Around the Wall – February 22, 2022
Around the Wall is a weekly look at Troy Athletics, recapping the previous week and looking ahead to the next opponent.
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Men’s Basketball
Record: 18-9, 9-5 (3rd Sun Belt)
Upcoming opponents: UT-Arlington (Wednesday), Texas State (Friday, ESPN2)
Another massive matchup, another massive win and another letdown for Troy.
The Trojans mounted an impressive comeback against the conference’s top team, App State, but the next game broke down against a middle-of-the-road team in Coastal Carolina. I mentioned last week they were the strongest scoring defense and offense, respectively, and Coastal showed that by staying hot nearly the whole game.
For once, Troy gets a game to refocus before taking on the conference’s top team, and this UTA squad already has a notch against Troy this season. I know Coach Cross won’t have to dig too deep to find motivation, either.
The Mavs are good at three things: offensive rebounds, assists and blocked shots. The way to negate two of those things is incidentally the one thing Troy needs to work on: driving the ball inside.
If Troy can master that tactic, they’ll be ready for that ultimate test on Friday. The regular season title is still within reach.
Women’s Basketball
Record: 20-7, 11-2 (1st Sun Belt)
Upcoming opponents: at Appalachian State (Thursday), at Coastal Carolina (Saturday)
Stat of the week: Felmas Koranga set the Troy D-I record of 24 rebounds in a single game against Georgia Southern.
Speaking of regular season titles, the women are a road trip through the Carolinas away from a third-straight regular season conference title. The path runs through No. 4 Appalachian State and an always-imposing Coastal Carolina team.
That being said, there aren’t a lot of categories in which either team outranks the Trojans. App State is in the middle of the pack for the most part, but it outranks Troy in three-point shots made and sits right behind the Trojans in steals. Coastal is nearly as good as Troy in rebounding, and it’s one of two teams that have a higher scoring margin.
These aren’t teams to count out, but Troy has a 1-0 advantage against them so far, and the Trojans are on a seven-game win streak. They aren’t cooling off anytime soon.
UPDATE: Felmas Koranga, Queen of Rebounds, earned Sun Belt Player of the Week honors for her D-1 school record 24 rebounds against Georgia Southern.
Buckle up. This could be a fun month.
Baseball
Record: 4-0 (1st Sun Belt)
Upcoming opponents: at Auburn (Wednesday), at Jacksonville (FL)
Four wins. 44 runs. What a way to open up the Skylar Meade era.
After losing some long-time Trojans last season, the upperclassmen have begun to show some serious talent and leadership. Easton Kirk, Trey Leonard and Jesse Hall all exploded, but then again everyone got on the board Saturday.
Coach Meade said the guys “saw the recipe for success” this weekend, and as well as they gelled this weekend, it’s clear this new-look Trojan team is at least pointed in the right direction.
The Trojans get a shot at real competition against Auburn on Wednesday, but that’s a winnable game at this point in the season. Regardless, it should be a solid indicator as to whether Troy is rebuilding or reloading.
Then, this weekend, Troy goes on the road to Jacksonville. That should be a winnable series, too, but four games in, anything is possible.
Like 44 runs in 4 games.
Softball
Record: 9-2 (t-2nd Sun Belt)
Upcoming events: Carolina Classic (Miami (OH), Ohio State, Virginia Tech, South Carolina)
Stat of the week: See below (pick one)
Last week I talked about how doubling the win total before heading into two Power Five invites. This is going to be the bigger of the two, not only by diversity of teams, but because Virginia Tech is ranked No. 8 nationally.
LSU and Louisiana Tech are good, but VT and Miami are better. THEN you add in host South Carolina and national brand Ohio State, and you have a massive stage for Troy.
If the Trojans can pull off two or three wins, that’s massive. None of these teams will be easy, but Troy should be able to hold its own, if we’re going simply by how the women played against Ole Miss. They should’ve won Sunday, but 1-1 is better than 0-2.
And we didn’t even talk about the women statistically.
- Kelly Horne leads the conference in batting average (.636), slugging % (1.273) and OBP (.778)
- Jade Sinness leads the conference in runs (16)
- They’re tied atop the conference in hits (14)
- Anslee Finch leads the conference in doubles (6)
- Candela Figueroa leads the conference in stolen bases (5)
- She also leads the conference with 84 chances and a perfect fielding percentage.
- Leanna Johnson has the 2nd-lowest ERA in conference and the most appearances.
- Johnson also leads the conference with 67 strikeouts.
This is a team with all-around strengths… and again, they beat Ole Miss the first game up. This weekend will be fun to watch.
UPDATE: Leanna Johnson has once again won Sun Belt pitcher of the week, and Kelly Horne joined her as player of the week.
Men’s Golf
Rank: 7th Sun Belt
Upcoming events: Gulf Coast Collegiate
The men pulled out a much-needed win in the Savannah Harbor Invite, beating out Columbia and Miami (OH). Brantley Scott shot an 8-under 208 for the weekend, coming in second, and Jake Springer shot a 3-under 213 to finish fourth. Will McFadden tied for 16th with a 2-over 218.
Troy will take that momentum out to Mississippi for the Gulf Coast Collegiate, hosted by Nicholls State and New Orleans. That event tees off next Monday, though.
Men’s Tennis
Record: 7-5 (4th Sun Belt)
Upcoming opponents: Middle Georgia State (Tuesday), at FSU (Friday)
The men beat DePaul 4-0 before falling behind UTSA, dropping two doubles matches and losing the matchup. The next day, Troy took a 2-0 lead against East Tennessee State, before dropping the match.
Fortunately, the men host Middle Georgia State Tuesday, a chance to regroup before taking on the Seminoles. I’ll update this with the MGSU results.
Carlos Anten and Vito Llinares each have only dropped a single match, putting them at Nos. 9 and 10 in the conference. I must note that the Sun Belt’s women’s tennis stat sheet includes the men too, so I’m not sure how reliable their information is any more.
Women’s Tennis
Record: 4-2 (3rd Sun Belt)
Upcoming opponents: Undisclosed (Blue-Gray National Tennis Classic)
The women’s tennis team hosts the Blue-Gray Tennis Classic this weekend, the last event before the regular season really gets underway. The teams aren’t known yet, but it is being held at the Lunsford Complex.
All I know is Anastasiia Khokhlova and Andrea Widing are undefeated in that one slot for doubles matches. Franziska Ahrend and Chiara Desia Dabrano are undefeated in that two spot.
Indoor Track and Field
The Sun Belt Indoor Track and Field Championships are here! Here’s your link to the schedule, which started Monday morning. The men and women both are ranked ninth in the conference by the USTFCCA, but as we’ve covered, both teams have placed well against several opponents.
UPDATE: Monday, Edita Sklenska placed third in the Women’s 800 meter run. She advanced to the final, being the fastest time in her heat.
Maja Kuessner also won the women’s high jump with a leap of 1.78m/5-10.
Good luck Trojans!
One Cool Thing
It’s one thing to throw a no-hitter, but throwing TWO in your career? TAKE A BOW, Leanna Johnson!