River Forest, Ill. – Women's and Men's Basketball host Alumni Day, Men's Volleyball begins its season, and Men's and Women's Track and Field compete in the Coach Shoe Invitational as the winter season continues.
Women's Basketball first welcomed Rockford to the Igini Sports Forum for a Wednesday night clash. A high-flying first half that finished 37-11 in favor of DU led to the Stars' second conference win in a row, ultimately taking down Rockford by a final score of 69-44. Junior Lia Saunders entered a tie for 8
th all-time for points in a single game, as the Hampshire, Illinois native dropped 30 points in the victory. Junior Kaitlyn Milison added 10 points, 7 rebounds, and 4 steals. Following Dominican's win over the Regents, the Stars hosted St. Norbert for Alumni Day on Saturday afternoon. The Green Knights stifled DU's offense throughout the contest, as Dominican fell by a final score of 57-38. Saunders and Freshman Xi Le O'Neill paced the Stars with 9 points each, followed by 8 from Freshman Emily Bouaphanh. This week, DU will be in action on Wednesday, January 21
st, at Concordia Wisconsin. Tip-off against the Falcons will be at 7:00 p.m.
Men's Basketball began the week on the road at Rockford on Wednesday night. After heading into the second half trailing by 2, the Stars could not make up the ground on the Regents and ultimately fell by a final score of 71-54. Freshman Elijah Daugherty posted a team-high 19 points and was 2-5 from deep. Senior Dominic Crapia tacked on 8 points and 2 steals. On Saturday, the Dominican looked to turn it around on Alumni Day against St. Norbert. Once again, the first half ended close, with both squads knotted at 55-55. The Green Knights pulled away from DU in the later stages of the second half, as the Stars dropped the game by a final score of 64-54. Daugherty and Sophomore Frank Paszkowski posted 16 points each. Daugherty was 10-11 from the free-throw line, and Paszkowski finished 4-11 from three. Sophomore Braydon Murphy added 10 points and 6 boards. The Stars will continue their homestand on Wednesday, January 21
st, against Concordia Wisconsin. Opening tip between the Falcons and Dominican is slated for 7:00 p.m.
Men's Volleyball opened its season at North Park on Friday night. The Stars dominated the first set 25-13 and used that momentum to complete the sweep over the Vikings, as the match finished 25-13, 25-19, 25-19. Junior Ty Geschke totaled 10 kills on .353 hitting, while Sophomore Kendall Esparza notched 8 kills on .889 hitting. Junior Thomas Hirsch contributed 7 kills and 4 blocks. DU will have its home opener on Friday, January 23
rd, against Augustana. The match against the Vikings will begin at 6:00 p.m. Following Friday night's match, Dominican will host Adrian on Saturday, January 24
th, for two home matches in as many days. First serve against Adrian is scheduled for 2:00 p.m.
Men's and Women's Track and Field competed in the Coach Shoe Invite, hosted by Illinois Wesleyan in Bloomington, Illinois, on Saturday. Junior Jose Murillo posted DU's fastest time in the Men's 60-meter event with a time of 7.76. Freshman Samuel Malke placed 3
rd in the Men's 800-meter with a time of 2:02.84, and Sophomore Aaron Guadarrama took 19
th in Men's Shot Put with a best throw of 9.02m. Freshman Sarai Palma placed 15
th in both the Women's 60-meter and Women's 200-meter events, with times of 11.19 and 39.73, respectively. Senior
Emma Brosnihan took home 9
th and posted a time of 2:56.13 in the Women's 800-meter. Sophomore Mary Bitter came in 5
th in the Women's 1200-meter event and recorded a time of 5:17.67. DU Track and Field will be back in action on Saturday, January 24
th, at the Aurora Grand Prix, hosted by Aurora University.
Stars of the Week for the week of January 12th to January 18th:
Junior Lia Saunders of Women's Basketball received Star of the Week honors. Saunders totaled 39 points, 6 rebounds, and 6 assists across DU's two games during the week. Saunders also had a historic 30-point performance on Wednesday, going down as the 8
th most points in a single game in Dominican's DIII history.
Junior Ty Geschke of Men's Volleyball was named Star of the Week. Geschke posted 10 kills on .353 hitting alongside 3 blocks, 2 aces, and 5 digs in DU's sweep over North Park on Friday.
