This Week in Chicago State Athletics

Check out everything happening this week in the Chicago State Athletic Department. You can follow the Cougars on social media at @ChiStateCougars on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter and can keep up to date with all the athletics information and news at GoCSUCougars.com.

Men's Golf
February 21-22 at Alabama State University
The Chicago State men's golf team is scheduled to open their season Feb. 21-22 at Alabama State University. The team is led by seniors Isaac Boore, Keegan Easley and Joshua Stig, and has four underclassmen: two juniors, Kevin Bullington and Grant Sell, sophomore Jay Gunaseelen and freshman Vada Williams.
 
Bullington is the lowest returning scorer for the Cougars. His rounds were used for scoring in each of the five tournaments in which CSU competed, posting an average score of 76.25.
 
Women's Soccer
February 22 at New Mexico State – 12:30 pm
February 25 at UTRGV – 6 pm
The Cougars women's soccer team experienced a travel delay with last week's snowfall, which delayed the start of Western Athletic Conference play. The Cougars are scheduled to play the second of two games against New Mexico State Tuesday, Feb. 20 then will remain in Texas to play host UTRGV on Thursday, Feb. 25 in match previously scheduled for Feb. 27. The team is scheduled to play conference foes for eight consecutive weeks before participating in the WAC Tournament April 13-17 in Phoenix.
 
Women's Volleyball
February 22 at Utah Valley – 8:30 pm
February 23 at Utah Valley – 6 pm
First year Cougars volleyball head coach Tony Trifonov will open the 2021 season with a pair of matches at Utah Valley Feb. 22-23. The team was scheduled to play at home last week against Seattle University, but weather cancelled those matches.
 
Trifonov most recently was the head volleyball coach at Seward County Community College (Liberal, KS) where he posted a 63-10 overall record in two seasons (2018-19) and led the Saints to their first-ever national No. 1 ranking, back-to-back National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division I volleyball Final Four appearances and a national runner-up finish in 2019. Prior to his time at SCCC, Trifonov was the head volleyball coach at Florida A&M University for 21 seasons (1997-2018), where he accumulated a 378-218 overall record, including 206-10 in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC), winning the MEAC nineteen times. From 2001-08, the Rattlers won 112 consecutive conference matches, the third longest streak in NCAA history.
 
The matches against Utah Valley are the first of four conference tilts in consecutive weeks, culminating with the WAC Tournament April 1-3 in Las Cruces, NM.
 
Home matches will be broadcast on the WAC Digital Network with Sam Brief calling the action. Click here to tune in.  
 
Men's Tennis
February 24 at Ball State – 2 pm
February 26 at UIC – 12 pm
CSU's men's tennis team is scheduled to take on Ball State University on Wednesday, Feb. 24 then come home to play intra-city rival UIC on Friday, Feb. 26.
 
Men's Soccer
February 26 at Northern Illinois – 2 pm
Chicago State men's soccer is scheduled to debut for the first time since the late 1980s, traveling to DeKalb to face the Northern Illinois University Huskies on Friday, Feb. 26 at 2 pm. The Cougars are led by head coach Trevor Banks, who comes to CSU from Brown University where he was the associate head coach (2017-20) and assistant coach (2016). During his time at Brown, Banks helped develop multiple award winners on and off the field, including three players selected to the United Soccer Coaches All-East Region Team, 19 All-Ivy selections, one named to the All-New England Freshman team, multiple Academic All-Ivy selections and one United Soccer Coaches Scholar All-America honoree.
 
The Cougars are scheduled to play a five-game non-conference schedule highlighted by matchups with Xavier, Marquette and Bradley.
 
Women's Tennis
February 27 at Bradley University – 1 pm
Head coach Jack Barton's women's tennis team is scheduled to open their season against Bradley University in Muncie, Indiana, Saturday, Feb. 27. The team was scheduled to open play against North Dakota but had to delay their opener to this weekend. This will be the women's team's first action on the court since March 8, 2020, a span of nearly one year.
 
Diana Borodina returns for her junior year while Katarina Drazic is the lone senior on the squad. Borodina posted a 5-0 mark at No. 2 singles a season ago while Drazic went 7-2 at No. 3 singles
 
Women's Basketball
Bye Week
The Chicago State women's basketball team was scheduled to play at Dixie State Feb. 26 and 27 but the Trailblazers opted out of the season giving the Cougars two weeks away from the court. CSU is scheduled to resume conference play March 5-6 against New Mexico State before the WAC Tournament in Las Vegas, March 10-13.
 
The games will be broadcast on the WAC Digital Network with Sam Brief and Julio Rausseo calling the action. Click here to tune in.  
 
Upcoming Home Events
February 28 – Women's Tennis vs. Illinois State – 10 am
March 1 – Women's Volleyball vs. Tarleton – 6 pm
March 2 – Women's Volleyball vs. Tarleton – 1 pm
March 5 – Women's Basketball vs. New Mexico State – 2 pm
March 5 – Men's Tennis vs. North Central College – 12 pm
March 5 – Women's Tennis vs. North Central College – 3:30 pm
March 6 – Women's Basketball vs. New Mexico State – 2 pm
 
*all dates and times are subject to change
 
Get your Cougars gear!
CSU athletics has opened a Sideline Store where you can get ALL your Chicago State Cougars gear 24/7/365. Click here to access the online store and get your Cougars gear today.
 
Cougar Pride Fund
The Chicago State Athletics Department is pleased to announce the launch of the Cougar Pride Fund, an annual giving component benefiting student-athlete scholarships and sport program operations.
 
The Cougar Pride Fund is the first of its kind for Chicago State Athletics. As a foundational-level member of the Cougar Pride Fund, members will be witness to the unfolding of an era of growth within Chicago State University's athletic programs. In order to take our next step in developing competitive programs, supporting our student-athletes through cost of attendance and sport program operations is crucial.
 
There are four levels for membership in the Cougar Pride Fund with each level having certain member benefits including, but not limited to, exclusive access, ticket options and apparel.
 
More information on the Cougar Pride Fund can be found here.
 
Chicago State University Athletics Podcast
Chicago State University Athletics has its first official podcast. The Chi State Pod serves to tell the stories of Cougars past, present and future through open and honest longform interviews. You can subscribe on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
 
The latest episode features former women's golf team member Taneka Mackey who is the only black full-time caddie on the LPGA tour. Click here to listen.