-of-its-kind contest gets underway today, Oct. 26, at www.mascotfaceoff.com.

The drama, the thrill of competition, and rigors of athletic preparation unfold in unique fashion online as the four-minute face-off airs on both schools’ respective Web sites for two weeks prior to the Wooster-Wittenberg football game, Nov. 14. In addition to providing the ability for fans to vote for the winner, the Web site integrates social media technology, including Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

The brainchild of Wittenberg’s Offices of University Communications and Alumni Relations, the face-off idea quickly grew in popularity following conversations with the same offices at The College of Wooster. From there, Wittenberg designed and deployed the interactive Web site, which includes a video showcase of each mascot as well as pages for fans of each institution.

Voting will conclude on Nov. 14 at the end of the football game between the two longtime Division III Ohio rivals. Between now and then, a series of video vignettes featuring campus administrators and students from each institution will be strategically used to encourage fans to vote for their favorite mascot in a competition that will go down in history as one of the finest in the world of sports.

MascotFaceoff.com

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