What to Watch For Wednesday: FSU Track and Field, Men’s Swimming Prepare for ACC Championships

Conference titles will hang in the balance for a couple of Florida State programs this weekend.

As the calendar turns to March, it’s that time of year where seasons start winding down. As is our Wednesday tradition, here’s a look at what to watch for in FSU sports over the next seven days:

1. FSU men’s swimming and diving wraps up ACC Championships
From Wednesday through Saturday, Florida State men’s swimming will take part in the ACC Championships in Greensboro. The FSU women finished seventh this past weekend. The men’s diving portion is complete and the Seminoles will start the swimming portion in third place. The Seminoles finished fifth in last year’s ACC Championships. Swimmers to watch for FSU include Vladimir Stefanik, Izaak Bastain and Balazs Berecz.

2. FSU track and field heads to ACC Indoor Championships
After a light week, Florida State’s track and field teams will look to claim ACC titles. The FSU men will be looking for a 3-peat while the FSU women settled for second last season after a controversial finish. On the men’s side, Kasaun James will look to defend his title in the 60 and 200 meters. Trey Cunningham will look to defend his 60-meter hurdles title. The Seminoles also return all four runners from last year’s ACC champion 4-by-400-meter relay team. Other athletes to watch on the men’s side include sprinter Bryand Rincher and jumpers Isaac Grimes and Caleb Parker.

On the women’s side, sprinter Ka’Tia Seymour looks to defend her titles in the 60 and 200 meters. Karimah Davis returns after finishing second in both the 200 and 400 meters. Other athletes to watch in South Bend include sprinter Jayla Kirkland, thrower Shanice Love and distance runner Maudie Skyring. The ACC Indoor Championships will take place in South Bend from Thursday through Saturday.

3. FSU women’s hoops wraps up regular season
Florida State women’s hoops is in a 3-way tie for fourth place in the ACC and will look to finish strong and secure a double-bye. Fresh off a heartbreaking loss at Georgia Tech, FSU wraps the season up with a pair of home games. The No. 19 Seminoles will face Clemson on Thursday and Notre Dame on Saturday in the regular season finale. FSU is led by guard Nicki Ekhomu and forward Kiah Gillespie, who each average better than 15 points per game. FSU is 21-6 overall this season and 10-6 in conference.

Behind 17 points each from Gillespie and Sammie Puisis, FSU easily defeated Clemson 81-64 in the ACC opener at LittleJohn Coliseum on Dec. 8. Kobi Thornton averages nearly 13 points per game to lead Clemson. Thursday’s game begins at 7 p.m. EST and airs on Fox Sports Florida. Clemson is just 7-20 on the year and 3-13 in the ACC.

FSU wraps up the season on Sunday against Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish are a surprising 11-17 overall this season and 6-10 in conference. Destinee Walker averages 14.7 points per game and is one of five Notre Dame players averaging in double figures. Despite the disappointing season, Notre Dame is 9-0 all-time against the Seminoles. Sunday’s contest begins at 2 p.m. EST and will air either on ESPN2 or ACC Network.

4. FSU softball heads to Arkansas for Wooo Pig Classic
After a busy start to the season, Florida State softball is coming off a long break, but that is set to change this week. After facing UCF on Wednesday, the Seminoles will head to Fayetteville for the Wooo Pig Classic. FSU will play No. 23 Baylor and Kent State on Friday. The Seminoles will again play the Bears and No. 22 Arkansas on Saturday. Things wrap up on Sunday against Villanova. FSU returns home to face Holy Cross on Tuesday.

FSU is off to a 7-4 start this season. Chloe Culp leads FSU with three home runs and 12 RBIs. Cassidy Davis has also homered three times and owns a 2-1 record with a 1.75 ERA as a pitcher. Kiersten Landers is hitting a team-best .410. From the circle, Kathryn Sandercock leads FSU with three wins.

5. FSU baseball squeezes four games into three days
Florida State baseball will be back at Dick Howser Stadium this weekend, but the schedule is a bit unusual. The 12th-ranked Seminoles will play four games in three days against two opponents. After facing Florida Atlantic on Friday night and Saturday afternoon, the Seminoles face Texas Tech on Saturday night and on Sunday. Those are the teams that the Seminoles opened and closed last season’s NCAA Tournament with.

FSU is 6-1 while FAU is off to a 7-0 start. The Seminoles topped the Owls to kick off the Athens Regional last season. Mitchell Hartigan leads Florida Atlantic with a .478 average, nine runs scored and eight RBIs. Tyler Martin is hitting .412 for the Seminoles. Elijah Cabell has supplied the power recently for FSU. For the season, he has three home runs, 15 RBIs and 12 runs scored — all team-highs.

The final two games will come against No. 2 Texas Tech. The Red Raiders ended FSU’s 2019 season and the career of legendary head coach Mike Martin in the College World Series. Texas Tech is off to a 7-1 start. Dylan Neuse is hitting a team-best .448 for the Red Raiders. Nate Rombach already has six home runs and 19 RBIs for Texas Tech. After the weekend, FSU will play its first road game of the season on Tuesday at Mercer. Night games at Howser on Friday and Saturday begin at 6 p.m. EST. The Seminoles face FAU at 2 p.m. EST on Saturday and Texas Tech at 1 p.m. EST on Sunday. All games stream on ACC Network Extra.

Mike Ferguson is the editor of The Daily Nole. Follow Mike on Twitter @MikeWFerguson. Like The Daily Nole on Facebook. To pitch an idea, author a post or to learn more about The Daily Nole, email Mike Ferguson at Mike@TheDailyNole.com.