Baseball
The baseball team started its conference slate with a four-game series against Emory University. NYU lost the first two games 9-1 on Friday and 14-11 on Saturday, before rebounding for an 11-8 win to finish the second day’s doubleheader on a high note. The series closed out on Sunday with a 16-11 loss.
NYU’s only run in Friday’s loss came after senior Harrison Blueweiss’s double in the bottom of the fourth inning brought sophomore Aidan Howladar to home plate. Emory led from the start, scoring two runs at the top of the first inning. The game ended with the conclusion of the eighth inning due to darkness.
In Saturday’s doubleheader, NYU led 7-5 in the bottom of the fifth inning, and Blueweiss widened the gap with a home run. The Eagles earned six runs over the next two innings to take the lead and held it for the remainder of the game.
In the second game, NYU took an early lead with two runs scored in the bottom of the first inning. Emory would tie it up in the second, but with seven runs scored over the next two, the Violets took charge. Emory’s six runs in the top of the fifth couldn’t match up with NYU’s lead, and the Eagles failed to score after the fifth. Junior relief pitcher Tyler Tedeschi only allowed one hit from the Eagles in the final inning, and NYU took the win at the top of the ninth.
In the final game on Sunday, the Eagles started strong with six runs in the top of the second inning. NYU responded with five runs over the next two innings, including a home run from senior Max Oliveira that allowed graduate student Kosta Mocklis to score. Despite NYU’s effort in the remaining innings, Emory held the lead until the end.
The team will travel to Washington University in St. Louis for the next series in the conference season, which starts on April 3.
Softball
The softball team played a two-game series at Stevens Institute of Technology on Wednesday, dropping both matches 4-2 and 9-2. First-year Sarah Huang accounted for two of NYU’s three hits in game one.
NYU opened University Athletic Association play on Friday with a doubleheader against Brandeis University. The Violets put up the first run of the day in the third inning after sophomore Siena Kiefer scored on first-year Emma Sung’s single. The Judges answered with three runs in the top of the fifth inning and three more in the top of the sixth. Sophomore Naya Schubel’s three-run homer in the bottom of the sixth inning gave NYU a chance at a comeback, but Brandeis’ three runs in the top of the seventh inning widened the gap.
In the second game of the day, the Violets got on the board with Huang’s unearned run in the bottom of the third inning. Brandeis claimed two runs at the top of the fourth, and NYU scored its last run when first-year Katie Antosiewicz’s hit to center field brought Sung home in the bottom of the fourth. Brandeis scored five runs over the next two innings.
The series concluded on Saturday as the Violets lost 11-3 in the final meeting. NYU was down 8-0 after the top of the fourth inning, but scored two runs after Huang singled out to center field. Brandeis scored three more runs at the top of the fifth, and junior Emily Barbire’s hit gave Sung the opportunity to score one last time for the Violets. On the same play, Kiefer was out at second base, and the game ended in the fifth with the Judges’ run-rule victory.
The softball team hits the road on Friday, April 3 for a series against Washington University in St. Louis.
Tennis
On Saturday, the Violets took the court against the University of Rochester in a double-header matchup.
The women’s team swept its matchups 7-0. The No. 1 duo of first-years Visnja Gusavac and Sophia Yang dominated in a 6-0 match, while No. 3 duo first-year Sophia Wright and sophomore Norah Staunton also swept 6-0. Gusavac, the No. 1 singles player, double-bageled her opponent to cap off her matches. Senior Aditi Narayan won the longest match of the day, dropping one set 2-6, but ultimately winning with set scores of 6-4 and 10-6 in the tiebreaker.
The women’s team continued to dominate 7-0 overall in its matches the following day against William Smith College. Gusavac and Yang dominated their match 6-1 and the No. 2 duo of sophomores Emma Kast and Victoria Wang followed their momentum, sweeping their match 6-1. Yang triumphed in her No. 3 singles match for the fastest singles victory of the day with a 6-1, 6-0 win.
The men’s team won its matchups 6-1. The No. 3 duo of sophomore Boris Slesarev and junior Louis Frowein posted the fastest doubles win of the day in their 6-1 match. No. 5 first-year singles player Jeh-Lei Fan, won a hard-fought game with a score of 6-3, 6-7 and 10-6 in the tiebreaker, the longest singles match.
They continued to dominate on Sunday by winning 5-2 against Hobart College. None of the doubles pairings won their matches and the No. 1 singles player, graduate student Niklas von Hellens, won the longest match of the day 6-2, 4-6, 6-3.
The men will face Haverford College in the Bronx on April 11, while the women head to The College of New Jersey to take the court against the home team on April 12.
Track & field
The track and field team crossed state lines to open the outdoor season over the weekend in season-opening competitions.
The women’s team sent two runners to the Paul Derr Track at North Carolina State University on Friday, March 27 for the Raleigh Relays with graduate student Katherine Cochran and junior Josephine Dziedzic competing in the 10,000m final. Cochran set a personal best, dominating her heat with a 34:15.67 time and placing 20th among competitors in all three NCAA divisions. Dziedzic rounded out the top-30 rankings in 29th place after running in the second heat.
Saturday saw the Violets amass 12 top-15 finishes across all events, kicking off the outdoor season at the Monmouth Season Opener hosted by Monmouth University in West Long Branch, New Jersey.
Junior Olivia Jackson raced to first place in 11:09.14 in the women’s 3,000m steeplechase final. The men’s 100m final saw senior James Thompson in third, followed by sophomore Tyler Burch in fifth, rounding out the top five.
The men’s team achieved other top-10 finishes on the track with Thompson finishing sixth in the 200m final, first-year James Jenkins placing seventh in the 5,000m final and senior Emmanuel Brito finishing ninth in the 400m final.
The field events also saw success for the Violets. First-year Amalia Hronides led the women’s team in high jump, finishing fourth with a 1.50m best. Senior Emma Grunin shot to eighth place in javelin, throwing 36.06m. On the men’s side, junior Nishad Sankar and senior Drew Boyce scored seventh and ninth place respectively in the long jump competition.
The Violets will head to Princeton, NJ on Saturday, April 4 to compete in the Sam Howell Invitational and Distance Classic hosted by Princeton University at the Weaver Track Stadium.
Volleyball
On Wednesday, the No. 7-ranked Violets fell 3-1 to the State University of New York, New Paltz in a conference matchup at the Paulson Center. SUNY New Paltz dominated the first set 25-15, while NYU won the second 25-16.
The score tied 14 times in the third set before the Hawks pulled ahead with an 8-4 run to win 25-20. In the final set, SUNY New Paltz scored an early 6-1 run following a tied score of 5-5 and eventually won the set 25-21. Junior Emerson Evans led the team with 15 kills and junior Devyn Nguyen led with 45 assists.
On Saturday, NYU won a tough 3-2 conference matchup against Hobart. The Violets dominated the first set 25-15 following a series of ties early in the set. The Herons took the second set 25-23 after breaking from a 17-17 tie. The Violets opened up the third set by taking an early 4-0 lead and maintained it to win the set 25-23.
The Violets took another early lead in the fourth set and were 16-12 before Hobart’s 8-1 run led to a 25-22 win and forced a fifth set. The final set opened up with NYU scoring five consecutive points. The Violets were able to maintain the lead and won the set 15-11. First-year Charlie Clifford led the Violets with 22 kills, a career high, and Nguyen notched 55 assists.
On Sunday, the Violets swept the UVC matchup against Elmira College in straight sets. The team took the first two sets 25-20 and 25-22, and closed out the third set 25-19 after Elmira’s serving mistake scored NYU its final point.
The Violets will take the court again at Vassar College for a UVC matchup on April 11.
Contact Sherry Chen, Sayako Ikeda and Kiran Komanduri at [email protected].