College notebook: Bruce serves notice as freshman at Dayton
Perhaps the Atlantic 10 Conference should rename one of its weekly men’s tennis honors the Connor Bruce Award.
Last Wednesday, Bruce, a Peters Township graduate who is a freshman at Dayton, was named the Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Week for the fourth consecutive week. It was the seventh time this season a Flyers player received the honor, and the fifth time it has gone to Bruce.
Bruce opened the week with two victories over Saint Louis. In No. 1 singles, he defeated Justin Nogalski in two sets. He followed that up with a No. 1 doubles win.
After dropping two close matches against Fordham, Bruce bounced back with two more victories over Indiana Tech. He again won in No. 1 singles in two sets and paired with Joe DeMarco for a 6-2 win.
While at Peters Township, Bruce played No. 1 singles for three years and was undefeated in regular-season matches.
In wrestling
The list of former Canon-McMillan wrestlers who have qualified for the NCAA Championships is a long one, and the latest person added to it is Cornell heavyweight Brendan Furman.
A sophomore from Canonsburg, Furman qualified by finishing third at the EIWA Championships that were held at Lehigh University. Furman lost a semifinal bout to Lehigh’s Jordan Wood, 5-0. In the consolation semifinals, Furman bounced back to defeat Binghamton’s Joe Doyle, 10-3, giving himself a shot at the EIWA’s third automatic bid at heavyweight. In the third-place bout, Furman was too much or Hofstra’s Zach Knighton-Ward as he rode the fourth-seeded heavyweight for nearly five minutes in a 7-2 victory.
Furman was seeded No. 28 for the NCAA Championships and was to wrestle No. 5-seed Matt Stencel of Central Michigan in the first round.
One of the most improved wrestlers on the team, Furman’s season hit a turning point following his win over Brown’s James Valentino on Jan. 25. Since that match, Furman won nine of 10 bouts and improved his record from 13-11 to 22-12.
Furman defeated NCAA qualifiers Ben Sullivan of Army, Andrew Gunning of North Carolina and Hofstra’s Knighton-Ward.
Michael McAleavey
- , a senior at The Citadel, finished on the podium at the Southern Conference Championships when he placed third in the heavyweight weight class.
McAleavey, a senior from Venetia and a Peters Township graduate, had a 13-6 decision and a 16-0 technical fall among his two wins in the tournament.
Washington & Jefferson’s Hunter Neely
- , a senior from Cokeburg and a Bentworth graduate, is one of three Presidents wrestlers who were named 2020 Scholar All-Americans by the National Wrestling Coaches Association.
Neely won the NCAA Division III Southeast Regional championship at 174 pounds, making him the Presidents’ first winner of a regional title since national champion Nick Carr in 2015.
Neely went 5-0 in the 174-pound bracket to win the regional title. Three of his five wins came on the opening day of the event, including a 14-4 major decision over Thiel’s Cameron Prebble in the preliminary round. He followed with a 6-2 win over Michael Bromley of McDaniel and pulled out a 4-3 decision over Waynesburg’s Dillion Charlton. In the quarterfinals, Neely took on third-seeded Malik Barr of Ferrum and won a 5-2 decision. He faced off with the bracket’s top seed, Lycoming’s Hadyn Swartwood, in the finals and won 5-2.
Neely compiled 116 career wins, which ranks fourth on W&J’s all-time list, and helped the Presidents win their first PAC championship since 1999. He was to compete in the NCAA Division III Championships in at the U.S. Cellular Center in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
Senior Brendan Howard
- helped Pitt-Johnstown to the NCAA Division II Super Region I Tournament team title and also qualified for the NCAA tournament by winning the 125-pound title.
Howard, who wrestled at Jefferson-Morgan, qualified for the NCAA Division II Championships for the second time. The championships were to be held in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
During the regional held at Mercyhurst University, Howard, who is ranked No. 3 in the nation, received a first-round bye, then won a 10-1 major decision over Alderson-Broaddus’ Noah Hodges in the quarterfinals. Howard reached the finals with a 6-2 decision over Seton Hill’s Frank Bonura before winning his second straight regional title with a 9-4 win over Jacob Dunlap of Gannon.
Howard had a 27-2 overall record and 21-2 dual meet record.
Seton Hill redshirt junior Billy Bowlen
- , who is a Crucible native, Carmichaels graduate and also wrestled at Jefferson-Morgan, qualified for the NCAA Division II Championships for the third time by placing third at 197 pounds at the super regional held at Mercyhurst.
Bowlen began the Super Regional with a 9-6 win over Raul Martinez of AIC in the quarterfinals. He then lost a 3-2 decision to Freddie Nixon of Gannon in the semifinals but advanced to the third place match with a 7-2 win over Alexi Castro of Shippensburg. Bowlen earned another nationals berth with a 10-6 decision
Bowlen had a 20-8 record.
In basketball
Mary Dunn, a senior at Youngstown State, has applied for and received a medical redshirt for another season.
A Washington native and Trinity graduate, Dunn was averaging 17.0 points and 4.8 rebounds through four games when her season ended in November when she tore her right meniscus in a game against Eastern Michigan. Dunn scored 30 points in the game, which was a come-from-behind victory for the Penguins.
Kaitlyn Riley
- , a sophomore guard from Charleroi, was the leading scorer and rebounder for the Penn State Fayette women’s team.
Riley averaged 16.9 points and 8.4 rebounds per game, helping the Nittany Lions to a 17-10 record.
Riley shot 47.3 percent from the field and 75 percent from the free-throw line. Her 106 made free throws were the most on the team. She had nine games of 20 points or more, including two of 27 points, against Penn State DuBois and Penn State Greater Allegheny.
In two seasons at Penn State Fayette, Riley has scored 845 points.
In softball
James Madison shortstop Sara Jubas has 100 RBI in a little more than two seasons.
A McDonald native and South Fayette graduate, Jubas drove in her 100th run when she homered in the Dukes’ 10-3 win March 8 over California.
Through 19 games, Jubas was James Madison’s second-leading hitter with a .439 batting average. Of her 29 hits, seven were doubles and five were home runs. She had 14 RBI and a .500 on-base percentage.
As a sophomore, Jubas batted .423 with 14 home runs, a .513 on-base percentage and struck out only seven times in 156 at-bats. Her batting average ranked second in JMU history.
This season, the Dukes had a 13-6 record when the remainder of their season was canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Dana Vatakis
- , a pitcher from Monessen, was off to a good start to her sophomore season at Robert Morris.
Vatakis had a 5-7 record and 2.54 ERA in 12 games (10 starts). Opponents were batting only .214 against Vatakis and she had 46 strikeouts in 69 innings.
The best outing of the season for Vatakis was in a 2-1 victory over Valparaiso. She took a no-hitter into the seventh but Valpo’s leadoff hitter in the inning singled. The Crusaders scored an unearned run in the inning to spoil Vatakis’ shutout bid.
In baseball
The University of Michigan began the season ranked No. 1 in the country for the first time in school history.
And one player who has made an immediate impact for the Wolverines is freshman pitcher Cam Weston, a Canonsburg resident and Canon-McMillan graduate.
The hard-throwing Weston was second on the pitching staff in appearances with seven (one start) and had a 1-0 record with two saves and team-leading 0.90 ERA.
In 10 innings, Weston had allowed nine hits, three walks and struck out five.
Weston was the starting pitcher in a game March 3 against Stanford. He pitched four innings, allowing one unearned run and three hits. He left the game with a 3-1 lead.
The win for Weston came against Cal Poly, as did one of his saves. The other save came against Pepperdine.
Brian Livolsi
- is the leading hitter at Mount Union.
A junior first baseman from McMurray and a Peters Township graduate, Livolsi is batting .410 through 12 games and has three doubles, two home runs and a team-high 11 RBI.
Livolsi did some of his best hitting against local teams. He went 3-for-8 with a home run, two runs and three RBI in two games at Washington & Jefferson. In two games against Waynesburg in Florida, he went 4-for-7 with a home run, three runs and three RBI.
Two players who had to be disappointed that the season had been canceled were Gannon’s Ian Hess and Devin Judy
- .
Though Gannon was off to a 3-9 start, Hess and Judy were putting together strong performances.
Hess, a sophomore first baseman from Canonsburg and a Canon-McMillan graduate, was batting .293 and leading the Golden Knights with three doubles, three home runs, 16 RBI, 24 total bases and a .585 slugging percentage.
Hess hit two home runs and drove in four during a 13-12 loss to University of the Sciences in Auburndale, Fla.
Judy, a junior righthanded pitcher from Belle Vernon, had a 1-2 record in three starts but his 2.81 ERA was the best on the team. Opponents were batting only .218 against Judy and he had 19 strikeouts in 16 innings. Judy’s best outing came in a 3-1 loss to Tiffin when he allowed only three hits over six innings and struck out eight.
Compiled by Chris Dugan