Alright Clark sports fans, you know what time of the week it is, the penultimate weekly recap for the month of October. Without further adieu, let us take a look at how Clark performed over the past seven days. 

Starting the sports week off on Tuesday, Oct 18, we got to see a pair of athletics competitions: field hockey and women’s volleyball. The field hockey squad traveled to neighboring Worcester Polytechnic Institute, suffering a one-to-five loss. Sadly the volleyball team also took a loss on Tuesday, falling zero to three against a strong Emerson side. 

Moving on to Wednesday, Clark Women’s soccer also faced the Emerson Lions; emerging victorious two-nil after exceptional performances from goalie Anabella White and forward/midfielder Siobhan Lounsbury. 

Thursday and Friday both saw no competitions, so we’ll move to take a look at Saturday, Oct. 22. Both swimming and diving teams began their seasons by competing at the Worcester City Championships, hosted at The College of the Holy Cross. Emily Munjar, a member of Clark’s primary relay squad, placed sixth overall in the 100-meter backstroke, crossing the line with a strong time of 1:03.94. This sophomore also placed sixth in the 200-meter backstroke race. Cai Hall, a senior from New York, came in sixth as well, scoring 213.53 points in the on-meter dive event. As for the men’s swim and dive team, Bernave Twyman finished the 200-meter backstroke race in seventh place. Junior Alex Bielecki crossed the finishing line for the 100-meter breaststroke race in sixth place, putting up a time of 1:06.10. 

Moving on past Saturday morning there were many other athletic competitions in the afternoon. Cougz field hockey hosted the Babson Beavers for their senior day game, ending up with a zero to four loss. Both soccer teams played, with the women’s team beating Wheaton College one to nothing in an away match for the Cougz, and the men’s crew losing at Springfield College one to four. Finally, for Saturday, the volleyball team trekked to New London, Conn. for a matchup with the Connecticut College Camels. The Cougars came out with a big win, finishing off a close three-to-two match in the tiebreaking set. 

Sunday saw one competition, the final of the week for Clark: rowing. The crew teams took part in the Head of the Charles race in Boston, Mass. The primary octet of Cougars racers finished in a solid position, thirteenth place out of 36 competing teams. This concludes the roundup portions for this past week, so now it’s time for some awards. 

The game of the week honor for 10/17 to 10/24 goes to the volleyball team’s triumph over Conn. College in a tightly contested match. This victory could not have come at a better time for the Cougars, breaking a five-game skid for the team. Not only did the team pull out victory, but it was a thrilling tug-of-war that saw both sides winning back-to-back sets. Clark opened up the match with a set one victory (26-24), followed up by two set wins for the Camels. Down two sets to one and with their backs to the wall – the Cougz showed their resolve – winning set four to force a tiebreaking set five. In this ultimate fifth set, the Cougars scraped out a 17-15 win, grinding out a well-deserved three-to-two overall victory. This match went the distance, and the volleyball team was ready to dig deep for the win. Stand-out performances of the match include 23 digs from Marimo Oka and 18 kills from Claudia Rivera. 

NEWMAC defensive athlete of the week for women’s soccer was awarded to Anabella White. The sophomore goalkeeper also takes home the athlete of the week honor from yours truly. White was the clear choice for athlete of the week, putting out first-class performances in both of Clark’s competitions this week. Wednesday’s match against Emerson College was particularly impressive for White, stopping all nine shots on goal faced en route to a shutout victory. White, who is an economics and philosophy major from Manhattan Beach, Calif., was a brick wall in net on Saturday Oct. 22 as well. Three more saves against Wheaton College gave the sophomore a total of 12 saves across two matches and marked her ninth shutout of the season. Strong play in goal is critical to success for any soccer team, and White has been a large part of the soccer team’s winning record this season – a clear choice for this edition’s athlete of the week!

Next up, we turn to take a quick look around the NEWMAC as a whole. On Tuesday, Oct. 18, WPI and Mount Holyoke faced off in an intra-conference volleyball matchup. This competition went down to the wire, as the Engineers secured a three-to-two win. This match was exceptionally close, with the largest margin of victory for any set being only 5. Sets two, three, and five were all decided by the minimum two points. This contest could not have gotten much closer, and was NEWMAC vs. NEWMAC, truly an entertaining outing. 

Saturday, Oct. 22 saw a football bout between Catholic and Merchant Marine, with the cardinals winning 41 to 33. Senior quarterback for Catholic, Nico Casares stood out, throwing for 349 yards and five touchdown passes. This earned Casares NEWMAC offensive player of the week honors for the second time this season (why was his first career start as a senior???). Merchant Marine and QB. Jeremiah Wang would not go down without a fight, however. Despite Catholic jumping out to a large lead early, the Mariners scored 25 points in the fourth quarter, nearly pulling off the comeback. Wang threw for 321 yards and three touchdowns, on 67% passing. This win pushed the Catholic Cardinals to five and zero in conference play, placing them atop the NEWMAC. 

Lastly, what is upcoming for the Cougars from 10/24 to 10/31? The week will start off on Tuesday, Oct. 25, with Volleyball traveling to Wellesley College and field hockey on the road against Western New England. This will be followed up by a Wednesday night game for the Women’s soccer team, hosting Springfield College. Thursday and Friday will see no competitions, so we move on to Saturday, Oct. 29. Both swimming and diving lineups will face off against Bridgewater State in a home meet. Crew will also be competing Saturday at the Wormtown Chase in Worcester. Women’s soccer will be hosting Babson College for their final game of the season, which also happens to be senior day. Later in the day, volleyball is set to square off with Wheaton in an away game. Finally, for Saturday, men’s soccer will also face Wheaton College, this time at home. Lastly, for the upcoming week, both cross country teams will take part in the NEWMAC Championships on Sunday, Oct. 30. Sadly there are no spooky matchups scheduled for Halloween day, Monday, Oct. 31. The women’s soccer team should be kept in mind this week, as they look to win their final two games (both in conference play). Currently sitting in third place, the Cougars are in a position to receive a strong seed come playoff time. This just about wraps up our latest edition of the Clark and NEWMAC weekly roundup, we look forward to seeing the results for the near future and a round of applause to all Clark competitors from this past week. As always, roll Cougz!