Westmoreland campus clippings: Hempfield grad Michelle Burns returning to Point Park for 5th year

At Point Park, the fire still Burns.

Star point guard Michelle Burns (Hempfield) is back for a fifth basketball season after averaging 20.8 points as a senior last winter, and she is expected to be one of the best again in the River States Conference,

She has a full-time job but will work basketball into her schedule for a Pioneers team that is ranked sixth in the RSC preseason coaches poll.

Burns, who has 1,399 career points and has annually been one of the top 3-point threats in NAIA, made the preseason all-conference team.

Football

East Carolina: Redshirt freshman Trent Holler (Latrobe) is leaving the program after entering the NCAA transfer portal. The 6-foot-2, 308-pound offensive lineman has appeared in six games this season, 17 for his career. He made his first career start, against Charleston Southern, a 31-28 win for the Pirates.

Robert Morris: Redshirt sophomore Mike Evans (Franklin Regional) entered the NCAA transfer portal. Evans, a 6-foot, 190-pound wide receiver, has played in one college game, in 2019.

Women’s soccer

Duquesne: Junior Hannah Nguyen (Penn-Trafford) scored the game’s first goal in the second minute for her third score of the season, but the Dukes fell to Rhode Island, 2-1.

Ohio: Senior goalkeeper Sam Wexell (Norwin) was named the Mid-American Conference Defensive Player of the Week for the second time this season. Wexell posted two more shutouts and is second in program history in shutouts with nine. She played 200 minutes over three games and made five saves.

Pitt-Greensburg: Senior goalkeeper Lauren Yoder was named the AMCC Defensive Player of the Week. She earned back-to-back shutouts for the Bobcats (12-2, 4-1) in wins over Mt. Aloysius and Hilbert.

In the process, Yoder set the school record for shutouts, breaking Dana Heuther’s mark of 20.1 from 2007.

Saint Vincent: Sophomore Tanisha Grewal scored her 12th and 13th goals of the season to pace the Bearcats to a 3-0 win over Bethany. Freshman Gina Aiello added a goal off the bench for SVC.

Westminster: The Titans (12-1-1, 6-0 PAC) ran their winning streak to six with the help of a local connection. Freshman midfielder Natalie Vilchek (Yough) scored her third goal of the season on an assist by freshman forward Brooke Horvath (Franklin Regional) in a 4-0 victory against Waynesburg.

Horvath also scored a goal, her ninth of the season. She leads the team with 26 points.

Youngstown State: Sophomore midfielder Justine Appolonia (Yough) has started 14 of 15 games for the Penguins and has one assist and eight shots on goal. Appolonia, the all-time goal-scorer at Yough (117 goals), played in eight games last season and registered a pair of shots.

Men’s soccer

Grove City: Freshman defender Luke Kimmich (Franklin Regional) assisted on a goal as the Wolverines improved to 5-1 with a 5-1 win over Chatham. Kimmich has played all 14 games, with six starts, and has three assists. His brother, Matt Kimmich (Franklin Regional), has an assist in 10 starts. He also is a defender on the GCC back line.

Pitt-Greensburg: An eight-game losing streak was banished when the Bobcats (4-9-1, 1-4) blanked Hilbert, 3-0. Sophomore Jason Argueta, freshman Vinny Treonze and junior Jack Shirley (Mt. Pleasant) all scored in the victory, while freshman Ross Hartley contributed a pair of assists.

Sophomore Danny Rodgers played 90 minutes in goal and earned the shutout.

Seton Hill: The Griffins made it three wins in their last four games as they topped Slippery Rock, 2-1. They preserved a 2-0 lead that included a pair of goals from senior midfielder Archie Lock, who is from Bristol, England.

Seton Hill moved to 7-4-1 overall and 4-1 in the PSAC.

Westminster: Senior forward Tyler Caterino (Monessen) is second on the team with seven goals and 14 points.

Women’s volleyball

DePaul: Freshman middle blocker Aly Kindelberger (Franklin Regional) has played a key role in her debut season, putting down 68 kills and 11 digs in 20 matches.

Pitt-Bradford: Freshman Dylan Amic (Norwin) has appeared in 11 matches and 17 sets for UPB and 25 digs.

Pitt-Greensburg: Junior Emma Halutick and freshman Abigail Miller (Greensburg) had six kills apiece to pace the Bobcats to a 3-0 win over Hilbert to snap an 11-game losing streak.

Sophomore Taylor Logan added 10 assists.

Westminster: Senior Samantha Kelly (Penn-Trafford) had a match-high 33 assists as the Titans (20-4, 12-0 PAC) swept Thiel, 3-0, for their eight straight win.

In the previous match, Kelly contributed 27 assists and 11 digs in a 3-0 win over Washington & Jefferson.

Women’s swimming

Saint Vincent: Junior Lauren Connors was named the PAC Swimmer of the Week, based on her performance in the Bearcats’ season-opening meet. Connors won the 100-yard backstroke (1 minute, 7.7 seconds) and 200-yard individual medley (2:19.61) and finished second in the 200 backstroke (2:17.99) and 200 medley relay (1:53.02).

Connors is a two-time All-PAC first-team selection and a two-time champion in the 200 backstroke.