Men’s lacrosse undefeated, playing division leaders
The Idaho men’s club lacrosse team is undefeated heading into a Friday game against Pacific Northwest Collegiate Lacrosse League (PNCLL) Division I league leaders Simon Fraser in Burnaby, British Columbia. The Vandals have three wins on the season including an 18-1 win against Central Washington, a 21-5 win over Great Falls and an 11-9 win over border rivals Washington State. In the Saturday win against WSU, Idaho was led by 17 saves from goalkeeper Craig Patrick while Patrick Tunison and club president Colton Raichl combined for nine goals. The Vandals are 0-8 against Simon Fraser heading into Friday’s game. This is the first time the teams have played this season.
Football schedule dates finalized
Idaho’s 2014 conference schedule has been released. Idaho will get early Sun Belt Conference exposure, heading to Louisiana-Monroe in the second week of the season.
Idaho will have four home conference games and four on the road, playing eight of the 10 other programs in the conference — missing Georgia State and Louisiana-Lafayette.
Homecoming will be Oct. 18 when Idaho hosts New Mexico State. The Vandals defeated New Mexico State for Homecoming 2012. Dads’ Weekend is Idaho’s home-conference opener on Sept. 27 against South Alabama. Times and television schedule are still to be determined. The full schedule can be found at thevandalnation.com.
Football to host pro day
Idaho will hold its football pro day on Thursday. Idaho’s top seniors will work out for National Football League scouts in an attempt to increase their chances at ending up in NFL training camps this summer. Workouts will occur at the SprinTurf and inside the Kibbie Dome. Running back James Baker and defensive tackle QuayShawne Buckley will be the top players working out on Thursday. The pro day last season helped Benson Mayowa get signed to the Seattle Seahawks, where he spent the season on the 53-man roster and was a member of the Super Bowl XVLIII winning team.
Sterbis makes NCAA Championships
Nearly a week after the WAC Swimming and Diving Championships commenced, Idaho sophomore Jamie Sterbis finally received news that she qualified for the NCAA Championships in the 200-yard butterfly. The selection committee announced the qualifiers Tuesday. Sterbis’ time of 1:56.77 at the WAC Championships is also a new school record. The NCAA Championship meet will be held March 20-22 at the University of Minnesota Aquatic Center.
“We knew after last year, Jamie had the ability to make the meet,” Idaho coach Mark Sowa said. “She stayed all summer and it was worth it. We’re not going to this meet just for experience. She’s going to be in the picture. She hates to lose almost more than she loves to win.”
Women’s tennis improves in national rankings
The Idaho women’s tennis team improved to No. 51 in the latest ITA National Top 75 rankings, released Tuesday. The Vandals are on a 10-match winning streak with their only loss coming in the season opener at No. 53 Washington State. Idaho’s latest win came against Sacred Heart Thursday in Honolulu . The Vandals are currently on a three-match road trip in Hawaii.
“It is great to see the women ranked at 51,” Idaho coach Jeff Beaman said. “We want to see how high we can get for the potential for an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament, but our only true goal right now is continuing to improve and winning the automatic bid by winning the WAC title.”