The Jaspers completed an eight-game home stand over winter break, the longest in team history. Photo by Kevin Fuhrmann

While most college students stayed home over the winter break, many athletes remained on campus for practices and games.

Draddy Gymnasium continued to be filled with Jaspers, whether they were members of the basketball, swimming or track and field teams.

The women’s basketball team was in the midst of an eight-game home stand. The swim team competed in Hawaii. And the track and field team concluded the semester with the Brother Jasper Invitational before competing at the Gotham Cup to start the New Year.

On Dec. 13, at the invitational, the women’s track and field team competed strongly. The team only appeared in five events but came up big with two first-place and two second-place finishes.

Marisa Robbins won first in the pole vault for the second time with her best performance at 3.60 m. Paige Chapman had a solid time of 7.82 seconds winning her the 60.

Lydia Wehrli and Katharina Klien also had strong showings for the Jaspers. Wehrli finished second in the weight throw with her 16.66 m toss and Klien earned second in the shot put at 12.28 m.

The track and field team returns to action on Jan. 23 for the Metro Team Challenge.

On Jan. 9, in Honolulu, Hawaii, the women’s swim team lost a tough meet to Colorado College despite a strong showing. Madison Brown, Sarah Buckley and Alexandra Hutzler were named Manhattan Performers of the Meet. All three earned first-place in their respective events.

Brown had a time of 30.50 in the 50 back, which earned her first place by 1.28 seconds. Buckley posted a 27.19 in the 50 free, taking the lead by .09 seconds. Hutzler earned a top finish in the 100 individual medley with 1:05.97.

The Jaspers return home for Senior Night against Baruch on Jan. 19 and host Hunter on Jan. 23.

The women’s basketball team (2-13, 1-5 MAAC) was busy with its longest home stand in team history. It concluded an eight game stretch at Draddy with a matchup against the Monmouth Hawks (6-9, 2-4 MAAC) on Jan. 16.

The home stand was a tough one for the Jaspers, who finished with a 1-7 record. Their only victory came against the Rider Broncs on Jan. 4.

The team overcame a 12-point deficit to tally a 55-52 win that marked its first win at home over Rider in three years and snapped a 10-game losing streak against it. It was also Manhattan’s first home win since Feb. 4, 2014.

The Jaspers’ next game was against the defending MAAC Champion Marist Red Foxes. The Jaspers had solid individual performances, but it was not enough as they were defeated 67-45.

Shayna Ericksen led the Jaspers with 10 rebounds, eight on the offensive glass. Kayla Grimme had nine points and a career-high five blocks. Taylor Williams tallied six rebounds and Manhattan shot 83.3 percent at the free throw line.

There to witness the game were 850 students from five elementary schools in the area. It was the fifth consecutive year the Jaspers hosted Kid’s Day Out.

In the final game of its home stand, Manhattan was not able to contain the Monmouth Hawks

The Jaspers put up a strong fight by coming back from a 47-33 deficit at the half to get to within two points with just under two minutes left in the game. However, Monmouth converted on its opportunities and staved off the Jaspers for a 73-69 victory.

Next on Manhattan’s schedule is a trip to Albany where it will face the Siena Saints.