Colorado University Athletics
Buffs Notes: Lacrosse, Track, Soccer, Volleyball All Home This Week
April 03, 2017 | Lacrosse, Neill Woelk
BOULDER — News, notes and quotes as Colorado's spring sports head into the heart of their schedules:
Biggest game in town this weekend? It will be hard to top Friday's 3 p.m. Colorado-Stanford lacrosse matchup at Kittredge Field, pitting the 11-1 Buffs (No. 5 in two national polls, No. 6 in another) against rival Stanford.
The Cardinal received top 20 votes in one poll this week and brings a 7-3 record to Boulder. Stanford started the season slowly, losing two of its first three — including a loss to Denver — but then posted six consecutive wins before seeing the streak halted last weekend at Yale.
Stanford has a rich history in the sport, having won nine MPSF championships, including titles in 2013 and 2015. But if there's a statistics Ann Elliott's Buffs might be thinking of most on Friday, it is this: 0-6. That is Colorado's all-time record against Stanford. Not only has Stanford won all three regular season games with the Buffs, the Cardinal has also prevented Colorado from reaching the MPSF tournament championship game three years in a row by defeating the Buffs in the tourney semifinals each season.
Friday's game will also be a special moment for 16 CU seniors, who will be recognized on Senior Day as they play their last regular season home game in Boulder. They are members of Elliott's first recruiting class, and in four short years in Boulder, they've taken a startup program to national prominence.
This, by the way, will be CU's last year in the MPSF, as the Pac-12 will begin sponsoring the sport next season with six teams.
There is no admission charge for CU lacrosse games and parking is also free.
If you want to catch Mark Wetmore's track and field crew in action, this weekend is your last chance to see the Buffs in Boulder. Colorado will host the annual CU Invitational on Friday and Saturday at Potts Track.
A handful of field events are set for Friday, with the bulk of the events scheduled Saturday. Admission is $5.
Want to get an early look at the Buffs volleyball and/or soccer teams? This weekend is the perfect opportunity.
Jesse Mahoney's volleyball team will continue its spring schedule Saturday with a pair of matches, both open to the public. The Buffs will play Colorado State at 11 a.m. in the Coors Events Center upper gym; then face Northern Colorado at 1:30 p.m. in the main arena. Mahoney's second team has several key returnees from last year's team, which recorded five wins over top 25 foes, along with some transfers who could have an immediate impact next fall.
Sunday, Danny Sanchez's soccer team will continue its spring schedule by welcoming UNC for a 7 p.m. game under the lights at Folsom Field. The Buffs, who finished 15-6-1 last fall and tied for second in the Pac-12, opened their spring season with a 2-2 tie vs. Air Force.
Admission to both events is free.
A quick shoutout to CU senior tennis player Nuria Ormeño Ruiz, who knocked off Stanford's No. 1 singles player over the weekend. Ormeño Ruiz collected a 6-0, 6-4 win over the Cardinal's Caroline Doyle, the nation's 51st ranked player. It was Ormeño Ruiz's second Pac-12 win of the season, and she did it despite playing on a sprained ankle.
Nicole Kenneally's Buffs are on the road this weekend, at UCLA and USC; then return home April 16 for a 10 a.m. match vs. Oregon.
The Colorado football team will be taking part in a couple of community service projects in the upcoming weeks.
On April 19, the team will host its annual "Be the Match" drive at Balch Fieldhouse. The program helps match blood donors with people who have been diagnosed with life-threatening blood cancers such as leukemia and lymphoma. If a match is made, participants can donate blood stem cells and help save a life — something two Colorado players have already done. Outside linebacker Derek McCartney and wide receiver Danny Galloway have both donated blood stem cells to cancer patients.
The program is part of the football team's community service projects, and is an idea that head coach Mike MacIntyre brought with him to Boulder from San Jose State.
The Buffs annually get about 350 to 400 people to sign up for the program.
Anytime you have a chance to save somebody's life and this is their last resort, it's really neat," MacIntyre said.
Sunday, a number of CU players will be serving as volunteers at the eighth annual Frank Shorter Race4Kids Health 5K and Expo in Broomfield. Players will serve as volunteers along the course, hold the finish line tape and hand out awards after the race.
Also on the near horizon are the Pac-12 Men's Golf Championships, set to be contested April 28-30 at Boulder Country Club. Roy Edwards' Buffs have been ranked in the top 25 for much of the season and should be among the contenders.
The event will be live streamed by CU's BuffVision and will also be televised by the Pac-12 Network at a later date.
The Buffs are next in action April 14-15 at The Maxwell in Edmond, Okla.
The CU women's golf team, meanwhile, will co-host with Oregon the Silverado Showdown on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday in Silicon Valley, Calif., at the Silverado Resort. Buffs coach Anne Kelly is in her 20th year at the Buffs' helm, making her the second-longest tenured women's coach in CU history, trailing only the 22 years by former women's basketball coach Ceal Barry.
Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu
