Around Luteville: It's a light weekend in Luteville with men's and women's swimming competing at George Fox University on Friday evening and men's and women's basketball hosting Pacific University on Saturday afternoon.
Leading the Pack: The NWC office released updated standings for the McIlroy-Lewis All-Sports Trophy on Nov. 23 with the Lutes leading the standings. PLU has 90 points, enjoying a nine-point lead on second place George Fox University. PLU's reign atop the standings comes after winning the NWC title in women's soccer and placing runner-up in men's cross country, men's soccer, and football. Learn More:
LINK
Trailblazing NIL the D3 Way: PLU Athletics continues to lead the way nationally in Name, Image, and Likeness, unveiling the Luteville Marketplace on Wednesday through the department's partnership with Opendorse. Learn more about the deal here:
LINK. But don't stay on the sidelines, get involved and connect with PLU student-athletes on the Luteville Marketplace:
LINK
The Luteville Marketplace is the first dedicated NIL marketplace in Division III on the Opendorse platform that directly connects student-athletes with fans, supporters, and business partners in an easy to use website.
Tickets, Tickets Tickets: The Lutes have made it easier for fans to attend home sporting events, signing a deal with HomeTown Ticketing to be the department's official electronic ticket provider. Lute fans can now purchase tickets online at
GoLutes.com/tickets or on the HomeTown Ticketing mobile app available on iOS and Android devices. Learn More:
LINK
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."
FRIDAY:
SWIM at George Fox in Newberg, Ore. (6 p.m.)
SATURDAY:
WBB hosts Pacific at Olson Gymnasium (4 p.m.)
MBB hosts Pacific at Olson Gymnasium (6 p.m.)
Men's Track & Field: The Lutes opened the lid on the indoor season on Saturday, competing at the UW Preview Meet in Seattle.
Masum Real stole the spotlight, finishing runner-up in the shot put with a throw of 51 feet, five inches. The junior's throw was a personal best and currently ranks as the 10th best toss in NCAA Division III this year. On the track,
Ryan Stracke turned in an equally impressive performance, clocking a time of four minutes, 15.25 seconds in the mile, a time that ranks 11th nationally.
The Lutes are idle this weekend before returning to the University of Washington next weekend for the UW Invitational.
Women's Swimming: The Lutes (4-3, 4-2 NWC) picked up a pair of wins over the weekend, swamping Pacific University 99-56 before earning an 111-74 victory over Willamette.
Six different Lutes won races in Friday's blowout win over Pacific, including
Malia Wisham won was the champion in the 200-yard freestyle, the 100-yard butterfly, and as a member of the mixed 200-yard medley relay.
PLU won eight of the 11 events the following day against the Bearcats with Wisham and
Sidney Chan-Orcutt both winning three events.
Men's Basketball: It's been a week of several highs and a few lows for the Lutes (8-8, 2-5 NWC) who are hitting the halfway point of the Northwest Conference slate. PLU steamrolled Willamette University 102-86 last Friday behind a 30-point performance from
Sean McCurdy but fell victim to a last second putback at the buzzer on Saturday, getting edged 69-68 by Lewis & Clark College.
PLU's returned to the win column on Tuesday, erasing a 15-point deficit and getting a layup from
Brandin Riedel with just over four seconds left for an 81-80 victory over arch-nemesis University of Puget Sound.
Women's Track & Field: Lily Luksich and
Sarah Paquet were the top finishing D3 performers in their respective events, kicking off the season at the UW Preview at the Dempsey Indoor Facility in Seattle. Luksich placed 11th in the pole vault, clearing 11' 3", a mark that ranks as the 17th best vault in Division III this year. On the track, Paquet clocked a time of 10:23.51 in the 3,000-meters and owns the 36th best time in the nation.
Women's Basketball: Pacific Lutheran (1-15, 1-6 NWC) split a pair of home games last weekend inside Olson Gymnasium, falling short 60-55 to Willamette before blowing away Lewis & Clark 77-52 the following night.
Ashley Akamine scored a career-high 24 points against the Bearcats in a game the Lutes' led by as many as 12 points. PLU took the lead early and never looked back against the Pios, outscoring the visitors 20-9 in the final quarter for the blowout win.
Sydney Reisner headlined the day with 22 points with
Taylor Schmidtke coming off the bench and adding 14.
On Tuesday the Lutes fell 68-38 to 18th-ranked Puget Sound in a game the host Loggers used a big scoring run late in the first quarter to pull away.
Men's Swimming: The Lutes (1-6, 1-5 NWC) split their home dual meets last weekend, earning a big 71-18 win over Pacific but falling 84-79 to Willamette.
On Friday,
Tyler Tanaka won the 1,650-yard freestyle while
Jay Hong won both the 50-yard freestyle and the 100-yard backstroke.
On Saturday, Tanaka and
Devin Stanley both won three events but the Lutes came up five points short of getting the win.
