Basketball is just around the corner, and athletics at Oakland have never been busier. Here is a comprehensive breakdown of how OU teams fared in competitions this week (Oct. 15-21).
Women’s soccer
It was an uneventful week for the women’s soccer team, which started the week at an even 5-5-5. The Golden Grizzlies had two matches this week, one against Green Bay and one against Milwaukee.
In 180 total minutes of soccer, neither Oakland nor its two opponents scored a goal. OU drew twice, making its overall season record 5-5-7.
The Golden Grizzlies will take on Detroit in the regular-season finale on Wednesday, Oct. 25. Oakland currently has 14 points in the conference standings, tied for fourth place in the league.
Women’s golf
Bridget Boczar won first place in the Chippewa Invitational, which took place on Monday and Tuesday of last week. She helped the Golden Grizzlies to a second-place finish in the event.
Youngstown State came out on top, but Oakland finished ahead of the University of Illinois-Chicago, Central Michigan, Green Bay, Ferris State and Detroit Mercy.
Boczar (-1) was the only contestant to finish the event with a score below par. The closest competitor finished five strokes behind with a score of +4.
The Chippewa Invitational concludes the fall season for the Golden Grizzlies. They will now await the spring season beginning the first week in February.
Men’s golf
The men’s golf team also competed in an invitational over the weekend, and the Golden Grizzlies finished in third place out of 11 teams at the Xavier Invitational.
Oakland was incredibly consistent throughout the three-round event, finishing in third place after the first round and staying put throughout the remaining two rounds. The only teams finishing with a better score than Oakland were Xavier (second place) and Western Kentucky (first place).
The Golden Grizzlies finished with an overall score of 869 (+29), 11 strokes better than Eastern Kentucky, the fourth-place team.
Other competitors included St. John’s, Northern Kentucky, Butler, Morehead State, Austin Peay State, Tennessee Tech and High Point.
The men’s golf season is now over as well, and their spring season is set to begin on Feb. 19.
Men’s soccer
Oakland improved its conference record to 5-2 this past week with a 1-0 win over Robert Morris on Saturday, Oct. 21. The win succeeded a 4-0 home loss to No. 13 Louisville on Senior Day, but the Golden Grizzlies are in a great position to win the regular season league championship.
OU currently has 15 points in the league standings, which puts it alone in first place. IUPUI is right behind Oakland with 13 points, but the Golden Grizzlies control their destiny for the league title.
With two conference matches remaining, Oakland will play Green Bay and Detroit, two teams in the top half of the league standings, to try and claim their spot as league champions.
The match against Green Bay will be on Saturday, Oct. 28, and the regular-season finale against Detroit will be on Wednesday, Nov. 1.
Men’s basketball
It was a rough start to the season for Greg Kampe and the Oakland Golden Grizzlies. Although its game against Walsh University was an exhibition and didn’t count toward the overall record, Kampe’s squad looked suspect.
Trey Townsend finished with 22 points, and Jack Gohlke added 15, but Walsh’s Kobe Mitchell couldn’t miss from beyond the arc. The sophomore guard poured in 32 points in 37 minutes as the Division II Cavaliers upset the Golden Grizzlies at the OU Credit Union O’rena.
Kampe and Oakland will take on Wayne State on Monday, Oct. 30, in the team’s second and last exhibition game, before the regular season starts in Columbus, Ohio, on Nov. 6 against Ohio State.
Volleyball
With back-to-back road matches on Friday and Saturday, the Oakland volleyball team split their slate of games this week against Robert Morris and Youngstown State.
Robert Morris handled Oakland rather easily on Friday night, taking care of the Golden Grizzlies in four sets. Krista Rice’s squad bounced back, though, with a straight-sets victory over YSU on Saturday night.
The Penguins, which are 2-10 in the Horizon League, were thoroughly outmatched by Oakland in the match.
With seven matches left in the regular season, Oakland sits in fifth place, but it’s just two games back from the league-leading Milwaukee Panthers.
Oakland will host three home matches this week against Purdue Fort Wayne, Northern Kentucky and Wright State.
