2010-11 SAAC Tigers of the Month

In 2006, Wittenberg University's Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) initiated a program to recognize the accomplishments of their peers. SAAC members vote during their regularly scheduled meeting to select one male and one female student-athlete who has turned in a noteworthy performance that should be celebrated.

	Tyler Strong Men's Tennis (4/15/11): Freshman Tyler Strong has stepped into the No. 2 singles position this spring and played exceedingly well, helping the Tigers to an 11-6 record through April 15. Strong has a singles record of 13-10 overall during the 2010-11 season, including a mark of 10-6 in dual matches. He has also been solid in doubles, partnering primarily with senior Bobby Fisher at the No. 2 spot. His overall doubles record is 13-9, including a mark of 11-8 with Fisher. The tandem is 9-5 at the No. 2 position in dual matches.
	Chris Gipson Men's Lacrosse (4/15/11): Senior attacker Chris Gipson has been one of the unsung heroes for a Tiger men's lacrosse team that is off to the best start in program history. Coming off their first-ever appearances in the NCAA Division III Tournament a year ago, the Tigers are 9-0 through April 15, thanks to a balance of opportunistic offense and hard-nosed defense. Gipson is primarily a contributor on the offensive end, standing fifth on the team in goals with nine and assists with four for 13 total points. His finest individual performance came during a Spring Break game in Clearwater, Fla., against Birmingham Southern. Gipson poured in a career-high four goals, including the game-winner, in a 14-8 Wittenberg win.
	Alea Taylor Women's Track & Field (4/15/11): Freshman sprinter/jumper Alea Taylor has emerged as a team leader and standout in her inaugural collegiate campaign, with her finest performance to date coming at the 2011 North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) Indoor Championships on March 4-5. Taylor breezed to a first-place finish in the 55 meters by a full tenth of a second, and then she added third-place finishes in the triple jump and high jump. She has also started the outdoor campaign well, turning in a pair of top-five finishes at the loaded Cedarville Invitational and then running the anchor leg of the winning 400-meter relay at Washington & Jefferson a week later.
	Mary Eighmy Women's Golf (4/15/11): Freshman Mary Eighmy picked up right where she left off at the end of the 2010 fall season, recording the Tigers' top score in two of the first three spring tournaments. Eighmy started the spring with a collegiate-best round of 79 at the OMNI Financial Intercollegiate at Hunter Golf Club in Savannah, Ga. She went on to finish 15th with a collegiate-best two-round total of 159. She added an eighth-place finish at the Katman Klassic, hosted by DePauw, on April 9-10. Eighmy shot back-to-back rounds of 80 to lead the Tigers to a fourth-place finish in a tournament that featured five nationally ranked teams.
	Clayton Black Men's Basketball (2/24/11): Junior forward Clayton Black has built upon his breakout 2009-10 season with an even better 2010-11 season. In leading the team with 15.2 points per game, Black has been at his best in some of the Tigers' biggest game of the year, including his career-high 30-point night against nationally ranked Wooster on Feb. 12. A third-team Academic All-District selection by CoSIDA, Black also tops the team in blocked shots by a wide margin and even ranks second on the team in assists with 46, heading into the NCAC Tournament semifinals on Friday, Feb. 25.
	Molly Gustafson Women's Swimming & Diving (2/24/11): Molly Gustafson turned in a tremendous freshman collegiate season, capped by a string of record-breaking all-conference performances at the 2011 NCAC Championship meet Feb. 10-12. Gustafson was a member of the 400-yard and 200-yard medley relays that both placed third to earn All-NCAC honors. The 200-yard medley relay broke a school record and earned an NCAA Division III B Cut with a time of 1:47.02. Gustafson added a third-place finish in the 100-yard breaststroke in a time of 1:06.07, which was slightly slower than her school record performance earlier in the season. Finally, Gustafson broke the school record in the 200-yard breaststroke while finishing fourth at the conference meet.
	Ryan Hagen Men's Track & Field (2/24/11): Junior middle distance runner Ryan Hagen turned in perhaps the best individual performance of the men's indoor track & field season so far when he placed third in the 800 meters at the DePauw Tiger Invitational on Saturday, Feb. 5. Hagen broke a school record with a time of 1:57.36.
	Sarah Watson Women's Basketball (2/24/11): Junior forward Sarah Watson was the model of consistency for Tiger women's basketball team in 2010-11, reaching double figures in points in each of the team's first 16 games and in 22 of the team's 26 games overall. She finished the season ranked second on the team in both scoring (13.5 points per game) and rebounding (6.5 per game).
	Katherine Hueter Women's Basketball (12/7/10): Katherine Hueter is the lone senior on the 2010-11 Wittenberg women's basketball team, so she clearly has decided to take her game to the next level. After struggling in a season-opening loss to Baldwin-Wallace, Hueter has performed admirably in leading her young team to a 2-4 overall record (through Dec. 7). She has scored at least 13 points and grabbed at least four rebounds in each of the last five games, including a trio of double-double performances against Fontbonne, Capital and Allegheny. She has shot 50 percent or better from the field in each of the last five games, and she has played at least 32 minutes in every game so far in 2010-11.
	Brad McKinley Football (12/7/10): Senior linebacker Brad McKinley left his mark on the Tiger football program, becoming just the third player in school history to finish his career with more than 400 tackles. In 2010, McKinley made a team-high 108 tackles in 11 games as he helped the Tigers to their second straight undefeated regular season and North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) championship. He also led the team with 11.5 tackles for loss and ranked among the team leaders in sacks with five en route to his fourth straight All-NCAC designation (third straight on the first team).
	Mary Pfeifer Women's Cross Country (12/7/10): Junior Mary Pfeifer ended on her 2010 cross country season on a positive note by placing 97th at the NCAA Division III Championship meet, hosted by Wartburg College, on Nov. 20. Pfeifer is just the second Wittenberg runner to reach the national event, following in the footsteps of three-time qualifier Abi Gerstle, who made it in 2000, 2001 and 2002. While Pfeifer's best finish in the NCAA Division III Championships came a year ago (67th), her time of 22:23.6 in 2010 was actually nearly a second faster. It was also Pfeifer's personal best time in a 6K race.
	Chris Sullivan Men's Basketball (12/7/10): Senior guard Chris Sullivan has picked right up where he left off in a breakout 2009-10 season, pouring in an average of 17.4 points per game to lead the Tigers to a 2-3 overall record (through Dec. 7). Sullivan, who set a school record for three-pointers in a season a year ago with 90, is on pace to shatter that mark with 23 treys so far in 2010-11. He also ranks second on the team in both assists and steals in the early going while averaging a team-high 29.8 minutes per contest. The high point of Sullivan's season came in the team's first win of the season, a 67-57 decision against Washington & Jefferson. He made eight three-pointers, one short of the University of Rochester's gymnasium record, in 17 attempts, which set a new standard for the facility. He led both teams with 30 points and then added 17 in a championship game loss to the host Yellowjackets to earn All-Tournament honors.
	Kimmie Dyer Volleyball (11/18/10): Junior outside hitter Kimmie Dyer was perhaps the unsung hero of the 2010 Wittenberg volleyball season. The team leader with 295 kills, Dyer also ranked second on the team with 297 digs. She also finished the year with the most service receptions of anyone on the team with 508, making just 26 errors for a 95 percent success rate. Throw in 32 service aces, good for second on the team, and what you have is a complete, all-around player. Dyer earned second-team All-North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) honors while helping the Tigers to their 16th NCAC regular season title and 16th NCAC Tournament crown. Wittenberg finished the regular season ranked No. 2 in the nation before bowing out in the regional championship match of the 2010 NCAA Division III Tournament. Dyer was one of three Tigers to earn a spot on the regional all-tournament team.
	Kailey Striebel Women's Soccer (11/18/10): Sophomore midfielder Kailey Striebel built off a strong inaugural collegiate campaign to become the engine of the Tiger women's soccer team's offense in 2010. After starting all 19 games, Striebel accumulated nine goals, seven assists and 25 total points, all tops on the team. Her three game-winning goals were tied for best on the squad. Striebel earned first-team All-North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) recognition for her efforts, as the Tigers finished 13-5-1 overall and 5-2-0 in the conference regular season, good for a second-place tie.
	Ben Zoeller Football (11/18/10): Before junior Ben Zoeller took over as the starting quarterback, there had been just 10 games in the long and illustrious history of Wittenberg football in which a quarterback had thrown for more than 300 yards. In 10 regular season games in 2010, Zoeller topped 300 yards an amazing six times, putting him on pace to literally re-write the team's season and career passing records. Heading into the 2010 NCAA Division III Tournament after leading the Tigers to their second straight outright North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) championship, Zoeller had already broken the school record for passing yards in a season. He also is in the top five in at least 14 other season records lists. Perhaps most impressive, his 2,886 passing yards through the first 10 games of the 2010 season rank as the 10th higher career total in program history.
	Michael Lambeck Men's Soccer (11/18/10): Junior goalkeeper Michael Lambeck was the cornerstone of the 2010 Tiger men's soccer team, coming up big time and again to help his inexperienced, injury-riddled team remain in the hunt for a North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) Tournament berth until the final week of the regular season. Recognized after the season with first-team All-NCAC honors, Lambeck started all 18 games in 2010, making 110 saves and finishing with a goals against average of 1.25. The Tigers were held scoreless over the final five games of the season to finish 5-10-3 overall and 2-5-1 in the NCAC.
	Craig Osterbrock Men's Golf (9/29/10): Sophomore Craig Osterbrock has picked right where he left off in his record-breaking inaugural collegiate campaign. After helping the Tigers to a sixth-place finish in the 2010 NCAA Division III Tournament and earning third-team All-America honors, Osterbrock turned in a record-breaking performance at the Golfweek Invitational Sept. 12-14. He followed his first-round 77 with team-bests of 67 on Day 2 and 68 in the final round to claim fourth place individually as the Tigers placed sixth in a 15-team field that including 12 nationally ranked teams. Osterbrock's second-round 67 was the second-best ever by a Wittenberg player, and his 135 combined in the final two rounds is a school record. He was named NCAC Men's Golfer of the Week, and the Tigers have since climbed to No. 6 in the nation, according to GolfStat's head-to-head rankings.
	Amy Cox Volleyball (9/29/10): Senior Amy Cox has made a smooth transition from the right-side hitter spot and to the all-important setter position, and in the process she has lifted the volleyball Tigers into the top five in the country. In leading the Tigers to eight wins over nationally ranked opponents in the first three weeks of the season, Cox dished out 442 assists through Sept. 29. She was never better than the opening weekend of the season, when she led the Tigers to wins over preseason No. 8 St. Thomas and No. 14 Wisconsin-Whitewater and California Lutheran to claim the Wittenberg National Invitational title. Cox was named Tournament MVP, NCAC Player of the Week and AVCA National Player of the Week after averaging 10.8 assists per set in the three matches.
	Elizabeth Dwyer Field Hockey (9/29/10): The Tiger field hockey team sprinted out to a 6-2 record through the first half of the 2010 season, and junior forward Elizabeth Dwyer has played a key role in a record-breaking offensive explosion. Through Sept. 29, Dwyer ranked second on the team with nine goals and 20 total points. More importantly, three of her nine goals have been game-winners, including a clutch overtime tally that beat Washington & Jefferson on Sept. 8.
	Josh McKee Football (9/29/10): A junior wide receiver, Josh McKee turned in the finest game for a wide receiver in the illustrious history of the Tiger football program. McKee caught nine passes for 318 yards and five touchdowns in a 37-7 win over Washington University on Sept. 18. He broke a 47-year-old school record (227 yards) and a 10-year-old NCAC record (250 yards) and also established new standards for receiving touchdowns for both the school and conference. Through the first four games of the 2010 season, McKee ranked second in all of NCAA Division III with 157.5 receiving yards per game.