This October, the U.S. Open Squash Championships have returned to Drexel University’s campus at the Arlen Specter U.S. Squash Center. The U.S. Open is one of the biggest events in the national squash calendar and the most notable figures in squash are there to play.

This year’s event has been full of surprises in the early rounds as it gears up for the latter stages of the tournament. For the first time in the Open’s history, three American women made the round of 16 in the tournament, all winning their matches on Oct. 9 at the Specter Center. The Sobhy sisters, Amanda and Sabrina, both made it through. Along with Olivia Blatchford Clyne. U.S. number one and four seed at the tournament, Amanda Sobhy, won her match in clinical-style over South African Alexandra Fuller; 11-2, 11-5, 11-8. The surprises of the night came from her sister Sabrina and Blactchford-Clyne. 

Sabrina Sobhy, the younger of the Sobhy’s pair, had a challenge to overcome against Canadian WR 16, Hollie Naughton, four places above Sobhy. Sobhy took the first game with a convincing 11-3 scoreline, although went on to lose the next two games 11-8,11-9. Undeviated,, Sobhy won her  next two games 11-7, 11-8, to win the match 3-2. The younger Sobhy went on to produce the biggest upset of her career over WR 2 Hania El Hammammy on Tuesday night with a 11-8, 13-15, 11-7 and 11-9 win to delight the home crowd.

Next up, and the last of the American women isWR 22, Blatchford Clyne against Egyptian Farida Mohamed, WR 15. Things seemed to go in the way for the higher-ranked Egyptian, who won the first game 11-2. However, Blatchford Clyne spurred on by the vocal U.S. home-crowd dug deep to eventually win the match 11-8, 14-12 and 11-6 to the delight of the home crowd. 

After her match, Blacthford Clyne was quoted in U.S. Squash saying “It feels incredible,” said the winner. 

“It’s not the win, although that feels amazing, and I’m so excited to be on the glass court on Tuesday and yes, being surrounded by my family and friends is incredible. But it was the  last match on with the whole back wall being packed and 99.9% of the people cheering for me and the atmosphere was electric. I felt that for the first time in a long time, I was so present in each rally and even when things went wrong I was really there,” (U.S Open Squash).

Both Sobhy sisters made the quarter finals, although Clyne ended up losing out to Egyptian player Salma Hany in straight games. The home crowd has been loud and vocal for all of the American players so far, and with the matches heating up we can only expect more. 

On the men’s team, Todd Harrity was the only American player to make it through to the round of 32, eventually losing out to Colombian player Miguel Rodriguez in straight sets. Four other American men; Timmy Brownell, Shahjahan Khan, Faraz Khan and Spencer Lovejoy all competed in the first rounds, but did not make it through.

In one of the shocks of the tournament so far, defending champion, Mostafa Asal, has been disqualified after his match against Frenchman Lucas Serme. After winning the first two games 11-6, 11-6 and being 6-4 up, Asal hit Serme in the ear at full speed with the ball, which was deemed avoidable by the referees. Serme was promptly taken to the hospital, and he had to concede the match. Per the rules of squash, if you injure your opponent in such a way that they cannot return to play the match, the match is awarded to your opponent. 

On his Instagram account,he posted  “Definitely not the way I thought I would end this year’s US Open. I am okay, I suffered a mild concussion and a pierced eardrum.” He also offered his condolences to his opponent, Asal, “It was an accident and he never meant for anything bad to happen, it is really unfortunate that this match ended that way for the both of us.”

The finals of the U.S. Open will be held on Saturday Oct. 15th at the Arlen Specter U.S. Squash Center right here on campus. Drexel students can enter to watch the event for free by showing their Dragon Card upon entry to watch the world’s best squash players compete for the coveted title. 

The Drexel University women’s soccer team are in the final leg of their regular season and are showing a lot of potential to make a promising run into the playoffs this year.

The Dragons, led by Head Coach Ray Goon, are 9-1-5 this season with a 4-1-2 conference record and are in a three-way tie for first place in the Colonial Athletic Association with 14 conference points. They have already secured a playoff spot and wrap up regular season play at Monmouth University Sunday before traveling to the University of Delaware the following Sunday.

This marks a big turnaround from last season for the Dragons, who went 6-8-3 with a 2-5-2 record in the conference, giving them an eighth place finish in 2021. This year, the Dragons started their season with three straight wins and were unbeaten through ten games. One of their most dramatic wins of the season came against UNCW on Sept. 25, when sophomore Casey Touey scored the game-winning goal with a little over a minute left in regulation to beat the Seahawks 3-2.

Touey is one of the key members of the offense, along with junior Delaney Lappin and senior Annalena O’Reilly, who have scored the second most team goals in the conference this year. Touey and Lappin have both earned CAA Offensive Player of the Week awards this season. Lappin currently has scored the most goals in the conference this year (ten) and most points (23). 

On the defensive side, leading the charge is Molly Piso, a junior from Hermitage, Pa. The defensive goalkeeper has 56 saves this season and took home CAA Co-Defensive Player of the Week honors the week of Aug. 29-Sept. 4, after recording her first collegiate clean sheet and saving 14 shots that week, including a career-high seven saves in back-to-back games.

Despite the fact that the regular season is almost over, there is still a chance the women’s squad can secure a home playoff game in the CAA tournament. Cheer on the Dragons, as they try to make this season memorable with a CAA trophy. You can watch Drexel Women’s Soccer games on Flo FC.

The hunt for Red October is in full swing, birds are flying into the end zone and The Process and The Beard will soon have the Wells Fargo Center rocking.

For those not familiar with Philadelphia’s sports teams, it’s a great time of the year to become an invested stereotypical Philly fan. Here is all you need to know about the current states for a few of Philly’s favorites.

Phillies: It has been a decade since the Philadelphia Phillies won five straight National League East championships. Since then, the Phillies have not seen baseball’s postseason as they hold the longest postseason drought in the National League. However, all things are pointing in the direction of that drought coming to an end. As of now, the Phillies hold a wild card spot as the season winds down. Led by the reigning MVP, Bryce Harper, and the NL leader in home runs, Kyle Schwarber, the Phillies feature a scary offense. There are 13 games left in the regular season, including the Phils’ last home stand from Sept. 20-25 against two playoff teams, the Blue Jays and the Braves. Take your friends and head down to Citizens Bank Park for a day in the ballpark.

Eagles: The Philadelphia Eagles just started their football season last Sunday by defeating the Lions 38-35 and the Vikings 24-7. For those looking to get into football or join the “Bird Gang” you couldn’t have picked a better time. Jalen Hurts is one of the most exciting young stars in the league as a dual threat quarterback and has the co stars around him such as A.J. Brown, Miles Sanders, and former tenth overall pick, Devonta Smith. The Eagles made the playoffs last year in what was a transitional year for them, but will be looking for a deep run into the playoffs this year. They will wrap up September with their first divisional matchup of the season against the Washington Commanders, led by former Eagle and Super Bowl Champion, Carson Wentz.

Sixers: The Philadelphia 76ers will be looking to once again contend for an NBA Finals Championship. They are led by one of Philadelphia’s favorite athletes of all-time, Joel “The Process” Embiid, who was the runner-up last year in the MVP race. He is joined by future first ballot Hall of Famer, James “The Beard” Harden, who will look to bounce back after a season where he was injured and traded midseason to the Sixers. Young phenom, Tyrese Maxey, showed that he can be a force in the league as he continues to develop into an offensive force. With these three at the helm, the Sixers own one of the best big threes in basketball currently. They open their season on Oct. 18 against their rival adversaries, the Boston Celtics, in Boston. The Sixers will host their home opener in Wells Fargo Center two days later against the Milwaukee Bucks led by former MVP and champion Giannis “The Greek Freak” Antetokounmpo.

Philly is known for having one of the craziest and most dedicated fan bases in the nation and with the current states of these three teams, it will be on full display in September through October. If you want to be part of it, get your friends, buy some tickets, tailgate and make some memories in the South Philadelphia Sports Complex.

Fast breaks, slam dunks and blocks off the backboard are almost back at the Daskalakis Athletic Center. The 2022-23 Drexel Men’s and Women’s Basketball seasons start in a little over a month and when the time comes, the DAC Pack will be rocking and Calvin Hicks will be screaming in joy after every Drexel W.

After a 15-14 record last year as the reigning Colonial Athletic Association champs, the men’s team was eliminated in the first round by the eventual 2021-22 CAA Champs, Delaware. They will now have to turn the page from the Camren Wynter–James Butler era and most likely look to run their offense through the reigning CAA Defensive Player of the Year, Amari Williams. 

Standing at 6’10” and 250-pounds, Williams took over the starting job at center following an injury to Butler and never looked back. He led the conference in blocks, recorded six double-doubles and averaged 11.9 points per game in games he started in. The junior Englishman also represented Great Britain in the World Cup Qualifiers this past summer.

He’ll be joined by some lethal perimeter shooting in the likes of senior Mate Okros, fifth year Coletrane Washington and junior Lamar Oden Jr. They combined to shoot at a .385 clip from behind the arc last season.

The ability to create baskets on the drive is a question heading into the season with Wynter, Drexel’s sixth all-time leading scorer, and Melik Martin not returning. Wynter and Martin were the top two scorers for the Dragons, who will now try to split the offensive load between the returners mentioned above, four freshman and Jamie Bergens, the junior transferred in from Oral Roberts.

The women’s team comes into the 2022-23 season after owning the best record (28-6) in the CAA during the regular season last year, along with tying the program record for wins in a season. However, with four starters not returning to the lineup, including star point guard Hannah Nihill, a new core will have to emerge for the Dragons.

Fortunately, Drexel’s top scorer, Keishana Washington, will return for her fifth year with the Dragons after averaging 19.2 points per game last year. She will be joined in the back court with Maura Hendrixson, who was Drexel’s sixth woman last year. Last year, Hendrixson had the fourth best assist to turnover ratio in the country (3.03) and will look to fill out Nihill’s footsteps at the point guard this season.

The front court is up for grabs with Tessa Brugler, Kate Connolly and Mariah Leonard not returning. Some candidates to watch out for include senior Hetta Saatman and junior Jasmine Valentine who saw their roles increase last year off the bench.

The women’s team will start the season against Rider on Nov. 10 with the men playing the next day against Old Dominion. Students can attend all home games for free so come out to the DAC this fall and winter. For directions to get your free student tickets visit the Campus and Community tab on Drexel One.

Drexel Athletics’ annual Blue and Gold awards night returned this year after a two-year hiatus due to the pandemic. The event took place in the Daskalakis Athletic Center and handed out awards to the men’s and women’s teams of the year, coach of the year, play of the year, and more. The stars of the night were seniors Chris Donovan and Karson Harris, who were awarded the 2022 Mary and John Semanik awards, presented to student-athletes who exemplify the attitudes and ideals of athletics as defined by the former athletic directors, Mr. and Mrs. Semanik. 

Donovan, from the men’s soccer team, had also already been named Colonial Athletic Association Men’s Soccer Player of the Year, along with being the second player in Drexel’s history to be drafted in the Major League Soccer SuperDraft. He is now playing for the Philadelphia Union. To add to his array of awards this season, he was also named Drexel’s CAA Male Soccer Athlete of the Year. His final season at Drexel ended with 12 goals. Along with all of these achievements, his exemplification of athletic ideals resulted in him being presented with the John Semanik award. 

Harris led the women’s lacrosse team to make history when they won their first CAA Championship title after entering the NCAA Tournament for the second time in a row. Her career at Drexel ended with 351 draw controls, breaking the CAA record. She also scored a record-breaking 62 goals this season, finishing with 70 points. Harris was named Drexel’s CAA Female Scholar Athlete of the Year, and was also part of the All-CAA First Team. Harris also exemplified what it means to be a student and scholar-athlete, for which she received the Mary Semanik award. 

As for Play of the Year, women’s lacrosse picked up another award when Allison Drake was presented with the award for her performance in the CAA title game against Towson. She scored the decisive point to secure an 11-10 win for the Dragons and their first-ever CAA Championship title. Drake was also one of four recipients of the National Strength and Conditioning Association All-Americans award. 

Women’s Team of the Year was won by women’s squash for their second-place finish at the National Championships. The team picked up their first ever program wins against Princeton and Trinity, ranked third and second respectively. Their second-place finish at the National Championships broke the program record for highest finish at a National Championship. Alina Bushma won the Female Performance of the Year for her win against Trinity in the semi-final match, where she came back from two games down to win, propelling the Dragons into the national championship match. John White, head coach, was also awarded with Drexel’s Coach of the Year award. 

Men’s Team of the Year was won by rowing, who won the Varsity 8+ at the Dad Vail Regatta. The Dragons qualified for the Intercollegiate Rowing Association Championship thanks to their performances. They also won the Kerr cup, Bergen Cup and Murphy Cup this year.

Mickey O’Malley picked up an award for the wrestling team when he won Drexel’s Male Performer of the Year award for his win at the EIWA Championships in the 174 pounds category. 

Women’s basketball’s Maura Hendrixson won the I Am A Dragon Award. The team was further honored for Kelsi Lidge, the Coordinator of Strategic and Player Development, who won the BSAU Impact Award. The men’s basketball team won the men’s Dragon Cup, an award given to the team who supports the most athletic games at Drexel. 

Softball won the women’s Dragon Cup and Kristi DiMeo won the SAAC Service Award. Spirit Team Performers of the Year was won by Amanda Fields, Evan Sykes and Meghan Wickersham. Along with Drake, the National Strength and Conditioning Associations All-Americans were Natalie Cleri of women’s rowing, Brennan Greenwald of men’s lacrosse and Noel Heaton of men’s squash. 

Laura White, the Senior Associate Athletics Director, received the Calvin Hicks Spirit Award. White will be retiring this year. She was awarded for her dedication and positive attitude towards Drexel Athletics, and her constant support to our student-athletes.

It is almost officially football season in Philadelphia once again. The Philadelphia Eagles kickoff the regular season in less than a month, and coming off a season where they made the playoffs, there are intriguing storylines to follow this year. Here are three big questions to look out for this season that will be crucial to the Eagles’ success.

1. Can Jordan Davis be a savior for the defensive line?

Dating back to when they won the Super Bowl, the Eagles have featured a good defensive line on their team. However, that championship run was a while ago and the core members are starting to age. Fletcher Cox has been without a doubt the best player on the line, but he’s 31 now. Brandon Graham, another key player to the defense, is 34 and coming off a torn Achilles. That’s where the 13^th overall pick, Jordan Davis, comes in. The 6’6”, 340-pound defensive tackle has created a lot of buzz at camp with his overwhelming size for his position. If he can be productive, especially alongside Cox and Pro Bowler Javon Hargrave, it would be a huge advantage for the Eagles run defense.

2. Will DeVonta Smith have a sophomore slump?

Smith had an excellent rookie season showing that he has the potential to be the receiver the Eagles have needed for years. With 916 receiving yards and five touchdown passes, he quickly became Jalen Hurts’s favorite receiver. However, the sophomore slump exists for a reason, and with a full season of tape on Smith, the question becomes whether he can repeat or boost his productivity. Fortunately for him, he won’t carry as much of the load with A.J. Brown joining the birds and the emergence of Quez Watkins last year.

3. Is Jalen Hurts the quarterback of the future?

Quarterback is the most important position in team sports. At the end of the day, you can have all the talent you want on a team, but if you don’t have the right guy leading the offense, the team won’t have success. Hurts earned the QB1 title after leading the Eagles to the playoffs in what was supposed to be a rebuilding year. There are questions around Hurts and his throwing accuracy, which needs to get better. However, we’ve seen glimpses at times where Hurts could be the Eagles franchise quarterback for the foreseeable future. Year two as a full time starter will be his make or break season. If Hurts performs and the team wins, he’ll stick around, but if they lose and Hurts doesn’t play well, don’t be surprised to see Philly draft a quarterback high in next year’s draft.

The Eagles have been transitioning the last few years and this year is the year to see what that transition has brought. With young phenoms like Davis, Smith, and Hurts joining veterans like Brown, Darius Slay, and Cox, the new era of Philadelphia Eagles football could be here. Their season will kick off Sept. 11 against Jared Goff and the Lions at 1:00 in Detroit.

Drexel Women’s Squash wrapped up a historic season this February with a second place finish at the National Championship– the highest ever finish for the Drexel Dragons. They finished their season with 16 wins, smashing the previous record of 12. Along with the highest win record and highest national ranking, standing at number two, freshman Dina Rosli added her name to the record books by recording a perfect season with a record of 16-0. The team, led by head coach John White and assistant coach Dylan Cunningham, were awarded for their efforts by winning ‘Best Women’s Team’ at the annual Blue and Gold Drexel athletics awards night.

Heading into the National Championships held at Harvard University, the Dragons were ranked sixth, coming up against number three Princeton in the quarter final match. The Dragons had narrowly lost 5-4 to the Princeton Tigers just ten days before in their last match of the regular season. With an early 2-0 deficit, the Dragons had a comeback on their hands. Junior Alina Bushma got the first point on the board with a 3-1 win, closely followed by freshman Noa Romero’s 3-0 win to tie the score at 2-2. Rosli brought the lead to 3-2 with a hard-fought 3-2 win. In a see-saw contest, the Tigers took the next match, tying the score at 3-3. Sophomore Sanya Vats took the fourth point for the Dragons, winning 3-1, and inching ever closer to a historic victory. Freshman Lydia Robinson sealed the victory, winning 3-1, and propelling the Dragons through their first ever victory against the Tigers. Junior Karina Tyma added an additional point on the board with a 3-0 win to solidify the victory to 6-3. 

Following the historic win, the Dragons had an even bigger challenge on their hands. Up against number two,Trinity College, in the semi-final match, there was a lot of work to do to overcome their highly-ranked opponents. The match went back and forth between the Dragons and the Bantams, but with wins from senior Brooke Herring, Rosli, Romero and Robinson, the match was tied at 4-4. The fate of the team was in the hands of Bushma, playing at the number two-spot. Bushma lost the first two games 13-15, 9-11, trailing 0-2, but the Dragons refused to back down. In a heroic effort, Bushma took the next two games 11-7, 11-2. On the brink of the biggest win of their career, the Murr Squash Center was packed as the game stood at 4-4, 2-2. Bushma took the fifth and final game 11-5, securing the biggest ever win for the Dragons, along with a spot in the National Championship finals. 

The historic win was cheers for all and for co-captain of the squash team Karina Tyma, “I loved every minute competing and supporting in that atmosphere at nationals. I felt as though we all came together as a team and cheered each other on until the last point. I’m extremely proud of the team and how we carried ourselves.”

The women’s squash team finished as national runners-up, eventually losing out to the number one seeds and reigning champions, Harvard, in an 8-1 loss. The sole win came from Rosli, who perfected her 16-0 record for her rookie season. This result proved to be Drexel’s highest ever finish at the Howe Cup, the United States’ largest squash event for women, with the team also scoring the highest season-win record at 16. 

Co-captain, Hatti Specter, accredited the hard work on the court and in the strength and conditioning room for the success of the team, saying, “Our success at nationals was the culmination of all of our hard work in practice and lift during the regular season.”

Head coach John White stated, “It was an amazing weekend where all the hard work and dedication from practices showed and paid off for the team. All athletes played their best squash and left everything out on the court. This was the best weekend in our ten years of being a varsity program, and many many more to follow.”

White also won ‘Best Coach’ award at the Blue and Gold awards, a credit to his success with both the men’s and women’s varsity squash programs. The men’s team finished their season as the seventh ranked team in the nation. With the varsity squash program celebrating only its tenth anniversary this year, it’s exciting to imagine what is next for the Dragons. The women’s team will be adding three freshmen onto their roster this fall, ahead of the 2022-23 season, which they will enter ranked at number two.

The Philadelphia Phillies season has already been a rollercoaster with a slow start that led to Manager Joe Girardi being fired. That turned the tide as the Phillies are 27-14 since and are entering the All-Star Break with a 49-43 record and in the third wild card spot. The playoff push is here, and that means being buyers at the Aug. 2 trade deadline. Here are three trade targets the Phillies should pursue at the deadline.

Jose Iglesias

With Jean Segura on the IL with a broken finger and Nick Maton on the IL with a shoulder injury, the Phillies could use another middle infield piece. Jose Iglesias, a nine-year vet, makes sense for a couple reasons. He’ll hit the free agent market after this year, which means the cost to get him will have the half-season rental discount. Iglesias could fit at second, third and shortstop, giving the Phillies a lot of options. Even though he’s not what he used to be on defense, he is still a plus defender and could hopefully help the younger guys like Alec Bohm and Bryson Stott develop on the defensive side of the ball. Offensively, Iglesias is having one of his best seasons at the plate batting .301 and has the highest OPS of his career right now at .746.

Ian Happ

Center field has been a problem for the Phillies for the past year, so it makes sense to go after a guy with some team control. Ian Happ, who was elected to the All-Star Game, would fix the problem for the rest of this year and next year. Another plus defender, Happ is a left fielder but has plenty of experience in center along with at second base, so he could address two of the Phillies’ needs. The switch-hitter is batting and getting on-base at a higher clip than the rest of his career, and with more protection for him in the Phillies lineup, the slugging percentage could rise if traded to Philadelphia.

Victor Robles

If the Phillies don’t want to make the home run move for Happ, they could look no further than in their division. It’s no secret that the Phillies are one of the worst defensive teams in baseball. Victor Robles is in his sixth year in the big leagues and even though he has struggled offensively, he would be a critical boost defensively. According to Baseball Savant, Robles has the tenth highest catch probability. Kyle Schwarber is ranked 94th, which is dead last out of all qualifying outfielders, and Nick Castellanos is 92nd. They could definitely use a center fielder that can cover a little extra ground, something Robles provides.