Junior Guillem Masjuan Roca finished in the top eight in three events to lead the UMSL contingent at last week’s Great Lakes Valley Conference Swimming and Diving Championships in Elkhart, Indiana.
Men’s and Women’s Swimming
UMSL junior Guillem Masjuan Roca placed in the top eight in three events – men’s 200-yard individual medley, men’s 100-yard backstroke and men’s 200-yard backstroke – exceeding the NCAA B qualifying standard in each last week at the Great Lakes Valley Conference Swimming and Diving Championships in Elkhart, Indiana. Masjuan Roca, whose best finish was a third-place showing in the 200 IM, was not alone in surpassing the NCAA B qualifying standard over four days of competition. Jon Osa did so four times also while placing 10th in the 100 freestyle, seventh in the 200 freestyle, seventh in the 400 freestyle and 12th in the 100 backstroke. Conley Savage finished ahead of the B standard in the 200 butterfly when he finished eighth, in the 400 IM when he was 17th and in the 200-yard backstroke when he finished 18th. Zara Konstapel did so in the 200 breaststroke when she tied Lindenwood’s Beata Maruszczy for third place. Austin Stevenson earned a B standard in the 100 breaststroke, placing 10th, and also in the 100 butterfly when he took 24th. Serena Brizard beat the B standard in the women’s 100 freestyle and took 17th. The women finished sixth in the team competition while men placed seventh.
Women’s Basketball
The 23rd-ranked Tritons picked up three more victories – 72-40 over Rockhurst, 65-49 over Maryville and 65-48 against Missouri S&T – to extend their winning streak to nine games and improve to 19-2 on the season, including 15-1 in GLVC play. Faye Meissner and Kiara Stewart paced UMSL in the three victories with Meissner average 14.7 points and Stewart contributing 14 points and 11.3 rebounds, including 18 rebounds against Missouri S&T on Saturday in Rolla, Missouri. The Tritons visit Lewis on Tuesday and return home to take on Lindenwood on Saturday.
Men’s Basketball
UMSL had an unblemished week with victories against Rockhurst (93-72), Maryville (58-50) and Missouri S&T (75-59) and improved to 17-6, 11-5 in GLVC play. Marty Jackson led the Tritons in scoring against Rockhurst and Missouri S&T and averaged 19 points along with 6.7 rebounds. Senior guard Shane Wissink scored a season-high 20 points to pace UMSL against Maryville. UMSL will face Lindenwood Saturday at the Mark Twain Athletic Center.
Men’s and Women’s Track
Sophomore Jacob Warner won the 5,000-meter race Saturday at the Titan Open, hosted by Illinois Wesleyan. He posted a time of 14 minutes, 49.78 seconds in Bloomington, Illinois. Three other UMSL runners finished in the top 10 in their respective events with Benjamin VandenBrink placing fifth in the men’s mile, Lily Wagemann taking sixth in the women’s mile and Gavin Love managing a seven-place showing in the men’s 800-meter run. Both UMSL teams will compete in the Eastern Illinois University Friday Night Special in Charleston, Illinois. It will be their final tune-up before the GLVC Indoor Championships Feb. 25-26 in Indianapolis.
Men’s Golf
UMSL opened its spring schedule with a 10th-place finish at the Houston Classic, hosted by Southern Nazarene University in Humble, Texas. The Tritons finished with a combined score of 927 in the 54-hole tournament. Joel Sylven led the way with a 19th-place individual showing after totaling 225 in the three rounds. Nick Hedberg also cracked the top 25 individually, finishing 24th with a score of 226. The Tritons are off until Feb. 21 when they compete in the Tunica Cup in Tunica, Mississippi.
Softball
The Tritons split games against Wayne State and Arkansas Tech as they opened their season on Friday in Bentonville, Arkansas. Mimi Bradley picked up the win in a 9-7 victory over Wayne State. Third baseman McKenzie Lamos helped back her with two of UMSL’s four hits, including a two-run home run in the seventh inning that snapped a 7-7 tie. Lamos drove in four runs in the game. The Tritons only managed one run in the lopsided loss to Arkansas Tech. They will travel to Emporia, Kansas, next weekend and have games scheduled against Northwest Missouri State and Central Missouri on Friday, Concordia of St. Paul and Washburn on Saturday and Newman and Emporia State on Sunday.
Baseball
UMSL dropped four games against Montavello as it opened its season in Alabama over the weekend. Ben Bier homered and scored two runs Saturday afternoon in a 5-2 loss, a bright spot on an otherwise difficult weekend at the plate for UMSL. The Tritons are idle until Feb. 24, when they’ll open their home schedule against Minnesota State.
