THE EVE EDITION
FIRST BLUSH | SUN OCT 18
Sunday opens with a final already in progress. Maja Chwalińska and Sonay Kartal took the court in Wuhan at 6:30 AM, each playing for her first WTA 1000 title. Chwalińska, the #16 seed, reached the Roland Garros final in June, and Kartal is only two tournaments back from six months out with a back injury.
The afternoon belongs to Winston-Salem, where top-ranked North Carolina visits a Wake Forest team still smarting from Thursday’s home loss to Florida State. Maryland puts its perfect record on the line at noon, the U.S. women start their World Championships in Rotterdam, and Manchester City and Chelsea, first and second in the Women’s Super League, both play at home this morning.
The night belongs to the SEC and the climbers. Vanderbilt, unbeaten and alone atop the SEC, plays at Alabama, Florida visits Texas on ESPN, and on a baseball infield in Salt Lake City, Erin McNeice, Oceania Mackenzie and Annie Sanders climb for the boulder series title.
#1 North Carolina at #4 Wake Forest
North Carolina arrives in Winston-Salem at 12-1 and 5-0 in the ACC, its only loss a 3-2 defeat to Michigan State in August. The Tar Heels won 1-0 at Clemson on Thursday on Hope Munson’s 36th-minute goal and did not allow a shot before halftime. Wake Forest is coming off its worst night at Spry Stadium in two years. #24 Florida State won 2-0 there on Thursday, ending a 20-0-3 home unbeaten run and handing the Deacons their first home shutout since October 2024. Wake Forest is 10-2-1 and 3-2-1 in the ACC, with wins over Virginia, LSU and Florida, and gets no rest before facing the nation’s top team.
EVE’s Edge: North Carolina to win, 2-1. Wake Forest will be sharper at home than it was on Thursday, but the Tar Heels have the deeper attack and have won all five of their ACC games.
Gymnastics World Championships
The U.S. women begin qualification in Rotterdam with a team mostly new to this stage. Claire Pease, Charleigh Bullock and Reese Esponda make their senior global championship debuts alongside Hezly Rivera, a 2024 Olympic team gold medalist, and Skye Blakely, a two-time world team champion. Pease won the all-around at the U.S. selection event, and she and Bullock took the automatic places. Rivera, the U.S. champion in August, made the team after two falls on bars at selection. Qualification sets the eight teams for Wednesday’s final, which the U.S. last won in 2023.
EVE’s Edge: USA to qualify first. Pease and Bullock bring the form, Blakely brings the experience, and the team final should start with the U.S. as the top seed.
Ohio State at #1 Maryland
Maryland is the last unbeaten team in Division I field hockey at 13-0, its first 13-0 start since 2018. The Terrapins beat Michigan State 4-0 on Friday for their seventh shutout, with two goals from Madeline Vasilios and one each from Babs van Hest and Aida Ierubino, and they have already beaten Duke, Wake Forest and Princeton. Ohio State is 4-9 and 0-5 in the Big Ten, has lost seven straight and fell in a shootout at Penn State on Friday. The Buckeyes did beat Virginia in September, and four of the seven losses came by a single goal. Maryland plays at #2 Northwestern on Thursday.
EVE’s Edge: Maryland to win, 4-0. The Terrapins outshot Michigan State 27-3 on Friday, and Ohio State will find little room before the trip to Evanston.
#7 Florida at #12 Texas
Florida is 14-2 and 5-1 in the SEC after winning in four sets at #19 Texas A&M on Friday. The Gators swept Tennessee and beat #3 Kentucky in five earlier this month. Their only conference loss came at Vanderbilt, and the other was a five-set match at Wisconsin. Texas is 9-6 and 5-2 after sweeping Auburn on Friday, a record built against one of the hardest schedules in the country, and has won four of its last five. The Longhorns lost to Nebraska, Louisville, SMU and Kentucky but have beaten Wisconsin, Tennessee and USC, and they are at home in Gregory Gym.
EVE’s Edge: Florida to win, 3-1. Texas has the bigger wins on its résumé, but the Gators have been the steadier team all season and handle the road well.
Boulder Series Final
The boulder season ends on the infield of Smith’s Ballpark, the former home of the Salt Lake Bees and the first international climbing competition held there. Three women lead the series race. Erin McNeice of Great Britain has 3,740 points, Australia’s Oceania Mackenzie 3,470 and American Annie Sanders 3,300, with 1,000 for a win. All three advanced from qualification, McNeice fourth, Mackenzie fifth and Sanders 12th, behind France’s Oriane Bertone, who still has an outside chance, and China’s Yuetong Zhang. The semifinal at noon sets the final.
EVE’s Edge: Annie Sanders to win the final and Erin McNeice to win the series. Sanders climbs best in front of a home crowd, but McNeice needs only a solid round.
UNBUCKLING THE BELT
WTA 1000. #16 Maja Chwalińska and Sonay Kartal began the Wuhan final at 6:30 AM on Tennis Channel. Either way, it ends with a first-time WTA 1000 champion.
Women’s Super League. Leaders Manchester City, on 15 points, host Brighton & Hove Albion at 9:30 AM, and second-place Chelsea host Tottenham Hotspur at 7:00 AM, both on Paramount+. Arsenal sit nine points behind City after Saturday’s draw.
Liga F. Barcelona, two points clear of Real Madrid with a game in hand, visit Real Sociedad at 6:00 AM, and Atlético de Madrid host Madrid CFF at noon. None of the matches has a U.S. broadcast.
Serie A Women. AC Milan visit Roma at 9:00 AM with no U.S. broadcast, and Inter host Parma at noon on DAZN.
Frauen-Bundesliga. VfL Wolfsburg visit 1. FSV Mainz 05 at 12:30 PM on DAZN.
U-17 Women’s World Cup. Canada play Brazil at 11:00 AM on FS2, and Norway play Ghana at 2:00 PM on Telemundo and Peacock.
NCAAW Soccer. #3 Ohio State visits #20 Purdue at noon on BTN, and #2 Vanderbilt, 13-0-1 and alone atop the SEC, visits #8 Alabama at 7:00 PM on SECN+.
NWSL. Seattle, ninth and one place below the playoff line with three games left, visit Chicago at 7:00 PM on The Roku Channel without Maddie Dahlien, out for the season with a torn ACL. Portland visit Bay FC at 5:00 PM on ESPN, and Orlando visit Houston at 1:00 PM on CBSSN.
NCAA Volleyball. #23 North Carolina visits #3 Louisville at 1:00 PM on ACCNX with both teams 7-0 in the ACC, and #8 Arizona State visits #17 Kansas at 1:00 PM on ESPN.
Northern Super League. Calgary Wild FC visit AFC Toronto at 1:00 PM and Vancouver Rise FC visit Ottawa Rapid FC at 4:00 PM, both on ESPN+.
Marathon. The women’s elite race in Toronto starts at 8:00 AM on YouTube.