Weekly Athletic Communications Report: Dec. 10
Dec 10 | General
THE FIVE THINGS TO KNOW
1. Rutgers named Jim McElderry as the head coach of the men's soccer program. He arrives "On the Banks" after three NCAA Appearances, including the quarterfinals, and two A-10 Championships in the past five seasons as the head coach of Fordham.
2. Rutgers placed a school-record 85 student-athletes onto the Big Ten Fall All-Academic Team. Brian Shushkovsky was recognized as one of two Big Ten men's soccer student-athletes to achieve a perfect 4.0 cumulative grade-point average.
3. The annual Garden State Hardwood Classic between Rutgers and Seton Hall takes place on Saturday (2 p.m., FS1) at a sold-out Prudential Center. The winner of the 102-year old rivalry assumes ownership of the #GSHClassic Trophy and state bragging rights.
4. Wrestling head coach Scott Goodale is one victory away from 167 wins all-time, which would make him the winningest coach in Rutgers wrestling history. The team hosts Rider on Sunday (1 p.m., BTN Plus) at the RAC.
5. The Scalo Family, which donated towards the Scalo Family Wrestling Lounge inside the RWJBarnabas Health Athletic Performance Center at Rutgers University, was featured as part of the R Big Ten Building Blocks series.
Men's Basketball (5-4, 0-2 Big Ten)
• Travels to the Prudential Center on Saturday (2 p.m., FS1) to meet Seton Hall in the annual Garden State Hardwood Classic.
• Eugene Omoruyi registered his fifth double-double of the season, but it was not enough to overcome Fordham's second half shooting in a 78-70 loss Saturday at Rose Hill Gymnasium.
• Shot 47% and battled No. 12 Wisconsin for the entirety, but were unable to pull the upset in a 69-64 loss Monday at the Kohl Center.
Women's Basketball (6-3)
• Welcomes LSU on Saturday at 4 p.m. (BTN) in the final game before the winter break.
• Handed Harvard a 60-49 loss on Saturday behind 19-point efforts from Arella Guirantes and Stasha Carey and thwarted a late fourth quarter surge by the Crimson. (RVision: Postgame Press Conference)
• To date, has kept all nine of its opponents under their scoring average.
• Continues to lead the Big Ten in FG% (.319) and blocked shots (5.9).
• Ranks sixth nationally in FG defense (52.0), ninth in scoring defense (52.0) and 10th in blocked shots (53).
• Alumna Kristen Somogyi was inducted into the NJSIAA Hall of Fame.
Wrestling (5-1)
• Hosts in-state foe Rider on Sunday at 1 p.m. (BTN Plus) at the RAC.
• Wrestling unattached, Nicolas Aguilar (125) and Billy Janzer (184) secured individual titles at the George Mason Patriots Open on Sunday in Fairfax, Virginia.
• Reached its goal of 3,000 season tickets sold for 2018-19, marking the fourth consecutive year the Scarlet Knights have sold the most season tickets in program history.
Football
• Announced season-opening game versus UMass will be moved to August 30.
• Alumn and member of the New England Patriots Devin McCourty was nominated for the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award for his service to the community and off-field causes.
Swimming and Diving
• Freshman Kasja Dymek placed 10th in the 200-yard butterfly at the 2018 Speedo Winter Junior Championships-East on Saturday at the Greensboro Aquatic Center.
Gymnastics
• New head coach Umme Salim-Beasley was mic'd up at a recent practice as she prepares the team for the upcoming season. (Video).
Men's Lacrosse
• Was ranked No. 12 in the nation in the preseason rankings released by Inside Lacrosse in their annual Face-off Yearbook. RU will host five teams ranked in the top-20 this season at HighPoint.com Stadium, with season tickets now on sale.
Baseball
• Former standout Todd Frazier was inducted into the NJSIAA Hall of Fame.
Rowing
• Added Sarah Jordan to the staff as an assistant coach.
Field Hockey
• Daphne Groothuis was named a Second Team All-American by the NFHCA, RU's first All-American since 2008.
Women's Soccer
• Set to host the Future Knights ID Clinic on February 9, 2019.
Women's Track and Field
• Signed five Scarlet Knights for the 2019-20 season.
