September 29th marked the latest home opener in Geneva football history. For those that witnessed the game on Saturday afternoon, it would be safe to say it turned out to be worth the wait.

The Geneva soccer teams opened conference play on Saturday while the womenâ??s tennis team continues to open eyes across the Presidentsâ?? Athletic Conference. Genevaâ??s volleyball team spent the weekend in our nationâ??s capital and came away with mixed results while the cross country teams headed east for one of the most challenging meets of the season at Dickinson College.

Genevaâ??s football team had opened the season with three road games and a bye week. By the time Saturday rolled around, it was high time the Golden Tornadoes gave their home fans a treat. Those home fans were singing the praises of a Geneva team that put forth one of the best efforts in recent history. The Golden Tornadoes stunned four-time defending champion Thomas More 50-48 in four overtimes in what turned out to be an instant classic. Rocco Colavecchia bulled his way into the end zone twice in the final two and half minutes to tie the game and send it into overtime. Colavecchia then scored two more times in the extra sessions including the game tying TD in the second and fourth overtime periods. Following his fourth TD of the game, Zack Hayward took over with a two-point conversion that sent the home crowd into a frenzy. Hayward finished with 298 yards passing on 32-49. Corey Oâ??Patchen was Haywardâ??s favorite target with nine catches for 109 yards. On defense, Geneva held Thomas More to just 53 yards rushing with Dillon Goodell (11 tackles) and Brett Hutira (10 tackles) leading the way. Geneva sits at 1-3 overall and 1-1 in conference play with a date at Bethany set for this Saturday.

After nine non-conference matches, the menâ??s soccer team finally played its first game in the Presidentsâ?? Athletic Conference on Saturday. In what turned out to be a very even match, Geneva and W & J played to a scoreless tie after 90 minutes of regulation and 20 minutes of overtime. Bryan Butler registered his third save of the season as Geneva moved its overall record to 4-4-2 including a 0-0-1 mark in the league. The Golden Tornadoes will host their first conference match on Wednesday when Saint Vincent comes calling to College Hill for a 7:30 pm kickoff.

Genevaâ??s womenâ??s soccer team dropped its first PAC match on Saturday at W & J by the score of 5-2. Elise Mann and Maura Allen each registered goals for the Golden Tornadoes after the Presidentâ??s had opened up a 5-0 lead mid way through the second half. Earlier in the week, the Golden Tornadoes dispatched Penn State Beaver by the score of 9-1 with Karmyn Culbertson and Megan Hiers each scoring a pair of goals. Heidi Mann also scored against the Lions and continues to lead the team with nine goals on the season. The Golden Tornadoes are 4-5-1 on the season with an 0-1-0 mark in conference play. Geneva will host Saint Vincent on Wednesday before heading to Westminster on Saturday night.

Flying under the radar for the majority of the fall, the Geneva womenâ??s tennis team continues to sneak up members of the Presidentsâ?? Athletic Conference. Last week, the Golden Tornadoes posted a pair of 6-3 victories over Bethany and Waynesburg. Geneva has improved to 7-4 overall and 5-2 in league play. Freshman Samantha Jensen enjoyed a perfect week with two wins in singles and a pair of doubles victories with teammate Jen Bullock. Christine Bullock and Alison Beattie have literally been unbeatable in singles. Both players improved to a perfect 7-0 in singles action. Brittany Kress and Courtney Light improved to 8-1 in doubles action. The duo went down 6-3 on Saturday against Waynesburg before rallying for an 8-6 victory. The Golden Tornadoes will play at Penn State Altoona on Friday and Saint Vincent on Saturday.

Genevaâ??s volleyball team got back to its winning ways last Wednesday with an impressive 3-0 victory over Westminster. Taking that momentum on the bus, the Golden Tornadoes headed to Washington D.C. to compete in the Galluadet Tournament. The tournament featured mixed results as the Golden Tornadoes split two matches both on Friday and Saturday. Defeating Washington & Lee and then falling to Messiah on Friday, Geneva beat Shenendoah before dropping a 3-0 decision to MaryMount in the third place match. Genevaâ??s trio of Maggie Bowersox, Kristland McCracken and Ashley Davis each posted double digit kills in the loss while freshman setter Lynsey Gugino posted 17 assists. Geneva will get back to conference action on Tuesday at Washington & Jefferson before hosting both Thomas More and Grove City in a tri-match on Saturday. Geneva starts its new week with an overall record of 14-6 and 5-2 in the PAC.

Genevaâ??s cross country team headed to Carlisle, PA on Saturday to compete in the Dickinson Invitational. While the men could choose between a 4K and 8K race, the women had the choice between a 4K and 6K. In the combined scores for all four races, Genevaâ??s men finished ninth out of 14 schools while the women were fifth out of 15 schools. In the menâ??s 8K race, Nick Edinger turned in a time of 26:14, which was good enough for sixth place. The only other Geneva male to finish in the top 100 was Owen Struckâ??s 91st place spot with a time of 28:41.

In the womenâ??s 6K race, Sarah-Noel Meek finished seventh overall with a time of 23:36 while teammate Alayna Merkle was 17 ^th with a time of 24:18. In the womenâ??s 4K race, Shannon Rech led all other Geneva runners with a 13th place finish. Geneva will enjoy a weekend off before getting back to action on October 13th at Oberlin.

Following is the athletic schedule for the week:

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