Former Owls running back Kenny Harper signs with Giants

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According to reports, former Temple running back Kenny Harper has signed a free agent contract with the New York Giants.

Harper, who was not selected in the 2015 NFL Draft, was a tryout at the Giants’ rookie minicamp from Thursday to Sunday and was one of three rookies from the camp to sign.

Last season, the Gainesville, Florida native tallied 307 yards rushing and five touchdowns.

Harper, who was also a team captain, rushed for a career-high 116 yards in a 16-13 loss to the University of Memphis and was the only Owl with at least one rushing and one receiving touchdown during the 2014 season.

For his career, Harper — who appeared in all 48 games during his four seasons — ran for 1,113 yards and 17 rushing touchdowns. Harper also caught 66 passes for 528 yards and four touchdowns.

Matthews named to all-conference team

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Junior Brandon Matthews’ list of achievements grew on Friday when he was named to the 2015 American Athletic Conference Men’s Golf All-Conference team for the second consecutive year.

In 11 of 12 tournaments this year, Matthews placed among the Top 10 individual finishers.  He also set a school record for season stroke average at 71.0, and tied program records for total victories (eight) and consecutive wins (three) during the spring portion of the schedule.

Matthews was also named the Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference’s Golfer of the Month for April this past Wednesday.

On Monday, Matthews will compete in the U.S. Open qualifier at the Trump National Golf Club in Pine Hill, New Jersey before heading north to play in the NCAA Regional in New Haven, Connecticut at The Course at Yale next weekend.

Matthews, Owls end season in conference tournament

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The men’s golf team finished in last place at the American Athletic Conference Championship in Lecanto, Florida. Temple’s cumulative score for the event was a 906, which was 42 strokes over par and 69 shots behind the winning school, South Florida.

Even junior standout Brandon Matthews was not at his best. Matthews shot a seven-over 151 in the first two rounds of the event on day one on Sunday. While Matthews would bounce back with a four-under 68 for the final round, he was unable to crack the Top 20 in the season’s final event finishing in a tie for 22nd at three-over.

Seniors Pat Ross and Matt Teesdale concluded their Temple careers with finishes of 37th and 47th respectively. Freshman Mark Farley finished between the two seniors for the Owls coming in a tie for 41st at 16-over. Fellow freshmen Evan Thornton rounded out the field for Temple 31-over in 50th place.

While the season may be over for the Owls, it may not be the end of Matthews’ outstanding junior campaign. He will find out on Monday if he is selected to play in the 2015 NCAA Championship.

Greg Frank can be reached at Greg.Frank@Temple.edu or on Twitter @g_frank6.

Matthews leads Princeton Individual after opening day

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Day One of the two-day Princeton Invitational took place Saturday afternoon at the Aronimink Golf Club in Newtown Square. Junior Brandon Matthews stayed hot, posting a 2-under-par 68 to lead the tournament at the halfway point.  Matthews and Cornell’s Mike Graboyes were the only players to shoot under par on Saturday, as Graboyes posted a 69.

Temple sits in second place on the team leaderboard with a combined score of plus-15, four shots off Yale for the top spot. Senior Matt Teesdale had the second-best round for Temple with a 3-over 73. Freshman Evan Thornton was next with a 6-over. Senior Pat Ross, sophomore Evan Notaro and junior Liam Fahey rounded out the leaderboard for the Owls with rounds of 78, 79 and 83, respectively.

The tournament concludes Sunday afternoon in Ardmore at the Merion Golf Club, beginning at 11 a.m.

Matthews named American Golfer of the Week

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After what coach Brian Quinn called one of “the biggest wins in Temple University golf history” at the Furman Intercollegiate March 27-29, junior Brandon Matthews followed it up with a win at the Met Intercollegiate in Purchase, New York. He was then honored with the American Athletic Conference Golfer of the Week award for his efforts.

The win in New York last weekend was the seventh of Matthews’ Temple career. Back-to-back victories for Matthews has his Golfstat.com ranking up to No. 39, which is the highest ranking of any golfer in The American. His average score per round sits at a 71.

Temple will be back in action this weekend at the Princeton Invitational.

Players swipe Soccer Six honors

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After a season in which he captained Temple’s men’s soccer team as a sophomore, defender Robert Sagel earned his second Philadelphia Soccer Six All-Star Team selection at the Soccer Six Banquet on Tuesday night at the University City Sheraton. Midfielders Felipe Liborio and Miguel Polley were also named to the all-rookie team.

Sagel started each game and played every minute for the second consecutive season in 2014.

Liborio, meanwhile, started 17 games, logged the third-most minutes for the Owls and scored a goal in his freshman campaign, while Polley posted a goal and three assists, second to junior midfielder Jared Martinelli, in 16 games as a redshirt freshman.

After a 10-4-4 season in 2013, the team finished with a 2-14-2 record last fall, its worst mark under coach David MacWilliams since the 2006 season (2-14-1).

Men’s tennis blanked by Navy

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The Owls traveled across the Pennsylvania state border to Maryland and were swept by Navy, 7-0, on Saturday.

The Owls only won one match in nine contests. The only victory came from juniors Nicolas Paulus and Hicham Belkssir in the first flight doubles match.

Tough competition has caused the Owls some trouble this season. They only have one conference win and are winless against nationally ranked opponents.

Navy controlled the match from the beginning by securing the doubles point in two matches with respective scores of 6-3 and 6-4. The Midshipmen also won three out of the six singles matches in straight sets.

Owls coach Steve Mauro said his team was unable to play the aggressive style that it’s accustomed to. In Saturday’s match, Mauro said his team had to play a more conservative style, trying to just keep balls in play.

The weather played an important part in the match Saturday as both teams played sloppy tennis.

“The wind played a huge factor in the match today,” Mauro said. “Because we haven’t been able to play that much outside hurt us because we were not used to the wind conditions. The official told me that the wind was blowing at about 20 miles per hour … it was like we were playing on a different surface.”

The Owls lost all three third-set tiebreakers to fall on the wrong side of those singles matches. This season, the team has struggled to win those all-important tiebreakers and win close matches.

Mauro said both teams were just trying to get the balls over the net through the gusty conditions. He also said that he is looking forward to the team’s remaining games, which will all be at home.

The Owls (11-9, 1-2 American Athletic Conference) will have three days off before hosting a doubleheader at the Student Pavilion on April 8 against Coppin State at 11 a.m. and Rider at 3 p.m.

-Dalton Balthaser

Owls kick off competition at Colonial Relays

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The women’s track & field team began competition Friday at the 50th annual Colonial Relays at the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia.

Highlighting the day for the Owls was sophomore Jimmia McCluskey, who earned herself a first-place finish in the long jump with her mark of 5.80 meters.

Graduate-student Nicole Cummings earned third place in the event with a mark of 5.57 meters, while sophomore Bionca St. Fleur finished 10th with a mark of 5.39 meters.

Cummings also finished sixth in the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 14.26 seconds, which qualified her for the hurdle finals on Saturday.

McCluskey also finished ninth in the 100-meter dash with a time of 12.24 seconds, as well as 11th in the 200-meter dash with a mark of 24.98 seconds.

Sophomore Bionca St. Fleur placed fourth in the 200-meter dash with a time of 24.56 seconds. Junior Demeshia Davis finished 13th in 25.04 seconds.

In the 400-meter dash, sophomore Kenya Gaston finished fifth in 57.39 seconds, while Davis finished seventh with a mark of 57.49 seconds.

Senior Jenna Dubrow placed sixth in the 3,000-meter run with a time of 10 minutes, 11.02 seconds.

-Tyler DeVice

Matthews back on track in second day of tournament

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The golf team resumed play in the Furman Intercollegiate Golf Tournament on Saturday.

Junior Brandon Matthews moved up to third place in the overall individual standings by shooting a 66 on the day. The score was good enough to share a spot at the top of the single round.

After a rough first round, shooting 6 over par, Freshman Evan Notaro bounced back, finishing with a score of 71. This was good for one under par, joining Matthews as the only team members to score below par on the round.

The strong efforts from Matthews and Notaro helped push Temple up two spots in the leaderboard. Sixth place Temple now finds itself two strokes behind the next spot in the leaderboard, currently owned by West Carolina.

Freshman Mark Farley struggled out the gate going four over par on the first hole, and finished the day 11 over par.

Matthew Teesdale, who was the lone Owl to finish below par in the first round, attempted to repeat his success. Teesdale started out hot with a score of two under par through the first eight holes, but struggled at the ninth hole with a triple bogie. Teesdale was able to not let the bad hole get the best of him, and he finished with a score of three over par.

The ninth hole was an issue for his teammates Pat Ross and Even Thornton as well. Both golfers left the hole with double bogies, but like their teammate, they were able to battle through.

“If we take out just the ninth hole, we’re in second place.” Said Matthews, who believed that the team needed to focus on cleaning up there game.

Despite another double-bogie on the tenth, Ross finished one stroke over par. Thornton finished two over on the day. Both golfers did well moving forward after their poor performances. The Owls hope to continue to move forward heading into the final round of the tournament.

-Matt Rego

Teesdale shines in Furman tournament

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The Owls teed off Friday morning in Greenville, South Carolina for their second tournament of the spring season.

The Furman Intercollegiate Golf Tournament was held at Furman University’s 7,000-yard, par-72 golf course located on the campus.

The tournament held a field of 18 teams with the majority coming from the Southern Conference. Of the 18 in the field, four schools found themselves placed in the NCAA’s top 100. The most notable of these teams was Virginia Tech, the 31st best in the nation.

The field opened with less than stellar conditions, which included mild winds, humidity, and cloudy skies. The Owls battled through the elements and closed out the match in sole possession of eighth place.

Junior Brandon Matthews started strong, but struggled at the 10th and 13th holes. He said he was satisfied in his own overall play Friday.

“I had a nice first stretch of holes on the start with some birdies and was able to even it back out at the end,” Matthews said.

Senior Matthew Teesdale also finished with the best score of the Owls at 1-under par.

– Matt Rego