The Official Newsletter of Villanova Athletics

Good morning, Nova Nation! Friday night was bananas!

What else is going on in Nova Nation?

🏀 Men’s basketball beats No. 16 Marquette
🥍 Women’s lacrosse wins on the road
🔷 And 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.

🔼  Went Bananas. Villanova men’s basketball took down No. 16 Marquette 81-66 on Friday night at the Wells Fargo Center! The students broke out the banana suits again to bring the energy. The Wildcats started off hot, taking a double-digit lead early in the first half and making seven of their nine three-point attempts. Eric Dixon finished the night with 23 points, while Jhamir Brickus scored 21. Freshman Jordann Dumont stepped up off the bench, scoring a career-high 15 points with a perfect 4-of-4 from three-point range. Villanova will travel to Seton Hall on Wednesday for an 8:30 p.m. matchup on FS1.

🔼  Hats Off. The women’s lacrosse team picked up their first road win, taking down Bucknell 16-11. Sydney Pappas led the Wildcats with a haul of four goals! Sami Carey and Leslie Iorio recorded hat tricks in the win. Carey added five assists to lead the team with eight points. The ‘Cats will travel to Stanford on Saturday.

🔼  Fly The W. Villanova baseball had a successful weekend in South Carolina! They took two from Winthrop on the road. They recorded 16 hits in Friday night’s 10-4 win as Jason Neff hit a home run and racked up three RBI. The Wildcats secured the series win on Saturday by a 10-3 score. Neff once again went yard, this time twice! He finished the day by tying career-bests in hits (4), RBI (4) and setting a new career-high in home runs (2). Pitcher Luke McCollough threw 7.1 innings, giving up just three runs and striking out six. The Wildcats fell 17-3 in the series finale yesterday.

🔼 Sunday Setback. The women’s basketball team fell 63-56 to a Providence team that was celebrating Senior Day. Maddie Webber led the Wildcats with 17 points, while Maddie Burke scored 13. Both Maddies made three three-pointers each. The Wildcats will host Butler on Wednesday for Villanova’s Senior Night.

🔼  Gearing Up. The swimming & diving team is headed to Geneva, Ohio this week for the BIG EAST Championships presented by JEEP! The four-day event starts today at the SPIRE Academy. Last year, the women’s team won their 11th-straight conference title. Fans can watch all of the action on FloSports.

🗣️ SPREAD THE WORD

Do you know a friend or family member who is a member of Nova Nation? Simply forward them this email and they can sign up to receive the newsletter by clicking the link below to subscribe. Good Morning, Nova Nation is sent every other weekday and is completely free!

📅 THE WEEK AHEAD

Monday 2/24

🏊 Swimming & Diving at BIG EAST Championships

Tuesday 2/25

🏊 Swimming & Diving at BIG EAST Championships
⚾️ Baseball vs. Coppin State @ 3:00 p.m. | Watch

Wednesday 2/26

🏊 Swimming & Diving at BIG EAST Championships
🏀 Women’s Basketball vs. Butler @ 6:00 p.m. | Watch
🏀 Men’s Basketball at Seton Hall @ 8:30 p.m. | FS1

Have a great Monday!