Women’s Soccer:

On Wednesday September 7, the women’s soccer team was tied 1-1 with MacMurray College in Jacksonville, Illinois early, in the second period. Unfortunately, after a prolonged lightning delay, the game was cancelled.

The team took to the field on the road again on September 10 in Fulton, Missouri. The Blue took their 1-1 record to Westminster College looking for another non-conference win. Freshman Emily Ratchford took an assist from senior Angela Pulice to score from ten yards out in the first period. In the second half, senior Emily Sanders hit Meg Nowak to give the Big Blue a 2-0 lead. Kaitlyn Garza recorded two saves in the first half, and Anna Benvenuto had four saves for Millikin in the second half.

The Big Blue women’s soccer team will be in action this week on the road on the 24th at Maranatha Baptist University and the 28th at North Park and will return home for a game during Homecoming Week against Elmhurst on October 1st.

Women’s Tennis:

After a day of rain caused Millikin to postpone their first scheduled conference match against the North Park Vikings, the Big Blue women’s tennis team took on the defending CCIW champion Augustana Vikings. The Vikings were too much for the Blue, and they dropped all of their matches, losing 9-0.

Just two days later, the women traveled to St. Louis to take on Fontbonne University, and they defeated them 9-0. The doubles teams of Melissa Donovan and Molly Angell, Kelly Ruane and Morgan Bettner, and Madeline Delano and Mackenzie Martin swept the doubles matches without losing a game. The Big Blue was successful in the singles matches as well, with freshman Mackenzie Martin earning her first collegiate wins.

The Big Blue women’s tennis team will take to the courts on September 25th at Fairview against North Park University.

Cross Country:

The men’s and women’s cross country teams ran in the University of Illinois-Springfield’s Second Annual First Meet Ever on September 9. The men finished fourth, with Timee McElroy finishing in 16th place and Alexander Erickson finishing in 20th. The women placed third, led by Jamie Michl in seventh place and Sarah Bradley in ninth. Freshmen Natalie Krol and Amber Johnson finished back to back in 17th and 18th place. The Big Blue cross country teams will head to Hickory Point Golf Course in Decatur for their home meet on Friday, September 30.

Volleyball:

The Millikin volleyball team traveled to Oshkosh, Wisconsin to play in the Pizza Hut Classic on September 9 and 10. On the first day of play, they first took on Lawrence University from Appleton, Wisconsin. They took these sets with ease, winning 3-0 (25-17, 25-21, 25-14). Erin Syversen led the Blue with 13 kills, 7 digs, and two aces. Senior Emily Mihalkanin had 17 assists while freshman Rose Syversen added 15 assists and three aces.

In their second match of the night, the Big Blue took on the Titans of the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh. Oshkosh took the first set, 25-16, and Millikin rallied back in the second and third sets, winning them 25-20 and 25-21. Oshkosh was too much for the Blue, though, and captured the last two sets 25-20 and 15-10. Erin Syversen once again led the Blue with 17 kills, and Alora Goodey and Cortney Bohn each added nine. Mihalkanin added 26 assists while Rose Syversen added 14.

On day two of the tournament, the Blue went 2-0. In the first match of the day, Millikin took on Concordia University (Wisconsin), defeating them 3-2 (25-21, 14-25, 26-24, 17-25, 15-9). Erin Syversen had 14 kills, 14 digs, and three aces. Senior middle Kelsey Talkington added eight kills and six blocks, and junior middle Alora Goodey had eight kills and three blocks. Senior libero Cassidy Kingery led the Blue in digs with 24, and Mihalkanin had 28 assists. In their final match of the tournament, the Blue defeated St. Scholastica 3-1 (25-20, 22-25, 25-14, 25-19). Syversen once again led the team in kills with 19, and sophomore Emily Seegmiller added 11 and Goodey added 10. Kingery led the team in digs with 22, and Mihalkanin and Rose Syverson each had 25 assists.

At the conclusion of the tournament, both Erin Syversen and Cassidy Kingery were named to the All-Tournament Team. The Big Blue will be in action this week at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater Invite on September 23, and will play at home against the Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology on the 24 before beginning their conference schedule at home against Wheaton on September 27.

Men’s Soccer:

The men’s soccer team was victorious against Fontbonne University on September 10, kicking their way to a 3-0 record. In the 23rd minute, Ben Spelman was able to score off of an assist from sophomore Takunda Jakachira. Just before the first half ended, Tucker Mathieson scored off of an assist from Gabriel Gil. In the second period, freshman Trey Knighton scored on a bomb from thirty yards out.

The men’s soccer team will take on the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater this week on September 24 before starting conference play on the road against North Park University on September 28.

Men’s Tennis:

The Millikin men’s tennis team started off their short fall season strong on September 11 with a convincing 9-0 victory over the Westminster Bluejays. The doubles teams of Colin Sandgren/Jacob Hamilton, Connor Sacks/Jacob Palley, and Emerick Fulton/Greg Schwoeppe all earned victories, giving the Big Blue a 3-0 lead going into the singles matches. Millikin didn’t let this stop them from playing tough, and they didn’t lose a single set in the singles matches. Earning victories were Jacob Palley, Colin Sandgren, Connor Sacks, Jacob Hamilton, Emerick Fulton, and Dane Pierantoni.

Men’s Golf:

The Big Blue men’s golf team took a thirteenth place finish at the Rhodes College Fall Classic at Tunica National in Tunica, Mississippi on September 11 and 12. Millikin senior standout Blaine Buente was tied for second place heading into the second round with a score of three under, but after shooting a 78 in round two, he fell into a tie for 15th. Millikin shot a two day total of 612.