Cross Country
Both the men’s and women’s cross country teams headed to Bethlehem, PA on Saturday, Oct. 5 to compete in the Paul Short Run hosted by Lehigh University.
The No. 18 ranked men’s team totaled 89 points in the Men’s College White 8K event, placing second overall out of the 41 teams competing in the race. Cross-region rival SUNY Geneseo ended up clinching first with 75 points.
Senior Ryan Tobin was NYU’s top performer last weekend, finishing third overall with a time of 24:41.1. Notably in the open non-scoring division, junior Samir Hussain set a personal best with a time of 27:20.1 in the 8K race.
The women’s team, ranked No. 3, also had a successful weekend racing in the Women’s White College 6K. Of the 46 teams competing, the Violets finished third overall and totaled 186 points. UAA conference rival Emory University succeeded the Violets to come in second, and Amherst University winning first place with 135 points.
Junior Janie Cooper set a new personal record in the 6K with a time of 21:22.8, striding in first for NYU and finishing 10th overall. Sophomore Josephine Dziedzic rolled in second for the Violets, placing 16th overall while also setting a personal best at 21:51.4.
Both teams will return to the trails next Saturday, Oct. 12 to compete in the Metropolitan Championship in Branch Brook, NJ.
Fencing
Last weekend, both the men’s and women’s fencing teams competed in the North American Cup in Atlantic City, NJ. This four-day long competition offered both men’s and women’s Division I, Division II and Junior events, with NYU athletes participating in all.
First-year Anup Banerjee of the men’s team was NYU’s top finisher in the Division I Men’s Foil event, finishing at an impressive 17th place out of the sizable 305-person group. Sophomore Adam Wong placed 68th in this same event, coming in second for NYU.
Other athletes who placed well were junior Jerry Pan, who ranked 12th in the 264-person Division I Men’s Saber event on Sunday, and junior William Lehr who finished 6th in the Division II Men’s Épée event.
The women’s team also had some noteworthy results — seniors Annika Santos and Sharon Ni both competed in the Division I events — Santos placed 131st in Foil and Ni tied for 149th in Saber.
Sophomore Aurora Aschettino fenced twice over the weekend, finishing 72nd out of the 211 women in the Junior Foil event on Friday, while also tying for 165th in the Division I Women’s Foil later that weekend on Sunday.
Both fencing teams will travel to Philadelphia, PA over the Oct. 26-27 weekend to compete in the Temple University Open.
Soccer
The 16th-ranked women’s soccer team posted yet another win this past Tuesday, Oct. 1, after defeating the University of Scranton 1-0.
Junior forward Hunter Hoelscher scored the only goal of the game early in the 13th minute, capping off her fourth goal of the season. Graduate student and goalkeeper Riley Felsher added another shutout to the books by making four saves to keep Scranton goalless.
Against Case Western Reserve University on Saturday, Oct. 5th, the women’s team drew 1-1 to kick off their 2024-25 UAA campaign. The team remains unbeaten with seven wins, four draws and no losses.
The Violets registered nine shots to the Spartan’s three in a goalless first half, but graduate student midfielder Kelli Keady broke the deadlock in the 56th minute for her third goal of the season, and 25th goal as a Violet.
Case Western equalized 22 minutes later with a low left shot beating Felsher. The Spartans had another chance to win it with less than a minute left on the clock, but Felsher made the crucial save to keep the game level.
The Violets are back in action next Saturday, Oct. 12 at 6 p.m. in Newark, NJ. The team will continue their UAA run against the University of Chicago in a home match at the New Jersey Institute of Technology.
On Wednesday, Oct. 2 in Yonkers, NY, the men’s soccer team narrowly defeated Sarah Lawrence College for their fifth win of the season. The Violets secured a close 3-2 win in the 77th minute when Felipe Remon delivered a clutch assist to Nathan Bennett, who headed his second goal of the match into the back of the net.
On Saturday, the team traveled to Cleveland, OH for their first UAA conference match of the season, playing out a 1-1 tie with Case Western as well.
NYU got its goal within seven minutes. Senior Ahmed Ibrahim’s free-kick from just outside the penalty box found senior defender Johannes Wolfram, who headed home for his first collegiate goal. It was also Ibrahim’s fourth assist of the season.
The Violets’ defense held strong for most of the match, only conceding two shots before the Spartans’ goal in the 51st minute. It was another headed goal as the cross found Case Western’s #8, who headed past sophomore goalkeeper Jackson McCloskey’s right side.
After the equalizer, the Spartans outshot NYU 8-3, but the Violets’ defense held firm for the draw.
The men’s team now has five wins, one loss and three draws on the record thus far. The team will head into the second UAA match against the University of Chicago at home in Newark at 8:15 p.m. next Saturday, Oct. 12.
Volleyball
This weekend in the Paulson Center, the NYU women’s volleyball team hosted another round of tri-matches, with Smith College, Ithaca College and Trinity University (Texas).
The No. 20 ranked Violets started off the weekend strong on Friday, Oct. 4, by clinching a win in four sets against Smith College.
The team just barely dropped the first set at 25-27, but came back to win in straight sets at 25-19, 25-20 and 25-14. The Violets’ pins were exceptionally strong this match, with outside hitters sophomore Grace Nelson registering 14 kills and first-year Chloe Hynes following with 12.
The following day on Saturday, Oct. 5, NYU faced a double header against Trinity University and Ithaca College. The Violets fell to Trinity in four sets on Saturday morning — winning the first set and dropping the next three — but then rebounded in the afternoon to defeat Ithaca College during yet another four set match.
During the opening set of the Ithaca match, the Violets had an exceptional start, hitting nearly perfect with an attacking percentage of .500. The team’s strong offensive presence led them to secure the set comfortably at 25-13. After a momentum shift and some unforced errors, the Violets dropped the second set 18-25, but found their rhythm again in the following two sets to close out the match. Ava Launsbach registered a season-high of 26 assists to help clinch this win.
The Violets are now 12-7 overall and 1-2 in conference play, and will continue their UAA quest in St. Louis, MO next weekend. The team will play another double header on Sunday, Oct. 13, playing both Case Western Reserve University at 12 p.m. and Washington University in St. Louis at 2 p.m.
Contact Levi Langley at [email protected].
