New for the 2025-26 academic year, Villanova will announce its top performers from the previous week in a press release and social media post each Monday afternoon. The weekly wrap will recognize one standout student-athlete from each sport who competed during the previous week.
  
VILLANOVA, Pa.—It was a true crossover week for Villanova Athletics as the men's and women's basketball teams each played in the first round of the NCAA Tournament and the men's and women's outdoor track & field teams opened their seasons with competition at the Penn Challenge. Highlighting the week that just passed was a series win for baseball against UNC Asheville and women's lacrosse posting a win over Xavier in the BIG EAST opener. There were 10 teams in action overall, with one student-athlete from each of those teams making up this week's Villanova Athletics Weekly Wrap sponsored by Zajac and Padilla.
 
Baseball
Michael Whooley
Senior, Shortstop, Wyckoff, N.J.
 
Villanova's offense was in peak form in a home series win against UNC Asheville and Whooley was in the middle of the onslaught with five hits, five runs scored and five runs batted in as the Wildcats took two of three games. Whooley slashed .417/.467/.583 in the series with two doubles, two walks and three stolen bases. He was part of a Villanova offense that scored 30 runs over three games while hitting .347 and compiling a .444 on-base percentage in the series.
 
Men's Basketball
Bryce Lindsay
Redshirt Sophomore, Guard, Baltimore, Md.
 
Lindsay tallied his fifth 20-point game of the season and first since December with 25 points in the Wildcats first round NCAA Tournament matchup against #9 seed Utah State. He came out hot from the start, scoring Villanova's first six points of the game with a pair of three-pointers and eventually amassing 14 points and four triples by halftime. Lindsay finished the game 9-of-18 from the field, including 6-of-11 from long distance, while adding three rebounds, three assists and a steal to his stat line. He finished the season averaging 12.3 points per game and making a team-high 78 three-pointers in a balanced Wildcats offense.
 
Women's Basketball
Jasmine Bascoe
Sophomore, Guard, Milton, Ont.
 
Bascoe played all 40 minutes in her NCAA Tournament debut and scored a team-high 21 points to go along with four rebounds, four assists and two steals against #7 seed Texas Tech. She finished her sophomore campaign for Villanova with 624 points, 158 assists, 61 three-pointers and 65 steals. Bascoe averaged 18.9 points per game, 4.0 rebounds per contest and 4.8 assists per game while tallying 15 games with 20+ points and topping 30 points on two occasions. She was named a first team All-BIG EAST selection for the second straight year.
 
Women's Lacrosse
Rose Christie
Junior, Midfield, Brightwaters, N.Y.
 
Christie was named the BIG EAST Midfielder of the Week after recording consecutive hat tricks in two games last week. She scored three goals and had one assist against No. 12 Stony Brook in a midweek matinee and duplicated the stat line over the weekend as Villanova downed Xavier in its BIG EAST opener. Christie scored on six of her seven shots on goal during the week and increased her season totals through nine games played to 14 goals, 13 assists and 27 points.
Softball
Maranda Runco
Junior, First Base/Pitcher, Olyphant, Pa.
 
Runco collected nine runs batted in over a span of two games during the week and slashed .417/.500/.833 over four games total. Her grand slam against Saint Joseph's in a midweek home game powered the Wildcats to an 8-0 win in five innings and she finished that day 2-for-2 with a double, the grand slam and a walk. She added a three-run double and a two-run single in the opener of a three-game series at Creighton on Friday before driving in her 10^th run of the week with an infield hit in the series finale. Runco is batting .464 (13-for-28) with a 1.179 slugging percentage over her last 10 games.
 
Men's Tennis
Kush Anand
Junior, Fort Wayne, Ind.
 
In the team's only match of the week, Anand was a winner at both singles and doubles against Marquette. He teamed up with junior Thomas Wakefield at No. 2 doubles and the pair tallied a 7-5 win which ultimately helped the Wildcats clinch the doubles point in the match. Anand scored Villanova's only singles victory from the No. 5 spot in the lineup when he outlasted his opponent for a 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 triumph.
 
Women's Tennis
Maggie Gehrig
Senior, Charlotte, N.C.
 
Gehrig scored two wins at the No. 2 singles position against Saint Joseph's and St. John's last week. She gave up just a single game in her win over the Hawks and tallied a 6-1, 6-0 victory as Villanova posted a 7-0 team win. In a match against BIG EAST foe St. John's over the weekend, Gehrig notched the Wildcats only singles win with a thrilling rally for a 2-6, 7-5, 6-2 decision.
 
Men's Outdoor Track & Field
Tristan Bolinsky
Graduate Student, Throws, Gordon, Pa.
 
Villanova opened the outdoor season over the weekend and Bolinsky competed in both the discus and the hammer at the Penn Challenge. He is already the school record holder in the hammer and started off his final collegiate season with a strong mark of 56.88 meters which was good for a fourth place finish. He added a fifth place result in the discus with a throw of 46.85 meters.
 
Women's Outdoor Track & Field
Jane Carey
Freshman, Throws, Webster, N.Y.
 
In the first outdoor meet of her collegiate career, Carey registered a personal best mark in the hammer and moved into the top 10 of the Wildcats all-time performance list in the event. She threw 47.79 meters at the Penn Challenge and surged into ninth place in school history.
 
Water Polo
Layla Canales
Sophomore, Attacker, Gainesville, Fla.
 
Villanova moved to the brink of clinching a spot in the MAAC Championships with a split of two games during the week. Canales helped the Wildcats push No. 17 Marist to the limit in an eventual 14-13 deficit in the Red Foxes home pool. She totaled five points on the day with four goals and one assist while contributing equally on the defensive end with a team-high five steals. She continued her offensive momentum in a 20-6 win over VMI to close the weekend with three goals and a team-high three assists.
 

Villanova Athletics Scoreboard
March 16-22
 
Baseball
March 20: UNC Asheville 12, Villanova 9
March 21: Villanova 10, UNC Asheville 4
March 22: Villanova 11, UNC Asheville 6
 
Men's Basketball
March 12: #9 Utah State 86, #8 Villanova 76
 
Women's Basketball
March 9: #7 Texas Tech 57, #10 Villanova 52
 
Women's Lacrosse
March 17: No. 12 Stony Brook 18, Villanova 10
March 21: Villanova 14, Xavier 8
 
Softball
March 18: Villanova 8, Saint Joseph's 0 (5 innings)
March 20: Creighton 11, Villanova 10
March 21: Creighton 11, Villanova 3
March 22: Creighton 10, Villanova 1 (5 innings)
 
Men's Tennis
March 21: Marquette 4, Villanova 2
 
Women's Tennis
March 18: Villanova 7, Saint Joseph's 0
March 21: St. John's 5, Villanova 2
 
Men's Outdoor Track & Field
March 21: Penn Challenge (no team scoring)
 
Women's Outdoor Track & Field
March 21: Penn Challenge (no team scoring)
 
Water Polo
March 21: No. 17 Marist 14, Villanova 13
March 22: Villanova 20, VMI 6
 
Villanova Athletics Schedule
March 23-29
 
Baseball
March 25: Hofstra (3:35 PM)
March 27: at UT Arlington (7:00 PM ET / 6:00 PM CT)
March 28: at UT Arlington (3:00 PM ET / 2:00 PM CT)
March 29: at UT Arlington (2:00 PM ET / 1:00 PM CT)
 
Golf
March 23: Golden Horseshoe
March 24: Golden Horseshoe
 
Men's Lacrosse
March 28: at St. John's (1:00 PM)
 
Women's Lacrosse
March 28: No. 2 Stanford (12:00 PM)
 
Softball
March 25: at Delaware (5:00 PM)
March 27: Georgetown (3:30 PM)
March 28: Georgetown (12:00 PM)
March 29: Georgetown (12:00 PM)
 
Men's Tennis
March 29: at Bucknell (1:00 PM)
 
Women's Tennis
March 27: Rider (3:00 PM)
March 29: at Temple (12:00 PM)
 
Men's Outdoor Track & Field
March 27: Danny Curran Invitational
March 28: Danny Curran Invitational
 
Women's Outdoor Track & Field
March 26: Raleigh Relays
March 27: Danny Curran Invitational
March 27: Raleigh Relays
March 28: Danny Curran Invitational
March 28: Raleigh Relays
 
Water Polo
March 28: vs. Siena (11:00 AM)
March 29: vs. Iona (8:00 AM)
March 29: vs. Mount St. Mary's (2:00 PM)