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College notebook: Walter helps Otterbein tennis seize OAC championship

dave weidig, newark advocate
·4 min read
Otterbein's tennis team, with Watkins Memorial freshman Lillia Walter playing a key role, won the regular season Ohio Athletic Conference championship.
Otterbein's tennis team, with Watkins Memorial freshman Lillia Walter playing a key role, won the regular season Ohio Athletic Conference championship.

John Carroll's tennis team had won 55 consecutive Ohio Athletic Conference matches, until running into Lillia Walter and Otterbein.

The Cardinals, with the freshman from Watkins Memorial playing at No. 2 singles and doubles, overpowered the Blue Streaks 9-0 to end the streak, and went on to claim the OAC tennis regular season championship at 7-0.

Walter is currently 17-8 at singles and 15-8 at doubles for Otterbein, 16-4 overall.

Freshman Olivia Eckels from Granville is also on the team, and is 2-0 at both singles and doubles.

Marauding Myers

Rio University freshman infielder Jenna Myers from Lakewood is a prime reason the Red Storm softball team is 37-11 and leading the River States Conference East Division at 22-2.

Rio Grande University freshman Jenna Myers from Lakewood is hitting .340 with 9 home runs and 39 RBI.
Rio Grande University freshman Jenna Myers from Lakewood is hitting .340 with 9 home runs and 39 RBI.

Playing 47 of the 48 games, Myers is hitting a robust .340 with a team-leading nine home runs and 39 RBI, tied for second on the team. The home runs rank second in the league and she's fourth in the league with nine doubles. Myers has a .379 on-base percentage and .571 slugging percentage. She also has a team-best .995 fielding percentage with just one error for the Red Storm, which has won nine of its last 10 games.

Battling Bishops

A trio of Licking County products is part of Ohio Wesleyan's softball team, including top pitcher Katie Chittum, a sophomore from Lakewood.

Chittum, a southpaw who helped the Lancers reach the 2019 state title game, has a 2.96 ERA, 15 complete games and a shutout for the Bishops, helping her win NCAC Pitcher of the Week honors during the season.

Sophomore infielder Alyssa Back from Newark is batting .294 while starting all 32 games for Wesleyan, and is second on the team in runs, hits and six stolen bases. She also ranks third in RBI.

Sophomore infielder Sydney Hoover of Utica has also started 19 games for the Bishops, whose assistant coach is former Licking Valley and Ohio Wesleyan star Brooke Nethers. Nethers was a three-time All-NCAC selection and holds the school record with 70 career stolen bases.

Michael Lipscomb, a junior from Watkins Memorial, is a pitcher on the Ohio Wesleyan baseball team. He has a 1-4 record and has appeared in nine games, five of them starts.

Wittenberg University sophomore Hanna Ecker from Heath is hitting .351 with a team-leading 23 RBI.
Wittenberg University sophomore Hanna Ecker from Heath is hitting .351 with a team-leading 23 RBI.

Ecker flourishing

Sophomore catcher Hanna Ecker from Heath has played in 34 of 35 games for Wittenberg, and with good reason.

She is currently batting .351 for the Tigers, ranking third on the team, and leads them with 23 RBI. She is also third with a .386 on-base percentage.

Watkins trio stars

Three Watkins Memorial baseball products are all enjoying big seasons for the Wilmington baseball team, currently 19-18.

Wilmington College senior Caleb Scott from Watkins Memorial is batting.407 with five home runs and 48 RBI.
Wilmington College senior Caleb Scott from Watkins Memorial is batting.407 with five home runs and 48 RBI.

Senior infielder Caleb Scott leads the Quakers with 59 hits, five home runs, 48 RBI and a .621 slugging percentage while hitting .407.

Freshman outfielder Zach Christensen leads Wilmington with his .443 batting average, with three triples and 18 stolen bases in 20 tries. He has a .469 on-base percentage.

Freshman outfielder Dominic Depa is batting .354 with three homers and 34 RBI.

On right track

Sophomore Julia Schworm from Licking Valley is enjoying a solid track season for Allegheny College.

Competing against NCAA Division I and II teams at the Bucknell Bison Outdoor Classic, Schworm was part of the 4x400 relay that finished sixth and turned in the second-fastest time of the season in the NCAC (4:08.20).

She ran on the 4x100 relay that won at the Oberlin Spring Opener, and placed third in the 400 in the Christopher Newport, Va. meet.

During the indoor season, Schworm was part of the third-place 4x400 relay at the NCAC meet, earning all-conference, and was also on the fourth-place 4x200 relay.

Sophomores Grace Chesser from Licking Valley and Avery Adkins of Granville, along with freshman Ashley Burgess of Watkins Memorial, are competing for the Mount Vernon Nazarene track team.

Chesser ran on the first-place 4x400 relay at Ohio Wesleyan and second-place 4x100 team at Cedarville. She also teamed with Burgess on the fourth-place 4x400 relay at Walsh.

Burgess finished third in the 400 at Kenyon.

dweidig@gannett.com

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This article originally appeared on Newark Advocate: College notebook: Walter helps Otterbein tennis seize OAC championship