A New Season with New Faces

Annie

HIRSHMAN

‘24 (SHE/HER) SPORTS WRITER

With the ‘Cats back on campus for spring semester, that means one thing and one thing only; Davidson Men’s Basketball is well underway. After an impressive start to the season, the boys continue to battle it out in Belk and on the road. Some of the team’s most impressive wins so far have come over SEC powerhouse South Carolina and A10 rivals LaSalle and Fordham. A very impressive game earlier this year was when the ‘Cats lost to top ranked Purdue in Indianapolis by a narrow margin of eight points. Fifth year senior and captain Foster Loyer ‘23 said, while the team has not “won quite as many games as [they] would have liked, [they] are confident and optimistic about finishing this season strong.” Loyer is a key player for Davidson. Just last week, he joined past Wildcats in the 1,000 point club, becoming the 54th player in school history to reach the mark, and only the fourth transfer.

Loyer is not the only one to watch this season though. Loyer commented on the potential of the freshman class. He argued that, despite college basketball being a huge transition, Reed Bailey ‘26, Sean Logan ‘26, and Achile Spadone ‘26 have

“done everything to take the right steps to be successful in the future.”

Bailey in particular has had a standout season, starting every game. His aggressive mindset and intelligence regarding the game has served him well this season. Similarly, Loyer credits the older transfers, Connor Kochera ‘25 from William and Mary and David Skogman ‘24 from Buffalo, for their experience and wisdom. Loyer asserts that, not only were they “able to learn and adjust to the system very quickly,” but they have worked to develop a very young team in an impressive manner. In addition, they have both contributed to the ‘Cats success this season in different ways.

More than any of the players though, the most exciting addition to the Davidson Basketball program is new coach

Matt McKillop ‘06. Replacing his father after a 33 year reign including numerous accolades and worldwide praise. While McKillop has tough footsteps to follow, his past experience with the team has served him well. McKillop was not only a standout player all four years at Davidson, but also an assistant coach in the program for fourteen years. Having joined the coaching staff in 2008, he helped extensively with recruiting, scheduling, scouting, analytics, and community involvement. This experience has allowed McKillop to be successful in terms of team growth, both on and off the court this season.

At this point in the season, the ‘Cats are confident that a chance at winning the A-10 tournament is still feasible. Loyer states that the team is really starting to “gel together and play their best basketball.” The team heads into the second half of the conference season with optimism for the future and a work ethic like no other. Exciting upcoming games against A-10 rivals UMass, Fordham, Saint Louis, St. Bonaventure, Duquesne, and George Washington will be key to the trajectory of the rest of the season. If the ‘Cats are able to overcome their first-half woes and finish out the season strong, the possibility of going deep in the A-10 tournament will be bright.

Around two wees ago in Columbia, South Carolina, the Men’s and Women’s Track and Field Team raced at the Carolina Challenge. Joe dosReis ‘23 won the 800 meters with a time of 1:49.82. This was dosReis’ 4th indoor win as he barely beat out Furman’s Matthew Smith. Some personal records were shattered. Frances Whitworth ‘24 placed 10th in the mile event while shattering her personal record by eight seconds at a remarkable time of 5:08.83. Sophomores, Charlie Siebert and Kenny Eheman both shattered their personal records in the 3,000 meter event. Siebert finished with a time of 8:20.24 which previously snapped an 8:32 personal record. Eheman ran a 8:23.91 which was nine seconds

Standings

faster than his personal record as well.

This past weekend the Wildcats went up to Boston University for the 2023 John Thomas Terrier Classic. Jayden Smith ‘25, won the 60 M hurdle event at an impressive 7.82 seconds while Isaac Bynum ‘24 finished 3rd. Jack Curtin also placed third for the Men’s triple jump. For the Women’s indoor team, they placed 2nd behind Boston University for the 4x400 M relay. Kierra Marshall ‘24 who performed in the 4x400 M relay placed 7th in the 200 M Dash.

In the Women’s 500 M Run, Aleia Gisolfi-McCready ‘25 and Sophia Hood ‘24 placed fifth and seventh respectively. Briela Fuller ‘23 placed 13th in the women’s 1,000 M run.

The Wildcats Men and Women’s Track and Field have another event this weekend at the University of South Carolina.