12 minute read
Sports
Split score during Ohio wresting match
By Gillian Mazur
Advertisement
Staff writer
Despite very few matches last season due to the close nature of the sport and the COVID-19 pandemic, the Lakers made it all the way to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Super Region I and NCAA National Championships last season. In their 2019-2020 season, the Lakers’ overall score was 11-5, which allowed them to make it to the NCAA Super Region I.
With a lot to prove to the wrestling community once again, on Dec. 4, Mercyhurst University’s Wrestling team traveled to Ashland, Ohio for their first dual meet for the 2021-2022 season. The Lakers battled against both the Davenport University Panthers and the No. 8 ranked at the time, Ashland University Eagles. Wrestling in multiple of the 10 collegiate weight classes, the Lakers took on their opponents with might.
However, the Lakers’ first match of the day did not go as they had hoped, falling to the No. 8 ranked team in the country. Ranked ninth in the nation at the 133 lb. weight class, redshirt senior Eric Bartos scored a pin for his first action of the year ending the match.
“Personally, I felt really good for it being my first match back. The goal is to stay healthy and position myself to make a run for a title by the end of the season, so we are off to a good start. I’m really excited about this team right now and I see some major upsets in the future,” said Bartos.
Graduate student Alexis Soriano put more points on the board for Mercyhurst winning his second match at the 141 mark via a 12-8 decision. A common outcome, a decision win is earned through a combination of escapes, riding time, reversals, take downs, stalling points, violations, or near falls. This point total is combined that is fewer than 8 points more than the opponent, which gives the wrestler’s team three points overall to the team’s scoreboard.
“I felt I didn’t perform as well as I had hoped, but mid-match adjustments helped me improve to rally towards the end as I was trying to end with a bonus point victory against Ashland,” said Soriano.
Graduate student Jacob Robb ranked fifth nationally at 285, also went 2-0 for the day by defeating the Eagle’s junior, Ty Petrey, through a technical fall. In wrestling, this is met if one outscores their opponent by a set number of points, essentially, a mercy rule.
Although the Lakers fought hard and had a few shining moments, it was not enough to beat the Ashland University Eagles in their home gym, losing 27-14.
“Against Ashland, I felt as a team we could have performed better but overall a lot of tough and gritty matches from 125lbs all the way to heavyweight (183-285 lbs). We picked up some tough losses, but everyone looked tough and definitely gave it their all out there,” said Soriano.
“Although we fell short to Ashland who’s now No. 7 in the country, I think the match allowed us to realize we can make the adjustments and be one of the best teams in the country. Our guys had really close matches with multiple individuals who were ranked top five in the country. Our freshmen are starting to get used to college competition and it’s looking like they are on track to be good,” said Bartos.
Facing the Panthers second, the Lakers ended the start of their season strong easily showing who was superior with a final score of 47-4. Bartos and graduate student Jacob Ruggeri both wrestled at 125 and 133 respectively each earning six points for Mercyhurst due to forfeit.
Senior Luke McGonigal, junior Alexander Samson, freshman Matthew Leehan and freshman Max Stedeford all added to the scoreboard via pin. Robb won a 6-1 decision at 285, Soriano won a 15-1 major decision at 141 and freshman Dillon Walker got a 14-2 major decision at 174. The difference from a decision to a major decision is it is won if the winner outscores their opponent by eight or more points earning the team four points in a dual meet. “I think I performed well against Davenport picking up a major decision and getting to my attacks and getting to where I felt comfortable being,” said Soriano.
The Lakers’ next match is set for Painesville, OH on Dec. 11 versus Lake Erie College. The first home wrestling match is currently set for Jan. 14 at 4 p.m. at the Mercyhurst Athletic Center against East Stroudsburg.
“Overall as a team, I thought we performed very well against Davenport. Many of our guys got to positions they were good at and picked up a few bonus point victories. It was a very tough weekend and I’m certain our guys will be ready for the next dual better prepared and grittier than before to come out with a team victory against Lake Erie this upcoming Saturday” said Soriano.
Hurst Athletics photo
Mercyhurst senior, Luke McGonigal wrestling in a match in Ashland, Ohio.
Ultimate Frisbee is back in play again
By Sydney Dietz
Sports editor
There are many sports that often get overlooked, including ultimate Frisbee. Ultimate Frisbee is a non-contact game that is played by throwing a Frisbee between teammates.
Two teams of seven compete against each other on a field slightly narrower than a football field. Each team defends an end zone. A team will get a goal if another player receives a Frisbee in the opposite end zone. There are no referees involved, and the players are responsible for the plays.
Mercyhurst Lakers can compete against other schools by joining the Ultimate Frisbee club team. The Ultimate Frisbee club is a RSCO club. Kevin Hough, the President of Ultimate Frisbee, said the transition to a club sport team was placed on hold due to COVID-19.
The last time Mercyhurst hosted an Ultimate Frisbee match up on campus was in 2020, and the game was played against Penn State Behrend. However, this year Ultimate Frisbee has been competing in many games against different schools including Edinboro University, Penn State Behrend, Gannon University, Grove City College, Allegheny University, Brockport University, Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP) and Juniata College. The winter league has been an active part of the Ultimate Frisbee team and will be back this year for students to compete against other schools.
“It is always exciting to be able to play against other schools,” said Hough. “This is especially the case this year because we have been unable to do so since the fall semester of 2020.”
The Erie Ultimate League Enterprise (EULE) is in charge of the winter league. They organize tournaments and promote Ultimate Frisbee throughout the Erie area. The Mercyhurst Ultimate Frisbee team will continue to compete in the winter league and will compete against other club level teams.
Hough is the president of the Ultimate Frisbee team, and has participated in the club level sport for a while.
“My favorite part about Ultimate Frisbee is that it has provided me with great friendships that will last a lifetime, and it is also a great way to have fun while staying in shape,” said Hough. When asked if there are any strategies for playing the game Hough said, “There are many strategies for playing the game, but the most basic one is that we always strive to focus on playing as a team rather than as individuals.”
The current Ultimate Frisbee team that is representing Mercyhurst University in games has been doing well.
“I am pleased with how our team has played this semester,” said Hough, “but there is always room for improvement- especially with how many freshmen have joined the team and will continue to improve over time.”
The Ultimate Frisbee RSCO club team is a great addition to Mercyhurst campus sports and will now hopefully gain a greater presence on campus.
Kevin Hough photo
The Ultimate Frisbee Team gathered for a photo after a tournament at Edinboro University in September.
Women’s hockey plays in Tennessee
By Samantha Weber Editor-in-chief
Over Thanksgiving weekend, the Mercyhurst Women’s ice hockey team competed in the Smashville NCAA Hockey Showcase. This year, the showcase took place in Nashville, Tennessee at the Ford Ice Center.
The Lakers’ first game was on Nov. 26 against the University of Minnesota Gophers, who are currently ranked 5th in the country. The Lakers lost 0-4, but it was a good game nonetheless.
In the first period, the score remained 0-0 while both teams had the opportunity to score on power plays. The first goal came for the Gophers at 14:30 into the period. That was the only goal scored during the first period. In the second period, Minnesota score once again making the score 2-0. Even though the Lakers had three power play opportunities, they were unable to score.
Alexa Vasko led Mercyhurst in shots as she had five in the second period. The two Gophers who scored the first two goals scored the third and fourth goals during the third period respectively. Ena Nystrøm, goalie for the Lakers, had her season-high of 35 saves during this game. Minnesota
Hurst Athletics photo
Mercyhurst women’s hockey team plays in the NCAA Smashville showcase in Nashville, Tennessee.
out shot the Lakers 39-28. Because they lost their first game, the Lakers played in the consolation game on Nov. 27.
In this game, they played against the Boston College Eagles and the Lakers won 4-2. About 10 minutes into the first period, freshman Marielle Parks scored the first goal of the game after sneaking it between the goalie and the left post. This was Park’s sixth goal of the season.
The Eagles responded later in the period to tie the score, but the Lakers answered back about a minute later when sophomore, Chantal Ste-Croix scored. This is Ste-Croix’s fourth goal in her past four games. The goal was assisted by freshmen Vanessa Upson and Sydney Pedersen.
At the start of the second period, Mercyhurst was up 2-1. Mary Sweetapple, freshman, took a shot on goal, but it was tipped by Sarah Nelles, senior, and snuck past the goalie for the Eagles. This goal made the score 3-1, but that did not last for long as the Eagles responded just 33 seconds after the Lakers’ third goal.
The 3-2 score remained the same for the rest of the period and into the second intermission. Early in the third period, sophomore Sarah Boucher scored the fourth goal for the Lakers in the game. This ended up being the final goal of the game and was assisted by senior Liliane Perreault and graduate student K.K. Thiessen, who is also a co-captain for the team. The goalie for Mercyhurst in this game was junior Jenna Silvonen who had 24 saves throughout the game. The Lakers out shot the Eagles 51-26.
The Lakers had two more games this past weekend where they traveled to Syracuse, New York to play against Syracuse University. In he first game, the Lakers won 3-0, but in the second game they lost 1-3. This was their last game until the new year when they will return on Jan. 7 to the Mercyhurst Ice Center to play their first game of the year against Long Island University.
Men’s basketball wins away game in Lock Haven, PA
By Gillian Mazur Staff writer
With a 6-0 overall winning streak, the Mercyhurst Men’s basketball team is back at it once again. On Dec. 4, the Lakers’ added one more win to their overall season score by defeating the Lock Haven University Bald Eagles in a hard-fought matchup for a 87-74 win.
Ranked No. 3 in their division, the Lakers traveled three and a half hours to Lock Haven, PA to bring home another win. An important victory, the win gave Mercyhurst a 2-0 conference record, put the team to the top-half of the PSAC West Division and tied the Lakers’ for No. 7 with Indiana University of Pennsylvania and Pitt-Johnstown University.
Starting in the first half, both Lock Haven and Mercyhurst exchanged threes within the first two minutes for a 3-3 total.
Graduate student and forward, Cameron Gross, then proceeded to score in the paint making the score 6-6.
Gross was then fouled on a breakaway layup that he made, putting points on the board for both that and his foul shot near the 17-minute mark. Not even 40 seconds later, senior guard Nicholas Lang gave Mercyhurst the first lead of the game after sinking another three.
Hurst Athletics photo
Grad Student Cameron Gross shoots the ball in a game against Lock Haven.
Building off this momentum, Mercyhurst grew their lead to double-digits with a three-pointer from senior guard, MiyKah McIntosh making the score 19-8.
The Lakers shot 50 percent from the floor in the first half going into the locker room with 4828 on the scoreboard.
Coming out in the second half, the Bald Eagles eventually cut down their deficit to five points. Despite this, the Lakers kept possession and did not allow them to get any closer on the board while building a little more distance between the teams until the end buzzer.
In the end, the Lakers had 10 more shots on the floor in the second half and made all 11 of their free-throws for a 16-for-16 finish. With 18 turnovers, the Lakers only gave up the ball eight times. The Lakers had one steal and Lang had five swipes against the Bald Eagles.
Senior guard, Steve Cannady led Mercyhurst with 21 points followed by Gross with 19 points and 10 rebounds. Lang and McIntosh also both put 12 on the board respectively.
“We knew we had two tough away games this weekend against two physical teams [Shippensburg University and Lock Haven University] and in order to win we’re going to have to execute and play tough. Coach Manchel made some adjustments to our offense in preparation, and I think that helped us to be successful,” said Lang.
The Lakers’ next game will be at Syracuse, NY for a non-PSAC matchup against Le Moyne College on Dec. 9 at 6:00 p.m. The Lakers’ next PSAC and home game will be on Dec. 14 versus Mansfield University at 7:30 p.m.
