This Week in Review marks the last week for some Seattle University sports in the Western Athletic Conference (WAC). As the July 1 date for the big conference change bears down on our Division I athletics, let’s take a look at how Redhawks across the school’s athletic offerings fared.
Softball
Softball said goodbye to the WAC with a hard-fought tournament appearance. While we’re hoping to check in with them in a more detailed article next week, the team’s final chance at a WAC title before the start of the West Coast Conference era deserves a mention.
On the first day, the Redhawks took on Utah Valley. A resounding 10-3 win pushed the Redhawks into a tough game against conference leaders Grand Canyon University. The Lopes, who entered the tournament on a 23-game win streak, defeated the Redhawks, sending them to the elimination bracket.
A narrow 5-4 victory over three-seed Southern Utah kept the team in contention, but their May 9 rematch against Utah Valley did not go the same way. The Redhawks built up eight runs over the first six innings, only to see the Wolverines score seven runs in the penultimate sixth inning. This brought the score to its final 9-8, knocking the Redhawks out in the semifinals. This was the last time the team will face WAC opponents in a conference tournament.
Baseball
Baseball had a busy week at home, with a May 6 home game against Washington State and a three-game series against California Baptist over the weekend. Senior catcher Jackson Lind belted a grand slam over the heads of Cougars to give the Redhawks a win over their adversaries from Pullman. Hopes of a win streak were dashed with losses in the first two games of the Cal Baptist series, however. An 11-4 loss to the Lancers in the first game was followed by a 4-2 loss in the second. This second game was played in Everett, Wash., at the curiously named Funko Field. The Redhawks pulled out a win in the third game back at Bannerwood, insulated by a solid six innings of pitching from Sophomore Kenny Ishikawa. Along with a solid offensive effort, Ishikawa and the team ensured Cal Baptist never took the lead in the team’s senior celebration game and finale of this series.
Women’s Golf (and a little check-in on men’s golf)
This week, the women’s golf team was down in Arizona, competing in the National Golf Invitational. The Redhawk star performer this week was Rivekka Jumagulova, a senior from Kazakhstan who finished third individually. Seattle U finished eighth as a team in the 10-team tournament. The women’s golf season may be officially over with the conclusion of this May 11 postseason tournament, but fans of men’s golf will have to wait for the results of the NCAA Regionals, which conclude May 14. This is the first time men’s golf has played in NCAA Regionals since 2017, after strong performances from Kevin Li and Walker Lamb at the WAC Championship.
Track
Track season is not quite over, with the WAC Outdoor Championships on the horizon. Before this, the team focused on the May 3 Oregon Twilight Meet. Senior Lili Hargreaves set a personal and school record in the 1500 meters, finishing just about one second after Junior Azalea Groleau. Full meet times can be seen online on athletictiming.net.
Intramurals
Past Spectator coverage has given intramural sports the spotlight, if only for a brief moment, and this will be no different. Week 2 of Spring Quarter play concluded May 12, with UREC publishing power rankings of the various teams. In Open 7v7 Flag Football, the top spot was taken by team “No Game This Week,” tied with “RedhawkTuah.” Co-Rec 8v8 flag football also saw a new leader in “My Little Sunshines,” who took a slight lead over a team whose name cannot be published.
Soccer ratings stayed largely the same from Week 1. In Co-Rec 7v7 Outdoor Soccer, the only two teams in the league are tied after “Unathletico Madrid” took down “ecart” in a twisted variant of El Clasico one could only find in Seattle.
Full, uncensored power rankings can be found on the UREC Instagram page @su_rec.
