This past weekend, November 10-11, was a wild weekend of sports for the Mustangs, having a huge impact on this coming weekend, including a bowl game, an NCAA Tournament appearance and a season-ending NCAA regional cross country race.
- The football team brought home an overtime win against Eastern to advance them to the MAC-Centennial bowl game.
- Men’s and women’s basketball played their season opening games, with the men winning one game and women winning one and losing one.
- Men’s and women’s ice hockey played two games, each winning one and losing one.
- The women’s cross-country team raced at their regional championships, placing 18th.
- Both the men’s and women’s swim teams continued their dominant spells during a tri-meet versus conference opponents, King’s College and Wilkes University.
- The men’s beach volleyball team traveled to Hunstville, Alabama to compete in national championships the prior weekend where they placed 4th.
- The women’s volleyball team received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament, received five all-conference recognitions, and one player was named 2023 MAC co-player of the year.
Without further ado, on with the rewind:
Football competed in a close scoring, high-stakes game against Eastern University and brought home a 26-23 overtime win. Freshman quarterback Landon Winterbottom made a starting appearance for the Mustangs, passing for 132 yards and a touchdown. Also scoring for SU was Tylor Blake, Jaiheem Henderson, and Deion Richardson, all on receptions. Brody Campbell, however, was the name of the game with 2 field goals, one being the game winner in overtime. On the defensive side, Gavin Shields dominated Eastern’s offense with 12 total tackles. Marvin Manassa also contributed 8 total tackles. Their win over Eastern solidified their spot in the MAC-Centennial bowl, where they will play at Ursinus College this Saturday, Nov. 18.
Men’s basketball played their season opening game against Elizabethtown, winning 91-78. Leading the offense with 27 points, junior forward Cameron Smith also contributed 8 total rebounds. Ronald Ayers was another big scorer for the Mustangs, with 20 points and 5 rebounds. As a team, shooting in the second half improved by a significant amount. Field goal percentage for the first half was 45.45% and increased to 57.14% in the second. The 3-point field goal percentage took an even bigger leap from 25% in the first half to 71.43% in the second.
Women’s basketball also played their first two games of the season, losing 73-56 against Chatham University, and winning 76-57 against Eastern Mennonite University. During their win over EMU, Tessa Boswell dominated the offense with 19 points, 4 rebounds, and 2 steals. Another offensive force for the Mustangs was Erin Dixon, who contributed 12 points and a rebound. The shooting percentage for the team was 60.4% against EMU, a 20% increase from the previous loss to Chatham.
Men’s ice hockey had two games over the weekend, winning one and losing one in a series against Alvernia University. In their 5-3 road win, scoring for SU was Jake Roberts, Frank Vitucci, Zach Bannister, Rhett Evjen, and Liam McCanney. Bannister also contributed 2 assists, along with Blake Benson and Jack Karlsson. The Mustangs also dominated the face-off, winning 40 over Alvernia’s 35.
The women’s ice hockey team also had two games over the weekend, both against Lebanon Valley, losing 5-3 then winning 3-1. In the 3-1 road win, Hannah Labbe, Maggie Dean, and Carleigh Barwick contributed one goal each. On the defensive side, Emily Brightbill and Meghan Croyle each had 2 blocks. Goalkeeper Mallory Hunt was a force during the game with 39 total saves.
Women’s volleyball fought for a MAC title but fell short, losing 3-0 against Eastern University. Leading in kills was Rileigh Kimball with 8 in the match. Kylie DesLauriers contributed 7 kills and Darian Dildy contributed 5 kills and 4 blocks. On the defensive side, Kayla Vaeth had 17 digs.
This loss, however, did not stop the Mustangs from earning a spot in the NCAA tournament. In the first round, SU took Babson College to the limit Thursday, losing a five-set thriller, 15-13 in the fifth set. The Mustangs finish another successful season, this time with a 22-8 record.
Middle blocker Darian Dildy was named MAC co-player of the year to close out a successful regular season in which the senior led all of DIII women’s volleyball in hitting percentage with an astounding .437.
The men’s beach volleyball team finished out their season in Alabama at AVCA Collegiate Beach Nationals, placing fourth. On the first slate of the two-day tournament, Stevenson fell to defending national champion Westcliff University 5-0 and Lincoln Memorial University 4-1. Doug Hines & Jay Hyman defeated Lincoln Memorial for the team’s only set win of the match.
The Mustangs brought home a 3-2 win over Tusculum University later in the day. Pairs John Ferraro & Tim Flanagan, Anthony Pezzino & Ryan Thenell, and Doug Hines & Jay Hyman won their matches.
On the second day, the Mustangs fell 3-2 to Webber University, with Ferraro & Flanagan, and Jack Braverman & Aidan O’Brien bringing home the 2 wins. During the match to determine 3rd place, Stevenson fell to Webber 4-1 in a hard-fought defeat, with Ferraro & Flanagan contributing the sole win.
The women’s swim team remains unbeaten this season as they near the halfway point of the regular season at 6-0. During Sunday’s meet against two conference opponents, the Mustang freestylers proved superior with podium finishes across all distances from Mackenzie Payne, Bailey Jackson, Sydney Kawana, Emmalynn Kohl, Alexa Darak, and senior captain Jennie Hudson.
The men’s swim team also took home two victories over the weekend in Wilkes-Barre, Penn. to improve to 5-1. The tri-meet was just another example of the versatility the Mustangs across events or distances. Senior Ian D’Angiolillo won the 200 free, 500 free, and was a member of the winning 400 free relay team. Junior Sean Sopko won the 1000 free and 100 back. Sophomore Zachary Clarke won the 200 IM and 100 free with fellow second-year Brandon Cogdill taking home the 100 breaststroke. Both teams will be back in the water Saturday, Nov. 18, in Washington D.C. to take on Gallaudet University.
The women’s cross country team brought their talents to Mid-Atlantic regionals, along with the sole male runner Hayden Schindler. Schindler placed 27th out of 211 runners, earning all-region honors in the 8k race. On the women’s side, Rebecca Gauthier was the number 1 runner for SU, running a personal best 6k time. Also competing for the Mustangs was Kyla Byers, Alissa Swann, Olivia Grimes, Celest McConnell, and Malee Eagle. The women placed 18th overall out of 29 schools.
