After defeating Cal Poly SLO three weeks ago at home, the Matadors returned home on Friday, but came away with a 138-65 loss to UC Irvine. The Matadors won two events. Olesya Senicheva, Robyn Johnson, Melanie Cupitt and Sanda Jukic took the 200 Medley Relay, and Shannon Colavito won the 1000 Freestyle. The Women’s swimming team will next compete in the Big West Conference Championships at the Belmont Plaza in Long Beach from Feb. 21-24.
Men’s Swimming
Northridge failed to win its final home meet on Friday, losing to UC Irvine 144-61. Highlights for CSUN included William Baer winning the 1000 Freestyle and Emre Celik, Clark Henson, Chris Goodwin, and Jeff Hart teaming up to win the 200 Medley Relay. The next meet for the Matadors will be at the Belmont Plaza in Long Beach from Feb. 21-24, competing for the Big West Conference Championships.
Baseball
CSUN continued its offensive surge over the weekend, beating Pacific two out of three games on the road. Timely hitting propelled the Matadors to victories on Friday and Saturday, to extend their winning streak to four. The team beat the Tigers 11-7, with 19 hits on the board. The first five batters in the lineup combined for 13 hits, with shortstop Jonathan Sakurai leading the team going 4 for 6 with two runs and an RBI.
The Matadors struggled to continue their production on offense and relied on solid pitching and a last-inning comeback to beat the Tigers on 2-1 Saturday. Clutch hitting from Jason Dabbs and Anthony Reed in the top of the ninth and solid pitching from Jimmy Jolicoeur helped the Matadors steal another Big West Conference victory on the road.
After a game with batters hitting the ball well and another of pitchers being lights out, the team lacked what got them riding a four-game winning streak. The streak snapped as the Matadors lost the third game 12-0, with only six hits and a forgettable performance from starting pitcher Edwin Quirarte, who gave up eight hits and five runs in 2.2 innings.
The Matadors continue play this weekend in Edinburg, Texas, participating in the UTPA Citrus Tournament.
Men’s Basketball
The Matadors continued their struggles over the weekend, losing at UC Irvine 75-66 and missing any chance of competing for the top spot of the Big West Conference.
The team is currently on a four-game losing streak and dropped to 3-6 in conference play, 10-12 overall. CSUN hopes to snap their losing streak at home against U.C. Riverside on Thursday. UCR is last in the conference with a 1-7 record, 5-17 overall.
Women’s Basketball
Northridge continued its run for first Saturday, beating UC Irvine on the road 80-63. The win has the Matadors right on the heels of first-place UC Riverside in the Big West Conference.
The team improved to 7-2 in conference play and 12-12 overall. CSUN has not been .500 since it started 2-2 in November.
After a sloppy first half shooting 33 percent from the field, the Matadors came out shooting 61 percent in the second to eventually rout the Anteaters. Katie Holloway scored a season high 19 points on a perfect 9 for 9 shooting.
Men’s Volleyball
The Matadors held their ground Friday, beating 13th ranked USC at home in four games, 3-1. Sixth-ranked CSUN lost the first game 28-30, and managed to comeback with three straight wins: 31-29, 30-27 and 30-21.
The win puts the Matadors at the .500 in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation standings at 4-4, 5-6 in overall play. Senior James Lischer had a career high of 19 kills and Dan Rhodes also contributed with 17 kills.
CSUN will go on a two-game road trip, visiting Loyola-Chicago on Friday and Quincy on Saturday. The team will return home on Feb. 15 to face Long Beach State.