This year was another exciting year in sports. Guilford College athletics produced some memorable moments.
Here are the top sports moments this year at Guilford:
Number eight is the women’s softball team beating nationally-ranked Emory University back in February.
“The victory over nationally-ranked Emory was a great way to commence our (2012) season,” said senior Katharine Weikel. “The underclassmen stepped up to seal the win in the eighth inning.”
Number seven is men’s rugby winning their first game of the season.
Men’s rugby had to cancel their season last spring after not being able to field a team. However, coming into this year, they managed to roster over 30 players. This allowed them to win their first game, 12–10, in a tight, but well played match against University of North Carolina at Charlotte.
Number six is Josh Pittman’s game-winning three-pointer against conference rival Eastern Mennonite University Nov. 28.
Pittman led the way for Guilford’s men’s basketball with his late three-pointer, 30 feet away at the buzzer to secure the 67–64 victory for the Quakers. YouTube “Guilford College’s Josh Pittman’s 3-Point Shot at the Buzzer to Beat Eastern Mennonite 11/28/12” to see a video of the shot.
Number five is football winning back-to-back games against league rivals Bridgewater College Oct. 11 and Randolph-Macon College Oct. 20.
Guilford football was striving at the time to have a winning season. This year, there seemed to be a new tide as they beat Bridgewater in their first home win under second year Head Football Coach Chris Rusiewicz. The team then had a comeback win against Randolph-Macon leading them to their first winning season since 2007.
“Well, Bridgewater was our first home win under coach Rusiewicz,” said senior football player Thor Pate. “Randy Mac (Randolph-Macon) was a game in which no one but us thought we could win. We refused to stop fighting and believed in each other to come from behind and hold them at the end.”
Number four is the women’s lacrosse team winning the ODAC quarterfinals in overtime.
“At a really nerve-racking moment we came together as a team and pulled off our first ever quarterfinal victory,” said junior E’leyna Garcia. “It was a moment I’ll never forget.”
Number three is men’s soccer beating Greensboro College.
Guilford men’s soccer team took on arch rival Greensboro College Aug. 31 to start off the 2012 season. Late in the second half with a tied score, senior Freddy Gomez notched an exciting go-ahead goal to win the match, 2–1.
Number two is the golf team winning the ODAC title.
The golf team kept up with their success as they won the ODAC title for a record 12th time.
“Guilford golf just reloads,” said Sports Marketing Coordinator and Assistant Sports Information Director Bryan Jones. “Noah Ratner did not need to be the top golfer at the ODAC Championships for Guilford to win. Andrew Thompson and Nicholas Shedd both were two strokes away from the individual ODAC crown.”
The number one moment is women’s basketball winning their third ODAC title.
It is easily the greatest moment this year for Guilford athletics. The women’s basketball team had one of the best seasons of any sport at Guilford in recent years. They were 22–7 overall, the best record since 2002 and stole the ODAC win from Virginia Wesleyan College to earn their third trip to the NCAA Tournament.
As this wraps up the top sports moments for 2012 at Guilford, we hope to see moments like these happen as we ring in the 2013 season.
