The return to winter weather today serves as a reminder that the winter season is in full swing for the Wildcats. Four of the five Saint Ignatius winter varsity sports teams will be in action this weekend.

Here's a preview of what's on tap for the Wildcats this weekend. 

Basketball

The Wildcats return to the court tonight with a road matchup on the East side.

The Basketball Cats will face Lutheran East tonight at 7:30 p.m. The Wildcats then return home on Saturday for a home contest against John Marshall.

The Wildcats enter the weekend with a 9-4 record after defeating Cleveland Central Catholic last Saturday on the road. The Wildcats, averaging 73.9 points per game, stand at No. 1 in the Cleveland.com boys basketball Top 25 poll and at No. 12 in the MaxPreps JJHuddle Ohio Big School Terrific 20 Poll.

The Lutheran East Falcons could be a tough road test for the Wildcats. The Falcons, No. 25 in the Cleveland.com poll, enter the game with a 10-5 record. Lutheran East is coming off of an 88-59 win over John Adams last Saturday.

The Falcons have five losses, but all of those to quality teams – Cleveland Heights, Cornerstone Christian, Youngstown Ursuline, VASJ, and Canton McKinley. All but one of those losses (a 55-44 defeat to Cleveland Heights) came by less than 10 points. The Falcons have a balanced squad with several playmakers, including Maurico Tate and Keandre Graves.

The Lawyers of John Marshall have not enjoyed as successful a season, entering the weekend with a 6-7 mark. The Lawyers are in the middle of the pack in the Senate Athletic League, with its signature win coming over a 9-5 Cuyahoga Heights team. St. Edward and Lutheran East each handily defeated the Lawyers earlier this year.

The JV Cats will be also facing Lutheran East (tonight, 6:00 p.m.) and John Marshall (Saturday, 5:30 p.m.).

Hockey

After running into a hot University School squad last weekend, the Ice Cats dropped to No. 2 in the state hockey coaches’ poll. However, the Varsity Blue Wildcats still have plenty of chances to return to the top.

The 18-6 Ice Cats will travel to Grosse Point, Michigan this weekend for the Liggett Showcase. The Wildcats will face University Liggett on Friday at 8:00 p.m. before taking on Saginaw Heritage on Saturday at noon.

University Liggett, the tournament host, enters the weekend with an 8-8-1 mark. Saginaw Heritage brings a respectable 12-3 record into the tournament.

The Wildcats return to conference play on January 31. With a 9-1 mark in Great Lakes Hockey League play, the Ice Cats can clinch the regular season GLHL title with a victory over Holy Name.

The Varsity Gold squad will be off this weekend before heading to the Utica-Eisenhower Showcase in Michigan next weekend.

Bowling

An exciting end to last weekend has the Alley Cats’ hopes high.

The Saint Ignatius bowling team dropped a tough one to Garfield Heights last Saturday, but bounced back with a win in the Highland Invitational on Sunday.

The Alley Cats return to Buckeye Lanes on Saturday for the Greater Cleveland Interscholastic Bowling League (GCIBL) Scratch Championships. The Wildcats will face an opponent yet to be determined, beginning at 9 a.m.

Anthony Doran will look to lead the Wildcats again following a 642 series at last weekend’s tournament. Doran, the top bowler at the invitational, was named the Student-Athlete of the Week. Nick Frank has also come on as of late, as the senior was named a tournament all-star for his 614 series.

Swimming & Diving

The Saint Ignatius swimming & diving squad will just be a hop, skip, and a jump away from Wildcat High this weekend.

The Aqua Cats will host Brunswick tonight at 5:00 p.m. and attend the Blazer Invitational on Saturday at noon, both at Cleveland State University’s Robert F. Busbey Natatorium. Tonight’s dual meet will be particularly special for the Wildcats.

Tonight, the Aqua Cats will celebrate the accomplishments of an exceptional senior corps made up of seven members of the class of 2017 – John Hessler, Marcus Hong, Severyn Kushmeliuk, Joey Libertin, Joshua Lontoc, Charles Siford, and Dimitri Simcox.

Each has contributed to the team’s success this season, including to a fifth place at the National Catholic Championships in Baltimore, Maryland last weekend.  Libertin (University of Chicago) and Simcox (Columbia University) have each committed to swim in college, with several other Wildcat swimmers sure to do so, too.

This weekend’s two meets represent the final tune-ups for the Aqua Cats before Sectionals take place at Cleveland State University on February 11.

Good luck to all Saint Ignatius teams in competition this weekend.