Setting the Scene: Pacific Lutheran University's winter sports take center stage this weekend with men's and women's basketball hosting home games and the men's and women's swimming teams competing at the two-day Bruin Invitational to cap off the fall semester.
FRIDAY:
WBB hosts Texas Lutheran inside Olson Gymnasium (6 p.m.)
SATURDAY:
Swim at Bruin Invitational in Newberg, Ore. (10 a.m.)
SUNDAY:
Swim at Bruin Invitational in Newberg, Ore. (10 a.m.)
MONDAY:
WBB hosts Concordia Texas inside Olson Gymnasium (6 p.m.)
MBB hosts Hamilton inside Olson Gymnasium (8 p.m.)
Football: A pair of fourth quarter touchdowns made all the difference on Saturday as PLU (7-3, 5-2 Northwest Conference) defeated crosstown nemesis University of Puget Sound 34-21 to retain "The Trophy" in the 100th edition of the storied rivalry.
Raysen Motoyama scored the go ahead touchdown on a one yard run with 12:59 left in the game before
Jacob Schuh zigged and zagged his way down the field on a 53-yard competition from backup quarterback
Anthony Mahaffey in a game the Lutes' racked up 486 yards of total offense.
Linebacker
Kalen Davis-White finished with 13 tackles and an interception, keeping the Loggers out of the endzone the entire second half. The senior was named the NWC Defensive Player of the Week on Monday while earning a spot on the D3football.com Team of the Week on Tuesday.
The Lutes have now won four in a row against the Loggers by a combined 144-38 scoreline as Puget Sound has never won "The Trophy" since it was first awarded during the 2021 fall season.
Women's Soccer: The eight time reigning NWC Champion Lutes (16-2-4, 14-0-2 NWC) saw its season come to a close over the weekend in the second round of the NCAA Division III Tournament.
Hannah Cecil was the hero on Saturday, scoring in the 84th minute off a pass from
Kayden Hulquist in a 1-0 victory over Maryville College in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament in Atlanta, Georgia. PLU enjoyed a 13-5 edge in shots during the game against the champions of the Collegiate College of the South.
The following day the Lutes were on the other side of a 1-0 scoreline, falling to tournament host Emory University. The Eagles scored the lone goal in the 72nd minute on a day and outshot PLU 23-3, including taking all 15 shots of the second half.
Coming Up: Check back to GoLutes.com on Friday afternoon as the NWC announces the 2024 All-Conference Team.
Men's Cross Country: Owen Ladinig secured All-Region honors for the third time in his career, headlining PLU's efforts at the 2024 NCAA Division III West Region Championships at Milo McIver State Park in Estacada, Oregon.
Ladinig finished 27th overall on Saturday, navigating the 8,000-meter layout in a season-best time of 24 minutes, 58.7 seconds.
Kai Sorensen was the second Lute finisher, clocking in 64th overall.
As a team, the Lutes finished 18th overall with 518 points, owning a 30-point edge on league rival Linfield University.
Volleyball: Pacific Lutheran (19-8, 13-3 NWC) capped off another successful season on Saturday, advancing to the NWC Tournament Championship match for the second consecutive year.
The Lutes opened up the NWC Tournament in Spokane on Friday with a 3-1 win over Tacoma rival Puget Sound. It was a match that saw PLU collect 12 aces on the night while four Lutes finished with double digit kills. The following night, PLU had the Herculean task of knocking off No. 1 seed Whitworth University. The Lutes battled hard but eventually fell 3-0 to the 21st-ranked Pirates.
On Tuesday the NWC office released its All-Conference team with Lute setter
Ayre Takamoto earning First Team All-NWC, libero
Makenna Jackson securing Second Team All-NWC, and middle blocker
Julissa Pernsteiner landing Honorable Mention All-Conference.
Women's Cross Country: Three of PLU's seven runners ran personal bests on Saturday, closing the season with a 21st place team finish at the West Region Championships.
Sal Mattivi capped off a brilliant first year as a Lute, finishing 64th overall in a 6,000-meter time of 23:13.3.
Anna Iverson was the next Lute to finish, placing 80th while
Jessalyn Robles,
Victoria Lindley, and
Rachel Rosario all claimed PRs out on the course at Milo McIver State Park.
Men's Soccer: The two-time reigning NWC Champion Lutes (13-3-5, 11-1-4 NWC) had a high attitude showdown with fifth-ranked Colorado College on Saturday in the opening round of the NCAA Division III Tournament.
Trevor Thompson— PLU's all-time leader in both goals and points— scored twice, first in the 46th minute and again in the 88th but it wasn't enough as the host Tigers escaped with the 3-2 victory.
Earlier today, seven Lutes along with Head Coach
John Yorke were honored by the NWC. Yorke claimed NWC Coach of the Year honors for the second straight season and the ninth time in his career while
Trevor Thompson was tabbed the NWC Offensive Player of the Year and
Cole Dobson nabbed NWC Defensive Player of the Year for the third consecutive season.
Joining Thompson and Dobson as First Team All-League selections was
Nicholas Gaston,
Alvin Kamau, and
Craig Johnson while
Landon Sexton and
Christian Pineda were Second Team All-Conference picks.
Women's Basketball: Stacie Spahr had a huge day on the glass for the Lutes (1-2), hauling down a career-high 18 rebounds in a 60-46 victory on Sunday over in-state rival The Evergreen State College.
Spahr hauled in 18 rebounds in just 28 minutes of game action, including five offensive boards while also adding six points.
Kasidy Javernick hit four treys on the day and led the way with 16 points— one of three Lutes to finish in double figures.
PLU hosts a pair of Texas schools over the next four days before heading to Colorado for a post-Thanksgiving Tournament.
Men's Swimming: Nine different Lutes won events on Saturday as Pacific Lutheran (2-2) swamped host Pacific University 166-14 in the squad's final dual meet of the fall semester.
Christian Georgi and
Tyler Tanaka led the way for the Lutes, each winning a trio of events. Georgi was the top finisher in the 100-yard backstroke, 500-yard freestyle, and as a member of the 200-yard medley relay. Tanaka topped the field in the 100-yard breaststroke, 200-yard breaststroke, and the 400-yard individual medley.
Three more Lutes won multiple events, including
Na'inoa Loo (200-yard medley relay and 100-yard butterfly),
Aidan Koshinsky (200-yard freestyle and 200-yard freestyle relay), and
Dakota Domingo (50-yard freestyle and 200-yard freestyle relay).
Women's Swimming: The Lute women experience similar success on Saturday, overwhelming the Boxers 143-62. Eight Lutes won events on the day, including four—
Emma Gassman,
Scout Hawkins,
Melissa Zuniga, and
Matthea Gaines— winning multiple events.
All four were members of the winning 200-yard medley relay team to start the meet. Hawkins won three more individual events, piling on wins on the 100-yard breaststroke, 200-yard backstroke, and the 400-yard individual medley while Gassman earned wins in the 100-yard backstroke and the 500-yard freestyle.
Zuniga won the 200-yard butterfly while Gaines a member of the winning 200-yard freestyle relay team.
Both the women and men compete this weekend at the Bruin Invitational and will resume the dual meet season on Jan. 11 against Linfield University.
Men's Basketball: The Lutes (1-2) welcomed a pair of seasoned California schools to Olson Gymnasium over the weekend, battling hard but dropping both contests.
Pacific Lutheran led by as many as eight points but visiting Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges did just enough to come away with the 64-60 win.
Miles Nash led the Lutes with 16 points while
Dom Perasso tallied 12 along with eight rebounds.
A 10-point halftime deficit was whittled to just five on a
Henry Smith three-pointer with 10:44 left in the game but Chapman University answered to hold on for the 81-71 win. It was another big night for Nash who had 17 points while
Mack Hepper added 16.
Academic Attaways: On Tuesday, College Sports Communicators (CSC) recognized its Academic All-District selections for men's and women's soccer with 10 total Lutes earning the award.
Olivia Boehm,
Julia Causbie,
Hannah Cecil,
Kayden Hulquist,
Katelyn McDougal, and
Abby Winkler were recognized from the women's team while
Quinn Bieber,
Cole Dobson,
Connor O'Brien, and
Jordan Ross were honored from the men's squad.
