ATHLETICS | The Lions men’s basketball team advanced with a 81-63 win on Monday night in the College Basketball Invitational, and will play Thursday night in Tampa, Florida, against the University of South Florida. The Lions have doubled their win total from a season ago and now sit at 22 victories on the year. The game will tip at 7 p.m. EST/ 4 p.m. PST and will have a live stream available through USF’s website.
After making their first postseason tournament since 2004, the LMU women’s basketball team hosted Idaho on Thursday in the first round of the WNIT. With a 79-64 loss to the Vandals, LMU ends their memorable season.
During the annual LMU Day of Giving, LMU Athletics garnered tremendous support from the campus community and beyond that surpassed its goal with its highest donor count ever and total amount of money raised ever. The Athletic Department’s contribution was the best in the event’s history. The Day of Giving total of $936,052 was raised in just 24 hours through the generous contributions of 4,290 donors.
Baseball gave head coach Jason Gill his 300th career victory on Tuesday night with a strong outing by the bullpen and timely hitting for the mid-week win against San Diego State 5-1. The LMU win streak grew to eight following Friday and Saturday night conference series wins, before dropping a Sunday game to Pacific. Saturday’s game was another extra-innings affair, with the Lions winning in 11. A new streak began on Monday afternoon with a one-run win over Washington State, and can be extended in LMU’s fifth consecutive day at Page Stadium on Tuesday night against No. 2 UCLA. WCC action continues over the weekend in Portland.
Loyola Marymount softball player Samantha Manti was named the West Coast Conference Pitcher of the Week, announced by the conference on Monday following a 3-0 week on the mound. Manti helped LMU get the best of Harvard and shutout both Cal State Fullerton and Long Beach State in her wins. The Lions host Cal Baptist for a pair of Tuesday games this week at Smith Field.
The No. 13 Loyola Marymount beach volleyball team went 4-0 this week, while sweeping three of their opponents. The Lions had a 4-1 win over CSUN and 5-0 sweeps over Colorado Mesa, Vanguard University and Concordia University. The Lions will be back in action on Tuesday to take University of Oregon and No. 1 UCLA in Santa Monica, California.
The Loyola Marymount women’s tennis team picked up their second straight sweep on Tuesday, as it beat Cincinnati, 4-0, extending their undefeated home record. The Lions had been undefeated at home since 2017 before losing to No. 7 Pepperdine on Saturday. Conference play continues with a trip to St. Mary’s then Pacific this weekend.
With the highest doubles ranking in men’s tennis history, LMU split matches this week. The Lions dropped a home contest against to Nebraska 4-3, but rallied to top rival Pepperdine to open WCC action. The Lions have added a Tuesday match at UCLA, before returning to conference play to host St. Mary’s and Pacific on Friday and Saturday, respectively.
The women’s water polo team opened Golden Coast Conference play over the weekend with the news that Marialena Seletopoulou had been named the league’s Player of the Week last Friday. LMU split two games last weekend, falling to San Diego State then and getting the best of Azusa Pacific. LMU has now won nine of 10 matches, and hosts Fresno State Saturday at Burns to continue GCC play.
Nineteen members of the Lions’ men’s and women’s track and field teams competed Friday night at the 41st Annual Aztec Invitational hosted by San Diego State University. Both the men’s and women’s teams combined for nine career bests, six season bests and six athletes in the top-10 in their respective event and one event champion.
The Lions have headed north for the week with the annual Duck Invitational on the schedule for the start of this week. LMU golf is playing their final 18 holes of the Tournament on Tuesday on the Par-72, 7,165-yard course at Emerald Valley Golf Club.
