Setting the Scene: It's time for the NWC Championships for the Pacific Lutheran University men's and women's swimming teams who will be in Boise, Idaho for the three-day meet. Baseball opens up the season in southern California with track & field wrapping the indoor portion of the 2026 slate in eastern Washington. Meanwhile, men's and women's basketball make their final road trip of the regular season with a two-game swing in Oregon.
 
FRIDAY:
T&F at Whitworth Invitational in Spokane, Wash. 
SWIM at NWC Championships in Boise, Idaho (9:30 a.m./5 p.m. MT)
BB at California Lutheran in Thousand Oaks, Calif. (2 p.m.)
WBB at Linfield in McMinnville, Ore. (5:30 p.m.)
MBB at Linfield in McMinnville, Ore. (7:30 p.m.)
SATURDAY:
T&F at Whitworth Invitational in Spokane, Wash. 
SWIM at NWC Championships in Boise, Idaho (9:30 a.m./5 p.m. MT)
BB at California Lutheran (DH) in Thousand Oaks, Calif. (10 a.m.)
WBB at Pacific in Forest Grove, Ore. (3 p.m.)
MBB at Pacific in Forest Grove, Ore. (5 p.m.)
SUNDAY:
SWIM at NWC Championships in Boise, Idaho (9:30 a.m./5 p.m. MT)

Women's Swimming: The Lutes (6-2) head to Boise for the NWC Championships looking to improve on last season's sixth place finish.
 
PLU heads into the meet with the second fastest seed time in the 400-yard medley relay (four minutes, 1.89 seconds) while Harper Canessa ranks third in both the 100-yard breaststroke and 200-yard breaststroke. 
 
Emma Gassman has the third best seed time in the 200-yard backstroke while Riley Maher (400-yard individual medley), Scout Hawkins (200-yard breaststroke), and Kei Nishikawa (200-yard butterfly) all are seeded fourth in their respective events.

Men's Swimming: Pacific Lutheran's (6-2) Vyron Domingo owns the top time in the 200-yard backstroke (1:52.37) as the team looks to improve on last season's sixth place showing at the NWC Championships.
 
In addition to holding the top time in the 200 back, Domingo also has the third best seed time in the 100-yard backstroke while Christian Georgi ranks fourth in he 200-yard breaststroke. 
 
Women's Golf: PLU knocked off the rust this week, competing at the West Coast Classic in Riverside, California to open up the spring portion of the season.

Newcomers Jayda Thomas and Maddie Downie led the team to an eighth place finish against a strong field. Thomas placed 27th overall with a two-round tally of 172 (88-84) while Downie was 38th (180).
 
As a team, the Lutes shot a 744, shaving off 22 strokes from Monday's opening round to Tuesday.

Baseball: The Lutes open the lid on the 2026 season this weekend down in southern California with a three-game series against California Lutheran University.
 
PLU returns five of its six All-NWC performers from a team that earned victories over teams from all three NCAA divisions. The Lutes finished last spring with a 17-22 overall record and a 9-15 mark in league play.
 
Learn more about the 2026 club in our season preview: LINK

Women's Basketball: A run late in the first quarter proved the difference maker on Saturday as the host Lutes (2-19, 1-11 NWC) fell 63-52 to Willamette University.

The Bearcats closed that first quarter on a 9-0 run. It proved to be the only quarter the visitors outscored the Lutes but it was enough to build and sustain the lead.
 
Emi Wada and Lilli Williams led the charge, each scoring 10 points with Williams also adding seven rebounds. 
 
Track & Field: Pacific Lutheran closes out the indoor season this weekend in Spokane at the Whitworth Invitational.
 
The Lutes have already notched several great performances during the indoor campaign with Bridger Hanis (six feet, four and ¾ inches in the high jump), Hunter Kleindl (14' 9" in the pole vault), and Seth Kramer (21' 8 ¼" in the long jump) all owning the top performances in the NWC in their respective events. 
 
For the women, Ki Neir has the NWC's top performance in the pole vault (11' 5 ¾") while Kyleigh Archer owns the conference's top jump in the triple jump (36' 9 ¾"). 
 
Men's Basketball: Visiting Willamette scorched the nets in the opening half and the Lutes (10-11, 4-8 NWC) were unable to recover, falling 99-70 on Saturday.
 
Willamette's onslaught included 22 of Tanner Overby's 25 points on a night he finished 11-for-14 from the floor.
 
Ben Tellez was dialed for the Lutes, dropping 19 points, including four treys while seizing five rebounds and distributing five assists. Dom Perasso added 18 points and a team-best seven rebounds. 

Between Saturday's game and last Tuesday's, Tellez averaged 25.5 points per game, shooting a blazing 70 percent (7-for-10) from three point range.

PLU BY THE NUMBERS ????

Congrats to all our student-athletes on a great Fall/Jterm in the classroom!! Let's keep it up and finish the spring strong! #GOLUTES pic.twitter.com/G6HIy3Cbf6

— PLU Athletics (@golutes) February 11, 2026

 
Women's Lacrosse: The Lutes are gearing up for season two of a varsity program and will open the season at home next Friday at East Field. Be on the lookout for a season preview next week. 
 
Spring Seasons: Still on deck is men's golf, softball, and women's rowing. Men's golf resumes its season on February 22 at the Crusader Cup, softball will begin their 2026 campaign in Georgia at the NFCA Leadoff Classic on March 6 while women's rowing gets underway on March 7, hosting the PLU Invitational.