Geneva College certainly made a statement across the Presidentsâ?? Athletic Conference this past weekend. The Golden Tornadoes had a very impressive stretch of games, matches and meets this past week that sets the stage for an even more exciting post-season. In fact, the post-season got underway for cross country on Saturday as both the menâ??s and womenâ??s team represented Geneva well with fourth place finishes at the PAC Championships. Meanwhile, the volleyball team came within one set of receiving its first automatic bid to the NCCAA national tournament. The womenâ??s soccer team ended its season on a positive note while the menâ??s team is set to begin its post-season run right here on College Hill. Finally, the football team featured an explosive offense that lit up the Reeves Field scoreboard on Saturday to the tune of 50 points.

It is exciting when athletes save their best individual performances for the bright lights of championship moments. Senior Emily Hoobler did just that with perhaps her best career performance that resulted in a 20th place overall finish at the PAC Championships as Genevaâ??s top racer. With a time of 25:42, Hoobler finished one spot and two seconds ahead of teammate Shannon Rech. The Golden Tornadoes then had places 23, 24 and 25 covered by Heidi Steiner, Alayna Merkle and Anna Kluitenberg as Geneva finished with all five of its top runners placing in the top 25. Genevaâ??s women finished with 113 points for a solid fourth place finish at their first official PAC meet.

Nick Edinger proved to be one of the top runners in the PAC as he posted a ninth place finish at the PAC Championships which was good enough for second team All-Conference honors. Edinger crossed the line with a time of 27:50 and helped the Golden Tornadoes to a fourth place overall finish. Geneva placed fourth with 123 points well ahead of the bottom five schools in the meet. Chuck Walters was Genevaâ??s next best finisher with a 24th place spot in a time of 29:01. Teammates Owen Struck, Nate Mansor and Jacob Beschner each finished in the top 50. Both cross country teams will take a weekend off before heading to Cedarville University on November 12th for the NCCAA National meet.

The Geneva College volleyball team has been seemingly making history with every passing match. After finishing its business in the PAC with a first place record of 17-1, the Golden Tornadoes headed to Mt. Vernon Nazarene over the weekend for the NCCAA East Regional tournament in search of their first ever bid to the NCCAA National tournament. The Golden Tornadoes defeated Houghton and Roberts Wesleyan on Friday to advance to the regional semi-finals on Saturday. Geneva made quick work of host Mt. Vernon with a 3-0 victory setting up a regional championship match with highly ranked Malone University. Geneva gave the Pioneers all they could handle before falling 3-2 in the championship. With its three victories at the regional tournament, Geneva increased its winning streak to 13 straight before the Malone loss. The Golden Tornadoes have an overall record of 25-8 and sit just one victory away from matching last yearâ??s single season record of 26 victories. Geneva now turns its attention back to the PAC where they will be hosting the conference semi-finals at Metheny Fieldhouse this coming weekend. The Golden Tornadoes will play the first semi-final match on Friday night at 6 p.m. with the second semi-final match taking place at 8 p.m. The two winners will advance to the conference championship at Metheny Fieldhouse on Saturday at 4 p.m.

It was an offensive struggle for the Geneva womenâ??s soccer team for much of the 2011 season. The Golden Tornadoes, however, we able to put a good taste in their mouths to finish the campaign with back to back 4-0 victories over Chatham and Thiel to close out the season. Geneva finished the season with a 6-12-1 overall record and a 2-7 mark in the PAC. Maura Allen and Becca Shaw each scored a pair of goals in the victory over Chatham while Shaw, Kathryn Wiater, Rhetta King and Justine Miller found the net against Thiel. Natalie Swartley ended her career with a pair of shut-outs to her record.

The PAC tournament for menâ??s soccer is coming to Beaver Falls. The Golden Tornadoes, by virtue of a tie-breaker scenario, will host Grove City College on Wednesday night at 7 p.m. in the PAC semi-finals. Geneva and Grove City entered the final day of the regular season in a tie for the second seed in both overall record and goal differential. Geneva defeated Thiel 3-1 and Grove City was only able to beat Westminster by one goal so the Golden Tornadoes grabbed that second seed and a first round home playoff game. Ironically, Geneva will be facing that same Grove City team that it has been battling down the stretch. In the victory over Thiel, Garrett Masters scored twice and Jeb Nash once as Geneva improved its overall record to 12-4-2 including a 6-1-1 mark in the PAC. Geneva and Grove City will be battling for the right to advance to the PAC championship on Saturday. Thomas More is the top seed and will face Bethany on Wednesday. Should Thomas More win on Wednesday it would host the finals. If Bethany pulls an upset then the winner of the Geneva/Grove City match would host the finals this coming Saturday.

It is always a scary feeling to have a team come to town that hasnâ??t won a game in a long time. The Golden Tornadoes football team was faced with just such a challenge as Thiel entered Saturdayâ??s game on a 19-game losing streak. At the end of the day, the streak had moved to 20 as Geneva exploded for a season high 50 points and a 50-31 victory over the Tomcats to improve to 3-6 overall and 3-4 in the PAC. Genevaâ??s AJ Delmonico opened the scoring with an 80 yard kickoff return the first time Geneva touched the ball. Rocco Colavecchia rushed for touchdowns of three and five yards while also tossing a 39 yard touchdown pass to Corey Oâ??Patchen. Colavecchia rushed for 110 yards on 22 carries to lead the running attack. Zack Hayward was 12-20 threw the air for 137 yards and a pair of touchdowns in splitting time at the quarterback position. The Golden Tornadoes will enjoy their only bye week of the season this Saturday before closing out the 2011 campaign in New Wilmington against Westminster on November 12.

Following is the complete athletic schedule for the upcoming week:

News & Highlights

...more

This Week's Games

*HOME GAMES IN BOLD