CMU Athletics Weekly Preview

MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – Talkin' baseball, and softball, and a slew of other sports as the spring season gets into full swing and the winter sports head down the back stretch.

It's another busy week for Central Michigan Athletics as the baseball and softball teams head to warmer climes to open their respective seasons, lacrosse also hits the road to face another top-notch ACC opponent, and the men's and women's basketball, track and field, wrestling and gymnastics squads pick up steam as they eye the postseason.

• The CMU softball team heads to Bowling Green, Ky., for the Western Kentucky Hilltopper Classic. The Chippewas are slated to open at 10 a.m. on Friday against Southeast Missouri and will take on the host Hilltoppers at 3 p.m.

CMU is scheduled to play Bellarmine at 10 a.m. on Saturday and will play an opponent to be determined later that day. CMU wraps up the tourney on Sunday win one game against an opponent to be determined.

• The Chippewa baseball team, which is ranked 16^th nationally by Collegiate Baseball newspaper, is set to play three games in Conway, S.C. this weekend. CMU will take on West Virginia on Friday and Sunday (both games carry an 11 a.m. start) and will play Coastal Carolina on Saturday (3 p.m.).

All three games are scheduled for Coastal Carolina's Springs Brooks Stadium.

• The CMU wrestling team will test itself against its in-state Big Ten foes when it goes to Michigan State on Friday (6 p.m.) and then entertains Michigan on Sunday (2 p.m.) at McGuirk Arena.

The Chippewas wrapped up the MAC West championship on Sunday with a 28-10 dual meet victory over Buffalo and is looking to claim its first MAC Tournament title since 2012 at the league championship tourney March 4-5 in Athens, Ohio.

CMU is 12-2 and finished 7-0 in MAC duals. The Chippewas have won 11 consecutive dual meets and are ranked No. 21 in the InterMat Top 25 dual-meet national poll and third in the National Wrestling Coaches Association mid-major poll.

Michigan State is 9-3, 4-3 Big Ten, and ranked 15^th in the InterMat dual poll; Michigan is 10-1, 6-1, and ranked third.

• The CMU lacrosse team heads to 24^th-ranked Louisville on Sunday (11 a.m.) for a nonconference game. The Chippewas opened last week with a 24-5 loss at No. 5 Notre Dame.

• The Chippewa men's basketball team is slated to entertain Eastern Michigan in a MAC game on Tuesday (7 p.m.) at McGuirk Arena and then is scheduled to go to Toledo for a conference game on Saturday (7 p.m.).

The Chippewas enter the week 6-16 and 5-6 and in seventh place in the MAC. The top eight teams in the conference earn a berth into the league tournament.

Eastern Michigan is 8-16, 3-10; Toledo is 20-5, 12-2 MAC. The Rockets are ranked ninth in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 and are tied for first place with Ohio.

• The CMU women's basketball team is scheduled to go to Akron on Wednesday and then will entertain Eastern Michigan on Saturday (1 p.m.) at McGuirk Arena. The Chippewas are 4-19, 2-12. Akron is 11-8 and in third place in the MAC at 8-5; Eastern is 5-15, 2-11.

• The CMU gymnasts, fresh off their highest score in four years, go to Northern Illinois on Sunday, Feb. 20 for a quad meet with the Huskies, Iowa State and Western Michigan.

The Chippewas posted a 196.475 team score last week in downing Western Michigan at McGuirk Arena to improve to 2-1 in conference meets. The Broncos are also 2-1. Both trail first-place Kent State, which is 3-0. The Golden Flashes are scheduled to visit Mount Pleasant on Sunday, Feb. 27.

NIU is 1-1 in league meets. The Chippewas are ranked 47^th nationally, while Western Michigan is 25^th, Iowa State is 37^th, and NIU is 44^th.

• The Chippewa track & field team is set to compete in the Michigan Silverston Invitational at Michigan on Friday (4 p.m.). It is the Chippewas' final competition before the MAC Indoor Championships on March 11-12 at Kent State.

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