ATHLETICS | The Lions men’s cross-country team competing at the Bronco Invitational in Sunnyvale, California, were in the thick of it as seven men were in contention for the win with just 200 meters left of the 8K distance. Seniors Koby Pederson and Jack Polerecky were about 20 meters behind the leader with a mile to go before they took a group of six men with them to the final stretch run. The two Lions left their competition in the dust to place first and second, clocking in at 23:57.1 and 23:57.2, respectively. Pederson and Polerecky become the third and fourth Lions in history to break the 24-minute barrier. The cross-country teams will next compete at the Titan Invitational in Fullerton on Friday.
In golf news, following his seven top-five finishes from a year ago, LMU senior Riley Elmes earned his first runner-up finish of 2018-19. LMU also shot a team three-round low for the year, tying for third overall at 295-294-298—887. The Lake Oswego, Oregon, native finished three-strokes off the lead with a season-best 68-68-73—209. Elmes’ two rounds of 68 are his low for the season, and his 7-under mark on Par 5 holes was second best in the field. The team is now off until a trip to Hawaii for the Warrior Princeville Makai Invitational closes out October.
The LMU men’s soccer team snagged another road victory on Sunday, defeating Gonzaga,1-0, in Spokane, Washington, to move to 2-1 in WCC play and 5-8 on the season. The Lions had nine shots with three on-goal, led by freshman CJ Neville who scored the lone goal of the game and took three shots including two on-goal. The Lions scored just into the second half as junior Brandon Sanchez fed it to Neville who broke free and sent his shot low to the near side past Gonzaga keeper Ben Willis. Following a trip to Westwood on Saturday to face UCLA, the Lions close out the season with four-straight games at Sullivan Field.
Men’s water polo team knocked off No. 15 Pomona-Pitzer en route to a 12th place finish in the competitive Mountain Pacific Invitational this past weekend in Palo Alto. Freshman Blazo Mitrovic scored seven goals in the win. The Lions will head back up north this upcoming weekend for the Santa Clara Rodeo hosted by the Broncos.
Competing at UC Santa Barbara and the UCSB Classic last weekend, LMU men’s tennis saw Ethan Prost win the consolation final in Flight C singles, highlighting play from a quartet of Lion players. Prost dropped the opening match to Cal’s Can Kaya, 6-4, 7-5, but rebounded in the consolation portion of the bracket, topping Dariush Jalali of UC Davis, 6-3, 6-2. A win over Oregon’s Evan Felcher (4-6, 6-2, 6-3) sent Prost into the final, where he defeated UC Davis’ Arjith Jayaraman in straight sets, 6-3, 6-4.
LMU women’s tennis team had a strong showing from the Long Beach State Invitational last weekend, highlighted by Siobhan Anderson reaching the final of Flight A singles. Anderson defeated Grand Canyon’s Emilia Occhipinti, 6-4, 6-3, before knocking off Jolene Coetzee of CSUN, 6-4, 6-0. After advancing on Saturday, Anderson topped Cal State Fullerton’s Monika Van de Vondel, 6-0, 6-3, to reach the final match against Washington State’s Tiffany Mylonas. The pair battled tough in that final, but Anderson ultimately suffered the 6-3, 2-6, 6-1 setback.
The women’s rowing season begins this weekend with a scrimmage on Friday against UCLA. The competition will begin at 8 a.m. in Marina del Rey.
United Soccer Coaches announced last Thursday the Team Academic Award winners at the high school and collegiate levels to recognize exemplary performance in the classroom during the 2017-18 academic year. For the 18th time since 1999, and sixth consecutive year, the Loyola Marymount women’s soccer team has received the recognition. To qualify for the award, a team must have a minimum grade point average of 3.0 (on a 4.0 scale) to be eligible. The Lions posted a 3.40 GPA for the 2017-18 school year.
MADNESS, LMU’s annual pre-season party to welcome in the new college basketball season is back and set for Thursday, Oct. 18 at Gersten Pavilion. The night will begin at 8 p.m. with doors opening at 7 p.m. All around campus, the community, and the general public are welcome to get their first looks of both the men’s and women’s basketball teams before the season tips off. Seating will be first come, first served general admission, with no tickets required. The night will be packed with entertainment, giveaways, prizes and more. Season tickets for both teams will be on sale, in addition to single game tickets.
