Women’s Water Polo 

• The Scots took home four easy wins in back-to-back doubleheaders against Carthage College on April 9 and 11, beating them 18-13, 13-5, 15-2, and 20-7. 
• Annika Krueger ’22 tallied 18 goals over the course of the weekend, followed closely by Sydney Hollingsworth ’23 with 17. Goalkeepers Honor Kalala ’22 and Laurel O’Hare ’21 both held Carthage to only 27 goals to the Scots’ 66. 

Baseball 

• The Scots dropped their second game to the University of St. Thomas on April 9, 3-13. Following two more losses against Bethel University in as many days, Macalester was able to recoup and win their third game against Bethel, 5-2. 
• Baseball fell to Gustavus Adolphus College in both games of their doubleheader before coming back for two close wins against Hamline University in the last two games of a triple-header with scores of 7-5 and 9-8, respectively. 
• On April 22nd the Scots dropped a doubleheader to St. Mary’s University, losing 7-4 and 7-0. 

Softball 

• The Scots picked up steam after a slow start to the season, taking their second game 4-2 against St. Thomas on April 10 and kicking off a five-game win streak, their longest since 2015. From there, Softball went on to sweep both Saint Mary’s University and Augsburg before falling to Concordia College (Minn.) and Carleton College in back-to-back doubleheaders.
• Macalester delivered quite a few strong hitting performances over the past 10 games, with Kennedy Kechely ’21 tallying 11 hits, eight RBIs and four runs, while Mackenzie Clark ’22 posted 12 hits, two RBIs, and six runs. Joia Simonson ’23 also pitched for an impressive 23 strikeouts over the past 10 games. 

Volleyball 

• Macalester dropped a tough 3-0 loss to Hamline on April 9, capping off an abbreviated three game season during which the Scots went 1-2. 
• Despite the scoreline, volleyball stayed close throughout the game, thanks to strong performances from Eliza King ’23 and Claire Wilson ’22, who posted 11 kills and 18 assists, respectively. 

Women’s Tennis

• The Scots started strong with back-to-back wins against St. Catherine University and Saint Mary’s University, beating each team 8-1 and 6-3, respectively. #1 doubles team Arista Siebrits ’24 and Sydney Ellison ’24 scored wins in both matches, as well as the returning duo of sisters Natali ’21and Amalin ’23 Sorajja. 
• Women’s Tennis dropped their next match to St. Thomas 9-0, but not without some strong performances from the Scots. Ellison and Siebrits lost their doubles match in a close tiebreaker, 8-7 (7-5). Siebrits and Amanye Reynolds ’24 also both pushed their singles matches to third set tiebreakers before losing 6-1 2-6 (10-6) and 6-4 1-6 (10-5), respectively. 

Men’s Tennis

• On April 10th, the Scots lost to Gustavus Adolphus College, 9-0. Jeffrey Jorgensen ’22 and Alexander Poland ’22 lost a close match in the #3 doubles spot, 8-6. Matthew Sullivan ’23 lost a close singles match, 6-3 6-4. 
• On April 11th, the Scots beat Saint Mary’s University, 8-1. Macalester swept doubles and went 5-1 in singles. Sam Hochberger ’21 won 6-1 6-2 in the #1 singles spot and Jorgensen won 7-5 6-0 in the #2 singles spot. Sullivan also had another strong singles match winning, 6-1 6-1.
• On April 15th, Macalester hosted St. Olaf and won 8-1. The Scots went 2-1 in doubles, with the #1 doubles team of Hochberger and Ben White ’21 dropping their match, but Sullivan and Aidan Toner-Rodgers ’21 in the second spot and Jorgenson and Poland in the third spot both won their doubles matches. Macalester also swept singles, 6-0. Karsten Knutsen ’22 won 6-0 6-3 in # 3 singles and White won 6-2 6-2 at #4 singles. 
• On April 22nd, the Scots took down Bethel University, winning 6-3. Sullivan and Toner-Rodgers escaped with a close 8-7 (7-5) tiebreak win, while singles saw strong performances from Hochberger, Jorgenson, Sullivan and Poland, all of whom won their singles matches in straight sets.

Women’s Track and Field

• On April 10th, the Scots participated in the St. Olaf’s Opener in Northfield. The Scots finished with a team score of 120 and third behind St. Olaf and Carleton. Maria Blaesing ’24 won the 1500 meters and Lena Stern ’22 took second in the 800 meter run. Penelope Hunter ’24 took second in the 100 meters and third in the 200 meters. Jasmine Loving ’21 also took second place in the javelin, third in the 100-meter hurdles, and fourth in the 200 meter run. Mikayla Ennever ’22 won the long jump and Journey Amundson ’23 and Sara Gregor ’23 took third and fourth in the long jump. Amundson also placed second in the triple jump, with a jump of 37’ 0”, the fourth longest triple jump in Macalester’s performance history. 
• On April 17th, the Scots attended the Carleton Relays, which kept no team scores. Blaesing won the 5000 meters with a time of 18:14.06, the fifth best time in the MIAC this season. Amundson won the 200 meter run with a personal best time of 27.16 and also posted a personal record in the long jump, en route to winning the event. Her long jump of 17’ 1.25” is fourth all-time at Macalester.

Men’s Track

• On April 9th, the Scots travelled to St. Olaf Men’s Opener in Northfield. No team scores were kept but there were several impressive performances. J.J. Arimi ’21 won both the triple jump and the long jump. Will Murphy ’23 was close second in the long jump with a jump of 20’ 7.25”, just one inch behind Arimi. There were four Macalester runners who finished in the top 5 of the 800-meter run, led by Brett Hunsanger ’22. Wills Hawley ’22 won the hammer throw with a toss of 128’ 8”. Erik Anderson ’21 also took second place in the discus. Henry Basu ’23 took second in the 100 meter and fourth in the 200 meter.
• On April 16th and 17th, the Scots competed in the Carleton Relays in Northfield. No team scores were kept. Elijah Levy ’21 placed third in the 10000 meter run. Anderson took second in the discus with a season-best throw of 101’ 7”. Arimi took second in both long jump and triple jump. Ryan Kinnucan ’22 took third in the 400 meter-hurdles and the 4×100 meter team of Kinnucan, Murphy, Basu and Arimi combined to finish second.

Football 

• On April 17th, the Scots took on the Bethel University Royals in a scrimmage to end their spring season. Bethel University is in the MIAC and in the Skyline Conference that Macalester Football will be joining next season. In the scrimmage, the Royals scored two touchdowns at the end of the first quarter and added another at the end of the first half. 
• The Scots had more defensive production in the second half, shutting out Bethel and forcing the Royals to punt on each possession, including a safety after an errant snap on a punt attempt. The safety were the lone points scored by the Scots on the day. Offensively, there were 50 and 33 yard receptions on offense by Peter Vitalis ’22 and Nathan Wu ’24, respectively. Logan Pampel ’24 also had several other strong rushes, including a 14 yard run. The Scots will graduate eight seniors in May.
• The Royals and the Scots will play again in the fall of 2021, on October 23, in Arden Hills. 
• The Orange and White game held April 10th. The Orange side was called Team Tartan and the White side was called Team Braveheart. Team Braveheart won 7-6. Xavier Pittman ’24 was named the player of the game. As a defensive lineman, he played for both sides, as lineman played for both teams.
• Ryan Dodds ’23 threw a touchdown to Vitalis on Team Braveheart’s first drive. Kai Akimoto ’22 scored a touchdown with 20 seconds left from one yard out for Team Tartan. Team Tartan tied a two point conversion to win the game in regulation but Brady Thompson ’22 broke up the pass intended for Nick Bice ’24, winning the game for Team Braveheart. 

Women’s Basketball

• On April 9th, the Scots defeated St. Olaf, 63-56. Justine Barraza ’21 led Macalester with 17 points and seven assists. Katherine Podoll ’21 added 15 points and six rebounds. Kayla Togneri ’21 had a career-high 17 rebounds and Cat Terres ’24 had five blocks. Macalester took the lead 4-2 early in the first quarter and led the rest of the game. 
• On April 13th, Macalester lost their final game of the season at St. Olaf, 75-71. Barraza and Celine Sabbagh ’22 both had 16 points. Barraza added seven rebounds and Sabbagh grabbed six rebounds. Podoll also had 15 points and a team-leading eight rebounds.

Men’s Golf

• The Scots finished sixth of six at the MIAC Spring Preview, their first tournament back of the season, with a team score of 647 (+63). 
• Fritz Gessl ’23 led Macalester with a two-day score of 158 (+12), finishing 10th. Tommy Hayes ’23 was close behind in 14th with a score of 161 (+15). 
• At the Bobby Krig Invitational on April 18th and 19th, the Scots bumped up to a ninth place finish out of 15.
• Gessl once again led the team with an individual sixth place finish overall, shooting an impressive 73 and 79 on the first and second days for an overall score of 152 (+11). 
• Kubunya Karabiu ’22 also posted a score of 168 (+27) for an individual 56th place finish overall. 

Women’s Golf

• The Scots participated in the MIAC Spring Preview on April 10th and 11th. Tenley Smith ’22 led Macalester with a two day score of 158 (+14), good enough for sixth overall. Phebe Chen ’24 shot a two day score of 168, which placed 19th overall. The Scots had a team score of 668 (+92) and finished sixth out of seven teams. St. Catherine University won with a score of 627 (+51).
• On April 17th and 18th, the Scots attended the Battle at the Creek match, where Macalester placed sixth out of 15 teams. Macalester shot a two day score of 681 (+105). Smith shot a 162 (+18) and finished 9th overall to lead the Scots. Smith shot a career low 75 on the first day. Chen placed 23rd with a two-day score of 171 (+27). Kiwa Anisman ’22 finished 25th and shot 173 (+29) over the two days. Izzy Hebert ’21 finished 29th and with a two-day score of 175 (+31).

Upcoming Events (Home events in Bold)

Friday, April 23

Women’s Tennis @ College of St. Benedict (St. Joseph, MN) (5:00 PM)

Saturday, April 24

Women’s Golf @ Carleton/St. Olaf Invite (Northfield, MN) (TBA)

Men’s Golf @ Saint John’s University Spring Invite (Sartell, MN) (TBA)

Women’s Tennis vs Hamline University (St. Paul, MN) (9:00 AM)

Men’s Tennis vs Hamline University (St. Paul, MN) (12:30 PM)

Baseball vs Concordia College (Minn.) (St. Paul, MN) (1:00 PM)

Softball @ Gustavus Adolphus College (St. Peter, MN) (1:00 PM)

Women’s Tennis @ Bethel University (St. Paul, MN) (2:30 PM)

Softball @ Gustavus Adolphus College (St. Peter, MN) (3:00 PM)

Baseball vs Concordia College (Minn.) (St. Paul, MN) (3:30 PM)

Sunday, April 25

Women’s Golf at Carleton/St. Olaf Invite (Northfield, MN) (TBA)

Men’s Golf at Saint John’s University Spring Invite (Sartell, MN) (TBA)

Women’s Tennis vs Concordia College (Minn.) (St. Paul, MN) (12:30 PM)

Men’s Tennis vs Concordia College (Minn.) (St. Paul, MN) (12:30 PM)

Softball vs College of Saint Benedict (St. Paul, MN) (1:00 PM)

Baseball at Concordia College (Minn.) (Moorhead, MN) (1:00 PM)

Softball vs College of Saint Benedict (St. Paul, MN) (3:00 PM)

Tuesday, April 27

Women’s Tennis vs St. Olaf College (St. Paul, MN) (5:00 PM)

Wednesday, April 28

Baseball @ Saint John’s University (Collegeville, MN) (2:30 PM)

Baseball @ Saint John’s University (Collegeville, MN) (5:00 PM)

Thursday, April 29

Men’s Tennis vs University of St. Thomas (St. Paul, MN) (5:00 PM)

Athlete Spotlight: Celine Sabbagh ’22, Women’s Basketball

This transcript has been lightly edited for clarity and grammar.

The Mac Weekly (TMW): What do you remember feeling after you realized you wouldn’t have regular season this coming year? How did you guys find that out?

Celine Sabbagh (CS): We actually found out when President Rivera sent out an email to the whole school saying something about how we weren’t going to come back until after J-term and then there’s going to be a quiet period. And with that we’re not going to partake in the MIAC (Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference) season. That wasn’t that surprising because in October they told us, ‘oh people can’t come back, or there’s only going to be nothing going on during J-term,’ so it didn’t look good at that point. We were hoping the MIAC, maybe, would push their whole [season] back and they sort of did—they had a condensed season. I think when we got that email was when we found out that it was cancelled. Of course, it was a difficult time, difficult situation, but it was hard when we saw other schools that were in the same situation as us be able to continue on and play, and then we were still at home.

TMW: When did you all find out that you would have some games this year? And then how did those games go? 

CS: Actually, it’s kind of funny. I saw it on the MIAC website. Our coach was like ‘oh we’re looking at competition or whatever,’ and I was checking the MIAC but looking at a score of a different game, and I saw our name against St. Kate’s on the 19 and 21 of March, but that was the first time we saw it. I sent it in the group chat; that was kind of funny. Then it went away, but we later found out they were just working on the details about how we were going to play that weekend and then the following weekend too. And that was super exciting. It’s just really nice to see games on the schedule and have a team to start scouting and preparing for. That was really fun.

Our games actually went really well! We had a rough season last year. We only had one win and it wasn’t a conference win. This year we beat St. Kate’s for the first time, it was really close. Katie [Sowerby ’21] got a big steal, and then we ended up going ahead and winning the game. The second game against St. Kate’s, it was at St. Kate’s, and we were down by a lot the whole game. Then all of a sudden, we turned it on in the fourth quarter and made a huge comeback — they didn’t get into double digits in the fourth quarter. We switched overtime and then we won in overtime. That was really awesome. And then we just beat St. Olaf [on April 8], so we were on a 3-0 start, it’s super fun. 

TMW: Wow that’s amazing! So that first game back what moments kind of stuck with you? How did it feel to finally be back playing actual games?

CS: It was so fun. It was a back-and-forth game the whole time, nobody ever got up by too much. I remember, we drove a play and it didn’t really work out. Typically, I feel we would have missed the possession, and they’d probably score on us, but this game when it didn’t really work out — I couldn’t even see it; I was running back on defense — Katie came out of nowhere and took the ball out of their hands and scored which was just an enormous play. Stuff like that I think we were missing last year, and we have been making a lot of those plays this year.

TMW: I was wondering if you could tell me a little bit about how you got into basketball and who’s your biggest influence with your athletic career and why?

CS: I got into basketball when I was 6 years old. My parents are from Syria, but they watched basketball when they moved here because soccer wasn’t really on [TV]. My dad’s really bad, but he got a basket and we’d play outside and just to hang out with him I’d play. Then I started doing more organized stuff. For an influence I have this trainer that I’ve been working with ever since I was really little; him and his daughter and I would work out. He was a professional player, so he’s really taught me everything about the game. I was never really that good, but then, I worked with him every day, and I attribute almost everything that I can do on the basketball court to him. I played in high school and I really never expected to be playing on this level, and I’m really, really glad that I am since it’s an amazing experience.

TMW: What is your go to pregame hype song?

CS: I like “Dedication” by Nipsey Hussle. I remember I listened to it before my last high school game.