CROSS COUNTRY

CROSS COUNTRY
NEW WILMINGTON, Pa. -- The Thiel College men's cross country team finished in third place with 86 team points and the women's team finished fifth with 119 points at the 2003 Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) Cross Country Championships Friday at Westminster College. Gloria Pacsi was honored as the 2003 PAC Men's Coach of the Year. Grove City College claimed their 13th-straight PAC crown, finishing with 21 points. Westminster claimed second with 43 points, followed by Thiel (86), Bethany College (108) and Waynesburg College (129). Grove City's Steve Brown was named the men's MVP after finishing with a winning time of 26:21. Thiel had four individuals finish in the top 20, including sophomore Matt Rowlands (Niles/Howland High School) who finished 15th with a time of 29:30. Titans freshman Jared Polish (Austintown/Fitch) placed 18th in 30:48. The Grove City women's team won the conference title for the 15th-straight season, finishing with 35 points. Bethany finished second with 54 points, followed by Westminster (82), Waynesburg (100), Thiel (119) and Washington & amp; Jefferson College (134). Grove City's Elisa Pederson was named the women's MVP after finishing with a winning time of 23:04. Thiel's top finisher was freshman Sarah McCoy (Rogers,/Beaver Local), who came in 17th overall with a time of 27:16. Sophomore Jacci Corso (Poland/Poland High) finished 23rd with a time of 28:34. The Titans' Felicie Reid (North Lima/South Range) was seventh overall in
25:43. Titans sophomore Reese Robinson (Cortland/Lakeview)
was 40th in 32:52.
VOLLEYBALL
The Westminster College volleyball team improved to 11-20 in Waynesburg, Pa., as Westminster advanced to the semifinal round of the 2003 Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) Championship Tournament with a straight-set
win over Bethany College. The Titans, seeded third in the six-team, single-elimination tournament, defeated the sixth-seeded Bison, 30-15, 30-25, 33-31. In the second game, Westminster overcame a 25-20 deficit by closing the game with 10 straight points. Freshman middle hitter Heidi Kracker (Cortland/Lakeview High school) added eight kills.
Westminster advances to today's semifinals second-seeded Washington & amp; Jefferson at noon. The championship match
is slated for at 3 p.m.
WOMEN'S SOCCER
Washington & amp; Jefferson 5, Thiel 1 -- Freshman forward Maria Loffreda-Mancinelli scored a hat trick in the game in Greenville, Pa. Sophomore forward Jen Pergola opened the scoring in the second minute of action on a Loffreda-Mancinelli assist to put the Presidents (10-8-0, 6-4-0) up 1-0 on the Tomcats (7-13-0, 3-7-0). Loffreda-Mancinelli scored her first of the afternoon in the 12th minute to give W & amp;J a 2-0 advantage. Junior forward Laura Simonetti scored on a penalty kick in the 13th minute to pull the Tomcats to within one, 2-1. Loffreda-Mancinelli tallied her second goal in the 21st minute and sophomore forward Toni Lynn Simonini scored on a Pergola assist in the 35th minute. Loffreda-Mancinelli capped off the day with her third goal in the 55th minute on a Simonini assist.