Weekend Preview for Rutgers Athletics - February 21-23

It’s an action packed weekend ahead, as thirteen different programs will be competing for Rutgers athletics. Here is a snapshot of everything taking place with info on how to watch or follow, as well as previews for some.

Men’s Lacrosse

Rutgers had a disappointing outing last weekend, getting trounced by no. 13/14 Army squad by the score of 15-4. After a 2-0 start in which the RU offense looked very good, they sputtered in West Point. Faceoffs are a major concern for this team. They are back in action this Saturday on the road against no. 11/12 Loyola (1-1), who are battle tested after losing to top ranked Virginia by three goals and beating a ranked Johns Hopkins team.

Women’s Lacrosse

It’s been a great start for first year head coach Melissa Lehman, who has led Rutgers to a 3-0 start, the best for the program since 2010. They came from behind to win on the road at Temple last weekend. This Saturday they travel to upstate New York to face Marist, who are winless at 0-3. A pair of freshman have stood out so far, as Cassidy Spilis leads the team with 10 goals and Alonna Gliksman has made 34 saves for a 52.3% save percentage in three wins in net this season.

Men’s Hoops

After suffering the first loss of the season at the RAC on Wednesday against Michigan, RU now has three of four remaining regular season games away from Piscataway. At 18-9 overall and 9-7 in Big Ten play, Rutgers is still soundly in the NCAA Tournament picture with a KenPom ranking of 31 and NET ranking of 33. Of course, notching at least one more road win this season is key to solidifying its postseason resume. They travel to Wisconsin this Sunday for a 1 p.m. ET tip-off. I’ll post my game preview this weekend and will link it here as well.

Women’s Hoops

After beating Michigan last Sunday, Rutgers suffered a 82-65 defeat on Wednesday at no. 18/21 Northwestern. The good news is that all three remaining regular season games will take place at the RAC, beginning on Saturday vs. Ohio State (17-9; 10-5) at 2 p.m. ET. The Scarlet Knights have an overall record of 18-8 and Big Ten mark of 8-7. They are on the NCAA Tournament bubble with an RPI ranking of 46. Injuries are a major concern and the fate of the team is in the hands of a veteran starting core led by the Big Ten’s second leading scorer Arella Guirantes (19.3 points, 6.4 rebounds).

Wrestling

After an upset victory on senior day at the RAC last weekend against then no. 25 Northwestern, Rutgers travels south on the New Jersey turnpike to grapple with Princeton this Sunday at 6:00 p.m. The Scarlet Knights are ranked no. 25 this week, while the Tigers are no. 14. You can watch the match live on ESPN+ here.

Baseball

After suffering a series sweep at the hands of now no. 1 Miami last weekend in new head coach Steve Owens’ debut, Rutgers (0-3) returns to Florida for a three-game series against North Florida (2-1). Our David Anderson recapped the series loss to the Hurricanes and previewed this weekend here.

Gymnastics

The Scarlet Knights are in Toledo, Ohio for the Big Five Meet taking place Friday night. David Anderson recaps last weekend’s defeat to Maryland and previews the Big Five meet that features several Big Ten programs here.

Softball

Rutgers has a five game slate in Texas against Kansas, UTSA and UT-Arlington, the host school this weekend. The Scarlet Knights are off to a 5-4 start to the season and went 2-2 last weekend in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge. They won both games against Syracuse, but lost both against Duke. To read more on this team, click here.

Big Ten Women’s Swimming & Diving Championships

The Scarlet Knights are in the middle of conference championship weekend and Friday begins day 3 of the meet. On Wednesday, Sofia Chichaikina set a program record in the 200 freestyle during her leg of the 800 freestyle relay event. On Thursday, Elinah Phillips set the school record for the 50 freestyle event, finishing 6th overall. Both swimmers are freshman. Rutgers competes in several other events beginning at noon on Friday. For a full preview and schedule of the Big Ten Championships, with the Finals taking place on Saturday, click here.

Women’s Golf

Rutgers is in Georgia this weekend for the Reynolds Lake Oconee Invitational hosted by Mercer University. They placed 10th out of 15 schools competing two weeks ago in the Texas State Invitational. To read more on this team, click here.

Men’s Golf

Rutgers is competing in the TPC Dorado Beach Collegiate Tournament this weekend in Dorado, Puerto Rico on Sunday and Monday. Last weekend, they tied Wisconsin and lost to Indiana in Big Ten Match Play in Palm Coast, Florida. You can catch up on this team here.

Women’s Tennis

The Scarlet Knights face Seton Hall (1-6) on Friday afternoon at the East Brunswick Racquet Club. RU is off to a 6-2 start this season and beat Penn in its last match. You watch the match on a live stream here.