Men’s Basketball
Four Baldwin Wallace University men’s basketball players scored in double figures as the Yellow Jackets defeated Otterbein University, 90-67, in an Ohio Athletic Conference game in the Rudolph Ursprung Gymnasium inside the Lou Higgins Center on January 4. The Yellow Jacket win was its fifth straight versus the Cardinals.
Senior All-OAC guard Kevin Krakowiak, scored a game-high 26 points and moved into 23rd place all-time on the Yellow Jacket scoring list with 1,119 points. In addition to Krakowiak for BW, junior forward Matt Dennis recorded his first career double-double as he scored a career-best 19 points and grabbed a career-high 13 rebounds. Senior All-OAC power forward Kyle Payne recorded his third straight double-double as he scored 17 points and grabbed 10 rebounds and junior point guard Jaron Crowe added 16 points and dished out a game-high nine assists.
BW would push the lead to as many as 23 points on two occasions in the second half with the last coming at 90-67 on the first career basket by sophomore forward Ryan Walsh.
Dennis recorded his second career double-double with a career-high 21 points and a game-high 12 rebounds as the Baldwin Wallace University men’s basketball team defeated Muskingum University, 89-73, January 18.
This was BW’s fifth consecutive victory over Muskingum.
In addition to Dennis for the Yellow Jackets, Payne recorded his fifth career double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds and Crowe scored 20 points and dished out a game-high tying four assists.
Krakowiak scored a game-high 21 points as the Baldwin Wallace University men’s basketball team defeated Heidelberg University, 86-67 on Wednesday, January 22.
BW has now won five straight against Heidelberg and increased its all-time series lead to 69-44. The Yellow Jackets have played the Student Princes more than any other opponent in the sport of men’s basketball.
In addition to Krakowiak, Payne scored 19 points. Senior forward Tyler Ferrell chipped in 16 points and Crowe had 12.
Crowe scored 17 points on Saturday, January 25, but BW lost at OAC-rival Capital University, 73-69, in the Capital Center. The win ended a two-game BW winning streak.
With its loss, BW is now 9-8 overall and 5-5 in the OAC. Capital is now 8-9 overall and 5-5 in the OAC.
In addition to Crowe, Payne had 16 points and freshman forward Jaelen Hollinger had a career-high 11 points.
With his 16 points, Payne now has 1,439 career points to rank 12th on the all-time Yellow Jacket scoring list. In addition, Krakowiak had seven points and now has 1,190 career points to rank 19th.
BW is back in action on Saturday, February 1 when the Yellow Jackets travel to Otterbein.
Women’s Basketball
Junior forward Audrey Smolik scored a game-high 19 points and senior forward Lexi Rohrbach had a double-double with 14 points and a game-high 13 rebounds as the Yellow Jackets defeated Ohio Athletic Conference rival Otterbein University, 81-69, on January 4. The win was BW’s fourth straight.
In addition to Smolik and Rohrbach for BW, senior two-time All-OAC forward Jessica Lairson and junior guard Shari Mangas each had 15 points.
Smolik scored a game-high 20 points as the Baldwin Wallace University women’s basketball team defeated Marietta College, 85-64, in an OAC game on January 11. Smolik also is January’s OAC Scholar-Athlete of the Month.
BW has won five straight games against Marietta. The Yellow Jackets also have won 38 of the last 39 meetings, including 33 consecutive games from December 19, 1994 to December 3, 2012.
In addition to Smolik, Rohrbach tallied 19 points and had a team-high six rebounds. Mangas contributed 11. The Pioneers were led by senior guard Tori Dixon as she scored 14 points.
On Wednesday, January 15, sophomore guard Alissa Munro scored a career-high 26 points as the Baldwin Wallace University women’s basketball team defeated Cleveland cross-town rival, 16th-ranked and previously undefeated John Carroll University, 97-85, in an Ohio Athletic Conference game in the Rudolph Ursprung Gymnasium inside the Lou Higgins Center.
The keys to the BW victory was shooting 48.5 percent from the field (32-66), including a season-best 63.2% from the three-point land (12-19) and holding John Carroll to 39.2% from the field and 25% from three. The 97 points scored by the Yellow Jackets was a season-best.
In addition to Munro for BW, Lairson scored season-high 23 points and Mangas added 15. Sophomore center Sam Hamar grabbed a career-best and game-high tying 12 rebounds.
Lairson scored 16 points as the Baldwin Wallace University women’s basketball team defeated OAC rival Heidelberg University, 69-64, on January 22. The victory kept BW in first place in the OAC and was its seventh in its last eight games.
In addition to Lairson for BW, Smolik had 14 points and Munro had 12. Heidelberg was led by senior guard Kathleen Phillips’ game-high 33 points, including 25 in the second half.
Lairson scored a game-high 19 points but it was not enough as the Baldwin Wallace University women’s basketball team fell to Capital University, 83-68, in an Ohio Athletic Conference game in the Rudolph Ursprung Gymnasium inside the Lou Higgins Center. The game was originally scheduled for Saturday afternoon but was moved to Sunday, January 26 due to inclement weather.
Lairson now has 1,013 career points and stands as the 13th player in school history to top the 1,000-Point mark.
The next home game is on Saturday, February 1 when the team hosts Otterbein University in Ursprung Gymnasium at 3 p.m.
Wrestling
The Baldwin Wallace University wrestling team had a 2-1 record January 24 at the annual Thiel (Pa.) College Mel Berry Duals in the Beeghly Gymnasium. Competing teams were host Thiel, Lycoming (Pa.) College and Mercyhurst (Pa.) North East.
At Thiel, BW lost to Lycoming, 24-21; beat No. 24-ranked Thiel, 22-14; and beat Mercyhurst North East, 36-22.
Leading the way were sophomore 125-pounder Jesse Gunter, sophomore 165-pounder David Shapiro and sophomore 285-pounder Joe Belford all finished 3-0. Belford, who returned to the team on Tuesday after missing the first half of the season, had two pins and owns a 3-0 record this winter. Shapiro had a 2-0 mark at 165 pounds and 1-0 slate at 174 pounds and is now 24-8 overall with a team-leading 24 victories. Gunter had a pin, a major decision and a decision to improve to 17-2 this winter and 46-4 in his two-year career. He is currently ranked 10th in Division III at 125 pounds in the most recent NWCA (National Wrestling Coaches Association) adidas-Brute individual rankings.
Against Lycoming, Gunter won at 125 pounds by major decision, 16-4; senior 133-pounder Andrew Taylor won by major decision, 10-2.
Shapiro won at 165 pounds by major decision, 14-3 and Belford won at 285 pounds by pin in 1:13.
