Tigers Show Great Promise From a Very Young Team

The Tigers have come a long way in a short time, even with 15 freshmen among its 19 players on the 2000 roster. Wittenberg, coming off a series of sub-par seasons, matched its 1999 win total of seven with a 4-3 victory over visiting Ohio Northern on Thursday.

Freshman forward Jill Rekers (Springboro, Ohio/Springboro) and senior midfielderNatalie Estep (Fairborn, Ohio/Fairborn) both put in two goals as the high-scoring Tigers won for the sixth straight time. Junior midfielder Emily Gersbach (Cincinnati, Ohio/Hamilton Badin) and freshman forward Geri Woessner (Dayton, Ohio/Oakwood) had the assists.

On Saturday, the Tigers suffered their first defeat since the second week of the season against regionally ranked Heidelberg. In their first road NCAC test, Wittenberg dropped a physical, hotly contested 4-2 decision to Allegheny in Meadville, Pa.

The Tigers went down 3-0 in the first half before beginning a rally that just fell short in the end. Wittenberg, which went into the game ranked 10th in the Great Lakes region and moved up to seventh this week, received goals from Estep and Rekers again. The only Wittenberg assist against Allegheny, which is rated No. 4 in the Great Lakes region, was contributed by Woessner.

While she didn't add to her team- and NCAC-leading goal total of 11 last week, Woessner continues to top both in scoring with 29 points. Freshman forward Kate Williston (Wooster, Ohio/Wooster) , Rekers and Estep also appear among the conference leaders, while freshman goaltender Jenny Miller (Cincinnati, Ohio/Mother of Mercy) is also among the league leaders with a 1.58 goals against average.

The Tigers continue the toughest and most important stretch of the season this week when they travel to Ohio Wesleyan tonight, Denison on Wednesday and Wooster on Saturday.