Message from Temple University Director of Athletics Dr. Patrick Kraft

Members of the Temple University Athletics Community,

I want to reach out to provide you with an update regarding Temple Athletics in light of the ongoing national emergency.

As you may know, the University decided to limit in-person operations on March 13 due to concerns over the recent spread of the COVID-19. As for athletics, we have put in place a mandatory shutdown for all practices so our student-athletes can travel home to their families. We do not expect a resumption of our varsity sports programs until after the spring semester has been completed. We will continue to monitor the situation and take our lead from the medical community, but we want to be extremely cautious in regards to a return to athletics.

Because the University is open only to essential personnel, we are asking those student-athletes who live in the residence halls and who have the ability to move home to make arrangements to do so as soon as possible. For those who are unable to go home or make alternate arrangements, the University will continue to provide support including housing, security and dining services. We are also strongly recommending that any student-athlete who lives in an off-campus apartment to make arrangements to head home, if possible.

Over the last few days, we have met as administrators and coaches to ensure that our student-athletes are able to travel home as the University transitions to online learning. Our academic support staff, led by Justin Miller, has worked diligently to prepare our student-athletes for this transition. We will still monitor their academic progress remotely and our staff will be available to assist during this time.

As we start the first week without sports at Temple University—as well as globally for the foreseeable future—I want to reflect on the current events that have brought everything to a halt.

It has truly been a surreal and unprecedented time. Looking back, a week ago we were…

Sending our men's basketball team to Texas to compete in the American Athletic Conference Championship;
Senior Millie Howard was about to cap her tremendous season in the mile at the NCAA Championships in New Mexico, after being named the NCAA's Elite 90 winner for women's indoor track;
Hall of Fame head coach Nikki Franke and her fifth-ranked fencing team was looking forward to finishing an incredible season at the NCAA Championships;
Our Women's Gymnastics team was preparing to host the ECAC Gymnastics Championship at McGonigle Hall, and, as the top-seed, win its second straight title;
Finally, our spring sports (Crew, Golf, Lacrosse, M/W Tennis, Rowing) were in the early stages of their respective seasons while women's outdoor track was about to start.

Now all of those opportunities are gone, ripped from our student-athletes so suddenly by an invisible force – COVID-19.

As unfortunate as the cancellations have been for all of our student-athletes, especially for our seniors, the difficult decisions were the right decisions for the health of all of us. We consistently preach that the health and well-being of our student-athletes is our most important priority that we have as coaches and administrators. These are not just words, but rather values instilled in all of us.

Lastly, I want to say how proud I am of the more than 200 student-athletes who had their seasons end abruptly. It is truly unfortunate that their hard work and preparation for their seasons and championships will go unrewarded.

The unexpected ending is especially difficult for our seniors on our spring sports programs, as well as our three programs that were scheduled to compete at regional and national championships this month. We keep them in mind as their careers should not have ended this way. We plan to honor these seniors, listed below, with profiles on our website and through social media during the remainder of the semester. We thank them and honor them:

Joseph Adams - Men's Crew
Austin Bauer - Men's Crew
Nicholas Carbonaro - Men's Crew
Stephen Ching - Men's Crew
Alex DeNolfo - Men's Crew
Joshua Field - Men's Crew
Evan Funchion - Men's Crew
Ben Holzwarth - Men's Crew
William Hooper - Men's Crew
Cassidy Lorenz - Men's Crew
Phillip MacNeal - Men's Crew
Thomas O'Shaughnessy - Men's Crew
James O'Toole - Men's Crew
Mattison Sicko - Men's Crew
Jack Wittenstein - Men's Crew
Brendan Wren - Men's Crew

Megan Cook - Women's Rowing
Alexandra Defuso - Women's Rowing
Stephanie Hartman - Women's Rowing
Emily Kiehn - Women's Rowing
Olga Kolodziejska - Women's Rowing
Kerianne McGee - Women's Rowing
Rachel Newcomer - Women's Rowing
Claire Savage - Women's Rowing
Stefanie Schwab - Women's Rowing

Quinn Duwelius - Fencing
Malia Hee - Fencing
Kennedy Lovelace - Fencing
Kerry Plunkett - Fencing
Camille Simmons - Fencing

Jazmyn Estrella - Women's Gymnastics
Jaylene Everett - Women's Gymnastics
Daisy Todd - Women's Gymnastics

Lizzie Frederick - Women's Lacrosse
Maddie Gebert - Women's Lacrosse
Meghan Hoffman - Women's Lacrosse
Michelle Koscinski - Women's Lacrosse
Maryn Lowell - Women's Lacrosse
Kara Nakrasius - Women's Lacrosse
Abby Overman - Women's Lacrosse
Julia Ryan - Women's Lacrosse
Olivia Thompson - Women's Lacrosse
Kimmy Weinstock - Women's Lacrosse

Millie Howard - Women's Track
Alanna Lally - Women's Track

Cecilia Castelli - Women's Tennis
Oleksandra Doroshenko - Women's Tennis
Chunan Xiang - Women's Tennis

Juan Araoz - Men's Tennis
Eric Biscoveanu - Men's Tennis
Francisco Bohorquez - Men's Tennis
Paolo Cucualon - Men's Tennis

On behalf of Temple Athletics, we wish you and your families health and safety in the weeks ahead and please know that together, we will move past this challenge and be stronger because of it.

Sincerely,

Patrick Kraft

Temple University Athletics

Message from Temple University Director of Athletics Dr. Patrick Kraft

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