Monthly Archives: October 2014

Rowers to compete at international event

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The women’s rowing team is hours away from the start of one of the largest two-day rowing competition in the world.

The 50th annual Head of the Charles Regatta will begin on Saturday as more than 11,000 rowers will be competing on a three-mile course on the Charles River in Boston.  Participating athletes will range from youth to senior citizens, and novices to those with Olympic experience.

Among Temple’s 49 rowers on the roster, only 19 of them will be representing Temple in three boats. Coach Rebecca Grzybowski said several elements went into choosing who will be going to the regatta, including experience and conditioning.

The women in Club 8+ are  junior Kelsey Franks (coxswain) junior Emilie Mehler (seat 8), junior Emily Opperman (seat 7), senior Moira Meekes (seat 6), junior Callie DiGuardia (seat 5), sophomore Jenna Bahel (seat 4), freshman Charlie Forman (seat 3), sophomore Lea Millio (seat 2) and sophomore Kaitlin Grisanti (seat 1).

In the Club 4+ (A)  boat are sophomore Ellie Oken (coxswain), junior Lily Papaleo (seat 4), junior Emily Leyland (seat 3), senior Annie Buckley (seat 2) and senior Kathy Bostion (seat 1).

In the Club 4+ (B)  boat are senior Erin Matz (coxswain), senior Kayla Dorney (seat 4), senior Gina Inverso (seat 3), junior Grace Kroner (seat 2) and freshman Danielle White (seat 1).

The competition begins on Saturday at 8 a.m. and can be watched online here.

Boathouse sublease agreement reached

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Temple will enter into a 20-year sublease agreement with the Philadelphia Authority for Industrial Development to renovate the East Park Canoe House, where the crew and rowing teams store boats.

The Board of Trustees’ general body approved the decision at a Tuesday meeting in Sullivan Hall on Main Campus.

The university expects the project to cost $5.5 million, $2.5 million of which will come from the City of Philadelphia. H.F. “Gerry” Lenfest donated the remaining $3 million in February, which coincided with the city’s initial announcement of the renovation.

The expense report for the project, a part of the public agenda from the meeting, was signed by President Theobald on Sept. 17.

The lease for the Boathouse Row property includes two 10-year renewal options and would require Temple to provide and maintain public restrooms on the property.

-Joe Brandt

Aflakpui joins crop of verbal commits

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Less than two weeks after men’s basketball coach Fran Dunphy secured the word of four-star Haverford School recruit Levan Alston, Archbishop Carroll High School’s Ernest Aflakpui verbally committed to Temple on Sunday.

Aflakpui, a 6-foot-9-inch power forward out of Radnor, joins Dunphy’s current 2015 recruiting class that already included Alston and Ewing High School (New Jersey) shooting guard Trey Lowe.

Aflakpui is rated as a four-star recruit on ESPN.com, while Rivals.com has him as a three-star prospect.

Dunphy’s batch of three recruits matches his total number from Temple’s 2010, 2012 and 2013 recruiting classes. He pulled in one four-star recruit for the 2014 class in 6-foot-8 power forward Obi Enechionyia.

Davis earns conference honors

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Tyler Davis’ productive weekend helped earn her a spot on the American Athletic Conference weekly honor roll, the conference announced Monday.

The sophomore outside hitter led the way in both of Temple’s home conference matches during the weekend. Davis hit a season-high 46.9 percent in the Owls’ 3-0 win against Cincinnati on Friday, and also led the team with 16 kills in the 3-1 loss to Memphis.

She finished the weekend with a 35.5 hitting percentage.

Owls working on transition, health ahead of USF

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There was one area the men’s soccer team worked on Wednesday afternoon in its preparation for the University of South Florida on Saturday night: the transition game.

“South Florida is a team that’s very good in transition,” coach David MacWilliams said. “We wanted to simulate a session where you’re keeping the ball, and then all of a sudden it’s played down to the other end of the field, and you have to get back behind the ball.”

Defending against a quick reversal of play will be key if the Owls are to win their first road match this fall. One of the key guys who could be back in Temple’s lineup is sophomore defender Stefan Mueller, who has missed the last three matches due to stomach pain.

MacWilliams said Mueller’s presence would greatly help come Saturday.

“We have to see how things go [this week],” MacWilliams said. “But if he’s able to play, it definitely strengthens our team.”

Freshman midfielder Filipe Liborio, who missed Temple’s last match against Cincinnati, was running around with a brace and also looks primed to play down in Florida.

In terms of the two Finnish players, freshmen forwards Olli Tynkkynen and Joonas Jokinen, MacWilliams said that Tynkkynen is closer to 100 percent than Jokinen, but didn’t rule out both of them playing at some capacity against USF.

 No. 22 USF looms

USF, which is currently ranked No. 22 in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America poll, carries a 5-3 overall record, and beat Connecticut 1-0 in an overtime win in its opening American Athletic conference match on Sept. 27.

When it comes to the Bulls, coach David MacWilliams said their tradition and overall quality makes them tough to play.

“They’re very quick and athletic,” MacWilliams said.  “They’re a tough team in transition, a tough team to break down … they’ve made the [NCAA Tournament seven] years in a row, so you’re going up against a lot of history and tradition there.”

The Bulls ended the Owls’ season last year by beating them 1-0 at Ambler in the first round of the American Athletic Conference tournament. MacWilliams said revenge will partially be a factor going into Saturday, but getting a result down in Florida is more important because of their non-conference results.

“Getting beat by them bothered us,” MacWilliams said.  “But I think right now, we’re in a stage where we just want to win games and get results … We just want to be able to play well and get a result down there.”

Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. at Corbett Stadium.