Every week The Daily Aztec will help San Diego State University fans get ready for the upcoming sports schedule with the Midweek Preview. Here is this week’s calendar of upcoming Aztec athletics events, all event times are in Pacific Daylight Time:
Wednesday, March 22
Lacrosse (4-6) vs Lindenwood (5-4), Aztec Lacrosse Field, 1 p.m.
San Diego State has picked wins in three of its last four, scoring a season-high in its 19-2 result against Howard on March 12. Senior Deanna Balsama matched her individual Aztecs single-game high of five goals in the win over the Bison. Junior attacker Logann Eldredge leads Lindenwood with 30 goals, while senior midfielder Emma Arnold has netted 21.
Thursday, March 23
Track and Field at Aztec Invitational, all day through Saturday
SDSU hosts the Aztec Invitational for the 44th time this coming weekend. Last weekend a group of pole vaulters and throwers participated at the Ross and Sharon Irwin Invitational at Point Loma, with sophomore Ashley Callahan placing third in pole vault and senior Erica Grotegeer finishing third in the discus.
Friday, Mar. 24
Women’s Golf Liz Murphey Collegiate Classic, all day through Sunday
The Aztecs return to the course for the first time since finishing 13th at the Juli Inkster at Meadow Club Invitational on March 7. Senior Bernice Olivarez Ilas leads SDSU with a 73.9 average round for the season. This event is being hosted at the University of Georgia Golf Course in Athens.
No. 24 Water Polo (7-14, 0-1) at Concordia (13-9, 2-1), 12:30 p.m.
San Diego State begins a stretch of six straight games in Gold Coast Conference play, and are looking to bounce back after dropping both games to No. 5 Hawaii and No. 2 USC in Hawaii their last time out. Graduate student Amanda Legaspi and freshman Claudia Valdes have both put up over 20 goals and 40 points for SDSU. Graduate student attacker Madison Ravelo leads CUI with 46 goals through 13 games.
No. 5 Men’s Basketball (29-6) vs No. 1 Alabama (31-5), Sweet 16, 3:30 p.m.
The Aztecs are in the Sweet 16 for the third time in program history, thanks to wins over College of Charleston and Furman. No. 1-seed Alabama is also the AP Poll No. 1 as of March 13; it will be the fifth time in program history SDSU plays the AP No. 1 team. Freshman forward Brandon Miller leads the Crimson Tide, averaging 19.1 points and 39.3% 3-point shooting.
Softball (16-9, 1-2) vs Fresno State (9-16, 0-0), SDSU Softball Stadium, 6 p.m.
SDSU picked up a run-rule win against Colorado State 15-5 on Saturday, but lost the series rubber game on Sunday in Fort Collins 3-2. Fresno State has dropped three of their last four, but picked up a 3-2 win in 11 innings to close out their series against Loyola Marymount. The Bulldogs will face Sacramento State on Wednesday before coming to San Diego. Freshman Sereyah Neiss (45.1 IP, 2-7, 4.14 ERA, .277 opponent batting average) started the first game on Friday for the Bulldogs against LMU, senior Sarah Lehman got the nod for SDSU last week.
Baseball (5-11, 2-2) vs Air Force (8-13, 3-3), Tony Gwynn Stadium, 6 p.m.
Freshman infielder Maddox Haley was named Mountain West Freshman of the Week after going 3-for-9 with three RBIs and two runs scored in three games against UConn. The Aztecs had their Trolley Series game at University of San Diego on Tuesday postponed due to weather. Junior Gehring Doyle (27.0 IP, 1-1, 4.33 ERA, .227 opponent batting average) started the first game of the last weekend series for AFA, junior T.J. Fondtain has been the Friday starter for SDSU.
Saturday, March 25
Women’s Tennis (7-4, 0-0) vs New Mexico (7-2, 0-0) at Las Vegas, 9:30 a.m.
The Aztecs had their Tuesday match against Dartmouth canceled due to the rain across the San Diego region. They travel to Las Vegas to kick off conference play against a New Mexico team that picked up a win at Northern Arizona their last time out. The Lobos have had their most success in doubles action, going 21-2 in dual meets this season.
Softball vs Fresno State, SDSU Softball Stadium, 4 p.m.
Junior Jillian Cellis (seven doubles and three home runs) and redshirt sophomore Mac Barbara (five doubles and five home runs) are tied for the SDSU lead with 10 extra base hits and 20 RBIs. Senior Shelbi Denman (39.1 IP, 4-2, 4.09 ERA, .282 opponent batting average) started the second Friday game for Fresno State, senior Dani Martinez started the second game for the Aztecs.
Baseball vs Air Force, Tony Gwynn Stadium, 6 p.m.
Junior catcher Poncho Ruiz leads SDSU with two home runs and 17 RBIs, while junior infielder Caden Miller is riding a four-game hit streak after going 6-for-12 against UConn. Sophomore Dylan Rogers (25.1 IP, 0-2, 6.75 ERA, .318 opponent batting average) started the Falcons second game last weekend, sophomore Chris Canada started last Saturday for the Aztecs.
Sunday, March 26
Women’s Tennis vs Air Force (4-7, 0-0) at Las Vegas, 9:30 a.m.
Air Force will face UNLV on Saturday before taking on the Aztecs, and have dropped their previous two matches heading into this weekend. The combo of junior Isabella Flodin and freshman Abby Cotuna are unbeaten (7-0) at no. 2 doubles, while freshman Arianna Van Houweling has had the most individual success for AFA, going 7-2 at no. 6 singles.
Softball vs Fresno State, SDSU Softball Stadium, noon
Senior infielder Alesia Denby leads Fresno State with five doubles, six home runs and 18 RBIs while junior outfielder Keahilele Mattson (.325) is the only Bulldog with a .300-plus batting average. Neiss also got the start in the third Bulldogs game at LMU, junior Allie Light started on Sunday for San Diego State.
Baseball vs Air Force, Tony Gwynn Stadium, 1 p.m.
Junior infielder Sam Kulasingam has started all 21 games for the Falcons and leads them with a .422 batting average, while junior infielder Jay Thomason tops the team with seven home runs and 20 RBIs. Junior Seungmin Shim (23.0 IP, 3-1, 5.48 ERA, .253 opponent batting average) started AFA’s third game last weekend, sophomore Omar Serrano got the start last Sunday for San Diego State.
Winner of No. 5 SDSU and No. 1 Alabama vs winner of No. 6 Creighton (23-12) and No. 15 Princeton (23-8), Elite Eight, time T.B.A.
Both Creighton (NC State and Baylor) and Princeton (Arizona and Missouri) beat two power conference teams to advance to the Sweet 16; only Arkansas and Michigan State faced a similar path. The Bluejays are led by junior seven-foot-one center Ryan Kalkbrenner (15.7 points, 2.2 blocks), who is one of the top remaining rim defenders in the tournament, while Princeton is led offensively by senior forward Tosan Evbuomwan (14.8 points, 6.3 rebounds).
Tuesday, March 28
Lacrosse at Drexel (5-3), noon
The Dragons will host William and Mary on Saturday before taking on San Diego State. Drexel had a three-game winning streak snapped in an 11-7 loss at Townson in their most recent game. Senior midfielder Corrine Bednarik is their top scorer with 21 goals and 11 assists, while fifth-year midfielder Hayleigh Simpson has also added 19 goals.
Softball at California Baptist (16-13), 6 p.m.
CBU had its midweek doubleheader against St. Thomas washed out due to the rain across Southern California; they dropped all three games at Stephen F. Austin in their most recent action. Sophomores infielder Priscilla Estrella (.333) and outfielder Sydney Soto (.328) have the top batting averages for the Lancers, and infielders junior Maya Martinez and sophomore Karmyna Becerra are tops with 12 RBIs.
Baseball at UC San Diego (12-6), 6 p.m.
The Tritons are currently unbeaten in the Big West Conference after sweeping Long Beach State and are riding a seven-game winning streak heading into a series against CSU Bakersfield. Eight players are hitting .300 or better for UCSD and seven have driven in double-digit RBIs. Triton pitchers are holding opponents to a .234 batting average and a 4.02 ERA.
