Pitt Ultimate Frisbee makes history
By Dominic Campbell | Staff Writer
May 30, 2018
Filed under Club Sports, Sports, Top Stories
This weekend in Milwaukee was hot — over 80 degrees in the sun, and hotter on the turf fields of the Uihlein Soccer Park, where the Pitt Ultimate frisbee men’s and women’s teams competed for a shot at their respective national championships. But according to rising fifth-year senior Hafeez Shams,...
Women’s club hockey skates to success
By Jordan Mondell | Assistant Sports Editor
March 2, 2018
Filed under Club Sports, Sports, Sports Features
It’s 5 a.m., and while most Pitt students are still hitting snooze and sleeping off late-night study binges or a night out, one group on campus is already wide awake and on their way out of the city to start their day. The sun rises over the passing scenery and empty roads as sticks and pads clatter i...
Pitt club hurling brings Irish sport to Oakland
By Brandon Glass | Staff Writer
December 5, 2017
Filed under Club Sports, Top Stories
Few people know what hurling is, and even fewer know that Pitt has a club hurling team that plays in multiple tournaments. Every phase of the game resembles a different field sport, all of them mixed into a hodgepodge of open-field violence. Club members, such as sophomore engineering student Joe Koni...
Men welcome: Club field hockey encourages coed participation
By Grant Burgman | Staff Writer
September 20, 2017
Filed under 2. Featured, Club Sports
Every now and then you’ll read a story about a high school woman joining the football or baseball team. It’s a feat that defies gender norms and expectations. But rarely do you hear the opposite. In field hockey, a sport dominated by women, scenarios for men to join don’t present themselves of...
Pitt unveils brand-new $13.2 million club sports facility
By Ryan Zimba | Staff Writer
April 18, 2017
Filed under Club Sports, Sports
Pitt students and club sports athletes received a much-needed facilities upgrade Monday morning, as the University officially opened the Pitt Sports Dome to the student body. The sunny sky and warm weather were in stark contrast to the dome’s primary purpose as a functional winter facility, somet...
Archers Unite: First-year Pitt students come together to revive Pitt Archery Club
By Molly Appezzato | Staff Writer
November 16, 2016
Filed under Club Sports, Sports
It was happenstance that first-year Pitt students Julia Lam, from East Brunswick, New Jersey, and Anjna Nair, from Fairfax, Virginia, got paired to share a practice target at the 2016 U.S. Archery National Indoor Championships in Virginia last winter. They took a few deep breaths, kept their bodies perfectly straig...
Paddle masters: Pitt Ping Pong Club serves up wins
By Brady Langmann | Culture Editor
November 8, 2016
Filed under Club Sports, Sports
Shay Sinha likes to humble his opponents. When Sinha started at Pitt this fall, his go-to icebreaker was that he was a pingpong player. His fellow first-years weren’t impressed — they asked him if there was something else he could do with his time. Instead of telling his Tower C floormates t...
Pitt club tennis posts record performance at USTA Fall Invitational
By Mackenzie Rodrigues | For The Pitt News
November 3, 2016
Filed under Club Sports, Sports
A youth movement helped propel the Pitt club tennis team to a record performance at the 2016 USTA Tennis On Campus Fall Invitational last weekend. The Panthers built off their 13th-place finish at last year’s event with a seventh-place finish this year, setting a club record in the process. “We had a...
One woman show: Alyson Kornberg tackles club football at Pitt
By Ted Zhang | Staff Writer
October 26, 2016
Filed under Club Sports, Sports
The Cost Center is never empty at midnight — at least not if Alyson Kornberg can help it. The rhythmic sound of shuffling feet fill the indoor field, as each movement requires precision and repetition, while each breath fuels the contractions of tired muscles and joints as Kornberg and her club ...
From Pitt to Poland: Katie Schreiber’s ultimate journey
By Stephen Caruso / Contributing Editor
August 20, 2016
Filed under Club Sports, Sports, Welcome Back 2016
For sophomore business student Katie Schreiber, disc — not ball — is life. “I’d do anything to play a game [of ultimate],” said Schreiber, who competes for Danger, Pitt’s women’s ultimate frisbee team. Whether learning the sport as the only female on an all-male team, coming to Pitt o...
Pitt building $13.2 million domed facility for club and recreational sports
By Steve Rotstein / Sports Editor
June 28, 2016
Filed under Club Sports, Sports
Pitt’s athletic facilities are getting another major upgrade — this one in the form of a new, domed field for club and recreational sports. On Friday, a committee of the University’s Board of Trustees approved spending $13.2 million on the air-supported domed facility, which will include two in...
Pitt Club Tennis wraps up season at nationals
By Meg Millure / Staff Writer
April 22, 2016
Filed under Club Sports, Sports
The Pitt Club Tennis team rallied together this year to save its season after budget reductions threatened to cut it short. Despite its funding concerns, the team finished 13th in the gold bracket at the United States Tennis Association 2015 Fall Invitational, then came in 28th at nationals this month...
Pitt equestrians riding with unbridled devotion
By Meg Millure | Staff Writer
March 30, 2016
Filed under 2. Featured, Club Sports, Sports
Thirty minutes outside of Pittsburgh at BarGee Farms, Elizabeth Morris eases a bridle behind the recently operated-on teeth of Wynn, an attentive and slow-trotting mare. Equestrians like Morris who ride with the Panther Equestrian Club team rotate horses, depending on what horses might be too tired to ...
Pitt hockey finishes strong
By Chad Cameron / For The Pitt News
March 15, 2016
Filed under Club Sports, Sports, Top Stories
Fresh off of spring break, most students are coming back to campus basking in the first signs of sunny skies and green grass. But the Pitt Division I Hockey club is still reminiscing about its historic win on the ice. The week after spring break marks the end of the season for the Panthers (17-13-2, 10-...
No rest for the determined: Pitt rowers prepare for their season
By Ryan Reichardt / For The Pitt News
March 15, 2016
Filed under 2. Featured, Club Sports, Sports, Sports / Other Varsity Sports
Wake up at 5 a.m. Get on the rowing machine. Go to class. Get on the rowing machine. “This is the base of what we do,” Pitt Crew Vice President Helen Ann Lawless said. The Pittsburgh club rowing team doesn’t take time off. Pitt rowers spend four months of the cold, dismal and gray Pittsburgh wi...
Pair of club volleyball players reveling in final season
By Meg Millure / For The Pitt News
March 3, 2016
Filed under Club Sports, Sports
Lexi Surunis and Emily Correia were playing volleyball together long before they became Panthers. But their partnership appeared destined to end, after a communication miscue following a tryout for Pitt’s club volleyball squad in September. A typo in an email announcing the team’s roster mistake...
Finger making strides after icing cancer
By Ashwini Sivaganesh / For The Pitt News
February 23, 2016
Filed under Club Sports, Sports, Sports Features
It was a late January night when pain pushed Jonathan Finger to trudge halfway up cardiac hill and walk through the UPMC Presbyterian Emergency Room entrance. The piercing pain in his abdomen had caught the 19-year-old hockey player by surprise and had become excruciating. Doctors listened to Fing...
Pitt Quidditch looking to sweep competition
By Ryan Recihardt / For The Pitt News
February 18, 2016
Filed under Club Sports, Sports
Clutching brooms between their knees, the members of the Pitt Quidditch team crouched on opposite sides of the field before their in-practice scrimmage at the Cost Center on Friday. They bounced on their toes. They cockily did push-ups. They waited for a teammate on the sideline to call out “Broo...
Rugby team takes undefeated record into weekend matchup
By Stephen Caruso / Staff Writer
November 5, 2015
Filed under Club Sports, Sports
Looking at Pitt’s ranked rugby team, beards are cropping up everywhere — and it’s not just from No-Shave November. “I feel like I can’t shave it until we lose,” Pitt junior and forward Matt Dunleavy said. Pitt’s club rugby team is currently undefeated in Keystone Conference play with ...
Cheek to cheek: a day with Pitt rugby
By Stephen Caruso / Assistant Sports Editor
September 17, 2015
Filed under 2. Featured, Club Sports, Sports Features
Editor’s note: This is the second installment in a two-part, immersive story on Pitt’s Rugby Football Club. We were all pressed against the ground — shirts dirty, dripping sweat, panting heavily and waiting for the whistle that meant “go time.” With helmets, it could have been a scene fro...
From inside the scrum: a firsthand look at Pitt Rugby
By Stephen Caruso / Assistant Sports Editor
September 16, 2015
Filed under Club Sports, Sports, Sports Features
Editors note: This is the first in a two part series about Pitt Rugby. I knew I should have packed my cleats. After endeavouring to partake in a University of Pittsburgh Rugby Football Club’s practice, in the style of late participatory journalist George Plimpton, I had asked a friend who played rugby w...
Re-LAX
By Courtesy of Pitt Women's Lacrosse
May 12, 2015
Filed under Club Sports, Sports
Pitt women's lacrosse finished the season ranked No. 7 overall.
Women’s lacrosse caps off strong season despite roster turnover
By Jasper Wilson / Senior Staff Writer
May 12, 2015
Filed under Club Sports, Sports
Entering this season, Pitt women’s club lacrosse head coach Gary Neft figured his team wouldn’t be as good as last year’s. The man who has led the program for 18 seasons had good reason for thinking so.It’d be hard for any team to follow the standard set by the 2013-2014 Panthers, considering they ...
A Most Dangerous Game
By Courtesy of Danger
May 5, 2015
Filed under Club Sports, Sports
Danger secured a bid to Nationals with a win over Penn State.
Women’s ultimate team reaches finals after extended drought
By Jasper Wilson / Senior Staff Writer
May 5, 2015
Filed under Club Sports, Sports
Since she started at Pitt, fifth-year senior Katelyn Loughery’s seasons playing Ultimate have become somewhat repetitive.In the fall semester of each school year, Loughery and her teammates on Danger, the Pitt women’s Ultimate frisbee team, would set the goal of making Nationals. And then each year...
Ultimate Frisbee
By Photo courtesy of Pitt men's Ultimate Frisbee
March 24, 2015
Filed under Club Sports, Sports
Captain Tyler Kunsa extends for a catch.
Frisbee captains guide team to top national ranking
By Ashley Drwal / Staff Writer
March 24, 2015
Filed under Club Sports, Sports
To the untrained eye, Ultimate Frisbee’s on-field product can look like a clamor of players shouting and weaving in patterns. Off the field, Pitt men’s Ultimate Frisbee club team functions mainly thanks to an intricate balance of its four captains.Unlike most club sports, Pitt men’s Ultimate...
Rugby
By Jeff Ahearn / Assistant Visual Editor
February 10, 2015
Filed under Club Sports, Sports
The men's club rugby team is preparing for a tournament in Las Vegas.
Lucky sevens: Pitt rugby heads to Vegas for tournament
By Ashley Drwal / Staff Writer
February 10, 2015
Filed under Club Sports, Sports
A Pitt team is going to gamble for a big win in Las Vegas — but not in the casinos.Pitt’s men’s club rugby team will compete in the Las Vegas Invitational from Thursday to Sunday with the hope of qualifying for the Penn Mutual Collegiate Rugby Championship in May.“We participated in this tou...
Joe Luxbacher
By Theo Schwarz / Visual Editor
January 21, 2015
Filed under Club Sports, Sports, Sports / Other Varsity Sports
Men's soccer head coach Joe Luxbacher watches his team play.
Varsity, club, intramural soccer thrive at Pitt
By Lauren Rosenblatt / Staff Writer
January 21, 2015
Filed under Club Sports, Sports, Sports / Other Varsity Sports
Allison Combs looks contemplatively at the grass. Her thoughts whirl as she tries to focus her eyes beyond the ground in front of her. She inhales, steps back and lets it fly. The ball goes soaring through the air.Rewind to 1863, and see the same scene unfolding: the game of soccer.Although the idea ...
Championships bound
By Photo courtesy of Pitt Club Tennis
November 19, 2014
Filed under Club Sports, Sports
After their first place finish at the USTA Tennis on Campus Middle States Sectional Championships, the Pitt club tennis team has qualified for their first ever National Championships berth.
After sectionals win, club tennis has eyes on nationals
By Ashley Drwal / Staff Writer
November 19, 2014
Filed under Club Sports, Sports
For the first time in the club’s history, Pitt’s Club Tennis team qualified for the National Championship in Cary, N.C., this upcoming April.In the USTA Tennis on Campus Middle States Sectional Championships, Pitt was able to defeat the University of Pennsylvania in the quarterfinals, Penn State’s seco...
Pitt men’s lacrosse
By Photo courtesy of Pitt Men's Lacrosse
October 28, 2014
Filed under Club Sports, Sports
Pitt men's lacrosse finished 7-8 in the CCLA Division 1 East last season.
Club sports rundown: Fencing and lacrosse prepare for spring season
By Ashley Drwal / For The Pitt News
October 28, 2014
Filed under Club Sports, Sports
Although seasons for fall club sports teams are ending, the spring teams are just getting started. Teams are beginning to recruit new players, develop play strategies and create practice schedules for the upcoming season.Pitt FencingPitt Fencing’s most recent success includes six team members plac...
Like magic
By Jeff Ahearn / Assistant Visual Editor
October 22, 2014
Filed under Club Sports, Sports
The Pitt Quidditch team hopes to qualify for their second straight World Cup.
Brooms and oars: Club teams set sights on finals
By Ashley Drwal / For The Pitt News
October 22, 2014
Filed under Club Sports, Sports
With their seasons drawing to a close as the weather gets colder, Pitt’s club sports teams are ramping up their games in preparation for their final tournaments.Pitt Quidditch“Qualifying for world cup gets harder every year since the sport is rapidly growing internationally,” Kimaya Padgaonkar, a chaser ...
Club Gymnastics
By Courtesy of Pitt Club Gymnastics
September 30, 2014
Filed under Club Sports, Sports
The club gymnastics team is one of many enjoying success in the new season.
Club sports enjoying strong performances to start year
By Ashley Drwal / For The Pitt News
September 30, 2014
Filed under Club Sports, Sports
While varsity sports typically are best known for fiercely competitive games, Pitt also has plenty of successful competitive sports outside of the Division-I level. The University has more than 20 different men’s and women’s club sports, ranging from hockey to soccer and from fencing to Quidditch t...
Men’s rugby starts fall campaign
By Chris Puzia / Assistant Sports Editor
September 14, 2014
Filed under Club Sports, Sports
The football and basketball teams may have discontinued the Backyard Brawl, but one Pitt sport that has continued the rivalry against West Virginia says it is alive and well.The Pitt men’s club rugby team, also known as the Pittsburgh Rugby Football Club (PRFC), lists its game against the Mountaineers, ...
Pitt men’s Ultimate ready for another championship run
By Sean Corrado / Staff Writer
May 28, 2014
Filed under Club Sports, Specials, Specials / Newstudentguide2014, Sports
[Editor's note: Pitt lost in the quarterfinals to University of North Carolina-Wilmington, 14-13. Read about it here.] While En Sabah Nur is within reach of a national championship trifecta, the men’s Ultimate team isn’t anticipating a potential three-peat run.“From the outside, we are back-to-back defending champions...
Aaron Donald enters NFL
By Sean Corrado and Ryan Bertonaschi / The Pitt News Staff
May 28, 2014
Filed under Club Sports, Specials, Specials / Newstudentguide2014, Sports, Sports Features
Aaron Donald, with his one-year-old daughter wedged between his biceps, squared up in front of Savoy Restaurant as family members surrounded him to pose for pictures before his big moment.“Certainly, this is going to be a wonderful experience, and I am just going to make sure I enjoy it,” Donald said before maki...
Column: Students can pursue passions through media outlets
By Kevin Wheeler / For The Pitt News
May 28, 2014
Filed under Club Sports, Specials, Specials / Newstudentguide2014, Sports, Sports Columns, Sports Features
I walked into the Petersen Events Center to attend my first Activities Fair in August 2012 as a new Pitt student. A budding psychology major, I was hoping to find my niche in such a big school with so many new opportunities at my disposal. Among the hundreds of tables set up on the basketball court, ...
Club Sports: Pitt Ultimate loses in national quarterfinals, falls short of goal
By Sean Corrado / Staff Writer
May 27, 2014
Filed under Club Sports, Sports
Marcus Ranii-Dropcho dropped to his knees, buried his head into the dirt and realized that his college Ultimate career had ended.Pitt’s Ultimate team, En Sabah Nur’s attempt to three-peat as national champions came to an early, unexpected end Sunday when the team dropped its quarterfinal match against ...
Feature: Pitt women’s club lacrosse completes season with perfect ending
By Jasper Wilson / Sports Editor
May 11, 2014
Filed under Club Sports, Sports, Sports Features
Success in lacrosse, perhaps more than any other team sport, requires collaboration and a level of mutual, instinctual chemistry between teammates.The field is split into three sections, with rules allowing 15 of the 22 total players — 7 per team plus the goalie that’s on defense— in an off...
Football: Aaron Donald selected in NFL Draft by St. Louis Rams
By Jasper Wilson / Sports Editor
May 9, 2014
Filed under Club Sports, Football, Sports
On Thursday night, Aaron Donald became the first Pitt football player taken in this year’s NFL Draft.The St. Louis Rams picked the defensive lineman 13th, ending a two-year period when no Panthers heard their names called by commissioner Roger Goodell at the event.Donald’s selection marks the hig...
Baseball: Pitt maintains momentum, defeats Ohio University in road game
By Jasper Wilson / Sports Editor
May 8, 2014
Filed under Club Sports, Sports, Sports / Other Varsity Sports
Midweek games in college baseball serve a particular purpose for those who play them. Traditionally featuring schools within driving distance that aren’t in the same conference, these one or two-game arrangements spread throughout the calendar allow players to stay sharp and work on different aspects...