The Brock University Muscle MLK Athletes of the Week (Sept. 3-9) are Taylour Hurd (Oakville) of the women's rugby team and Derek Zwolinski (Burlington) of the Badgers baseball team.
 
Taylour Hurd (Women's Rugby) - Taylour Hurd scored five tries to power the Brock Badgers women's rugby team to its first win of the season in Waterloo on Saturday. Brock defeated the Laurier Golden Hawks 69-17 to kickoff the season. Hurd is entering her second year at Brock in Child and Youth studies.
 
Derek Zwolinski (Baseball) – Starting pitcher Derek Zwolinski tossed a complete game, nine-inning shutout to lift Brock to its first victory of the season in Waterloo on Sunday. The Badgers defeated the Warriors 1-0 as Zwolinski, a senior right hander, allowed only one hit through five innings, and struck out eight batters in total. Zwolinski is entering his fourth year and studies Social Sciences.
 
Women's Rugby: Badgers crush Golden Hawks to kickoff season
 
Taylour Hurd scored five tries and the Brock Badgers women's rugby squad crushed the Laurier Golden Hawks by a score of 69-17 on the road to open the season.
 
"To me, we did nothing fancy that got us to our final score, but we had our greatest moments when we played as a team," said head coach Stefanie Pavlovich. "We took the game one phase at a time, and didn't dwell on our mistakes."
 
Brock led 24-17 at halftime.
 
Captain Katelyn 'Heinzy' Heyens was award Player of the Match. She scored a try while rookie Lane Hessels tallied two tries.
 
"We started pushing the width of the pitch and truly utilized our speed and hands through our offensive system," said Pavlovich. "As a coaching staff, we were very pleased with the turn-around of the second half. Not to mention, all of our substitutions were impact players and maintained the level of play. There was no dip in energy or calibre. Every single one of our veteran athletes lead by example today, especially when the situation was not in our favour."
 
Amarije Barnes and rookies Karenna Ottywill and Breanna Jeremiah each added a try.
 
Pavlovich noted first-year players Taylor Moore's dominance at the breakdown and Miia Sorra's ability to maintain and steal the ball in lineouts.
 
Third-year players Melodie Shantz and Taylor Knezevich led the attack. Meagan Hart added five conversions and Knezevich secured two.
 
The Badgers (1-0) host the University of Toronto Varsity Blues (1-1) on Saturday, Sept. 15 at 1 p.m.
 
"Moving forward, we need to be smarter and more dominant at the breakdown," said Pavlovich. "This week we will continue adjusting our defensive organization so we can increase our ability to regain possession."
 
Meanwhile, the men's team (1-1) fell to the Waterloo Warriors (1-1) by a score of 75-5 on the road Sunday.
 
They look to bounce back when they host the McMaster Marauders (1-1) on Saturday, Sept. 15 at 3 p.m.
 
Baseball: Zwolinski tosses complete-game shutout, Badgers split weekend
 
Starting pitcher Derek Zwolinski pitched a complete game, nine-inning shutout to lift Brock to its first victory of the season, 1-0, in Waterloo on Sunday.
 
The Badgers bounced back from back-to-back losses by scores of 3-2 and 6-2 versus Laurier on Saturday.
 
Zwolinski, a senior right hander, allowed only one hit through five innings.
 
"The tone was definitely set in Game 1, both on the mound and in our at-bats," said pitching coach Dylan Perego. "While we only put up one run, we strung together a lot of quality at-bats and gave ourselves multiple chances. We never gave up, and that attitude allowed us to break through in the end. In game two, we had more strong efforts on the hill, and the offense clearly speaks for itself. It was a nice way to end the weekend and build towards our next challenge."
 
Brock consistently placed runners in scoring position through the first three innings, yet it wasn't until the eighth when Will DaCosta hit a leadoff single and Josh Wray knocked in the run with a single.
 
The Badgers picked apart the Warriors in the second game to win 15-3.
 
Pitchers Alex Emerson, Matt Balkwill and Spencer Bak held the Warriors to three runs.
Brock's offence posted four runs in the second and exploded for seven runs in the third.
On the weekend, Ben Tiw went two-for-three and drew a walk, Noah Koffman went three-for-three and recorded three runs while Ryan Bench recorded a double and drew three walks.
 
In the season opener against Laurier, Badgers pitcher Alex Nolan shined with eight strikeouts and held the Golden Hawks to six scoreless innings.
 
Brock fell 3-2 despite taking the lead in the fifth inning. Laurier tied the game up and won on a single in the bottom of the ninth.
 
During Game 2, left-handed pitcher Ryan Bench struck out five and allowed only three unearned runs.
 
The Golden Hawks added three additional runs through the middle innings, but the Badgers showed resilience by scoring two runs in the seventh inning. The comeback fell short and Brock lost 6-2.
 
"While the outcome of the games was not what we were hoping for, we recognize the importance of these early season games to help us further evaluate our players and begin to establish roles," said hitting coach Jon Marcheterre. "For nine players, it was the first regular season OUA game of their university career. These Sept. 8 games will go a long way toward helping us win when it really matters on Oct. 22."
 
Up next, the Badgers (2-2) host McMaster (3-1) in a doubleheader at George Taylor Field on Saturday, Sept. 15 beginning at noon and 3:30 p.m.
 
Women's Lacrosse: Mete dents the twine, powers Badgers to victory
 
The Brock women's lacrosse team lost their opening game 15-4 to Queen's in Kingston on Saturday.
 
Emma Mete scored twice, while Jen Budarick and Olivia Langdon each found the back of the net.
 
The Badgers won their next game 11-2 over the UOIT Ridgebacks on Sunday as Mete scored a goal and registered three assists.
 
Jade Smith-Jolicoeur, Tessa Czerlau and Shania Anderson each scored two goals.
 
Jen Budarick, Marianna Andrade, Olivia Langdon and Kennedy Rawding each netted a goal.
 
On Sunday, Sept. 16, Brock (1-1) travels to Guelph to play the Gryphons (2-1) at 8:30 a.m. and the Western Mustangs at 1:45 p.m.
 
Soccer: Spagnolo keeps Badgers in the game
 
Goalkeeper Marilena Spagnolo made 10 saves during a 1-0 loss to the Guelph Gryphons at Alumni Field on Saturday.
 
"Marilena had an exceptional game for us in goal again," said head coach Kevin Threthowan. "The scoreline could have been a lot worse if it wasn't for her."
 
Guelph outshot Brock 18-5.
 
The Badgers (2-2-1) battle the McMaster Marauders (2-2-2) at Ron Joyce Stadium in Hamilton on Friday, Sept. 14 before hosting the York Lions (3-2-1) on Sunday, Sept. 16 at 1 p.m.
 
On the men's side, the Badgers lost their third consecutive game. Brock's Jared Agyemang opened the scoring at 10:56, but Guelph scored four goals en route to a 5-2 win.
 
Arsen Platis chipped in a goal in the second half.
 
Brock (1-4) will face McMaster (3-1-2) on the road Friday, Sept. 14 at 8 p.m. and return home to host the York Lions (4-0-2) on Sunday, Sept. 16 at 3:15 p.m.
 
Former Badger Dani Elgadi signs with German pro basketball team
 
Former Brock Badger Dani Elgadi signed a contract with German a basketball club, SC Rasta Vechta, on Sept. 3.
 
Rasta Vechta competes in the highest tier of professional basketball in Germany, the Basketball Bundesliga.
 
"My first impression of Dani was that he was a great young man," said former Badgers basketball head coach Charles Kissi. "As far as basketball, he was solid around the rim, could rebound and run the floor. Dani competes and bring a willingness to improve and be pushed daily, which makes everyone else better."
 
A highly decorated Badger, Elgadi averaged 17.9 points per game and 10.2 rebounds per game in five seasons at Brock.
 
"He's a big part of my career of as a coach," said Kissi, who currently serves as an assistant coach for the Toronto Raptors farm team. "I'm so happy to see him achieve one of his many goals. That's what our jobs are as educators who coach sports. We are responsible for helping to facilitate paths and direction for young people trying to achieve greatness in their own way."