MURFREESBORO — The UNC Pembroke swimming team kicked off the season on Sunday in dominating fashion after defeating Chowan and Barton at the Chowan Tri-Meet inside the Bynum Brown Aquatic Center.
UNC Pembroke recorded 169 points, while Barton finished with 146 points and Chowan with 56 points.
The Braves won 10 different events on Sunday. Sofia Pereira won the 400-meter Freestyle, Britta Schwengle took top honors in the 100-meter and 200-meter Freestyle events, as well as the 100-meter Backstroke, while newcomer Sara Woodruff won the 50-meter Breaststroke. Fatima Portillo stood at the top of the podium for the 50-meter and 100-meter Butterfly, Benedetta Pepe Pugliese won the 200-meter Individually Medley, and newcomer Naekeisha Louis won the 50-meter Freestyle.
The relay team of Gabby Hyson, Naekeisha Louis, Ianna Gomez Veloz, Ting-Yu Pan placed first in the 200-meter Freestyle Relay to close out the action.
The Braves will be back in action on Oct. 12 when they travel to Bristol, Tennessee, for the King Invitational. The two-day meet will be held at the Kingsport Aquatics Center.
Braves soccer routs Shorter
Four different Braves recorded first-half goals to stake UNCP to a sizale halftime lead, before adding on five second-half goals to cruise to a 9-0 win over Shorter in Conference Carolinas action Saturday at Ben Brady Field.
Maria Cancio and Anna Grossheim each tallied two goals for the Braves, while Maya McDonald, Eli Soderberg, Eugenie Amidou and Addisen Freeman each recorded a goal apiece. Shorter contributed an own goal for the other UNCP goal.
Soderberg led the way with three assists, while McDonald, Mercy Bell, and Reagan Carr each chipped in with one assist each.
Saturday’s contest was the first-ever meeting between the Braves (4-2-1, 3-0-1 CC) and the Hawks (1-5-1, 0-4-1 CC).
Soderberg’s fifth-minute corner kick found the foot of McDonald, who sent a one-touch volley to the back of the net to get the Braves going early, 1-0.
Soderberg’s service into the box in the 19th minute deflected off the hands of the Shorter goalkeeper and to the foot of Cancio, who put it home to make it a 2-0 lead.
In the 23rd minute, McDonald played a ball that ended up with Grossheim, who fired a perfect strike top-shelf to beat the keeper from 20 yards out to stretch the lead to 3-0.
Soderberg recorded her third assist of the half as she played a centering pass in the 38th minute to the foot of Freeman, who one-touched it home for her first collegiate goal, making it 4-0.
Three minutes into the second half, Bell’s centering pass found Grossheim, who found the back of the net to make it 5-0.
Cancio collected a rebounded shot and blasted it home for her second goal of the day to make it 6-0 in the 50th minute.
After a foul on the Shorter goalkeeper in the box in the 60th minute, Amidou stepped up and converted a successful penalty kick, going low left to find the back of the net and make it 7-0.
Four minutes later, Carr played a ball onto Soderberg, who sent a left-footed strike past the keeper to stretch the lead to 8-0.
A failed corner kick clearance in the 78th minute went off the head of a Shorter defender and into the back of the net to give the match its 9-0 result.
Soderberg led the way with a goal and three assists, while Grossheim and Cancio each recorded two-goal performances.
Grossheim, Soderberg, and Mercy Bell each recorded four of a season-high 25 shots on goal by the Braves. UNCP’s 42 shots was the most in a match since recording 42 against Erskine on October 17, 2023.
The Braves didn’t allow a shot on goal for the first time since October 2, 2021 against Converse.
UNCP will continue Conference Carolinas play Wednesday as the Braves head to Wilson to take on Barton. Kickoff is set for 5 p.m. at the Barton Outdoor Athletics Complex.
Braves cross country teams turn in near-perfect day at Greensboro Cross Country Invitational
Kelvin Kibet led the way on the men’s side as the Braves had nine of the top 11 finishers, including the top nine, while Moureen Kimaiyo paced the women’s side, with the Braves turning in five of the top six finishers, at the Greensboro Cross Country Invitational held in Pleasant Garden. Both races were 5K distance.
Kibet took first with a time of 15:58.66, with Anthony Kigen second at 16:03.89, and Jack Pheiffer third with a personal-best time of 16:05.44. Ryan Jimenez (16:06.74) took fourth, Lucas Nervo (16:26.85) was fifth, with Conrad Robertson (16:42.45) taking sixth. Tom Hutton finished seventh at 16:50.74, with Norman Junker taking eighth with a time of 16:56.92, and Payden Lewis ninth at 17:03.95. Daniel Mejias (17:18.34) was 11th, with Will Clancey (17:24.09) finishing 13th, JP Marquez (17:44.84) taking 18th, and Charlie Schihl (18:07.98) finishing 22nd. Gabe Blackwelder placed 23rd with a time of 18:13.57, with Sean Todd right behind him in 24th with a 18:15.11, and Kevin Vazquez taking 25th with a time of 18:18.79. Christian Whiteside took 27th with a time of 18:27.98 to round out the men’s side.
Moureen Kimaiyo added another first-place finish to her resume with a time of 19:07.14, with Jackline Kosgei taking second at 19:41.27, and Michela Gritti finishing third with a time of 20:07.33. Malea Bennewitz (20:33.67) took fourth, Leticia Pena (22:00.95) placed sixth, with Lizzy Laurine (24:06.18) finishing 13th. Mariah Spencer took 18th with a time of 25:42.75, while LaNiya Harris placed 27th with a 28:44.76 to round out the women’s side.
Kimaiyo was also named as the Conference Carolinas Runner of the Week on Monday, the third time this season she has earned the honor.
“Both teams ran really good today, really proud of the efforts, especially since we were expecting to go to Newberry 36 hours ago and we end up in Greensboro”, said head coach Peter Ormsby. “Guys perfect scored, girls missed it by one. I think it sets us up well going into a recovery week next week and then our last big regular season race at Huntsville in two weeks.”
The men’s squad placed first overall with a perfect 15 points, while the women also took first with 16 team points.
UNCP will resume its race schedule on Saturday, Oct. 12, as the Braves head to Huntsville, Ala. for the University of Alabama-Huntsville Chargers Invite. The men’s race is set to begin at 9 a.m., with the women’s race to follow at 9:50 a.m.
