MATT VOLZ
Special to The Leader
WOMEN’S TENNIS SHOWING IMPROVEMENT
In their most recent contest, a Sept. 23 matchup against Penn State Behrend, the Blue Devils fell by a final mark of 6-3. While the team dropped to 0-6 on the season, they showed improvement from some of their first matches.
Fredonia State was defeated in each doubles matchup, but the Blue Devils were able to take three out of six singles contests. Bella Surma, playing 2nd singles, came away with a victory (6-3, 6-1), as did 3rd singles player Caitlin Snyder (6-4, 2-6, 10-6) and 6th singles player Sierra Allen (6-2, 6-3).
Fredonia State will be on the road for the remainder of the season, as their final three games will take place at the Binghamton Tennis Center in Binghamton, New York. The Blue Devils will face Oneonta, New Paltz and Plattsburgh State in their final three games before the SUNYAC Championships begin.
VOLLEYBALL LOOKS FOR FIRST HOME WIN
Fredonia State’s women’s volleyball team lost a tough one to SUNY Cortland on Sept. 30, dropping their season record to 1-13. Amaya Lewczyk led the Blue Devils in kills with nine, while Kailea Sullivan picked up 14 digs and Kourtney Krchniak recorded 20 assists.
Fredonia State will return to action on Tuesday, Oct. 4 when they host Hilbert College at 6 p.m. The Blue Devils will be in search of their second win of the season, as well as their first home victory in 2022.
MEN’S SOCCER LOOKS FOR SUNYAC WIN
On Saturday, the Blue Devils fell to SUNY Cortland by the final count of 5-0. The loss brought their overall record to 1-6-3, and their SUNYAC record to 0-3-2. With starting goalkeeper William Richardson battling injury, sophomore backup Tanner Stutzman faced a large amount of shots but was able to make some solid saves.
Points leader Kaleb Steward will look to lead his team to its first conference win when the Blue Devils travel to take on SUNY Brockport on Wednesday, Oct. 5. Fredonia State’s next home game is scheduled for next Saturday, Oct. 8 at 1:30 p.m. against the Bears of SUNY Potsdam.
WOMEN’S SOCCER LOOKS TO BREAK STREAK
In a hard-fought contest, Fredonia State’s women’s soccer team fell 1-0 to SUNY Cortland on Saturday. The loss is their fourth consecutive one for the Blue Devils, putting their overall record at 2-6-2 and making them 0-4 in conference play.
Like the men’s team, the women’s team will be in search of their first conference victory when they take on SUNY Brockport on Wednesday, Oct. 5. The women’s game will be at University Stadium, with kickoff scheduled for 7 p.m. Leading scorers Bri Grazen and Katie Sellers hope to bring victory number three to Fredonia State.
MEN’S XC HAS SOLID OUTING AT GENESEO
Competing against 23 other teams, the Blue Devils men’s cross country team took home a 15th place finish. Kyle Campbell was Fredonia State’s top finisher, coming in 79th place out of 365 finishers with a time of 26:37 for an 8K race. Junior Sembel Koshi also turned in a very solid performance, coming in 88th place with a time of 26:45. Other scoring finishers for the Blue Devils included Josh Walters (109th place, 27:01), Patrick Klinger (114th place, 27:08), and Ted Tomasello (130th place, 27:27).
The Blue Devils’ next meet will be the weekend of Oct. 14 and 15 at Rowan University in Glassboro, New Jersey. The cross country program will be hosting the Ruterbusch Community 5K race next Saturday, Oct. 8, beginning behind Steele Hall at 10 a.m.
WOMEN’S XC SEES FOUR FINISHERS
Although the Blue Devils did not field the necessary five runners to score as a team, all four runners battled against 272 other runners on Saturday in Geneseo. Top finisher Alexandra Battaglia came in 87th place with a time of 24:42. Junior Vanessa Ryhal came in 139th place with a time of 25:48. Fredonia State also featured Kristin Kelemen (208th place, 27:39) and Erin Cool (249th place, 30:19).
Like the men’s team, the Blue Devils will be hosting the Ruterbusch Community 5K race for homecoming weekend next Saturday, Oct. 8 at 10 a.m. Their final meet before SUNYAC championships will take place Friday, Oct. 14 when Rowan University comes to Fredonia.