The Sports Update: Women’s Soccer and Cross Country Teams Compete at Nationals

November 23, 2008

The Athenas Soccer Team’s historical season finally came to close Friday in Wheaton, Illinois. CMS faced Carleton College of Minnesota in the NCAA Tournament Sectional Semifinal match, a game between two teams who never had made it to the final 16 of NCAA’s.

The Athenas and Knights were tightly matched, the Athenas being outshot 12-11 during the contest. In the first half, Lily VanderStaay of Carleton shot past the Athenas’ defense and found the back of the net. Carleton managed to deter the women’s attack in the second half and hold on to win 1-0. The Athenas finish the season at 12-9-2, and advanced further than any other team in CMS Women's Soccer history.

The Men’s and Women’s Cross Country Teams traveled to Hanover College, Indiana to compete in the NCAA Championships. The meet featured the top 278 runners in the men’s and women’s divisions, as well as the top 32 teams in the nation.

The Stags finished 30th in the 8-kilometer race, led by recent SCIAC Athlete of the Week Florian Scheulen (HMC JR), who finished 169th overall. Scheulen, who averaged 5:13.8 minute miles, was followed by teammates Bryan Chow (200th), Mike van Antwerp (201st), Dillon Ayers (207th), Kramer Straube (215th), Brian Kopczynski (241st), and Chris Gurney (249th). The Stags finished third among teams representing the West Region, edged out by Willamette but placing ahead of Whitworth.

The Athenas finished 20th in their 6-kilometer race. The women were led by Evelyn Ross (SCR SR), who finished 50th overall. She was followed by Katie Harris (67th), Julia Rigby (125th), Ally Rueschenberg (169th), Rachel Martin (213th), Lacey McLean (239th), and Ashley Scott (259th). The Athenas finished first among teams representing the West Region, beating out cross-street rival Pomona-Pitzer.

The Men’s Water Polo team has been busier than any team on campus, competing 7 times in the past 10 days. Last Saturday, the Stags got a 19-2 win over Cal Tech in the second day of the SCIAC Tournament. On the final day, the Stags dropped a tough 7-6 decision to Occidental, leveling their conference record at 5-5 and a tie for 5th place.

After a couple days off, the Stags hit the water again with a Friday double-header in the Western Water Polo Association Championships. In the first game of the 2008 WWPA, the Stags took down UC Santa Cruz’s Banana Slugs 10-7. Later on Friday, the Stags lost to the tournament’s #2 seed, UC San Diego, 24-8.

On Saturday, the Stags continued action in the WWPA tournament, taking on the Air Force Academy for the second time in two weeks. Unfortunately for the Stags, the result was another loss to the Falcons, the men on the wrong end of a 13-9 score. In the season finale Sunday morning, the Stags took on Pomona-Pitzer, the conference champions whom they defeated in an overtime thriller in the end of October. Once again, the Stags bounced their rivals in a nailbiter, closing out the season with a 6-5 win.

Basketball season has finally started, and the transition between the fall and winter seasons is in full swing. As the Cross Country teams and Women’s Soccer wrapped up their seasons, the Stags and Athenas Basketball seasons begin in earnest, while the swimming squads continue to ramp up the intensity.

After a couple scrimmages, the Stags Basketball team opened up the season Monday night against Chapman University. After taking a 32-29 lead into halftime, the Stags fell behind and lost 61-56. They were led in scoring by Conner Faught (CMC JR) with 12 and Jason Toney (CMC SO) with 11.

The Stags next travelled to UC Santa Cruz Saturday to take on the Slugs. Trailing the entire game, senior Austin Soldner hit a 3-pointer with 7 seconds left to put CMS up 69-68. A defensive stop sealed the tight win. The Stag were led by Soldner with 12 points and Chris Blees (CMC SO) with 16.