Setting the Scene: The Lutes hit the road this weekend with both the Pacific Lutheran University basketball and swimming programs heading over the Cascades to face the Whits. The swimming teams will be in Spokane on Friday and Walla Walla on Saturday while the basketball teams will follow a reverse path, playing Whitman College first before closing the trip out at Whitworth University.

FRIDAY:
WBB at Whitman in Walla Walla, Wash. (5:30 p.m.)
SWIM at Whitworth in Spokane, Wash. (6 p.m.)
MBB at Whitman in Walla Walla, Wash. (7:30 p.m.)
SATURDAY:
SWIM at Whitman in Walla Walla, Wash. (1 p.m.)
WBB at Whitworth in Spokane, Wash. (3 p.m.)
MBB at Whitworth in Spokane, Wash. (5 p.m.)

Free Clinic: PLU is offering a free National Girls and Women in Sports Day Clinic on Saturday, Feb. 7. The clinic will be for kids in grades 1-6 and will run from 1 p.m. until 3 p.m. Campers will receive a free t-shirt, ball, lunch, and will get free admission to the basketball doubleheader that afternoon.
 
For more info and register: LINK
 
Men's Basketball: The Lutes (8-7, 2-4 NWC) closed out their homestand on a high note on Saturday, shelling Linfield University 80-61 for Head Coach Chad Murray's 100th win at PLU. That victory came after falling 80-60 to Pacific University the night before.
 
It was a big second half that propelled the Lutes to the win on Saturday, scoring 33 of the opening 40 points of the second half, turning a tie game into a blowout.
 
Ben Tellez led the Lutes in the win with 22 points on a night the squad shot 55.6 percent from the field, including knocking down 14 three-pointers.
 
PLU leads the NWC and is one of the top teams in the nation in shooting the three, ranking 23rd (out of 405 NCAA Division III teams) in three-pointers per game (10.4).  

100 Club: Head Coach Chad Murray becomes the sixth coach in program history to eclipse 100 wins, and the first since Steve Dickerson who racked up 116 wins from 2006 to 2017. Ed Anderson (1975-1983) has 119 career wins while Marv Harshman (1945-1958), Gene Lundgaard (1958-1975), and Bruce Haroldson (1983-2002) are all members of the 200-win club with 235, 281, and 250 wins, respectively.  

Women's Swimming: Pacific Lutheran (5-0) remained perfect in conference dual meets, overpowering Pacific 109-55 on Friday evening. 
 
11 different Lutes won events in the blowout win with Emma Gassman, Anna Haneda, Matthea Gaines, and Riley Maher all winning multiple events. 
 
Gassman tallied a pair of individual wins, taking the 200-yard individual medley by a comfortable five second margin, touching the wall in two minutes, 22.35 seconds before earning the win by almost nine seconds in the 200-yard backstroke, bagging the victory in 2:16.86.
 
Men's Swimming: The Lutes won all 10 events on Friday night, steamrolling Pacific 98-23 in the penultimate home dual meet of the season. 

Eight total Lutes took home event wins, including Christian Georgi, Gus Hertz, and Marshall Bataluna all winning three events apiece. The trio started the night on the 400-yard medley relay, capturing the win in 3:55.46. 
 
Georgi would go on to net wins in both the 50-yard freestyle and 500-yard freestyle while Hertz was top dog in the 200-yard individual medley and the 200-yard breaststroke. Bataluna tallied a win in the 200-yard butterfly and was part of the winning 400-yard freestyle relay team.

Making an IMPACT: The Lutes added a new teammate on Friday evening, signing 11-year old Chris Absher in a special Team IMPACT draft day ceremony.
 
Learn more about Chris and Team IMPACT: LINK
 
Academic Attaways: On Tuesday the Lutes' men's and women's swimming programs were recognized for academic excellence, both earning the Team Scholar All-America Award from the College Swimming and Diving Coaches Association of America (CSCAA). 

Read more: LINK
 
Track & Field: The Lutes opened the lid on the 2026 calendar year over the weekend in Seattle, competing at the University of Washington Preview Meet. 

Bridger Hanis cleared six feet, ¾ inches in the high jump while Hunter Kleindl cleared 13' 10" in the pole vault for the men's team. On the track, Tyger Willingham clocked a time of 7.30 seconds in the 60-meter dash.
 
For the women, Abi Caprye cleared 5' 1" in the high jump and 10' 4" in the pole vault. Lexie McGurk ran the 200-meters in 27.04 with Souky Waters running an 8.14 in the 60-meters.
 
The Lutes have this weekend off before returning to Seattle next weekend for the UW Invitational. 
 
Women's Basketball: Pacific Lutheran (1-14, 0-6 NWC) was short-handed over the weekend, missing one starter on Friday and two on Saturday in the final home games in the month of January. The Lutes outscored Pacific 36-25 in the second half but the damage had already been done with the Boxers slipping out of Olson Gymnasium with a 65-54 win.

Sydney Reisner scored a baker's dozen to lead the Lutes while the PLU defense held Pacific to shooting just 32.9 percent from the floor, including just 17.9 percent from three-point range.

The Lutes conceded nine of the first 11 points on Saturday against NWC-leading Linfield as the Wildcats, undefeated in league play, walked away with a 59-37 win.

Road Warriors: The Lute men's and women's basketball teams opened the conference schedule by playing five of their first six games at home. Now, the table has turned with PLU playing its next five on the road and seven of the next eight away from Olson Gymnasium. 

Spring is Coming: The Lutes' baseball, softball, and women's lacrosse squads have all started up practice in anticipation for their spring seasons. 
 
Baseball leads the bunch and will open the season on Feb. 13 in southern California with a series against California Lutheran University. Women's lacrosse begins its second season as a varsity program a week later, hosting Southwestern University (Texas) on Feb. 20. Fans will have to wait a bit longer for softball to get underway, with the Lutes opening up on the road on March 6.