While many Point Park students were beginning their Thanksgiving breaks, four of the five Point Park fall sports teams participated on the national level Saturday, Nov. 21., and the basketball teams played a combined 10 games over seven days.
Cross Country
Both the men’s and women’s cross country teams competed at the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) National Championship Meet in Charlotte, N.C.
The Men finished 35th in the nation at the meet. Freshman Brian Moore led the way for the Pioneers, as he had all season, finishing in 115th place out of 326 runners, the best finish ever for a Point Park men’s runner at nationals. He was the 12th freshman finisher in the nation.
The women finished 31st. Sophomore Katie Guarnaccia again led the way for Point Park finishing the 5K race in 18:28 breaking her own school record. Guarnaccia finished 41st out of 321 runners and missed NAIA All-American honors by 11 spots.
Women’s Soccer
The women’s soccer team saw its season come to an end in the NAIA National Championship Opening Round to the tournament’s top seed.
Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) defeated Point Park 5-0, ending the Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (KIAC) champion’s season.
It was the first national tournament appearance in team history. The Pioneers finished 12-7-2, setting the record for most wins in team history.
Point Park now loses 11 seniors who led the way for the record-setting season. Seven of the 11 seniors were among Point Park’s eight All-KIAC honorees that included three All-KIAC First Team and five All-KIAC Second Team players.
Volleyball
The volleyball team also saw its season come to a close in the NAIA Volleyball National Championship opening round.
In a rematch of the 2014 NAIA Opening Round, Georgetown (Ky.) sent Point Park home in three straight sets.
Men’s Basketball
The men’s and women’s basketball teams both played five games in seven days from Nov. 17 through Nov. 23.
The men went 3-2 during that stretch to improve its record to 6-4. Both losses however were KIAC games against West Virginia Tech and Brescia (Ky.).
With a 107-87 win over Asbury (Ky.), the Pioneers currently stand at 1-2 in conference play. Point Park hosts Alice Lloyd (Ky.) Saturday in its next conference game.
Women’s Basketball
The women went 4-1 over that five-game span. Its only loss was against the defending KIAC Champion Asbury (Ky.) Eagles. Asbury defeated Point Park 65- 61 in overtime after overcoming a double-digit deficit.
Point Park picked up conference wins against Brescia (Ky.) and West Virginia Tech to bring its KIAC record to 2-1. The Pioneers enter the week 7-2 with its next conference game set for Saturday against Alice Lloyd (Ky.).
