Homecoming Weekend Athletic Recap

The past weekend was a big one for the Fighting Scots as five teams took to the field, court, and pool for competition: men’s and women’s swimming, men’s soccer, women’s soccer, women’s volleyball, and men’s football. As the campus welcomed back several alumni for its Homecoming weekend, the Scots had a weekend record of 2-2-1 between the competing teams. Coming out victorious were the football and volleyball teams while the swimming and men’s soccer teams admitted defeat and women’s soccer ended in a draw. Starting out the weekend strong, the volleyball team took to the court for their senior night against Lawrence University on Friday night. The girls swept the other team, taking all three sets and leaving the team tied for the fourth and final tournament spot of the season with Lake Forest College. Five seniors were also celebrated during their last home game: Karlie Drish (Milan, Illinois), Loryn Beal (Pontiac, Illinois), Abby Teske (Peoria, Illinois), Megan Gilstrap (Farmington, Illinois), and Kaylee Woodard (Monmouth, Illinois). Moving into Saturday morning, the Scots clinched their spot in the Midwest Conference tournament with another sweep against Ripon College as Lake Forest took a loss the previous day, moving them out of conference play. The three other teams in the final four tournament are Cornell College, Grinnell College, and Illinois College. The women’s soccer team also celebrated their senior day on Saturday, honoring seniors Quinn Cutler (Breese, Illinois), Sarah Poirier (Lombard, Illinois), Brie Stumbo (Shelley, Idaho), Shelby Sims (Peoria, Illinois), Jordyn Gosell (Antioch, Illinois), Payton Gosell (Antioch, Illinois), Erica Bossard (Pella, Iowa), Haydn DeLeeuw (Kirksville, Missouri), Camie Graham (Plainfield, Illinois), and Ashlyn Welch (Grain Valley, Missouri). Up against Beloit College, the fourth and fifth place teams in the conference were looking to one up one another. The Scots scored their first goal forty-four minutes into the game, stayed ahead through halftime, but the Buccaneers scored in the sixty-sixth minute, tying the game and leaving it tied for the remainder at 1-1. The Scots will play again Saturday against Lawrence University. The final team celebrating their senior day was the men’s soccer team, who honored seniors Nicolas Esparon (Saint-Denis, Reunion, France), Jack Millar (Chillicothe, Illinois), Eric Sikorski (Monmouth, Illinois), Brendan Guenther (Pekin, Illinois), Seth Andersen (Galesburg, Illinois), and Tylor Miller (Galesburg, Illinois). The game was scoreless through the first half and into the second, but Beloit broke through, scoring three times and shutting out the Scots. The Scots will take the field again next Saturday in their last regular season game against Lawrence University. Continuing their win streak, the football team remains undefeated in conference play as they beat Cornell College 47-14. They took an early lead in the first half with 23-0 before halftime and cruised into a thirty point victory by the time the clock ran out in the fourth quarter. Junior Henderson Francois led the team in rushing yards with 116 on twelve carries and scored twice, marvelling his season high of 174 yard rushing in one game. Senior Korbyn Personett led the defensive team with three sacks, four and a half tackles for loss, three quarterback hurries, one forced fumble, and one pass breakup. Personett was also tied for third in the nation in sacks before Saturday’s game with a grand total of eight. The Scots will return to April Zorn Stadium on Saturday for a first-place showdown against Lake Forest College. The Scots’ swim team was the only team travelling over the weekend and headed north to face Augustana College in their new natatorium. The Scots put up a tough fight, but were defeated in eleven events. Senior Tyler Davis was the highest scoring male, finishing second in the 1000 freestyle and the 500 freestyle, and junior Jaidlyn Sellars was the highest scoring female, finishing fifth in the 200 freestyle and third in the 100 backstroke. The team will have a weekend of rest before travelling north again to compete against Lake Forest College on November 6.

Brooke McCormick - Sports Editor