2004-05 Season Outlook

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Alison Nahrup

After the best season in school history, which included a run to the NCAA Division III Tournament Round of 16, the Wittenberg Tigers must replace four senior starters in 2004-05. Ironically, the program replaced four senior starters in 2003-04, and the results included NCAC regular season and tournament titles and a 25-6 overall record.

Many questions surround this year's team. With a nucleus of 10 returning letterwinners, another winning season is certainly expected, but can the Tigers extend their NCAC winning streak, which currently stands at 36 straight? Will there be a leadership vacuum created by the departure of one of the finest senior classes in school history? And how will a heralded freshman class mesh with the returning players, and will they be able to build on the Tigers' recent success in the national tournament?

The team's lone returning starter is senior guard Alison Nahrup (Loveland, Ohio/Mount Notre Dame), a strong defensive player who ranked among the team leaders in assists, blocked shots and steals. The team's other senior is guard Emilie Schmid (Canton, Ohio/Massillon Jackson), also its top returning scorer at 7.3 points per game. As always, Schmid will be a midseason pick-up for the Tigers since she and the second-ranked Wittenberg volleyball team have designs on a national title in 2004. Both seniors play primarily on the wing, although Schmid has rotated to the point guard spot on occasion during her collegiate career.

Nahrup and Schmid will be joined in the backcourt by junior Carrie Jones (Greenville, Ohio/Greenville), a two-year letterwinner who scored 5.1 points per game a year ago, primarily off the bench. Three other returning letterwinners will vie for playing time in a crowded, diverse backcourt: sophomore point guard Andrea Hackett (Springfield, Ohio/Catholic Central) and sophomore shooting guard Megan Miller (Lancaster, Ohio/Lancaster) and junior point guard Brittany Landreth (Valparaiso, Ind./Valparaiso). Hackett and Landreth are the leading contenders to take over the point guard duties from graduated seniors Christina Fischer and Kari Kitchen, while Miller emerged as a three-point shooting threat in 17 games during the 2003-04 season.

In the frontcourt, the top returning player is sophomore Kathy Hittle (Noblesville, Ind./Noblesville), who posted averages of 4.3 points and 3.5 rebounds per game in 2003-04, including 19 points and eight rebounds in the 2003-04 season opening win over Ohio Northern. Junior Joyce Dindo (Akron, Ohio/Walsh Jesuit) is a two-year letterwinner who will now be asked to step into a key leadership role in 2004-05 after appearing in 27 games and contributing 1.6 points and 1.8 rebounds per game.

In addition, sophomores Rachel Clark-Haggy (South Charleston, Ohio/Southeastern) and Denita Braziel (Springfield, Va./West Springfield) figure prominently in the post player mix. Clark-Haggy averaged 2.1 points and 2.2 rebounds in 25 games off the bench in 2003-04, while Braziel made 13 appearances and shot better than 61 percent from the field.