Away from the debauchery of Halloween weekend in Manhattan, NYU sports rolled on. Cross country and women’s volleyball approached the end of their season, while fencing and wrestling kicked off the winter schedule.

Cross Country

The NYU cross country squad traveled upstate to Milton to compete in the UAA Championship, hosted by Emory University. Led by senior Jorge Maldonado’s 12th-place finish, the men finished in fourth place. Meanwhile, the women placed a modest eighth.

Maldonado paced the Violets in a field of 76 runners, finishing with a time of 25:10.77 on the 8k course. Junior Neil Saddler wasn’t far behind, placing 19th with a time of 25:21.11. The most exciting competition amongst Violets was between sophomore Matt Osubor and junior Max Mudd, who finished 29th and 30th with under a second separating them. The Violets compiled 121 points, 25 more than third-place Brandeis University.

Familiar faces led the women’s squad, with junior Lara Dorsky placing a team-best 30th with a time of 23:12.35. Senior Justine Morris continued to wind down her final season with a 34th-place finish in 23:22.38. Though they finished in last place, their total of 209 points was just 10 more than seventh-place Carnegie Mellon University.

The season approaches the finish line next week when the Violets head to Glassboro, NJ for the NCAA Regional Championship.

Fencing

The 2016-2017 fencing campaign got off to an exciting start at the Temple Collegiate Open in Philadelphia this weekend. Sophomore Grant Williams led the Violets with a first-place finish in the men’s sabre, while sophomore Mickey Bak finished in a tie for third. Freshman Gabriel Mejia-Ruiz placed fifth in the foil competition, and freshman Michael Lee finished eighth. Senior Malcolm Lewis was the only Violet to finish in the top 10 in the epee, placing ninth. Meanwhile, sophomore Jacqueline Tubbs finished seventh in the women’s sabre, and freshman Rachel Yuen placed ninth in the foil event.

The Violets next compete Nov. 10 when they travel across the Hudson to Hoboken to take on the Stevens Institute of Technology.

 Women’s Volleyball

Needing a big weekend on its home court with the UAA Championship tournament a week away, the women’s volleyball team faltered, losing two out of three over the weekend and dropping the Violets’ record to 15-14. But Friday’s three-set sweep courtesy of Nazareth College and a five-set loss via the Rochester Institute of Technology wasn’t enough to deflate the Violets in their Family Day sweep of Buffalo State College on Saturday.

The Violets played well against Nazareth, leading early in the final two sets, but were derailed by extended runs from their adversaries in the sweep (19-25, 23-25, 19-25). Their best effort came in the second, when they tied the set at 17 and came within one point later before Nazareth shut the door. The Violets gave RIT a run for its money, coming back from two sets before falling in the fifth (20-25, 20-25, 25-18. 25-19. 8-15).

However, with family and friends in attendance in the afternoon, the Violets put on their best performance of the weekend against an overmatched Buffalo State team (25-17, 25-16, 25-18). Sophomore outside hitter Annie Singh led the Violets with 10 kills, while junior middle blocker Rayne Ellis tacked on nine. Freshman setter Zel Fortson finished with 29 assists.

The Violets head to St. Louis as underdogs in the UAA Championship, taking on No. 2-ranked Emory University on Friday at 10 a.m.

Wrestling

NYU’s annual alumni match rang in the beginning of the season for the Grapplers in Brooklyn this past Friday. The event, which brings athletes from the past and present, showcased the expansive NYU squad ahead of its opener. The Grapplers will be in action this Saturday at the Monarch Tournament in Wilkes-Barre, PA.

A version of this article appeared in the Monday, Oct. 31 print edition. Email Michael Thompson at [email protected].