Sports Briefs
Women's Tennis
The 10th-ranked Carnegie Mellon University women’s tennis team played at the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) National Team Indoor Championship with an 8–1 victory against 11th-ranked Washington University in St. Louis. The first-round win marks the eighth such victory in the tournament for the Tartans in ten appearances. This year’s championship is being hosted by Sewanee with today’s match played at The McCallie School in Chattanooga, TN.
The Tartans (9–1) started by sweeping doubles action with scores of 8–6, 8–5, and 8–6. Senior Cori Sidell and sophomore Courtney Ollis earned the win at first doubles while sophomore Vinaya Rao and first-year Melissa Strome won at second doubles and senior Katie Lai and junior Jamie Vizelman won at third doubles.
In singles play, Sidell, who is currently ranked 34th nationally, topped the 18th-ranked player, 6–4, 6–2, at the first position. The final point of the match was earned at second singles by Rao, who is ranked 31st, when she defeated the 17th-ranked player, 6–2, 7–6.
In between those wins, Vizelman won 6–3, 6–2 at third singles, Strome won 6–2, 3–6, 7–6 at fifth singles, and junior Marina Selenica won 6-0, 7-5 at sixth singles.
The Tartans ran into second-ranked Emory University in the championship semifinal of the ITA National Team Indoor Championship on Saturday afternoon in Chattanooga, TN. The Eagles were able to prevail, 6–3, moving the Tartans’ record to 9–2 for the season.
The fifth-ranked doubles team of Rao and Strome won their number two match by an 8-5 score.
The other two points for the Tartans came at fourth and fifth singles. Senior Katie Lai topped the 50th-ranked player in the nation, 7–6 (7–5), 6–4 while Strome won in the fifth position, 6–2, 7–5.
After defeating their third University Athletic Association (UAA) opponent of the weekend 5–0 on Sunday, the Tartans placed third in the ITA National Team Indoor Championship. They will face off against Whittier College on Friday, March 9, in Whittier, CA.
Women’s Track & Field
Sophomore Michelle Karabin and senior Sarah Miholer of the Carnegie Mellon University women’s track and field team competed at the Polar Bear Final Qualifier on Saturday afternoon hosted by Ohio Northern University at the Kinghorn Fieldhouse.
Karabin placed second after clearing the bar at 3.57 meters at the unscored team event. Miholer finished sixth with a height of 3.42 meters. The senior’s mark was a career-best.
Karabin and Miholer along with the rest of the Tartans will continue their season in two weeks when the outdoor season begins for the Tartans at the Washington and Lee University Track and Field Carnival on Friday, March 16.
Men’s Track & Field
A handful of Carnegie Mellon University men’s track and field athletes competed at the Polar Bear Final Qualifier on Saturday afternoon hosted by Ohio Northern University at the Kinghorn Fieldhouse.
Junior Isaac Mills ran to a top finish in the 800-meter run with a personal-best time of 1:54.50. His converted time of 1:52.89 currently ranks him 21st nationally. Sophomore Evan Yukevich placed second in the mile run after crossing in 4:23.35.
In the field events, sophomore Rai Walters recorded a distance of 6.44 meters in the long jump to place second. Senior Tommy Mansfield took third pole vault after clearing the bar at 4.38 meters.
Senior Jacob Schofel competed in the weight throw and shot put placing fourth and seventh, respectively. He tossed the weight 16.38 meters and the shot put 12.95 meters. First-year Bram Miller competed in the shot put and placed fifth with a toss of 14.80 meters.
Mills will now wait to see if he qualifies for the NCAA Indoor Championships, which will take place March 9 and 10 at the Birmingham Crossplex in Birmingham, AL.
Women’s and Men’s Swimming & Diving
Four Carnegie Mellon University divers competed at the 2018 NCAA Division III Region 4 Diving Championships at Ithaca College in Ithaca, NY, from March 2-3. Junior Gabe Bamforth finished high enough to qualify for his third trip to the NCAA Championships later in March.
Bamforth finished fourth on the 3-meter board Friday evening with a point total of 479.45 and registered a score of 475.10 on the 1-meter board Saturday afternoon to place third. His finishes pitted him third overall which resulted in his qualification to the NCAA Championships.
Senior DeShawn Green competed in his first regional meet, earning scores of 377.05 and 347.60 on the 1-meter and 3-meter boards, respectively. He finished 18th overall out of 20 divers.
A pair of first-years on the women’s side competed in both the 1-meter and 3-meter events as well. Maddie Mianzo placed 17th overall after scoring 377.35 points on the 1-meter board and 381.90 points on the 3-meter. Lillie Widmayer earned scores of 312.45 on the 1-meter and 322.45 on the 3-meter to place 24th out of 27 divers.