UMSL swimmer Justice Beard celebrates after her first-place finish in the 200-yard freestyle race at the 2026 GLVC Swimming and Diving Championships. Beard won four individual events and was named the GLVC Swimmer of the Year. (Photo by Jared McFarlane)
Men’s and Women’s Swimming
University of Missouri–St. Louis junior Justice Beard shined as bright as anyone during the 2026 Great Lakes Valley Conference Swimming and Diving Championships. Beard won the women’s 200-, 500-, 1,000- and 1,650-yard freestyle races, setting three school records and one conference record in the process. She also contributed to the Tritons’ fourth-place finishes in the 200-, 400- and 800-yard freestyle relays as she garnered GLVC Swimmer of the Year honors at the the Deaconess Aquatic Center in Evansville, Indiana. Beard scored 128 points in the meet and helped the UMSL women’s team tally 918 points to finish third in the team standings behind GLVC champion Indianapolis and runner-up Drury. Beard’s top performance might have come in Friday’s 500 free. She recorded nine of her 10 laps in sub-30-second splits to record a time of 4 minutes, 48.17 seconds, exceeding the ‘A’ standard to qualify for next month’s NCAA Division II Championships and breaking her own GLVC record, set last year, by more than two seconds. Several of Beard’s teammates also put together strong meets in Evansville. Audrey Lantz finished third in both the 50-yard freestyle and 100-yard butterfly, setting school records in the preliminary rounds of both events. She finished the 50 free final in 23.27 seconds and the 100 fly in 55.49 seconds. Her sister Ella Lantz finished third in the 100-yard backstroke in 55.29 seconds and was seventh in the 200-yard backstroke in 2:03.61. Both Lantz sisters also contributed to third-place finishes in both the 200- and 400-yard medley relays and a fourth-place finish in the 400-yard freestyle relay. Audrey Lantz also led off the 200-yard freestyle relay that finished fourth while Ella contributed to the fourth-place showing in the 800 freestyle relay. Libby Smith finished third in the 1,000-yard freestyle, sixth in the 500-yard freestyle and seventh in the 400-yard individual medley, and she swam the anchor leg in the 800 freestyle relay, helping UMSL post a season-best time of 7:35.83. Coach Tony Hernandez was chosen as the GLVC Coach of the Year in a vote of his peers after leading the women to their highest point total in GLVC Championship history. It marked Hernandez’s second Coach of the Year honor after he won the award in 2024. The men’s team finished eighth in the team standings with 552 points. Indianapolis also won the men’s title with Drury the runner-up. Lathan Parks turned in UMSL’s top performances on the men’s side, finishing seventh in the 50-yard freestyle in 20.34 seconds and eighth in the 100-yard butterfly in 48.66 seconds. He also contributed to a seventh-place finish in the 400-yard freestyle relay and a ninth-place finish in the 400-yard medley relay. The Tritons, led by Mattia Nardi, finished eighth in the 800-yard freestyle relay with a time of 6:43.57. UMSL’s swimmers will next compete in the NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships, which begin March 10 in Evansville.
Women’s Basketball
The Tritons continued their torrid play with road victories against Upper Iowa and Quincy, running their winning streak to four and giving them 13 victories in their last 14 games. Morgan Ramthun scored 19 points, grabbed nine rebounds and handed out five assists while leading UMSL to a 72-60 win at Upper Iowa on Thursday night. She was one of five players in double figures. Mara Rieder finished with 13 points and 11 rebounds. Jayden Kuper scored 12 points, Lexi Hanna added 11, and Jaeda Wilson scored 10 off the bench. The Tritons outscored the Peacocks in every quarter and shot 48.4% from the field. They also held Upper Iowa to 35.5% shooting. UMSL, which edged Quincy by a point in overtime on Jan. 2 at the Mark Twain Athletic Center, had a much more comfortable time against the Hawks in Saturday’s rematch, winning 73-53 at the Pepsi Arena in Quincy, Illinois. Rieder scored a game-high 21 points. Anna Costa Riera added 16, Wilson had 11 off the bench, and Ramthun finished with 10 along with 12 rebounds. The Tritons shot 47.9% from the floor, including 6 for 12 from 3-point range, and they held Quincy to 32.1% shooting. UMSL (20-3, 16-1 GLVC) continues to sit atop the conference standings with a one-game lead over second-place Drury, and it has now won 20 games for the fifth time in school history and fourth time under Coach Katie Vaughn. The Tritons will play host to Truman State on Thursday for homecoming and take on William Jewell on Saturday.
Men’s Basketball
UMSL split conference road games Upper Iowa and Quincy, losing to the Peacocks 65-57 on Thursday but beating the Hawks 74-64 on Saturday. Vincent Davis III and Makeer Makeer each scored 15 points in Thursday’s loss, and Demetris Phillips added 13, but the Tritons made only 41.1% of their field-goal attempts and were 2 for 14 from 3-point range while committing 20 turnovers. UMSL’s offense was more efficient in Saturday’s victory. Phillips and Taye Moore each scored 18 points, and Phillips went 7 for 7 from the field. The Tritons also got 13 points and eight rebounds from Makeer off the bench, and Miles Boland added 10 points. UMSL shot 50% from the field, only committed nine turnovers and connected on 7 of 17 shots from beyond the arc. The Tritons (15-11, 9-8 GLVC) continue to hold onto eighth place in the GLVC standings and are in position to claim the final spot in the conference tournament. Truman State and Drury both remain in striking distance, and the UMSL will play host to the Bulldogs on Thursday for homecoming. It also has a home game against William Jewell scheduled for Saturday.
Baseball
The Tritons went 2-2 last week during a trip to Oklahoma, including a 16-8 win at Oklahoma Baptist on Monday and a 10-6 victory at Rogers State on Sunday. In between, they dropped a doubleheader to Rogers State on Friday, losing 2-1 in 10 innings in the opener and 4-1 in the second game at RCB Bank Sports Complex in Claremore, Oklahoma. Mitch Bonczkowski led UMSL by hitting .438 with a home run, a double and four RBI for the week. He drove in two runs in Monday’s win to help the Tritons rally from a 6-0 deficit. He also had two RBI, including the home run, on Sunday. Owen Faith and Cade Grevengoed also homered in Sunday’s victory. Bryce Nicolay had UMSL’s best start of the week, holding Rogers State scoreless with only two hits through six innings and striking out seven in Friday’s first game. The Tritons (3-5) will play four games against Illinois Springfield this week – two on Friday in Springfield, Illinois, and and two Sunday at the UMSL Baseball Field.
Softball
UMSL went 1-3 last week at the Division II Battle in Branson, Missouri. The Tritons knocked off Missouri Western 12-4 in six innings on Thursday but dropped games against Pittsburg State (10-3), Northwest Missouri State (5-0) and Nebraska-Kearney (4-2) in the two-day event which wrapped up Friday. May Pasqualini went 2 for 4 with a second-inning grand slam in the victory over the Griffiths. Gracie Philpot also homered in the victory for UMSL. Kenzie Stoltz picked up the win in the circle. Pasqualini wound up batting .583 for the week with a double five RBI. Freshman Kiley Sullivan tallied six hits and scored four runs in the four games. UMSL (4-5) will play doubleheaders at Missouri Southern State on Friday and Pittsburg State on Saturday.
Men’s Golf
The Tritons opened their spring schedule by finishing fifth at the Houston Classic, which concluded last Tuesday at the Golf Club of Houston in Humble, Texas. UMSL posted a combined score of 882 to finish 32 strokes behind winner Dallas Baptist in the 54-hole tournament. Two Tritons placed among the top 15 individually. Trigg Lindahl finished eighth with a score of 215 while Ludvig Granlund wound up 13th at 217. Benjamin Berger, competing as an individual, shot a 223 to tie for 26th. The Tritons will next compete as the host team in the Las Vegas Desert Classic, which begins March 1 at Boulder Creek Golf Club in Boulder City, Nevada.
Women’s Tennis
UMSL swept Quincy 4-0 in a dual meet Friday at the Quincy Racquet Club to improve to 3-1 in head-to-head competition this season. The Tritons won all three doubles matches and closed out the dual with wins at No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3 singles. Hannah Tse dropped the first set at No. 1 singles but rallied to win 3-6, 6-1, (12-10) over Mahi Panchal. Millie Wileman and Aleksandra Lopez each won in straight sets at No. 2 and No. 3 singles, respectively. Morgan Lint and Giuliana Cunza were each leading their singles matches when the dual ended while Anna Favaron was tied at 2-2 in the opening set. UMSL will next play on Feb. 28 when it takes on Southern Indiana at the Dwight Davis Tennis Center in Forest Park.
Men’s Tennis
The Tritons lost to Quincy 4-0 on Friday in their dual meet at the Quincy Racquet Club. UMSL’s Tanin Ramnath and Daniel Berdecio won their No. 2 doubles match 6-4 against Cristobal Tellez and Gerard Abad Puig, but Quincy took the other two doubles matches and won the No. 1, No. 2 and No. 4 singles matches in straight sets. The Tritons’ Henry Roberts was leading 7-5, 4-0 in his No. 3 singles match against Tellez when the Hawks clinched the dual. UMSL (1-4) will next play on Feb. 28 when it plays host to Southern Indiana at the Dwight Davis Tennis Center.
