Paolo Sandoval
Staff Writer
From longtime records being broken, to seasons coming to a close, and wins across the board for the green and gold — it was quite the week for USF athletics. Here is your recap of this week in Dons’ sports.
Men’s baseball continued their hot streak, kicking off their four-game-stretch with an absolute clinic as they dismantled the San Jose State University Spartans, 7-1. Darius Foster accounted for four of the Dons’ eight stolen bases, the most by a USF player, and by the team, in 10 years.
The Dons then defeated the Santa Clara University Broncos in a three-game away series April 9-11. Senior pitcher Landen Bourussa ensured a 4-1 victory April 9 by not allowing a hit until the fifth inning. A three-run homer by Jordan Vujovich clinched a tight game April 10 by a score of 7-6. The Broncos took game three, 9-7, but the Dons still claimed the series victory. Men’s baseball is next set to face off against the University of San Diego Toreros away from home April 16.
Women’s beach volleyball took to the sandy shores of Santa Cruz’s Main Beach April 8-9, competing in the West Coast Conference midseason tournament. The Dons finished the first day of play with a 0-2 record as they were unable to get the better of the Saint Mary’s College of California Gaels or the Loyola Marymount University Lions. The Dons came up short against the Gaels, losing by a score of 2-3. USF also lost to the Lions by a score of 0-5.
Day two of the tournament proved slightly more fruitful for USF, with the team splitting their two games against the Pacific University Boxers and the Santa Clara Broncos, ending the tournament with a 1-3 record. The Dons downed the Boxers behind three straight set wins, including Tanner Pemberton and Catie Cronister’s first win (21-9, 21-12) of the season. USF was unable to keep up with SCU in their second game of the day, losing 0-5 to the Broncos to close out the tournament. The Dons will look for revenge April 14 when they travel to Santa Clara for a rematch.
The El Marcero Classic, April 10-12, provided a perfect green to potentially deliver a record fourth-straight win for men’s golf. The tournament got off to a relatively slow start for the Dons, who shot a 3-under-285 through 18 holes on April 10, ending the day in fourth place. However, the tournament became USF’s to lose on day two, with the team — led by individual player Alex Chin in fifth place and team leader Tim Widing in sixth — all putting their way into the top twenty player spots. The Dons ended the day with a 11-under 277, bringing their total score to a 14-under 526 after 36 holes, which tied them for first overall. Men’s golf teed off for the final day of the tournament April 12. Despite a par-288 round, USF ultimately dropped to third place behind co-winners the University of California, Davis Aggies and the Saint Mary’s College Gaels. The Dons finished play with a 14-under 850 (285,277,288), and will look to claim victory April 23 at the Pine Cougar Classic in Provo, UT.
Men’s soccer shared points with the Portland University Pilots April 11, drawing 0-0 at Negoesco Stadium in their final game of the season. Senior goalkeepers Rubin Stuiver and Alejandro Munoz each took turns in goal, with the former adding a final save to his tally of 216 career stops, good for sixth-all time among USF goalies.The Dons finished their season with a 4-2-2 record, placing third in the WCC, with a stalwart defense keeping five clean sheets over the course of their shortened ten game season.
Three away goals cemented a comeback victory for women’s soccer against the Loyola Marymount University Lions at Sullivan Field April 10. Freshman Marissa Vasquez netted twice for the Dons in the closing minutes Saturday, while her fellow first-year Sydney Cooper provided two assists to tame the Lions, 3-2. The Dons’ road match against the University of San Diego Toreros April 13 was canceled due to a positive COVID-19 test result within the Toreros’ program; they will next take on Pacific University at home, April 17.
