Staff Writer
Closely contested matches, dominant victories, and a massive upset — USF athletics buckled in for a crazy ride. Here’s your recap of this week in Dons’ sports.
USF women’s soccer had a tumultuous week. Redshirt junior goalkeeper Molly Eby was named the West Coast Conference (WCC) Defensive Player of the Week Feb. 17, following her clean sheet against the University of the Pacific Tigers and an impressive eight saves in a hard-fought draw against the Saint Mary’s College of California Gaels. That same day, USF’s Athletics Department announced that women’s soccer had paused all team activities “due to positive COVID-19 tests and related contact tracing.” Matches against the Stanford University Cardinals and the Gonzaga University Bulldogs were canceled or postponed. The team is scheduled to return to action Feb. 27 against the Brigham Young University Cougars.
USF men’s basketball lost their Feb. 18 matchup against the Loyola Marymount University Lions by a score of 63-68. Senior guard Jamaree Bouyea posted a career-high 33 points along with three assists, three rebounds, and three steals. The Dons are now 4-7 in conference play with an overall 10-11 win-loss record.
USF women’s volleyball split their series with the University of Portland Pilots. In their first outing Feb. 18, the Dons lost a 5-set nailbiter (25-23, 25-27, 25-15, 8-25, 12-15). They bounced back the next day with a win in yet another 5-set thriller (23-25, 25-22, 25-17, 21-25, 15-11). Mckenna Marshall’s 23 kills were an added bonus to a career-high 24 digs and five service aces.
USF men’s baseball dazzled as they took down the No. 2 ranked University of California, Los Angeles Bruins 6-2 in a three-day-series spanning Feb. 19-21, claiming their season opener and their first win against a nationally ranked team since March 2016. Guided by pitchers, senior Landen Bourussa and sophomore Alex Pham, USF held the Bruins to just one run on four hits. The Dons dropped their next game against the Bruins by a score of 2-8, but they won the series with an 8-3 victory Feb. 21.
USF men’s soccer took down the University of the Pacific Tigers Feb. 20 by a score of 3-2. Juniors Ivo Neto and Kevyn Lo both scored for the first time in green and gold, helping the Dons grab their first win of the 2021 season.
USF women’s basketball dominated the Santa Clara University Broncos, routing the team by a score of 87-64 and shooting a lights-out 57% from the field. Redshirt freshman Ioanna Krimilli scored 20 points on six 3-pointers from beyond the arc, taking her place as the USF single-season record holder for most 3-point field goals made in a season.
USF men’s tennis stayed undefeated on the season and dismantled the University of California, Davis Aggies by a score of 6-1, sweeping all six singles matches behind quick dispatches by Paul Giraud (6-3, 6-4) and Stevie Gould (6-4, 6-1) on Feb 20.
USF women’s tennis played just as well with a 4-0 sweep over University of Nevada, Reno Wolf Pack, earning their second straight sweep in the process. The team now has a 3-1 overall-win-loss record for the season.
