Fanatics Weekend was nothing short of successful for Crimson Storm athletics. Fanatics Weekend was a weekend filled with home matches and games for SNU’s men’s and women’s soccer teams, volleyball, and football. There were several opportunities for students and fans of SNU to come out and show their support for many SNU sports teams and SNU athletics as a whole.
The weekend started off on Thursday with three straight-set wins over the Northwestern Oklahoma State Rangers inside Sawyer Center. The Crimson Storm was led defensively by Kaley Brubaker, Madeline Lynch, and Rayanna Mauldin, who each tacked up double figures in digs. Mauldin also led the Crimson Storm offensively ending the game with eleven kills closely followed by Tessa Henry who added seven kills. Ashley Finch recorded five blocks to lead the Crimson Storm in that statline. SNU Volleyball hopes to continue their domination as they get deeper into conference play.
Next up in Fanatics Weekend was the Crimson Storm’s matchup against in-state rival: the SWOSU Bulldogs. Despite the excitement going into the game, the Crimson Storm didn’t stray away from the challenge and dominated the Bulldogs on both the offensive and defensive fronts, with a 41-7 win at home. The SNU offense combined for 456 total yards and the SNU defense held SWOSU’s offenses to only 154 total yards. Linebacker Emmanuel Obinna gave the defense a lot of credit for being able to hold SWOSU to only one score for the day saying, “We came into the game prepared and with a goal in mind, and we all executed the game plan on all cylinders.” The game was led offensively by Gage Porter, who rushed for 3 total touchdowns, and defensively by Jake Wright who led the defense in nine tackles. Kenyatta Richardson ended the game with two sacks and the Crimson Storm continued their upward spiral with their third consecutive win of the 2023 season.
Wide receiver Donald May has high hopes for the Crimson Storm after the big win, “We hope to capitalize off of this win and let the momentum take us into next week and just continue to build on it.”
The Saturday action didn’t stop there. The SNU Women’s Soccer team had their home game against the Northwestern Oklahoma State Rangers. The game was a battle for the entire 90 minutes. The Crimson Storm struck first taking a 1-0 lead with a penalty kick from Natalie Montanez. The Rangers tied the game with a score at the end of the first half. Early into the second half, Montanez scored again for SNU to take a 2-1 lead. However, the Rangers didn’t let up as they brought the score yet again to a tie at 2-2. Neither team let up an inch and the game ended in a 2-2 tie. The Crimson Storm was led by goalkeeper Gianna Bonnett who snagged 10 saves, as well as Natalie Montanez, who put in the Storm’s two goals of the day.
The electrifying Fanatics Weekend ended with the SNU Men’s Soccer team gaining another conference win over the Fort Hays State Tigers, with a score of 2-0. The Crimson Storm had fallen to the Tigers in their previous two matchups, however, SNU didn’t let any of that phase them against the conference opponent. The Crimson Storm offense put pressure on the Tigers as they ended the game with 18 shots and 6 shots on goal. The Crimson Storm offense was led by Bruno Ferreira as he tallied seven shots and one goal. The other goal came from Alvaro Sanchez from an Unaiz Shajani assist to bring the score to 2-0. The Crimson Storm defense held the Tigers to only 7 shots for the night, and goalkeeper Andrej Krivopapic tallied four saves in the match to help SNU bring in the win and end Fanatics Weekend with another Crimson Storm victory.
Photo by SNU Creative