This Week in Athletics: February 18

February 18, 2026

Greetings #TARnation! Our athletic teams are in full swing, and reports are flooding in that the Tars ... may be back? 

- We will start with swimming and the marvelous effort they gave at the SSC Championships in Ocala last week. A whopping TEN school records were set by Rollins swimmers, five NCAA cuts were achieved, and 48(!) personal bests were recorded in the five-day event. You have to check out the Rollins Swim Instagram to get the full report! Rollins will be sending a number of athletes to the NCAA Championship in Indianapolis March 11-15. 

- Women's tennis! The ladies are red hot to start the spring season, adding wins against #11 Florida Southern (4-3) and #4 Flagler (5-2) last week to go 3-0 to start the year. The Tars went from unranked in the preseason poll to sitting at #14 in the country in the latest version that came out today. Alyssa Novoa, Amina Taibi, and Nisan Can are all undefeated in singles play so far. Head Coach Tasi Purcell Batista has something special going on, so be sure to keep an eye on them throughout the spring!

- Baseball enjoyed a fantastic four-game home stand against the Assumption Greyhounds, sweeping all four contests. The Tars outscored their opponent 40-11 over the weekend, and received a perfect start from Brett Dennis on Saturday. The junior righty sat down all eighteen batters he faced, striking out six, which earned him the SSC Pitcher of the Week award. 

- Softball went 2-2 this weekend, but that doesn't come close to telling the whole story. The Tars faced #1 Auburn Montgomery twice on Saturday, and lost both games by one run each, including an extra-inning thriller in the first matchup. Hungry for revenge, Rollins then took on #2 Angelo State on Sunday, and won both ends of that doubleheader, including a 10-2 run-rule victory in game one. Reese Twiggs fired two complete games, and also earned the save in the final game against the Rambelles on Sunday. 

- Women's lacrosse was dialed in on Friday, treating the raucous home crowd to a 12-9 win over Colorado Mesa. Holyn Trautwein led the attack with three goals and two assists, while Kali Gagnon and Chloe Pierini added a pair of goals each. A total of eight Tars found the net at least once in this one. Meanwhile, Alyssa Lentz held it down between the pipes for three quarters, allowing just three goals and saving seven shots. 

- Men's tennis looked sharp in their home opener against Bates on Monday, sweeping the Bobcats 7-0. Lawson Prather dominated on singles one, defeating Phillippe Kosyagin 6-0, 6-1. In fact, all six Tars singles matches took only two sets to claim victory. 

- Sailing hit the water for the first time this spring, splitting their squad between South Carolina and Lake Virginia. In Charleston on Saturday, Rollins claimed third place in the six-team field. Rollins recorded seven top-five finishes, including three race wins. On Sunday, the event was the SAISA Women's Top 6 team race, and saw the Tars claim a runner-up finish out of six fleets.  Meanwhile, back at home, Rollins Blue finished third and Rollins Gold finished seventh as the two squads combined for five wins over two days. 

- Men's golf took eighth place in the 17-team Saint Leo Invitational, played at Lake Jovita South. Sean Dobson stayed hot with the sticks, including a season-best five-under 67 in the third round on Tuesday. He ended up in 14th-place in the 100 player field.

- Men's lacrosse was in a real slobberknocker against #8 Lenoir-Rhyne on Saturday. It was a thriller of a game that unfortunately ended in a 13-12 overtime win for the Bears. Logan McHugh did all he could for the Tars, scoring a season-high four goals in the match, which was good enough to earn SSC Offensive Player of the Week. Nate Paulo also stayed hot, adding three more goals to give him a team-high 12 this season.

- Men's basketball dropped a pair on the road against Embry-Riddle and Tampa last week. Jah Nze cleared twenty points in both contests.

- Women's basketball had a similar result with a pair of losses versus the same teams. Faith Newton was the leading scorer for the week with 21 points. 


- Before we get to our weekly preview, we encourage all Tar faithful to consider making a donation to the athletic department as part of the college's GIVING DAY campaign that kicks off tomorrow. Our goal is to have 300 different donors make an impact on Tars athletics. Doing so will unlock $10,000 in additional funding from our friend Ron Raccuia & Legends Global Merchandise. Help spread the word, and just a heads up .... you don't have to wait until tomorrow to give, you can do it right now!

-Women's basketball wraps up the home slate this week beginning tonight at 5:30pm when the Barry Buccaneers come to town. On the heels of the conference tournament, the Tars need to rally down the stretch to qualify, but the ladies are more than capable of some late season magic! Saturday concludes the home schedule in a 2pm matchup with Palm Beach Atlantic. Come out and support senior Claire Erickson who has suited up in over 100 games for the Tars! Congratulations, Claire!
 
-Men's basketball will follow the women tonight in a massive tilt with Barry. Just three regular season games remain, and the Tars are neck and neck for a conference tournament berth. Tonight's game with Barry has major seeding implications, so come out and be loud! Then, on Saturday, PBA visits for senior day with six Tars appearing in their final home game. Don't wait for March for the Madness to begin! 
 
-Women's lacrosse will also be in action tonight when they travel to Saint Leo, hoping to make it three in a row to start the season. Tonight's game against the Lions begins a three-game road trip for the Tars, but have no fear, they will be home to kick off March in style. Until then, good luck, ladies! They will be in Hickory, North Carolina on Sunday for showdown with Lenoir-Rhyne, and will cap off the trip on Tuesday against Anderson. Both games begin at 2pm.
 
-Men's tennis picks up this week with a couple of conference matchups. First, it's rival #10 Florida Southern visiting Winter Park for a match that promises to have some fireworks. All are encouraged to come out for Hispanic Club Day! Next week, the Tars head to St. Pete on Tuesday afternoon for a date with the Eckerd Tritons. Both matches are at 3pm.
 
-Speaking of tennis and Eckerd, that's the combination you'll find on campus Friday on the women's side. Coach Tasi's club hosts the Tritons at 3pm for Ladies Tennis Recognition Day! Rollins is seeking their third straight conference win to begin the season. Building from that, regional opponent Edward Waters will be in town on Tuesday. Doubles play begins at 4pm for that match.
 
-Baseball plays host to Florida Southern for a three-game series beginning Friday afternoon at 2pm. The last time these two met, they… tied? A storm rolling through Lakeland last season cut the series short, so the Tars have lots of business to finish this time around. They'll look to get off on the right foot Friday, before welcoming the Mocs back on Saturday for some doubleheader action. Saturday's games begin at 11am with game two to follow.
 
-Softball hopes to keep rolling the momentum they picked up by defeating #2 Angelo State in convincing fashion over the weekend. They'll trade places with the Southern baseball team, heading to Lakeland for a three-game set with the Mocs themselves. The action begins at 6pm on Friday night with the series wrapping up on Saturday afternoon in doubleheader style. First pitch Saturday will be at 1pm.
 
-Rowing gets underway on Saturday as the men and women travel to Melbourne for a preseason bout with Florida Tech. The scrimmage precedes the Tars Regatta, an event that Rollins will host on Lake Maitland next week. It's time for all the hard work to culminate for a fantastic spring season. Go get 'em, Tars!
 
-The USF Women's Team Race launches on Saturday for Sailing. Report time is 9am sharp for the racing to commence from Bayboro Harbor shortly thereafter. Competitors include the host, USF, along with the University of Hawaii and Jacksonville University. The event will span into Sunday as well. Good luck, ladies!
 
-Finally, Rollins women's golf with tee off from Lakeland on Monday for the first of two rounds at the Lady Moc Classic. Last year, the Tars secured a top 10 finish at the event. This season, Coach Garner's crew is hoping to do even better. Grasslands Country Club will be the destination for both rounds next week.
 
Links to live streams for most events can be found on the schedule section at the top of the homepage of RollinsSports.com. For home events, bookmark the Rollins page on the SSC Digital Network for year-round coverage. Also, be sure to follow us on our Instagram page, @rollinssports

-Tommy Tar
#TARnation