Sports Briefs

Men’s basketball team treats fans to dinner

VCU’s athletic department held a dinner Sunday night in the Siegel Center for the men’s basketball team to kick off the opening of the 2005-2006 season. Along with dinner, the event, entitled “Dinner & Jams with the Rams,” gave students and fans the opportunity to talk and hang out with the players as well as the coaches.

Those who attended were also able to catch a glimpse of team in action. The Rams played each other in an intra-squad scrimmage, showcasing their talent for the upcoming season.

Men’s Soccer team falls on the road to No.2

Old Dominion

While the women were winning at home, the men’s soccer team was finding it tough to succeed on the road, as VCU fell to Old Dominion 2-0. Freshman goalie Andrew Dykstra (Woodbridge/Osbourn Park High School), who won CAA rookie of the week honors last week, had six saves in the game.

The Rams managed only four shots on goal throughout the game, two coming from forward Dominic Oduro (Accra, Ghana).

The men’s team tied 0-0 against William & Mary Sunday.

Volleyball team gets revenge against Blue Hens, beat Towson.

Ludmilla Francescatto (Fraiburga, Brazil) was all over the court Friday, recording 22 kills and 20 digs to lead the Rams to a victory over Delaware 3-2 (31-29, 18-30, 31-33, 30-26, 15-11). The kills by Francescatto were the most by a VCU player since Laura Connell registered 24 in 2003. Senior libero Griselle Lopez Pereira (Caguas, Puerto Rico) amassed a season-high 26 digs in the win.

The Rams were not as fortunate two days previous when they fell to William & Mary 3-0. The loss ended VCU’s six game win streak. However the Rams triumphed over Towson for the first time in 11 matches with help from Jaclyn Orlando (Clinton Twp., Mich), winning 3-1 (30-22, 27-30, 30-28, 30-18)

Lecloerec staying alive in ITA regionals

The VCU men’s tennis team opened up the ITA regionals in North Carolina strong Thursday, winning four out of five matches. Arnaud Lecloerec (Plouhinec, France) won his doubles match Thursday with partner Sebastian Ripoll (Mauleon-Soule, France) 8-3 over Priit Pihl and Jarda Torjan from Liberty, followed by an 8-5 defeat of Ben Pauluhn and Andy Sobczyk of Furman. The pair was eliminated Friday however.

Lecloerec managed to succeed on his own Friday with victories over Damon Gooch of Elon and University of South Carolina’s Ygenny Supreko.

Konstantinova gets far, not far enough in Hampton Roads Collegiate Invitational

Sophomore Viktoria Konstantinova (Hanskovo, Bulgaria) advanced into the semifinals of the tournament before falling to Megan Moulton-Levy Sunday, Oct. 17. Moulton-Levy, a William & Mary standout, won 4-6, 6-2, 1-0 over Konstantinova, who had beaten Amanda Cambell of Delaware 6-0, 6-0 in the quarterfinal match.

VCU Junior Camille Ripert (Lourmarin, France) also lost in the semifinal round, falling 6-4, 3-6, 1-0 to George Washington’s Kendall Swanson.

VCU holds fall World Series, Mozingo’s Maulers win first game

Regardless of the outcome, Virginia Commonwealth University baseball team is set to win the fall World Series. The team scrimmage kicked off Monday, Oct. 17 when Mozingo’s Maulers claimed a 5-0 win over Meador’s Marauders at The Diamond.

Junior second baseman Scott Sizemore (Chesapeake/Hickory High School) had two hits and Seniors Danny Watkins (Sterling/Potomac Falls High School) and Tim St. Clair (Woodbridge, Chesapeake Community College) split time on the mound to combine for the shutout win. The teams met most recently Sunday after playing games Tuesday, Oct. 18 as well as Wednesday, Oct. 19.

VCU’s club Ice Hockey team proves to be

a winner

The Rams were able to build a win streak, albeit a small one, when they won two straight over Christopher Newport University and Appalachian State University Friday, Oct. 14 and Saturday, Oct. 15 respectively.

The Captains, a new addition to the Blue Ridge Hockey Conference, proved a strong opponent, challenging the Rams to sneak out a win 5-4. The Rams found the back of the net numerous times to defeat ASU 9-7.

Field Hockey team

looks to rebound

A week off is a long time to think about the loss to the Demon Deacons last Sunday, Oct. 16. The Rams traveled to Towson yesterday looking to pull out a victory. Heather McCannon scored her third goal of the season in a 2-1 loss to Towson Sunday.