Three Storm Teams will Advance to the National Stage if they
Can Win NEAC Titles this Weekend

By seth fikes

Jen Shaughnessy and the Storm will try to earn a spot in the NCAA tourney this weekend.

The women’s volleyball squad finished the regular season with a 19-7 record and won its first North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC) regular season championship since 2003. 

With the regular season crown comes a No. 1 seed in the NEAC tournament as well as home court advantage. Keuka will host the tournament this Friday and Saturday. The winner of the tournament will receive an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.

On Friday, Philadelphia Biblical University (PBU) will play D’Youville at 6 p.m. while Baptist Bible will take on Polytechnic University at 8 p.m. On Saturday, Keuka will play the winner of the PBU-D’Youville game at 10 a.m. while Villa Julie will play the winner of the Baptist Bible-Polytechnic match at noon. The championship contest is set for 4 p.m.

Women’s Soccer
After starting 0-3, Keuka rebounded to win 10 of its next 12 and finish with a 10-5 record and a 9-2 NEAC mark. 

The Storm’s biggest win came Oct. 18 when it knocked off previously unbeaten in conference play Baptist Bible College, 1-0.  That win gave Keuka a first round bye in the NEAC tournament after a third place regular season finish.

Villa Julie College earned the No. 1 seed and will host the tourney. Keuka is seeded No. 2, followed by SUNY Purchase, Bard College, Chestnut Hill College, and Cazenovia College.

In opening round play, SUNY Purchase defeated Cazenovia, 1-0 while Bard took care of Chestnut Hill, 2-1.  Keuka will square off against SUNY Purchase Friday at 2 p.m. The Storm defeated SUNY Purchase, 1-0 in the regular season. Villa Julie will play Bard College Friday at 11:30 a.m. The winners will play Saturday, Nov. 4 at 11:30 a.m. for the NEAC crown and automatic berth in the NCAA tournament.

However, with PBU not playing in the conference tournament, Keuka is seed No. 3 behind No. 1 Villa Julie and No. 2 Chestnut Hill. Bard is No. 4 followed by Keystone and Cazenovia.

In first round play, Keuka took down Cazenovia, 1-0.  Sophomore Brandon Scott scored Keuka’s lone goal off a pass from junior Bobby Lee. Bard defeated Keystone, 2-0 in the other first round contest. Keuka will square off against Chestnut Hill on Friday at 11:30 a.m. while tourney host Villa Julie will face Bard at 2 p.m. The winners play Saturday, Nov. 4 at 2 p.m. for the title and NCAA tourney bid.

Men and Women Cross Country
Keuka finished seventh out of nine teams in both NEAC meets last Saturday.

Junior Lynn Jenner led the Keuka women  by finishing 22nd in a time of 24:40 in the 5K race.  Senior Ryan Looney paced the men with a 32nd place finish (33:00) in the  8K race. 

Women’s Tennis
Despite winning its first two matches in history this fall, the Keuka women’s tennis team did not qualify for the NEAC tournament.