Sports Briefs
MEN’S BASKETBALL
The men’s basketball team traveled to the Bahamas and came out a perfect 3-for-3 in the Bahamas Basketball Federation Exhibition Tournament over Labor Day weekend. Sophomore Brandon Rozzell (Richmond/Highland Springs) averaged 13.6 points and 4.7 assists per game during the tournament. In the first game, VCU beat the College of the Bahamas 87-67. Sophomore Joey Rodriguez (Oviedo, Fla./Lake Howell) led the scoring with 12 points. VCU defeated the Cybots 82-57 in its second game behind Rozzell’s 17 points. In the finale, VCU easily defeated Malcolm Park 105-65. Junior Kirill Pishchalnikov (Maykop, Russia/MGGTK AGU) scored 17 points in the win.
CROSS COUNTRY
Junior Stephen Mutisya (Machakos, Kenya) and senior Jay Wyss (Richmond/J.R. Tucker) led the Rams to a third-place finish at the Spider Alumni Open hosted by the University of Richmond. Mutisya finished second overall in the race. He completed the 5k course with a time of 15:13.50. Wyss finished third overall with a time of 15:18.40. On the women’s side, the Rams finished second in the event. Junior Melissa Douglass (Spotsylvania/Spotsylvania) was the top runner for the Rams, placing 14th overall with a time of 12:39.50. Freshman Heather DelaCruz (Williamsburg/Lafayette), senior Samantha Hendel (Rockville Centre, N.Y./Oceanside), freshman Nicole Walters (Orange/Orange County), sophomore Genova Washington (Woodbridge/Garfield) and freshman Aubree Washington (Woodbridge/Garfield) finished in 16th, 17th, 18th, 19th and 20th place, respectively.
FIELD HOCKEY
For the first time since 1998, the Rams started the season with a record of 2-0. In the opening game of the season, the Rams defeated Fairfield 2-1 in overtime. Senior Alaina Vernetti (Fredericksburg/Massaponax) scored in the 66th minute to tie the game at 1-1. Sophomore Rosan van Eijkelenburg (Middleburg, Holland) scored 7:40 into overtime to give VCU the win.
In the second game, VCU shut out Monmouth 1-0. Sophomore Marle van Dessel (Oisterwijk, The Netherlands) scored in the 19th minute to give the Rams their only goal. Senior goalkeeper Laura Baker (Kent, England) saved four shots to preserve the shutout.
GOLF
The VCU golf team finished second at the Rutherford Intercollegiate at Nemacolin’s Mystic Rock. The Rams finished 15 shots behind Purdue for the championship. Junior Lanto Griffin (Blacksburg/Blacksburg) finished second individually. He shot an even-par 216 during the three-day tournament. Griffin finished second to Purdue’s Nakarintra Ratanakul, who shot five-under par for the tournament.
MEN’S SOCCER
The Rams finished 0-2 at the Carolina Nike Classic this past weekend. The team lost its season opener 2-1 to defending national champion Wake Forest. Junior Owusu Sekyere (Suame-Kumasi, Ghana) tied the game at 1-1 in the 50th minute, but the Demon Deacons scored to take the lead for good in the 57th minute. In their second game, the Rams fell to North Carolina in overtime. Goalkeeper Andrew Dykstra (Woodbridge/Osbourn Park) was able to keep the Tar Heels scoreless until the 95th minute. For their play in the tournament, Sekyere and Dykstra were named to the All-Tournament team.
WOMEN’S SOCCER
The Rams are off to a rough start after dropping their first two games of the season. The first was to Richmond, 1-0. The Spiders scored in the 50th minute on a penalty kick. The Rams had a few opportunities later in the game, but they were turned away by Richmond’s defense. In the second game of the season, the Rams fell hard to seventh-ranked Virginia by a score of 5-0. The Rams kept it close in the first half, only trailing 1-0 at intermission. They allowed four second-half goals, two goals in the last three minutes.
VOLLEYBALL
VCU finished 2-1 in the annual Third Degree Sportswear Invitational at the Stuart C. Siegel Center. In the first match, the Rams defeated N.C. State 3-0 (25-20, 25-11, 25-14). Sophomore Jessica Ojukwu (Sao Paulo, Brazil) led the Rams with 11 kills. In the second game, VCU beat Kansas 3-0 (25-22, 27-25, 25-19). Junior Ivana Rich (Cumberland/Cumberland) had seven kills and five blocks. Sophomore Ariel Newman (Greensboro, N.C./Southern Guilford) contributed nine kills. In the third game, VCU lost to Maryland 3-0 (25-22, 25-19, 26-24). Newman had 11 kills, and Ojukwu added eight kills of her own in the loss. Both Newman and Ojukwu made the all-tournament team, and Newman was named the tournament MVP.