Season Outlook

New Head Coach Norm Riker leads the Tigers in to the 2002 season, hoping to improve on last year's 7-7-3 record and third-place finish in the North Coast Athletic Conference. The Tigers have many question marks heading into this new era, as 12 of last year's 19 letterwinners did not return to the team, most notably All-North Coast Athletic Conference performer Emily Gersbach, who graduated last spring.

Riker, who takes the reins at Wittenberg after six years as an assistant and one year as associate head coach at Vassar College, will rely heavily on junior Geri Woessner (Dayton, Ohio/Oakwood) to carry the offensive load. Woessner, a two-time first-team All-NCAC selection, led the Tigers in 2001 in goals with eight, and points with 22. Wittenberg will also look to sophomore Rachel Ridgeway (Montclair, NJ/The Taft School) and junior Cristin Gill (Loveland, Ohio/Loveland) to assist Woessner in the offensive attack. Ridgeway produced four goals and nine points, while Gill added three goals and eight points.

Newcomers to the offense, who will need to step up immediately, are sophomore Casey Barnes (Hudson, Ohio/Hudson), junior Kaitlin Hiscar (Pataskala, Ohio/Watkins Memorial), and freshmen Lindsay Zigler (Columbus, Ohio/Upper Arlington) and Emily Hiscar (Pataskala, Ohio/Watkins Memorial).

Defensively, the Tigers will be led by junior goalkeeper Jenny Miller (Cincinnati, Ohio/Mother of Mercy), an honorable mention all-conference selection in 2001. Miller recorded 109 saves, allowing only 25 goals in 16 games, a 1.61 GAA. She also produced 3.5 shutouts along the way, combining with returning letterwinner sophomore Eileen Quinn (Glenview, Ill./Glenbrook South) to form a solid backline of defense. Miller should get plenty of help from an experienced group of defenders led by junior Jessica Shellhause (London, Ohio/London), sophomore Meredith Belser (Bay Village, Ohio/Bay), freshman Alicia Dimar (Louisville, Ky./DuPont Manual) and junior Allison Spansky (Munroe Falls, Ohio/Stow-Munroe Falls).