Sports Briefs
Women’s Soccer
The eighth-ranked Carnegie Mellon women’s soccer team dominated play against third-ranked Hardin-Simmons University on Saturday, Nov. 18 in the sectional semifinal of the 2017 NCAA Division III Women’s Soccer Championship but were unable to finish any of its 17 shots, as the Cowgirls narrowly defeated the Tartans, 1–0.
The Tartans controlled possession and stymied the potent offensive attack of the Cowgirls, which has scored 108 goals this year, but only one mattered — a corner kick toward the net that was just over the arms of first-year Carolyn Botz in the 77th minute. A Cowgirl was at the front post and prevented Botz from getting to the service that curved across the line.
The Tartans peppered the Cowgirls defense and the goalkeeper all game long and continued to press forward even after the Cowgirls went ahead. In the 87th minute, senior Alex Moy fired a shot off the crossbar, and the goalkeeper saved a shot by senior Tori Iatarola 25 seconds later.
Iatarola and senior Haili Adams each put two shots on goal while senior Sienna Stritter fired off three shots, one of which was just high of the goal in the 12th minute.
The Tartans conclude the season with a 15–3–2 record in the program’s sixth straight trip to the NCAA tournament and fourth appearance in the final 16.
Football
The Carnegie Mellon football team competed in the 2017 Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Asa S. Bushnell Bowl and fell to the Mules of Muhlenberg College, 32–6. The game was held on the campus of the University of Delaware in Newark, DE.
Following an interception by Carnegie Mellon senior linebacker Sean Graff, the Tartans put together an 11-play, 59-yard drive that resulted in a 29-yard field goal by senior Tyler Kohman. Kohman’s kick gave the Cardinal and Gray a 3-0 lead with 3:29 to play in the first quarter.
Muhlenberg took a 7-3 lead with 2:43 left in the half after a 49-yard catch and run. The Mules intercepted junior quarterback Cline on the Tartans’ first play of the ensuing possession and took over on the Carnegie Mellon 15-yard line. The Tartans defense held the Mules to a field goal, as the 24-yard boot by made the score 10–3 with 1:21 on the clock.
With seven minutes to play in the third quarter, Muhlenberg extended its lead to 17–3 with a 2-yard run. A 28-yard field goal by Kohman with 1:44 to play in the third put the score at 17–6.
The Mules responded and pushed their lead to 23–6 on the next possession. A nine-play, 79-yard drive was capped off with a 5-yard touchdown run at the 12:35 mark of the fourth quarter. A safety by the Mules and another touchdown run, this time a 2-yard run, left the score at 32–6 with 6:49 to play.
Cline became the school’s single-season passing leader after throwing for 178 yards. The signal caller finished the season with 2,336 yards and passed Andrew Hearon’s mark of 2,201 yards set in 2015.
Junior wide receiver Karl-Mark Kumm had a career-high seven receptions for career-best 80 yards while senior wide receiver John Prather finished with 38 yards and four catches.
Senior running back Sam Benger led the Tartans rushing attack with 70 yards and ends the season with 1,053 yards, becoming the first back in program history to rush for 1,000 yards in three straight seasons.
Benger and Prather both finish their careers as the program’s all-time leader at their respective positions. Benger rushed for 5,376 yards and 59 touchdowns while Prather recorded 3,077 receiving yards and 25 touchdowns.
Defensively, junior cornerback Ethan Anderson led the Tartans with ten tackles, six solo. Graff ended with nine while seniors Stanley Bikulege, Kyle Brittain, and Drew Fitzmorris each finished with seven.
The Tartans finish their season with a record of 7–4 while the Mules end the year with a record of 8–3.
Women’s Cross Country
The Carnegie Mellon women’s cross country team finished 24th in the 2017 NCAA Division III Women’s Cross Country Championships hosted by Principia College in Elsah, IL, on Saturday, Nov. 18. The Tartans were running in the championship race for the fourth time in program history and first time since 1998.
The Tartans finished ahead of University Athletic Association (UAA) counterpart Emory University and ahead of Mideast Regional opponents Elizabethtown College, Haverford College, and Dickinson College.
Senior Aparna Alavilli led the Tartans, finishing 49th overall with a time of 21:46.90. This was her second year in a row competing in the championships, and she placed 60 spots better than her previous record.
Sophomore Abigail Levine crossed second for the team in 22:15.60, finishing 108th. Sophomore Emmalyn Lindsey crossed the finish line next for the Tartans and 119th overall with a time of 22:22.80. Fourth for Carnegie Mellon was sophomore Kate Reilly in 23:17.80.
Following Reilly were first-year Parvathi Meyyappan with a time of 23:35.80 and senior Rhiannon Farney in 23:45.90. Finishing strong for the Tartans was junior Allison Scibisz with a time of 24:23.80.
The memorable season comes to a close with the Tartans also earning fourth-place finishes at the UAA Championship and Mideast Regional, both their best since the 2012 season.
Men’s Cross Country
The Carnegie Mellon men’s cross country team placed 21st at the NCAA Division III Cross Country Championships on Saturday, Nov. 18. The meet was hosted by Principia College in Elsah, IL, with North Central College earning the championship title.
Junior Aadi Mhatre was the first Tartan to cross the finish line when he finished the 8k course 83rd overall in 25:24.98. Junior Jared Moore wasn’t far behind as he finished 95th in 25:28.16.
Sophomore Liam Walsh ran the course in 25:46.30 while senior Andrew Harter finished three seconds later and fourth for the Tartans.
Senior Jordan Safer was the fifth Tartan to cross the finish line when he finished 185th overall in 25:56.30.
Also competing in the championship meet were sophomores Evan Yukevich and Josh Kalapos. Yukevich finished in 26:20.92 and Kalapos in 26:46.14.
Women’s Basketball
The Carnegie Mellon women’s basketball team picked up its second 20-plus win of the season on Saturday, Nov. 18 when the Tartans topped Allegheny College, 76–47, in the Allegheny Greg Richards Memorial Classic. The Tartans are now 2–0 for the season while the Gators move to 1–1.
The Tartans were led by sophomore Katharine Higgins who had 20 points and seven rebounds. Joining Higgins in double-digit points was sophomore Makayla Filiere with 15 points and sophomore Laurel Pereira with 14.
The Tartans put together a defensive effort that caused 19 turnovers and held the Gators to 25.0 percent shooting from the field. Higgins had three of the team’s ten steals and the Tartans scored 21 points off of 19 turnovers.
Higgins, who shot 42.9 percent from the floor, opened the game with one of her two three-pointers for the game. The Gators then went on a 14–0 run before Filiere hit a jumper off an assist by junior Jenn Mayberger with half the period still to play. The Tartans then finished the final five minutes with an 11–6 run that they extended to 18–6 through the first 4:48 of the second period.
While the Gators shot 64.3 percent in the first period, they went cold in the second, hitting just one of 13 from the floor and scoring just five points. The Tartans hit seven field goals and shot 41.2 percent from the floor to lead 35–25 at the break.
The Gators would score the first four points of the second half to pull within six points but the Tartans answered with a 15–0 run that began with a layup by sophomore Laura Ochsner. The run put the Tartans up 50–29 with 4:34 to go in the third period.
The Tartans continued to add to their lead, which topped out at 32 when first-year Kylie Huffman drained the team’s eighth three-pointer of the game with 1:46 to play in the game.
Mayberger collected six assists and seven rebounds in the game while playing 37 minutes, as Ochsner scored seven points and grabbed nine rebounds to lead the team.
The Tartans will continue their season on the road Tuesday, Nov. 21 at Bethany College at 4:00 p.m.
Women’s Swimming & Diving
First-year Maddie Mianzo won the 3-meter event at the Carnegie Mellon Diving Invitational on Friday and Saturday, Nov. 17-18 against Allegheny College and Rowan University.
Mianzo’s score of 391.45 was the best of the day on the 3-meter with Allegheny’s Brionna Litwin scoring next highest with 386.65 points. Carnegie Mellon first-year Lillie Widmayer was third on the 3-meter with 375.35 points while sophomore Megan Roche scored 371.40 points and placed fourth.
Litwin edged out Mianzo on the 1-meter with 404.90 points to Mianzo’s 388.55 points. Roche placed fourth with 363.15 points and Widmayer was fifth with 353.90 points.
Men’s Swimming & Diving
Carnegie Mellon junior Gabe Bamforth solidified his position to compete at the NCAA Division III Regional meet in March with his performance at the CMU Diving Invitational against Allegheny College and Rowan University on Friday and Saturday, Nov. 17-18.
Bamforth won both the 1-meter and 3-meter events and set pool records with his scores of 473.55 and 496.85 after 11 dives. Senior DeShawn Green placed third on the 1-meter board with a career-best 405.75 points and fourth on the 3-meter board with 362.30 points.
Junior Evan Hill placed fifth on the 3-meter board with a career-best 323.20 points and sixth on the 1-meter board with 293.00 points.