Wittenberg Welcomes Outstanding Field For 2013 Fall Classic
Six nationally ranked teams are in the nine-team field as Wittenberg hosts its annual Fall Classic.
Springfield, Ohio – Ranked No. 10 in the nation despite an uncharacteristic 2-4 start to the 2013 season, the Wittenberg University volleyball team continues its challenging non-conference schedule with the Wittenberg Fall Classic Sept. 13-14.
For the second time in the first three weeks of the campaign, Wittenberg is hosting one the most competitive tournaments in all of NCAA Division III. Two weeks after playing host to a four-team field that included three nationally ranked teams in the Wittenberg Courtyard Marriott National Invitational, the Tigers will welcome a field of nine teams that includes six teams currently in the national top 25.
Known in previous years as the Great Lakes Regional Challenge or the Border Battle, which pitted the top teams from Michigan and Ohio against one another, the tournament has always featured some of the best competition in all of NCAA Division III. A total of 17 matches in the 2013 event are scheduled to start at 11:30 a.m. Friday, Sept. 13, and run through matches starting at 6 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 14.
Wittenberg opened the 2013 season ranked No. 3 but have slipped to No. 10 after four losses in the first two weeks to other teams that appear in the national poll. The Tigers ended the 2012 campaign ranked No. 5 nationally after losing a 3-2 heartbreaker at eventual national runner-up Calvin in the NCAA Division III Tournament Round of 16.
Calvin is in the Fall Classic field again this year, and the Knights check in as the No. 1 team in the nation currently. Calvin's chief Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association rival Hope stands No. 5 nationally, and between the two teams they sport a perfect combined record of 15-0.
Washington University enters the tournament ranked No. 6 nationally, also with a perfect record. Wittenberg was one of four teams the Bears defeated in the Washington University/ASICS National Invitational last weekend. Otterbein is ranked eighth and Juniata stands 16th nationally, both with perfect 8-0 records.
Rounding out the field are traditional Ohio Athletic Conference powerhouses Ohio Northern and Heidelberg, and Mount St. Joseph, which has been among the best teams in the Great Lakes Region for many years.
Written By: Ryan Maurer