The Emory Athletics Weekly Preview for January 22nd – January 28th. This preview is to serve as a weekly snapshot of all upcoming Emory athletic events for the coming week.
Women's Basketball:
The No. 10 Emory women's basketball team (14-2, 4-1 UAA) will continue its conference schedule this weekend, with trips to Brandeis and NYU on the horizon. Coming into the weekend having its 12-game winning streak snapped by Chicago, the women's basketball team bounced back with two conference wins over Case Western Reserve and Carnegie Mellon and stand second in the UAA race, one game behind the Violets.
Graduate student Claire Brock is experiencing an incredible season on offense, shooting 51.2% from the field and 45.5% from beyond the arc, which is the seventh best across all Division III players. The Knoxville, Tennessee native is putting up 19.1 points per game, on pace to be the best mark of her career. Brock's hot streak continued this past weekend against a pair of UAA opponents. She put up 15 points in the win over Case Western Reserve and 26 in the victory over Carnegie Mellon.
Junior Daniella Aronsky is also knocking down three-point shots at a high clip, converting 43.4% of her attempts from beyond the arc. Her three-point percentage ranks 11th nationally among Division III players. Aronsky has done a great job at providing her teammates with open looks as well, averaging 5.8 assists per game, which is also the 11th best mark in the nation.
The Eagles have gotten some help from off the bench this year, with newcomer Alexandra Loucopoulos scoring 6.3 points per game. The rookie from New Jersey has appeared in all 16 games in a reserve role and has hit shots in moments where the Eagles needed a spark. She also ranks third on the team in blocks with nine, behind just Erin Martin and Katherine Martini.
The Eagles are winning games with a fast-paced offense that scores 74.3 points per game, mixed with a suffocating defense that doesn't surrender many open looks. As a team, the Eagles are shooting 36.6% from deep, the sixth best rank in the nation. Head coach Misha Jackson's defense has also made it hard for opponents to knock down the three, with opponents shooting just 21.3% from beyond the arc.
Emory is set to head north to Waltham, Massachusetts to take on the Brandeis Judges on Friday evening. The Judges are 4-12 on the year and 0-5 in UAA-play this year. Brandeis will enter the matchup with the Eagles on a six-game skid, not having scored more than 54 points in a conference game thus far. However, the Judges can knock down threes, averaging 8.4 makes per game, which is 17th nationally. Caitlin Gresko has led the Brandeis offense so far in conference play, averaging 13 points per game on 45.8% shooting. She's also knocking down 42.1% of her threes in conference play thus far. Emory has the edge in the all-time series against the Judges, winning 40 of the 67 meetings dating back to 1989.
The Eagles will then have their toughest matchup of the season, taking on undefeated No. 1 NYU on the road. There aren't many weaknesses for the Violets, with an average margin of victory set at 28.5. The Violets don't miss often, shooting 49.1% from the field and 35.3% from three and average a national best 20.9 assists per game. Leading the way for NYU is Natalie Bruns, who is putting up 14.3 points per game while pulling down 6.8 boards per game. However, Bruns is a difference maker on defense, leading the UAA with 46 blocks this year, 19 more than any other player in the conference. The Violets have been a thorn in Emory's side as of late, with NYU having won the past five matchups. NYU also owns the all-time series, 47-20.
When/Where:
- Friday, January 26th – at Brandeis – 5:30 PM – Red Auerbach Arena (Waltham, MA)
- Sunday, January 28th – at NYU – 2:00 PM – John A. Paulson Center (New York, New York)
Coverage:
- Brandeis
- NYU
Men's Basketball:
The No. 22 Emory men's basketball team (11-5, 2-3 UAA) is coming off a weekend in which it went 1-1 at home against a pair of UAA opponents. The Eagles went toe-to-toe with No. 2 Case Western Reserve and took the Spartans down to the wire. However, they could not overcome a record-breaking performance from the Spartans' Sam Trunley, who knocked down eight three-pointers and put up 33 points off the bench to take down the Eagles 90-86. The Eagles bounced back on Sunday, though, besting Carnegie Mellon 90-84. All five starters for the Eagles scored double-digit points in both games this past weekend. The Eagles have two more opportunities to climb the UAA standings this weekend as they get ready to take on Brandeis and No. 13 NYU.
The Eagles explosive offense is led by a pair of sophomore guards, Jair Knight and Ben Pearce. The two have put together their fair share of highlight reels, while helping lead Emory to 86.8 points per game. Pearce is excelling at getting his teammates open looks, averaging 5.5 assists per game, which is good for the 12th best mark in the nation, while also scoring 16.4 points per game. His counterpart, Knight, is leading the Eagles with 16.8 points per game. Knight proves to be a problem for opposing defenses every game, with the ability to knock down threes, hit midrange jumpers and throw down highlight worthy dunks at any given moment.
The big men for Emory, juniors Cale Martens and Logan Shanahan, have provided the offense with a dynamic look as well. Both can score down low and make shots from deep when they have a look. Shanahan is knocking down 53.9% of his shots this year to average 13.7 points per game and is second in the UAA with 8.9 rebounds per contest. Martens is putting up 14.2 points per game, shooting nearly 50% from the field, and is fourth in the conference at 7.6 rebounds per game.
Two rookies have made an impact for the Eagles this year as well, with Ethan Fauss making his way into the starting lineup and AJ Harris coming off the bench in all 16 games this season. Fauss hit a pair of pivotal threes in the game against Case Western Reserve to bring the game within reach and Harris sparked a 9-0 run for the Eagles with a couple of threes that helped them put the Tartan comeback bid to rest.
As a team, the Eagles are excelling at rebounding, pulling down 43.6 per game, the 14th most in the nation. They've also done a solid job at taking care of the ball, with an assist/turnover ratio of 1.43 to rank 13th in Division III. Head Coach Jason Zimmerman also gives his team the green light to shoot the three, attempting 30.1 shots from beyond the arc per game.
Brandeis is coming into its matchup with the Eagles having won their last game against WashU 59-54 to improve to 2-3 in conference play. The Judges ripped off an 8-game win streak to finish their non-conference schedule, bringing their overall record to 11-5. The Judges like to control the pace of play, scoring just 68.6 points per game but only giving up 62.9 points per game, the 18th best scoring defense in the country. Emory leads the all-time series with the Judges, 40-30, and has won the last five meetings.
The NYU Violets are riding a two-game winning streak into their matchup with the Eagles. NYU's trademark is their ability to knock down the three, shooting 40.7% from beyond the arc. Spencer Freedman spearheads the Violets' offense, shooting 44.4% from three while putting up 16.6 points per game. He's cooled off from beyond the arc since starting conference play, but has found other ways to score, averaging 18.6 points per game in five games of UAA-play. The Violets have the slight edge in the all-time series, 37-34, but Emory has won nine of the last 10 meetings.
When/Where:
- Friday, January 26th – at Brandeis – 7:30 PM – Red Auerbach Arena (Waltham, MA)
- Sunday, January 28th – at NYU – 12:00 PM – John A. Paulson Center (New York, New York)
Coverage:
- Brandeis
- NYU
Track and Field:
The Emory track and field teams will be back in action this weekend at the Camel City Invitational in Winston Salem, North Carolina. The event will be over the course of two days on the JDL Fast Track.
The Eagles are coming off a meet in which they set multiple program records and both the men and women's team finished first overall at the meet. Senior Libby Ranocha set a program record in the 600m, finishing in 1:35.48, before joining her teammates in the 4x200m to set another program record. Ranocha teamed up with Audrey Johnson, Kaya Binetti and Mina Leopold, to set the new program record at 1:44.42.
The men's team also broke three program records. Chris Belz set a new program record in the 600m, with a time of 1:21.56. Henry Brandstadter, Graham Greene, Dawit Dean and Jackson Price set a program record in the 4x200m with a time of 1:29.92. Kenya Sei set a program record in the weight throw with a distance of 16.52m.
The Eagles will have a few more opportunities to etch their names into the record books this weekend.
When/Where:
- Friday, January 26th-Saturday, January 27th – Camel City Invitational – JDL Fast Track (Winston Salem, NC)
Coverage:
Swimming and Diving:
The Emory Swimming and Diving teams will be back in the pool on Saturday morning for their senior day festivities in a dual meet against Centre. Emory was scheduled to resume competition last weekend against Delta State and West Florida, but the Eagles did not travel due to inclement weather.
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 start to her season, earning 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 rookies have started turning heads for the Eagles as well. Freshman Katie Cohen placed fourth in the 100 Breaststroke at Denison, competing with fierce competition at Denison. McKee Thorsen has also been a strong newcomer, finishing second in the 200 Fly and fifth in the 100 Fly at Denison.
The men's team went 2-1 in dual meets earlier this season, while the women went 1-2. Both the men and women won the Emory Fall Invitational meet.
Fans in attendance can enjoy free donuts and coffee upon entering the Woodruff P.E. Center prior to Senior Day festivities before the start of the meet.
When/Where:
- Saturday, January 27th – vs Centre – 11:00 AM – Woodruff P.E. Center (Atlanta, GA)
- Senior Day
- Free Coffee and Donuts
Coverage: