CMU Athletics Weekly Preview

MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. -- Four Central Michigan Athletics teams will be in action this weekend, all of them on the road.

VOLLEYBALL
The Chippewa volleyball team heads to East Lansing for Michigan State's Green & White Classic at Jenison Fieldhouse.

The Chippewas open the four-team event against Oakland at 2:30 p.m. on Friday and will wrap up on Saturday with a matchups against IUPUI (3 p.m.) and the host Spartans (7 p.m.).

CMU (5-4) is coming off a 1-2 finish last weekend at the Flyer-Raider Invitational in Dayton, Ohio. They defeated Illinois State and fell to Wright State and Dayton.

CMU freshman outside hitter Linnea Willer was named to the All-Tournament Team after sharing the team lead with 28 kills (2.8 per set) over the three-match stretch while attacking at a .288 clip.

Senior outside hitter Savannah Thompson garnered MAC West Division Defensive Player of the Week honors after pacing the Chippewas with 48 digs (4.8 per set) on the weekend.

Oakland is 5-3 and coming off a 3-0 weekend at the DePaul Invitational. IUPUI is 2-7 and went 0-3 at the Sycamore Invitational last weekend. The Spartans are 4-2 and went 2-1 in their last competition at the Brigham Young Invitational.

FIELD HOCKEY
The Mid-American Conference opener is on tap for the Chippewa field hockey program this weekend as the squad travels to Ball State on Friday, Sept. 17, for a 1 p.m. match. The Chippewas posted their first win of the season, 4-1, at Merrimack last Sunday.

Kate Biglin leads CMU with seven points this season, two goals and three assists. The sophomore forward had a pair of goals last weekend.

Ball State is 2-5 with victories over Saint Francis, 2-1; and Saint Louis, 1-0. The Cardinals lost to No. 1 Michigan, 12-1, and to No. 25 Michigan State, 7-1, last weekend. BSU is led by Agostina Giudice with one goal and one assist this year.

CMU wraps up the weekend with a nonleague match at Michigan State (5-0) on Sunday at 1 p.m. The match will be shown on BIG TEN Plus.

Merel Hanssen leads the Spartan offense with four goals and two assists while MSU's goalkeeping tandem Jade Arundell and Monique Jardell have allowed just two goals this season.

CROSS COUNTRY
After a week off from competition, the Central Michigan cross country teams will be back in action on Friday, Sept. 17, when they race in the Spartan Invitational at Forest Akers Golf Course in East Lansing, Mich.

The women's 6K race is scheduled for an 11 a.m. start while the men will begin at 11:40 a.m. and will run 8K.

Central Michigan will race against a field of 22 teams from schools throughout the state of Michigan and the Midwest. They are Albion, Bowling Green, Bowling Green State, Calvin College, Chicago State, Ferris State, Grand Valley State, Hope College, Lake Superior State, Michigan State, Northwood, Oakland, Oakland Community College, Olivet College, Purdue Fort Wayne, Saginaw Valley State, St. Norbert College, Toledo, the University of Chicago, Illinois-Springfield, UIndy and Youngstown State.

CMU opened the season on Sept. 3 in traditional fashion, competing in its signature home meet, the Drenth Memorial. Facing off head-to-head against Michigan State in a 5K race, Central Michigan's top finishers were freshman Emily Paupore (18:15.3) and sophomore Adam Rzentkowski (15:13.8).

FOOTBALL
The Chippewas (1-1) are scheduled to play at LSU (1-1) on Saturday (7:30 p.m. SEC Network). CMU is coming off a 45-0 victory over Robert Morris, a Football Championship Subdivision team; LSU topped McNeese, also an FCS school, 37-7, last week.

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Players Mentioned

Kate Biglin

Adam Rzentkowski

Savannah Thompson

Linnea Willer