Men’s basketball bounces back, tennis struggles to start season

Men’s Basketball:

FINAL (2/3): Duquesne 85-71 URI

FINAL (2/6): URI 88-65 George Washington University

It was a tough weekend for the University of Rhode Island as they suffered a loss against Duquesne University. During the Atlantic 10 matchup on Saturday, fourth-year Dae Dae Grant led Duquesne to victory, dropping 31 points to take the win over the Rams. On Tuesday, the Rams were able to achieve a win against George Washington University. Some defining moments from the game consist of third-year guard Zek Montgomery scoring a career-high 30 points, leading them to victory against George Washington. Second-year guard Brandon Weston also contributed in the game, making his first career start for Rhode Island. He added a total of 12 points for the Rams. Coming up, URI travels to play against the University of Massachusetts on Sunday. For more on the games, see David Okula’s recap (page 8, rhodycigar.com)

Women’s Basketball:

FINAL (2/3): Duquesne 70-61 URI

FINAL (2/7): Richmond 68-49 URI

On Saturday, the Rhode Island women’s basketball team lost to Duquesne. The teams managed to end the first quarter with a 15-15 tie. The Rams suffered in the second quarter as Duquesne outscored them 13-6. The Rams had to play without fifth-year guard Teisha Hyman, and lost their point guard, second-year Ines Debroise, to injury within the first minute of the game. RI women’s basketball also took a loss on Wednesday, when Richmond’s third-year guard Siobhan Ryan scored 14 points, allowing three Richmond players to score in the double digits. URI Rams face Saint Louis on Sunday. For more on the games, see Brandon Lajoie’s recap (page 7, rhodycigar.com)

Men’s Track & Field:

Harvard Elite (2/2): Individual Results

The men’s track & field team traveled to Cambridge, Massachusetts to compete in the Harvard Elite on Friday. In the shot put event, Rhode Island’s fourth-year Chris Tavarone and first-year Theo Puterbaugh both placed. Tavarone placed eighth and Puterbaugh placed 14th. That’s not all – URI’s fourth-year Alexander Baez showed up to place fourth in the weight throw. The team is preparing to show out for split meets on Saturday at the Boston University Valentine Invite and is also hosting the URI Coaches Invite. For more on the meet, see Gerard Villemenay’s recap (rhodycigar.com)

Women’s Track & Field:

BU Scarlett & White Invitational (2/3): Individual Results

URI’s women’s track and field team had a successful weekend. URI’s fourth-year Sydney Federico finished in 13th place, coming within half a second of a top 10 placement in her 500 meter heat. Fifth-year Hanna O’Connor also placed 35th in the mile with a time of 4:55.83. Next up, the women’s track & field team is sending some members of their team to the David Hemery Valentine’s Classic on Feb. 9, along with hosting the URI Coaches Invitational on Feb. 10. For more on the meet, see Johnny Ochsenfeld’s recap (rhodycigar.com)

Women’s Tennis:

FINAL (2/3): BU 7-0 URI

FINAL (2/4): NJIT 4-3 URI

URI’s women’s tennis team fell to Boston University on Saturday and also fell on Sunday against the New Jersey Institute of Technology. On Saturday the one victory of the day was the doubles team, consisting of fourth-year Nadia Rajan and first-year Nikki Fernando. On Sunday, URI came close as they took three of the top four singles matches. Second-year Sophie Herman, fifth-year Valentina Cvackova and Fernando all won their singles play on the day. Despite this, NJIT overtook the Rams in the match. For more on the weekend series, see Sam Chozik’s recap (rhodycigar.com).