Tennis
Men’s and women’s tennis opened up their seasons this past week on high notes, each prevailing in the their first two games of the season.
The men opened their season up against the United States Coast Guard Academy on Feb. 23, winning 8-1. The Violets only dropped one doubles match while taking the other two doubles matches and all single matches. Highlighting NYU were CAS sophomore Rahul Das and Stern junior Vishal Walia, who each won a doubles match and a singles match. The men continued their domination with a 9-0 shutout victory against Baruch College on Feb. 24.
The women enjoyed a shutout victory of their own when they opened their season against Haverford College on Feb. 23. They rode the momentum into their next game on Feb. 24 against Christopher Newport University, defeating them in another shutout victory. The Violets set the tone early, taking each doubles match by a single set 8-5. They then took each singles match in straight-set victories.
The men return to the court on March 2, when they take on Skidmore College while the women return on March 3, when they take on Swarthmore College.
Track and Field
The men and women competed in the UAA Indoor Championships on Feb. 23. The men currently stand in fifth place out of seven teams while the women are currently in seventh of seven teams.
The men had many quality performances. CAS junior Carter Beardsley had NYU’s best finish of the day, placing second in the weight throw. CAS senior William Lee finished third in the high jump. A pair of runners, SPS senior Malcolm Montilus and GLS first-year Daniel Devine, qualified for the finals in the 400m while SPS junior Julian Montilus earned a finals spot in the 200m. The men’s distance medley relay also earned the team points on the day with a fifth place finish.
Highlighting for the women was CAS junior Evelyn Nkanga, who finished with the ninth-best time in the 200m, just missing out on a finals spot by one spot. The women’s distance medley relay came together for a season-best time and a seventh place finish. There were many personal best runs at this meet for the women.
Both squads return to action for the final day of the UAA Indoor Championship on Feb. 24.
Wrestling
The wrestling team competed at the Northeast Regional this past weekend, finishing in sixth place out of 17 teams.
Stars for the Violets were CAS junior Evan Drill (141 pounds) and CAS junior Dylan Dwyer (157 pounds), who finished in second and third place, respectively. Drill took a 7-5 victory in the semifinals and with his ticket already punched to Nationals, took a medical forfeit in the final round. Dwyer dropped in a quarterfinal bout, but wrestled his way back into third place, by way of a close 5-4 win in the third-place match. With those finishes, both members qualified for a spot in next month’s Division III NCAA Championships.
Both these men return to the mat on March 8, at the 2019 NCAA Division III Championships.
Basketball
Both the men and women finished their seasons off strong with wins in their season finales against UAA rival Brandeis University.
The men took a close one, winning 53-51. After scoring the first six points of the game, NYU never trailed after that even though Brandeis kept themselves within reach of the lead. SPS senior Jule Brown chipped in 10 points to the victory in his final game. CAS junior Dom Cristiano led the way with 15 points and nine rebounds.
The women also had a close game, but eventually took the victory 64-58. Despite falling behind by 11 points early in the game, NYU ended the first quarter with a 20-13 lead. The lead ballooned to 18 in the fourth quarter and never faltered. SPS senior Liv Linebarger gave an impressive performance in her last game, producing 12 points and eight rebounds. CAS sophomore Lauren Koyama led the attack with 17 points.
This marks the end of the basketball regular season. The women, having finished the season with a winning record, are awaiting a potential postseason bid to appear in the ECAC Championship tournament.
Swimming and Diving
Several NYU swimming and diving team members who may not be participating at the NCAA Division III National Championships next month participated at the NYU Last Chance Invitational this past weekend. There was no team scoring or diving events. CAS sophomore Davis Looney swam in the most events (four) for the men while CAS first-year Imaal Ahmed competed in two for the women.
Men’s Volleyball
The men’s volleyball team split games this past week in UVC action, going 1-1.
The Violets lost to St. John Fisher College in five hard-fought sets (16-25, 25-20, 25-23, 24-26, 15-13) on Feb. 23. NYU took the first set in dominating fashion, but dropped the next two. The men had a comeback victory in the fourth set to set up a winner-takes-all final set, which they ended up losing. Leading NYU were Stern junior Alex Li with 17 kills and Stern junior Matin Bikdeli with 50 assists.
They bounced back against Nazareth College, winning the four sets (27-29, 25-21, 25-20, 25-21). As a team, NYU hit .423 while holding Nazareth to only a .163 attacking percentage. Li tallied 18 kills for the day and Bikdeli lead the team in assists again with 44.
The Violets return to the court on Feb. 27 in another UVC matchup against Stevens Institute of Technology.
Women’s Fencing
The women finished with near-perfection at the Fairleigh Dickinson University Invitational on Feb. 24, winning five of its six matches. NYU defeated LIU-Post, Drew University, New Jersey Institute of Technology and FDU before losing their last match against Stevens Institute of Technology.
In foil, Stern sophomore Tiffany Luong finished with a perfect 18-0 while Steinhardt senior Anastasiya Muravyeva finished with a single tarnish to her record at 17-1. Leading the way in sabre were CAS junior Audrey Edgington with a 12-2 record, and GLS first-year Allie Dunlap with a 12-5 record. Steinhardt junior Rachel Wu (7-3) and LS first-year Gabie Yacobi (8-7) were the epee leaders.
This marks the end of the dual-match season, with the Violets ending with a 14-17 record.
They return to action on March 2, to compete in the NIWFA Championships.
Email Zach Han at [email protected].
