CMU Sports roundup: swimming and diving begin season with wins

Football
This past Saturday, Oct. 29, the #18 Carnegie Mellon football team hosted the Saint Vincent Bearcats for their homecoming game.
The Tartans took to the board early after a 30-yard field goal from graduate student Cole Hanna, making it 3-0 Tartans. Not long after the start of Saint Vincent’s next possession, an interception by sophomore Nolan Pitsenberger gave the ball back to the Tartans. This led to a 20-yard touchdown pass from junior Ben Mills to senior Kris Hughes, making it 10-0. Before the end of the first quarter, the Tartans scored another touchdown, making it 17-0.
The Bearcats finally made their way onto the board in the second quarter after a touchdown. However, the point after attempt was blocked, making the scoreline 17-6 Tartans.
With less than two minutes remaining in the second quarter, Hanna put another one through the goal posts for the Tartans, giving the Tartans a 20-6 lead at the half. Hanna would also later record the only scoring of the third quarter with a field goal almost six minutes into the half.
The Tartans weren’t ready to call it quits yet — a two-year run by first-year Joey McGinnis finished the Tartans scoring for the day with a late touchdown from the Bearcats making the final score 30-12 Carnegie Mellon after a failed two-point conversion.
Junior Adrian Williams recorded three interceptions on the day, which ties the school record for most interceptions in a single game. Hughes’ 25 touchdown receptions in his career tied him for the school record for career touchdown receptions.
With this victory, the Tartans have a 16 game winning streak — the longest in the NCAA across all divisions. Carnegie Mellon’s 20 interceptions on the season also ranks them in the top of Division III play. Their 9-0 start is the fifth time in program history that the team has started the season with nine straight wins.
The Tartans will be taking this week off and will be returning to play for their last regular season game when they travel to Case Western for the 36th Academic Bowl on Saturday, Nov. 12.

Men’s Cross Country
The men’s cross country team made their way to Hampton, Ga. this past Saturday to compete in the University Athletic Association (UAA) Championships hosted by Emory University. The Tartans placed second in the meet with 64 points, just behind Emory, who had 48 points.
Sophomore Colin McLaughlin finished first for the Tartans and sixth place overall with a time of 24:55.4. Senior Elijah Sech followed just behind with a time of 24:55.7. Both earned All-UAA First Team Recognition.
Just over 20 seconds behind was sophomore Matthew Coyle, who finished the race in 25:16.2, earning him 13th overall. For this, Coyle was awarded All-UAA Second Team Recognition. Junior Jacob Hsu took 18th place with a time of 25:23.5 and junior Alex Ivanoc finished 20th with a final time of 25:27.1.
First-year Ryan Podnar was named the UAA Men’s Rookie of the Year as the top first-year finished with a time of 25:31.3, earning him 23rd place.
Members of the men’s cross country will next compete in the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) Mid-Atlantic Regional on Saturday, Nov. 12 in Loch Haven, Pa.

Women’s Cross Country
The women’s cross country team traveled to Hampton, Ga. to compete in the UAA Cross Country Championships on Saturday, which was hosted by Emory University.
The first Tartan to finish was graduate student Kristen Seballos with a time of 22:58.4, earning her 23rd place. Senior Mona Yuan was 11 places behind her with a time of 23:23.8. Junior Megan Baker finished less than 15 seconds later in 41st place. Sophomore Alyssa Hoffman and junior Sophia Zalewski also finished in the 40s, earning 46th and 48th, respectively. The team placed sixth out of eight competing teams.
Members of the women’s cross country team will also be heading to Loch Haven, Pa. on Saturday, Nov. 12 for the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional.

Men’s Soccer
The men’s soccer team took on Emory University at home on Friday, Oct. 28.
Sophomore Jack Kavan scored the game’s first goal in the 40th minute after an assist from junior William Rabon. 15 minutes later, the Eagles struck back with a goal of their own. No more goals were scored until the 80th minute of the game when sophomore Billy Boucuvalas put one in the net after a pass from senior Kiran Sarvepalli. This gave the Tartans the victory on the day, moving them to 10-3-1 for the season and 2-3 in UAA play.

Women’s Soccer
The #9 women’s soccer team played #15 Emory University at home this past Friday, Oct. 28.
The Eagles were the first on the board after a goal in the 11th minute. However, junior Cecelia Dieterich quickly fired back less than a minute later with a goal of her own, making it a tie game. It wouldn’t stay that way for long — first-year Jenna Hallbeck recorded another Tartan goal in the 14th minute after sophomore Maria Askounis passed the ball to her, giving the Tartans a 2-1 lead over the Eagles. The scoreboard wouldn’t change again until the 80th minute, when the Tartans added one more to their total thanks to a goal from sophomore Genma Jefferson. The 3-1 victory over Emory put the Tartans at 11-1-2 overall and 4-0-1 in UAA play.

Men’s Swimming and Diving
The Carnegie Mellon men’s swimming and diving team opened up their season this past week on Saturday, Oct. 29 at a home meet against Case Western Reserve University.
In the 200-yard freestyle, junior Santiago Gomez was the first to finish with a time of 1:44.28. Sophomore Christian Lanuza finished first in the 100-yard breaststroke, touching the wall in 56.98. First-year DJ Lloyd placed first both the 50-yard and 100-yard freestyles with times of 21.17 and 46.65, respectively.
Sophomore Sammy Telanoff was the first to finish in the 200-yard breaststroke with a time of 2:07.32. First-year Kevin Zhou led the times in the 100-yard butterfly, finishing in 50.99. Senior Aleksander Tarczynski was the winner of the 200-yard individual medley with a time of 1:53.05. The Tartans also had teams take first in the 200-yard medley and 200-yard freestyle relays.
Graduate student Jud Kyle earned two NCAA regional qualifying scores on the one-meter and three-meter boards, earning two victories with scores of 301.50 and 332.75, respectively. Senior Matthew Wagner also earned two NCAA regional qualifying scores, placing right behind Kyle on both the one-meter and three-meter boards with scores of 296.25 and 278.65, respectively.
The combined efforts of the Tartans earned them a 195-103 victory over Case Western. The team will next be traveling to Gettysburg College on Saturday for a 1:00 p.m. start.

Women’s Swimming and Diving
The Carnegie Mellon women’s swimming and diving team also opened their season this past Saturday when they took on Case Western Reserve University at home.
First-year Savannah Xu finished first in three separate events and set pool records in all of them. She took first in the 100-year backstroke, 200-yard backstroke, and 200-yard individual medley with times of 56.21, 2:00.73, and 2:05.13, respectively. First-year Annie Wang touched the wall first in both the 500-yard and 1,000-yard freestyle with times of 5:13.55 and 10:41.29, respectively.
First-year Mia Li took first in the 200-yard freestyle with a time of 1:56.25. First-year Audrey Lambert also picked up two victories for the Tartans in the 100-yard and 200-yard breaststroke races with times of 1:05.77 and 2:24.55, respectively. First-year Audrey Soetanto also earned a victory in the 200-yard butterfly with a time of 2:08.92. In the freestyle events, first-year Grace Malinger took first in the 50-yard by finishing in 24.29, while first-year Eliana Szabo won the 100-yard by touching the wall in 53.38. Malinger also took first in the 100-yard butterfly with a time of 59.06.
Tartan teams in the 200-yard medley and 200-yard freestyle relays also earned points for their first place finishes.
Junior Kelli Kuramoto earned herself two NCAA regional qualifying scores with victories on the one-meter and three-meter board with scores of 265.80 and 271.50, respectively.
Thanks in part to the efforts of the Tartan first-years, the team was able to best Case Western Reserve with a bottom line of 228.5-71.5. Their next competition will be next Saturday, when they will be traveling to Gettysburg College for a 1:00 p.m. start.