By Marquis Cooley | Sports Editor

By now I’m sure all Baylor fans have heard about Baylor football’s impressive 21-7 Sugar Bowl victory over the University of Mississippi on New Year’s Day to cap off its historic season. However, there were more things to cheer about in Baylor Athletics over the winter break, so here’s a quick rundown of everything you may have missed over the holidays.

Men’s Basketball Perfect No Longer

Head coach Scott Drew and Baylor men’s basketball finished 2021 on fire, with big wins over Villanova University and the University of Oregon, followed by blowout victories against Alcorn State University and Northwestern State University. The Bears even started 2022 on the right foot getting a New Year’s Day victory of their own, defeating Iowa State University to open up conference play. However, since freshman forward Jeremy Sochan suffered a sprained ankle in their win against Texas Christian University, the Bears seemed to have lost their mojo for a bit, dropping two straight games in the Ferrell Center to Texas Tech University and Oklahoma State University. Ending their 21-game winning streak dating back to last season and putting them at 15-2 on the season caused the Bears to drop to No. 5 in the rankings. Baylor was able to get back on track, beating West Virginia University on the road 77-68 Tuesday night to give the team its 16th win.

Women’s Basketball Looks to Build Momentum

After losing three of four games, Baylor women’s basketball was able to bounce back with a thrilling 82-79 win against the University of Kansas Sunday in which the lead changed hands six times in the fourth quarter to put their record at 11-4. After three weeks of playing on the road, the Bears finally return to action at 7 p.m. on Wednesday in the Ferrell Center to take on Oklahoma State University.

Track and Field Notches Gold Medals in First Meet

The Baylor track team kicked off their indoor season on Friday, participating in the two-day Corky Classic in Lubbock. The Bears put on a solid showing with multiple athletes finishing in the top 10 and moving their way into the Baylor all-time lists. Some highlights of the meet include senior pole vaulter Tuesdi Tidwell taking the gold in the women’s pole vault with a height of 14–0.5, as well as Baylor sweeping the podium in the women’s 60 meter. On the men’s side, senior sprinter Trey Fields took first place in the 400m with a time of 47.24 seconds while senior sprinter Matthew Moorer ran a time of 20.83 seconds in the 200m for the top spot. Baylor finished the meet with wins in both the men’s and women’s 4×400 relays to end the day on a high note.

Women’s Tennis Finds Their Confidence

After losing their first match of the season to Brigham Young University 4-3 Saturday afternoon, Baylor tennis head coach Joey Scrivano said his team was playing with fear and needed to change their mindset. The Bears responded to Scrivano’s plea, roaring to a 6-1 victory against the University of Illinois to make them 1-1 at the start of the season.