Mar. 1 vs North Florida, College of Charleston, & UNC Wilmington | 9 AM & 1:30 PM & 4:30 PM
Mar. 2 vs UNF Pairs Invite  | All Day               
Where: UNF Beach Complex | Jacksonville Beach, Fla.         
Records:  SLU 1-3 | UNF 3-1 | COFC 0-0 | UNCW 0-0

Beach Volleyball Notes

• Saint Leo returns to the courts this weekend as part of the UNF Invitational with three matches on Friday and a pairs tournament on Saturday. 
• The Lions will battle North Florida, College of Charleston and UNC Wilmington throughout the day on Friday. It will be the first official meeting between the Lions and all three programs.
• Saint Leo opened the 2019 season at the Stetson Spring Fling where the Lions went 1-3 against a nationally-competitive field including three top-20 programs.
• Junior Amber Lake and sophomore Nina Vattovaz earned a victory over the weekend at No. 2 against Eckerd while freshmen Payton Bellano and Anilise Fitzi won their match at No. 3 to lead the Lions to a 4-1 victory over the Tritons.

 

Mar. 1 at Mount Olive | 12:00 PM                                                Mar. 2 at Edinboro | 4:00 PM
Where: Ray McDonald Sr. Sports Complex | Mount Olive, N.C.  Where: Carolina Forest HS | Myrtle Beach, S.C.
Records: SLU 2-0 | UMO 4-0 | EU 0-1
Coverage Links: Live Stats | Video

Women's Lacrosse Notes

• Saint Leo tests its perfect season slate on the road this weekend after a week off from competition.
• On the season, Lexie Walstad (9g, 2a) and Janee DeLuca (6g, 5a) have tallied 11 points. Walstad is currently placing 94.1-percent of her shots on frame, 52.9-percent of them finding the back of the net.
• Ashley Salvett has put the ball back into the Lions possession 20 times in two games off eight caused turnovers and 12 ground balls.
• Mount Olive also defends a perfect season record. The Trojans defeated the Wingate Bulldogs 14-7 on Saturday to extend their win streak to four.
• Kiara Burke led the Trojan attack with four goals on 12 shots. She also scooped up eight draw controls. Jordan Shughrue had a hat trick on four shots along with three ground balls.
• On the season, Burke (14g, 3a) has compiled 17 points placing 75-percent of her shots on goal with 42.8-percent tallying a goal. She has converted 11-of-16 FPS awarded and won 24 draw controls.
• Edinboro dropped its season home opener 11-8 against Walsh (Ohio) on Wednesday.
• Edinboro finished the game with 26 shots compared to 36 for the Cavaliers. Desiree Doucette led the team with four while a total of seven different Fighting Scots picked up a draw control.

 

Mar. 1 at #9 Florida Tech | 2:00 PM
Mar. 2 at #9 Florida Tech | 12:00 & 2:00 PM
Where: Nancy Bottge Field | Melbourne, Fla.
Records:  SLU 8-9, 3-3 SSC | FIT 15-2, 3-0 SSC
Coverage Links: Live Stats | Video 

Softball Notes

• Saint Leo travels to Melbourne to take on the 9th-ranked Florida Tech Panthers after dropping its home opening series to Rollins 2-1 Feb. 22-23.
• The Lions took game one of the series 4-2 before falling 3-1 in eight innings in the first game of the doubleheader and then 6-3 to close the series.
• On the year, Kacie Kelly paces the team with a .400 batting average, .455 on-base percentage and a .550 slugging percentage. Of her team-high 24 hits, she is second on the team in doubles with seven and one triple.
• From the circle, Auria Mounts leads the team in ERA at 2.42 with a team-high 55.0 innings pitched and 34 strikeouts.
• No. 9 FIT comes into the series with a 14-game win streak and a 15-2 overall record. In the Panthers last outing, FIT posted a 5-0 record after taking on Columbus State (2-1), then-no. 3 North Georgia (3-0), Converse (8-2), Flagler (6-1), and Georgia College (6-5).
• On the year, Cheyenne Nelson paces the Panthers offensively with a .370 batting average, .508 on-base percentage and a .652 slugging percentage. Of her 17 hits, five are doubles and four are triples.
• From the circle, Tina Velazquez Rolon holds a team-low ERA of 1.38 in 39 innings of work while Melanie Murphy comes in with a team-high 59.1 innings of work and 40 strikeouts. Murphy comes back to the circle after tossing a perfect game on Feb. 23 against then-no. 3 North Georgia with five strikeouts in seven innings or work.

Mar. 1 at Barry | 6:00 PM      
Mar. 2 at Barry | 1:00 & 4:00 PM                         
Where: Feinbloom Field | Miami Shores, Fla.  
Records:  SLU 9-5, 2-1 SSC | BU 8-3, 4-2 SSC                                        
Coverage Links: Live Stats | Video                           

Baseball Notes

• No. 23 Saint Leo baseball travels to Miami Shores, Fla., for its first road Sunshine State Conference series of the season.  
• The Lions swept the Buccaneers last season in Saint Leo by scores of 9-7, 16-6 and 15-12.   
• The Buccaneers are currently second in the SSC standings with a 4-2 conference record that includes a sweep of nationally-ranked Florida Southern in Lakeland last weekend.
• Senior Jared Morello continues to lead the offensive threat for the Lions with a .434 batting average that includes three doubles, two triples and one home run. He has driven in 12 runs and drawn 12 walks.
• Fellow senior Peyton Isaacson leads in the power department with four home runs and a team-high 14 RBI.
• On the pitching side, the Lions have seen five different pitchers start games this season with redshirt junior Ryan Nolan leading the way with a 2-0 record.
• Nolan has seen the most action on the mound going a team-high 22.2 innings. Junior Joey Antonopoulos, who has seen 18.0 innings of work, leads the team in strikeouts with 22.
• Barry is off to an 8-3 start and has won six-straight contests heading into Friday's series opener.
• Junior Paul Salata leads the Buccaneer offense with a .391 batting average that includes a double, a triple and a home run. He has a team-high 13 RBI and has scored seven runs of his own. The Buccaneers have eight regular contributors who boast a .300 batting average or above so far this season.
• The Buccaneers have sent five pitchers to the mound to start games this season with freshman Frank Gonzalez II leading the way with a 2-0 record. He has also seen a team-high 19.1 innings of work. He also leads the team with 24 strikeouts.

Mar. 1 at UT Track Invitational | 6:00 PM
Where: Tampa, Fla.

Track Notes

• Saint Leo opens the 2019 season Friday at the UT Track Invitational.
• The meet will take place Friday evening with the final event, the 4x400m, scheduled for 10:30 pm.
• The Lions won a combined three individual events last season at the event including the men's and women's 800m and the women's 1500m. while both teams brought home the distance medley relay titles.
• Saint Leo will be looking for some new faces to lead the program as several standout performers from last season's squad exhausted their eligibility at the conclusion of the 2018 season.

Mar. 2 vs Georgian Court | 1:00 PM
Where: University Turf Stadium | Saint Leo, Fla.
Records:  SLU 2-2 | GCU 1-2
Coverage Links: Live Stats | Video 

Men's Lacrosse Notes

• The, then, No. 14 Saint Leo Lions were taken down by the No. 2 Adelphi Panthers, 22-10, on Saturday. Saint Leo scored a trio in the first, third and fourth quarters paced by Charlie Kurtenbach with a pair of goals and assists for a four-point day. Liam Mueller and Andrew Buck also netted a pair of goals. 
• On the season, Kurtenbach leads the Green and Gold offense with 17 points (10g, 7a). Philip Buque (8g, 5a) and Liam Mueller (4g, 6a) have also contributed double-digit points.
• Ethan Ticehurst has picked up 15 ground balls while causing nine turnovers. Meanwhile, Julian Taylor has snagged 13 ground balls and caused four turnovers.
• In goal, Ian Areford with 30 stops and Thomas Tatarian with 29 stops have each earned two starts.
• The USILA latest rankings placed Saint Leo at No. 16 while Georgian Court received votes. 
• Georgian Court was bested by Wheeling Jesuit, 9-8, on Tuesday. Daniel Burnham earned four points scoring a hat-trick and an assist. He also picked up four ground balls. Patrick Quinn netted a pair, picked up four ground balls and caused one turnover.
• On the season, Quinn has record eight points from six goals and two assists.
• Goalkeeper Austin Geissel has earned two starts with 46 stops.

Mar. 2 at Barry | 2:00 PM
Where: Health & Sports Center | Miami Shores, Fla.
Records:  SLU 10-17, 5-14 SSC | FSC 9-18, 6-13 SSC
Coverage Links: Live Stats | Video

Women's Basketball Notes

• The No. 19 Florida Southern Moccasins slithered past the Saint Lions 76-55 in the Green and Gold's season finale in the Marion Bowman Activities Center. Saint Leo (10-17, 5-14 SSC) was paced by Casey Wortley with 19 points and Alani Gallagher with 14 points and 7 rebounds. Asia Royster tapped in 10 points.
• Before tipping off against the Sunshine State opponent, Saint Leo celebrated its senior class in the form of graduate student Casey Wortley and senior Asia Royster.
• Wortley holds a season team-high 11.3 PPG and a team-high 5.8 RPG. She travels to Barry shooting 40.1-percent from the floor.
• Gallagher averages 5.0 RPG while Brierley grabs 4.1 RPG, 9.9 PPG.
• Barry came up short against Lynn 63-61 on Wednesday. Lynn escaped Barry as the Bucs' heave at the buzzer didn't go down.
• Nichel Tampa earned a standout 17 points and nine assists while committing no turnovers.
• On the season, Tampa leads the Bucs scoring with 14.8 PPG followed closely by Ida Andersson with 13.8 PPG and Harriet Swindells putting up 10 PPG. Andersson leads Barry's work off the glass with 6.9 PRG.
• Before tipping off against Saint Leo, Barry will honor its senior class during the program's senior night.

Mar. 2 at Barry | 4:00 PM
Where: Health & Sports Center | Miami Shores, Fla.
Records:  SLU 13-14, 10-9 SSC | FSC 16-10, 11-8 SSC
Coverage Links: Live Stats | Video

Men's Basketball Notes

• Saint Leo travels to Miami Shores to close out the regular season and fight for the fifth seed against Barry University.
• The last time out for the Green and Gold saw Saint Leo take down Florida Southern 85-78 on senior night. Kyran McClure led the way with 21 points while Gintaras Bartaskas (17), Yalen Reed (16) and Tyler Carter (10) joined in the double-figures.
• On the year, McClure leads the team in scoring averaging 17.5 points per game while Junior Searcy (10.9) and Isaiah Hill (10.6) are right on his heels.
• Barry comes into the week on a two-game win streaking, knocking off then-No. 23 Florida Southern 92-81, and recently no. 12 Lynn 63-62. In the win, three players scored in double-figures led by Marcelo Perez with 15 points. Tylan Birts and Evan Walshe chipped in with 14 and 11, respectively.
• On the year, Daniel Mortensen leads the team in scoring at 13.2 points per game ahead of Birts at 12.8 ppg and Walshe at 10.0 ppg.
• Season Matchup: In the early meeting, Saint Leo came away with an 82-77 win on Jan. 19 where McClure led the Lions in scoring with 17 points. Isaiah Hobbs dropped 21 points for the Bucs to lead the team in scoring

Mar. 3 vs #8 Lander | 10:00 AM
Where: Saint Leo Tennis Center | Saint Leo, Fla.
Records: SLU 3-3 | LU 5-1

Men's Tennis Notes

• No. 6 Saint Leo was upset by no. 15 Flagler 5-2 on Saturday.
• Bruno Faletto and David Perez improved their singles record to 5-1 on the season.
• Lander is on two-game win streak defeating Benedict 7-0 and Georgia College 5-2.
• The Bearcats will face Augusta on Friday before facing the Lions on Sunday.