Posted November 28, 2016
One weekend, five wins, two titles
Temple Athletics had plenty to give thanks for over the holiday weekend.
Photography By:
Joseph V. Labolito
A weekend full of athletics brought two titles to Temple: the American Athletic Conference East Division Title for football and the NIT Season Tip-Off Title for men's basketball.
To say it was an exciting weekend for Temple athletics would be an understatement. Each of the four teams that faced opponents triumphed, and two of the winning teams clinched championship titles.
Temple football secured the American Athletic Conference East Division Title, beating East Carolina 37-10, and men’s basketball brought home the NIT Season Tip-Off Title with two thrilling upsets of top 25 teams. The weekend was bookended with wins by volleyball and women’s basketball.
Football’s sixth straight win on Saturday earned the team its second consecutive appearance in the American Athletic Conference Championship game. The Owls will face the Navy Midshipmen at noon on Saturday, Dec. 3 at the Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis, Maryland. The game will be broadcast nationally on ABC. Ticket packages are available and regional game watch parties will be hosted in Boston, Chicago, Palm Beach and Philadelphia.
The men’s basketball team traveled to the Barclay’s Center in Brooklyn for the NIT Season Tip-Off. The Owls prevailed in their first meeting of the season against a ranked team—No. 25 Florida State—to advance to the final, where they upset No. 19/17 West Virginia. The NIT Season Tip-Off Title is the first regular season tournament championship for the Owls since winning the 1998 Coaches vs. Cancer Classic Title. The team heads next to Saint Joseph’s for a Philadelphia Big 5 contest at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 30 and will play Penn at 4 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 3 at the Liacouras Center.
Volleyball ended the season and celebrated Senior Day with a 3-1 win over Tulsa. The team’s three seniors—Tyler Davis, Caroline Grattan and Kirsten Overton—played well in their last match at McGonigle Hall and compiled an impressive 88-38 overall record in their careers, including a 54-24 record in conference play.
Women’s basketball closed out the winning weekend by beating Quinnipiac 71-68. The Owls were down by seven points in the fourth quarter, but rallied to secure the win. The team travels to Harvard on Thursday, Dec. 1 and returns home to face Vermont on Sunday, Dec. 4.
