ELMHURST, Ill. – Keep up with all of the Elmhurst University athletic teams and take a look at the week ahead with the Bluejay Weekly.

TRACK AND FIELD

Last week, the Elmhurst University men's and women's track and field teams ran in the 2023 CCIW Indoor Championships, with the women putting together a stellar performance to place second, just three points behind conference winner North Central. The meet came down to the final race of the day, the 4x400m relay, which the Bluejays coming in second place just three seconds behind the Cardinals.

Four different athletes and one team (Ava David, Nakala Nadeau, Alyssa Rafuse, Francesca Scarbaggio, women's distance medley relay) earned conference titles, while David earned women's track athlete of the year and the coaching staff earned co-staff of the year honors.

This week, the teams will head to the Wartburg College Final Qualifier, the final tune up before the 2023 NCAA Indoor National Championships next weekend.

MEN'S LACROSSE

Last week, the Elmhurst men's lacrosse team defeated Hope College in a thriller, scoring three unanswered goals in the final 2:15 of play to improve to 2-0 on the season. Elmhurst was led by Spence with seven points featuring five goals and two assists. Jake Grebe and Swank added in two goals apiece, while Kaden Ames and Sante Dybowski contributed one goal and one assist in the win. Tony Vazquez won 7-of-16 faceoffs, while teammate Brenden Crouse won 8-of-11. Vazquez and Crouse each picked up five groundballs for the Bluejays.

This week, the men will open their home schedule at Langhorst Field on Saturday, March 4 against Centre College at 1:00 p.m. CT.

WOMEN'S LACROSSE

The Elmhurst women's lacrosse team is set to begin the 2023 campaign this Friday, March 3, hosting Concordia University Wisconsin for a 4:00 p.m. CT faceoff.

The Bluejays will be led by interim head coach Maria Trevino for the 2023 season, and return four letterwinners from the team last season.

BASEBALL

The Elmhurst baseball team kicked off the 2023 campaign with a 1-2 weekend down in Jacksonville, Ill. The Bluejays won their season opener over Illinois Colege, 12-11, before falling to Loras College 4-14 in eight innings on Saturday, Feb. 25. On Sunday, the Bluejays dropped a 1-2 decision in ten inings to Blackburn Colege, falling on a walk-off solo home run. Drew Raspolich led the way for the Bluejays at the plate, going 5-for-11 (.455) over the weekend, while Brett Bishop knocked in three runs for the Bluejays. On the mound, Troy Taller was a standout in the victory over Illinois College, tossing six innings and giving up just one run while striking out five batters.

This week, the team heads back to Jacksonville, Ill. for two contests each against Central College and Olivet College on Saturday and Sunday, Mar. 4-5.

SOFTBALL

The Elmhurst softball team started hot last week, gaining a pair of run-rule victories in Peoria, Ill. The Bluejays opened the season with an 11-0, six inning victory over Finlandia University, and folowed that game with a 10-0, five inning win over Knox College. 

Against Finlandia,  Chiara O'Leary led the way for the Bluejays both in the circle and at the plate, pitching all six innings and giving up no runs, five hits, and striking out one batter. O'Leary also went 4-for-4 at the plate, knocking in two RBI. Against Knox, Elmhurst tallied 10 hits in the contest, including a pair of triples and a home run. Hannah Dunk led the way at the plate for the Bluejays in game two, knocking in four RBI in a 2-for-2 effort which included her first-career triple and a home run.

This week, the team will be back in Peoria for a doubleheader against the University of Wisconsin-Platteville and Mount Mary University on Friday, March 3 at 12:30 and 2:30 p.m.

BOWLING

The Elmhurst University bowling team will be back in action this weekend, Mar. 4-5, hosting the final CCIW Duals of the season at Stardust Lanes in Addison, Ill.

At the last CCIW Duals back in Elmhurst finish sixth of nine teams, with Isabella Wroten led the way for Elmhurst finishing in 21^st-place knocking down 503 total pins and an average of 167.67 pins per game and Lorrie Decker earning a 23^rd-place finish with 498 pins knocked down and 166 pins per game.

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