Penn’s winter sports teams were in action over the weekend, home and away, and compiled a host of impressive victories.
On Friday at the Hecht Tennis Center, the men’s tennis team defeated Navy 7-0. The Quakers were victorious in all of their singles and doubles matches. In singles play, first-year Manfredi Graziani shined in the No. 4 spot, defeating Matthew McNair of Navy 6-0, 6-0. Graziani also excelled in doubles play, teaming with first-year Kian Vakili to trounce Navy’s Matthew McNair and Nathan Nguyen 6-0.
The men’s basketball team beat Columbia 74-65 on Friday at the Palestra. Third-year guard Jordan Dingle had a game-high 25 points. Second-year guard George Smith chipped in 14 points. The Quakers outrebounded the Lions 45-29; fourth-year guard Lucas Monroe and second-year forward Nick Spinoso both grabbed seven boards.
On Saturday at the Hecht Tennis Center, the women’s tennis team picked up the victory over Long Island University, upending the Sharks 6-1 to improve to 4-0. The Quakers triumphed in five of the six singles matches and all three doubles matches. Second-year Sabine Rutlauka, playing in the No. 1 spot, beat LIU’s Leo Boisseau 7-6, 6-2. Second-year Gavriella Smith, playing in the No. 3 position, clinched the victory by overpowering LIU’s Bianca Compuesto 6-3, 6-2.
At the Penn Squash Center on Saturday, the No. 2-ranked men’s squash team defeated No. 3-ranked Princeton 8-1. The Quakers lost the first match then racked up eight straight wins. Second-year Nathan Kueh, third-year Nick Spizzirri, first-year Omar Hafez, and fourth-year Dillon Huang each earned 3-0 victories. The men’s squash team is 14-1 on the season. Their only loss was to No. 1-ranked Harvard.
In Ithaca, New York, on Saturday, the women’s basketball team improved to 14-8 overall and 6-3 in the Ivy League with a 67-54 win over Cornell. Fourth-year guard Kayla Padilla had 23 points, six rebounds, and four assists; she shot 7-11 from three-point range. Third-year forward Jordan Obi had 21 points and seven rebounds. The women’s basketball team sits at fourth in the conference with five games remaining in the regular season.
Competing in the two-day Rutgers Open on Friday and Saturday at The Armory in New York City, the track and field team picked up eight first-place finishes. Third-year distance runner Olivia Morganti placed first in the women’s mile with a time of 4:48.88. Second-year middle distance runner Edwin Klanke took the top spot in the men’s 1,000m with a time of 2:23.18. Third-year sprinter Isabella Whittaker won the women’s 400m with a time of 55.34. Third-year runner Aliya Garozzo triumphed in the women’s 600m with a time of 1:32.42. First-year runner Shane Gardner finished first in the men’s 60m with a time of 7.04.
In the men’s 3,000m, fourth-year distance runner Michael Keehan was victorious with a time of 8:06.45. Second-year distance runner Bronwyn Patterson won the women’s 800m with a time of 2:06.11. Last but not least, first-year Moforehan Abinusawa, second-year Jocelyn Niemiec, second-year Caia Gelli, and fourth-year Katherine Muccio won the 4x400 relay with a time of 3:48.10.
Saturday evening at the Palestra, the men’s basketball team won their fourth straight game, a 92-86 victory over Cornell. Five Quakers scored in double figures, led by Dingle’s 27. Third-year forward Max Martz and third-year guard Clark Slajchert both had 13 points; Monroe scored 12 points and grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds. The men’s basketball team is 13-11 overall and 5-4 in the Ivy League. They sit at fifth in the conference with five games remaining in the regular season.
Amassing a score of 195.250, the fourth-best team score in school history, the gymnastics team beat Cornell on Sunday in Ithaca, New York. Second-year Olivia VanHorn took the top spot on the vault with a score of 9.875. Fourth-year McCaleigh Marr placed first on the uneven bars with a score of 9.850. Third-year Campbell Marr won the balance beam with a score of 9.925, the second-best beam mark in school history. The Quakers are 7-4 overall, 2-0 in the Ivy League, 4-0 against Gymnastics East Conference opponents.
On Sunday at Penn State, the men’s tennis team handed the Nittany Lions their first loss of the season, a 4-2 defeat. Penn State won two of the three doubles matches, but the Quakers triumphed in five of the six singles matches in straight sets. Fourth-year Edoardo Graziani, playing in the No. 1 spot, defeated the Nittany Lions’ Loren Byers 6-1, 6-4. Fourth-year Kevin Zhu defeated Penn State’s Miko Eala 7-5, 6-1. The Quakers are 3-2 on the season.
