This Week in Athletics: October 8

October 8, 2025

Greetings #TARnation!

We are just days away from Fall Break! Finish these days strong in the classroom, but first, let's catch up on what's happening in the world of athletics!

- Waterski took third place overall at the South & Atlantic Conference Regional at Skyview Lake in Harmony, North Carolina. Among the top performers for the Tars were Will Bruzzese, who finished second in men's slalom; Elsa Bergsgaard, who finished second in women's tricks; Leona Berner, who finished fourth in women's slalom; and Patrick Payne, who finished fifth in men's tricks. With the high team finish, the Tars will be sending a full crew of skiers to the NCWSA National Championship which takes place at Imperial Lakes in El Centro, California October 16-18. 

- Men' soccer (4-2-2) came away with a statement win over #6 Tampa, prevailing 2-1 to hand the Spartans their first loss of the season. The upset victory gave the Tars their first conference win powered by goals from Yousef Shakweer and Justin Nelson. Shakweer got the party started in the sixteenth minute off a beautiful feed from the captain – Kaden Foreman. Nelson added some insurance with his team-leading sixth goal of the season early in the second half. The goal, which doubled the advantage, which would prove to be crucial down the stretch as the Tars played a man down the final twenty minutes. The stout Rollins defense stepped up though, and the lads came out victorious.

- Volleyball (11-6) had a busy weekend with two top ten opponents in town. On Friday, the Tars battled, winning the first set against the undefeated Barry Buccaneers. The fourth-ranked visitors came in having lost just three sets all season, but the ladies made them earn it, ultimately dropping the contest in four tightly contested sets. The SSC schedule did not let up Saturday, as another top ten opponent walked into Warden Arena. This time, it was the Lynn Fighting Knights, who were ranked number one in the nation just one week prior. Once again, Rollins fought hard, but fell three sets to none.

- Women's soccer (4-3-1) suffered a road loss at the hands of Tampa, dropping the conference match 2-0. Goalkeeper Lauren Mehos was impressive despite the loss. The junior saved a season high eight shots against a tough Spartans attack. Senior Gabby Boyd applied pressure offensively, shooting twice on goal in the loss.

- Women's Sailing traveled north to New London, CT where they competed in the Stu Nelson Trophy. Despite delays and battles due to unkind conditions all weekend, the Tars set sail at Kohn Waterfront and finished with 179 total points, good for sixth overall out of seventeen participants. The weekend was highlighted by six top-10 results, including a runner-up finish by C Division skipper Adelaide Matzky sailing alongside fellow freshmen Mollie Wood.
-Men's Sailing came out on top of the Dick Allsop Trophy on the St. John's River in Jacksonville. The Tars edged the host by one point in a narrow, thrilling victory powered by five top five finishes courtesy of skipper Milo Miller and Alexander Goldsmith in A Division. In the B Division, skipper Caleb Kinnear and crew Milo Fleming won three races of their own.

- Men's and women's swim dove into SSC competition with a dual meet against Florida Tech. While both sides fell to the Panthers overall, individual wins came by way of Carter Kegle, Julianne Armstrong, Taiylor Tegler, William Slowey, Luke Dinges, Alexa Kwarcinski, and Melanie Angelov in their respective events. Dinges swept butterfly events for the men while Tegler took home both the 100 and 200 breaststroke races for the women's team.

- Women's tennis traveled to Pensacola for the ITA South Regional with three doubles pairs and four singles players in action. While the Tars were eliminated from the main bracket on the double's courts early, Alyssa Novoa and partner Amina Abdulloeva advanced to the consolation finals. Singles action saw similar results in the main bracket against a tough field, but newcomer Nisan Can advanced all the way to the semifinals of the consolation bracket before getting rained out Sunday. The highlight of the weekend came courtesy of fellow newcomer Novoa, who played her way into the quarterfinals of women's singles of the main bracket, winning against some of the nation's best to get there.
 
- Men's tennis also participated in the ITA South Regional to kick off their fall slate. The Tars trotted out one duo on the double's courts – Richard Stoiberer and Nico de Giacomo, who came away with three victories in the consolation bracket. On the singles side, de Giacomo won his opening match before dropping his second tilt of the day. Meanwhile, freshman Lawson Prather, suiting up for the Tars for the first time, won three matches on his way to the quarterfinals. Prather's run powered the Tars strong weekend on the courts and is a sign of a great spring season ahead!

- Former women's tennis coach Bev Buckley was inducted into the SSC Hall of Fame on Saturday. Bev coached the Tars for more than 35 years, and retired with the seventh-most wins in Division-II history. You can read more about her amazing career here. Congrats Bev!



- Men's Soccer (4-2-2) will travel to Lakeland tonight for a bout with rival Florida Southern (4-4-1) before taking the road again for a match with Nova Southeastern (4-1-1) on Saturday night. A few wins could propel the Tars up the standings in the tightly compacted Sunshine State Conference. Currently, the men sit directly between this week's opponents with about a month left of the regular season.

- Women's soccer (4-3-1) will look to bounce back inside the confines of lovely Cahall-Sandspur Field tonight as the Florida Southern Mocs (5-1-2) pay a visit. Saturday's home match brings undefeated and tenth ranked Nova Southeastern (7-0-2) into Winter Park. The upset minded Tars look to avenge last season's SSC tournament loss to the Sharks. Come out and show your school spirit! Both matches kickoff at 7:00pm.

- Volleyball (11-6) has a busy week ahead. The ladies will head south for a date with Florida Southern (8-4) on Friday night before battling undefeated Tampa (12-0) on Saturday. Shoutout to all the fans who came out this weekend and supported for Superfan Night! Great crowds were on hand to cheer on the Tars and the energy could be felt in the gym!

- Women's Sailing will once again head to the Northeast this weekend, enjoying the waters of Cambridge, MA for the Women's ACC Championship Round 2 hosted by MIT. Meanwhile, the men will stay home to prepare for the Lake Virginia Invitational, taking place October 18-19.

- Men's golf, fresh off winning the Jay Jennison Cup in their first action of the fall, will head to Palm Harbor for the Copperhead Invitational. The event will take place on Monday and Tuesday, hosted by West Florida. The Tars finished 16 under par to begin the season and will look to build off the stellar performance next week.

Links to live streams for most events can be found on the schedule section at the top of the homepage of RollinsSports.com. For home events, bookmark the Rollins page on the SSC Digital Network for year-round coverage. Also, be sure to follow us on our Instagram page, @rollinssports

A reminder for those on campus, you can use your Tar Bucks at the concession stand of home events, enjoying delicious fresh food and ice cold drinks courtesy of Sodexo. 

-Tommy Tar
#TARnation