Ohio Wesleyan University | Battling Bishop Athletics

2009-10 Season Preview

[ Tommy Harman ] Ohio Wesleyan may have graduated 3 All-Americans from last year's team, which finished the season with a seventh-place finish at the NCAA Division III championship, but the cupboard is hardly bare for first-year head coach Ian Miller.

Miller, a former All-America player at Ohio Wesleyan, will look to a trio of upperclassmen to lead the Bishops as they look to win the North Coast Athletic Conference championship for the fourth straight year and the ninth time in the last 11 seasons.

"The first item of business to take care of is to win the NCAC and the automatic qualifer for the national tournament," Miller said. "Since we do have some inexperience at the No. 4 and No. 5 spots, we do need to build tournament experience and develop depth."

Leading the returnees is senior Tommy Harman (Perrysburg). Harman was a third-team All-America choice in 2008 after leading the Bishops with a 23rd-place finish at the NCAA championship. In 2008-09, he won a spot in the Bishop lineup for the spring tournaments and finished with a 76.75 average, ranking sixth on the team.

[ Jesse Chiero ] Senior Jesse Chiero (Westerville/South) was a first-team All-NCAC selection in 2008-09 after ranking fourth overall in the 4 conference championship events. Chiero averaged 76.41 overall, ranking fifth on the team.

Senior Peter Joyce (Chevy Chase, Md./Bethesda-Chevy Chase) won a spot in the Bishop lineup midway through the spring season and finished fifth at the NCAC Invitational to take honorable mention All-NCAC status, then carded a 306 at the NCAA Division III championship. He averaged 76.84 shots per round.

Sophomores Caleb Chiero (Westerville/Central) and Nate Fridley (Sidney/Lehman Catholic) will open the season in the No. 4 and No. 5 positions. Chiero averaged 78.30 in 10 rounds last year, while Fridley compiled a 78.90 average in 10 rounds.

Senior Michael Sarap (Cambridge) has an individual top-5 tournament finish on his resume, tying for third place at Muskingum in 2007, and averaged 78.89 during the 2008-09 season. Senior Jordan Benner (Beavercreek), off-campus during the fall semester, is slated to rejoin the team in the spring.

Juniors Thomas Fox (Galion) and Scott Morris (Doylestown, Pa./Central Bucks East) and sophomore Justin Akers (Richwood/North Union) also return. Morris averaged 78.50 shots per round in 6 rounds last year, Fox averaged 79.90 over 10 rounds, and Akers averaged 80.50 in 4 rounds of play.

Freshman Mark Fischer (Garden City, N.Y.) is the Bishops' lone newcomer. Fischer was an all-county selection in high school.

Ohio Wesleyan opens the fall season by hosting the NCAC Fall Invitational, the first of the 4 NCAC championship events. The OWU Fall Invitational follows in short order, along with the second NCAC championship event at Hiram, before the finale at the Gordin Classic in Durham, N.C.

The spring season commences with the Hunter Intercollegiate tournament in Savannah, Ga., then the Bishops return south later in the spring to compete in the Camp Lejeune (N.C.) Intercollegiate. Ohio Wesleyan hosts its annual OWU/Strimer Memorial Invitational, then visits Wittenberg to compete in the third conference event of the year before returning to East Lansing, Mich., to compete in the Fossum Invitational. The Bishops wrap up the regular season with the final conference championship event, the NCAC Invitational, on May 1-2.

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