Despite only having two representatives at the Appalachian State University Open Jan. 26, the Drexel University men’s wrestling team saw a great amount of success come the way of both of their performers in Boone, North Carolina.

The two wrestlers competing for Drexel were sophomore Evan Barczak and freshman Anthony Walters. Both Dragons secured top places in their brackets, while also coming across several elite prospects from some of the top programs in collegiate wrestling.

Barczak was entered into the 157-pound category, where he began his campaign against Presbyterian College sophomore Hunter Corwin. Barczak completed six takedown attempts while also gaining points for near pins to earn a nine-point advantage over Corwin going into the second period.

Domination from Barczak’s end would continue as the match progressed, with the underclassman adding two more takedowns and scoring points for attempted pins. Barczak finished the match at the 4:05 mark, taking the 22-7 technical fall win over Corwin.

Continuing on to the quarterfinals, Barczak was matched up against freshman Cole Burke of The Citadel, The Military College of South Carolina. The Drexel wrestler would go on to better his previous performance, outgrappling Burke in the first period with four takedowns and pinning his opponent in just under four minutes.

Arriving at the semi-final match, Barczak found himself pitted against University of Virginia freshman Justin McCoy, who was one of the most sought after prospects in collegiate wrestling at the Division I level according to top National Collegiate Athletic Association scouts during the 2018 signing period.

The 157-pound semi-final match took a lot out of both competitors, as neither could land any meaningful offense on the other during the first two periods. In the dying moments of the bout, Barczak managed to get up from the bottom position before landing his first and only takedown of the match to edge the 4-0 decision win.

Although Barczak had been lucky to have avoided any trouble prior to entering the final of the 157-pound bracket, Campbell University junior Benjamin Barton brought his A-game for the bout, providing a thrilling back and forth scrap that proved to be one of the highlights of the competition.

Both wrestlers exchanged takedowns and escapes from the ground position to keep the score level at 3-3 at the end of the first period. Barczak began to show signs of the same dominance against Barton as he had against the rest of his opponents in the second period. The Drexel grappler escaped from the bottom at the beginning of the period before receiving a stall point to go up 5-3 at the end of the second.

Barton managed to go up one after an escape of his own to keep himself within reach of victory, but Barczak managed to nullify the threat with one last takedown late in the third period to go up 7-5 and win the 157-pound title.

Meanwhile, in the 184-pound division, freshman Anthony Walters also began a deep run in his championship bracket in a quarterfinal match against Virginia redshirt sophomore Jack Walsh. Walters finished the match up in a rush, pinning Walsh in less than a minute to move on in the competition.

Walters would solidify his winning streak following his victory in the semi-finals over Ohio University freshman Blake Wilson. Walters kept Wilson guessing in the opening period, scoring two takedowns to go up 4-2. Over the next two periods Walters would quickly ground his opponent and control him on the ground to earn a 10-4 decision and entrance into the final.

In spite of a solid run in the 184-pound tournament, Walters could not repeat the feat of his fellow lowerclassman and come through with a win in the final, which saw him go on the mat against freshman Trent Hidlay of North Carolina State University, another one of the top, if not the top, sought after recruits of 2018.

Hidlay earned four takedowns during the first two periods, and ramped up the offense during the final period, earning four more takedowns in the span of two minutes, taking a 18-6 majority decision.

Both Walters and Barczak performed admirably in their respective weight classes, with each making it to the finals of their individual brackets. They will rejoin the rest of the Drexel wrestling squad when the group travels to Annapolis, Maryland, Feb. 1 to face the United States Naval Academy in a high profile Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association league contest. The two Dragons will be looking to add to the momentum of the Drexel squad in the wake of their own impressive performances.

After the Drexel men’s squash had two disappointing losses against Cornell University and the University of Rochester, they looked to bounce back on Senior Day, Jan. 27 against Colby College. The women’s team won their match against Cornell, so they looked to continue their win streak with this match.

Before the match, Drexel honored the seniors on the team: Will Grady, Joshua Hughes, Ryan Leslie, Bransten Ming, Royston Raymond and Luke Willemse. These men, along with the rest of the team, were honored with wins as the Dragons cruised to a 9-0 win over Colby. Five of the six seniors also crushed their opponents in straight sets. The sixth senior, Raymond, dropped his first game, 8-11, but quickly got his bearings and easily won the next three. Sophomore Dylan Kachur also took his match to four games, as he also lost his game 8-11, but just as his teammate, he regrouped and won the next three. Freshman Matias Knudsen and junior Nathaniel Chan won in straight sets to bring the Dragons to a win.

The women had a very similar outcome from their match against Colby. Drexel also honored the women’s team with their seniors: Apoorva Addepalli and Fiona Power. Both of these ladies, along with the rest of the team, took down each one of their opponents in straight sets. It was a momentous day for the women’s team, as they cruised to a 9-0 win.

Both teams will return to match play when they visit Columbia University Feb. 1 at 2 p.m.

After tough losses against Trinity College Dec. 7, 2018, the Drexel men and women’s squash teams looked to bounce back with a match against Cornell University to kick start the new year Jan. 18. But before this, the men’s team went up against the University of Rochester Jan. 12.

Freshman Matias Knudsen adhered to his winning pattern with a victory over Ricardo Lopez, 11-7, 11-9, 11-4. This was the strongest win for the Dragons for the match. Sophomore Dylan Kachur had the other win of the match. This one was not as straightforward as the other, as Kachur’s match went to four games. After winning the first game, he fell in the next. However, he battled back and won the next two and the match, 11-6, 10-12, 14-12, 11-7. The rest of the men’s team did not have as much luck as these two, as only two of them did not lose in straight sets. Freshman Filip Krueger took his match to four games, as he won the first game, but could not win another. Senior Luke Willemse had the toughest loss of the match, as he took his to five games. He lost the first game, but bounced back and won the next two. He took the second game into extra points, which gave him the momentum, but he failed to win a third game and lost the match. The men’s team overall lost to Rochester 7-2.

The men and women’s teams then moved on to face Cornell. The men’s team had a little more luck than they did against Rochester. They had very similar results to the Rochester match, as Knudsen won in three games and Kachur in four. However, the difference arose when two more Dragons won against Cornell. Senior Bransten Ming fought hard in his match, as he took it to five games. He won the first, but fell in the next two. He came back and climbed his way out of that deficit to win. Willemse had better luck this match, as he strolled to an easy three-game win. However, these victories were not enough to get a win over Cornell, and the Dragons lost 5-4.

The women had the exact opposite outcome with their match against Cornell. Junior Anna Hughes led a strong start to the match by winning in three games against Madison Miles. Sophomore Ona Prokes, who took her match to four games, came away with the win. Senior and team captain Fiona Power played a hard fought match against Lucy Martin. Martin won the third game, which took the match to a fourth, but Power focused and won the match. Sophomore Hannah Blatt played a four-game match and in the end, also won. Freshman Brooke Herring’s was the deciding match, as Drexel and Cornell were tied at 4-4. With yet another four-game match, she came away with the win and the Dragons won, 5-4. This was Drexel’s first win over Cornell in program history.

The squash teams will now focus their attention to Senior Day when they host Colby College Jan. 27 at the Kline & Specter Squash Center at 10:30 a.m.

Following a tightly contested affair against the University of Pennsylvania, in which the Drexel University men’s wrestling team managed to hand the Quakers their fourth consecutive loss in the rivalry matchup, the Dragons headed to Raleigh, North Carolina, Jan. 19 to take on arguably their greatest challenge yet this season: the North Carolina State University Wolfpack. Drexel took on the role of the underdogs, as NC State came into the dual meet with a No. 6 national ranking.

The 125-pound matchup saw a battle of two freshman as Drexel’s Antonio Mininno faced NC State’s redshirt Zurich Storm. Mininno was only two points behind his opponent going into the final period, but was able to tie the score up after getting himself out of the bottom position. He would not see overtime however, as Storm was awarded a point for his time in control from the top. Storm would go on the defensive, keeping Mininno at bay and the score at 4-3 in his favor.

Drexel would even out the score in the wake of sophomore Chandler Olson’s performance at 133 pounds. Olson went up against NC State redshirt freshman John Devine, who Olson took down repeatedly and gained significant riding time over throughout all three periods. Olson would win a 6-0 shutout decision, keeping control on the ground for more than half of the total match time.

The momentum gained by Drexel thanks to Olson did not last long however, as the Dragons would go winless in their next three matches. Junior Nick Widmann was pitted against NC State redshirt senior Jamel Morris at 141 pounds, who managed to keep the Drexel wrestler guessing with his shots. Widmann walked away with an 11-0 decision loss, putting the Wolfpack ahead on points once more.

Redshirt sophomore Parker Kropman put up a good effort at 149 pounds against NC State’s Justin Oliver, a current graduate student and one of the many top nationally-ranked members of the NC State squad. Despite a promising early offensive showing by Kropman, Oliver’s veteran savvy gave him the advantage he needed to emerge victorious. Oliver took an 11-5 decision, extending NC State’s lead to 10-3.

The 157-pound matchup saw two sophomores on the mat as Drexel sophomore Felix Belga took on NC State redshirt sophomore Hayden Hidlay. Hidlay was nationally ranked the No. 4 wrestler at 157 pounds at the time of the bout. Hidlay went on to prove to Drexel why he had achieved his high ranking, as he managed to keep Belga from scoring any points, and eventually earned a 18-0 technical fall win, and pushing NC State to 15-3 overall.

Drexel picked up its second win in the 165-pound division in a clash of two top 20 nationally ranked wrestlers. Despite junior Ebed Jarrell being ranked No. 17, two spots below NC State redshirt sophomore Thomas Bullard, Jarrell would prove to be the better man on the day by securing a pin victory over his competitor in 2:17. Jarrell’s win would take the overall score to 15-9, keeping Drexel in contention for the win.

NC State would put another nationally ranked wrestler on the mats in the 174-pound weight class. Redshirt sophomore Daniel Bullard was presented with redshirt freshman Bryan McLaughlin as his competition. McLaughlin came out of the gates strong, but Bullard managed to turn the tide in his favor by scoring 14 consecutive points enroute to a majority decision win.

While it may have seemed all hope was lost for Drexel, the Dragons found themselves with one more opportunity to pull out a spectacular comeback win in the wake of freshman Anthony Walters’s victory at 184 pounds. Walters was matched against NC State redshirt junior Roderick Davis. Walters was successful on five of his takedown attempts, earning himself a 14-6 majority decision win, and leaving Drexel six points off from tying the score.

Redshirt freshman Derek Rose made his collegiate dual meet debut at 197 pounds, but was unable to find success against NC State redshirt senior Malik McDonald, a crafty veteran ranked No. 20 in the country at the weight division. Rose was defeated via fall a little over two minutes into the match, ensuring Drexel finished just short of a miraculous win.

The meet was wrapped up at heavyweight where redshirt senior Joey Goodhart earned yet another in a string of recent victories to claim the record of most wins on the Drexel squad with 22. Goodhart outmuscled NC State freshman Colin Lawler 5-0 to end the day on a positive note for Drexel.

Drexel wrestling will finish its tour of competitions on the road Feb. 1 at Annapolis, Maryland, against the United States Naval Academy, before returning home to the Daskalakis Athletic Center to host American University Feb. 2. After alternating wins and losses in their past three dual meets, Drexel is hoping to get on the winning path with a win against American, an important rival of Drexel in the Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association.

The Drexel University men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams traveled to Towson, Maryland to compete against the Towson University Tigers Jan. 12. The men had an exciting meet as they beat Towson 161-133. The women, however, did not place as well in some of the events as their previous meet against Northeastern University and the University of Delaware Jan. 5, which led to a loss to Towson 169-127.

The meet began with the men’s and women’s 200-yard medley relays. The women had a great race, leading from off the starting block to the wall at the finish. The team included junior Alexa Kutch, sophomore Gabrielle Rudy, junior Hollie Hopf and sophomore Victoria Palochik. They swam a winning time of 1:45.85 which was 0.33 ahead of Towson. The men’s team took second and third place. The second-place team, which included seniors Alberto Lagrutta Saenz and Ralph Cannarozzi III, and freshmen Paris Raptis and John Scully, were about three seconds behind Towson.

Freshman Jordan Washart took second place in the women’s 1000-yard freestyle earning Drexel four points towards their total. Senior Patrick Cobb had a commanding finish in the men’s 1000-yard free finishing over 14 seconds ahead of second place.

In the 200-yard free events, junior Dora Gercsak placed third for the women while junior Stathis Malamis finished first for the men only 0.1 seconds ahead of Towson’s Ryan Baldino.

The women earned 13 points in the 100-yard backstroke after a one-two finish from Kutch and junior Alicia Diaz. The men followed suit in the same one-two fashion with junior Jason Arthur taking his first win in the 100-yard back and sophomore Kiran Richardson coming in behind.

In the 100-yard breaststroke, Rudy took second place for the women followed by freshman Megan Sicinski in third. This was a battle between Rudy and first-place finisher Jacalyn Schoening of Towson. Rudy led the first by less than a 10th of a second after the first lap, but ultimately fell behind coming to the finish. Cannarozzi took first place for the men’s team with a time of 57.53.

During the women’s 200-yard butterfly, the field was very tight for the first two laps, but the third lap saw Towson’s Megan Cowan pull slightly ahead of the other swimmers. Drexel senior April Forsthoffer was just ahead in second heading into the final lap and swam the fastest split of the others to hold her second-place position. Raptis took second for the men just over two seconds behind first-place.

It was an intense race for the 50-yard freestyle, as less than a second separated the top three finishers for the women’s and men’s events. Hopf swam to third place for the women and Richardson and Scully took second and third for the men.

For the women’s 1-meter dive, freshman Hannah Jordan placed third. Then, in the men’s 1-meter dive, junior Anthony Musciano was narrowly beaten by Towson’s Will Canny 277.65-276.90.

In the men’s 100-yard free, Malamas placed second for the men with a time of 46.03 which was 0.61 seconds behind first-place Matthew Essing.

Kutch won the women’s 200-yard back with over a one-second lead. Diaz came in third behind Towson’s Meghan Jones. Arthur swam to another strong finish in the men’s 200-yard back with a three-second lead over Towson’s Zach Bishop.

The men swept the top three places in the 200-yard breast. Senior Joseph Brown came in first as he took the lead right from the start. Sophomore Zachary Valenzuela was behind him in second place and Cannarozzi was in third. The women took second and third place in the 200-yard breast with Sicinski in second just 0.57 behind Towson’s Schoening.

When it came time for the 500-yard free events, Towson’s Sarah-Margaret Locke won by over four seconds. Gercsak came in second for Drexel. Cobb won the men’s 500-yard free by exactly three seconds, ahead of Towson’s Evan Brophy. Drexel senior Dane Bell came in third behind Brophy.

In the women’s 100-yard butterfly, senior Charlotte Myers and Forsthoffer came in second and third, respectively. The winning time of 56.64 was from Towson’s Maddi Mangum. Myers touched the wall at 57.78 and Forsthoffer at 58.48. In the men’s 100-yard butterfly, Raptis came in second to Towson’s Jack Saunderson.

Back to the diving boards, Towson came away with the victory for the women’s 3-meter dive and a solid lead over the Dragons. Only this score counted for Towson, while the three Dragons competing all received points towards the team total. The competing divers were freshmen Becca Demaree, Hannah Jordan and Katie Caputo. In the men’s 3-meter dive, Musciano lost to Towson’s Canny 310.85-290.48.

Rounding out the competition with the individual medleys and final freestyle relays, the Towson women and the Drexel men were ahead in points against their competitors. Some times were eliminated from the scoring. Even such, Rudy, Sicinski and Forsthoffer were able to earn nine points in the women’s 200-yard IM with second, third and fourth place finishes, respectively. Arthur and Raptis swam to first and third place in the men’s 200-yard IM. Arthur was named Colonial Athletic Association Swimmer of the Week for his three first-place finishes at this meet.

In the women’s 400-yard free relay, the Dragons’ times would have put them solidly in second and third place, but they were able to take the top two spots as the Towson times did not count. In the men’s 400-yard free relay, the Drexel teams took first and third place.

The swimming and diving teams have their final home meet Jan. 19 against Georgetown University. This will be the seniors’ last home meet of their careers. The teams will have a month to prepare for the 2019 CAA Swimming & Diving Championships in Christiansburg, Virginia, Feb. 20-23 where they will be seeing Towson, Northeastern and Delaware again.

The Drexel University men’s basketball team traveled to South Carolina to play the College of Charleston Jan. 10. Coming into the game the Dragons had a record of 7-10, including going 1-3 in the Colonial Athletic Association conference.  Charleston, on the other hand, came into the game with a strong record of 13-3 including an impressive record of 2-1 in CAA conference play.

Drexel found themselves in an early hole at halftime, trailing by eight after several defensive lapses. Despite the early struggles, graduate transfer Trevor John was able to keep the Dragons in the game with 16 points, including four three-pointers in the first half. Drexel came out looking sluggish after half time as well, and by the 8:20 mark trailed by 13 points. Given the early effort, it looked like Charleston could pull away. Drexel head coach Zach Spiker rallied his team though, and the Dragons quickly went on a 9-0 run thanks to three-pointers by John and junior Alihan Demir. With just under three minutes left in the game the Dragons were trailing by seven points, Spiker turned to his reliable senior Troy Harper. Harper scored two layups and added five free throws in the final three minutes of the game to grab Drexel a lead that would not let up. Two of his five free throws came in the final second of the game after he was fouled on a three-pointer. Harper’s heroic efforts led to a final score of 79-78. Drexel’s victory ended Charleston’s six-game winning streak at home.

The Dragons’ next game came against the University of North Carolina Wilmington Jan. 12. The first half was a seesaw battle and the Dragons only lead by two at halftime. The second half was a different story as UNCW went on a 17-2 run after being down by seven early in the half. Junior Kurk Lee led the Dragons in scoring with 19 points, including five three-pointers. Despite this, the Dragons could not keep up with UNCW senior Devontae Cacok who scored 24 points to go along with 12 rebounds. The Dragons fell to UNCW by a score of 97-83.

The Dragons now have a record of 8-11 including 2-4 in CAA conference play. The Dragons’ faced Towson University at home  Jan. 17 ending with a score of _____. Their next game is the Homecoming game against James Madison University Jan. 19 at 2 p.m.

The Drexel University men’s wrestling team went on the road during the weekend to compete at two dual meets, their first of the year. Drexel faced two local rivals, one of which was a Philadelphia rival, the University of Pennsylvania, and the other being Rider University from Lawrenceville, New Jersey.

The Dragons first took on Rider Jan. 11, and while they claimed victories at a number of weight classes, they could not come out with the win. Drexel would end up dropping the first three matches at the lighter weight classes to open up the meet at a 9-0 deficit.

Freshman Antonio Mininno faced Rider junior Jonathan Tropea at 125 pounds in first match of the day. The bout ended 12-6 in favor of Tropea, putting the hosts on the board at 3-0 ahead of Drexel.

The 133-pound matchup was headlined by sophomore Chandler Olson and Rider senior Anthony Cefolo. Olson stayed ahead on points for the first two periods before a late takedown in the third by Cefolo who stole the match from Drexel, with the 4-3 score emphasizing the close nature of the bout.

Next up, at the 141-pound weight class, the effort of sophomore Julian Flores against Rider sophomore Travis Layton proved to be just as competitive as the 133-pound bout. Flores would rally late in the final period but it was not enough to overcome the deficit he suffered early on. The match would end 4-2 in favor of Rider.

Drexel managed to put up some points in the 149-pound division, which saw sophomore Parker Kropman defeat Rider junior Evan Fidelibus 16-3 in dominant fashion. Kropman’s efforts, which set the overall score at 9-4, put Drexel back into the meet.

Another close match-up was contested at 157 pounds, as sophomore Evan Barczak took on Rider senior Gino Fluri. After three periods, the score stood at 3-3, forcing an overtime. Fluri was the first to secure a takedown in sudden death, earning the 5-3 decision.

The Dragons earned their second batch of points during redshirt freshman Bryan McLaughlin’s 174-pound match against Rider freshman George Walton. McLaughlin managed to hold on to an early lead to take a 9-6 decision and put Drexel at 15-7 overall.

Drexel saw another defeat despite a close scoreline at 184 pounds, as freshman Anthony Walters fell 4-2 to Rider redshirt senior Michale Fagg-Daves. With the scoreline sitting at 18-7 in Rider’s favor, Drexel would need pins in the last two matches to walk away with a win.

Hopes for a comeback win for Drexel were dashed after junior Owen Brooks gave up a promising lead to Rider sophomore Ethan Laird. After almost getting pinned in the first period, Laird came back to earn an 8-7 victory, which secured the meet for Rider.

Though the meet was all but over, redshirt senior Joey Goodhart secured the lone pin of the day over Rider senior Ryan Cloud at 285 pounds. Goodhart’s win put the final score at 21-13 with Rider taking the win overall.

Drexel’s second competition of the weekend came Jan. 13, when the Dragons made the short trip to 33rd Street to face Penn at the historic Palestra arena. The neighborhood rivalry had gone the way of Drexel for the past three years, and the Dragons managed to extend the streak to four after a thrilling back-and-forth contest.

First on the mats for Drexel was Barczak at 157 pounds, who took Penn senior Joe Oliva to overtime but lost out in sudden death for a final tally of 7-5. Drexel would then see their next three wrestlers post critical wins to give the Dragons an overall 9-3 advantage.

Junior Ebed Jarrell would tie up the score for Drexel after winning his match at 165 pounds against Penn sophomore Evan DeLuise 4-2. McLaughlin and Walters kept the momentum going by winning out in their contests at 174 pounds and 184 pounds, respectively.

Drexel’s lead was cut down to three points after Brooks lost at 197 pounds to freshman Greg Bensley 6-0. Fortunately, Goodhart managed to point Drexel in a good direction following his heavyweight contest over Penn freshman Ben Goldin, who he soundly defeated 11-3.

Penn managed to take over at the lower weight classes as the meet reached its endpoint. Mininno fell 8-4 at 125 pounds to Penn freshman Doug Zapf, while Olson earned the Dragons their last win of the day at 133 pounds.

Drexel dropped their final two matches, as junior Nick Widmann and Kropman combined for two decision losses at 141 and 149 pounds, respectively. Despite the losses, neither of the two wrestlers suffered a pin loss, ensuring Drexel maintained the upper hand in the local derby, narrowly edging out their foe 16-15.

After defending the Cheesesteak Trophy against Penn, Drexel will face one of their biggest challenges of the year Jan. 19, an away dual meet against North Carolina State University, whose wrestling program has been consistently ranked by the National Collegiate Athletic Association as one of the top ten in the nation.

Before heading out on winter break, the Drexel University’s men’s and women’s squash teams played against one more opponent Dec. 7: Trinity College. They looked to bounce back from prior losses to Princeton University Dec. 6.

The women’s team had the better of the matches as sophomores Ona Prokes and Emma MacGillivray and senior Apoorva Addepalli all got wins for the Dragons. Addepalli and MacGillivray both won in straight sets, 11-3, 11-2, 11-0 and 11-3, 11-4, 11-1 respectively. Prokes took her match to five sets, winning the first and third sets and sealing the victory with a fifth set win. Senior Fiona Power also took her match into the fifth set, but could not come out with a win as she lost to Amina Taher 11-6, 8-11, 11-6, 4-11, 11-5. The rest of the team did not have as much success as the Dragons fell to Trinity, 6-3.

The men’s team had an even worse time against Trinity, as freshman Filip Krueger had the only win for Drexel. He started off strong, winning the first two sets, but lost tremendously in the third set. However, he was able to bounce back and win in four sets, 12-10, 11-9, 1-11, 11-5. Sophomore Dylan Kachur was the closest to winning, as he took his match to the fifth set. After winning the first set, he lost the next two. He hung on for one more set after, but eventually lost in the fifth set to Thoboki Mohohlo 10-12, 13-11, 11-5, 10-12, 11-7. None of the other Dragons could come up with a win, as they lost 8-1.

The men’s team will travel to Rochester, New York, to compete against the University of Rochester Jan. 12 before joining the women to travel to Ithaca, New York, to face off against Cornell University Jan. 18 and Western University Jan. 19.

After starting off the season with a record of 5-4 after the win against Loyola University Maryland Dec. 5, the Drexel University men’s basketball team has struggled in their past eight games. The first game of this challenging stretch came against the University of Maryland Baltimore County Dec. 8. Drexel simply did not have an answer for UMBC’s junior K.J Jackson who scored 21 points in the second half. A bright spot for the Dragons was senior Troy Harper who finished the game with 22 points. Still, this was not enough to overcome the significant deficit as the Dragons fell 91-76.

Drexel’s next game was a different story, however, as they played Quinnipiac University Dec. 16. The Dragons were led by junior Alihan Demir who came off the bench to score 26 points on 11-15 shooting. Harper once again had a strong game as he finished with 19 points. Despite trailing by four at halftime, the Dragons managed to outscore Quinnipiac by 13 in the second half to give them a 92-83 victory.

Two days later, the Dragons traveled to Hartford, Connecticut, for a matchup against the University of Connecticut Dec. 18. Drexel simply could not keep up in this one, as their only lead of the game came during the first four minutes. UConn eventually broke away and routed the Dragons 97-65 in dominating fashion. Husky seniors Jalen Adams and Tarin Smith each dropped 20 points in the game.

Drexel’s next three games came against Temple University Dec. 22, and then two Colonial Athletic Association rivals, Northeastern University and Hofstra University, Dec. 28 and 30 respectively. The Dragons’ struggles continued in each matchup, as the team lost each one of those games by 10 or more points.

After two straight road losses, the Dragons returned home to play Elon University Jan. 3 in hopes of ending their drought. The first half was a close battle. After Elon took an early 11 point lead, Drexel responded with a 9-3 run to make it a 35-34 point game at halftime. However, the second half was a different story with the Dragons striking quickly to build an eight point lead. The Dragons went on to outscore Elon 45-30 in the second half to give them the victory. The final score was 79-65. Harper finished with 21 points in the game and Demir contributed with 19 points, falling two rebounds and five assists short of a triple double.

Drexel’s next game came against the College of William & Mary Jan. 5. The Dragons could not stop junior Nathan Knight who fished with 24 points, 12 rebounds and five assists. William & Mary outscored the Dragons by eight in the first half and 10 in the second to give them a 84-66 victory. Despite coming within two points in the second half, Drexel could not keep up with William & Mary, as the Tribe continued to create chances. Harper led the Dragons in scoring once again with 17 points. Over the past eight games Troy harper has been averaging 21 points.

On the season, Drexel is 7-10 overall and 1-3 in CAA conference play. Drexel’s next game was on the road against the College of Charleston on Jan.10.

The Drexel University men’s wrestling team attended three away tournaments throughout the holidays. The wrestling squad made the most of their shortened break, earning several important victories on the road.

Prior to the end of the term, the Dragons were hosts to the United States Military Academy at West Point, at the Daskalakis Athletic Center Dec. 7. While Drexel headed into the match up with confidence, they would walk away from the mats with only two wrestlers claiming victories, and a final scoreboard of 29-6. Despite the disparity in overall points, Drexel did not give them up easily, giving Army a tough go in each match.

Freshman Ty Smith earned the first win of the day over Army sophomore Lane Peters at 133 pounds, earning a 6-4 decision and leveling the overall score at 3-3. Drexel would go winless at the next seven weight classes until the heavyweights came on.

Redshirt senior Joey Goodhart, at 285 pounds and as possibly Drexel’s most consistent performer this season, took the final match-up for the Dragons against Army freshman Ben Sullivan with a 4-2 decision. Army was Drexel’s final dual meet of the year, as well as the last home meet. Following such a decisive score against them, the Drexel squad was determined to outperform expectations during their three tournament runs.

The Dragons’ last appearance of came Dec. 22 at the 86th Annual Wilkes University Open, where the team managed to close the year out on a high note. Drexel’s seven-man squad at the Wilkes Open was comprised mainly of underclassmen, and talent of the young unit shone through in freshman Michael O’Malley’s win of the 174-pound title.

Freshman Dante Mininno earned a close 9-8 win over Wilkes freshman Nicholas Bauer at 125 pounds to start the Dragons off well in the lower weight classes, before suffering a 14-12 heartbreaker loss to Sacred Heart University sophomore Ryan Burns. Mininno’s run came to an end after another hard-fought 8-6 loss to Wilkes sophomore Kyle Trout.

Two wrestlers competed at 149 pounds for Drexel, freshman Michael Martiniak and redshirt freshman Max Livingston. Martiniak’s first bout came against Lehigh University sophomore Jimmy Hoffman, who received a technical fall win over the Drexel wrestler a little under five minutes into the match. Martiniak was outworked by Wilkes freshman Josh Brown 6-3 in the consolation rounds to finish his day on the mats.

Max Livingston used his 18-3 technical fall loss against Lehigh fifth year Cort Schuyler to fuel a dominant 16-0 technical fall win over Wilkes freshman Andrew Rivera. Livingston would drop out of the consolation rounds after a 12-3 decision loss at the hands of Bloomsburg University redshirt junior Grant Bond.

The squad’s breakout star O’Malley began his victory campaign at 174 pounds with back-to-back pins of Wilkes freshman Brandon Belfonti and Franklin & Marshall College freshman Chris Bolletino. O’Malley was strong in the championship stages, taking a 16-4 decision over Sacred Heart sophomore Anthony Falbo, and clinching a 4-3 win over Alderson Broaddus University sophomore Gino Sita in the finals. The title win was especially impressive as O’Malley’s collegiate debut.

After finishing 14th overall of the 34 teams competing at Wilkes, Drexel enjoyed a brief lay off before returning to competition on New Year’s Day for the two-day-long Southern Scuffle, hosted by the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. History was made as O’Malley capitalized on his impressive debut to become the first Drexel freshman ever to place at the tournament.

O’Malley went 1-1 in his first two matches to drop into the consolation bracket, proceeding to claim three wins in a row, two of which were pin victories at around the two-minute mark. O’Malley, at 174 pounds, fell to North Carolina State University freshman Trent Hidlay, but managed to defeat Binghamton University redshirt junior Vincent Deprez to take seventh place on the podium.

Senior Stephen Loiseau had a successful outing the first day of the Scuffle, but was unable to continue in his bracket following an injury sustained in his match against Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University redshirt senior Tom Sleigh, who was ranked two spots below Loiseau in the national 197-pound rankings at 16.

Drexel’s final performer, Goodhart at 285 pounds, was the top place winner for the Dragons. Goodhart went 2-1 on the first day of the tournament, only losing out to Nick Nevills, a senior at wrestling powerhouse Penn State University. Goodhart went 2-1 in his matches on the second day of the competition to arrive at the fifth place match up against Virginia Tech redshirt senior Billy Miller. Goodhart walked away with a huge upset victory over the then-nationally No. 8 ranked heavyweight Miller, methodically grinding his opponent out to a 4-3 win.

Drexel finished 17th out of the 24 competing teams at Chattanooga, returning to Philadelphia for their latest challenge at the Franklin & Marshall Open Jan. 5. Of the five wrestlers competing, three managed to secure top five spots. Sophomore Parker Kropman placed the highest of the group, winning five straight before falling in the finals at 149 pounds to University of Virginia redshirt sophomore Michael Murphy.

Sophomore Evan Barczak went 6-1 at 157 pounds, taking third place in the category for himself. Junior Ebed Jarrell was 5-2 in the 165-pound weight, and could have went higher, but was forced to withdraw from the tournament early. Drexel’s efforts at Franklin & Marshall pushed them to an overall standing of 12th out of the 52 teams present.

The Dragons will travel to Lawrenceville, New Jersey, to face off against Rider University Jan. 11 in a non-league affair, hoping to register their first dual meet victory of the year.