Wittenberg enjoys memorable weekend with two NCAC championships

Then the women’s soccer team captured the NCAC tournament championship, the sixth in program history, with a 3-2 victory at Wooster. Freshman Brooke Mullis scored the go-ahead goal in the 78th minute.

Then on Saturday night, the volleyball team, which earlier in the day had beaten Ohio Wesleyan to reach the NCAC championship game at Denison, beat Wooster in straight sets to win its 25th tournament title.

Athletic Director Brian Agler saw the soccer and volleyball teams win championships in person, driving to Wooster and then Granville in the evening.

“It was fun,” Agler said. “It was enjoyable. That’s the best day in the world for me: going to sporting events.”

While the football team (6-3, 6-2) sits in a tie for second place in the NCAC with one game to play and won’t make the NCAA Division III playoffs, the tournament championships guaranteed NCAA tournament berths for the soccer and volleyball teams.

Each team held NCAA tournament selection show watch parties at Wittenberg’s indoor practice facility, The Steemer, on Sunday.

The volleyball team (21-8) learned it will play St. John Fisher in the first round at 5:30 p.m. Thursday at Calvin University in Grand Rapids, Mich.

“The volleyball team lost at Denison in the last regular-season match, so they finished second,” Agler said. “Then Denison was upset in the semifinals by Wooster. You could tell our experience in the championship was a huge difference.”

The soccer team (10-8-1) will play Emory University at 1:30 p.m. Friday at Centre College in Danville, Ky.

“The soccer team is really trending in the right direction,” Agler said. “They’ve come on here as of late and had two big wins in the tournament.”

The championships come in Agler’s first year as athletic director. He was hired in January after a long career coaching in the WNBA.

“Whether you win a championship in college at the D-III level or you win a WNBA or NBA championship,” Agler said. “the feeling is all the same. You reach the pinnacle. You reach the mountaintop. It’s amazing. It’s fun to see all these teams compete for championships.”