SAN MARCOS, Calif. – Women’s golf, women’s basketball, softball, men’s and women’s track & field and baseball will be in action this week for Cal State San Marcos Athletics.
Women’s golf will travel to Alameda for Cal State East Bay’s Tim Tierney Shootout on Monday and Tuesday.
After winning a share of the CCAA Regular-Season Championship and clinching the No. 1 seed in the CCAA Tournament, women’s basketball will host No. 8 seed Sonoma State in the quarterfinals on Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. in The Sports Center. Tickets for post season games are not complimentary for CSUSM students, faculty and staff. For more information on ticket options and pricing, please visit csusmcougars.com/tickets.
Should the Cougars advance past the quarterfinals, they’ll play the winner of No. 4 seed Chico State and No. 5 seed Cal State East Bay in La Jolla at RIMAC Arena on Friday at 8 p.m. The championship game of the CCAA Tournament will take place on Saturday at 8 p.m. at RIMAC Arena. The semifinals and championship game will air on ESPN3. .
Softball will travel to No. 14 UC San Diego for a CCAA doubleheader against the Tritons on Wednesday at 4 p.m. After that, the Cougars will travel up to Irvine to face Team USA in an exhibition on Sunday at 1 p.m. at Bill Barber Park. For more information about this event, please .
Men’s and women’s track & field will get back to it by competing at the RCC Invitational in Riverside on Friday and the San Diego Collegiate Challenge on Saturday in La Jolla.
Baseball will play No. 3/2 UC San Diego in a home-and-home series this weekend. The series will open with a single game in San Marcos on Friday at 2 p.m. and will continue on Saturday at noon. The final two games of the series will take place in La Jolla beginning at noon on Sunday.
WOMEN’S GOLF
Monday, March 2 – Tuesday, March 3
Tim Tierney Pioneer Shootout
Alameda, Calif. – Corica Park Golf Course (Par 72, 5,803)
LIVE SCORING
CSUSM TOP FIVE
1. Jaime Jacob (Encinitas/La Costa Canyon HS)
2. Savannah Magallon (San Diego/La Jolla Country Day School)
3. Emily Lichty (San Clemente/San Juan Hills HS)
4. Claire Hogle (San Diego/Rancho Bernardo HS)
5. Lauren Hickam (Carmel/Carmel HS)
Individual: Breann Horn (Lakeside/El Capitan HS)
PARTICIPATING TEAMS (WGCA/Golfstat.com)
Academy of Art, Biola, Cal State East Bay, Cal State LA, Cal State Monterey Bay, No. 12/13 Cal State San Marcos, Chico State, Concordia Portland, Dominican, George Fox, Holy Names, Metro State, Montana State Billings, Northwest Nazarene, Point Loma, No. 14/12 Simon Fraser, Sonoma State, Western Washington
LAST OUTING •CSUSM placed sixth at San Diego State’s Lamkin Invitational on Feb. 11.
•Playing in match-play format, the Cougars dropped a 4-1 decision to San Jose State to begin the tournament before bouncing back with a 3-2 victory over BYU in the consolation bracket semifinals. CSUSM fell 4-1 in the final round to Colorado.
•Jaime Jacob collected her fourth CCAA Golfer of the Week after going 1-1-1 in the tournament.
NATIONAL RANKINGS •In the first NCAA Division II Regional Rankings released on Feb. 6, the Cougars sit on top at No. 1 in the West Region.
•CSUSM ranks No. 13 in the GolfStat.com national poll and No. 12 in the Women’s Golf Coaches Association (WGCA) national poll.
TIM TIERNEY PIONEER SHOOTOUT •The Cougars will be defending their 2019 title on the Corica Park – South Course.
•Last year, Claire Hogle was CSUSM’s top finisher with a share of third place after carding a 2-over 146. Breann Horn placed fifth with a 4-over 148 while Jaime Jacob rounded out CSUSM’s top-10 finishers with a tie for ninth after shooting a 7-over 151.
•This is the Cougars’ third appearance in the tournament, making their debut March 5-6, 2018. CSUSM placed third out of 17 teams, seven strokes behind tournament winner and now NCAA Division I member California Baptist.
THE HUTTON FILE •Head coach Greg Hutton has been at the helm of the men’s program since the 2010-11 season and was named the women’s head coach in 2014.
•The CSUSM women’s team was the 2019 NCAA Division II National Championship runner-up, led by National Champion Jaime Jacob.
•Under Hutton’s leadership, the women’s team won CSUSM’s first CCAA Championship in school history in 2018 and the Cougars defended their title in 2019.
•In CSUSM’s first year of being a full-fledged member of the NCAA Division II in 2017-18, the Cougar men’s and women’s golf teams each qualified for the NCAA Regional Championships.
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
Tuesday, March 2 – 5:30 p.m.
CCAA Tournament Opening Round
No. 1 seed CSUSM (23-4, 18-4 CCAA) vs. No. 8 seed Sonoma State (15-12, 11-11 CCAA)
San Marcos, Calif. – The Sports Center
Tickets | Live Stats | Watch Live
Tournament Central
LAST WEEK •With Saturday’s 75-57 victory over UC San Diego, the Cougars secured a share of the CCAA Regular-Season Championship and the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament.
•The Cougars extended their win streak to nine games, the longest in program history.
•CSUSM’s 18-point win was the largest margin of victory against UCSD since Nov. 19, 2016 when Western Washington defeated the Tritons by 19 points (84-65) in the West Region Crossover Classic.
•Five different Cougars scored in double digits with Chloe Eackles leading the way with 15 points.
•Eackles made a career-high five 3-pointers, finishing with a 71.4 3-point field-goal percentage.
•CSUSM ended the regular season shooting 50% or better in nine of its games, including a 60.9 shooting performance at Cal State East Bay – the highest in the CCAA this season.
•The Cougars’ 23 victories this season are a program-high, bypassing last year’s record of 18.
•Emma Forel concluded the regular season with the highest field-goal percentage in the CCAA at 61.2%, ranking her fifth in the nation.
•Stephanie Custodio and Akayla Hackson are 1-2 in the CCAA in free-throw percentage, concluding the regular-season at 85.1% and 84.5%, respectively.
•The Cougars remain second in 3-point field-goal defense in the nation, holding their opponents to 24.7%. Indiana (PA) moved back into the top spot at 23.9%.
•The Cougars continue to sit first in the CCAA and No. 25 in the NCAA in scoring defense, limiting opponents to a 57.1 points per game average.
•CSUSM boasts the highest field-goal percentage (27th nationally) and 3-point field-goal percentage (22nd nationally) in the CCAA at 45.2% and 36.3%, respectively.
•Forel and Jon’Nae Vermillion rank fourth and seventh in the CCAA in rebounds per game, averaging 9.3 and 7.9, respectively.
•In the second NCAA Division II West Region Poll, the Cougars remained at No. 4 with the new ranking coming out on Wednesday.
SONOMA STATE •With Saturday’s 74-61 loss against Cal State Dominguez Hills on Senior Day, Sonoma State enters the tournament as the No. 8 seed.
•SSU and Humboldt State each finished the regular season with an 11-11 conference record, but HSU won the tiebreaker with two victories over the Seawolves.
•The Seawolves enter Tuesday’s game on a four-game losing streak with additional losses to HSU (74-73), Chico (67-61) and Cal State LA (58-55).
•CSUSM went 0-2 against the Seawolves in the regular season, falling 55-49 in The Sports Center on Dec. 5 before dropping a 54-50 decision in Rohnert Park on Jan. 23.
•The SSU season series is the only one CSUSM dropped this season as the Cougars finished the year with a program-best seven season sweeps.
•Despite the two losses this season to the Seawolves, CSUSM leads the all-time series with a 6-4 record and are 4-1 when playing at home.
•SSU ranks second behind CSUSM in scoring defense, holding opponents to 59.2 points.
•The Seawolves have the third-highest turnover total in the CCAA this season with 461.
•Ugochi Anudokem is the CCAA leader in double-doubles (19), rebounds (293) and rebounds per game (12.2).
THE JIMENEZ FILE •Head coach Renee Jimenez enters her fifth season in charge of the Cougar women’s basketball team, a program that is only in its eighth season of existence.
•Jimenez has compiled a 194-133 (.593) in her 12 seasons coaching in the CCAA, spending two seasons at Cal State San Bernardino after a five-year stint at Cal State Monterey Bay.
SOFTBALL
Wednesday, March 4 – 4 p.m. (DH)
CSUSM (7-10) at No. 14 UC San Diego (18-7)
La Jolla, Calif. | Triton Stadium
Live Stats | Watch Live
Sunday, March 8 – 1 p.m.
CSUSM vs. Team USA
Irvine, Calif. | Bill Barber Park
Live Stats
PREVIOUS WEEK •The Cougars swept Concordia Portland by scores of 10-0 (five innings) and 7-3 on Friday in non-conference action.
•CSUSM batted .396 with 17 runs on 19 hits, including six doubles and two home runs.
•Abby Callais went 4-for-5 with two doubles and two runs in the twinbill.
•CSUSM’s .327 batting average moved the Cougars into second in the CCAA.
•Andrea Wood notched her fifth home run of the season and first at home in the opener. She continues to lead the CCAA in home runs and ranks ninth in the nation.
•Wood ranks second in the CCAA in slugging percentage (.745) and RBIs (22).
•Gianna Lombardi’s eight doubles tie her for second in the CCAA statistics.
•Lombardi’s streak of reaching base safely came to an end on Friday, capping out at 16 games.
•Ronni Silas has CSUSM’s longest current hitting streak at five games.
•Nikki Andelin has tallied a team-best seven multi-hit games this season.
NO. 14 UC SAN DIEGO TRITONS •UCSD split its four-game series at Cal State Monterey Bay this past weekend.
•The Tritons opened the series with an 8-0 run-ruled victory before falling 3-0 to the Otters in the nightcap on Friday. UCSD once again snagged the first game at 8-3 before being run-ruled in the second at 8-0 on Saturday.
•Sherriah Harrington leads UCSD’s offense with a .436 batting average.
•UCSD leads the CCAA in hits (198), RBIs (107) and sacrifice bunts (37).
•The Tritons’ ERA of 1.80 ranks them second in the CCAA behind Chico State’s 0.71 ERA.
•CSUSM has a 2-14 record in the all-time series against the Tritons, but the Cougars collected a 2-0 victory over then-No. 10 UCSD last season in San Marcos.
•UCSD is 8-0 when playing the Cougars on Triton Softball Field with two games being decided by two runs or less.
•The Tritons are tied for fourth in the CCAA standings with Cal State San Bernardino.
TEAM USA •CSUSM takes on the world’s No. 1 team on Sunday when the Cougars face the U.S. Women’s National Team in an exhibition game at 1 p.m. at Bill Barber Park.
•The game is part of Team USA’s Stand Beside Her Tour in its preparation for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
•This marks the first time CSUSM has faced a national team in school history.
THE EWING FILE •Head coach Stef Ewing enters her second season in charge of the Cougar softball season, finishing last year with a 14-31 record that included a series sweep over Cal Stat East Bay on the road.
•Ewing captured her first win as a collegiate head coach on Feb. 17th as the Cougars won 5-4 in a walk-off over Concordia Portland at CSUSM Softball Field.
•She previously served as the assistant coach at New Mexico State where she helped the Aggies to three WAC Regular Season Conference Championships and two WAC Conference Tournament Championships.
MEN’S AND WOMEN’S TRACK & FIELD
Friday, March 6 – 1 p.m.
RCC Invitational
Riverside, Calif. – Wheelock Field
Live Results | Watch Live
Saturday, March 7 – 11:30 a.m.
San Diego Collegiate Challenge
La Jolla, Calif. – Triton Stadium
Live Results
PREVIOUS MEET •CSUSM began its 2020 outdoor season at the Rossi Relays on Feb. 22.
•In the long jump, Darriale Yarbrough finished third with a wind-aided mark of 5.39 meters. Teammate Kiara Harrison took sixth with a non-wind-aided distance of 5.28 meters – the second-best mark in program history.
•Micaela Ecija put up the third-best hammer throw mark in program history with a distance of 43.25 meters.
•Yarbrough’s time of 12.37 was enough for third place in the 100-meter dash while she tied for the sixth fastest in program history.
•The DMR team of Erin MacNeil, Trinity Jordan, Serena Farrell and Natalie Schroeder posted the eighth-best time in program history at 12:41.00 while finishing sixth.
•Brittney Livermore tied for the ninth-best high jump mark in program history at 1.47 meters.
•In the hammer throw, Trevor Nakata posted the second-best mark in program history at 51.14 meters and finished fourth.
RCC INVITATIONAL •Action at Wheelock Field will get underway at 1 p.m. on Friday.
•The Cougars will go up against the likes of Cal State Fullerton, UC Riverside, Cal State San Bernardino, California Baptist and Azusa Pacific.
SAN DIEGO COLLEGIATE CHALLENGE •Field events will begin at 11:30 a.m. and track events will get underway at 2 p.m.
•The Cougars will go up against UC San Diego, Cal State Northridge, Navy, UC Santa Barbara, San Diego State (women) and Point Loma (women).
THE OLSON FILE •Head coach Torrey Olson begins his second season at the helm of the men’s and women’s track & field programs after taking over in the summer of 2018.
•In 2019, Olson’s men’s and women’s squads tallied three CCAA Championships for outdoor competition while the men’s team earned five All-West Region selections.
•Olson came to CSUSM after spending three seasons as the Director of Track & Field and Cross Country at the Academy of Art University where his teams earned 50-plus All-American honors.
•Olson served as the head cross country coach the previous three years at Academy of Art.
•In addition to the Academy of Art, Olson has also worked with the University of San Francisco and Pomona-Pitzer College.
•A graduate of Pomona College in 2009, Olson also holds an MFA from St. Mary’s College (2012).
BASEBALL
Friday, March 6 – 2 p.m.
Saturday, March 7 – 12 p.m.
CSUSM (4-14, 3-9 CCAA) vs. No. 3/2 UC San Diego (13-4, 8-4 CCAA)
San Marcos, Calif. – CSUSM Baseball Field
Live Stats | Watch Live
Sunday, March 8 – 12 p.m. (DH)
CSUSM at No. 3/2 UC San Diego
La Jolla, Calif. – Triton Ballpark
Live Stats | Watch Live
PREVIOUS WEEK •The Cougars took the series loss against Sonoma State this past weekend after falling in three of four games.
•After SSU took the first game of the series 12-3, CSUSM took the second game of the series 12-3. The Seawolves took the series with a doubleheader sweep of 12-4 and 7-6 on Saturday.
•Andrew Garcia led the Cougars a .500 batting average, seven hits, four doubles, one home run, six RBIs, 14 total bases, a 1.000 slugging percentage
•Garcia’s eight doubles for the season lead the CCAA and rank 16th nationally.
•CSUSM has put down the 12th-most sacrifice bunts this season with 16.
•Zach Schuberg’s four triples are tied for the national lead.
•The Cougars rank ninth nationally for triples with seven.
•Joseph Bahna has the 26th-most hits in the nation this season with 27.
COUGARS AGAINST THE TRITONS •Last week, UCSD was ranked No. 3 in the NCBWA Top 25 Poll and No. 2 in the Collegiate Baseball Top 25 Poll.
•The Tritons took three of four games against this past weekend at home against San Francisco State.
•UCSD took wins of 4-3, 7-6 and 6-0 before falling 8-3 in the series finale.
•The Tritons have walked 113 times this season – second most in the nation.
•UCSD is allowing the fifth-fewest walks per nine innings in the nation at 2.43.
•The pitching staff of the Tritons has the 10th-best ERA in the country at 2.79, and their strikeout-to-walk ratio of 3.45 also ranks 10th.
•UCSD has the 12th-best WHIP in the nation at 1.16.
•The Tritons’ on-base percentage of .426, 126 runs and 117 RBIs lead the CCAA.
•UCSD is hitting .292 as a team – fifth best in the conference.
•Anthony Lucchetti leads the Tritons with a .381 batting average.
•The Cougars are 3-15 in the all-time series against the Tritons. At home, CSUSM is 1-7, and on the road, the Cougars are 2-8.
•UCSD has swept the past three series against CSUSM. The Cougars and Tritons split the series in 2016.
THE GUILIANO FILE •Head coach Matt Guiliano enters his fourth season at the helm of the CSUSM baseball program.
•Prior to making his way to San Marcos, Guiliano was the head coach for nine seasons (2008-16) at his alma mater Sioux Falls.
•Guiliano is a 2006 graduate of the University of Sioux Falls and a 2001 graduate of Valley Center High School.
•Guiliano is 64-104 (.381) as CSUSM’s head coach and is 239-340-1 (.413) for his entire head coaching career.
