Baruch College’s women’s tennis team won the 2021 CUNYAC Championship defeating Hunter College 5-2 at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing, Queens on Oct. 28. This is the Bearcats first CUNYAC title since 2016, granting them a spot in the NCAA Division III Women’s Tennis Championship in May. The Bearcats finished the season 12-1.

Ava Deguzman was named Finals MVP and completed a 13-0 season after winning her singles and doubles match alongside Natalie Ibelhaupt.

Erika Scheludenko recorded the winning point to clinch the Bearcats the championship.

Deguzman was also named CUNYAC Player of the Year prior to the final. Baruch Women’s Tennis Coach Gregory Wyzkowski was also named CUNYAC Coach of the Year for the first time.

Freshman Esther Benjamin and team captain Lauren Kraker were selected for the 2021 CUNYAC Women’s Tennis All-Stars First Team.

Sophomore Regina Kelly was selected for the All-Stars Second Team and as part of the Sportsmanship Team.

Men’s Soccer

The men’s soccer team qualified for the CUNY Athletic Conference final with a 1-0 victory over the City College of New York Beavers.

The second-seeded Bearcats struggled with offense throughout the match, with five shots to the Beaver’s 17. Goalkeeper Kellen Sela recorded his third shutout of the season.

Defender Nicholas Bilotti scored his first goal of the season at the 87th minute, which was enough for the Bearcats to advance to the final.

The Bearcats will play against the first-seeded Lehman College Lighting on Nov. 6 at Brooklyn College. The Lighting won their semifinal matchup against the Brooklyn College Bulldogs 5-1 with four players scoring, including midfielder Mubarak Ouro, a senior and the CUNYAC Player of the Year. The Bearcats lost 0-4 in a matchup against the Lightning earlier this season.

The men’s soccer team clinched the second seed after defeating the York College Cardinals 4-0 on Oct. 23. Forward Wessam Farag scored first for Baruch, with midfielder Jemali Zarnadze later scoring a hat-trick.

The Bearcats finished the season 7-6 overall and 5-2 within CUNYAC.

Four players were named to the 2021 CUNYAC Men’s Soccer All–Stars First Team including forward Cormac Foley and defender John Ananoria.

Zarnadze and Bilotti were named to the All-Stars Second Team.

Midfielder Luis Munoz was named to the Sportsmanship Team.

Women’s Volleyball

The second-seeded Baruch women’s volleyball team lost their semifinal match in the CUNYAC tournament to third-seeded Hunter College 3-1.

Outside hitter Sarah Chung led the team with 16 kills and 18 digs. Opposite hitter Ada Cao had 16 kills and four digs. Chung was named the CUNYAC Player of the Year. Chung led the Bearcats in 290 points and 245 kills and tied for second in total blocks with 10. Cao and Baruch middle hitter Julia Perkowski made the CUNYAC All-Star First Team. Setter Amina Muminovic and defensive specialist Minami Ebihara made the All-Star Second Team. Libero and team captain Young Gi Go made the CUNY AC Sportsmanship Team.

The women’s volleyball team ended its regular season in losing to SUNY Oneonta in three sets at the Oneonta Dig Pink Invitational on Oct. 30. Cao had six kills and 12 digs. In another match, the team lost to Hartwick College in four sets.

Hunter will face Brooklyn College for the championship on Nov. 5 at Hunter. Brooklyn advanced to the finals after beating John JHay 3-0. The finals will be played at Hunter College on Nov. 5. The Bearcats finished their regular season 11-15 overall and 5-1 within CUNYAC.

Men’s and Women’s Basketball

The men’s basketball team was ranked No. 1 in the CUNYAC preseason poll, ahead of Lehman and John Jay College. Guard Adnan Bajrami was voted as Preseason Player of the Year. They played a preseason game against St. John’s University and lost 43-107. The team will open the regular season at the Franklin and Marshall Tournament in Lancaster, P.A. on Nov. 12.

The women’s basketball team was ranked No. 4 in the CUNYAC preseason poll, behind Brooklyn, John Jay and Hunter College. They will start the regular season playing against St. Joseph’s College on Nov. 10.

Men’s and Women’s Cross Country

Baruch cross country participated in the CUNYAC Cross Country Championship on Oct. 31 at Van Cortlandt Park. The men finished second in the 8K finals, the Bearcat’s best ever finish.

Freshman Daniel Sedgh was the fastest Bearcat and fourth overall with an average mile of 6:13.

Three other Bearcats finished in the top 10 including freshman Riley Walz, team captain Samuel Grimmke, and freshman Jairo Reina. Walz, Grimmke, and Reina finished with a time of 30:55, 32:18 and 33:07, respectively.

Hunter won the men’s championship, with City College placing third.

The women finished fourth in the 6K finals with team captain Karina Chiqui, the fastest Bearcat at 32.47 and 12th overall. Hunter also won the championship, with City College and Brooklyn rounding out the top three. Amy Franciso was Baruch’s second best finisher with a time of 36:31, 21st overall.

Both teams will compete at the Eastern College Athletic Conference Finals on Nov. 6 in Milton, New York.

Men’s and Women’s Swimming and Diving

Both Baruch swimming teams were ranked No. 1 in the CUNYAC preseason poll. The men’s teams were voted ahead of Lehman and York College. Ordabeayev was voted Preseason Swimmer of the Year. The women were voted ahead of Hunter and Brooklyn College.