SAN MARCOS, Calif. – Men’s golf, men’s and women’s basketball, men’s and women’s track & field, softball and baseball will all be in action this week for Cal State San Marcos Athletics.
Men’s golf will get the week started with the CSUSB Coyote Classic on Monday and Tuesday at the Canyon Crest Country Club in Riverside. The day will get underway at 8 a.m. on both days.
Men’s and women’s basketball will make their final road trip of the regular season by heading north to Cal State Monterey Bay and Cal State East Bay. The women’s game at CSUMB will begin at 5:30 p.m. with the men’s game set to get underway at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday. On Saturday at CSUEB, the women will take the floor at 1 p.m. before the men tip-off at 3 p.m.
Softball will return to CSUSM Softball Field to host Cal State Dominguez Hills in a four-game series. Both doubleheaders on Friday and Saturday will begin at noon.
Baseball will head to San Francisco State for a four-game series against the Gators beginning on Friday at 2 p.m. The Cougars and Gators will play a doubleheader starting at 11 a.m. on Saturday, and they’ll play the series finale on Sunday at 11 a.m.
Men’s and women’s track & field will return to outdoor action at the Rossi Relays at Claremont-Mudd-Scripps in Claremont on Saturday beginning at 10:30 a.m.
MEN’S GOLF
Monday, Feb. 17 – Tuesday, Feb. 18
CSUSB Coyote Classic
Riverside, Calif. – Canyon Crest Country Club (Par 72, 6,658 yards)
LIVE SCORING
CSUSM TOP FIVE
1. Justin Vrzich (El Cajon/Cuyamaca College)
2. Matthew Moss (San Diego/Point Loma HS)
3. Ryan Bisharat (San Diego/Cathedral Catholic HS)
4. Ben Hume (Yorba Linda/Yorba Linda HS
5. Connor Nelson (Fullerton/Long Beach State)
Ind. Daniel Kim (Chula Vista/Christian HS)
TEAMS
Cal Poly, No. 23 Cal State Monterey Bay, Cal State San Bernardino, Cal State San Marcos, Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, Colorado Christian, No. 15 Colorado School of Mines, Holy Names, Marymount College, Redlands, No. 5 Simon Fraser, Stanislaus State, Western Washington
LAST OUTING •The Cougars shot the lowest round on the final day of the CSUSM Fujikura Invitational on Tuesday, Feb. 4 at Shadowridge to surge up three spots to place second after winning the card off against Oklahoma Christian.
•CSUSM ended the tournament with a 26-over 890 (305-292-293), the team’s second lowest score this season.
•Moss carded the second-lowest round on day two, firing a 4-under 68 to move up 24 spots for a share of fifth place with a 3-over 219.
CSUSB COYOTE CLASSIC •This is CSUSM’s third appearance at the Coyote Classic.
•During the NAIA era for CSUSM, the Cougars defeated a large field of NCAA Division II schools to capture the Coyote Classic team title by 10 strokes over second-place Western Washington in 2003. Rob Keller took home individual medalist honors after carding a 6-under 210 (71-70-69) on the PGA of Southern California Course in Beaumont, Calif.
•Last season, Bisharat captured the Coyote Classic individual medalist crown after scoring a 3-under 69 in the last round to finish with an 8-under 208. The team placed third with a 16-over 880, five strokes behind tournament winner Colorado School of Mines.
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
Thursday, Feb. 20 – 5:30 p.m.
CSUSM (20-4, 15-4 CCAA) at Cal State Monterey Bay (6-14, 6-12 CCAA)
Seaside, Calif. – Otter Sports Center
Live Stats | Watch Live ($)
Saturday, Feb. 22 – 1 p.m.
CSUSM at Cal State East Bay (16-8, 12-6 CCAA)
Hayward, Calif. – Pioneer Gymnasium
Live Stats | Watch Live
LAST WEEK •The Cougars clinched a top-four spot in the CCAA Tournament and will host the first round on Tuesday, March 3 in The Sports Center.
•CSUSM continues to sit in second place in the CCAA standings with conference leader UC San Diego one game ahead and Cal State East Bay two and half games behind in third place.
•The Cougars went 2-0 this past weekend with victories over Cal State LA (75-66) and Cal State Dominguez (74-55).
•Emma Forel registered 18 points and 15 rebounds against CSULA. She’s collected 10 double-doubles for the season, ranking her second in the CCAA and 36th in the nation.
•Chloe Eackles notched a career-high 18 points, passing her previous record of 13 points set in her freshman season.
•Akayla Hackson tallied 20 points in the win over CSUDH, tying her second-highest scoring performance of the season.
•With Saturday’s win, CSUSM reached the 20-win plateau for the first time in program history.
•The Cougars have tallied five season-series sweeps in 2019-20, the most since joining the CCAA in 2015-16.
•Forel is the conference leader and ranks No. 5 in the nation in field-goal percentage at 62.3%.
•After spending eleven weeks in first, the Cougars dropped to second in 3-point field-goal percentage defense in the nation, holding their opponents to 24.6%. University of the Sciences moved into first with a 24.1%.
•The Cougars remain first in the CCAA in scoring defense, limiting opponents to a 57.5 points per game average.
•CSUSM boasts the highest field-goal percentage in the CCAA and 33rd best nationally at 44.6%.
•Forel and Jon’Nae Vermillion rank second and seventh in the CCAA in rebounds per game, averaging 9.8 and 8.1, respectively.
•In the latest D2SIDA West Region Poll, the Cougars moved up to No. 4 in the rankings.
THURSDAY AT CSUMB •The Cougars registered a 73-48 win over Cal State Monterey Bay on Jan. 4, their second-highest scoring margin of the season.
•The Otters recorded back-to-back road victories two weeks ago at Cal State LA (68-61) and Cal State Dominguez Hills (67-58).
•CSUMB dropped a 65-53 decision to Cal State East Bay last Saturday in the Otter Sports Center.
•The Otters are ranked third in the conference and 38th in the nation in fewest fouls with only 358 on the season.
•CSUMB ranks last in the CCAA in total rebounds (668) and second-to-last in rebounds per game (33.4).
•The Otters rank next-to-last in assists per game (10.5), assist-turnover ratio (0.60), three-point field goals made (104), free throws made (229) and free throws attempted (325).
•Sylvia Vartazarian is averaging a team-high 13.7 points, 6.8 rebounds and 1.00 blocks per game.
•The Cougars have won the last five meeting between these two teams.
•In the two wins in Seaside, the Cougars won by eight (58-52) and six (58-52) points. At home, CSUSM has averaged a 21-point margin of victory.
•CSUSM holds a 6-2 lead in the all-time series with the Otters and is 2-2 when playing in the Otter Sports Center.
•The Otters have been eliminated from the 2020 CCAA tournament and are 11th in the CCAA standings.
SATURDAY AT EAST BAY •CSUSM fell 65-61 to the Pioneers on Jan. 2 in The Sports Center.
•The Pioneers went on a three-game losing streak in January but have rebounded with wins in three of their last four games.
•CSUEB leads the all-time series at 6-3 between the two teams and is 3-1 when playing in Pioneer Gymnasium.
•The Cougars collected their first road victory over the Pioneers last season with a 68-58 win on Nov. 24.
•The Pioneers are second in assists per game (14.4), steals per game (9.8) and blocked shots per game (3.5).
•CSUEB also has the second-best field-goal percentage (42.4), right behind CSUSM’s 44.6%.
•The Pioneers have the highest personal fouls average in the conference and are 11th in the nation with 21.3 per game.
•CSUEB has the second-highest turnovers per game average (18.4) in the CCAA.
•Madison Schiller is averaging a team-high 10.1 points and 1.88 steals per game for CSUEB.
•Morgan Greene is leading the team in rebounds (8.7) and blocked shots (0.83) per game.
•The Pioneers are ranked No. 8 in the latest D2SIDA West Region Poll.
•CSUEB enters the week third in the conference standings, one game ahead of fourth-place Cal Poly Pomona and 1.5 games in front of fifth-place Sonoma State
•With four games remaining in the regular season, the Pioneers are fighting to finish in the top four in the CCAA standings to earn hosting duties in the first round of the 2020 CCAA Tournament.
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 191 -133 (.590) 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.
MEN’S BASKETBALL
Thursday, Feb. 20 – 7:30 p.m.
CSUSM (12-13, 8-11 CCAA) at Cal State Monterey Bay (9-15, 6-12 CCAA)
Seaside, Calif. – Otter Sports Center
Live Stats | Watch Live ($)
Saturday, Feb. 22 – 3 p.m.
CSUSM at Cal State East Bay (14-10, 10-8 CCAA)
Hayward, Calif. – Pioneer Gymnasium
Live Stats | Watch Live
PREVIOUS WEEK •CSUSM earned a 78-76 victory over Cal State LA this past Thursday before falling 107-105 in double overtime to Cal State Dominguez Hills on Saturday.
•Against the Golden Eagles, Jayce McCain and Blake Seits led the contest with 22 points each.
•Against the Toros, Marcus Brown led the Cougars with 21 points.
•The Toros pulled out the win despite leading for just 22 seconds total in both overtime periods.
•The Cougars broke the 100-point mark for the first time since Jan. 21, 2017, against Cal State San Bernardino.
•With three games remaining, CSUSM is still alone in seventh place with a 1.5-game lead over eighth-place Cal State Dominguez Hills and a 2.5-game lead over ninth-place Cal State LA and Cal State Monterey Bay. The Toros, Golden Eagles and Otters each have four games remaining while CSUSM only has three.
•McCain’s assist-turnover ratio of 3.70 continues to lead the CCAA and ranks sixth nationally.
•McCain’s 57 total steals and 2.28 steals per game lead the CCAA and rank nationally at 12th and 14th, respectively.
•McCain’s steals total ranks ninth on CSUSM’s single-season list.
•Khalil Fuller’s 8.7 rebounds per game lead the league and rank 51st nationally.
•Fuller is just one rebound shy of 200 for the season. Last season, Fuller finished with 223.
•CSUSM’s 197 total steals rank 49th nationally and third in the CCAA.
•The Cougars are committing the third-fewest turnovers in the conference at 12.1 per game and rank 54th nationally.
•With 74 3-point field goals for the year, Seits now has the sixth-most in a single season in program history. On the career list, his total ranks eighth.
THURSDAY AGAINST THE OTTERS •Thursday’s meeting in Seaside will be the second between the Cougars and Otters this season as CSUSM posted a 91-79 victory at The Sports Center on Jan. 4.
•The Otters lost their lone game last week by falling 69-66 to Cal State East Bay.
•CSUSMB ranks 68th nationally and fifth in the CCAA for 3-point field goals per game at 9.2.
•The Otters are chalking up the third-most defensive rebounds in the league at 26.83.
•While CSUMB has the fifth-best scoring offense in the league at 76.1 points per game, the team ranks 12th for scoring defense at 80.4 points allowed per game.
•The Otters are recording the fewest steals per game in the conference at 4.5, and they have the league’s worst turnover margin at -3.1.
•Jahvon Johnson leads the Otters with 13.5 points per game and has the second-best free throw percentage in the conference at 84.3%.
•The Cougars are 6-1 in the all-time series against the Otters and have won the last five meetings.
•CSUSM is 2-1 when playing in Seaside with its lone loss occurring on Jan. 30, 2016.
ROAD FINALE AT CAL STATE EAST BAY •Saturday will be CSUSM’s final road game of the regular season.
•In the first meeting of the season on Jan. 2, the Cougars dismantled the then-second-place Pioneers by a score 83-56 at The Sports Center behind Marcus Brown’s 22 points.
•CSUEB is on a two-game winning streak and won 69-66 at CSUMB this past weekend.
•The Pioneers are currently in fifth in the CCAA standings and are on the cusp of clinching a spot in the CCAA Tournament.
•CSUEB’s turnover margin of 3.0 ranks 29th nationally and fourth in the CCAA.
•The Pioneers are forcing 15.67 turnovers per game – second most in the conference.
•CSUEB has the third-best 3-point field-goal defense in the CCAA at 33.8%.
•While their scoring offense ranks 10th in the league at 73.5 points per game, the team’s scoring defense ranks fourth at 70.8 points allowed per game.
•Zafir Williams leads the Pioneers in points per game (17.5), rebounds per game (8.4), steals per game (1.42), field-goal percentage (48.9%) and free-throw percentage (80.6%).
•Williams’ 11 double-doubles lead the CCAA and rank 17th nationally.
•CSUSM is 8-1 in the all-time series against CSUEB and is 3-1 in Hayward.
•The Cougars’ lone loss came last season.
•CSUSM’s 83-56 win earlier in the season was the Cougars’ largest-ever margin of victory against the Pioneers.
THE FOSTER FILE •Head coach B.J. Foster enters his fourth season in charge of the CSUSM Men’s Basketball program after taking over the head position in 2016.
•Under his leadership, the Cougars advanced to the CCAA Tournament for the first time in 2017-18 after finishing the season with a 15-7 conference record and a 20-9 overall record.
•Prior to becoming head coach of the Cougars, Foster was an assistant coach with the team from 2013 to 2016.
•Foster has tallied a career record of 59-51 (.536).
SOFTBALL
Friday, Feb. 21 – 12 p.m. (DH)
Saturday, Feb. 22 – 12 p.m. (DH)
CSUSM (5-8, 3-5 CCAA) vs. Cal State Dominguez Hills (9-5, 2-2 CCAA)
San Marcos, Calif. | CSUSM Softball Field
Live Stats | Watch Live
PREVIOUS WEEK •The Cougars dropped a four-game CCAA series, 3-1, at Cal State San Bernardino.
•CSUSM opened the series with a 13-4 run-ruled loss before recording an 18-11 win that was finished up on Saturday due to darkness on Friday.
•The Cougars dropped both ends of Saturday’s doubleheader at CSUSB, 6-5 and 11-6 (six innings).
•CSUSM hit .357 in the series, recording seven home runs and five doubles.
•Wood went 4-of-7 against the Coyotes, crushing three home runs including a three-run homer and a grand slam in game two of the series.
•CSUSM’s 18 runs in game two was the most by the Cougars in the NCAA Division II era and third-highest in program history. The Cougars recorded 19 runs on two different occasions – against La Sierra in 2012 and at Redlands in 2011.
•The Cougars were a perfect 4-for-4 on stolen bases while picking off three of CSUSB’s attempts.
•CSUSM’s .333 batting average ranks third in the CCAA and 31st in the nation.
•The Cougars have tallied a conference-best eight sacrifice flies in their 13 games, ranking first in the nation with 83 other teams.
•CSUSM’s 122 hits ranks eighth nationally and second in the CCAA.
•Nikki Andelin is the CCAA leader with 19 hits and ranks 17th nationally. Lombardi ranks third in the CCAA (25th nationally) with 18 hits and Bianca Gutierrez sixth (38th nationally) with 17 hits.
•Wood leads the CCAA with four home runs, ranking her third in the nation as Valdosta State’s Logan Hill and Laney Sheppard of Metro State – Denver each have five.
•Wood’s 19 RBIs puts her No. 1 in the CCAA and sixth nationally.
•Lombardi is on top of the CCAA with seven doubles, ranking her fourth in the nation.
•Andelin and Cherise Horita each have two triples on the season, ranking them first in the CCAA and 10th in the nation.
•Andelin extended her hitting streak to 11 games while Lombardi moved hers to nine games.
•Andelin and Lombardi have reached base safely in all 13 games this season with Andelin raising her streak to 17 games after finishing last year on a four-game streak.
CAL STATE DOMINGUEZ HILLS •In their conference-opening weekend, the Toros split with then-No. 6 UC San Diego.
•CSUDH swept Friday’s doubleheader with a 5-4 nine-inning win in the first game before a 6-1 nightcap victory.
•The Toros fell in both ends of Saturday’s twinbill by scores of 9-5 and 2-0 (9 innings).
•Kelcy Telles leads the Toros with a .367 batting average, 18 hits, 10 runs, five hit-by-pitches, a .456 on-base percentage and eight stolen bases.
•The Toros went 3-2 at the Concordia Kickoff Classic (Jan. 31-Feb. 2) and 4-1 at Dixie State’s Courtyard Classic (Feb. 7-8).
•The Cougars defeated Hawaii Pacific 12-3 as the Toros fell 7-4 to the Sharks in the CUI Kickoff Classic. CSUDH was victorious over Biola (3-2) and Azusa Pacific (12-0) while CSUSM dropped both games by one run to Biola (4-3) and APU (6-5).
•The Toros are second in the nation with a CCAA-leading 19 sacrifice bunts and third in hit by pitches (17), first in the conference.
•CSUDH ranks next-to-last in the CCAA in doubles per game (0.79) and total walks (31).
•The Toros are batting .294 in their first 14 games, ranking them sixth in the league.
•With a series split in 2019 in Carson, the Cougars hold a 13-8 lead in the all-time series against the Toros and are 6-4 when playing at home.
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.
BASEBALL
Friday, Feb. 21 – 2 p.m.
Saturday, Feb. 22 – 11 a.m. (DH)
Sunday, Feb. 23 – 11 a.m.
CSUSM (3-7, 2-2 CCAA) at San Francisco State (7-3, 1-3 CCAA)
Live Stats | Watch Live
PREVIOUS WEEK •CSUSM began CCAA play by splitting its home-and-home series against Cal State Dominguez Hills.
•In the series opener on Friday, Andrew Garcia lifted the Cougars to an 8-7 victory with a walk-off homer in the bottom of the ninth inning.
•After falling 8-5 on Saturday, CSUSM rebounded with an 8-5 win in extra innings in the first game of Sunday’s doubleheader.
•CSUSM was handed a 6-0 shutout loss in the series finale – its first shutout loss since 2018.
•Zach Schuberg led CSUSM’s offense with a .467 batting average, seven hits, five runs, four RBIs, three stolen bases, two doubles and a 1.129 OPS (.600 slugging percentage and .529 on-base percentage) for the series.
•Schuberg has the third-best batting average in the CCAA at .464.
•Jacob Miller earned two wins in relief for the Cougars and is now 2-0 for the season.
•Jeremy Wiegman posted a season-high seven strikeouts in 7.2 innings on Saturday.
•Joseph Bahna’s 15 hits rank fourth in the league.
•CSUSM leads the CCAA in stolen bases with 18 for the season.
•The Cougars 11 sacrifice bunts rank fourth nationally while their five triples rank eighth.
FIRST CCAA ROAD SERIES AT SF STATE •The Gators began CCAA play by losing three out of four games at Chico State.
•SF State has the league’s best team bating average at .333 and also lead the conference with 114 hits and seven triples.
•Defensively, the Gators have the best team ERA in the league at 2.65 and the best fielding percentage at .977.
•SF State’s pitching staff has struck out a conference-high 92 batters while allowing a league-low 23 walks.
•The Gators have the 12th-best WHIP in the nation at 1.07 and rank fourth for walks allowed per nine innings at 2.44.
•SF State’s strikeout-to-walk ratio of 4.00 ranks fifth nationally.
•The Gators have five players hitting .400 or better with Richie Rios leading the way at .424
•CSUSM is 3-9 in the all-time series against SF State and is 2-3 on the road.
•The Cougars were swept in a four-game series at CSUSM Baseball Field last season and have lost the last five meetings.
•The Gators are 5-0 at home this season.
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 63-97 (.394) as CSUSM’s head coach and is 238-333-1 (.417) for his entire head coaching career.
MEN’S AND WOMEN’S TRACK & FIELD
Saturday, Feb. 22 – 10:30 a.m.
Rossi Relays
Claremont, Calif. – Burns Track Complex
Live Results
PREVIOUS WEEK •The women’s team wrapped up indoor competition at the GVSU Big Meet last Friday and Saturday.
•Clarissa Garcia broke her own school record and posted an NCAA Provisional time of 2:14.06 in the 800-meter run – 0.8 seconds faster than her previous record and just .01 seconds faster than the NCAA’s set provisional time of 2:14.07.
•Also in the 800, Renee Laurenzana posted the third-fastest time in program history at 2:21.39, and Bri Chavira had the ninth-fastest time in school history at 2:26.58.
•In the 3,000-meter run, Jax Heckers took seventh with a time of 10:09.75 – third fastest in program history.
•Over in the 400-meter run, Sierra Julian put up the fourth-fastest time in program history at 1:00.51.
•In the long jump, Dymon Preyor passed teammate Kiara Harrison for the second-best mark in program history at 5.51 meters while finishing seventh.
•The distance medley relay team of Clarissa Garcia, Ana Mercado, Luz Mercado and Marina McDonough improved their time by coming in at 12:10.70 – the third-fastest time in program history.
ROSSI RELAYS •The Rossi Relays at Claremont-Mudd-Scripps will be the Cougars’ first countable meet for NCAA outdoor competition this season.
•Field events will begin the day as the men’s hammer throw will begin at 10:30 a.m.
•The men’s 3,000-meter run will be the first running event of the day at 11:30 a.m.
•This will be the second consecutive season in which the Cougars have competed at the Rossi Relays and the ninth time overall.
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).
