Around Luteville: This weekend the Pacific Lutheran University athletic department will have five programs competing, including a pair of program's hosting their home openers. Women's tennis hosts a pair of opponents over the weekend at their new home at the Galbraith Tennis Center while baseball opens up Northwest Conference play at home with a four-game series with Lewis & Clark College. Elsewhere, men's and women's basketball close out the regular season down at Pacific University while Softball has a six-game road swing in the Deep South.
 
FRIDAY:
SB at Birmingham-Southern (DH) in Birmingham, Ala. (1 p.m. Central)
WBB at Pacific in Forest Grove, Ore. (6 p.m.)
WTEN hosts Highline at Galbraith Tennis Center (7 p.m.)
MBB at Pacific in Forest Grove, Ore. (8 p.m.)
SATURDAY:
SB at Piedmont (DH) in Demorest, Ga. (12 p.m. Eastern)
BB hosts Lewis & Clark (DH) at PLU Field (11 a.m.)
WTEN hosts College of Idaho at Galbraith Tennis Center (3:30 p.m.)
SUNDAY:
SB at Emory (DH) in Atlanta, Ga. (12 p.m. Eastern)
BB hosts Lewis & Clark (DH) at PLU Field (11 a.m.)

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."
 
Softball: The Lutes (5-1) return from California red-hot, winning their final five games of the trip. PLU opened the season last Friday, getting edged in the bottom of the seventh to Pomona-Pitzer Colleges 11-10 before rebounding with a 3-0 shutout win in game two that saw Kennedy Kila pitch a complete-game one-hitter while also blasting the go-ahead runs in the sixth inning.
 
PLU grinded out a 2-1 extra innings win over University of La Verne the following day with an Erin McGrath home run in the eighth providing the winning run support before a pinch-hit home run from Chaella Galapon in the seventh gave PLU an 8-6 win over University of Redlands to close the day. 
 
The Lutes wrapped up the trip with 5-3 and 3-2 victories over Chapman University.  
 
Kila was dialed in all weekend, earning two wins in the circle and striking out 10 while adding nine RBIs and three home runs on offense. McGrath hit .429 with three home runs and six extra-base knocks. 
 
Women's Swimming: The Lutes finished fourth overall at the 2023 NWC Championships with Malia Wisham winning the NWC title in the 200-yard individual medley. Wisham secured the title on Friday night, touching the all in 2:08.45 for her second career individual conference crown. 
 
Wisham additionally finished third in the 200-yard freestyle while Annika Eisele was runner-up in the 200-yard backstroke. Makenzie Chan-Orcutt was third in the 200-yard breaststroke  while the Lutes' 200-yard medley relay was second and the 200-yard freestyle relay was third.

Men's Basketball: Pacific Lutheran (13-11, 7-8 NWC) remains in the hunt for an NWC Tournament berth but needs a bit of help. The Lutes sit a half game out of fourth heading into the final weekend of league play. 
 
PLU was nipped 95-92 by Lewis & Clark on Friday night before collecting blowout wins over Willamette University on Saturday (89-61) and crosstown rival University of Puget Sound on Tuesday (78-53).
 
Against the Loggers on Tuesday, the Lutes kept Puget Sound off the scoreboard for over eight minutes to start the game, leading wire-to-wire in the home finale to secure the program's 10th consecutive win over the crosstown rivals. Sam Noland scored 26 points to lead the way with Sean McCurdy scoring 13 along with 18 rebounds. Liam Johnston stole the show, scoring 10 points off the bench, including a thunderous dunk in the final minutes. 
 
Women's Tennis: The Lutes (4-1) gear up for their home opener on Friday, the first of four straight home matches at the Galbraith Tennis Center. PLU has gotten off to a great start to 2023, winning three matches in Arizona before downing crosstown nemesis Puget Sound last night by a 6-1 scoreline.
 
PLU won all five singles matches against the Loggers, including a victory by No. 1 singles player Chloe Andrewjeski who had four singles wins this spring for the Lutes.

LSN's Jonathan Cohen talks with @PLUwtennis first-year Chloe Andrewjeski who's off to a hot start with a 4-1 record in No. 1 singles this season #GoLutes pic.twitter.com/Jg77LtrOro

— PLU Athletics (@golutes) February 16, 2023

 
Baseball: PLU (5-2) returns from Texas having won three of four games. The Lutes dropped the opener to host Concordia University 8-4 on Friday before earning an 8-3 win over Hardin-Simmons University and a 12-2 win over Texas Lutheran University on Saturday. The Lute nine capped off the weekend with a 9-3 win over Texas Lutheran on Sunday.
 
Andy Schmitz headlined the weekend for the Lutes, hitting.368 at the plate, scoring six runs with three extra base hits and three RBIs. Schmitz set a new school record for triples in Sunday's win, hitting his 12th three-bagger of his career.
 
On the hill, Jonathan Cohen had a big weekend in the bullpen, earning the save against Hardin-Simmons and collecting the win against Texas Lutheran. 
 
Men's Swimming: Devin Stanley and Tyler Tanaka provided a one-two punch for the Lutes at the 2023 NWC Championships, helping PLU finish seventh in the team standings.
 
Stanley was third in the 100-yard freestyle, setting a school record in the event after touching the wall in 45.93. Stanley additionally finished sixth in the 50-yard freestyle. Tanaka was third in the 200-yard breaststroke while netting fourth place finishes in the 400-yard individual medley and the 1,650-yard freestyle. 
 
Women's Track & Field: The Lutes competed as an entire team for the first time over the weekend, placing 14th at the Whitworth Invitational. Sarah Paquet headlined the Lutes on the track, placing runner-up in the 5,000-meters while Lily Luksich was third in the pole vault, clearing a season-best height of 11 feet, 6 ½ inches. 
 
Men's Track & Field: Ryan Stracke won the 3,000-meters in his first ever race at that distance, highlighting a strong showing at the Whitworth Invitational. Stracke circled the banked track at The Podium in Spokane in a brisk, 8:19.39 to top the field. Grady Lemma was fifth in the heptathlon while Masum Real was fifth in the weight throw. 
 
Women's Basketball: The Lutes (2-22, 2-13 NWC) swept the season series against Lewis & Clark, rolling the Pios 63-50 on Friday night. PLU came up short in its next two outings, falling 49-38 to Willamette and 69-45 to Puget Sound.
 
Sydney Reisner headlined the Lutes in the win over L&C with 19 points with Taylor Schmitdke adding 18. Ashley Akamine stepped up as the leading scorer the next two games with 18 against the Bearcats and 14 versus Puget Sound.