For the second-straight year, the Fort Lewis College volleyball team defeated New Mexico Highlands to open the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference portion of its schedule. The four-set win Saturday lifted the Skyhawks to 3-4 overall and 1-0 in the RMAC while the Cowgirls dipped to 3-6, 0-1 RMAC.
“There is added pressure when the teams start competing in conference play, and it was evident tonight,” said head coach Giedre Tarnauskaite. “We were still able to reset and focus on the details, though. Our confidence shined through and pushed us to the win.”
The Cowgirls tallied more kills, but the Skyhawks held a dominant 12-7 edge in blocks to kick-start the defensive efforts.
Sophomore Alexis Hobie led all players with a season-high 17 kills and added 11 digs for her first double-double of the season. Junior Lauren Shea followed with nine kills and a team-high four blocks on the right side. Shea also chipped in from the service line, dropping in a career-high three aces. Freshman Ella Butler tacked on five kills, two aces and three blocks. Sophomore libero Sarah Wilkey came away with a career-best 13 digs.
The Fort Lewis College men’s and women’s cross-country teams opened the 2022 season at the George Kyte Classic, hosted by Northern Arizona University, on Saturday.
The Skyhawks men finished third with 114 points, behind NCAA Division I opponents Northern Arizona University and the University of Arizona, but ahead of Grand Canyon University and Utah Tech. Fort Lewis’ top five finished the race with a 1:35 spread.
Sophomore Caden Resendez led FLC in his first race with the Skyhawks, crossing 14th in the 4.5-mile race in 23:39.1. Junior Ethan Bartlett placed 15th (23:44.6). Sophomore Chalen Lozano and junior Ricardo Trejo finished 21st and 28th, respectively, in 24:17.7 and 24:47.3. Sophomore Brady Burrough rounded out the top five for FLC with a time of 25:14.9 – good for 36th place.
“This was a really solid start for us,” said head coach Joshua Coon. “A lot of guys improved over last year, and as a team we averaged 27 seconds faster than last season. Overall, we didn't taper and are focused on the end.”
Fort Lewis’ women placed fifth as a team with 131 points, finishing behind a flurry of NCAA Division I foes, but ahead of Embry-Riddle and Mesa CC. Northern Arizona won the team title with 16 points.
Sophomore Katie Fankhouser led the Skyhawks with a 13th-place finish in 16:23.4. Sophomore Sophia Mena followed in 20th (16:58.2). Senior Angel Curley and freshman Althea Griffith finished 30th and 33rd, respectively, crossing in 17:20 and 17:28.29. Junior Carmella Wright closed out the top-five with a 35th-place finish in 17:37.6.
Both Fort Lewis golf teams will kick off their 2022 campaigns this weekend. The men’s program will head to Lakewood for The Writz at Mile High. The tournament will take place at Bear Creek Golf Course and is co-hosted by Colorado School of Mines and Colorado Christian University.
The FLC women will play in Thornton at the Swam Memorial hosted by Colorado Christian at the Todd Creek Golf Club.
“I want to see how we play early on,” Fort Lewis head coach Jim Foltz said. “I want to see how they handle pressure. It is about who can have a bad front nine and still turn it around and dial it in on the back nine.”
The Fort Lewis College football team will also play its first game of the season on Saturday when it welcomes Arizona Christian University to town for a noon kickoff.
The game will be Fort Lewis’ first under new head coach Johnny Cox, who is trying to turn around last year’s 0-11 season.
