The Tampa Rundown
A look at the athletic events happening this week.
ICYMI: In Case You Missed It, last week women's tennis opened up conference play against Eckerd and No. 17 Florida Southern. The Spartans were able to defeat the Tritons 9-0 before falling to the nationally ranked Moccasins 7-2. Both the men's and women's basketball teams finished last week with a 1-1 record. The women defeated the PBA Sailfish 67-52 on Wednesday night, before losing to the Embry-Riddle Eagles on Saturday by a score of 69-60. The men had opposite outcomes, losing to PBA in overtime 103-93 and then defeating the Eagles on senior night 87-84. Softball won the series over SSC rival Florida Southern 2-1. They won the opening game in the series 4-2, and then split games in the doubleheader on Saturday, losing 1-0 and winning 7-5 respectively. Baseball had a perfect 3-0 record over the weekend. The Spartans defeated West Florida 10-6 on Friday, Spring Hill 13-1 on Saturday, and Palm Beach Atlantic 2-1 on Sunday. The men's and women's track teams kicked off their 2018 season, the men established a new school record in the 4x400 Meter Relay, while the women had two runners finish first and second in the 4,000 Meter DMR. The women's lacrosse team lost a heartbreaker against the No. 13 Limestone College Saints 13-11. However, the men's lacrosse team traveled to No. 1 Limestone College and upset the top-ranked Saints by a final score of 12-10.
This Week's Events:
Women's Golf:
The women's golf team is currently in Lakeland competing in the Florida Southern Invitational. Round one of the invitational takes place today, with round two closing out the tournament tomorrow.
Men's & Women's Basketball:
Both the men's and women's basketball teams will compete in their regular Wednesday and Saturday time slots. They both will travel to Florida Southern on Wednesday and then to Barry on Saturday. The women play at 5:30 p.m. and 3:00 p.m. respectively, while the men play at 7:30 p.m. and 5:00 p.m. respectively.
Men's & Women's Swimming:
Thursday, February 22nd through Sunday the 25th, both the men's and women's swim teams will be competing in the SSC Championships. The meet is being held in Clearwater, Florida at the Clearwater Aquatics Center, and races will take place throughout each day of the championships.
Tennis:
The tennis team has a busy week, kicking things off on Thursday the 22nd, hosting Embry-Riddle at 3:00 p.m. On Saturday, the Spartans will host Oakland at 10:00 a.m., before returning to conference play and hosting Barry at 10:00 a.m. on Sunday.
Baseball:
The No. 2 Spartans will scrimmage the Philadelphia Phillies at 1:05 p.m. on Thursday, before returning home for a series against the Florida Tech Panthers. Friday night the Spartans will compete at 6:00 p.m., then on Saturday in the doubleheader, the games are slated to begin at 1:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. respectively.
Softball:
Softball will host the Rollins College Tars this weekend. On Friday, the 23rd, first pitch is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. Then on Saturday, the 24th, the doubleheader against the Tars will begin at 1:00 p.m.
Men's Track:
Men's track will continue it's 2018 season hosting the Gasparilla 15K on Saturday, February 24th.
Women's Lacrosse:
The women's lacrosse team will play two games this week on Thursday and Saturday respectively, both away. First, on Thursday, February 22nd, the Spartans are set to compete against the Queens University of Charlotte Royals at 7:00 p.m. UT will then travel to Belmont, North Carolina where the Spartans will take on the Belmont Abbey Crusaders at noon.
Men's Lacrosse:
After upsetting the No. 1 Limestone College Saints, the Spartans look to continue their 3-0 winning streak against the NYIT Bears on Friday the 23rd, at 7:00 p.m. The game will be held at Naimoli Family Field in Tampa, Fla.
Beach Volleyball:
The beach volleyball team kicks off their season traveling to Babson Park, Florida on Saturday the 24th, where they will compete against the Webber International Warriors and the University of North Florida Ospreys. The Spartans will take on the Warriors at 10:00 a.m. and the Ospreys at 12:00 p.m. This tournament also will mark the programs first ever competition.
For all the news regarding the University of Tampa Spartans, head over to tampaspartans.com.