BYU Olympic Sports: Women’s basketball falls in second round, Baseball continues strong start

BYU’s spring schedules are underway as the winter seasons come to a close. Winter was highlighted by the women’s basketball team’s impressive season. The baseball and tennis teams are gaining momentum moving into the spring.

Women’s Basketball

BYU Women’s Basketball season came to a close in Palo Alto, California on Monday night at the hands of two seed Stanford. The Cougars had an impressive season, sweeping Gonzaga en route to winning the WCC Tournament in Las Vegas. The Cougars received a seven seed in the NCAA Tournament and beat Auburn before falling to Stanford. Freshman Shaylee Gonzales’ heroic efforts in the second round against Stanford was not enough for the Cougars, who end the season 26-7. Gonzales recorded a career high 32 points against the Cardinal.

Baseball

BYU Baseball continues to play well and is currently 18-5 on the season. The Bat Cats have won five straight, including a sweep of conference foe Portland and a come-from-behind victory over Oregon. The Cougars will host a series versus Saint Mary’s from March 28-30, before facing rival Utah on April 2.

Softball

BYU Softball swept Utah Valley on Tuesday in a back-to-back series in Orem. The Cougars travel to San Antonio to face UTSA on Thursday before visiting Texas A&M on Saturday in College Station.

Gymnastics

The Gymnastics team placed third in the MRGC Championships behind the efforts of MRGC Gymnast of the Year Shannon Evans. The team will compete in NCAA Regionals in Baton Rouge on April 5 against No. 6 Utah, No. 11 Minnesota, and Arkansas. The top two teams will compete the following day against the two top teams from the second group, which includes No. 3 LSU, No. 14 Auburn, Arizona State, and the winner of Lindenwood and George Washington.

Women’s Soccer

Women’s Soccer opened it’s spring schedule by playing UNLV and USC on March 2 in Lav Vegas. The Cougars won against the Rebels, 3-1, before falling to the Trojans, 1-2. On March 16, they traveled to Vegas again, this time to play UNLV and CS Northridge, winning both games. This past Saturday, the team traveled to Phoenix to play Arizona and Arizona State, and won each match 3-1 and 4-2, respectively.

The Cougars will host the Argentina Women’s National Team as they tour the US with stops at UVU and UNLV as well. The Cougars host La Albiceleste on April 4 at South Field. Admission is free.

The Saturday following that game, April 6, the Cougars will play Utah in their spring game in Sandy.

Lacrosse

Women’s Lacrosse won its most recent matches against UVU, winning 12-4, and Utah State, winning 11-6. They play next against Virginia this weekend.

Men’s Lacrosse beat Arizona in a 14-13 thriller before traveling to Vegas today to play UNLV.

Rugby

Men’s Rugby hosted Central Washington and Southern Utah last week and won both games at South Field. They won against Central Washington 24-17 and beat SUU 64-7. They host Utah on April 5 at South Field.

Women’s Rugby hosted Utah State last weekend and thrashed the Aggies, 78-0. The Cougars have won two of their three spring games, the other win coming against Boise State with an identical 78-0 scoreline.

Men’s Volleyball

Men’s Volleyball won just one of their three BYU Invite matches last week, beating Princeton on Thursday night in five sets. The Cougars were upset by McKendree on Friday in four sets and were swept by new No. 1 Hawaii, who has yet to lose a set this season.

The Cougars play at Concordia-Irvine on Thursday evening and at USC on Saturday night.

Women’s Volleyball

Heather Gneiting was named to the USA College National Team for their upcoming tour in Japan, while BYU head coach Heather Olmstead was named the team’s head coach for the tour.

Tennis

Men’s Tennis is currently in third in the WCC standings after five meets, having beaten Pacific, Saint Mary’s, Santa Clara, and Portland. They have lost one meet to Gonzaga. The Cougars are 15-3 on the year, and will play at No. 24 San Diego on Saturday.

Women’s Tennis is tied for first in the WCC at 2-0, and is 8-5 on the season. They play UC Irvine on Thursday before facing off against San Diego on Saturday.

Golf

Women’s Golf finished seventh at the Hawkeye-El Tigre Invitational last weekend, thans to an excellent final round on Saturday. The team will travel to the Lantana Golf Club in Texas for The Bruzzy Challenge on April 1 and 2.

Men’s Golf will play in the 50th Goodwin this weekend at Stanford.