The Drexel University men’s basketball team, who are currently 12-16 overall and 6-9 in the Colonial Athletic Association, visited Towson University (10-17, 6-8 CAA) hoping to end a two-game losing streak Feb. 16. When these teams met earlier this season, the Dragons won by a score of 72-66.

However, this time around, the Towson Tigers took advantage of their home court in front of a raucous crowd. The Tigers started the game on fire and kept it going throughout the whole first half, pushing their lead to 27 points at halftime. Towson was led by junior Brian Fobbs who scored 16 of his 25 points in the first half. Drexel had little answer to Towson’s impressive three-point barrage. The Tigers hit seven threes on only 13 attempts. The Dragons, on the other hand, made only three three-pointers in the first half on 15 attempts and struggled to find rhythm from beyond the arc.

In the second half, the Dragons’ offense played significantly better. After only making 28 percent of their field goals in the first half, the Dragons shot 58 percent in the second half, including 54 percent from three on seven of 13 shooting. After putting up only 19 points in the first half, the Dragons poured in 58 in the second. However, the second half scoring outburst was still not enough to stop Towson, who added 46 points in the second half to defeat the Dragons by a score of 92-77.

Freshman Camren Wynter and junior Alihan Demir both had strong second halves as they scored 13 points each. Wynter also added eight assists and two rebounds on the night. Graduate student Trevor John drained four threes on the night, giving him 90 on the season overall, which is just two behind the Drexel school record for most threes in a season.

The loss puts Drexel in seventh place in the CAA rankings. Drexel’s next game is at home against the University of Delaware Feb. 23, the first of the team’s final three games of the season, all taking place at the Daskalakis Athletic Center. Delaware currently has a record of 16-12 overall and 8-7 in the CAA conference, putting them in fourth place. The Blue Hens are led by redshirt senior Eric Carter. The New Jersey native leads Delaware with 16.2 points per game and 10.1 rebounds per game.

The Drexel University men’s basketball team hosted the University of North Carolina Wilmington Feb. 7. The first half was a back and forth battle, with both teams trading baskets. The largest lead was six points in favor of Drexel, but UNCW was able to get within one point by halftime. Leading the Dragons in the first half was junior Alihan Demir who lead all scorers in the first half with eight points.

While the first half was low scoring, the second half brought a lot more firepower, especially from the Dragons. The scoring onslaught from Drexel in the second half included seven three-pointers, and they shot 48.3 percent from field goal range as a team. Leading the Dragons in the second half was graduate transfer Trevor John who scored all 14 of his points in the half including four shots from downtown.

Head coach Zach Spiker’s defensive game plan was executed perfectly in the second half as the Dragons held UNCW to only 40 percent shooting from the field and just one three-pointer in the second half. Amazingly UNCW only hit two three-pointers in the entire game. The final score of the game was 69-57 in favor of Drexel. The victory moved Drexel into a tie for fourth place in the Colonial Athletic Association conference. Demir led the Dragons in scoring with 20 points to go along with eight rebounds. Sophomore James Butler was a menace on the boards for the Dragons, grabbing 15 rebounds and adding 11 points.

The Dragons next game came against the College of Charleston Feb. 9. In the first half the Dragons struggled to keep up with Charleston, falling behind by 12 at halftime. Charleston senior Jarrell Brantley was on fire in the first half, going for 14 points on 6-11 shooting.  Despite being down by 12 points, senior Troy Harper led the Dragons in scoring with 14 points on 4-6 shooting and a perfect 5-5 from the free throw line.

In the second half the Dragons used their signature move from the season — yet another second half comeback. The Dragons outscored Charleston 50-40 in the frame, led by Harper who scored 16 points in the second half adding to his already spectacular night. After being down by 11 points with about two minutes to go Harper shot a clean three, freshman Camren Wynter grabbed a rebound and Harper took it to the basket on a fastbreak for a layup. The Dragons were back within six.

Wynter grabbed the layup to put the Dragons within four, and John brought the Dragon’s back with a three. The Dragons even got within two with seven seconds to go after a layup from Harper.

With the score at 84-82 the Dragons had to foul which they did, but Charleston’s Brantley was hit with a flagrant for putting his forearm into John’s neck. The play resulted in the Dragons and Charleston both hitting their free throws resulting in a 86-84 Charleston lead. Drexel then got the ball with five seconds remaining but lost after Trevor John missed a jumper at the buzzer. This time, the comeback fell short. The final score of the game was 86-84 in favor of Charleston.

Drexel’s next game came on the road as they headed to Virginia to play James Madison University Feb. 14. The two teams were close for the beginning of the first half. Towards the end, JMU had a commanding 15 point lead with 2:30 to play. The Dragons brought themselves back but were down 37-28 at halftime.

JMU held their lead in the second half, but the Dragons pulled off an amazing comeback in the last five minutes. Wynter hit a three with 10 seconds left to bring the Dragons within one, 69-68. After a few free throws from both teams, the Dragons just ran out of time on the clock to move ahead of JMU, and they lost 71-69.

The loss to JMU gives Drexel a record of 12-15 overall and a 6-8 record in CAA play. The Dragons will play at Towson University Feb. 16 at 2 p.m.

The Drexel University men’s tennis team started off their 2018-19 season with an inability to find their footing, going 0-4 in their first few matchups. The Dragons have yet to face any rivals in the Colonial Athletic Association, but they have still been tested against top programs, including the United States Naval Academy Jan. 20 and La Salle University. In spite of this tumultuous start, Drexel has seemingly found their groove, putting together a winning streak following victories against La Salle and Morgan State University Jan. 27.

Coming off of the win against the La Salle Explorers at the University of Pennsylvania’s Hecht & Hamlin Tennis Center, which plays host to Drexel’s home indoor matches, the Dragons extended their win streak to three after a narrow away win at Lehigh University, Feb. 10.

The doubles teams were up first on the courts, and play kicked off when Drexel’s No. 2 doubles pairing of sophomores Sanil Jagtiani and Xandy Hammitt faced the Lehigh duo of senior George Cooper and freshman Gary Fishkin. Drexel set a good precedent with a 6-2 win to start off the day.

The No. 3 doubles court saw junior Alvaro Cruz Chamorro and freshman Juan Manuel Sanchez go up against Lehigh senior Christopher Auteri and junior Jack Martin-Dyer. Lehigh leveled the overall score to 1-1 after edging out a 6-3 win, despite solid play from the Dragons.

The outcome of the doubles scores was left in the hands of the foursome playing at the No.1 spot. Drexel senior Sinan Orhon paired with freshman Gustaw Wogen in a high paced affair against the combined efforts of Lehigh freshman Zack Elliott and sophomore Harry Wang. Drexel was once again unable to replicate the success they found in their opening match, falling 7-6. The Mountain Hawks had taken the doubles, and held the 1-0 overall lead going into singles.

Beginning singles play, Jagtiani continued his winning ways with a win over Lehigh senior Bryant Born at the No. 3 spot. Jagtiani took the first set 6-3 and the second 6-4.

Chamorro returned to the courts at the No.1 singles spot against Lehigh opponent Wang. Though Chamorro’s scores were similar to those of his doubles performance, as he dropped two sets in a row 6-2 and 6-4, respectively, the junior maintained a calm and steady play throughout.

At the No. 4 singles court, Hammitt followed up on his successful doubles outing with a win in a long lasting match with Lehigh’s Martin-Dyer. Both players had claimed a set apiece, forcing a third which Hammitt took comfortably 6-3.

Drexel had evened the overall scoring, though led 2-1 in singles play. At the No. 2 Orhon would briefly put Drexel ahead by one point in a challenging win over Elliott, in what would prove to be an exciting rematch between the two opposing sides of the No. 1 doubles match.

However, Lehigh would ensure the score was again tied up after Sanchez rematched his No. 3 doubles opponent Auteri at the No. 6 singles spot and lost in two sets.

With the overall score standing 3-3, Drexel was depending on Wogen to come through in the No. 5 singles match. The freshman showed veteran composure to edge out the three-set match, gifting Drexel the 4-3 win.

Drexel’s women’s tennis team were also in action against Lehigh Feb. 10, when they managed to earn themselves a victory as well. They did so with a lot less pressure on their shoulders in the final moments of play, dominating the matchup throughout enroute to a 5-1 win.

Much like the men’s side, the success of the women’s team came from their hard work in singles competition, as Drexel dropped two of their three doubles matches. Highlights for Drexel included their taking of all three of the top singles matches. Junior Katka Majorova added to her doubles win with at No. 3 singles over Lehigh freshman Elizabeth Nowak.

Sophomore Salma Ziouti and junior Ghita Benhadi held down the No.1 and No.2 singles spots, respectively, with Benhadi overcoming serious adversity in an aggressively competitive three-set match. Ziouti won a close first set 6-4, but then remained dominant in the final two sets to win 6-2 for the second and completely blow out her opponent 6-0 in the third.

Both the men’s and women’s teams will be seen in action again Feb. 15, when they host Villanova University in a rivalry matchup. The men will play at the Philadelphia Legacy Center, while the women will play at the RiverWinds Golf & Tennis Club.

With the season rolling down to its last week of regular season matches, the Drexel University men’s and women’s squash teams looked to close out on a high note. With strong wins from both teams the week before, the Dragons fought to keep that fire alive through the regular season against George Washington University Feb. 9.

However, for the men’s team, this was not the case. The entire team fought hard to push out wins, but only one player was able to do so. Freshman Noel Heaton pushed his match to five games and eventually came out with the win. He lost a close first game, but after splitting the next three games, Heaton turned the final set around to win 11-6 and take the match. The rest of the team was not this lucky. Senior Ryan Leslie made his debut at the No. 7 position and played well in his match, but was unable to overcome his opponent and lost in four games. Freshman Filip Krueger didn’t start off the match very strong as he lost his first two games, but he gained some steam and won the next two games. He started the last game weak again, but was able to tie it up, 9-9. From there, he lost the next rally and GW’s Inaki DeLarruri was able to come up with the win. Freshman Matias Knudsen was up 2-1 in his match, but struggled to finish the match out as his opponent Mahmoud Abdel-Maksoud came back to win the next two sets in a row to take the match 8-11, 11-9, 4-11, 11-8, 11-7. This pattern spread to the rest of the team, and the Dragons ended up losing to GW, 8-1.

The women’s team has the exact opposite outcome. Junior Anna Hughes had an amazing match that went down to the last wire. Hughes won the first game in extra points, 13-11, but her opponent took that loss to her advantage and won the next two games. In the fourth game, down 9-6, Hughes took the next five points and the game. At the end, they were tied 8-8 before Hughes gathered the strength to pull off the win for a final score of 11-9.

The rest of the team took a similar path and won their matches. Except for senior Fiona Power, every other winner took their match in three games. The only loss for the Dragons came from sophomore Hannah Blatt at the No. 1 spot. Her opponent was very skilled and took the first two games. These losses gave Blatt the fire she needed to grab the next two games. However, she could not keep this up for the fifth game and lost the match. This was a small blip for an overall great performance from the women’s team, as they won over GW, 8-1.

The men will travel to New Haven, Connecticut, for the Men’s Team National Championships Feb. 15-17. The women will focus their attention to the Women’s Team National Championships at Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut, which is coming up Feb. 22-24.

After such gigantic wins against Colby College, the Drexel University men and women’s squash teams looked to continue their winning streak against Columbia University Feb. 1. The men also faced the United States Naval Academy Feb. 2.

Against the Lions, the men’s team did not have a breeze like they did against Colby. The only win they received was from freshman Matias Knudsen, who defeated James Wyatt 10-12, 11-7, 11-9, 11-3. He lost the first game, but that gave him the jolt he needed to win the next three and the match. Freshmen Filip Krueger and Noel Heaton were also in the spotlight as they moved up to the third and fourth place, respectively. However, this change did not help their chances to win this match, as they both lost in four games. Both of them played highly contested matches, but none were enough to give a win to the Dragons. The captain of the team, senior Bransten Ming, was the last to play and was the closest to giving Drexel another win. He took Velavan Senthikumar to five games, coming back in two games to level out the match at 2-2. However, he couldn’t come up with another win in the last game, and lost the match, leading to an 8-1 Drexel loss.

The women had a slightly better outcome against Columbia. In the first match, we saw an all out effort from sophomore Stephanie Ryan as she took the match to five games. She quickly got to a 2-0 lead, but in the third game, her opponent gained some traction and won the next two. In the last game, Ryan took out the last of her effort to squeeze past Doria Chen 11-5, 11-1, 9-11, 12-14, 11-9. Up next was junior Anna Hughes who had a tough opponent in Habiba Mohamed. Hughes struggled in the beginning, losing the first game. She got into a groove in the second, and ended up winning it. However, Mohamed won the next two games and took the match.

In the second round of matches, senior Apoorva Addepalli was the highlight of the grouping, as she took her match to five games. She lost in the beginning as Pranjali Sharma took the first game, but got into a rhythm and won the next two games. She slipped up in the fourth game, but recovered very well to take the fifth game and the match. Sophomore Mariam Kamal also took her match to five games, but she could not hang on by the end and lost the match. Sophomore Ona Prokes didn’t get off to the best start, losing the first game, but ended up bouncing back in the second to win and tie the match. However, in the third match, she played a hard game, as she and Jane Pincus took it to the 14th point. It was here that Prokes slipped up, and that led to the next game, as she lost three games to one. Senior Fiona Power asserted her position as captain to get a win for the Dragon in four games. She won the first two, but had a blip in the third. This was just fuel to the fire, as she came back and won the last game and the match. Freshman Brooke Herring played the best match of the day, as she won in straight sets. Sophomore Hannah Blatt had the opposite outcome, as she lost in straight sets and brought the Lions to slightly edge the Dragons, 5-4.

The men’s team took their devastating loss to heart and bounced back against Navy, winning 7-2. Knudsen went to work again this match, winning his match in straight sets. Heaton took his Columbia loss and used it to fuel his four-game win against James Kjorlien. Senior Luke Willemse took his match to five games, as he won his first two but ended up losing the next two. He got to a 10-7 lead in the fifth game, and while his opponent tried his best to challenge him, he wouldn’t give up and won 11-9, 11-6, 3-11, 9-11, 11-9. Junior Nathaniel Chan won his first match for the team at the No. 9 position, 11-5, 14-12, 9-11, 11-5. Krueger had a slow start, but he got better each game to eventually get the win. Ming had a similar outcome, as his slow start led to a strong ending and win. Sophomore Dylan Kachur followed a different path for his win. He started strong, winning the first two games, but could not follow through with the sweep. He came back and fought hard in the fourth game to win in extra points.

The squash teams will have their last regular season matches Feb. 9 against George Washington University in Washington, D.C.

Tom Brady and the New England Patriots faced off against Jared Goff and the Los Angeles Rams for Super Bowl LIII Feb. 3. Anticipation was high leading up to the game, with expectations of offensive fireworks between two juggernauts that ranked in the top five of total offense during the regular season. Unfortunately, the game played out more like a “Snooze” Bowl, as the teams barely managed to crack double digits in scoring combined. Fans and media alike described the game as boring on Twitter and other social media platforms, especially given the pre-game hype. NBA superstar LeBron James even chimed in, tweeting, “Man where Shams, Woj, Haynes, McMenamin at????….” The tweet referred to well-known NBA beat reporters who regularly break news stories, suggesting that LeBron thought these stories would be more interesting than the Super Bowl game itself. The 13-3 final score in favor of the Patriots marked the lowest scoring game in Super Bowl history and marked a surprising end to a season of offensive firepower.

The first quarter set the tone for the whole game, featuring a back-and-forth defensive battle and multiple offensive miscues. The Patriots opened the game with four-straight running plays behind rookie running back Sony Michel, but Brady threw an uncharacteristic interception on his first pass attempt to kill the drive. The pass was intended for wide receiver Chris Hogan, but was tipped by Rams corner Nickell Robey-Coleman and picked off by Linebacker Corey Singleton.

Despite the turnover, the Rams were unable to capitalize and generated very little offensively in the first quarter. The Patriots’ defense gave Jared Goff and the Rams too much trouble, forcing Rams punter Johnny Hekker to punt the ball six times in the first half. Still, the Rams kept the game close behind an equally stout defense and a few more Patriot miscues including a missed field goal. The game remained scoreless until Stephen Gostkowski made a 42-yard field goal with 10:29 left to give the Patriots a 3-0 lead. The longest drive for the Patriots in the first half was 60 yards. On the other hand, the Rams’ longest drive was a mediocre 23 yards. Stunningly, the Rams’ high-powered offense was able to produce only 47 yards of total offense in the first half. Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman had more yards than the Rams’ entire team, hauling in seven receptions for 93 yards through two quarters. In the first half, Brady threw for 165 yards and one interception, compared to Goff who managed just 52 yards through the air.

The start of the second half featured more of the same offensive ineptitude, as both teams punted on their first two drives. The Rams finally broke the trend eight minutes into the third with a 42-yard drive that resulted in a 53-yard field goal by Greg Zuerlein to tie the game at 3-3. For a game with such little offense to cheer for, the measly field goal was a welcomed break in the defensive struggle. Amazingly, it wasn’t until the fourth quarter that the Patriots finally reached the red zone for the first time in the game. Brady completed a beautiful 29-yard pass to longtime target Rob Gronkowski, and Michel finished off the 69-yard drive with a two-yard rushing touchdown to give the Patriots a 10-3 lead with seven minutes remaining in the game.

With the game on the line, what looked like a potential touchdown drive turned out to be a disaster for the Rams. Goff looked the sharpest he did all game, throwing three-straight completions for over 10 yards. However, with the Rams on the Patriots’ 27 yard line, Goff decided to test Patriot cornerback Stephon Gilmore, who has been a stud all season on his way to earning the No. 1 Cornerback rating by Pro Football Focus. Goff’s underthrown ball to Brandin Cooks fell harmlessly into the hands of Gilmore, killing any opportunity the Rams had to respond. The Patriots milked most of the clock, and Gostkowski hit a game-sealing 41-yard field goal. The Rams’ dim hopes ended when Zuerlein missed a field goal. The Patriots’ triumph gave Tom Brady his sixth Super Bowl victory.

Bill Belichick simply outcoached Sean McVay throughout the game, as McVay was unable to adjust to the defensive changes the Patriots made. Fans also questioned why the Rams only gave their star running back Todd Gurley 10 carries in the game. Gurley was an MVP candidate last year and rushed for over 1,200 yards this season, but he was not featured in the game plan. The Super Bowl MVP was Edelman, who finished the game with 10 receptions for 141 yards. After the Super Bowl victory, fans are wondering if Tom Brady will retire even though he was adamant during the season that he is going to keep playing. If he does in fact choose to retire, he will be one of the few legends of the game who are able to go out on top.

The Drexel University men’s basketball team has continued to impress audiences with their powerful comebacks and strong performances against some competitive teams in the Colonial Athletic Association. As of Feb. 4, the Dragons were fifth in the CAA standings. If they can keep this up, they will be going to the CAA Championships, which begin March 9 in Charleston, South Carolina. If they can stay in the top six, they will receive a bye for the first round of the championships.

After losing to the College of William & Mary Jan. 31, the Dragons bounced back to take down Elon University, Feb. 2. The Dragons took their second win against Elon this season, 67-63.

To open the first half, Elon’s Chuck Hannah got the ball and attempted to shoot a three. Drexel freshman Camren Wynter got the rebound and passed it to graduate student Trevor John who sunk a three-pointer just 15 seconds from the starting whistle. Elon tied it up with a three from Nathan Priddy.

The Dragons kept control of the game until there were 4:25 left in the half when Elon tied it up at 24. Drexel finished out leading into halftime 31-27. Wynter led the Dragons in points in the first half with eight and also added three assists. The Dragons only shot 37 percent from the field but outplayed Elon from beyond the arc and hit 6-7 on free throws.

For the first six minutes of the second half, the Dragons went 4-5 on three-pointers to increase their lead to 12 points. Junior Alihan Demir scored the first just over a minute and a half into play, and after a foul on sophomore James Butler that gave Priddy two free throws, John followed with a three of his own to put the Dragons up 37-31. The lead increased to nine as John hit another three-pointer off a fastbreak play.

A little over a minute later, Wynter hit a three off a pass from Demir and increased the lead to 47-37. Butler hit the three with 14:21 to go, giving the Dragons a12-point lead.

Elon battled back and got within two points of the Dragons with only 54 seconds left to play. Head coach Zach Spiker called a timeout to bring the team together.

With just 10 seconds left, a foul was called on Hannah that sent John to the line for two free throws. He made both of them, which sealed the win for the Dragons.

Overall, it was a pretty low scoring game for all players. Three Dragons scored over 10 points. John had 14 points and added three rebounds, Wynter had 13 points and five rebounds and Demir had 12 points and four assists. Redshirt freshman Tim Perry Jr. grabbed 10 rebounds for the Dragons this game and Butler had eight. The Dragons shot 10-22 from three-point range and hit 9-12 on free throws.

For his great performance against Elon, Wynter was awarded the Drexel School of Education Athlete of the Week Feb. 4 alongside junior Bailey Greenberg from women’s basketball.

The men’s basketball team came back home to host the University of North Carolina Wilmington at the Daskalakis Athletic Center, Feb. 7. After losing to UNCW Jan. 10, the Dragons were hoping that they’d grab another win.

The teams were neck-and-neck from the very beginning. The first half ended with Drexel up 23-22 after Harper made a three-pointer with seven seconds left. UNCW got a layup right at the start of the second half, but Drexel regained the lead and held the lead until 11:29 when UNCW made a comeback to keep themselves in the game.

The Dragons widened the lead again to seven with about six minutes left to play. By the end, the Dragons were definitely in command and won their second-straight CAA game with a final score of 69-57.

The men’s basketball team will host the College of Charleston Feb. 9 at 4 p.m.

Following a number of away dual meets and tournaments, the Drexel University men’s wrestling team returned to league competition Feb. 1 when they faced the Midshipmen of the United States Naval Academy. This was the third time this season that Drexel would be going up against an Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association rival. The Dragons held a modest 1-1 league record before their contest in Annapolis, Maryland, and ended up dropping the matchup against Navy despite some solid individual performances.

Drexel came to the mats with somewhat of an advantage over Navy, as three of the Midshipmen’s starters were unable to compete on the day. The depletion of their roster seemed to have no effect on Navy though, as they opened the day with five straight match victories. The first match, at 125 pounds, seemed to foreshadow how the day would play out as freshman Antonio Mininno was outmaneuvered by Navy freshman Jacob Allen through raw physicality.  Mininno was unable to match the pace set by Allen who took a 9-5 decision.

One of Drexel’s most dynamic and exciting wrestlers to watch this season has been red shirt sophomore Parker Kropman. Kropman was again able to put on a show for the crowd at 149 pounds, as he capitalized on the slow start of Navy junior Jared Prince. Though he managed an early lead, Kropman was unfortunately pinned late into the second period, as Prince decided to wake up and initiate his usual quick offense.

The 157-pound division had two sophomores duke it out for a chance to clinch some points for their squads. Sophomore Evan Barczak was put on the pats against Navy’s Quentin Hovis. Hovis asserted himself very quickly by figuring out Barczak’s patterns of movement and picking his rival apart. Barczak never managed to catch up to Hovis, who eased up on his opponent after securing a sizable point gap in the first period. In the wake of Hovis’ 11-4 decision win, Drexel now trailed 19-0.

Drexel was finally able to secure some points after junior Ebed Jarrell, one of Drexel’s nationally-ranked grapplers, found and exploited the weaknesses of Navy sophomore Tanner Skidgel in the 165-pound match en route to a 9-4 decision victory. Jarrell had to fight for every point he got during the later portions of the match, as he trailed 4-2 in the final period. Jarrell turned the tide at the last moment with a takedown and a near pin, earning his 50th collegiate win in the process.

Though Jarrell’s win put the momentum on the side of the Dragons, it was all too brief, as Navy would take a win at 174 pounds to go up 22-3 and take the whole meet with three matches to go. The deciding bout saw redshirt freshman Bryan McLaughlin versus Navy senior Jonathan Carrera, the latter of which would go on to seize the winning 7-4 decision.

With the match decided, Drexel’s final two performers, redshirt seniors Stephen Loiseau and Joey Goodhart were relieved of pressure, allowing them to perform without nerves. This was evident in both of the matches of the upperclassmen. Loiseau dismantled Navy junior Alex Benoit via a 16-0 technical fall in the first period, while Goodhart didn’t allow any significant offense from Navy senior Thomas Ott, finishing up the last match of the meet with a 10-1 majority decision win.

The Drexel squad wasn’t given much of a recuperation period, as the Dragons were back in action a day after their loss to Navy, hosting the American University Eagles at the Daskalakis Athletic Center Feb. 2. Drexel pushed through their lack of rest throughout the duration of their second EIWA league meet that week, but were ultimately unable to overcome their fatigue.

Drexel got off to a slow start as they dropped their first two matches at 149 and 157 pounds, with Kropman and Barczak suffering close decision losses to their opponents, respectively. Once again, it was Jarrell who was the first to get Drexel up on the board with his emphatic fall victory over American redshirt sophomore Elijah Murphy, tying the overall score up at 6-6.

A sense of urgency was renewed for Drexel as freshman Anthony Walters’s defeat at 184 pounds cut down Drexel’s lead to a single point. Thankfully for the Dragons, Loiseau and Goodhart stepped up in their back-to-back bouts to significantly extend Drexel’s lead.

Loiseau would control American redshirt sophomore Prince Hyeamang for over half of the 197-pound match time. Goodheart, who led in scoring after the first period of the heavyweight match against redshirt freshman Niko Camacho, went down two points near the end of the third period, but finished strong by freeing himself from the bottom position and mixing in a takedown with riding time to take a 5-2 decision and push his team to a 16-9 overall advantage.

While the efforts of the Drexel heavyweights were admirable, their work was undone in the final three matches of the night at the lightest weight classes. Mininno was on the receiving end of a 4-3 decision loss at 125 pounds, which, combined with sophomore Chandler Olson’s loss to American redshirt senior Josh Terao, gave American their second lead of the night at 18-16, leaving the final result dependent on the outcome of the last match of the night.

The 141-pound match which dictated the final score pitted junior Nick Widmann against American redshirt senior Jack Mutchnik. Mutchnik put up some late offense to secure a 3-2 decision, giving American the 21-16 win, while handing Drexel their fourth consecutive league loss.

Drexel’s wrestling squad is now 1-3 in the EIWA conference and 0-2 in their most recent league dual meets. The Dragons will return Feb. 10 to face league rival Binghamton University in hopes of securing a necessary win to determine their standing going into the EIWA Championships.

The Drexel University men’s basketball team (10-12 overall, 4-5 in the Colonial Athletic Association Conference) traveled to Newark, Delaware Jan. 26 to play the University of Delaware (14-8 overall, 6-3 CAA). Throughout the first half of the game, Drexel struggled to keep up with the Blue Hens, and they entered halftime trailing by a score of 44-33. The Dragons went down by as many as 15 in the first half. Delaware was fueled by their long-range shot, hitting nine three-pointers while shooting 59% overall from the field.

The beginning of the second half felt eerily similar to the first half, with Delaware in clear control while maintaining a strong lead. With just 2:16 left in the game, the Dragons were down 74-61. It seemed as though the game was over, and Drexel was going to sub in their bench. The Dragons’ head coach Zach Spiker and his team had other plans, however, as they continued their season-long theme of late comebacks. Drexel exploded for a 9-0 run led by graduate transfer Trevor John, senior Troy Harper, freshman Camren Wynter and junior Alihan Demir. The Dragons pulled within one with just three seconds left after John hit yet another three-pointer. Delaware’s Ithiel Horton missed his free throw and Demir grabbed the clutch rebound to give Drexel life, but a quick turnover resulted in a frustrating Delaware win.

Despite the loss, Drexel showed a lot of grit coming back late in the game against a quality opponent like Delaware. The Dragons stepped up defensively forcing five turnovers during the comeback and 15 turnovers in the second half overall. Unfortunately, Delaware sophomore Ryan Allen was just too much for the Dragons as he finished the game with 26 points, including four three-pointers. The leading scorer for Drexel was Harper, who finished with 16 points and four assists.

Drexel’s next game was on the road against CAA opponent the College of William & Mary Jan. 31 (7-14 overall,CAA 3-6). William & Mary took an early lead in the first six minutes of the first half but Drexel came storming back to finish the period ahead 39-31. However, William & Mary tied it up at 43 with 14:39 left to play and then soon took the lead. Drexel came back to retake the lead with just over four minutes to go, but it was short-lived. William & Mary came back and won 75-69.

The men’s basketball team will travel to Elon University Feb. 2 before returning home to host the University of North Carolina Wilmington Feb. 7 and the College of Charleston Feb. 9.

The Drexel University men’s and women’s tennis teams have had a rough start to their 2019 season. The men’s team is currently 2-4 while the women are 1-2.

Their first competition was Jan. 18 and 19 at the Virginia Commonwealth University Invitational in Richmond, Virginia. The men competed on the first day against VCU and Campbell University. Unfortunately, the Dragons fell to both teams 6-0.

First against VCU, the Dragons had a tough time getting points in the singles matches. The closest game was at the No. 3 spot in which sophomore Sanil Jagtiani played a tough match but ultimately lost 5-7, 5-7. In doubles, senior Sinan Orhon and freshman Djordje Janackovic defeated VCU’s Javier Amantegui and Philip Mobius 6-3, but it was not enough to get points for the Dragons.

Then came the match against Campbell. It was here again that Jagtiani put up a fight, this time against Campbell’s Bastien Huon. Jagtiani took the first set 6-3, but Huon battled back to win the second set 7-6(3) and then the third set 11-9. In doubles, the pair of Orhon and Janackovic fought hard in the No. 1 spot against Campbell’s Dustin Werner and Raphael Calzi, but came up short 7-6(5). Another tough battle in doubles was between the pair Jagtiani and sophomore Xandy Hammitt, and Campbell’s Huon and Ondrej Labik. Jagtiani and Hammitt had a similar fate to Orhon and Janackovic as they ended up losing 7-6(4).

The men then traveled to Annapolis, Maryland, to play the United States Naval Academy Jan. 20. The Dragons were able to earn three wins in this matchup but at the end, they lost to Navy 5-2.

In singles, junior Alvaro Cruz Chamorro defeated Navy’s Peter Lohrbach pretty decisively 6-2, 6-2 at the No. 1 spot. At No. 2, Orhon took the first set 6-4, but his opponent, Matthew Lee, fought back in the second to win 7-6 and then the third 10-8. Junior Youssef Lahlou defeated his opponent at the No. 6 spot, Conners O’Brien, only allowing him to score one point 6-0, 6-1.

The pair of freshman Juan Manuel Sanchez and Chamorro defeated their Navy opponents Sam Vagner and Andrew Hicks by a final score of 6-4.

The men’s team then returned home to host Liberty University Jan. 25 at the Hecht & Hamlin Tennis Centers. The men were hoping to bounce back from three-straight losses, but Liberty handed them their fourth loss narrowly, 4-3. The Dragons had two wins in singles from Orhon and Lahlou. In doubles, Hammitt and Jagtiani defeated Libkoperty’s John Wilson and Steve Mundt 7-6(3). The pair of Sanchez and Chamorro also won their match against Eddie Gutierrez and Ian Sturgill, 6-3.

The Dragons moved on to host Morgan State University and La Salle University Jan. 27. They were able to defeat both Morgan State 6-1 and La Salle 6-1.

In doubles against Morgan State, the Dragons earned the doubles point with two wins at the No. 1 and No. 3 spots. Orhon and Janackovic defeated MSU’s Sebastian Lopez and Oguzhan Ceylan, 6-1, and Chamorro and Sanchez paired up for the win against Nihit Rawal and Shrey Gupta 6-1.

The Dragons also were dominant in singles play with wins at No. 2 and No. 3. First, Orhon defeated Lopez 6-4, 6-2, and then shortly afterwards Jagtiani defeated Rawal 6-1, 6-4. After the match at the No. 1 spot with Chamorro beating Serhii Kharchev 6-3, 7-5, the Dragons had officially secured the victory 4-0. However, it was decided that the teams would play another few matches for the remainder players giving Drexel two more wins to add the the tally.

Next up was La Salle during which Drexel won the doubles points with wins in the No. 2 and No. 3 spots. The team of Hammitt and Jagtiani defeated La Salle’s Connor Merrill and Rogelio Gonzalez 6-4. Then the pair of Chamorroro and Sanchez also took the win from Colin Lucius and Andrija Bozovic, 6-4.

In singles, the Dragons claimed wins in all but one match. Orhon, Jagtiani, Hammitt, freshman Gustav Wogen and Sanchez all defeated their opponents quite easily. However, Chamorro lost to Francesco Mowrey in the No. 1 spot 6-3, 1-6, 10-6.

The women’s team also lost to VCU Jan. 19 at the invitational. However, they had success against Campbell as they won 4-0. The doubles point was won by teams of sophomore Salma Ziouti and freshman Tara Veluvolu at the No. 2 spot, and junior Katarina Majorova and sophomore Marta Martinez at the No. 3 spot. Ziouti and Veluvolu defeated Lou Regen and Lea Cultura 6-2, while the team of Majorova and Martinez beat Inma Ramon and Alex Nicoara 6-4.

For the singles points, junior Ghita Benhadi played Campbell’s Nicoara at No. 3 and won 6-3, 6-1. Then Ziouti had a three-set match against Ana Castillo 6-3, 1-6, 10-6 at the No. 1 spot. Finally, Veluvolu then defeated Isabel Boada 6-3, 6-0 to seal the victory.

The women’s team then faced the University of Pennsylvania Jan. 23, but then ended up losing to the Quakers 6-1 with Benhadi having the only victory at the No. 3 spot in the singles matches against Marija Curnic.

The women will travel for their next matches against the University of Connecticut Feb. 1 before heading to Yale University Feb. 2. The men will not return to action until Feb. 10 against Lehigh University.