Columbia
South Dakota State
Lions on the Road: March 13-17
3/11/2026 4:32:00 PM | Baseball, General, Men's Golf, Men's Tennis, Women's Golf, Lacrosse, Softball
Softball, Baseball, Golf, Men's Tennis and Lacrosse featured in this week's edition
NEW YORK — Columbia softball, baseball, golf, men's tennis and lacrosse are featured in this week's edition of Lions on the Road. Every week, GoColumbiaLions.com will preview that week's upcoming games and events happening off campus.
Softball
Softball is back in action this week, traveling to Arlington, Texas, to participate in the Maverick Invitational hosted by UT Arlington. The three-day tournament begins Friday, March 13 and runs through Sunday, March 15, at Allan Saxe Field. The Lions will play three games against South Dakota State and two games against tournament host UT Arlington. After a slow start to the season, the Lions (3-10) have won three in a row thanks to a Sunday sweep over Presbyterian and Tennessee State on the final day of the MUSB Invitational II hosted by Mercer two weeks ago. Columbia opened the day with a thrilling 6-3 comeback win over the Blue Hose before once again coming from behind to defeat Tennessee State 5-3 in the finale. Eleni Katsivalis was named the Ivy League Player of the Week after hitting .643 for the tournament. In the tournament finale, she set a program record with five hits in a game. Next Tuesday, the Lions will play their first game in New York when they take on local rival Manhattan in Riverdale, N.Y. Tuesday's game against the Hatters is scheduled for a 1p.m. first pitch.
| Day | Opponent | Time | Location | Live Stats | Live Video |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Friday | South Dakota State | 1 p.m. | Arlington, Texas | Link | None |
| Friday | UT Arlington | 3:30 p.m. | Arlington, Texas | Link | Watch |
| Saturday | South Dakota State | 1 p.m. | Arlington, Texas | Link | None |
| Saturday | UT Arlington | 6 p.m. | Arlington, Texas | TBA | Watch |
| Sunday | South Dakota State | 11 a.m. | Arlington, Texas | Link | None |
| Tuesday | at Manhattan | 1 p.m. | Riverdale, N.Y. | Link | Watch |
Baseball
Columbia picked up a win over No. 23 West Virginia last Friday, and nearly pulled off a second upset Saturday, but dropped a 9-5 heartbreaker in extra innings after a walk-off grand slam in game two. The Mountaineers picked up the series win with a 16-1 victory on Sunday.
The Lions will wrap up their season-opening 14-game road swing after this series and a trip to UCF on Tuesday. Columbia opens Ivy League play from March 21-22 against Harvard at Robertson Field at Satow Stadium.
| Day | Opponent | Time | Location | Live Stats | Live Video |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Friday | USF | 6:30 p.m. | Tampa, Fla. | Click Here | Watch |
| Saturday | USF (DH) | 2 p.m. | Tampa, Fla. | Click Here | Watch |
| Saturday | USF (DH) | 6 p.m. | Tampa, Fla. | Click Here | Watch |
| Sunday | USF | 2 p.m. | Tampa, Fla. | Click Here | Watch |
| Tuesday | UCF | 6 p.m. | Orlando, Fla. | Click Here | Watch |
Women's Golf
The women's golf team competes in the 17-team Valspar Augusta Invitational on Saturday and Sunday. The tournament is being hosted by Augusta University at Forest Hills Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia. The field includes Columbia, Augusta, Coastal Carolina, Daytona State, Furman, Georgia Southern, Georgia State, Illinois State, Indiana, Northern Illinois, Kentucky, Minnesota, Missouri, North Florida, Western Kentucky, Xavier and Yale. The first two rounds will be played consecutively on Saturday with a shotgun start at 8 a.m. Sunday's final round will also go off in a shotgun start at 8 a.m.
The Lions continued their impressive 2025-26 campaign with a victory on March 1-3 at the More Than Golf Invitational, presented by Bank of America. Adding to the victory, first year Emily Zeng was the tournament medalist with a winning score of 1-under-par 218. She was the only competitor in the field of 63 to finish under par. First year Kristina Xu was the runner-up at even-par 219. The team victory is the first for the Lions since October of 2016. Zeng's individual win is the first of her collegiate career and the third by the Lions this season – Xu won two tournaments in the fall.
Columbia's lineup for this weekend's event will be posted to the College Golf Scoreboard when available. Click here for the live leaderboard.
| Day | Event | Time | Location | Live Stats |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saturday-Sunday | Valspar Augusta Invitational | All Day | Augusta, Ga. | Leaderboard |
Men's Tennis
The No. 21-ranked Columbia men's tennis team will head to Arizona for Spring Break. They begin their trip in the desert with a scrimmage against No. 54 Grand Canyon. The Antelopes are 15-2 on the year after sweeping a pair of dual matches against Portland State. Saturday's scrimmage against GCU is scheduled to begin at 1 pm ET/10 a.m. PT. It will not have live stats or live video and will not count as an official contest. Columbia continues their time in Arizona when they travel to Tucson to battle No. 17 Arizona on Tuesday. According to Columbia's records, Tuesday's match against the Wildcats will be just the second ever meeting between the two programs, and the first in the regular season. Columbia hosted Arizona in the 2024 NCAA Championships, defeating the Wildcats 4-3 on May 11, 2024. Arizona enters this week 11-3 overall, and they are led by Jay Friend, who is ranked No. 3 in the most recent ITA Tennis rankings. The Lions enter the road trip with a 9-4 record overall, having won four-straight after defeating Delaware 7-0 on Tuesday evening. Michael Zheng, fresh off being named the 2026 Hurd Award, won his 116th career singles match with a straight-sets win over the Blue Hen's Toby Lock. Fellow senior Nicolas Kotzen won his 89th career match after a straight-sets win on Tuesday night.
| Day | Event | Location | Live Scoring | Live Stream |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saturday | Grand Canyon (Scrimmage) | Phoenix, Ariz. | None | None |
| Tuesday | Arizona | Tucson, Ariz. | TBA | Watch |
Lacrosse
The Lions head to California for their annual west coast trip, and will take on San Diego State on Sunday at 3 p.m. Eastern. Columbia will take on Rider on Wednesday at 3 p.m. first at Kraft Field, but has largely been successful in its non-conference slate thus far. The Lions are 4-2 overall, and 4-1 out of conference, heading into the week, most recently taking down Howard with a historic 23 goal performance. Cecelia Messner is on the verge of history, ready to become the 10th member of the program's 100 goal club as she leads the team with 18 goals and 34 points. The Aztecs are 1-5 so far in 2026, most recently losing to No. 17 Penn State 18-6. Mia Maechtel leads the team with 12 goals and 18 points.
Men's Golf
The men's golf team takes on a field of 15 on Monday and Tuesday, March 16-17, in the ECU Intercollegiate. The tournament will be held at Brook Valley Country Club in Greenville, North Carolina. Participating teams include the Lions, host ECU, Barton College, Gardner-Webb, FDU, Central Florida, Old Dominion, Presbyterian, Oakland, UNCW, Temple, St. John's, Bellarmine, Omaha and Lehigh. The tournament is scheduled for 54 holes, 36 consecutive on Monday and the final 18 on Tuesday.
Senior George Rubelsky leads the Lions with a 73.11 stroke average on the 2025-26 season. He has finished in the top 10 in three of his last four events, including a tie for ninth on March 2-3 in the Sam Ryder Intercollegiate. Rubelsky posted rounds of 75, 71 and 71 to finish at 1-over-par 217 for the tournament. Fellow senior Darren Pang is close behind at 73.89 on the season, followed by a pair of first years in Alejandro Formosa (74.17) and Neil Kulkarni (74.55).
Columbia's lineup for this weekend's event will be posted to the College Golf Scoreboard when available. Click here for the live leaderboard.
| Day | Event | Location | Live Scoring |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monday-Tuesday | ECU Intercollegiate | Greenville, N.C. | Leaderboard |
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