COLLEGE FOOTBALL
JMU moves into national top 25s
Following a seven-game win streak, James Madison is nationally ranked in both major polls for the first time this season, coming in at No. 24 in the Associated Press Top 25 and 25th in the coaches’ poll.
This is the first time since the Nov. 12, 2023 polls that JMU appeared in either survey. The Dukes are among the top contenders to take the one College Football Playoff spot certain to go to a Group of Five conference school.
Since joining the Football Bowl Subdivision in 2022, JMU has been ranked in the AP Top 25 in three seasons and the coaches’ poll in two seasons.
JMU will return home this week to host Appalachian State at 3:30 p.m. Saturday at Bridgeforth Stadium.
Virginia, which lost at home to Wake Forest, dropped eight spots in both polls, going to 20th in the AP poll and 19th in the coaches’ survey.
Fight prompts end of season for Guilford, Averett
Guilford and Averett are ending their football seasons early after getting in a major fight after Saturday’s contest, which the visiting Cougars won 27-21.
In conjunction with the Old Dominion Athletic Conference, both teams will forfeit what were scheduled to be their season finales. Bridgewater and Roanoke, the recipients of those forfeits, could play each other if they desire.
In a statement, the ODAC “determined that the post-game altercation between the two programs does not uphold the standards of sportsmanship, respect, and conduct expected within the ODAC.”
COLLEGE FIELD HOCKEY
CNU seeded No. 1 in 28-team NCAA tourney
Christopher Newport (17-0) was seeded No. 1 in the NCAA Division III field hockey championship tournament for the first time in school history.
The Captains, who have shut out 13 opponents and lead the nation in scoring defense, will have to get by some familiar foes to advance to the semifinals Nov. 21 in Hartford, Connecticut. The tournament includes 28 teams, and the pairings were released Sunday night on NCAA.com.
CNU will play Saturday at its Jennings Family Stadium in the round of 16 against the winner of Wednesday’s first-round game pitting Old Dominion Athletic Conference Tournament champion Lynchburg (15-4) at Rowan (16-5) in Glassboro, New Jersey.
A potential quarterfinal could be against nemesis Salisbury (17-2), which will open at home against Denison (12-6).
Middlebury, from Connecticut, has won the NCAA championship seven consecutive times (there was no 2020 tournament because of the response to the COVID pandemic). But this Middlebury team is just 12-5 and did not receive one of the four first-round byes; those went to the Captains, Johns Hopkins, Babson and Bates.
COLLEGE MEN’S SOCCER
No. 22 CNU wins C2C title at home
Playing at home, Christopher Newport shut out Salisbury 1-0 for the Coast-To-Coast Athletic Conference tourney championship.
Caleb Jones, named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player after the game, scored with 12:26 remaining for the top-seeded Captains. With one defender between him and the goal, Jones lined a shot into the net’s upper right corner from near the left edge of the 18-yard box. It was his fourth goal of the season, and he had two goals and an assist in two tournament games. Colin Skwirut and Jack Otto gained assists on the play.
The Captains (12-2-5) held a 14-13 edge in shots over the third-seeded Sea Gulls (9-6-5). CNU, ranked 22nd in the latest national Division III poll, will learn its NCAA assignment at 11:30 a.m. Monday on NCAA.com.
ODU falls on PKs in Sun Belt quarterfinal
Old Dominion suffered an agonizing end to its season, falling 5-4 on penalty kicks at West Virginia after the teams played to a 2-2 draw in a Sun Belt Tournament quarterfinal in Morgantown.
Seventh-seeded ODU grabbed a go-ahead goal from Lewis Rourke in the 83rd minute but conceded a goal in the 89th to second-seeded WVU’s Pablo Pozos.
Evan Watt, Alex Kryazhev, Jamie Wynne and Teagan Dunne made PKs for the Monarchs, but Mountaineers goalkeeper Marc Bonnaire ended the game by going to his left to stop Michael Eberle’s try.
ODU’s Michael Statham made eight saves in the match’s 110 minutes but was substituted by Logan Bellina for the penalty kicks. The Monarchs finished 5-5-8, while WVU improved to 12-3-3.
COLLEGE WOMEN’S SOCCER
No. 14 Captains take title on golden goal
Top-seeded CNU won the Coast-To-Coast Athletic Conference Tournament, defeating third-seeded UC Santa Cruz 1-0 in extra time at Salisbury’s stadium to avenge a loss to the Banana Slugs in last season’s championship game.
Molly Seventko netted the golden goal 4:54 into the extra period for the Captains (14-1-3), who are ranked 14th nationally. They will learn their NCAA Division III tourney opponent and site when the 64-team field is revealed on NCAA.com at 11 a.m. Monday.
On the winning play, Katy Bronski passed to Hanna Heaton, who sent a cross into the middle of the box. Seventko hammered in a header to ignite a CNU celebration.
CNU goalkeeper Amy Sidaway made five saves and was named the tourney’s MVP on a day when the Banana Slugs outshot the Captains 18-11. Heaton, Seventko and Kyleigh Gough joined her on the all-tournament team.
CNU has won four conference championships in five seasons under head coach Jamie Gunderson.
COLLEGE WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL
NSU extends victory streak to three
Norfolk State (5-22, 3-10 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference) won its third match in a row, outlasting North Carolina Central 3-2 (12-25, 25-23, 25-21, 17-25, 15-13) at Gill Gymnasium.
Gabrielle Gilbert had 19 kills and 10 digs, Jasmine Mataira had 39 assists and five aces and Ava Berry had eight blocks for NSU. Kamren Harper had 25 kills and nine digs for the Eagles (9-17, 6-7).
