Homecoming weekend is usually a big time for Iona athletics. From Maroon Madness to the multitude of games being played around campus, a lot of teams get to showcase their skills in front of a much bigger audience than usual. Five teams competed at home from Oct. 19-20, those being the rugby team, the volleyball team, both swim and dive teams, and women’s soccer.

As a collective, all the teams performed well, winning four and drawing one out of the seven events that were held.Going in order of when they were played, the men’s and women’s swim and dive teams kicked off homecoming when they took on both the WagnerSeahawks and Sacred Heart Pioneers. The men’s team only played Wagner while the women’s team played both Sacred Heart and Wagner.

The meet against Wagner saw the men’s team pick up the win, 136-96, while the women’s team would lose, 128-98. The game against Sacred Heart saw the women’s team earn the victory, 123-118. This put the women’s swim and dive team at 3-1 and the men’s swim and dive team at 2-1.

Next, the women’s volleyball team hosted the Canisius Golden Griffins. In that game, the Gaels took a set but lost the game overall, 3-1. Notable performances from this game include middle blocker Jen Soto,who led all Gaels with 15.5 points, and libero Ava De Guzman, who led all players with 14 digs.At noon on Oct. 19, the women’s soccer team would play the Marist Red Foxes, where they would draw 1-1.Before their game on Homecoming Saturday, the Iona rugby team inducted three of their former players into the Iona Rugby Hall of Fame. Those three being Keith Jenkins ‘83, Andy Sandor ‘89, and John Strehle ‘91. The rugby team would then play the Harvard Crimson and beat them 38-10.Finally, the women’s volleyball team would host the Niagara Purple Eagles, and would pick up their first home victory of the season by winning 3-1. Star players on that team include Soto and outside hitter Kenzie Wiggins, who had 20 points each, and outside hitter Mija Jegers, who had 20 kills.