Setting the Scene: The Northwest Conference Champion Pacific Lutheran University men's basketball opens the NWC Tournament tonight in Spokane while baseball, softball, and men's and women's tennis all compete at home. Men's and women's track & field will send select athletes to Seattle to round out another busy weekend in Luteville.

Download the PLU Athletics App: Stay connected to your favorite teams by downloading the official mobile app of the Pacific Lutheran University athletic department powered by SIDEARM Sports, available in the Apple App Store and on Google Play. 
 
To download the app to your smartphone or tablet, visit the Apple App Store (DOWNLOAD LINK) or Google Play (DOWNLOAD LINK) and search for "PLU Athletics."

Spectator Policy: If you plan on attending a Lute sporting event, home or away, make sure and check out the NWC Institutional Spectator Policies: LINK

Spectators attending indoor events at the PLU campus are required to be fully masked and food or drink is prohibited inside the buildings. Learn more: LINK
 
THURSDAY:
MBB at Whitworth in NWC Tourney in Spokane, Wash. (7 p.m.)
FRIDAY:
BB hosts Willamette (DH) at PLU Field (11 a.m.)
SB hosts Whitworth (DH) at PLU Field (11:30 a.m.)
WTEN hosts CC of Spokane at Sprinker Rec Center (4 p.m.)
SATURDAY:
BB hosts Willamette at PLU Field (11 a.m.)
SB hosts Whitworth (DH) at PLU Field (11 a.m.)
T&F at SPU Final Qualifier in Seattle, Wash. (4:30 p.m.)
MBB NWC Tournament Championship at TBA (7 p.m.)
SUNDAY:
MTEN hosts CC of Spokane at Sprinker Rec Center (10 a.m.)
 
Men's Basketball: The Lutes (18-7, 13-3 NWC) claimed a share of their first league title since the 1986 season last week with a victory over University of Puget Sound, winning 80-48. It was a game that saw Jordan Thomas eclipse the 1,000-point barrier for his career. Three nights later, the Lutes closed the regular season, falling short 72-64 against Linfield University.
 
The Lutes enter the NWC Tournament as the three-seed after a three-way tie for first place. PLU still has a chance to potentially host the NWC Championship Game, needing to win on Thursday and hope Whitman College knocks off top seed Linfield.
 
Women's Swimming: NWC Swimmer of the Year and NWC Freshman of the Year Jessica Ordaz received the word on Wednesday that she qualified for the 2022 NCAA Division III Championships held on March 16-19 in Indianapolis, Indiana. The Los Angeles, California native will compete in the 100-yard butterfly, the 200-yard individual medley, and the 50-yard freestyle.
 
Ordaz owns the 14th fastest time in D3 in the 200 IM and the 18th fastest time in the nation in the 100 fly. Ordaz won NWC Swimmer of the Year after winning seven NWC titles at the conference championships, including four relay titles and three individual titles.
 
Women's Basketball: Pacific Lutheran (7-16, 4-12 NWC) closed the season on a high note on Friday, overwhelming Linfield down the stretch in a 63-54 victory inside Olson Gymnasium. 
 
The Lutes outscored the Wildcats 22-9 over the final 10 minutes to secure the win. Josie Napoli led all scorers with 20 points with Ava Edmonds adding 15 points and six rebounds. On Wednesday, Napoli and Edmonds were honored by the conference office both earning Honorable Mention All-NWC accolades. 
 
Baseball: The Lutes (6-2, 2-1 NWC) opened NWC play with a bang in Oregon last weekend, earning a series win against preseason favorite and 18th-ranked Pacific University. Alex Boyd had four hits and three RBIs in the opener with Tommy Snyder dealing seven innings with six strikeouts on the hill in an 8-2 win. Pacific would take the nightcap 8-4 before the Lutes prevailed 4-3 in a marathon 11-inning affair on Sunday to secure the series.
 
Ashton Barton was the hero in extras, belting a single up the middle to score Jordan Haworth for what turned out to be the winning run. Closer Alex Gregory struck out five in 4 1/3 innings of shutout ball, earning the win and landing NWC Pitcher of the Week honors.
 
Softball: PLU (8-4, 0-0 NWC) opens NWC play this weekend after spending President's Day Weekend on the road in California. The Lutes earned a doubleheader split against Calremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges to open the weekend, falling 7-4 and winning 11-4 before dropping two at Chapman University (8-4 and 3-0). The Lutes rebounded on the final day in Cali, smashing California Lutheran University 10-0 and 14-0.
 
Casey Wright sports a team-best .471 batting average through the opening 12 games while Erin McGrath leads the team in extra base hits (eight), RBIs (14), and runs scored (17). 
 
In the circle, Cassidy Conrad has seen the most action, pitching 19 1/3 innings with eight strikeouts while Kennedy Kila is 4-0 with a team-best 1.26 earned run average. 
 
Men's Golf: The Lutes opened the spring season in Texas on Monday and Tuesday, placing eighth at the TPC San Antonio Invitational. Gunner Nielsen and Josh Cross led the way for PLU, tying for 21st with a three-round score of 237.
 
As a team the Lutes carded a team score of 944, finishing just two strokes shy of seventh place and only eight strokes out of fifth. 
 
Women's Tennis: PLU (1-6) dropped a pair of matches last weekend, falling 6-3 to Highline Community College and 9-0 to Cal Lutheran. Meggie Burnett headlined the weekend for the Lutes, winning 8-1 with doubles partner Tianna Jeffries at No. 3 against Highline and earning a, 6-4, 6-2, singles victory. 
 
Men's Tennis: The Lutes (1-0) are back on the courts this week, opening up their home schedule by hosting Community Colleges of Spokane on Sunday at the Sprinker Rec Center.
 
In the season opener back on Feb. 12, the Lutes won five of the six singles matches in a 6-3 win over University of Puget Sound. It was a win that the top of the Lutes' lineup dominated with Michael Campbell winning matches at No. 1 singles and doubles while his doubles partner Hampus Pers Elliasson won at No. 2 singles. 
 
Track & Field: The Lutes will send a contingent of runners to Dempsey Indoor on Saturday for the Seattle Pacific Final Qualifier. PLU last competed two weeks ago with Bailey Forsyth lowering her times in both the 60-meters and 200-meters while on the men's side Wyatt Tayon was fourth in the shot put with Masum Real placing sixth.

Coming in March: The five-time defending NWC Champion women's rowing team has one final weekend off before opening the spring season on March 5, hosting the PLU Invitational on American Lake.