Cardinal Sports Report: February 12

Image courtesy of Ryan Tufford and Catholic Athletics.

By Griffin Cappiello

Men’s Swimming and Diving won their tenth consecutive Landmark Conference title. Click here for more coverage of their championship-winning performance.

Women’s Swimming and Diving competed in the Landmark Conference Championships. Click here for more coverage on their competition.

Men’s Tennis started their spring season last Saturday on the road against Washington College. Freshmen Flynn Hollinger and Jake Hershey put up a strong fight in the number three doubles spot, but ultimately fell 4-6. Freshman Ian Arenas went to a tiebreaker in his first set in the number five singles spot, but dropped the tiebreaker 1-7, and Hollinger also went to a tiebreaker in the number six singles spot, but also dropped the tiebreaker. Both freshmen lost their second sets, and the Cardinals fell 0-7. They will return to action this Sunday, February 22, on the road against Salisbury.

Women’s Tennis began their spring season last Saturday by facing off against Washington College on the road. Freshman Annie Nemoy and sophomore Shloka Tambat won the number one doubles spot 6-3, but the Cardinals couldn’t find wins in the two and three spots, so the Shorewomen won the doubles point. Nemoy earned a point from the number one singles spot by winning two sets 6-3 and 6-2, while Tambat won the number two spot, going 6-3 in the first set and winning the tiebreaker to take the second set 7-6. Junior Mairead O’Hara won both of her sets from the number five singles spot, going 6-3 and 6-3. The Cardinals dropped points in the three, four, and six spots and narrowly fell 3-4. They will return to action this Sunday, February 22, on the road against Salisbury.

Women’s Lacrosse opened their season at home last Saturday against #3 Salisbury. The Cardinals, picked to finish second in the Landmark Conference in the preseason coaches’ poll, opened the scoring with a goal by senior Tori Wilsey. Sophomore Henley Bredemann scored to take a 2-0 lead, but the Seagulls came back and led 5-2 at the end of the first quarter. Senior Lindsay Sawyer scored twice for the Cardinals, but Salisbury pulled further ahead, going into halftime with an 8-4 lead. Juniors Maggie Traynor and Ellie Verrill scored to open the second half, and Bredemann added her second on the day, but Catholic entered the fourth quarter down 14-7. Sophomore Maddie McDevitt and freshman Olivia Eikenberg added goals in the fourth quarter, but Salisbury came out with a 17-9 victory. Wilsey led the team with 7 draw controls and 3 ground balls, and sophomore goalkeeper Alexandra Ragano made 10 saves. The Cardinals will return to action this Saturday, February 21, on the road against #18 TCNJ.

Men’s Lacrosse started their season at home last Saturday against Messiah. The Cardinals were picked to finish third in the Landmark Conference in the preseason coaches’ poll, and their season opener began evenly matched, with neither team able to break the deadlock for the first four minutes of the game. Messiah scored first, but senior Steven Dezelic equalized in the final two minutes of the first quarter. The Falcons scored to open the second quarter, but sophomore Alejandro Masferrer, junior Cullen Lotz, and senior Brady McMahon responded by adding goals, and the Cardinals closed out the first half with Lotz and Dezelic picking up their second goals of the game, going into halftime with a 6-4 lead. Messiah had a strong second half, holding the Cards to a singular goal from Lotz in the last minute of the fourth quarter while scoring six goals of their own, resulting in a 10-6 Falcons win. Junior Alex Populoh led the team with 5 caused turnovers, while Dezelic and junior Zach Gibson each picked up 5 ground balls. Junior Conner Baia went 11-14 on faceoffs, while junior Jack Suchanek went 6-7, and sophomore goalkeeper Colton Manorek made 5 saves. The Cardinals will return to action this Saturday, February 21, on the road against Haverford.

Men’s Track and Field competed in the Widener Indoor Classic last weekend. On the first day of competition, sophomores James Varellas and Mark Enamorado each recorded season bests in their respective events, the shot put and the weight throw. On the second day of competition, junior David Stango, freshman Tim Sweeney, and sophomore Shane Waring all recorded new personal bests in the mile. Sophomore Peter Winter ran a 1:56.01 in the 800 meters and placed eighth out of 44 athletes. Freshman Michael Brunet recorded a personal best with a time of 8:42.79 in the 3000 meters, moving up to the third-best time in program history. The Cardinals will next compete in the Father Diamond meet hosted by George Mason this weekend.

Women’s Track and Field competed in the Widener Indoor Classic last weekend. On the first day of competition, freshman Maggie McNulty threw a new personal best of 13.61 meters in the weight throw and placed fifteenth out of 50 athletes. On the second day of competition, sophomore Kourtney Clipper set a new school record in the 200 meters, running a 25.86, becoming the first Cardinal to break 26 seconds in the event. Freshman Olivia Sobkowicz earned a new personal record in the 3000 meters with a time of 10:30.82, moving up to the third-best time in program history. Freshmen Brigid Cavanaugh and Erin Roche each earned personal bests in the mile, while freshman Lauryn Pearson recorded a personal best in the 60-meter hurdles, and junior Alicia Vo earned a personal best in the 400 meters. Juniors Mia McConnell, Brigid Byrnes, and Zoey Brown were joined by Vo in the 4×400 relay and placed sixth out of sixteen teams, recording the second-best time in program history. The Cardinals will next compete in the Father Diamond meet hosted by George Mason this weekend.

Men’s Basketball went on the road last Saturday to face off against Drew. The Cardinals came away with a narrow 61-58 victory, their second win against Drew this season. Senior guard CJ Ruoff led the team with 25 points and also recorded a career-high 9 rebounds. Junior guard Googie Seidman scored 11 points, and senior forward Jamie Ntiamoah came down with 11 rebounds. On Wednesday night, Catholic hosted Elizabethtown. After a back-and-forth game, the Cards came out on top, winning 71-68. Click here for in-depth coverage of the game. With the win, the Cardinals have clinched the #1 seed and earned a first-round bye in the Landmark Conference Tournament. Their final regular season game and senior day is this Saturday, February 21, at home against Scranton.

Women’s Basketball faced off against Drew on the road last Saturday. The Cardinals took an early lead and never trailed for the rest of the game, coming away with a 70-60 win. Senior guard Anna Scoblick led the team with 20 points and 8 rebounds. Sophomore guard McKenna Karlson, senior guard Amelia Kennedy, and sophomore guard Raquel Guidetti all recorded double-digit points, scoring 14, 13, and 10, respectively. On Wednesday night, Catholic traveled to face Elizabethtown on the road. The Blue Jays led for most of the game, and despite a hard-fought fourth quarter, the Cardinals couldn’t complete the comeback, falling 58-56. Scoblick led the team with 13 points and 5 steals, while Karlson and Guidetti each scored 10. The Cardinals are now 14-3 in conference play, with their final regular season game at home this Saturday, February 21, against Scranton. With a win, the Cards will clinch the #2 seed and earn a first-round bye in the Landmark Conference Tournament.

For more information on all things Catholic Athletics, visit catholicathletics.comor follow @catholicu_cards on social media.