The Emory Athletics Weekly Preview for January 15th – January 21st. This preview is to serve as a weekly snapshot of all upcoming Emory athletic events for the coming week. 

Women's Basketball: 

After a couple of weeks on the road, the No. 10 Emory women's basketball team (12-2, 2-1 UAA) will return to the WoodPEC for a pair of UAA matchups. The Eagles spent the past two weekends away from Atlanta to start their conference slate, earning wins over Rochester and WashU before falling to Chicago this past Sunday. 

Emory started the weekend in St. Louis, Missouri to take on the No. 25 WashU Bears. Behind a career day from junior Morgan Laudick, the Eagles fended off a fourth quarter comeback bid from the Bears to pull out a 76-73 win. Laudick finished the game with 22 points and nine boards to help the Eagles reach their 12th straight win. 

The Eagles then went north to take on the Chicago Maroons. Laudick once again led the Eagles in points with 14 on the day, but this time around it wasn't enough as the Maroons topped the Eagles 72-58. The loss snapped a 12-game win streak and marked just the second loss of the season for the Eagles – the first since the season-opener against No. 3 Christopher Newport in early November. The 12-game winning streak was the second-longest in program history. 

Through 14 games, the Eagles are among the nation's best offensively. Head Coach Misha Jackson draws up plays to get her guards open looks from deep and it has paid off this season. Emory ranks fifth in the nation in three-point percentage, shooting 38%, and seventh in shooting percentage, converting 45.7% from the field. Junior guard Daniella Aronsky is among the best three-point shooters in the country, knocking down 47.1% of her shots from deep, the seventh best in all of Division III. The junior also tends to share the wealth too, ranking 10th in the nation and first in the UAA with 82 assists on the year. 

Graduate student Claire Brock is leading the scoring for the Eagles, averaging a UAA-high 18.8 points per game. Brock is knocking down 51.7% of her shots and 46% from beyond the arc. The graduate student joined the 1,000-point club earlier this month and has helped boost the Eagles to one of their best starts in program history. 

The Eagles will have a chance to start a new winning streak this weekend, with Case Western Reserve and Carnegie Mellon set to visit Atlanta this weekend. The Spartans are coming off their first conference win of the season, taking down Brandeis at home. Case Western Reserve is averaging 63.6 points per game and does a good job taking care of the basketball, turning the ball over just 13.7 times per game – a UAA best. Leading the Spartans is senior forward Kayla Characklis, who is averaging 13.7 points game 6.1 rebounds per game. Emory and the Spartans have met 58 times, with the series split down the middle with each team having won 29 of the matchups. However, the Eagles have won five of the last six against the Spartans. The game against Case Western Reserve is the first UAA Friday Night basketball game of the year. Fans in attendance will have the opportunity to enjoy a food truck, free t-shirts, gift card raffles, halftime contests, a beer garden (21+), live DJs, and more. 

The Tartans will conclude the weekend with the Eagles on Sunday afternoon. The foes from Pittsburgh bring a strong offense to the WoodPEC, averaging 74 points per game. The Tartans have a more balanced attack, with the ability to shoot the three and score down low. Carnegie Mellon is a strong rebounding team as well, pulling down over 45 boards per game. Emory has won the last 10 matchups with the Tartans and lead the all-time series 46-21. 

When/Where: 

• Friday, January 19th – vs Case Western Reserve – 5:30 PM – Woodruff P.E. Center (Atlanta, GA) 

• UAA Friday Night Basketball – South of Philly Food Truck, Live DJ, Gift Card Raffles, Halftime Performances, and more! 

• Sunday, January 21st – vs Carnegie Mellon – 2:00 PM – Woodruff P.E. Center (Atlanta, GA) 

Coverage: 

• Case Western Reserve 

• Video / Live Stats 

• Carnegie Mellon 

• Video / Live Stats 

Men's Basketball: 

The No. 22 Emory men's basketball team (10-4, 1-2 UAA) is returning home this weekend after a weekend trip to St. Louis and Chicago to take on a pair of conference opponents. The Eagles have a prime opportunity to climb the already clustered UAA standings with No. 2 Case Western Reserve and Carnegie Mellon on deck.  

The Eagles started last weekend's road trip with a narrow loss to the No. 19 WashU Bears. Although the Eagles fell late to the Bears, sophomore Ben Pearce had a career day, going for a season-high 26 points, five assists and a career-high nine boards. Pearce was named to the Bevo Francis Award top-100 watch list this past weekend as well. The award is given annually to the best college basketball player competing at the NCAA Division II, III, NAIA, USCAA or NCCAA level. The sophomore ranks fifth in the UAA in scoring with 15.7 per game and second in assists with 5.4 per game. 

Emory bounced back from the loss on Friday with a resounding victory over Chicago on Sunday. This time around, it was Pearce's classmate Jair Knight leading the way with 22 points. Knight has served as a key-piece to Head Coach Jason Zimmerman's fast-paced offense this season, leading the team with 16.4 points per game – the third best clip in the UAA.  

The sophomore duo is helping lead the Eagles to 86.6 points per game, the 17th best in the country to date. Zimmerman likes to scheme up plays to get looks from deep as well, with the Eagles attempting over 30 shots from deep per game. Junior forwards Cale Martens and Logan Shanahan have helped the Eagles dominate the boards as well, pulling down 43.9 rebounds per game, the 16th best in the country. Shanahan and Martens bring a dynamic look to the offense, with the ability to back down defenders in the paint and knock down looks from deep as well. 

Coming up for the Eagles are Case Western Reserve on Friday night and Carnegie Mellon on Sunday afternoon. The Spartans are up to the No. 2 rank in the nation and boasting a 13-1 record. Case Western Reserve brings a red-hot offense into Atlanta, averaging nearly 90 points per game and knocking down 10.9 three-pointers per game. Graduate student Anthony Mazzeo is leading the way for the Spartans, scoring 19.5 points per game and knocking down 52.4% of shots from the field. Mazzeo's classmate Colin Kahl is also shooting a UAA-best 56.6% from the field. Emory has won 10 of the last 12 matchups with the Spartans and have not lost at home to Case Western Reserve since the 2009 season. The game against Case Western Reserve is the first UAA Friday Night basketball game of the year. Fans in attendance will have the opportunity to enjoy a food truck, free t-shirts, gift card raffles, halftime contests, a beer garden (21+), live DJs, and more. 

The Carnegie Mellon Tartans will also bring a strong offense to the WoodPEC, averaging over 80 points per game. The Tartans are coming into the game with a 2-1 conference record, including a win over Case Western Reserve a couple of weeks back. Sophomore guard Justin Allen is a major reason that the Tartans have started UAA play strong, leading the conference with 21.1 points per game. Allen put up 24 against the Spartans in the upset win earlier this month. The Eagles have won 14 of the last 16 meetings between the two teams. 

When/Where: 

• Friday, January 19th – vs Case Western Reserve – 7:30 PM – Woodruff P.E. Center (Atlanta, GA) 

• UAA Friday Night Basketball – Food Truck, Live DJ, Gift Card Raffles, Halftime Performances, and more! 

• Sunday, January 21st – vs Carnegie Mellon – 12:00 PM – Woodruff P.E. Center (Atlanta, GA) 

Coverage: 

• Case Western Reserve 

• Video / Live Stats 

• Carnegie Mellon 

• Video / Live Stats 

Swimming and Diving: 

UPDATE: Due to inclement weather in the Cleveland, Miss. area, the team will not be making the trip to the meet.

The Emory swimming and diving teams will be back in the pool for a dual meet at Delta State in Cleveland, MS. The men will take on just Delta State, and the women will take on Delta State with West Florida also joining in on the action. 

This is the first time the Eagles will compete since early December, when the Eagles picked up several NCAA B Cuts and senior Jake Meyer earning two NCAA A Cuts, one in the 100 Breaststroke and 200 Breaststroke, at the Denison Invitational. Senior Penelope Helm had an impressive first-half of her season, posting a B Cut in the 200 Freestyle and helping lead the 400 Freestyle Relay team to a second-place finish at Denison. 

A couple of newcomers have burst onto the scene as well for the Eagles. Freshman Katie Cohen placed fourth in the 100 Breaststroke at Denison, competing with fierce competition at Denison. McKee Thorsen has also been a strong rookie, finishing second in the 200 Fly and fifth in the 100 Fly. 

The Eagles have a chance to add on to these marks coming up this weekend with the one-day dual meet at Delta State. Emory will have three more dual meets over the course of the next few weekends before ramping up for UAAs and NCAA meets.