Men’s Track and Field
The men’s track and field team concluded its indoor season this past weekend. It began the week competing at the UAA Indoor Championships and finished the week competing at the All-Atlantic Meet and ECAC Championships.
The Violets finished in fifth place at the UAA Indoor Championships. Highlights of the weekend came from SPS senior Malcolm Montilus, who finished second in the 400m finals, CAS junior Carter Beardsley, who finished third in the shot put, and the 4x400m relay that placed second.
NYU finished tied for 24th place out of 40 teams at the All-Atlantic meet. The lone-point scorer for NYU was SPS junior Julian Montilus, finishing seventh in the 400m and also participating in the 4x400m relay team that earned third.
A trio of Violet runners competed at the ECAC Championships, placing 19th as a team out of 26. CAS junior Ben Karam and CAS sophomore Sam Klein finished third and sixth, respectively, in the 3,000m while CAS junior Jack Lillian finished sixth in the mile.
This marks the end of the indoor season; however, Malcolm Montilus is likely to qualify for the NCAA Division III Championships next week with his ninth-best time in the 400m in the nation.
Women’s Track and Field
CAS junior Evelyn Nkanga was the only member of the NYU team to compete in the ECAC Indoor Championships this past weeked, and she represented her team well. Nkanga captured the triple jump title with a season best mark of 11.69m. Her lone performance ended in a 16th-place team finish out of 25 teams.
Nkanga will be headed back to the NCAA Division III Championships next weekend, where last year she finished fourth and earned All-American honors.
Women’s Basketball
The women’s basketball team earned their sixth-straight postseason bid earlier this week with a first-round bye. They proved to be worthy of the bid, advancing all the way to the ECAC Finals for the second straight year.
In the quarterfinals, the Violets defeated Washington and Jefferson College 52-42. Despite trailing by three after three quarters, the Violets used a 13-2 run to spark a comeback effort that they would never look back on. All-UAA Steinhardt sophomore Janean Cuffee led the attack with 14 points and five assists while CAS sophomore Lauren Koyama chipped in 13 points off the bench.
NYU rode this momentum into the semifinals against Misericordia University, winning 69-59 behind a team-record breaking performance from three. The Violets took a quick 11-2 early lead and never trailed in this game, despite the runs Misericordia put together time to time. The women used 14 triples to spark the victory, giving them 200 on the season, eclipsing the previous record of triples in a season of 191. Cuffee had a career-high 30 points while Koyama chipped in 12 off of the bench.
The women defeated Cabrini University to win the 2019 ECAC Championship on Sunday. Cuffee scored a career-high 39 points to secure the MVP award. The ECAC Championship concluded the 2018-19 season for NYU, which finished the campaign with a 17-10 record.
Men’s Volleyball
The men’s volleyball team had a strong showing for the week with two impressive victories.
The men played the role of David against Goliath when they defeated the second-ranked team in the nation in the latest AVCA Top 15 Poll, Stevens Institute of Technology, in four sets. After dropping a tightly-fought first set, NYU dominated the final three sets by scores of 25-18, 25-18 and 25-13. Pivotal in the victory were Stern juniors Alex Li, who recorded 15 kills and three aces, and Matin Bikdeli, who totaled a match-high 37 assists.
The Violets continued their hot hand against The Sage Colleges, winning in straight sets. CAS junior Evan Lindley led the way with 13 kills while Stern first-year Ryan Whealen dished out 43 assists.
The men look to continue their run against Springfield College on March 9.
Baseball
The men’s baseball team opened their season on Feb. 28 against John Jay College, defeating them 16-4. NYU used a 10-run 7th inning to put the game way out of reach. Stern junior and pitcher Ford Ladd pitched the first six innings, allowing only four hits and two runs. SPS senior Colman Hendershot and Stern sophomore Francis Prior combined for seven RBIs, each going 3-4 on the day.
The team heads back to the diamond on March 8 against SUNY Canton after the weekend games were canceled due to hazardous weather.
Women’s Swimming and Diving
The NYU women’s swimming and diving team sported a trio of divers at the NCAA Northeast Regional Diving Championships this past weekend. CAS junior Carmen White and CAS senior Kelly Ryser finished ninth and 10th, respectively, in the one-meter dive while CAS sophomore Ashlyn Winship took 17th in the event. White also earned ninth place in the three-meter dive while Winship took 18th place.
These performances will determine who will qualify for the NCAA Championships later this month.
This concluded the season for women’s diving.
Men’s Swimming and Diving
The men’s swimming and diving team also sent three divers to represent it at the NCAA Northeast Regional Diving Championships this past weekend. Representing the Violets were Nursing first-year Cole Vertin, Steinhardt junior Nick Lemieux and Gallatin senior Max Falb, who each finished sixth, 10th and 20th in the one-meter dive, respectively. Vertin also finished with a ninth place finish in the three-meter dive, with Lemieux taking 12th and Falb taking 21st place.
These performances will determine who will qualify for the NCAA Championships later this month.
This concluded the season for men’s diving.
Men’s Tennis
The men’s tennis team’s hot start to the season came to a halt after they lost to Skidmore College 0-9 over the weekend. Despite hard fought matches from first-doubles and first and second-singles, NYU was unable to secure a single win on the day.
They will look to bounce back against Haverford College on March 9.
Women’s Fencing
The women’s fencing team competed at the National Intercollegiate Women’s Fencing Association Championships on March 2, where the women took fourth place out of 13 teams.
Five NYU fencers competed in the direct elimination round of 16. Steinhardt junior Rachel Wu qualified in epee and went on to win her first bout but lost to the eventual champion. In sabre, CAS junior Audrey Edgington and GLS first-year Allison Dunlap qualified. Edgington made it to the final four before losing in the semifinals, finishing third. Dunlap was eliminated in her first bout. In foil, the two qualifiers, Steinhardt senior Anastasiya Muravyeva and Stern sophomore Tiffany Luong both won their first bouts, which set up a quarterfinal matchup that pit them against one another. Luong came out victorious and fell in the semifinals, earning a third-place finish.
The women return to action on March 10 at the NCAA Regional Championships.
Email Zach Han at [email protected].
