High Hopes Continue For the Young Tigers

The high hopes of the 2000 season - which were fueled by a six-game win streak - may seem like a distant memory now, but the young Tigers, with 15 freshmen on the 20-player roster, still have a lot to play for heading into the home stretch. Wittenberg hasn't put together a winning season since 1995, when the team went 15-3 overall and 6-2 in the NCAC, and this year's team could still build momentum heading into the season-ending conference tournament, scheduled to begin Oct. 26.

Last week, Wittenberg continued to play well in the midst of the toughest stretch of the 2000 schedule. Since Sept. 30, the Tigers have dropped four straight games to regionally ranked conference opponents on the road. The string started with a 4-2 loss at Allegheny on Sept. 30. It continued last week to include a 1-0 defeat against Ohio Wesleyan on Oct. 2, a 4-0 loss to nationally ranked Denison on Oct. 4, and a 2-1 loss to Wooster on Oct. 7.

Senior midfielder Natalie Estep (Fairborn, Ohio/Fairborn) was the only Tiger to score a goal. Freshman goaltender Jenny Miller (Cincinnati, Ohio/Mother of Mercy)and the Wittenberg defensive unit headed by senior Shana Ryan (London, Ohio/London) continued to play well.