Bluejay Sports Corner – 11/12/24

With fall sports coming to an end, conference tournaments are starting up! Women’s Soccer clinched a CCIW tournament spot with their last win against the Carthage Redbirds. Bluejay Football has a chance to make the playoffs as they have two more conference games to help decide that. Along with cross country attending the CCIW tournament on Saturday, Nov. 2.

Jays, are you ready for more sports? Although these great fall sports are coming to an end, that means more sports are on the horizon.

Men’s Wrestling

The men’s wrestling team took their first CCIW win on Thursday, Nov. 7 against Wheaton College.

Seven Bluejay wrestlers emerged from their matches victorious, contributing to the overall team score of 38-12, ensuring they secured their first victory of the season.

On Saturday, Nov. 9 the Bluejays attended the Milliken Opener in Decatur, IL where two Jays placed in their respective weight classes.

Freshman Rhenzo Agusto led the team with a second-place finish in his weight class, while Sophomore Mateo Blessing placed seventh, a respectable showing.

The team is hitting the road to Augustana College where they will compete in a CCIW dual match on Wednesday, Nov. 20.

Women’s Wrestling

The Women’s Wrestling team made its debut Saturday, Nov. 2 for its first match in the history of Elmhurst University!

The team traveled to Stevens Point, WI for a match where they unfortunately did not progress into the championship bracket, but it was a history-making day for sophomore Clara Rice, who recorded the first-ever match win for the newly established program.

Then, on Saturday, Nov. 9 the Jays traveled to compete in the Lakeland Scramble in Plymouth WI where they met on the mat in their second event ever, but unfortunately did not walk away with any match wins.

Looking ahead, the Bluejay women’s wrestlers will travel to Augustana College for their first-ever CCIW dual match on Wednesday, Nov. 20.

Women’s Volleyball:

Women’s Volleyball had a rough finish to the fall season as they lost their last two conference matches.

The Carthage College Redbirds beat the Jays in four sets (1-3). The Jays were led defensively by senior Alexa Bueser, who had 17 assists and five digs. Offensively, the team was led by senior Kali Phillips, who had 12 kills.

The Jays looked to bounce back against Wheaton College but were swept in three sets (0-3). Although the score did not show it, the Jays put up a fight by putting up 27 and 25 in the first two sets but lost in the end. The team defensively had a great day recording 3 more blocks than the Thunder.

The Jays were led by senior Kali Phillips, who added five blocks to the team total. Offensively, the Jays were led by senior Jada Wiley, who had nine kills on the day.

The Jays ended conference play with a record of 2-6, missing out on the tournament.

They bounced back with a win of 3-0 against the ranked Warhawks of The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, and yet another 3-0 win against the Illinois Institute of Technology on Saturday, Nov. 2.

However, their season came to an end on Wednesday, Nov. 6 with a loss to the seventh-ranked University of Wisconsin-White Water.

The team finished their season with an impressive 14-12 record and showed strong commitment and teamwork throughout, rounding out Senior Night with a celebration of the 9 Jays after their final game.

Bluejay Football:

The Jays, after having a great start to the season, lost their last three in a row as they were taken down by Carroll University, with a score of 14-45.

The Jays defense did well in the first half only allowing 17 points. The Jays offense struggled a little bit in the first half getting shut out.

The offense came alive in the second half scoring 14 points, but Carroll’s offense picked it up as well, putting up 28 more points. Although the Jays offense struggled, the running game worked to perfection, putting up 130 yards of rushing on only 10 attempts.

They were led by junior Taveon Porter, who had 107 yards on the ground on 12 attempts.

While defensively the Jays were led by sophomore Jace Zeffiro, who had five solo tackles with 9 assisted tackles.

On Saturday, Nov. 9, The Jays took on #1 North Central College in Naperville, IL where they unfortunately lost 7-70.

Looking ahead, the Jays will play their last game of the season on Saturday, Nov. 16 against Millikin University on their home turf.

Men’s Soccer:

Men’s soccer this past week faced off against Carthage College (6-8-1) and lost the game 3-0. The Jays defense has been playing well the last couple weeks, however, the offense has been lacking.

The Jays are still looking for their first conference win after the heartbreaking loss to the Redbirds. Carthage scored two goals in the first half and one goal in the second half.

The Jays put up 20 shots to the Redbirds’ 16, however, the Redbirds were able to find the net three times to the Jays’ zero.

On Oct. 30 the Jays went against Augustana College, a game which ended in a 1-1 tie and effectively ended their season.

Women’s Soccer:

After a hard loss to North Central, the Women’s soccer team took back-to-back conference games, beating Illinois Wesleyan 1-0, and beating Carthage 1-0.

The Jays beat Carthage College with a last-second goal from freshman MaiLei Garcia in the 76’ which stood as the only one of the game.

Although Carthage put up 11 shots to the Jays four, the Jays were able to find the back of the net. They were led defensively by freshman goalkeeper, Erin Fitzharris, who had 7 saves on the day, shutting out the Redbirds.

This game clinched them a playoff spot in the CCIW Tournament Quarterfinals on Saturday, Nov. 2, where they competed against the Thunder of Wheaton College. Despite fighting valiantly, the Jays ended up losing to Wheaton College 2-3 to end their season.

Women’s Cross Country

The EU Women’s Cross Country team competed in the CCIW Championships on Saturday, Nov. 2 where they took 7th out of 8 teams.

The Jays finished the tournament with a total team score of 133 points, led by some all-star performances from junior Molly Roberts and graduate student Ashley Kachurik.

Leading the pack was Kachurik, who placed 13th with a time of 22:59:1, followed shortly by Roberts who placed 15th and scored herself a new personal best time of 23:12:7.

This was a record-breaking tournament for many on the team, as seven of these athletes scored personal best times.

Looking ahead, Women’s Cross Country hopes to crush the competition at the NCAA Regionals in Rock Island, IL on Saturday, Nov. 16.

Men’s Cross Country

The Men’s Cross Country team also competed in the CCIW Championships on Saturday, Nov. 2 where they ended up 8th out of 8 teams.

Despite their poor placement, the team had a few standout performances from freshmen Eric Martinez and Michael Bailey, and senior Caleb DeBoer to contribute to the team’s 216 total score.

Martinez was the team’s best runner on Saturday, with a time of 26:27:2 and a placement of 39th overall.

Bailey and DeBoer earned new personal bests with times of 26:38.9 and 26:40.8 respectively and for 44th and 45th place overall.

The Jays look to improve in a few weeks at the NCAA Regionals.