MIAMI (March 11, 2019) – With eight sports in competition this past week, FIU Athletics had another stellar outing. FIU baseball's
Logan Allen shined on the mound to earn national and conference honors, while softball's
Megan Kugelmann claimed C-USA laurels in the circle. FIU's
Clarissa Cutliff claimed her third-straight All-American honor, after a dominating performance at the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships.
Below is a brief recap of how each FIU team performed this past week.
Baseball
The diamond Panthers earned a 4-1 record on the week, which included a three-game weekend sweep of Seton Hall. In midweek action, Wednesday night's win over Florida A&M gave Head Coach
Mervyl Melendez his 600th career win.
Logan Allen was masterful in Friday night's win against Seton Hall, going seven scoreless innings while only allowing one hit and striking out 11 Pirates. Allen's performance him C-USA Pitcher of the Week and Collegiate Baseball National Player of the Week honors. The Panthers host Stetson on Tuesday, March 12 at 7 p.m., before opening C-USA play at Marshall this weekend.
Men's Basketball
The FIU men's basketball team closed out its regular season last week, posting a 1-1 record. The Panthers dropped their first game of the week at Marshall, 94-78, on March 6, before turning in a 73-58 win in the regular season finale against North Texas on March 9, at the Ocean Bank Convocation Center. FIU finishes the regular season with a 19-12 record and a 10-8 mark in Conference USA. The Panthers' 19 wins is the third most in program history since going Division I in 1986-87. In addition, FIU's 10 wins are the most since joining C-USA. FIU, the No. 7 seed in this week's C-USA Basketball Championships, will face tenth-seeded North Texas on March 13, at 9:30 p.m. ET, with the game being televised live on ESPN+.
Women's Tennis
The FIU women's tennis team rolled out another pair of wins last week, extending its win streak to seven. On Thursday, March 7 against Charlotte, FIU posted a 4-1 win over the 49ers. Saturday was another perfect day for the Panthers when they upset James Madison 4-2. The duo of sophomore Sandra Bozinovic and junior Maria Turrillo have clinched that last two doubles points for FIU, while posting a 6-1 mark on the season. FIU sits at 8-4 overall and remains undefeated against C-USA opponents. The Panthers take on Idaho Monday at 1 p.m., before welcoming Boston on Wednesday at 1 p.m.
Softball
The FIU softball team went 3-3 over the week to move its record to 17-8 on the year. FIU defeated North Dakota State (W/2-1), Stony Brook (W/3-0) and East Carolina (W/2-1), while falling to Boston College (L/2-3), Purdue (L/3-6) and LIU-Brooklyn (L/0-1) on the week. Senior
Megan Kugelmann improved her record to 6-1 in the circle, as she won C-USA Pitcher of the Week following her 0.38 ERA in four appearances and allowing just two runs in 18.1 innings pitched. The Panthers return to Felsberg Field to host Notre Dame on Wednesday, March 13 with first pitch set for 6 p.m.
Women's Basketball
The FIU women's basketball team fell to Marshall on the road Thursday night to cap the 2018-19 regular season. With the loss, FIU ends the season at 5-24 and 2-14 in C-USA play. FIU was led by freshman
Ce'Nara Skanes, who scored 10 points and hauled in 11 rebounds for her ninth double-double of the season. The Oklahoma City, Oklahoma native was named to the C-USA All-Freshman Team on Monday following her successful first season with the Panthers. Skanes averaged 8.6 points per contest in 2018-19, while hauling in 8.1 rebounds per game to rank third in the conference. The 8.1 average ranked first among C-USA freshmen. Skanes also posted a team-high nine double-doubles on the year, which ranked third-most in the league and most among freshmen.
Women's Golf
Panther golf competed this weekend at the Florida Gators Invitational in Gainesville. The team hits the links again this weekend at the Notre Dame hosted Clover Cup in Mesa, Arizona. The Panthers will close out the regular season at the Edisto Island Invitational in South Carolina on March 31-April 1, before heading to the C-USA Championships in Fort Myers, Florida from April 15-17.
Beach Volleyball
FIU took part in the East Meets West Invitational, this past weekend, at the Manhattan Beach Pier in Manhattan Beach, California, for what will be the most daunting past of the Panthers' schedule. FIU faced four of the top five teams in last week's America Volleyball Coaches Association Top 20 poll, in No. 2 USC (L, 3-2), No. 1, and defending national champion, UCLA (L, 4-1), No. 5 Hawaii (L, 3-2) and No. 3 Pepperdine (L, 3-2). The Panthers are 5-4 on the year and will now host the first of two tournaments in South Florida, beginning on March 15, when they face Florida Atlantic at 10 a.m. and USC – for the second time in a week – at 2 p.m., at Fort Lauderdale Beach.
Track & Field
FIU track and field senior
Clarissa Cutliff earned Second Team All-American Honors in the High Jump Saturday, competing at the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships in Birmingham, Alabama. Cutliff reached a height of 5'9.25" (1.76m) to tie for ninth overall in the competition. It is the third-consecutive season Cutliff has earned All-American honors, coming off a first team performance in the 2018 campaign. Cutliff was perfect on the first two bars, clearing heights of 1.71m and 1.76m on her first attempt. The senior from Orlando had a dominant final indoor campaign, winning every regular season meet she competed in, leading up to a victory at the Conference USA Indoor Championships. The track and field team will now prepare for the outdoor season, beginning this Saturday at the Miami Hurricane Invitational.
TICKETS
For tickets to all FIU games can be purchased online at
tickets.fiusports.com or by phone at 305-FIU-GAME.
SOCIAL MEDIA
Follow all of FIU's 18 athletic teams on Twitter (@FIUAthletics), Facebook (Facebook.com/FIUSports), YouTube (FIUPanthers), and Instagram (FIUathletics).
