Women’s Basketball
Women’s Basketball remains undefeated in A-10 play
FINAL: WBB 57-53 George Mason
Rhode Island traveled down to Fairfax, Virginia on Wednesday to take on conference opponent George Mason University. Forward Mayé Touré led the way for the Rams, posting her ninth double-double of the season with 11 points and 11 rebounds to go along with her 3 blocks. After a back-and-forth first half, the Rams came out of halftime on fire, starting the third quarter on an 8-0 run within the first three minutes. George Mason refused to back down, working their way back into the game, trailing 36-31 by the end of the quarter. The Patriots threatened to take the lead in the fourth, but Rhode Island never relinquished it. Two free throws by captain Dolly Cairns with 12 seconds left put the game away for the Rams. They improved to 8-0 in the Atlantic-10 conference and 17-3 overall.
Swim Team
Swim and Dive Team unable to finish regular season on a high note
FINAL: SWIM 173-127 CCSU
On Saturday, the Rams took a trip down to New Britain, Connecticut for a meet against Central Connecticut State University. While the outcome was not what Rhode Island hoped for, there were some bright spots for some of the young athletes on the team. The team earned four individual wins in the meet, with one of them being first-year Sarah Koenig. She recorded a personal best time in the 200-yard individual medley. First-years Lily Hsu and Olivia Winslow, cleaned house in the diving events. Winslow finished atop the leaderboard in the 3-meter event, while Hsu did the same in the 1-meter. For the first time in her collegiate career, Sophomore Hannah Benavides finished in first place in the 200-yard breaststroke. Despite the great individual efforts, the team was not able to cap off the regular season with a victory. They now have their sights set on the A-10 Championship, which will start on Feb. 15 at the SPIRE Institute in Geneva, Ohio.
Men’s Track
Eric Zolkofske breaks school record in Boston
URI Men’s Track and Field team had an eventful weekend in Massachusetts, first at Boston University’s invitational on Saturday followed by UMass-Lowell’s invitational on Sunday. While Sunday’s meet did not include many top finishes, Saturday was a historic day for the team. Fourth-year runner Eric Zolkofske broke URI’s school record in the mile run with a time of 4:03.05 – a record that stood for nearly three years. Along with his impressive race, Graduate Student Tyler Rubush(4:03.56) and Senior Collin Ochs(4:06.99) moved into third and fourth all-time in best school mile times, respectively. Following the tremendous weekend, the team is shifting its focus to the New England Championship that is taking place this upcoming weekend.
Rhody Men’s Basketball:
Rhody takes advantage of home stretch
FINAL: URI 75-70 Dayton
On January 25th Rhody Men’s Basketball took on Dayton in the Thomas M. Ryan Center. Dayton came into the game ranked third in the Atlantic-10 conference, meanwhile the Rams were down at 12th. The Rams were also coming off of a three-game losing streak going into this game. The Rams were outscored in the first half 27-32, however, they continued to fight back into the game being led by Ishmael Legget with 25 points, Brayon Freeman with 21 points and Jalen Carey with 12 points. As a team Rhode Island shot 46% from the field and only 27% from three-point range. However, what really gave them an advantage was their free throws. They shot 89% from the charity stripe, making 23 of their 26 attempts. Ishmael went 11-11 from the free throw line, helping him on his way to a 25 point performance and the Rams comeback win.
FINAL: URI 72-70 La Salle
On Jan. 28th Rhody Men’s Basketball took on La Salle again for the second time in three weeks, this time at home here in the Thomas M. Ryan Center. Once again the Rams were outscored through the first half. At one point in the second half URI was down by as much as 14 points. In need of a response from his players in the second half, URI Head Coach Archie Miller decided to get his best players on the court going into “small ball”, having 5 guards on the court with Malik Martin at 6’6” being the tallest player.
“Ishamel Legget I think about 7 minutes to go in the game was in the huddle,” Coach Miller said. “It was the first time maybe all season long I saw him with emotion, he made me believe we’re good.”
Ishmael Legget once again led the charge for this Rams team. Ishmael Legget had 20 points, Jalen Carey had 18 points, Brayon Freeman had 12 points and Malik Martin had 10 points. The Rams went on to win this game 70-72 in a true comeback win.
Women’s Tennis:
Women’s Tennis Kicks Off Spring Season on a High
FINAL: URI 4-2 Bucknell
On Jan. 29th, the Rams played Bucknell at the international tennis hall of fame, where the Rams came out on top with a 4-2 victory. Sophie Herman, a freshman, clinched the team win with her straight set victory to put the Rams on top. URI got off to a strong start by taking the doubles point, third-year Klara Nelander and first-yearAva Grnja took the first doubles victory 6-3 while first-year Sophie Herman and second-year Valentina Cvackova went on to win the next doubles match 6-4 giving Rhody the point for doubles. Rhody singles were won by Paulina Loredo and Nikki Fernando’s dominant 6-0 win put the Rams one point away from winning the match. Bucknell then went on to win two singles, making the match 3-2. Herman then went on to get the victory after winning her two sets in singles 6-1 and then 6-3. The Rams look to move on to Boston University on Feb. 3rd.
Women’s Track:
Individual wins highlight BU Terrier Classic
On Jan. 28th, the women’s track and field team went to the Boston University Terrier Classic. Graduate student Trinity Smith went and won the 60 meter hurdles with a time of 8.72 seconds. First-year Lily Saul participated in the 800 meters where she went ahead and finished in 13th with a time of 2:10.95, placing the best recorded time by a freshman. Becca Durham also participated in the 800 meters placing 20th with a time of 2:12.73. Xiana Twombly finished 18th in the 200 meters with a time of 25.41 seconds. Smith was 23rd in the 200 meters with a time of 25.59. The team now looks to move on to the New England Championship on February 3rd held at Hormel Stadium in Medford Massachusetts.