Setting the Scene: Pacific Lutheran University winter sports are in full swing! Men's and women's basketball hosts a pair of games over the weekend, capping off a stretch of having five of its first six Northwest Conference games at home. Swimming hosts Pacific University in the penultimate home dual meet of the season while track & field reopens the indoor season up at the University of Washington.

FRIDAY:
T&F at UW Preview Meet in Seattle, Wash. (1 p.m.)
WBB hosts Pacific inside Olson Gymnasium (5:30 p.m.)
SWIM hosts Pacific at the PLU Pool (6 p.m.)
MBB hosts Pacific inside Olson Gymnasium (7:30 p.m.)
SATURDAY:
T&F at UW Preview Meet in Seattle, Wash. (9 a.m.)
WBB hosts Linfield inside Olson Gymnasium (3 p.m.)
MBB hosts Linfield inside Olson Gymnasium (5 p.m.)

Men's Basketball: Pacific Lutheran (7-6, 1-3 NWC) opened league play with a 75-73 home win over George Fox University but it's been tough sledding since, including two nailbiting setbacks. That includes an 81-76 setback to Willamette University last Friday a game the Lutes trailed by just a possession in the final minute of the game.

Charlie Kapranos has been unstoppable for the Lutes in his sophomore campaign, leading the team in scoring (14.5 points per game), rebounding (8.9 per game), assists (4.4 per game), and blocks (six).

99 to 100: Head Coach Chad Murray sits one win shy of 100 for his career as the Lutes' head coach. Overall, Murray has 170 wins as a Division III coach, racking up 71 at Cornell College in Iowa before taking the helm at PLU prior to the 2017-2018 campaign.
 
Lucky Seven: The Lutes are shooting for their seventh straight winning season under Head Coach Chad Murray. The PLU men's basketball squad hasn't had seven consecutive winning seasons since doing so from 1965 to 1972 under the direction of PLU Hall of Fame Coach Gene Lundgaard.
 
Women's Basketball: The Lutes (1-12, 0-4 NWC) played their first road conference game last Friday night, falling 80-61 in Salem, Oregon to Willamette.
 
The host Bearcats seized a 25-12 lead after one quarter of play and never looked back after shooting a blistering 62.5 percent in that first quarter.
 
Sydney Reisner continued her domination during conference play. The former NWC Rookie of the Year dropped 19 against the Bearcats and averages 19.5 points per game through the opening four games of conference.

Reis to the Occasion: Sydney Reisner heads into the weekend with 905 career points, needing 95 more to become the first Lute 1,000-point scorer since Samantha Potter in 2014. Reisner has 12 games to reach the milestone, needing to average 7.9 points per game to do so.
 
Women's Swimming: Back from its Hawaii training trip, the Lutes (4-0) resume NWC dual meet action looking to remain undefeated. PLU last competed at the Bruin Invitational back on Nov. 22 and 23 in Newberg, Oregon.
 
That meet saw the Lutes finish second overall at the five-team invitational. Harper Canessa headlined PLU's efforts, winning titles in the 100-yard and 200-yard breaststrokes while being on the winning 400-yard medley relay.
 
Men's Swimming: Vyron Domingo shattered the school record in the 200-yard backstroke in PLU's last meet back in November at the Bruin Invitational. Domingo's winning effort of 1:52.37 broke Cody Hartmans's record by 0.19 seconds, a record that stood since 1995.
 
PLU finished second as a team at the meet, best league rivals Willamette and Pacific. 
 
Track & Field: The Lutes make the short trek up to Seattle this weekend, the first of three indoor meets over the months of January and February. 
 
Last time out was back in early December at the Spokane Invitational. That meet saw Ki Neir finish second in the pole vault (10 feet, 10 inches) with Madison Downey clearing the same height and placing third. 
 
For the men, Bridger Hanis cleared 6' 2 3/4 " in the high jump, placing sixth overall. 
 
Learn more about the 2026 squad in our season preview: LINK
 
S in Lutes is for Service: The Lutes and the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee gave back to the community last Saturday, hosting its annual Special Olympics Basketball Clinic inside Olson Gymnasium.
 
Over 200 Lute student-athletes and Special Olympians from the community participated with the participants returning to Olson on Feb. 21 where they will play a halftime exhibition during the men's and women's basketball games. 

A fun day of HOOPS!!!

Take a look back at our basketball clinic from this past Saturday. Thank you to our friends at Special Olympics Pierce County for an awesome day. #GOLUTES pic.twitter.com/ojuxqkx36h

— PLU Athletics (@golutes) January 13, 2026