Winthrop roundup: Eagle women host, win cross country event postponed by Florence
The 35th annual Winthrop/adidas Invitational was postponed from mid-September until Friday, due to Hurricane Florence. As far as the Eagles’ women’s cross country team is concerned, good things come to those who wait.
Harper Henson’s second-place finish (19:25.0) paced four Eagles in the top 20 on the women’s side, leading the Eagles to a first-place finish in the event. Henson improved 15 spots on her finish from last year. Joining Henson in the top 20 were Kelsey Ballou (ninth, 20:28.2), Ashley Graham (fourteenth, 21:43.8), and Jesse DeFalco (fifteenth, 21:49.6).
Will Metcalf-Shull turned in another solid performance on the men’s side, finishing seventeenth with a time of 29:42.7. The Eagle men finished fourth in the event.
Both teams will next compete in the Big South Championships on Oct. 26. The event will take place at High Point University.
Basketball Fan Fest date announced
Winthrop basketball season is fast approaching, and the Eagles will introduce themselves to the fans at this year’s Fan Fest on Thursday, Oct. 18 at Winthrop Coliseum. The York County Regional Chamber of Commerce will get the festivities started with a “Business After Hours” event at 4 p.m., with Fan Fest starting at 5 p.m. The event is free and open to all ages, and will include games, prizes, and the ability to get autographs from both the men’s and women’s basketball teams. Winthrop merchandise and season ticket purchases will be available, as well.
The men’s team opens its season Nov. 6 at Vanderbilt, with the first home game coming one week later against Pfeiffer. The women start the campaign Nov. 8 at Wisconsin, and will return home to host North Carolina Central on Wednesday, Nov. 14.
Men’s soccer rebounds on the road
After a tough 3-0 defeat for the men’s soccer side Wednesday at Presbyterian, the Eagles flipped the script Saturday, recording a 3-0 decision at UNC Asheville. An own goal by the Bulldogs broke the seal in the 24th minute. The margin remained the same until the 61st minute, when a Brandon Anselmo strike touched off one of two Eagle marks that would cement the eventual victory. Leif Estevez put home a Jordi Mola assist late in the 62nd minute to give Winthrop its third and final goal.
Winthrop (2-7, 1-3 Big South) got off 20 shots on UNC Asheville, with 11 on frame. Eagle keeper Chandler Gaunce turned in a clean sheet, recording two saves.
The men will next face off with Gardner-Webb Wednesday at Eagle Field, as part of the Winthrop Kicks Cancer event. That match will kick off at 6 p.m. Campbell will visit Winthrop for a 7:00 match Saturday evening.
Women’s soccer falls late
Radford’s Gabi Paupst delivered a golden goal in the 96th minute Saturday, netting the Highlanders a 2-1 decision and handing Winthrop its third straight defeat.
Reese Degnan put the Highlanders on the board first, knocking home a shot from just outside the box in the 20th minute. Allie Thomas provided the equalizer four minutes later, heading home a free kick. The score remained level until extra time, where a Winthrop rally was turned away just before the sequence that culminated in Paupst’s winner hitting the lower left corner of the net.
Winthrop (7-5-1, 3-3-0 Big South) travels to UNC Asheville for a 6:00 match Wednesday night. The Eagles will honor their seniors in a 1:00 match against High Point at Eagle Field on Saturday.
Volleyball enjoys a perfect weekend
Two matches in just under 24 hours didn’t seem to faze Winthrop’s volleyball team. Chuck Rey’s club turned in back-to-back 3-1 match victories, winning Friday night at USC Upstate and Saturday afternoon at UNC Asheville.
Lourdes Rosario turned in a dominant effort for the Eagles against Upstate, recording 23 kills, three aces and a block. Two other Eagles, Makayla Doyle and Sydney Gunter, both recorded 16 kills in helping put away the Spartans, 25-27, 25-22, 25-23, 25-22.
Rosario again paced her club Saturday at Asheville, tallying 16 kills as part of the 26-24, 25-21, 14-25, 25-19 Eagle win. Doyle recorded 14 kills and three blocks, with Phoebe Wu finishing with 11 kills and four aces.
Winthrop (9-10, 5-2 Big South) travels to Campbell Tuesday, before returning home to face Hampton next Saturday at 2 p.m.
This story was originally published October 8, 2018 at 10:40 AM with the headline "Winthrop roundup: Eagle women host, win cross country event postponed by Florence."