USD athletes spring forward
Tennis teams, baseball, golf continued competing over break
MARI OLSON / SPORTS EDITOR / THE USD VISTA
Although spring break was a week of rest for many, University of San Diego athletes spent the week playing some big games and matches. Men’s and women’s tennis faced nationally ranked teams, and baseball played in their first cross-town rivalry matchup of the season against the University of California, San Diego (UCSD). Find out how they played below.
Men’s Tennis
USD Men’s Tennis started off the week with a bang, beating the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) for the first time in program history. The Toreros came away with a tight 4-3 win.
All three doubles teams were successful over UCLA, earning the first point for USD.
The singles matches were more evenly split. In the number one spot, redshirt senior August Holmgren came from behind to beat Drew Baird from UCLA in three sets to clinch the win for the Toreros. Redshirt sophomore Sacchitt Sharma and senior Will Davies won their matches as well.
USD continued their success on Wednesday, March 9, against Florida Atlantic University (FAU), crushing FAU in a 7-0 victory.
On Thursday and Friday, the Toreros competed in the San Diego Shakedown tournament, playing the University of New Mexico (UNM) and the University of Pennsylvania (UPenn) in a couple of quick fire matches.
Currently ranked no. 37 in the nation, USD beat both teams at the Skip and Cindy Hogan Tennis Center. The Toreros shutout UNM, clinching a 4-0 victory. Holmgren, redshirt senior David Norfeldt, and redshirt sophomore Marvin Schaber each won their match in two quick sets to propel the Toreros forward.
USD also took down no. 47-ranked UPenn, winning four out of six matches for a final scoreline of 4-2. The doubles teams did enough to secure the first point, and Holmgren, Davies, and graduate Gui Osorio provided the winning points for the team.
Four wins this week puts the Toreros at 10-2 on the season so far. The Toreros start another busy weekend on Thursday, March 17, against no. 59-ranked University of Wisconsin. The next day, USD will begin the Ed Collins Invitational tournament with no. 20-ranked University of Utah and no. 13-ranked Harvard University through Sunday, March 20. All three matches will be played at the Hogan Tennis Center.
Softball
USD Softball began their spring break play on Wednesday, March 9, against the University of California, Riverside, coming away with a dominant 10-5 win.
Redshirt junior Madison Earnshaw started on the mound for the Toreros, pitching five innings and giving up three earned runs. The USD offense had her back, though; first-year first baseman Joecellia Roberts turned in three runs batted in, and redshirt juniors Izzy Owen and AJ Kaiser had two RBIs each to push the Toreros to the win.
The Toreros also hosted the San Diego Tournament over spring break at the USD Softball Complex, with teams from California State University, Northridge (CSUN), Weber State University, and San Diego State University (SDSU) competing.
USD won their opening match against CSUN on Friday 9-7, scoring all nine runs in the first inning. Redshirt first-year Ashley Daugherty and Earnshaw combined on the mound to keep the Toreros in the lead through all seven innings.
On Saturday, the Toreros dropped the contest to Weber State, going down 1-3. USD scored their only run in the sixth inning, and couldn’t find a way to fully make the comeback.
USD played a doubleheader on Sunday to finish out the tournament, coming up against CSUN again in the morning and against SDSU in the afternoon. The Toreros beat CSUN again, this time 2-1, in a comeback victory in the seventh inning. However, they couldn’t keep the momentum going into the second game against the Aztecs, and dropped the final contest 3-4.
USD Softball travels to Oklahoma this weekend to play in the Triple Crown OKC tournament against five midwest teams from March 18 through March. 20.
Women’s Tennis
In yet another important matchup for the Toreros, USD Women’s Tennis took down Princeton University at home on Wednesday, March 9.
Two out of the three doubles teams beat their Tiger opponents, giving USD the first point of the match. In singles competition, redshirt junior Solymar Colling, redshirt sophomore Elizabeth Goldsmith, sophomore Jordyn McBride, and first-year Claudia De Las Heras each won their match to give the Toreros a final score of 5-2 over the Tigers.
USD Women’s Tennis also opened WCC play this weekend against the Saint Mary’s College Gaels (SMC). The Toreros beat the Gaels soundly, 6-1.
After dropping the doubles point to SMC, USD came back in to sweep all six singles matches and start conference play with a win.
Women’s tennis plays Columbia University at home on March 18, another key competition for the Toreros.
Baseball
In the first Tuesday evening game of the season, USD Baseball was victorious over cross-town counterparts UCSD, beating the Tritons 2-0.
Excellent pitching was the highlight for USD against their neighbors. First-year Morgan Lunceford started on the mound for the Toreros and pitched through 1.2 scoreless innings. Lunceford was taken out in the second after a long delay because the stadium lights went out unexpectedly.
Sophomore Ivran Romero took over for Lunceford and pitched 4.1 innings with five strikeouts and no walks to keep the Toreros in the game. USD scored both their runs in the fourth inning. Sophomore right fielder Jack Costello scored on a ground out, and sophomore first-baseman Kevin Sim scored on a wild pitch for the only runs of the game.
Redshirt sophomore Connor Thurman took over for the final three innings on the mound for the Toreros, and struck out seven with no hits and no walks during the last nine outs to preserve the shutout.
In their first road test of the season, USD Baseball traveled to Phoenix, AZ to take on Grand Canyon University (GCU) in a three-game series.
USD dropped the opening game on Friday night 5-6, after a 9th inning winner from GCU handed the Toreros the loss.
USD was able to bounce back in the next two games. On Saturday evening, the Toreros defeated the Lopes 7-1, backed by another evening of excellent pitching from sophomore Brycen Mautz. Mautz struck out nine and gave up no hits in the seven innings he pitched.
The offense was on fire Saturday night as well, racking up 15 hits over the course of the game.
In the final game on Sunday, the Toreros ground out another win, this time 7-5, to take the series and put their record at 8-6 for the season.
USD Baseball travels to Malibu this weekend to take on Pepperdine University in their first WCC series this spring.
Swim & Dive
USD Swim & Dive took eight athletes to the National Invitational Championship meet beginning on March 11 in Elkhart, Indiana. This was the largest group to ever represent the University of San Diego at the event.
The eight athletes competed in 13 events over the three day meet, with first-year Abby Muaddi placing highest for the Toreros at 31st in the 100 yard backstroke.
Additionally, first-year diver Jane Riehs competed in the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I Zone E Diving Championship March 7 through 9.
Riehs finished 48th in the three meter dive and 54th in the one meter dive. Riehs’ appearance at the competition was the first for the Toreros since 2006.
Golf
USD Golf competed in the Lamkin Classic at the San Diego Country Club on March 7 and 8. The team finished fourth out of 16 universities, and redshirt junior Charlie Reiter finished fourth in the individual competition.
Louisiana State University won the competition after staying in first through all three rounds, while the University of Washington and Notre Dame University rounded out the top three. USD finished two strokes behind Notre Dame.
After a rough start on the first round, Reiter picked up the pace in the next two and moved from T-25th to finish fourth overall.
Redshirt junior Harrison Kinglsey finished tied for 6th, after a consistent 71, 67, 71 set of scores over three rounds. Redshirt junior Evan Kawai also finished in the top 20 for the Toreros.
The Toreros will travel next to the Omni Tucson National Resort in Tucson, AZ to compete in the Arizona National Invitational Tournament on March 18 and 19.