By Jakob Wartman

FootballAfter an eventful off-season that saw the hiring of a new coach Glenn Caruso, and the largest first-year football class in years, Macalester continues to struggle with a 1-5 record. Since the Scots second game, a 50-6 win over Principia college, the Scots have been outscored 117-49. The team has continued to show considerable improvement even in the loses including gaining over 500 yards in their 56-34 loss to Colorado College. Jacob McDonnell ’10 looks to be part of a promising future of Macalester football ranking 29th in the nation averaging 88.5 yards receiving per game and is averaging 6.4 yards on 22 rushing attempts. Caruso has demonstrated his desire to rebuild Macalester football, trying to undo years of losing seasons, poor recruiting classes, and general apathy toward Macalester football.

Volleyball

Starting the season strong at 5-2, the Scots have hit a skid while facing some of the MIAC and the nation’s toughest competition. The team had two heartbreaking losses to St. Olaf and Hamline before falling to 11th ranked Concordia-Moorhead and 10th ranked St. Thomas. Since then the Scots have regained some momentum, going 4-2 and making a late charge for the top six and the MIAC playoffs, defeating 14th ranked St. Benedicts and 13th ranked Carleton. The Scots hope to continue but with a 3-1 loss to Gustavus their chances slipped. Luckily for the Scots, they close out their season with weaker opponents, and if they win out they still have a good possibility of joining some very strong teams in the conference championship.

Men’s Cross Country

The team continues to be lead by Dylan Keith ’07, who has consistently proved himself among the strongest runners in the MIAC and the strongest in the history of Macalester running. Keith recently ran a 25:22 8-kilomemter, placing him third all-time among Macalester runners. The Scots continue to run near the top of the MIAC, but have been hampered by injuries and have yet to run cohesively as a team. The team returns eight of its top ten runners from last year and has added some talent in a strong first-year running class. The Scots hope to improve on their fourth place finish at the MIAC championships and are gunning for a top five finish at the central regional meet which should earn them a berth to the national championships.

Women’s Cross Country

Even with the loss of five of its eight national runners to graduation, the Scots continue to garner national attention with a strong front five and quickly improving 6th and 7th runners. The team started out winning a three team meet and a second place finish at the St. Olaf invitational. The team has been lead by seniors Callie PaStarr and Anna Shamey, but owes much of its success to the continued improvement of its 3-7 runners. The team is heading into the MIAC Championships after a strong showing at the UW-LaCrosse Tori Neubauer Invitational, placing right behind St. Olaf and defending MIAC champions Carleton. The Scots have shown they are potential MIAC challengers and are again shooting for a top five finish at regions and a return trip to Nationals.

Men’s Soccer

The defending regular season champions and national qualifiers are finding themselves in sixth place fighting for a chance to play in the MIAC playoffs. The Scots started the season slowly, losing their first two, before going on a seven game unbeaten streak. Since then the Scots have gone 1-3, losing three crucial MIAC games against St. Thomas, Gustavus, and St. Johns. These loses may prove too much to overcome as the Scots, now 4-3 in the MIAC, are hoping to keep their postseason alive, a spot they haven’t been in for years. The Scots have suffered from a relatively young roster, but look to continue their presence this year and the future as a perennial soccer power. The team closes out its season against three lower-ranked MIAC opponents all ranked lower than them but may need to win out to continue its season into November.

Women’s Soccer

After its Wednesday night win over 6th ranked UW-Eau Claire, the Scots increased their unbeaten streak to 42 games, second best all-time in women’s Division III soccer. The Scots still have the conference championship in their sights with a 5-0-3 record and a relatively easy end to the season. The team will need to win its last three games and hope for a Concordia loss, but has all but assured itself a spot in the four team MIAC soccer playoffs. Two-time All-American, Annie Borton ’07 has lead the team, scoring nine times and assisting on another ten goals. Borton has received help from Grace King ’09 who is second among MIAC scorers with 7 goals. The Scots hope to continue their unbeaten streak into the playoffs and the national championships where they hope to match or improve on last year’s Sweet Sixteen finish.