Sports Briefs
Women’s Cross Country
The Carnegie Mellon women’s cross country team traveled north to compete in the Allegheny College Classic on Saturday, Sept. 16. Senior Aparna Alavilli was the first of 134 runners to cross the finish line with a time of 18:03. The senior helped the Tartans to a first-place team finish in a field of 11 teams.
Finishing three seconds behind Alavilli and placing second was sophomore Abigail Levine with a time of 18:06. Sophomore Emmalyn Lindsey placed sixth overall with a time of 18:37 while first-year Jill Nelson crossed eighth with a time of 18:46.
The fifth Tartan to finish the race was first-year Parvathi Meyyappan with a time of 19:11 to place 18th overall followed by sophomore Kate Reilly in 21st. Reilly crossed with a time of 19:22. Senior Rhiannon Farney placed 33rd with a time of 19:43.
The Tartans will next race at the Paul Short Invitational held at Lehigh University in Bethlehem, PA, on Friday, Sept. 29.
Men’s Cross Country
The Carnegie Mellon men’s cross country team, ranked 17th in the latest national poll, cruised to victory at the Allegheny College Classic on Saturday, Sept. 16 with seven runners finishing in the top 15.
Junior William Mitchell led the way for the Tartans across the four-mile course at the Robertson Sports Complex by finishing the race sixth overall in a time of 20 minutes and 27 seconds. Junior Aadi Mhatre was on his heels, finishing seventh in 20:28.
Sophomore Stephen Law led the next five Tartans who finished 10th through 14th with a total of six seconds between them. Law crossed the line in 20:34 while junior Jared Moore was done in 20:36. Senior Jordan Safer finished the race in 20:37, sophomore Liam Walsh crossed in 20:38, and junior Kevin Cory completed the course in 20:40.
The Tartans will next compete on Friday, Sept. 29 at the Paul Short Invitational hosted by Lehigh University in Bethlehem, PA.
Football
The Carnegie Mellon football team opened Presidents’ Athletic Conference (PAC) play at Waynesburg University on Saturday, Sept. 16. The Tartans scored 24 unanswered points to come away with a 30–20 win. The Tartans improved to 3–0, (1–0 in the PAC).
Senior linebacker Sean Graff’s interception set up the Tartans on the Waynesburg 30-yard line and led to the first score of the game. Three plays later, junior quarterback Alex Cline connected with senior Tommy Mansfield on a 21-yard touchdown. The extra point sailed wide left and left the score 6–0 three minutes into the game.
Waynesburg answered the Cardinal and Gray’s score with a 19-play, 62-yard drive that took 9:44 off the clock. The end result was a 33-yard field goal that left the score 6–3 with just over two minutes to play in the first quarter. The Yellow Jackets then scored a touchdown to take a 10–6 lead with five minutes to play in the half on a quarterback keeper following a pass interference call in the end zone.
The Yellow Jackets opened the second half with a 14-play, 63-yard drive that resulted in the second field goal of the game. The 36-yard kick pushed the home team’s lead to 13–7 at the 9:30 mark of the third quarter.
In the closing seconds of the third quarter, Cline tossed his second touchdown of the game to knot the score at 13–13. This time, the junior found senior wide receiver John Prather on a 38-yard scoring connection.
After the Tartan defense held the Yellow Jackets to a three-and-out, Cline was fast to strike again. The signal caller needed three plays to give the Tartans a 20–13 lead. Cline founded junior Karl-Mark Kumm for a 28-yard touchdown that capped off a 55-yard drive.
Carnegie Mellon’s defense came up strong again and held the Yellow Jackets to another three-and-out. The Tartans again took advantage of the play of their defense with another scoring drive. The lead was extended to 23–13 with 8:05 to play on a 33-yard field goal by senior punter Tyler Kohman.
On the third straight possession for Waynesburg, Carnegie Mellon’s defense held the Yellow Jackets to another three-and-out and the Tartans capitalized for the third consecutive time. Junior running back Rory Hubbard pushed the lead to 30–13 on a 2-yard run with 5:34 to play. On the three-play scoring drive for the Tartans, Hubbard accounted for all 45 yards including a 40-yard scamper on his second carry.
Waynesburg added a late 20-yard touchdown to make the score 30–20 with 1:15 to play.
Carnegie Mellon combined 312 yards of offense while Waynesburg totaled 270 yards. It marked the third straight game that the Tartans’ defense held their opponent under 300 yards of total offense. Senior safety Drew Fitzmorris led the Tartans with eight tackles.
Cline threw for 187 yards and three touchdowns after completing 12-of-20 passes. Mansfield, Prather and senior running back Sam Benger each hauled in three receptions with Mansfield leading the way with 49 yards and a score. Prather compiled 47 yards and a score with Benger totaling 38 yards receiving. Hubbard led the Tartans rushing attack with a career-high 94 yards on 11 carries.
The Tartans will return to the gridiron on Saturday, Sept. 23 when Thomas More College travels to Pittsburgh. Kick is set for 1 p.m. on the turf of Gesling Stadium.
Women’s Tennis
The Carnegie Mellon women’s tennis team hosted Division II Seton Hill University on Saturday, Sept. 16, defeating the Griffins, 9–0. With the win, the Tartans move to 2–0 for the year.
The Tartans swept through doubles action against the Griffins, with the number one pair of senior Cori Sidell and sophomore Courtney Ollis winning 8–4 for the first point. Junior Marina Selenica and sophomore Vinaya Rao then won 8–2 at number three doubles before senior Katie Lai and junior Jamie Vizelman won by an 8–4 score at number two doubles.
Ollis and Selenica were the first to finish singles as both won by 6–0, 6–1 scores to give the match victory to the Tartans.
Sidell won her number one singles match, 6–0, 6–2, and is now one win away from her 100th career win.
The Tartans are also in action at the Kenyon College Invitational this weekend.
Volleyball
The 16th-ranked Carnegie Mellon volleyball team finished the Susquehanna University Hampton Inn River Hawk Classic with a 3–0 victory against the hosts and a 3–0 win against Stevenson University. The Tartans move to 11–0 on the season.
The Tartans opened the day with a 25–16, 25–13, 25–22 win against the River Hawks. The team hit .287 for the match including a .452 performance in the second set in which they put down 16 kills.
Junior Lauren Mueller and senior Eliza Donohue each had 10 kills for the match while senior Heather Holton put down nine kills. Sophomore Maia So-Holloway picked up 18 assists with senior Amanda Thiele dishing out 15. Mueller led the back line with 13 digs, as sophomore Kayla Yew collected 10 digs. Sophomore Sahara Aqui and junior Sarah Jurgens each had three block assists.
After a break, the Tartans took on Stevenson and won by set scores of 26–24, 25–21, and 25–11. Holton led the attack with 11 kills and a hitting percentage of .385. So-Holloway had 19 assists while Thiele had 13. Yew and Mueller each had 10 digs while Aqui picked up five block assists and hit .600 with six kills.
The Tartans will next face Franciscan University on Tuesday, Sept. 19 before hosting the DoubleTree Invitational on Friday, Sept. 22.