It was a successful first week of the fall sports season for the Wittenberg, building some momentum for the weeks ahead. Let's take a look at how they fared and what's happening for the atheltes for the week of Sept. 11.
Football
The football program went through a defensive slugfest last weekend for their season opener against the Washington and Lee Generals in Lexington, Va., ultimately coming out of it on the losing end in heartbreaking fashion in overtime, 13-7. Wittenberg put the first points on the board in the third quarter with a pass by senior Cole Burton to junior Stephen Lauterbach before the Generals responded in the next possession.
The Tigers had possession to start overtime, but were unable to convert a first down and missed their field goal attempt, and the Generals took advantage with a five-play drive to secure the win.
Wittenberg looks to rebound this Saturday, Sept. 12 on the road for their first conference matchup of the season against Wabash College in Crawfordsville, Ind., for a 1 p.m. kickoff. The two teams last faced each other last season, where Wabash beat Wittenberg 28-21, a game where the Tigers looked very strong in, holding the lead for the first half before ultimately falling.
Men's and Women's Soccer
Men's soccer will have a busy week, looking forward to three games to play, two on the road and one at home. The Tigers are on a great start to the season, with two wins against Franciscan and Muskingum, and a tie at home during Senior Recognition Day against Mount St. Joseph.
Today, they travel to Boston for two road games, first against UMass Boston (University of Massachusetts) on Sept. 11 for a noon game start. They then play against Emerson College on Sept. 13 at 11 a.m., before returning back to campus for a home game on Sept. 16 vs. Earlham College at 4 p.m.
Women's soccer also has three games to play within the next week, following their first win of the season 2-1 at Otterbein University, with goals by senior Ava Otey and sophomore Sarah Deaton. The Tigers will have their third home game this season vs. Adrian this Saturday, Sept. 12 at 1 p.m., before traveling to Hanover College the next day, Sept. 13 at 1 p.m. Following that, the Tigers will play under the lights at home as they face against Capital University on Wednesday, Sept. 16 at 7 p.m.
Women's Volleyball
The women's volleyball program is coming off a solid showing hosting the Wittenberg Fall Classic this past weekend, winning all three of their games in convincing fashion. They enter this week with a 3-1 record and NCAC Athlete of the Week Honors, as junior middle blocker Maddie Luers totaled 32 kills across four matches, a .409 hitting percentage, eight total blocks and 37 points.
The Tigers will head to another weekend of three games at Hope College in Holland, Mich., for a MIAA-NCAC crossover. They first play against Hope tonight, Sept. 11 at 7:30 p.m., and then will play two games in Holland the next day vs. Albion College and Calvin University at 12:30 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. respectively. The Tigers also have another road game within the next week, playing at Marietta University on Tuesday, Sept. 15 at 6 p.m.
Field Hockey
After two rough away games for the field hockey program this past week, they look to rebound and get back on track. They head to Wisconsin this weekend for a pair of games, starting with Saturday, Sept. 12 at Concordia University Wisconsin in Mequon with an early start time of 11 a.m. The team will then travel to Fond du Lac, Wis., the next day for a 1 p.m. match.
Men's and Women's Tennis
The tennis programs at Wittenberg will begin their fall seasons this weekend by hosting the Wittenberg Fall Invitational, where both teams will play on Saturday, Sept. 12 vs. Transylvania at 12:30 p.m. and Mount Union at 4 p.m. They then will travel to Cedarville University in Cedarville, Ohio on Wednesday, Sept. 16. Both programs' 2025-26 seasons left many things to be desired, and the Tigers are hungry to start their seasons on the right foot.
Men's and Women's Golf
Both Wittenberg golf programs will participate in their second tournaments of the fall season at separate locations this weekend. Both teams played in Granville, Ohio, last weekend, where the men's team finished 2nd as a team and had two players finish top 10 overall in the player rankings (junior Griffin Turner tied 7th and sophomore Charlie Parker tied 9th), and the women's team finished 8th overall.
The men's team are traveling to Greensboro, N.C., for a two-round match on Sept. 14-15 for the Gate City Invitational hosted by Greensboro College at Forest Oaks Country Club. The women's team will travel to Paris, Ky., on Sept. 13-14 for the Transylvania Fall Classic hosted by Transylvania University at Houston Oaks Golf Club.
Men's and Women's Cross Country
The cross country teams are heading to their second meets of the season today, Sept. 11 for the Spartan Invitational hosted by Michigan State University in East Lansing, Mich., with the men's race starting at 9:30 a.m. and the women's race starting at 9 a.m.
Both teams last competed at the Mike Baumer XC Classic hosted by Wright State University in Fairborn, Ohio, last Friday, where the men's team finished 6th overall while the women's team finished 11th overall. Senior Lukas Rieben of the men's team had a top 10 finish, finishing sixth with a time of 15:24.0.
With another busy week at the hands for the Tiger athletes, make sure to come out and support your fellow students at the home games!
