Not much going on in Muhlenberg athletics this weekend – except for an eight-team basketball tournament, a rivalry football game, an NCAA cross country meet, a postseason soccer tournament and four wrestling matches. It’s one of the biggest weekends of the year!
Basketball hosts Scotty Wood Tournament (Friday and Saturday, 1, 3, 6, and 8)
The Scotty Wood Tournament tips off the Muhlenberg basketball season for the 32nd year. The Mule women open up against Rowan on Friday at 6:00, followed by the men against Bryn Athyn. Both Muhlenberg teams are trying to recapture the titles they won in 2011 after falling in the championship games last year.
preview | live stats for Mule women’s games | live stats for Mule men’s games | live video
Cross Country hosts NCAA Mideast Regional (Saturday, women at 11:00, men at 12:30)
Nearly 1,000 runners from 60 schools are scheduled to line up on Lehigh’s Goodman Campus in one of eight qualifier meets for the NCAA Championships (slated for next Saturday at Hanover, Ind.). Haverford has won the men’s meet the last three years, while Johns Hopkins brings in a streak of five straight regional championships.
The top two teams in each race automatically qualify for the NCAA Championships, and there are also 16 at-large berths available to fill out the 32-team national field. After the team bids have been determined, the top seven individuals in each region not on a qualifying team are selected to run in the national meet.
Muhlenberg, which is hosting the regional meet for the fourth time since 2001, has sent at least one runner to the NCAA Championships for the last eight seasons. Senior Nicki Cronin, who earned all-region honors by placing in the top 35 in both 2011 and 2012 and narrowly missed an NCAA berth last year, is the top candidate to continue that streak.
Football vs. Moravian (Saturday, 1:00)
In addition to all the reasons Moravian and Muhlenberg football players have anticipated this rivalry game for more than 50 years – local bragging rights, one last win for the seniors, etc. – there is now something else: A gleaming new trophy, donated by Sodexo, will go to the winner.
The Mules (7-2, 6-2) come in on a historic roll, having beaten five straight opponents by at least 20 points for the first time in program history. The Greyhounds (2-7, 2-6) are on a surge of their own, with two wins in their last three games following on 0-6 start.
Moravian has topped the 40-point mark three times in its last five games and boasts the top freshman runner and top rushing quarterback in the Centennial Conference. Muhlenberg has allowed only one offensive touchdown at home this season and ranks in the top 30 in Division III in scoring defense (20th), pass efficiency defense (24th), total defense (26th) and rushing defense (28th). The Mules have given up only three offensive touchdowns in their five-game winning streak.
Two Mule milestones are possible: Nick Palladino needs 141 yards to break the CC mark for passing yards by a freshman, and Cody Geyer needs 88 receiving yards to record the fourth 1,000-yard season in program history.
Moravian leads the all-time series, 33-26-2, but Muhlenberg has won eight of the last 11 meetings. The Mules have not allowed an offensive touchdown in taking the last two meetings.
Men’s Soccer at Swarthmore (Saturday, 7:00)
The Mules (10-7-1) look to extend their season with an ECAC South semifinal game against CC rival Swarthmore (10-5-4). The winner faces the winners of the other semi between Frostburg State and Lebanon Valley in Sunday’s championship match.
Muhlenberg hasn’t beaten Swarthmore since 2007, but all the meetings since have been close: a scoreless tie, two 1-0 games and four 2-1 games. The last time the teams faced each other in the postseason was the 2010 CC championship game, a thriller that the Garnet won in double overtime.
The Mules went on to advance to the NCAA “Sweet 16” that year, which was the last time they won two postseason games in a season. Muhlenberg reached the ECAC championship game in both 1999 and 2000; its last ECAC title came in 1988.
Wrestling at Penn Tech with Lafayette (Saturday, 12:00); at Scranton with Yeshiva (Sunday, 11:00)
After winning a dual meet at Mount St. Vincent last weekend, the Mules will try to pick up some more wins. Muhlenberg outscored Scranton in contested bouts, 25-3, the last two years, but lost the matches due to forfeits. The Mules defeated Yeshiva, 24-15, when the teams last met in 2011.