Multiple athletic teams stayed on campus over winter break for competitions. Here’s everything you, at home, might have missed.
Men’s basketball
The men’s basketball team (3-6 Patriot League, 8-14 overall) went 4-8 over the break, as the Leopards finished up their non-conference slate in December and started Patriot League play in the new year. After a dominating 60-46 win over Boston University (5-4 Patriot League, 11-11 overall) on Jan. 2, the Maroon and White lost consecutive nail-biters to Navy (5-4 Patriot League, 8-14 overall) 71-70 and Bucknell University (5-4 Patriot League, 9-13 overall) 65-62 in overtime and suffered another 1-score loss to Army West Point (6-3 Patriot League, 12-9 overall) on Jan. 15.
The freshmen shined for the Leopards throughout the break. Freshman guard Alex Chaikin tallied 10-double digit games and leads the Maroon and White in scoring, and freshman guard Caleb Williams notched seven double-digit games during the same period.
On the other end of the court, senior center Justin Vander Baan locked down the rim, recording 40 blocks over the break. With 55 blocks on the season, Vander Baan sits in seventh in the NCAA in blocks and second in blocks per game.
After an 82-65 win against Holy Cross (3-6 Patriot League, 11-11 overall) on Jan. 11, the Leopards skidded against defending Patriot League champs Colgate (6-3 Patriot League, 9-13 overall) 90-67 on Jan. 18. The Maroon and White got back into the win column with a 80-59 thrashing against Loyola Maryland (3-6 Patriot League, 8-12 overall) on Jan. 22.
Women’s basketball
The women’s basketball team (2-7 Patriot League, 5-15 overall) went 3-8 over the break. After finishing their non-conference slate 1-2, the Leopards got off to a good start on their Patriot League season with a 66-55 win at Boston University (2-7 Patriot League, 8-12 overall).
Junior guard Kay Donahue tied her season-high 18 points in the game. Donahue has been a consistent source of points for the Maroon and White this season, with 10 double-digit performances and an average of 9.8 points per game.
However, the Leopards could not keep the momentum going, losing five straight matchups against Navy (6-3 Patriot League, 14-6 overall), Bucknell (6-3 Patriot League, 11-9 overall), Holy Cross (7-2 Patriot League, 14-6 overall), Army West Point (7-2 Patriot League, 15-4 overall) and Colgate (5-4 Patriot League, 15-7 overall).
The Leopards broke the losing streak in dramatic fashion against Loyola Maryland (1-8 Patriot League, 7-13 overall) on Jan. 22 erasing an 8-point deficit in the fourth quarter thanks to baskets from six different players.
Track and field
The track and field team began its indoor season over the break, competing in six meets that saw school records break left and right. Sophomore Ida Moczerniuk broke her own 60-meter record (7.50) and won the event on Dec. 6 in the Rutgers Holiday Classic at NYC Armory, while junior Alexa LaSasso broke the 1000-meter record (2:52.45), which was good for second place, in the same meet.
Senior Nava Chevan broke the 800-meter record not once, but twice, shaving nearly four seconds from her Jan. 10 record of 2:11.45, set at the Spartan Invite, to finish in seventh at the Dr. Sander Scorcher on Jan. 25 with a time of 2:07.51.
Swimming and diving
The swimming and diving team jumped off the blocks on its winter season with its annual training trip to Plantation, Florida.
After returning, the diving team traveled to Pittsburgh on Jan. 17 for a quad meet against Duquesne University, Cleveland State University and George Mason University. Sophomore Landon Orth paced the men, placing fourth out of nine in the 1-meter dive and fifth out of nine in the 3-meter dive. On the women’s side, sophomore Mia Guster placed sixth out of 21 in the 1-meter, and junior Katie Hensell placed sixth out of 19 in the 3-meter.
After a meet scheduled against Mount St. Mary’s University was canceled on Jan. 20, both teams traveled to Rider University on Jan. 23. The Broncs skated by both the men’s and women’s teams by a close margin, edging the men 123-116 and the women 124-116. The Leopards notched 10 wins across 26 events.
Fencing
The fencing team competed in its first event of the winter season at the Philadelphia Invitational on Jan. 19. The men faced off against Penn State (lost 21-6), Princeton University (lost 20-7), University of Pennsylvania (lost 22-5), Duke University (lost 18-9) and NJIT (won 15-12), while the women faced Duke (lost 10-1) and NJIT (lost 14-13). Senior epees Antoine Mannes and Tyler Morse and senior foil Christopher Davis led the men with seven wins, while freshman foil Zoe Lenz led the women with three wins.