Football
The Britons faced off against Olivet College on Saturday, Oct. 31, and they looked to make a statement after a tough loss against Trine University the previous Saturday. With Pinckney, Mich., senior Dominic Bona throwing for a career-high 373 passing yards, the Brits were able to defeat the Chargers 49-21 and hand them their first loss of the season. As of now, they share the lead in the MIAA with Olivet, both of whom are 4-1 in league play.
Southfield, Mich., senior running back Colin Parks rushed for 118 yards, and Birmingham, Mich., senior tight end Joe Mayone led the Brits in receiving yards with 177. Once again, the defense was strong for Albion as Pewamo, Mich., senior David Simon led the Brits with 11 tackles.
The Brits will host Alma College on Saturday, Nov. 7. With a win, they can move to 5-1 on the season and share their 36th MIAA championship in school history.
Women’s Volleyball
The lady Brits’ final week of the season was a busy one with four games in five days. On Tuesday, Oct. 27, the Brits hosted the Adrian Bulldogs in an MIAA contest. Although they were able to pick up a win in one set, the Bulldogs stopped the Brits in the third and fourth sets to secure a 3-1 win. Vicksburg, Mich., first-year Taylor Rosenthal led the Brits with 13 kills, and Alpena, Mich., junior Ami Milligan collected 25 digs.
On Friday, Oct. 30, Albion traveled to Kalamazoo College to take on the Hornets and snap a four-game losing streak. For the Brits, it was a stellar night — they were able to defeat the Hornets 3-1, and Milford, Mich., first-year Monica Shuk tallied 40 digs, a school record for a four set match. To compliment Shuk’s historic night, Okemos, Mich., senior Halle Thom had 11 kills, and Birch Run, Mich., junior Jessica Konieczny had five blocks.
The Brits looked to finish their season on a high note when they hosted Saint Mary’s College, Ind. and Kenyon College on Saturday, Oct. 31. Things were looking good against Saint Mary’s as White Lake, Mich., first-year Angela Adams had 16 digs in the Brits’ 3-0 victory. However, Kenyon College’s offense was relentless as they were able to defeat Albion 3-0. In the final match of the season, Shuk led the team with 24 digs, and Halle Thom and Taylor Rosenthal were tied for the team lead in kills with eight.
The team was able to finish with an overall record of 16-14 and a MIAA conference record of 6-10.
Men’s Swimming
On Saturday, Oct. 31, the Brits hosted Alma College in a dual meet that featured impressive debuts’ by Chelsea, Mich., first-year Jake Burris and Lima, Peru, first-year Gerardo Huidobro. The two freshmen helped lead Albion to a 155-26 victory over the Scots. Along with taking first place in 3-meter diving, Burris was just shy of the school record in 1-meter diving but achieved a NCAA regional qualifying score of 302.4 points. Huidobro set a school record in the 200-yard breaststroke, which he completed in 2:09.20. Albion had a number of event winners: Livonia, Mich., sophomore Parker Belmore in the 500 freestyle, Wyandotte, Mich., junior Sean Pearce in the 1,000 freestyle and Holland, Mich., junior Derek Bosko in the 100 yard breaststroke.
Women’s Swimming
The women’s swim and dive team also hosted Alma College on Saturday, Oct. 31 and the result was much of the same as the men’s team. Milan, Mich., senior Anna Hargrove and Kalamazoo junior Kylene Slocum both won a pair of events, which helped the Brits achieve a 197.5-79.5 victory.
Highland, Mich., junior Julia Russell was atop the leaderboard in diving events with a score of 149.63 on the 1-meter board and 164.02 on the 3-meter board. Battle Creek, Mich., sophomore Madison Vaive won the 100 backstroke; East Grand Rapids, Mich., senior Claire Wittkowski was able to win the 500 freestyle. Waterford, Mich., first-year Katelyn Killewald took first in the 400 individual medley.
Men’s Soccer
The Brits’ final two games occurred this past week when they hosted Alma on Wednesday, Oct. 28 and traveled to Calvin College for their final match on Saturday, Oct. 31.
Against Alma, the Brits were hoping to start their final week on a high note. However, the Scots got off to a quick start, scoring in the fifth minute of the game. Albion went into the second half still down 1-0, but an equalizing goal from Ann Arbor first-year Shawn Roberts evened the score. It didn’t take long for the Scots to retaliate — less than a minute later, Alma regained the lead and would go on to win 3-1.
In their final match of 2015, the Brits took on the undefeated Calvin College Knights. With a final score of 7-0, it’s safe to say the Knights dominated the game. Traverse City sophomore Justin Kraft collected five saves on the day, and in his final game as a Brit, Livonia, Mich., senior Evan Schweizer tallied two shots on goal.
The Brits finished with an overall record of 5-13-1; their MIAA record stands at 3-11-0.
Women’s Soccer
On Tuesday, Oct. 27, the Brits hosted Olivet College in an MIAA contest. Olivet was able to get on the board in the first half with a goal in the 35th minute. However, in the second half, Bloomfield Hills, Mich., senior Caroline Eagan found the back of the net and tied the game at one. The score would stay tied at one throughout regulation and go to overtime. With help from three saves in overtime by Traverse City sophomore Maggie Troost, the Brits tied with Olivet 1-1. Troost tallied eight saves on the day.
The Brits traveled to face Kalamazoo College on Saturday, Oct. 31, where the Hornets’ orange and black would be a proper theme for the game. The first half featured the only scoring that the game would see — a goal from Kalamazoo’s Madison Moote lifted the Hornets past the Brits with a 1-0 win. Maggie Troost stopped five of six shots she faced, while Canton, Mich., junior Domenique Sarnecky and South Lyon, Mich., sophomore Jenna Urso both had three shots on goal.
The women will finish up their season at Adrian College on Monday, Nov. 2, hoping to finish 9-9-1 overall.
Men’s Cross Country
In Charlotte, Mich., the Brits took part in the MIAA championship on Saturday, Oct. 31. Albion was able to finish fourth in the team standings with a score of 114, but Plymouth, Mich., senior Mitch Clinton was the highlight of the day for the Brits. For the second year in a row, Clinton achieved MIAA first-team honors as he finished fifth overall with a time of 25:31.4. Along with Clinton, Grosse Ile, Mich., sophomore Alex Dermody finished with a time of 26:19.8, which put him at 17th overall.
In Terre Haute, Ind., the Brits will go to the NCAA Great Lakes Regional Championship, which is scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 14.
Women’s Cross Country
The women also competed in the MIAA championships on Saturday, Oct. 31 and were highlighted by Allegan, Mich., junior Jessica Shaw. Although the Brits finished sixth with a score of 136, Shaw secured MIAA first team honors for the second consecutive year. She finished the race in 22:04.6, about 35 seconds behind the individual leader, Calvin College’s Lauren Strohbehn.
Along with Shaw, Dublin, Ohio, sophomore Leanne Wegley was the only other Brit to finish in the top 16. Wegley finished in 23:25.6, which was good for 16th overall.
The lady Brits will also travel to Terre Haute, Ind., for the NCAA Great Lakes Regional Championship on Saturday, Nov. 14.
Photo by Steve Marowski
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