CMU sports roundup: Tartans keep winning streaks

Football
This past Saturday, the #20 DIII-ranked Tartans took on the Grove City Wolverines at home in a high-scoring game. The Tartans were ranked 20th following their week two game against RPI; this is the highest ranking the Tartans have received in program history, according to D3football.com. Carnegie Mellon is one of three teams that were previously unranked to make it into the top 25 this past week.
Carnegie Mellon was the first to open scoring after a one-yard rush touchdown by first-year Joey McGinnis, giving the Tartans a 7-0 lead within the first two minutes of play. Following an interception by senior Ben Coyne, the Tartans extended their lead to 10-0 thanks to a field goal less than two minutes later.
The Wolverines finally made it onto the board later in the first quarter with a field goal, making it 10-3 Tartans. The Tartans, however, furthered their lead by the end of the first quarter with another touchdown.
In the second quarter, the Wolverines started their climb back with another field goal, making it 17-6 with the Tartans still in the lead. The Tartans widened their lead, though, with another touchdown, but missed the point after kick, putting the score at 23-6. In a last-minute effort, Grove City was able to answer the Tartans with their first touchdown of the game, making it 23-13 before the half.
Unlike the first two quarters, there was only a single scoring drive during the third quarter of play. The Wolverines scored a touchdown, narrowing the Tartan’s lead to 23-20. The Tartans were the first to score during the fourth quarter, though, with a 45-yard receiving touchdown from senior Kris Hughes with 9:56 left in play. The Wolverines wouldn’t let up and responded with another touchdown of their own but missed the point after, making it 30-26.
As the clock ran down, the Tartans got another touchdown, widening the lead to 37-26. Following Grove City’s fourth turnover of the day, the Tartans were once again able to make a field goal, 40-26. In a last effort, Grove City managed to score one last touchdown, but it was too late, leaving only two seconds on the clock and the scoreboard reading 40-33 in favor of the Tartans.
This win has advanced the Tartans to 3-0 and ended Grove City’s four-game winning streak in the series between the teams. The team will be traveling to Thiel next week on Saturday, Sept. 24.

Men’s Cross Country
The Men’s Cross Country team took first in the Robert Morris Colonial Invitational last Friday; Carnegie Mellon was the only DIII school competing. Sophomore Colin McLaughin placed second overall and first for the Tartans with a time of 25:55.53. Sophomore Eamon Brady finished behind McLaughlin, crossing the line at 25:58.87. Junior Charlie Murphy followed behind at 25:59.61, and sophomore Matthre Coyle finished next with a time of 26:01.22. Rounding out scoring for the Tartans was first-year Ryan Podnar, finishing seventh overall with a time of 26:20.83.
The Tartans next race is the Paul Short Invitational, which is currently scheduled for Friday, Sept. 30 at Lehigh University.

Women’s Cross Country
The women’s cross country team competed in the Robert Morris Colonial Invitational this past Friday and took third place out of six teams; the Tartans were the only DIII school competing.
First-year Orit Shiang led the Tartans, placing eighth overall with a time of 24:24.22. Senior Mona Yuan and sophomore Alyssa Hoffman finished right behind Shiang, earning ninth and tenth with times of 24:24.43 and 24:27.28 respectively. Graduate student Kristen Seballos finished 15th with a time of 24:54.97 and senior Kavya Tummalapalli finished 16th, crossing the line with a final time of 25:00.62.
The Tartans will be back in action when they travel to Lehigh University on Sept. 30 for the Paul Short Invitational.

Men’s Soccer
The #18 ranked Tartans were playing at home this week as they took on Washington & Jefferson on Tuesday, before taking on Bethany on Saturday.
The Tartans were able to advance to 5-0 with their fourth shutout of the season. Sophomore Chris Lee opened the scoring for Tartans in the eighth minute with an assist from sophomore Jake Kavan. Junior Ethan Vertal followed up in the 33rd minute and yet again in the 38th minute, making it 3-0 Tartans; the scoreboard would remain that way for the rest of the game.
On Saturday, Carnegie Mellon returned to the field to to take on Bethany. While the game remained scoreless in the first half, senior Kiran Sarvepalli was able to put one in the net for the Tartans during the 51st minute. In the 70th minute, first-year Matthew Cadena followed up and gave the Tartans a 2-0 lead over the Bison. Despite the Bisons’ efforts, they were only able to get one goal on the Tartans during the 78th minute.
This marks the sixth win of the season for Carnegie Mellon, who still remains undefeated. The team will be taking to the road again this week for a game against Mount Aloysius on Wednesday, Sept. 21.

Women’s Soccer
Carnegie Mellon, ranked #8, took on Grove City this week during a home game on Wednesday. The Tartans took to the board early when sophomore Catherine MacNichol scored in the 18th minute. MacNichol also recorded the second goal of the game when she landed one in the net during the 58th minute of play. Sophomore Emma Shirzad recorded the last goal of the Tartan’s shutout during the 74th minute after a misplayed pass on the Wolverine’s side. This win advanced the Tartans to 3-1-1 on the season.
The Tartans will be back at home on Friday, Sept. 23 to take on Baldwin Wallace.

Women’s Tennis
The women’s tennis team opened at home for the first time this season with an invitational against Saint Francis University while simultaneously competing against Washington & Jefferson and Seton Hill over two days.
During the invitational, junior Danna Taylor won both a singles and doubles match, recording her 100th career victory. Taylor finished the invitational 3-1 after two doubles wins with sophomore Crystal Zhou; Zhou finished 4-0 overall in the invitational. Sophomore Malikaa Marathe also finished 4-0 with doubles wins alongside sophomore Juliera Ruiz and first-year Anika Joshi. Senior Bin Zheng also went undefeated, going 3-0 during the invitational.
During their match against the Presidents, four Tartans kept their opponents scoreless with 6-0, 6-0 wins in singles play. Marathe won twice with a 6-0, 6-0 third singles win; she and first-year Divya Venkatarama earned an 8-0 third doubles win as well. In addition, First-year Manuela Van Cotthem earned a win at fifth singles by a 6-0, 6-0 score and recorded an 8-0 win at second doubles with sophomore Sarah Yang; Yang also won her first singles match with scores of 6-0, 6-0.
Carnegie Mellon kept up the pace in their match against Seton Hill, also going 9-0. Venkatarama won her fourth singles match with a 6-0, 6-0 win and partnered with Zheng in an 8-1 second doubles victory. Marathe continued to demolish, earning a 6-0, 6-0 win at third singles and an 8-0 win at third doubles with Joshi.
These victories have earned Carnegie Mellon a 2-0 record. The Tartans will next compete at the ITA Southeast Regional Tournament, which will be hosted by Mary Washington University in Fredericksburg, Virginia, from Saturday, Sept. 24 to Monday, Sept. 26.