Three of Temple’s non-revenue sports concluded their 2023 seasons at the American Athletic Conference Championships last weekend.
Despite stellar individual performances from several athletes, Temple Men’s Tennis, Women’s Tennis and Golf each fell short of a victory at their respective tournaments.
The teams’ respective paths to Florida saw varying degrees of success, but in the end none were able to pull off an upset after seasons that were better than years past.
Here is how each fared at the AAC championship.
Men’s Tennis
Head coach Steve Mauro and assistant coach Bruce Myers’ team shocked opponents all season long. With a 19-5 record heading into the tournament, and a 16-game win streak in the middle of their season, Men’s Tennis had a season to remember.
Led by the doubles pair of graduate Thibault Frumholz and junior Leo Raquin, the No. 8 Owls entered the April 21 matchup with No. 1 Memphis intending to upset the AAC’s favorite to win it all.
While Frumholz and Raquin did their job in defeating Memphis’ top doubles team, Temple fell short in singles play, leading to a 4-2 loss on the day. Frumholz and Raquin finished the season with an 11-0 record at the top doubles spot.
Memphis, led by No. 69-ranked Pablo Alemany, nearly swept Temple in singles action with Raquin securing the Owls’ only victory at the position.
In the next round, Memphis lost to eventual tournament winners No. 4 SMU after the Mustangs defeated the Tigers in the final singles match.
Women’s Tennis
Mauro and assistant coach Frederika Girsang led Temple Women’s Tennis to an all-time season with two doubles pairs becoming ranked at one point in the season. However, nothing seemed to go right for the Owls on April 20 in Orlando.
The No. 19 pair of Maiko Uchijima and Jamie Wei jumped out to a 5-1 lead yet failed to secure another point in their doubles loss. No. 4 SMU then swept Temple in singles play, but the Owls’ 4-0 loss overall was not reflective of their season as a whole.
Temple finished the season with a 17-5 record and secured a 4-2 victory against No. 8 Tulane in the opening round of AAC championship play. A strong singles performance on April 19 gave Temple the win as four Owls captured individual victories from the Green Wave.
With Wei and Uchijima projected to reach nationals this season, the Owls will likely be represented through May.
Lacrosse
Head coach Bonnie Rosen entered the 2023 season with high expectations after finishing last season 11-6 and losing in the first round of the American Athletic Conference tournament to Vanderbilt.
Vanderbilt ended the Owls’ latest season as well, with the Commodores defeating the Owls 12-11 on April 29, preventing Temple from reaching the 2023 AAC tournament.
Temple Lacrosse began the season 3-1 with wins against Vermont, George Washington and Delaware to go along with a narrow 10-9 loss to Ohio State on Feb. 12. However, a 11-10 loss to UMBC sparked a six-game losing streak in the middle of the season.
Despite losing all four of their ranked games, several players stood out in big moments for the Owls, most notably Belle Mastropietro.
The senior midfielder finished the season with 39 goals, 20 assists and 94 draw controls, good for fifth in goals per game and second in draw controls per game in the AAC. Seniors Mackenzie Roth, Julie Schickling and Maeve Tobin each finished with 20 or more goals as well.
Temple enters next season looking to bounce back and reach the AAC tournament once again.
Golf
Head coach Brian Quinn has been successful in conference play during the past several seasons, with a few players reaching high levels of golf beyond their Temple careers.
Ethan Whitney, Graham Chase and Conor McGrath still made history this past season with 2022-23 marking the first year a Temple team had three players with stroke averages of 73 or less.
Individual talent was never an issue with his 2023 squad, but they never seemed to find their footing throughout the course of the season. Golfers like Whitney, Chase or McGrath stepped up at various moments, but their successes on the greens were inconsistent.
In Belleair, Florida, for the AAC championship, it was Whitney who put on an all-time performance. With the Owls finishing in last place at 35-over, Whitney personally shot a two-under 208 to finish fifth overall at the tournament.
Whitney joined PGA golfer Brandon Matthews as the only Owl to finish below par at the AAC Championship as Matthews finished in fifth as well in 2016.
Other Updates
Temple Women’s Track will run at the AAC championships from May 12-14 prior to their potential NCAA East regional bid on May 27.
Men’s Crew and Women’s Rowing each will race at the Dad Vail Regatta on the Cooper River in New Jersey from May 12-13 to conclude the regular season.
Rowing will compete at the NCAA Championships from May 26-28 while Crew will race at the IRA National Championships at Mercer Lake from June 2-4 if either team advances that far.
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