Tennis tries to right ship against Colonials

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The men’s tennis team is taking on #50 George Washington Saturday at 5 p.m. at Legacy Tennis Center.

Temple (2-4, 1-0 Atlantic 10 Conference) has lost four straight matches. GW (5-4, 0-0 A-10) is coming off a 4-3 loss at Columbia on Friday.

Since this is a conference match, both teams will have extra motivation to win. Last season, the Colonials knocked the Owls out of the A-10 tournament on their way to their second straight A-10 title.

Each team’s top flight singles player has been struggling recently. Temple senior Kacper Rams is 0-5 this season. He has been struggling with a shoulder injury that, while painful, can be played through. GW sophomore Francisco Dias is 2-7 this spring.

The top doubles match will likely pit Rams and freshman Santiago Canete (2-1) against junior Ulrik Thomsen and senior Alexander Van Gils (2-4). The Temple duo’s success is somewhat surprising, considering Rams’ injury and Canete’s inexperience in doubles.

Men’s and women’s gymnastics return to action

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After having a week off, both men’s and women’s gymnastics will be back on the road this weekend for their respective competitions this Sunday. Men’s gymnastics (9-3) will be traveling north for a dual meet with State University of New York at Brockport. While women’s gymnastics (4-15) will be heading down south to West Virginia University for a quad-meet with Denver, George Washington and host West Virginia.

In facing tough opponents like West Virginia, George Washington and Denver, the women’s gymnastics team is not intimidated, but rather excited, to face high quality teams.

Women’s head coach Aaron Murphy said, “We will be going head to head with some pretty big programs in women’s gymnastics. West Virginia, Denver and George Washington have great teams and we have never seen Denver before, so, they will be fun to watch.”

In preparation for the meet, the Owls have been focusing on tidying up their routines to get the highest optimal score.

“We have taken the past week, along with this week, to clean up any execution errors that we have at this point to ensure that our team score will hit the 191.00 mark which we still need to do this season,” Murphy added.

Meanwhile, in facing SUNY Brockport, men’s gymnastics will be facing an opponent of lesser quality. Men’s head coach Fred Turoff plans to use this to his advantage, by providing valuable experience to gymnasts that are not in the everyday rotations.

“Since we’re meeting a team that is weak,” Turoff said. “It will give me a chance to work some guys who can’t make the primary squad.”

Turoff also explained that this Sunday’s meet is also a great opportunity to ease senior Brett Statman into the line-up. Statman has missed the majority of the season because of frequent back pain, and will look to make the best of the last meet the team has before their spring break trip, in which the team will face tough competition against California, Air-Force, and Illinois-Chicago.

For both men’s and women’s gymnastics, this Sunday’s competitions will begin at 2 p.m.

Owls look to stay perfect against Lafayette

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Temple will end a four game home stand against Lafayette

The Temple Owls (3-0) will host the Lafayette Leopards (4-0), in their last game of a four game home stretch, at 1p.m Saturday, on Geasey Field.

In their last game, the Owls defeated the Lehigh Mountain Hawks 14-7. Senior midfielder Charlotte Swavola led Temple with four goals, in a game which saw eight different players add to Temple’s point total.

Swavola was recently named Atlantic 10 co-offensive player of the week and freshman attacker Rachel Schwaab earned A-10 rookie of the week honors. Swavola and Schwaab are the top two scorers for the Owls, this season.

Against Lehigh, Senior goalie Meghan Clothier played the first period and recorded five saves, bringing her season total to eleven. Clothier has allowed eleven goals in 90 minutes played, this season.

Lafayette will also come into Saturday’s game with a perfect record, following a 16-9 home victory against Columbia. This season, Senior attacker Addie Godfrey leads the Leopards with 26 total points, netting 21 goals and adding five assists.

At goalie, Lafayette junior Meghan Curtin and sophomore Mimi Connell have recorded 24 total saves and two wins each.

In last year’s matchup, played in Easton, PA, Temple defeated Lehigh 21-10.

Temple will attempt to continue their winning streak and start the season with four straight wins, for the second consecutive season.

Track and field head to Boston

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The men’s and women’s track and field teams will be heading to Boston University for the ECAC/IC4A Championships, which will begin on Friday and conclude Sunday evening.

On Saturday, the women and men will get their first chance to showcase their talents.  In the morning, the men will compete in the triple jump trials, and then later in the finals if they qualify.

The men will also be featured in the 1 mile, high jump, 400m, 5000m-selection and 4 x 400m trials.

In the evening, the women will compete in three events; 20 Wt. Throw, 400m and 800m trials.

The 20 Wt. throw final will take place on Saturday evening. On Sunday, there will be several event finals.

The women will compete in the shot put trials and later, if they qualify, will compete in the finals.

If the men and women qualify for the finals, the men will compete in the 1 mile, 400m, 4×400 finals. The women will also compete in DMR – selection, 400m, 800m and 4x400m finals.

The Owls hope to participate in the IC4A/ECAC award ceremonies, which will conclude the three day event. This will give the Owls a boost as the NCAA championship approaches.

-Danielle Nelson

Owls secure conference tournament spot

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The Owls are losers of four straight but have somehow backpedaled their way to an Atlantic 10 Conference tournament berth.

As Virginia Commonwealth came up short of an upset over Charlotte tonight, Temple officially clinched a spot in the A10 tournament. With the Owls’ record standing at (12-16, 5-8 A-10) and only one game remaining in the regular season, VCU (10-18, 3-10 A-10) was the only team that could have overtaken their spot in the tournament, but that is no longer the case after the Rams lost 63-54 to the second-place 49ers (23-4, 12-1 A-10).

Temple currently holds the 10th seed in the conference standings, and unless the Owls can knock off third-place Fordham (21-7, 11-2 A-10) on Sunday, they’ll finish either 10th or 11th. If the standings remain as is, Temple’s first round opponent would be Richmond (16-13, 6-7 A-10), a team the Owls beat by 13 earlier in the season. However, it’s possible that either George Washington (12-15, 6-7 A-10) or Xavier (12-15, 6-7 A-10) could bump up to take Richmond’s place as the 7th seed. If Temple falls to the 11th spot, they will likely take on Buter (17-11, 8-5 A-10) in the first round. The Owls are coming off a 59-54 loss at the hands of the Bulldogs just last night.

This weekend’s match-ups will go a long way in determining the seeding. The A-10 tournament begins Friday, March 8 at St. Joe’s.

 

Tyler Sablich can be reached at tyler.sablich@temple.edu or on Twitter @TySablich.

Temple looks to claim A-10 berth

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With its back up against the wall, the women’s basketball team has traveled to Indianapolis for an important game against Butler tonight.

Temple (12-15, 5-7 A-10) is clinging to ninth place in the Atlantic 10 Conference with just two games remaining, and a conference tournament berth is in jeopardy if the Owls cannot salvage at least one more win. The Owls would clinch a berth if they were to win their last two match-ups, but consecutive wins against sixth-place Butler (16-11, 7-5 A-10) and third-place Fordham (20-7, 10-2 A-10) will be no easy feat.

However, Butler is coming off a blowout loss to a Richmond team that Temple beat handily on Jan. 31. The Bulldogs also lost 82-39 to first-place Dayton, against whom the Owls held their own against earlier this week. While Butler has locked up an A-10 tournament spot, the consistency hasn’t always been there this season.

Junior forward Daress McClung is in the midst of a very strong season, averaging 16.6 points and 9.3 rebounds per game to lead the Bulldogs in both of those categories. Sophomore guard Taylor Schippers, 12.7 points per game, and sophomore center Liz Stratman, 11.6 points per game, also average in double-figures.

A clear advantage Butler holds over Temple is the fact that the Owls are just 4-11 on the road this season. However, the Owls have played their best basketball against formidable opponents and the Bulldogs have proved themselves beatable.

Temple will look to take a step toward an A-10 tournament berth at Butler at 7 p.m.

Baseball travels to Norfolk for series against Old Dominion

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After taking two of three games last weekend in Blacksburg, Va., Temple (2-3) will travel to Norfolk, Va. for a three-game series against Old Dominion (2-3).

The Owls will open the weekend against the Monarchs on Friday, March 1 at 3:00 p.m. Coach Ryan Wheeler projected that redshirt-senior Dan Moller will start for the Owls. In the first two weekends of the season, Moller has started the first game of both weekends, entering Friday’s game with a 0-1 record and an ERA of 8.00 in nine innings pitched.

Temple will face Old Dominion again a day later on Saturday, March 2 at 2:00 p.m. Wheeler deemed junior pitcher Matt Hockenberry as his starter for game two of the three-game weekend. Hockenberry will enter Saturday’s game with a 6.00 ERA in six innings of work and has yet to earn a decision.

In the final game of the weekend on Sunday, March 3, the Owls will close out the series at 1:00 p.m. against the Monarchs in Norfolk, Va. Although Wheeler said he is eager to get junior pitcher Preston Hill another start, it will be sophomore pitcher Patrick Peterson on the mound for the Owls. Peterson is 0-1 on the season with an ERA of 11.25 in 4.0 innings, while leading all Owls in strikeouts with seven.

“What I am hoping for after turning in a good weekend is that we don’t have a letdown this weekend,” Wheeler said. “You can think you have arrived as a team after having a good weekend and beating a nationally ranked team, but we need to go out and continue to play the same way we did this past weekend and build on it. “

Entering play Friday, the Monarchs will headlined by an array of big name bats including junior first baseman Ben Verlander, younger brother of Detroit Tigers’ pitcher Justin Verlander. This season, Ben is batting .333 in 9 at-bats, while posting a .556 slugging percentage.

“I don’t have any expectations from [Old Dominion], but I expect a lot from us,” junior first baseman Derek Peterson said. “I know we are going to go in there very strong. That’s what we have realized, every game is about us. As long as we play our game, we can compete against anyone and I think that we really showed that this past weekend.”

After an impressive display at the plate last weekend, Wheeler said he hopes his team can keep up the offensive production. Sophomore shortstop Nick Lustrino, senior third baseman Henry Knabe, and junior first baseman Derek Peterson headline what has become a dangerous 2-3-4 combination in Wheeler’s batting lineup. Against Virginia Tech and Holy Cross this past weekend, the trio went 18-for-40, while adding three doubles, two triples and one home run.

“I’m hoping for good starting pitching. I hope we play better defense and I hope we continue with our solid approach to the plate,” Wheeler said. “If we do that and the outcomes of the games don’t turn out our way, I will be happy because I know we are getting better and we’re building. I think if we do those things we should be in a position to win.”

John Murrow can be reached at john.murrow@temple.edu or Twitter @JohnMurrow12.

Tennis looks to rebound against Saint Bonaventure

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Temple (1-7, 0-2 Atlantic 10 Conference) will look to snap a five-match losing streak at Saint Bonaventure (2-7, 0-1 A-10) Sunday at 11 a.m.

The Bonnies also sport a five-match losing streak, including three last weekend. They will be led by sophomore Marissa Brossard, who splits her time between the top two flights and is 9-7 on the year.

The Owls have not won the doubles point since playing Richmond on February 8. Juniors Jordan Batey and Alicia Doms, the normal top flight doubles team, will look to get the match started on a good note. The other doubles teams have been junior Yana Mavrina and sophomore Rebecca Breland, and sophomore Ama Osei and freshman Minami Okajima.

Breland was the only singles winner yesterday, and was also on the winning doubles team. She has won three straight singles matches, all in the third flight.

Women’s tennis travels to Buffalo

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The women’s tennis team will take on Buffalo this afternoon at 1 p.m.

The match will take place in Buffalo. The Owls are 1-6 (0-2 Atlantic 10 Conference), and the Bulls are 4-0 (0-0 Mid-American Conference).

Temple has gotten off to a slow start this season, but the team is confident they can turn it around. A player to watch is junior Jordan Batey, who is 3-1 in singles play this spring.

Buffalo will be led by junior Tanvi Shah, who is 3-1 in singles play this season, all in the top flight. She also plays the top flight in doubles, where she is 4-0 partnered with junior Miranda Podlas

Temple looking to stay perfect

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The Temple Owls (2-0) will host their third straight home game when they play Lehigh (1-0), at 1 p.m Saturday, on Geasey Field.

Temple will be playing its third game in eight days, following consecutive wins against Niagara and Rutgers.

Although the Owls’ offense was not as efficient as their season opening blowout, Wednesday against Rutgers, two late goals by senior captain Stephany Parcell and junior attacker Jaymie Tabor capped off the comeback in a tight 8-7 win.

Lehigh also comes into Saturday’s matchup following a tightly contested game. Led by sophomore attacker Carli Sukonik’s five goals, the Mountain Eagles started their season with a 10-9 home victory against Villanova.

Temple’s senior goalie Meghan Clothier and Lehigh’s junior goalie Alexandra Fitzpatrick both came up with late saves, which helped their teams in each one point victory. In 90 minutes of play, Clothier has recorded six total saves, while Fitzpatrick recorded seven saves, in her lone start.

Last year’s game, played in Bethlehem, PA, ended with a 14-5 win, in favor of the Owls.

The Owls will attempt to continue their streak with their second consecutive 3-0 start. With a win, the Mountain Hawks could go 2-0 for the first time since 2010.