Women’s Volleyball

Amanda Bedell collected a team-high 18 kills as Akron was able to fight back for a 3-2 (25-27, 25-23, 26-28, 25-10, 15-12) victory over Wright State University (WSU) on Friday, Sept. 11. The match was the opening contest of the Holiday Inn Invitational hosted by WSU. On Saturday, Bedell recorded a career-high 19 kills, and Julia Smagacz put away nine kills as the Zips battled to a four-set victory over Saint Francis University (2-9), 16-25, 25-19, 25-22, 28-26. Later that evening, the Zips struggled and came up short in a rematch with WSU (20-25, 25-15, 23-25, 21-25). Bedell put together another solid offensive performance for Akron, posting 17 kills with only a single error. Akron, now 6-4, will finish its non-conference schedule this weekend with a doubleheader at Morehead State University on Friday, Sept. 18.

Women’s Soccer

UA women’s soccer, playing without starting center-back Madison Kaser due to an injury, played hard but fell to the Pitt Panthers, 3-0, Sunday afternoon at FirstEnergy Stadium – Cub Cadet Field. The Zips (3-2-1) tallied five shots for the match. Amy Dean came off the bench to record two shots, while seniors Katie George and Hannah Werth along with freshman Shea O’Brien recorded one shot each. Junior goalkeeper Annabelle Hegeman recorded a season-high nine saves in the game. She made four saves in the first half and five in the second. The team’s next game is Thursday, Sept. 17 at Lipscomb University.

Men’s and Women’s Cross Country

Both cross country teams opened their fall campaign on Thursday, hosting the 47th annual Tommy Evans Invitational at Firestone Metro Park. On the women’s side, senior Jillian Roth paced the Zips with a third-place finish in the 5K, crossing the line in 19:00. Redshirt sophomore Sarah Kupniewski was next, placing 13th in 19:47.60. Due to NCAA rules governing scoring between Division I and non-Division I teams, the event was scored as dual meets between teams, with the best head-to-head records determining the results. The Zips’ squad edged out Youngstown State University (27-28), while dropping decisions versus Kent State University (19-42) and Malone University (19-42).

The men had their top-six runners in the men’s competition cross the line among the top 11 finishers, led by Trevor Norris who finished second overall with a time of 20:21.  Following him in the 39-man field was freshman Joe Rossetti (fourth), senior Kyle Cochrun (seventh), junior Dan Zupan (eighth), senior Aaron Howkins (ninth), and sophomore Garrett Crichlow (eleventh). UA bested Kent State (15-48), Malone (21-37) and Youngstown State (24-34)

Women’s Golf

The women’s golf team wound up with an eighth place finish at the 32nd annual Mary Fossum Invitational at the Forest Akers West Golf Course in East Lansing, Michigan. After finishing the first day of competition in the sixth spot, high winds for the final round led to bad conditions as the team fell two spots. Senior Frida Fougberg led the Zips in scoring with a 76 (+4) final day performance while advancing four spots on the leaderboard. Fougberg ended in a tie for 22nd with a 231 (+15) tournament total.

Freshman Danielle Nicholson had a solid collegiate debut. She led the Zips’ scoring after two rounds of play with rounds of 78 and 73 for a total of 151 (+7) and then carded a third round 81 for a 232 (+16) tournament total, which tied her for 25th place.

Men’s Golf

The men’s golf team finished ninth at The Invitational at the Ocean Course in Kiawah Island, S.C. this past weekend. The Zips dropped a spot from where they had started the day. Sophomore George Baylis entered the final round tied at 25th and advanced six positions to finish tied for the 19th spot. Baylis had rounds of 71 and 79 the first day and carded a 74 to finish with a three-round total of 224 (+8). Redshirt freshman Elliott Grayson carded a final round 79 to finish with 229 (+13) for the Zips.