SAINTS FALL IN FIRST NCAA DIV. 1 FOOTBALL GAME: Not a bad effort for Thomas More in the school’s first game against an NCAA Div. 1 opponent when the Saints dropped a 34-14 contest to Duquesne University in Pittsburgh. Jaden Hall and Craig Wills Jr. scored the touchdowns for the Saints with Rae’Von Vaden tossing the TD to Wills Jr. while Hall averaged 5.6 yards a carry. After falling behind 24-0 against a Duquesne team that opened at Florida State and plays Hawai’i next week, the NAIA Saints (1-2) rallied to close the margin to the final 34-14.
Jevan Rivers and Trey Brausch each recorded six tackles to lead TMU while Antoine Johnson picked off his first interception. TMU faces Mid-South opponent Campbellsville Saturday, a team TMU beat 73-28 last seaaon.
SAINTS WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL fell to No. 11 Indiana Wesleyan University, 3-0 (25-16, 25-13, 25-18), on the road Friday. Thomas More actually held a 13-8 lead in the first set, with Jess Gearries and Ally Albrinck recording three kills apiece, only to see Indiana Wesleyan end the set on a 17-3 run. The final set saw Wesleyan with a 17-16 advantage before the home team ended it with an 8-2 flurry. Thomas More moved its record to 6-6, splitting Saturday with a 3-1 loss to No. 25 Mount Vernon Nazarene Cougars 3-1 in a first match before sweeping West Virginia Tech, 3-0. TMU begins Mid-South Conference play Thursday night hosting Shawnee State in a Connor Convocation match at 7.
CROSS-COUNTRY MEN 6TH, WOMEN 2ND IN HANOVER INVITATIONAL:
The TMU men’s cross-country team finished sixth at the Hanover College Invitational Saturday. Junior Austin Shaffer (Independence, Simon Kenton) led the way for TMU, finishing 20th with a time of 21:10. Sophomore Nick Lanter (Cincinnati, LaSalle) followed in 23rd with a time of 21:19.5. The Saints return to action Friday at the National Catholic Invitational in Fort Wayne, Ind.
The TMU women finished second out of six teams. First year Dyllan Hasler (Independence, Scott) led the Saints, finishing fourth with a time of 20:14.4. Freshman Savannah Faught (Georgetown, Ky./Georgetown) finished sixth with a time of 20:20.5.
TMU NATIONAL RUGBY CHAMPS GET THEIR RINGS: The celebration of TMU’s 2021 national championship didn’t end with the pre-game ring presentation Saturday but concluded with a 24-15 win in their season opener over the University of Kentucky, the only team to beat the Saints in 2021. Matias Caramuti, Tomas Casares, Santiago Perez Zorraquin, and Pancho Cuscuna provided the offensive firepower for TMU with the Saints also winning the B game by a 24-10 score. TMU’s next game is at home a week from Saturday when the Saints host Wheeling University in their first Big Rivers Rugby Conference game at 1 p.m.
TMU MEN’S SOCCER took to the road Saturday for a 1-0 win at Roosevelt, improving their season record to 4-1. Sophomore Ben Oliver (Eckington, England/Hartpury College) scored in the 67th minute for the Saints with an assist by sophomore Sondre Taklo (Aalesund, Norway/Akademiet Videregaaende Skole) to give TMU the win. The Saints return home Wednesday to host Alice Lloyd at 7 p.m. on Republic Bank Field.
