By: Reagan McLean
As the seasons are closing, the push to the playoffs continues for Brooklyn College (BC) Athletics. The Cross-Country and Tennis seasons conclude, while the women’s volleyball and soccer team, and men’s soccer team made their playoff debut on Nov. 1, and are competing for a championship.
Women’s Cross Country
On Oct. 26, the Bulldogs women’s cross country team wrapped up their season at the CUNYAC championships, hosted in Riverdale, New York (NY). They placed sixth overall, with Hunter winning the conference championship, Medgar Evers, CCNY, Baruch, and John Jay.
Freshman Lilly Zuss finished first for BC and fifth overall (27:41.2) on the 6K course. Other top finishers include sophomore Ruhamah Cox ( 34:36.1) and freshman Daniella Nudel (52nd overall). Freshman Meliza Aguilar placed fourth for Brooklyn (59th), Freshman Gaetha Val (62nd), and Victoria Kelly (63rd).
Women’s Tennis
The BC women’s tennis team season came to a close on Oct. 28. The Bulldogs, the No. 3 seed, fell to the No. 2 seed Baruch Bearcats, 4-1, in the CUNYAC Semifinals at the USTA National Tennis Center.
The Bulldogs closed out their season with a 6-8 record, doubling last year’s win total.
Women’s Volleyball
On Oct. 28, the losing streak of the BC Women’s Volleyball team comes to an end as they beat the Lehman College Lightnings with a score of 3-0. The Bulldogs are slowly clinching a playoff spot, potentially hosting the first match.
The Bulldogs started strong with the first four points. Right Side freshman, Ella Snobar, made seven straight points to take 23-6. The first set closed off with a score of 25-9. Snobar ended the game with 8 kills, 2 digs, and 1 block assist.
In the second set, the Bulldogs took an early lead, but the Lightning scored six straight points to take their first lead at 17-15. The Bulldogs reclaimed their lead when Libero junior, Malia Reyes, hit two aces and one assist. She sparked a 10-0 run, and the Bulldogs won the second set with 25-17. Reyes had 10 assists, 4 aces, and 4 digs.
Outside hitter freshman, Saule Okeke-Ziburkus, helped expand the lead in the third set by scoring four kills. Thus, allowing the Bulldogs to take an 8-0 run to make the score 12-3. After this run, the Bulldogs did not look back and won the set with 25-11. With Okeke-Ziburkus being the main threat on offense, she had a total of 8 kills, 6 aces, and 2 digs.
The Bulldogs continue forward with a doubleheader on Nov. 1, as they head to Madison, New Jersey, to participate in a tri-match and rematch with the Rutgers-Newark Scarlet Raiders and the host FDU-Florham.
The BC Bulldogs got their revenge and won their match against the Scarlet Raiders with a clean sweep, 3-0.
The Bulldogs were able to set the tone of the game early by scoring the first four points of the match, plus a kill made by Middle Blocker Junior, Olivia Fan. After the Scarlet Raiders responded, both teams battled back and forth until the Bulldogs came back from a 22-19 deficit. After errors made by the Raiders, the opening set belonged to Brooklyn 27-25.
In the second set, the Bulldogs were trailing 16-14. The Bulldogs got seven straight scores that included three straight kills. The Bulldogs closed the set, and a kill made by Outside Hitter freshman, Okeke-Ziburkus, sealed the deal for the second set with a score of 25-19.
The Bulldogs were trailing 12-6 in the final set until a tie of 6-0 came. Back-to-back kills were made by Fan and Outside Hitter freshman, Olive Carroll. Now, the score is tied 24-24, but not for long. Sophomore right-side hitter Danielle Fuxman gives BC a 25-24 advantage, and Caroll ends the match with her sixth kill. Snobar finished the game with 11 kills and 3 blocks; Okeke-Ziburkus had 10 kills and 1 block. Senior libero Ruti Joshi finished with a match-high 24 digs and surpassed 1,000 digs for her career.
The Bulldogs ended the doubleheader with a loss to FDU Florham, with a hard-fought battle of 3-2.
The Bulldogs had an early lead in the second set. With a commanding 20-12 lead, followed by Joshi’s aces. Fuxman tied the match 1-1 on a kill.
A four-score run and a kill by Okeke-Ziburkus helped the Bulldogs gain a 19-15 advantage in the third set. The Bulldogs got a 2-1 lead in the match, followed by a Carroll kill.
The Bulldogs came back from a 7-1 deficit with a 5-0 run to cut the lead down to 7-6, but FDU-Florham answered back and closed the match. Okeke-Ziburkus led the team with 17 kills, and Snobar added 14. Joshi contributed 35 digs on her milestone day. The Bulldogs wrap up conference play at home on Senior Night against Medgar Evers on Tuesday, Nov.4, at 6 pm.
Women’s Swimming & Diving
While at home, the Bulldogs lost to St. Joseph’s University, Long Island, on Nov. 1, with a score of 83-121, putting their record at 0-2.
Freshman Daniela Ayala helped BC gain 18 points with two first-place finishes in the afternoon. Ayala got first in the 50 m freestyle with a time of 28.51 before winning the 100 freestyle with a time of 1:02.12.
Sophomore Elizabeth Bailey-Hamm also stood out with three second-place finishes. She got second in the 200 mtr Individual Medley (IM) with a time of 2:44.89. Bailey Hamm also got second in the 100 mtr butterfly and 100 m breaststroke.
The Bulldogs have a two-week break before hosting Sarah Lawrence on Saturday, Nov. 15, at 1 pm.
Men’s Swimming and Diving
With back-to-back victories, the men’s swimming team is 2-0. The Bulldogs got their second victory against St. Joseph’s Long Island with a score of 169-44 on Nov. 1.
The Bulldogs won every individual event of the afternoon. Sophomore Michael Kravets finished first in the 200 freestyle and the 500 freestyle. Freshman Or Volpert won the 50m freestyle and 100m butterfly. Freshman Andrew Woo won all three of his individual events with first-place finishes in the 200 IM, the 100 freestyle, and the 100 breaststroke.
The Bulldogs look to keep the winning streak alive at home on Nov.15, against Sarah Lawrence at 1 pm.
Women’s Soccer
After a back-and-forth match, the Bulldogs lost at home to CCNY with a score of 2-0 on Nov. 1. They look forward to coming back next season much faster and
stronger.
Men’s Soccer
After a hard-fought match, the Bulldogs lost their first game at home all season to the Lehman Lightning 1-0, after going unbeaten during the regular season with seven wins. Freshman Goal Keeper, Wilson Munoz, made the first key save of the game at 15’ to keep the score 0-0. Freshman forward Andrew Gavrilov took a shot to the top left, which was stopped. Sophomore Forward Emir Imamberdiev tried to create another scoring opportunity, but was turned away at the 83’.
The men’s soccer team made it all the way to the semi-finals as the number one seed in Nathan Bell’s first year as their head coach.