Mt. Union ousted from playoffs
Mt. Union is out of the 2019 DIII football championship. The Purple Raiders dropped their second-round game to North Central (Ill.). It was Mount Union’s earliest playoff exit since 1994.
The Cardinal and Purple Raiders were neck and neck all game long, but a quality defensive play from North Central held Mount Union at bay. The Cardinal beat the 13-time champion Purple Raiders 59-52.
North Central will move on to the quarterfinals to play Delaware Valley today. Other early-game results from Saturday include Muhlenberg crushing Brockport 42-0, Salisbury holding off Union (N.Y.) 62-41 and Delaware Valley beating Wesley 45-10.
Defending champion Mary Hardin-Baylor was also able to notch a win last week and will move on to face a Wisconsin-Whitewater squad that beat Wartburg 41-28. The Crusaders knocked off Huntingdon 42-6 to advance to the quarterfinals.
Two earn Hokies all-region soccer
Announced by the United Soccer Coaches, the 2019 NCAA Division I Women’s All-Atlantic Region Teams feature a pair of Virginia Tech Hokies, with goalkeeper Mandy McGlynn earning a spot on the first team while midfielder Emily Gray made the third team.
It marks the second straight season and the sixth time in the past seven years that the Hokies have had at least two representatives on the regional team. McGlynn and defender Kelsey Irwin were honored last year.
McGlynn continues to pile up the accolades and to etch her name alongside the best ever to play for the Hokies, regardless of position. With her selection last year, she joined Hope Handley (third team, 1995) as the school’s only two goalkeepers to be named all-region, and this season she became just the third Hokie to be named to the first team, joining Murielle Tiernan (2014 and 2015) and Jazmine Reeves (2013).
McGlynn, who was voted the Hokies’ first-ever ACC All-Conference First-Team goalkeeper in 2018, repeated as the league’s top goalkeeper in 2019 after enjoying an even more successful season than her junior campaign. This year, she started all 19 matches and played every single minute in net (1,748:37), which continued her streak to a school record 5,255:20 consecutive minutes played (56 straight matches).
VT Wrestling at Moss
Tickets for the Feb. 8 dual meet against ACC foe Duke in Virginia Tech’s Moss Arts Center will go on sale at 2 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 10.
Tickets for the event will be $10 and can be purchased online on the Moss Arts Center website. Tickets may also be purchased at the door for $15 the day of the dual, but availability is not guaranteed. Box seats are available for $140 and can be purchased by calling the Moss Arts Center at 540-231-5300. Student tickets will be free but are limited in quantity.
Nolley ACC Freshman of Week
Following his stay in Maui, Hawai’i, Virginia Tech men’s basketball’s Landers Nolley II has been named ACC Freshman of the Week, as announced by the league office on Monday.
The redshirt freshman led the Hokies (6-2) to their first top-five win over a nonconference opponent since 1964 with a game-high 22 points against then-No. 3 Michigan State (5-2). Nolley also chipped in four rebounds, five assists, two blocks and three steals in the upset win.
The Atlanta native dropped two 20-point games in Maui to bring his total to five on the year. He had ten 3-pointers at the prestigious tournament. He was named to the Maui Jim Maui Invitational all-tournament team, joining Kansas’ DeVon Dotson and Udoka Azubuike, Dayton’s Obi Toppin and Georgia’s Anthony Edwards.
Blacksburg Frosty 5K
The 18th annual Frosty 5K and mile fun run is scheduled for Tuesday, December 24, in Blacksburg. The race starts and finishes on the soccer field behind the Food Lion on North Main Street with the majority of the race run on roads and paved bike paths.
The entry fee is $20 before Dec. 9, $22 after that date and $25 on race day. Registration fee is $12. Awards will be given to the top two overall male and female racers and the top two in age groups.
Race shirts are guaranteed to those registered before Dec. 9. For more details, visit runaboutsports.com.
Hokie swimmers at Toyota Open
The Virginia Tech men’s and women’s swim teams took part this week in the 2019 Toyota U.S. Open Championships in Atlanta and the Len European Short Course Swimming Championships in Glasgow, Scotland.
Competition began Wednesday at the U.S. Open and will conclude today with the 200 butterfly.
Competing in Atlanta were Aaron Boyd, AJ Pouch, Justin Rich, Ryan Vipavetz and Forest Webb for the men. On the women’s side, Tech sent Baillie Cameron, Anna Landon, Kayla Purcell, Sarah Shackelford, Julia Smith, Brooke Travis, Joelle Vereb and Loulou Vos.
Tech senior Reka Gyorgy also competed but swam unattached as she is taking a redshirt year this season.
Baseball tickets on sale
Season Ticket Flex Plans for the upcoming 2020 Virginia Tech baseball season at English Field at Atlantic Union Bank Park are now on sale. Similar to last year, there are two ticket options available for fans wanting to attend ACC baseball weekends, while there will continue to be no charge for Hokies’ home games against non-conference opponents.
For all ACC contests, the cost of an individual game ticket for adults will remain at $10 while a youth ticket is still $5. Virginia Tech students with their Hokie Passport and children 5 and under are free. Individual game tickets will go on sale at a later date.
Season tickets, which will be sold as a 15-ticket Flex Plan, are available for $120, and those who purchase this option through Dec. 12 will receive six hot dog vouchers to use during the season at the ballpark’s concession stand as part of Virginia Tech’s 12 Days of Holidays.