ORANGE EAGLE TROPHY UPDATE: Boston College Edges Closer Ahead of Football Matchup

With the Orange Eagle Trophy's biggest single game approaching, Boston College and Syracuse remain locked in a close battle for the competition lead.  As of now, SU holds a slim 33-27 advantage, but BC narrowed the gap ever-so-slightly through their Women's Cross Country and Volleyball teams.  Let's get caught up on the latest action as our prestigious schools prepare for their battle on the gridiron.

November 14.  WOMEN'S CROSS COUNTRY (NCAA Northeast Regional; 3 pts) - Syracuse 154, Boston College 180

In a rematch of the ACC Championship where SU and BC tied, yet BC won by having the best-placed individual finisher (Liv Westphal, 1st Place), The Orange squeaked by their rivals to earn Syracuse three more Orange Eagle points in The Bronx. SU's Margo Malone (5th overall) stayed close to Westphal (4th) at the front of the race, and the SU pack simply managed to stay close enough together to achieve the lower points total.  Both schools finished high enough in the regional competition to qualify for the NCAA National Championship race and even more Orange Eagle points!

(Competition Note:  The Competition Committee has determined that in the event that Syracuse and BC Cross Country teams compete in the postseason, the total points available for the sport will be 6 (six).  If the schools compete in only one postseason competition, the winner will receive the full six points.  If the schools compete in two (e.g. both the NCAA Regional and National Championships), the six points will be spread across the two competitions (3 points each).  This rule would apply for any competitions where SU and BC meet in more than one postseason matchup.)

November 16.  VOLLEYBALL (3 pts) - Boston College 3, Syracuse 1

Led by Katty Workman's 40th career double-double (23 kills and 15 digs), Boston College defeated The Orange in three sets at The Women's Building to complete a season sweep and capture all six Orange Eagle Trophy points in volleyball.  The Eagles and Orange fought tooth-and-nail throughout the first three sets, with BC edging the first and third sets by a combined seven points.  Looking to close out SU and avoid a fifth set, BC turned up the intensity and ran away with the fourth set, beating SU 25-15.  The Eagles later acknowledged their Orange Eagle accomplishment on Twitter!

Boston College sweeps the volleyball #OrangeEagle in the 2014 season! Eags move to 6-8 in the ACC! pic.twitter.com/Cwph0AkmEB

— BC Volleyball (@BC_Volleyball) November 16, 2014

...SU, time to step up your Twitter game!

November 22.  WOMEN'S CROSS COUNTRY (NCAA National Championship; 3 pts) Boston College 514, Syracuse 559

In the final meeting of a glorious trilogy, BC and SU again raced neck-and-neck throughout the 6K course in Terra Haute, IN, with The Eagles edging The Orange.  SU's top runner, Margo Malone, survived a crash during the race to lead her team with a 63rd-Place finish.  Malone's fall did allow BC All-AMerican Liv Westphal to break away and finish 23 places ahead of the SU runner.  That gap, combined with Danielle Winslow's excellent 65th place finish in the team competition was enough to allow BC to grab the final 3 OET points of the season in what is unquestionably the competition's most evenly-matched sport!  I say we cordon off Central Park and let these two teams go at it on the famed six-mile loop "WO-mano a WO-mano".  Bates, Gross, make this happen!!!

So, with the close of play on the 22nd, Syracuse holds a slim 33 to 27 lead over BC.  With one last matchup before the Winter/Spring season begins, a BC win on Saturday will see The Eagles take a small 6 point lead over The Orange.  An SU win will widen the lead to 18, and leave BC with a lot of ground to cover against the Orange basketball juggernaut.  Regardless, both schools have everything to play for with plenty of action, twists and turns still coming up.  Stay tuned!

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COMPETITION UPDATE:  There remains a mathmatical chance that the schools could be tied at the end of the competition.  In such an event, the competition committee has decided to enact what will henceforth be known as The Marinotto Rule. The Marinotto Rule states that -- as legacy Big East schools -- in the event of a tie, both BC and SU will be awarded a share of the title and will be allowed to engrave the season on their respective side of the trophy.

FYI, Rutgers requested that they too are given a share of the title, as...well...they are Rutgers.  But we told them to piss off.