Amazing Double Feature

Multiple-sport athletes are not unusual at the collegiate level, especially in Division III, where we encourage the concept as much as possible. In most cases, an athlete will run cross country and also participate in track, or perhaps track and football. The NCAC has also had a few women's soccer and basketball or volleyball and women's basketball participants. However, some athletes forge their own unique paths. Earlier this year, we shared the stories of Ohio Wesleyan's Xander Jones who is playing football, men's soccer and baseball this fall and of Wooster men's men's basketball standout Tim Vandervaart, who is closing out his career on the soccer field.

This week, we feature another out-of-the-ordinary dual-sport athlete, one who has kicked off her collegiate career with enormous success.

Kenyon freshman Lauren Brady pulled off a remarkable feat this past weekend. Saturday morning, she placed second in the NCAC cross country championship race, amongst a field of 101 runners on the 6,000-meter course.

She then turned to the pool for the Ladies double dual meet with NCAA Division I powers Ohio University and Ohio State University later that afternoon. In the first dual meets of her collegiate career, Brady cleared the NCAA Division III provisional qualifying standards in the 200-yard butterfly (2:06.04) and the 100-yard butterfly (58.47). Her time in the 200 was her personal best by 1.7 seconds.

Battle of the Best

There are matchups in sports that fans can only dream about. Tomorrow volleyball fans in Springfield, Ohio, will be treated to just such a pairing when the two teams ranked first and second in the nation meet up in Wittenberg's annual Fall Classic.

Unbeaten Wittenberg, which owns a 30-0 record, and is the number one team in NCAA Division III, will host second-ranked Juniata at 8:00 p.m. The Classic also features Carnegie Mellon, Carthage, Cedarville and the University of Dallas.

The Tigers begin the evening at 6:00 p.m. with their final regular-season conference match, against Denison.

The Springfield News-Sun featured the Wittenberg vs. Juniata matchup here.

In the Polls

It's once again time for the weekly poll roundup to see how NCAC teams rank across the region and on the national landscape:

Women's Cross Country: Allegheny is fifth in the Mideast Region. In the Great Lakes, Ohio Wesleyan is fifth, followed by Oberlin in sixth, Kenyon in seventh and Denison in ninth. The national poll was not yet available.

UPDATE: Ohio Wesleyan is 31st in the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association national Division III poll.

Men's Cross Country: Allegheny dropped one spot to 12th in the U.s. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association Division III poll. The Gators remain second in the Mideast Region. Wabash is 10th in the Great Lakes Region.

Football: Wabash is moved into ninth in the latest AFCA poll and 13th in the D3football.com Top 25. Wittenberg received votes in both polls. Individually, Wabash senior Jared Lange was named to the D3football.com Team of the Week after his 4.5 tackles for losses helped the Little Giant defense hold Oberlin to 14 points -- 18 points under its points-per-game average coming in. He recorded seven tackles (four solo) on the day.

Women's Soccer: Wittenberg is ranked 12th and Denison 21st in the national NSCAA/adidas poll. The Tigers are tops in the Great Lakes Region, followed by the Big Red in third (tie) and Ohio Wesleyan in fifth. D3Kicks.com ranks Wittenberg 24th in their national Top 25. Denison received votes in the poll.

Men's Soccer: Wittenberg is ranked 21st in the national NSCAA/adidas poll. The Tigers are third in the Great Lakes Region, followed by Kenyon in fourth and Ohio Wesleyan in ninth. Wittenberg received votes in the D3Kicks.com national Top 25.

Volleyball: Wittenberg was the unanimous number one in the CSTV/AVCA Division III Coaches Top 25 poll after receiving all 24 first-place votes. The Tigers are 29-0 and are the only undefeated team left in Division III. They are off to the best start in the program's history and have overtaken the NCAC record for wins in a season, which they previously held (18 in 2004 and 2005). Wittenberg has only dropped five games all season, and has won a school- and NCAC-record 53 straight games, including 17 straight 3-0 victories. The NCAA Division III record is 57 in a row, set earlier this season by Wisconsin-Oshkosh, while the all-division record is 105 by Florida in 2003. Wittenberg is one of just eight schools in the 15-year history of the AVCA poll to be ranked in the top spot.

Hiram rankes 22nd in the poll.

Around the NCAC

** Allegheny senior punter Jason Black explains the specialized nature of the position in a recent article in The Vindicator.

** Wooster women's soccer coach David "Geordie" Brown earned his 200th career win as his Fighting Scots defeated Oberlin, 3-0, on Oct. 20. Geordie, now with a 200-99-23 record (.657), entered this season ranked among the top-50 in NCAA Div. III women’s soccer active coaches in both all-time victories and winning percentage.

** Crawfordsville Journal Review assistant editor Sam King recounts the story Sap Wilson, an astonishing, and kind of sad, piece of Wabash football history in a column from last week.

In the Polls

Several NCAC teams are making their presence known on national and regional stages:

Women's Cross Country: Ohio Wesleyan improved one spot t0 31st in the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association Division III poll. Allegheny is fifth in the Mideast Region. In the Great Lakes, Ohio Wesleyan is fifth, followed by Oberlin in sixth, Kenyon in seventh and Denison in ninth.

Men's Cross Country: Allegheny moved up four spots to 11th in the U.s. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association Division III poll. The Gators are second in the Mideast Region. Wabash is 10th in the Great Lakes Region.

Football: Wabash is 10th in the latest AFCA poll and 14th in the D3football.com Top 25. Wittenberg received votes in both polls. Individually, Oberlin junior R.V. Carroll was named to the D3football.com Team of the Week after he led the Yeomen to a 41-14 victory over Earlham. Carroll finished with 217 yards and four scores on 34 carries, for the third-best single-game rushing total in school history. He led a Yeomen surge after the Quakers had taken a 14-7 lead early in the second half by scoring four straight touchdowns.

Women's Soccer: Wittenberg is ranked 12th and Denison 24th in the national NSCAA/adidas poll. The Tigers are first in the Great Lakes Region, followed by the Big Red in third and Ohio Wesleyan in sixth. Kenyon received votes in the poll. D3Kicks.com ranks Wittenberg 24th in their national Top 25. Denison received votes in the poll.

Men's Soccer: Wittenberg is fourth in the NSCAA/adidas Great Lakes Region poll, followed by Kenyon in fifth, Allegheny in eighth and Ohio Wesleyan in ninth. Wittenberg received votes in the D3Kicks.com national Top 25.

Volleyball: Wittenberg has reclaimed the top spot in the CSTV/AVCA Division III Coaches Top 25 poll for the second time this season, and the third time in school history. The Tigers, who received 23 first-place votes, are 26-0 are the only undefeated team left in Division III. They are off to the best start in the program's history and have overtaken the NCAC record for wins in a season, which they previously held (18 in 2004 and 2005). Wittenberg has only dropped five games all season, and has won a school- and NCAC-record 44 straight games, including 14 straight 3-0 victories. The NCAA Division III record is 49 in a row, set by Washington University (Mo.) in 1995, while the all-division record is 105 by Florida in 2003. Wittenberg is one of just eight schools in the 15-year history of the AVCA poll to be ranked in the top spot.

Hiram jumped two spots to 22nd in the poll.

All in the Family

There is a saying, "Success breeds success". That's certainly true in sports, especially for a pair of Wittenberg seniors:

** NCAASports.com has a feature on the father-daughter combo of Wittenberg volleyball player Jan Kehres and her dad, the head football coach and athletic director at Mount Union and the success each has had.

** Wittenberg senior Meghan O'Rourke also hails from a family touched by athletic success. The Tiger women's soccer goalkeeper, who recently established the NCAC record for career shutouts with 42, has seen first hand what it takes to be a successful athlete. Her father played professional football and her brother Danny is a starter for the Columbus Crew.

In the Polls

Several NCAC teams are making their presence known on national and regional stages:

Women's Cross Country: Ohio Wesleyan is 32nd in the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association Division III poll. Allegheny is fifth in the Mideast Region. In the Great Lakes, Ohio Wesleyan is fifth, followed by Oberlin in sixth, Kenyon in eighth and Denison in ninth.

Men's Cross Country: Allegheny is 15th in the U.s. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association Division III poll. The Gators are second in the Mideast Region. Wabash is 10th in the Great Lakes Region.

Football: Wabash has climbed to 10th in the latest AFCA poll and 14th in the D3football.com Top 25. Wittenberg received votes in both polls. Ohio Wesleyan received votes in the AFCA poll. Individually, Oberlin senior defensive back Chase Palmer and Wooster senior linebacker Trey Simmerman were named to the D3football.com Team of the Week. Palmer intercepted a pass with 47 seconds left to stop Denison's final drive, and clinch the Yeomen's 34-27 win over the Big Red. He posted a team high eight tackles (five solo), 3.5 tackles for a loss, and 1.5 sacks. Simmerman had 14 tackles (eight solo), one forced fumble, and one fumble recovery in Wooster's first win over the season, 13-9 over Ohio Wesleyan.

Women's Soccer: Denison is ranked 13th and Wittenberg 17th in the national NSCAA/adidas poll. The Big Red are first in the Great Lakes Region, followed closely by the Tigers in second, Ohio Wesleyan in sixth and Kenyon in ninth. D3Kicks.com ranks Denison 23rd in their national Top 25. Wittenberg received votes in the poll. Individually, Wooster sophomore Simone DiSalvo was named to the D3Kicks.com Team of the Week after she scored the game-winner in overtime versus Hiram, a 4-3 decision, and also had an assist in the contest. The Fighting Scots were 1-1 on the week after losing to Kenyon, 1-0, in overtime.

Men's Soccer: Wittenberg is 14th in the national NSCAA/adidas poll - a two-spot improvement over last week, and once again the highest ever national ranking for the Tigers. Wittenberg is second in the Great Lakes Region, followed by Kenyon in sixth, Ohio Wesleyan in eighth and Allegheny in ninth. Denison and Hiram also received votes in the regional poll. Wittenberg received votes in the D3Kicks.com national Top 25. Individually, Earlham freshman Bannett Asingura was named to the D3Kicks.com Team of the Week after he recorded a pair of goals to lead the Quakers past Oberlin, 2-1 in overtime, to win the Freedom Trophy for the first time since the trophy was established three years ago by the 1954 Quaker team inducted into the Earlham athletics hall of fame in 2005. Asingura gave the Quakers a 1-0 lead midway through the first half then scored the game-winner 6:26 into the extra session.

Volleyball: Wittenberg is ranked second nationally for the fourth straight week. The Tigers, who received six first-place votes, are 24-0. Wittenberg and Haverford (23-0) are the only undefeated teams left in Division III. The Tigers are off to the best start in the program's history. The have overtaken the NCAC record for wins in a season, which they previously held (18 in 2004 and 2005). Wittenberg has only dropped five games all season, and have a current win streak of 38 games in a row. Hiram is ranked 24th by the AVCA.

Kendall Communites Develop NCAC Football Rivalry

A fresh new rivalry is brewing in North Coast Athletic Conference football.

For the second straight year, the two Kendal senior citizen communities of Oberlin and Granville gathered to cheer on the gridiron efforts of the Oberlin Yeomen and the Denison Big Red.

About 18 Oberlin residents made the roughly two-hour trip to Granville last Saturday to indulge in a little friendly rivalry, some bonding with new friends and a free lunch provided by Kendal at Granville.

Read the full story at the Newark Advocate

From the comfort of your own living room

The Columbus Sports Network will start its coverage of Division III college football Saturday with a taped replay of the North Coast Athletic Conference showdown between Denison and Ohio Wesleyan.

Delayed replays begin at 9:30 p.m. each Saturday, with additional replays throughout the week. Check local listings, or the CSN website, for the station in your area.

Other NCAC football games on TV:

* Wittenberg at Wabash, Oct. 13
Hometown Television - rebroadcast schedule on various stations throughout Indiana, and Kentucky, next week:

Skytrak Weather Network, Saturday, Oct. 20 at 8 p.m.
HomeTown 19, Hamilton County, Tuesday, October 16 at 3 p.m. and 7 p.m.
HomeTown 19, Tipton County, Tuesday, October 16; TBA
WJTS TV, Jasper, Tuesday, October 16 at 8 p.m.
WVHF (Indiana 9), Clarksville/Jeffersonville/Louisville, KY, Saturday, October 20 at 1 p.m.

Nov. 10
* Allegheny at Oberlin, SportsTime Ohio, 9:00 p.m.
* Wabash at DePauw (Monon Bell), HDNet, 1:00 p.m.

Around the NCAC

** Why do sports matter? Allegheny Athletic Director Betsy Mitchell has some interesting insights for an answer in her first From the Athletic Director's Desk column.

** Meet Martin Krislov, Oberlin's 14th president.

** Wooster men's basketball standout Tim Vandervaart is writing a new chapter in his Fighting Scot history - on an entirely different field. The three-time All-NCAC forward decided to come back this fall to complete his communications degree and is now a starting defender, and co-captain, of the Scots men's soccer team. The soccer pitch is not unfamiliar territory for 6-foot, 6-inch Vandervaart, as he played in high school as reported by the Wooster Daily Record.

Soccer was actually Vandervaart's first love, and his best sport at Hoover High School at one point, and he decided to return to Wooster for one more semester to finish the degree and play soccer for the Scots.

"A senior from Hoover on last year's soccer team, Tim Presto, had been trying to get me to do it," Vandervaart said. "Soccer had been my best sport in high school until I had a head injury my junior year that changed my fortune.

"But I've always liked soccer and thought, 'Why not take the opportunity to play it again?' It's worked out pretty good."

As a high school junior, Vandervaart said he collided full speed and banged heads with an opponent in soccer and suffered a fractured skull and subdural hematoma. He did not return to sports for a full year, when he prepped for his senior season of basketball.

Vandervaart has recorded one assist through the first 10 games of the season. He and his teammates are off to a 5-4-1 start overall and are 1-1-1 in NCAC play.

In the Polls

Several NCAC teams are making their presence known on national and regional stages:

Women's Cross Country: Oberlin is 30th in the U.s. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association Division III poll. Ohio Wesleyan is 32nd. Allegheny is fifth in the Mideast Region. In the Great Lakes, Oberlin is fourth, followed by Ohio Wesleyan in fifth and Kenyon in ninth.

Men's Cross Country: Allegheny is 14th in the U.s. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association Division III poll. The Gators are second in the Mideast Region. Wabash is 10th in the Great Lakes Region.

Football: Wabash is 15th in the latest AFCA poll and 16th in the D3football.com Top 25. Wittenberg received votes in both polls.

Women's Soccer: Denison is ranked 12th and Wittenberg 19th in the national NSCAA/adidas poll. The Tigers are second in the Great Lakes Region, followed by the Big Red in third, Kenyon in sixth and Ohio Wesleyan in seventh. D3Kicks.com ranks Denison 20th in their national Top 25.

Men's Soccer: Wittenberg is 16th in the national NSCAA/adidas poll - the highest ever national ranking for the Tigers. Ohio Wesleyan is 20th. Wittenberg is second in the Great Lakes Region, followed by Ohio Wesleyan in third, Kenyon in seventh, Oberlin in ninth and Denison in 10th. Allegheny and Hiram also received votes in the regional poll, meaning seven of the NCAC's 10 schools are represented. D3Kicks.com ranks Ohio Wesleyan 19th in their national Top 25. Wittenberg received votes in the poll.

Volleyball: Wittenberg is ranked second nationally for the third straight week. The Tigers, who received eight first-place votes, are 21-0. Wittenberg and Haverford (18-0) are the only undefeated teams left in Division III. The Tigers are off to the best start in the program's history. The have overtaken the NCAC record for wins in a season, which they previously held (18 in 2004 and 2005). Wittenberg has only dropped five games all season, and have a current win streak of 29 games in a row. Hiram is ranked 25th by the AVCA. Individually, Wittenberg senior outside hitter Jan Kehres has been named the Sports Imports/AVCA Division III National Player of the Week after helping the Tigers to three wins last week, over Allegheny, Hiram and Capital. She became the 11th Wittenberg player to smash 1,000 kills in her career with her 12th kill against Capital. For the week, Kehres hit at a .338 clip, averaging 4.1 kills, 4.0 digs and 5.1 points per game. This is the ninth time a Tiger has received the nationally weekly honor, and the second time this season, as Jackie Williams earned the award on Sept. 10.

Quakers Sport Pink to Support Breast Cancer Awareness Month

Earlham has planned a week of activities to support Breast Cancer Awareness month.

What started out as the volleyball team's annual community service project, has spread across the athletic department as all of the fall Quaker teams will don pink this week, in some form, to raise awareness for the cause.

Tonight, the volleyball team will wear pink uniforms during its 7:00 p.m. NCAC match against Wittenberg.

"At some point during our match, breast cancer survivors and everyone who knows one will be asked to stand and be recognized," Alred added. "I think there will be quite a few of our fans respond. It's a widespread issue and many women will have to deal with breast cancer in their lives. Everyone should do a monthly exam. It can save lives. Education is the key, and that is what this week is about."

The Quakers cross country teams wore wristbands during the Earlham Invitational this past Saturday. Four other teams will show their support on Saturday.

Earlham's football players will have stickers on their helmets for the Wittenberg game, and the field hockey team will wear pink bandanas against Transylvania in a game using a pink ball. Both soccer squads will wear pink T-shirts during warm-ups prior to their respective matches against Oberlin.

"Breast cancer is pervasive and it seems to be so common," Head Men's Soccer Coach Roy Messer said. "My mom, Gloria, is a breast cancer survivor. Wearing the pink shirts is a small way to show support but it is more about awareness. That's what is really important and something we're trying to create. If everyone would give some thought to it, then the whole operation has succeeded."

Since the volleyball team doesn't have a match on Saturday, squad members will be distributing educational materials, selling T-shirts and accepting donations for the Susan B. Komen for the Cure foundation.