NEW HAVEN, Conn. - - A pair of Rookies led the charge last week for the Wilmington University cross country and women's tennis teams, as Vaughn Lackman and Carmelle Vial earned Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference Rookies of the Week, as announced by the conference office on Tuesday.
It is the second team each student-athlete has been named CACC Rookie of the Week in their respective sports and the second week in a row for Carmelle Vial.
After missing the Wildcats' second meet of the year, Vaughn Lackman (Eagleville, Pa.) came back strong with a ninth place finish at the 34th Annual Don Cathcart Invitational hosted by Salisbury University. He helped lead the Wildcats to a third place finish by coming in ninth overall out of 87 runners with a time of 26:40.5. he was named the CACC Runner and Rookie of the Week on September 13.
For the second week in a row, Carmelle Vial (Sommelonne, France) was named Women's Tennis' Rookie of the Week, going a perfect 4-0 to help the Wildcats to a 2-0 week. She paired up with Fenna Swaan in both matches to compete at No. 1 doubles for the first time this season, defeating Goldey-Beacom, 6-1, and Dominican, 6-0. She was the No. 2 ingles players for the Wildcats against the Lightning, winning her match, 6-0 and 6-1, before moving up to No. 1 singles against Dominican on Saturday. She again won at No. 1 singles, 6-0 and 6-3, against the Chargers.
Trent Taylor led the Wildcats with a seventh place finish at the Don Cathcart Invitational to earn a spot on the CACC Weekly Honor Roll while Taylor Burchfield paced the women with a 15th place finish. Valentina Ivankovic went 3-0 for the women's tennis team last week, earning a spot on that sports' Weekly Honor Roll as well.