SAN MARCOS, Calif. – Men’s and women’s basketball, men’s and women’s track & field, men’s golf, baseball and softball will all be in action this week for Cal State San Marcos Athletics.
Men’s golf will get the week started by hosting the CSUSM Fujikura Invitational on Monday and Tuesday at Shadowridge Golf Club in Vista. The first two rounds will be played on Monday, and the final round will be played on Tuesday.
Softball will begin California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) play this weekend by hosting a four-game series against Humboldt State. Friday’s doubleheader will get underway at noon, and Saturday’s doubleheader will commence at 11 a.m.
Baseball will open a three-game series against Saint Katherine this weekend at CSUSM Baseball Field. The series will open on Friday at 2 p.m. and will conclude with a doubleheader on Saturday beginning at 11 a.m.
Men’s and women’s track & field will open their outdoor season by hosting the Mangrum Preview at Mangrum Track & Field on Saturday at 10:30 a.m.
Men’s and women’s basketball’s lone game will take place on Saturday at Chico State. The women’s game will tip-off at 5:30 p.m. and will be followed by the men’s contest at 7:30 p.m.
MEN’S GOLF
Monday, Feb. 3 – Tuesday, Feb. 4
CSUSM Fujikura Invitational
Seaside, Calif. – Bayonet Golf Course (Par 72, Day 1 – 6,969 yards; Day 2 – 6,981)
LIVE SCORING
CSUSM TOP FIVE
1. Ryan Bisharat (San Diego/Cathedral Catholic HS)
2. Connor Nelson (Fullerton/Long Beach State)
3. Justin Vrzich (El Cajon/Cuiyamaca College)
4. Daniel Kim (Chula Vista/Christian HS)
5. Matthew Moss (San Diego/Point Loma HS)
TEAMS
Cal Lutheran, Cal State Dominguez Hills, Cal State San Bernardino, Cal State San Marcos, Cal State San Marcos “B”, Chico State, Marymount College, Miles College, No. 3 Oklahoma Christian, Redlands, San Diego State (Ind. Only), No. 20 Sonoma State, Stanislaus State, UC San Diego, University of Victoria, West Texas A&M, Westminster College
LAST OUTING •CSUSM tied for second at the Cal State Monterey Bay Otter Invitational on Oct. 22 in Seaside.
•Ryan Bishrart cracked into the top 10 after firing an even-par 72 in the final round to finish with a 3-over 219 and tied for 10th place.
CSUSM FUJIKURA INIVITATIOAL •This marks the fifth CSUSM Fujikura Invitational at Shadowridge Golf Club.
•The Cougars won the invitational in 2016 and 2018 and placed second in 2017.
•Last year, CSUSM tied for fourth with Daniel Kim leading the Cougars with an even-par 144 for a piece of sixth place.
SOFTBALL
Friday, Feb. 7 – 12 p.m. (DH)
Saturday, Feb. 8 – 11 a.m. (DH)
CSUSM (2-3) vs. Humboldt State (1-2)
San Marcos, Calif. | CSUSM Softball Field
Live Stats | Live Video
PREVIOUS WEEK •The Cougars went 2-3 at the Concordia Irvine Kickoff Classic in Irvine.
•On Friday, CSUSM opened the season with a 6-1 victory behind Zoe Ballen’s no-hitter through six innings in her collegiate debut.
•The Cougars dropped a 1-0 decision to No. 10 Concordia Irvine in the nightcap.
•On Saturday, the Cougars once again split as they rebounded from a 4-3 heartbreaker to Azusa Pacific with a 12-3 win over Hawaii Pacific.
•CSUSM’s Sunday rally fell just short as the Cougars dropped a 6-5 decision to Biola.
•Andrea Wood and Bianca Gutierrez were named to the All-Tournament Team.
•Nikki Andelin has a team-leading .412 batting average (7-17) with two triples.
•Wood drove in a team-best eight RBIs while recording CSUSM’s only home run on the weekend.
HUMBOLDT STATE •HSU holds a 14-1 lead in the all-time series with CSUSM taking a 6-4 win in 2018 at home.
•The Jacks went 1-2 last weekend against Metro State-Denver (7-15, 15-4, 5-13).
•HSU’s doubleheader against Colorado School of Mines was canceled due to heavy wind.
•NFCA All-Region and All-CCAA selection Danica Greir returns after batting .329 last season to lead the Jacks to a 21-29 record.
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. 7 – 2 p.m.
Saturday, Feb. 8 – 11 a.m. (DH)
CSUSM (0-3) vs. Saint Katherine (7-1)
San Marcos, Calif. – CSUSM Baseball Field
Live Stats | Watch Live
PREVIOUS WEEK •CSUSM began its season with three losses to NR/RV Dixie State this past weekend.
•Luc Stuka and Emilio Luna each led the team with a .333 batting average in the first three games.
•In his first collegiate at-bat, Stuka hit a two-run homer to right field on Friday and ended the weekend with a team-leading three RBIs.
•Freshman Jeremy Wiegman posted a team-best five strikeouts for the weekend in his start on Sunday.
•The Cougars turned a conference-best three double plays for the weekend.
•CSUSM’s five stolen bases tied with Sonoma State for the league lead.
•CSUSM last started a season at 0-3 in 2014 and finished the year with a 30-18 record.
THIS WEEKEND AGAINST SAINT KATHERINE •CSUSM and USK will meet for the first time in program history this weekend.
•The Firebirds are 7-1 for the year and suffered their lone loss this past weekend against Marymount.
•USK has seven players batting .333 or better for the season with Brady Ware leading the way at .526.
•Firebird starter Kyle Huett has struck out a team-high 14 in two starts and 11 innings.
•This will be CSUSM’s first time playing an NAIA opponent since Antelope Valley and San Diego Christian in 2017. The Cougars took three out of four games in each series.
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 60-93 (.392) as CSUSM’s head coach and is 235-329-1 (.417) for his entire head coaching career.
MEN’S AND WOMEN’S TRACK & FIELD
Saturday, Feb. 8 – 10:30 a.m.
Mangrum Preview
San Marcos, Calif. – Mangrum Track & Field
Live Results | Meet Schedule
PREVIOUS WEEK •The women’s team competed in indoor action at the UW Invitational in Seattle this past weekend.
•Kiara Harrison posted the second-best long jump mark in program history at 5.24 meters.
•The team of Clarissa Garcia, Ana Mercado, Luz Mercado and Marina McDonough posted the third-best distance medley relay time in program history at 12:13.84.
•The group of Ana Mercado, Sierra Julian, Rachel Sjolie and Bri Chavira put up the fourth-fastest 4×400-meter relay time in program history at 4:02.20.
•Julian’s time of 26.84 in the 200-meter dash was the eighth-fastest time in program history.
MANGRUM PREVIEW •CSUSM will open its outdoor season by hosting the Mangrum Preview on Saturday.
•Track, throwing and jumping events will all begin at 10:30 a.m.
•Teams to compete against CSUSM include UC San Diego, Point Loma, Concordia Irvine and Chapman.
•This will be the Cougars’ first home meet in nearly two years.
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).
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
Saturday, Feb. 8 – 5:30 p.m.
CSUSM at Chico State (11-8, 7-7 CCAA)
Chico, Calif. – Acker Gymnasium
Live Stats | Watch Live
LAST WEEK •The Cougars went 2-0 this past weekend with victories at home against Stanislaus State (73-59) and Humboldt State (81-70).
•With Saturday’s win, CSUSM is one win away from matching last season’s win total.
•CSUSM has tallied 18 wins in program history twice, in the inaugural season (18-15) and in 2018-19 (18-10).
•Forel collected her seventh and eighth double-doubles of the season last week and her seventh in the last nine games.
•Forel is the conference leader and ranked No. 4 in the nation in field-goal percentage with a 63.1%.
•The Cougars collected their fourth season sweep with Saturday’s victory over Humboldt State, tying the program record set last season.
•CSUSM remains in second place in the CCAA standings with UC San Diego one game ahead. Cal Poly Pomona and Cal State East Bay are tied for third with a 10-5 conference record.
•For the tenth consecutive week, the Cougars are the NCAA Division II national leader in 3-point field-goal percentage defense, holding their opponents to 24.1%. University of Sciences slipped back into second with a 24.2%.
•CSUSM boasts the highest field-goal percentage in the CCAA and 44th best nationally at 44.2%.
•Forel and Jon’Nae Vermillion rank fourth and seventh in the CCAA in rebounds per game, averaging 8.6 and 8.3, respectively.
•In the latest D2SIDA West Region Poll, the Cougars remain at No. 5 in the rankings.
SATURDAY AT CHICO STATE •This will be CSUSM’s only meeting against Chico State in the regular season.
•The Wildcats have dropped three of their last five games including a 71-67 loss in Hayward to Cal State East Bay last Thursday.
•Chico State is ranked No. 2 in the CCAA in three-point field-goal percentage at 33.5% behind Cal State LA (36.3%).
•The Wildcats are struggling at the free throw line, ranking 12th in the CCAA at 65.0%.
•Maddy Wong is dominating on 3-point field goals per game, leading the conference with a 3.5 average while ranking eighth in the nation.
•The all-time series against the Wildcats is tied at 4-4 with both teams carrying a 2-2 record on their home court.
•The Wildcats enter the week fifth in the CCAA standings and will be playing UC San Diego on Thursday before facing the Cougars on Saturday.
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 188-133 (.586) 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
Saturday, Feb. 8 – 7:30 p.m.
CSUSM (11-11, 7-9 CCAA) at No. 18/RV Chico State (16-4, 11-3 CCAA)
Chico, Calif. – Acker Gymnasium
Live Stats | Watch Live
PREVIOUS WEEK •CSUSM earned an 84-76 win over Stanislaus State on Thursday before falling 91-85 in overtime against Humboldt State on Saturday.
•Blake Seits posted a season-high 29 points against the Warriors before putting up 20 points against the Lumberjacks on Saturday.
•Seits’ 68 3-point field goals rank as the ninth most in program history and are tied for the eighth most in a single season at CSUSM.
•Seits’ 68 rank 24th nationally while his 42.2 3-point field-goal percentage ranks 46th.
•Khalil Fuller is two rebounds shy of 400 as a Cougar.
•Fuller is five defensive rebounds short of moving to second on CSUSM’s all-time list.
•Fuller’s 8.8 rebounds per game lead the CCAA and rank 45th nationally.
•At 5.85 defensive rebounds per game, Fuller leads the conference.
•With nine double-doubles for the season, Fuller is tied with Cal State East Bay’s Zafir Williams for the most in the CCAA.
•Jayce McCain’s 53 steals are now the 10th most all-time at CSUSM and they’re the 10th most in a single season.
•McCain’s assist-turnover ratio of 4.00 ranks third nationally.
•McCain’s 53 steals lead the CCAA and rank eighth nationally while his 2.41 steals per game rank second in the conference and 13th nationally.
•As a team, CSUSM has tallied the 36th-most steals in Division II at 177.
•CSUSM is currently seventh in the CCAA standings.
SATURDAY AT CHICO STATE •Saturday will be the lone meeting between the Cougars and Wildcats this season.
•Chico comes into the weekend third in the CCAA at 11-3.
•The Wildcats saw a nine-game winning streak come to an end last Thursday with a 65-63 loss at Cal State East Bay.
•Chico finished the weekend with an 81-71 victory at Cal State Monterey Bay on Saturday.
•The Wildcats are currently ranked No. 18 in the NABC Coaches Poll and are receiving votes in the D2SIDA Poll.
•Chico is now tied for sixth in the D2SIDA West Region Poll after falling from fourth.
•Nationally, the Wildcats rank 11th for rebound margin (8.0), 12th for 3-point field-goal percentage (40.7%), 15th for scoring margin (13.6) and 22nd for scoring defense (66.6).
•Justin Briggs’ 3.15 offensive rebounds per game lead the conference and rank 36th nationally.
•Malik Duffy leads the Wildcats with 13.4 points per game while Kevin Warren comes in at 12.9.
•CSUSM is 3-5 in the all-time series against Chico and is 1-3 on the road.
•The Wildcats have won the past two meetings in Chico.
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 58-49 (.542).
