Sports Briefs
[BOLD]Cross Country[BOLD]
On Saturday, the Carnegie Mellon men’s and women’s cross country teams competed in the NCAA Mideast Regional.
The women’s team placed seventh out of the 52-team field. Junior Liz Snyder led the team with her time of 22:10.0, qualifying her for sixth place overall. Senior Erin Kiekhaefer was the second Tartan to cross the line at the 22:46.1 mark and placed 25th overall.
The men’s team finished first overall, led by senior George Degen and his eighth place individual finish with a time of 25:15.9. Junior Brian Bollens and sophomore Ryan Archer were the other top 20 finishers for the Tartans, placing 15th and 17th respectively, with times of 25:35.3 and 25:38.3.
This was the men’s second regional title since 2008 and gives the team automatic qualification to the NCAA Division III Men’s Cross Country Championship this upcoming Saturday.
[BOLD]Volleyball[BOLD]
Carnegie Mellon hosted the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Southwest Region Volleyball Championship on Saturday.
In the semifinals, the Tartans faced off against Bethany College, where they squeaked out a victory in four sets, 25–20, 14–25, 26–24, and 31–29. First-year outside hitter Heather Holton led the team with 19 kills while sophomore defensive specialist Molly Higgins had a game high 25 digs.
Next up for the Tartans was Geneva College in the finals. This time, Carnegie Mellon had a little less luck in tight games and was barely outplayed in the 1–3 loss 26–24, 23–25, 25–22, and 25–23.
Holton and Higgins again led the team in kills and digs with 18 and 33, respectively, while sophomore middle blocker Jackie Gibbons dominated at the net with a game high six blocks.
This completed the Tartans 2014 season with a record 23–12.
[BOLD]Women’s Basketball[BOLD]
The Carnegie Mellon women’s basketball team opened its season on Saturday when they traveled to Waynesburg University.
The Tartans jumped out to a hot start leading 8–1 in the first two minutes and never gave up the lead. Carnegie Mellon was able to take a 29–23 lead into the break after Waynesburg went on a 7–3 run into the half. However, a 9–0 run to start the second half allowed the Tartans to create and maintain a double digit lead the rest of the way to eventually win 80–67.
Sophomore Lisa Murphy led both teams with 23 points while sophomore Jackie Hudepohl led the Tartans with eight assists.
The Tartans play their home opener on Wednesday when they face off against Allegheny College.
[BOLD]Men’s Basketball[BOLD]
On Saturday, the Carnegie Mellon men’s basketball team opened its season by travelling to the University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg.
The Tartans had a bit of a slow start, trailing until 2:51 was left in the first half when they were in the middle of a 16–4 run that eventually gave them a 41–36 lead. That lead was immediately relinquished when Pitt-Greensburg scored seven points straight to take a 43–41 lead into half.
The Tartans finally took the lead back for good with a 17–4 run, with senior Seth Cordts and first-year Ryan Maha accounting for all 17 points.
Carnegie Mellon pushed to a lead as large as 11 before eventually winning 99–93.
Cordts led the team with a career-high 34 points while sophomore Jack Serbin had a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds.
The Tartans will have their home opener Tuesday against Geneva College.