By James Burns
The Purple Eagles had a busy weekend with 10 teams in action. As the winter sports (such as the recently hot basketball teams) start to wind down their seasons, the spring calendar is here and with it comes baseball, softball, tennis and others. But this weekend is one to look fondly on if you’re a supporter of the Purple Eagles anywhere on the spectrum from swimming and diving to hockey.
Swimming and Diving wrap up their seasons at MAAC Championship over the weekend
Niagara University’s swimming and diving teams both finished their seasons this past weekend with the women’s team earning fifth place honors while the men earned sixth. Several school records were broken as well.
Shawn Warner, one of the Purple Eagles most consistent performers for the men’s team, broke the 200 and 400 IM program record. Nicolas Winograd also set a school record for the 100 breaststroke with a time of 57.32. Sydney Kligys, Annie Eckhardt, Julia Casolo and Kristen Suarez also turned in programs record-setting performances in the 200 and 400 free relays. Hannah Charlton broke her own record in the 200 fly with a time of 2:11.75.
Softball Travels to Cleveland State over weekend
Niagara University’s softball team traveled to Cleveland, OH this past weekend to compete in the Cleveland State Dome Tournament. The team went 3-1 through the two-day event defeating Robert Morris twice while also beating the host-team Cleveland St. The team’s lone loss came from Bowling Green University as a 9-0 result.
Jennifer Szilagy had a big weekend in the circle pitching in the first victory over Robert Morris as well as the victory over Cleveland St. resulting in 9-0 and 9-4 victories, respectively. Kendall Watkins also had an explosive weekend posting a .385 batting average in four games. She knocked in four RBIs as well as a homerun for the team.
The team continues their season on March 6 traveling to Clearwater, FL to compete against South Dakota State University and Western Michigan University.
Both basketball teams in action this weekend, 1-1 splits for each
This past Friday the men’s and women’s basketball teams continued the “Battle of the Bridge” series against Canisius. The women took a loss while the men defeated their rival 94-81. This past Sunday the men lost against defending-MAAC Champions Iona 90-76 while the women defeated Marist 68-53.
Both teams continue their seasons on Thursday. The women’s team is home against Siena while the men travel to Monmouth.
Men’s and Women’s tennis travels to Cleveland
Both of Niagara’s tennis teams were in action this past weekend in Cleveland. The women, having their first match since losing to Detroit Mercy 7-0 on Thursday, lost to Cleveland State by the same score this past weekend. The men split their two matches earning one win and one loss. They defeated Oberlin 4-2 with Francis Nadeau and Felipe Fuentes earning a win in the No. 1 doubles. The men also won three singles matches credit to Nadeau, Lukas Wenniger and Taylor Ozdemir.
The two teams are in action at home this Saturday against Quinnipiac University.
Niagara hockey takes on Army, struggles continue
The Niagara hockey team traveled to West Point to compete against the Army Black Knights this past Friday and Saturday. The Purple Eagles were routed in their first game 6-1 with all of Army’s goals coming in the first two periods. Derek Brown had Niagara’s lone goal.
The second game on Saturday was more competitive ending in a 5-4 overtime loss for the Purple Eagles. The two teams went back and forth first with Niagara having a 2-0 lead turn into a 2-2 tie, then with the two teams trading goals from the second period on. The Black Knights had an answer in overtime with a goal coming from Conor Andrle little over four minutes into the period.
Niagara’s next next two games are against Canisius College, this coming Wednesday and Friday.
All photos courtesy of Niagara Athletics and purpleeagles.com
Niagara Wire 