The Official Newsletter of Villanova Athletics

Good morning! Go inside the locker room after the Wildcats won the Battle of the Blue!

What else is going on in Nova Nation?

🏈 Football wins Battle of the Blue
🏐 Volleyball books tournament trip
🔷 And much, much more!

Starting Up is powered by our friends at Jeff D’Ambrosio Auto Group, a leading auto dealership serving Chester County and the surrounding communities since 1975.

🔼 We’re In. Villanova football took down Delaware 38-28 in Saturday’s Battle of the Blue. It was the last matchup between the two as conference foes. Brendan Bell became the first Villanova player to score both a defensive touchdown and an offensive touchdown in the same game. He recorded a pick-six before rushing for a six-yard touchdown.

The Wildcats earned the 11 seed in the FCS playoffs and will host Eastern Kentucky on Saturday. Click here to purchase tickets!

DoubleTree Philadelphia West (located in Plymouth Meeting) is a proud sponsor of Villanova Athletics. Visit our hotel for a relaxing staycation. Email [email protected] for special savings and discounts on a future stay!

🔼 That’s A Wrap. The cross country season came to an end at the NCAA Championships on Saturday. The men’s team posted a 15th-place finish, their first since 2014. Liam Murphy and Marco Langon became the first pair of Wildcat teammates to finish in the top 15 individually at the meet. Murphy finished ninth and Langon finished 15th, both picking up All-America honors.

Sadie Sigfstead represented the women’s team well by earning All-America honrors. She finished 15th overall for the highest individual finish at the meet in 11 years.

🔼 Playing In Paradise. The women’s basketball team has spent the weekend in the Bahamas for the Battle 4 Atlantis. They started the tournament by defeating Texas A&M on Saturday, 65-57. On Sunday, they fell to No. 16 North Carolina 53-36 in the semifinals. The Wildcats will play Baylor in the third-place game today at 2:30 p.m. Fans can tune in on ESPNU.

🔼 Down To The Wire. The men’s basketball team fell to Maryland 76-75 in what became a back-and-forth battle in Newark. The Wildcats held a 12-point lead at halftime but were outscored in the second half. Eric Dixon scored a career-high 38 points to go along with four rebounds. They’ll return to The Finn on Wednesday, hosting Rider at 7 p.m.

🔼 To The Tournament. Villanova volleyball clinched a berth to the BIG EAST Tournament when they defeated Providence on Friday. The Wildcats swept Providence during Fan Appreciation Night. They closed out the regular season on Saturday, falling to UConn 3-0.

They’ll play UConn again on Wednesday at the BIG EAST Tournament in Omaha, Nebraska at 6 p.m.

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📅 THE WEEK AHEAD

Monday 11/25

🏀 Women’s Basketball vs. Baylor @ 2:30 p.m. | ESPNU

Wednesday 11/27

🏐 Volleyball vs. UConn @ 6:00 p.m.
🏀 Men’s Basketball vs. Rider @ 7:00 p.m. | FS2

Saturday 11/30

🏈 Football vs. Eastern Kentucky @ 2:00 p.m. | Tickets | ESPN+

Sunday 12/1

🏀 Women’s Basketball at Saint Joseph’s @ 2:00 p.m.

Have a great Monday!