Basketball
The women’s basketball team is returning home as the NCAA Division III champions, marking the second time it has earned the title in its history.
The Violets finished undefeated, 31-0, and remained on top of the NCAA rankings for the entire season. The team avenged last season’s defeat to Transylvania University 57-42 in the Final Four on March 14 in Columbus, Ohio to advance to the championship final.
Two days later, NYU persevered through a tough match against Smith College, winning 51-41 to clinch its second national title.
Baseball
The baseball team played a doubleheader against the Illinois Institute of Technology on March 16 and 17 in Bradenton, Florida. The Violets won the first 11-3, dropped the second 12-15 and dominated the third 20-6 to win the series 2-1.
Staying in Florida for spring break, NYU lost 4-5 to Ramapo College on March 20, before returning against Elmhurst University, winning 10-6, the next day. NYU blanked Purchase College 1-0 on March 23 to conclude their Florida trip, with seven innings shutout by senior pitcher Sean Bolin who allowed two hits all game and struck out two Panthers.
The team will play Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri in a quadruple header next weekend.
Fencing
Violets Farr Dickson, Jerry Pan, Adam Wong and Kevin Zu competed in the all-division NCAA Fencing Championships at The Ohio State University this weekend, finishing first among all the D-III squads. NYU ranked No. 14 overall in a 27-team competition.
Dickson and Wong ranked 21st and 17th respectively in the men’s foil on March 24. Dickson won eight of 23 matches while Wong won 10 of 23. In the men’s saber, Pan won seven of 23 matches to rank 21st and Zu placed 18th after eight victories.
Golf
Men’s golf returned to action this weekend, competing in the Jekyll Island Invitational on St. Simon’s Island, Georgia over three days. NYU ranked No. 21 out of 30 teams, and the Violets’ five golfers completed their 18 holes before play stopped due to weather.
Captain and junior Kevin Kim was tied 44th with eight others with 11-over par. Sophomores Ryan Leung and Ethan Yang ranked 68th and 74th respectively with 14- and 15-over par. First-years Jomyuth Luangtana-anan and Mark Zhang rounded out the Violets’ group, both tied to finish 117th.
The men’s team will play in the Hershey Cup in Hershey, Pennsylvania on April 7 and 8. The women’s golf team will play in the Capital Hill Classic on March 25 and 26 in Prattville, Alabama.
Swimming & Diving
The men’s swimming team finished its season in 4th place out of 44 teams — its highest-ever finish — at the D-III championships from March 20-23 in Greensboro, North Carolina. Graduate student Derek Maas won three golds in the 200 yard Individual Medley, 100 breaststroke and the 200 breaststroke, setting another NYU record of 1:54.26.
A relay team consisting of first-years Pierce Downs and Greg Wehbe, junior Ajay Watanakun and Maas placed third in the 400 freestyle, earning an All-American honors and breaking their own record by more than four-tenths of a second with a time of 2:56.55. Junior Connor Vincent earned silver in the 1650 freestyle and bronze in the 500 freestyle.
The women’s swimming team also had its best finish at the NCAA D-III championships in Greensboro, North Carolina, placing third and winning five golds, two silvers and a bronze. McIntyre broke her own record in the 100 freestyle, placing first. She also won the 50 freestyle with a time of 22.46 and the 200 freestyle with a time of 1:46.05, both personal bests.
A 400 freestyle relay team consisting of McIntyre, juniors Isabel Oldham and Caitlin Marshall and sophomore Nicole Ranile placed second, beating NYU’s record in the same event with a time of 3:21.04. Marshall rounded out the meet with a bronze medal in the 1650 freestyle.
Track & Field
Both the men’s and women’s track and field teams competed in the Emory Thrills in the Hills Open on March 22 and 23 in Atlanta, Georgia.
On the women’s side, sophomore Dasha Jackson came in second in the 100-meter hurdles, losing by one-third of a second. The 4×400-meter relay team consisting of sophomores Laila Goodman, Areyanna McCarthy, Cindy Leonard and first-year Beverly Okyere placed third with a time of 4:11.90. On the field, sophomore Emma Grunin placed second in javelin, with a personal best throw of 37.43 meters.
For the men’s field team, first-year Nishad Sankar finished second in the triple jump while sophomore Kai Aravena earned fifth place with a 44.34-meter javelin. On the track, sophomore Emmanuel Brito came fifth out of 33 runners in the 400-meter race and was part of the 4×400-meter relay team with fellow sophomore Travis Perry and first-year Justin Lee and Davis Flanagin that took eighth place with a time of 3:31.60.
Both track and field teams continue their season, competing in the Towson Invitational on Friday and Saturday in Towson, Maryland.
Volleyball
The men’s volleyball team traveled to Boston to play the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Wentworth Institute of Technology on March 16 and 17, respectively.
The Violets, ranked 13th, beat MIT three sets to one in their fourth conference game, and are now 2-2 in conference play. They were downed 1-3 by top-ranked and undefeated Wentworth next, and now hold a 10-7 record overall.
The team will return to the Paulson Center on Wednesday to play SUNY New Paltz at 7 p.m.
Wrestling
Junior Cooper Pontelandolfo and graduate student Jason Geyer competed in the NCAA wrestling championships on March 15 and 16 in La Crosse, Wisconsin.
Pontelandolfo fell in the 157-pound semifinals, but placed third after beating a Luther College wrestler 7-3. The win earned Pontelandolfo his third consecutive All-American.
Geyer also fell in the 174-pound semifinals, but advanced to the third place match via a 15-0 win. However, Geyer was defeated, and placed fourth in his weight category, a strong conclusion to his collegiate career.
Contact Jonathan Mak at [email protected].
