Claremont, Calif. (November 11, 2013) This coming week will see three Sagehen teams in the NCAA Championships, the Football team battle CMS in the annual Sixth Street Rivalry game, and the Men’s and Women’s Basketball teams start their 2013-14 campaigns.
Ellen Yamasaki ’15 and the Volleyball team earned an NCAA Division III Tournament bid for the first time since 1997.
The Men’s and Women’s Cross Country teams will host the 2013 NCAA West Regionals, with the women’s race taking place at 9 a.m. and the men’s race starting at 10:15. The course begins at the soccer field and ends on Strehle Track (with the runners looping by the track several times).
Volleyball, meanwhile, earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Division III Tournament and will travel to Trinity (Texas), where it will meet UT Dallas in the first round on Friday (times to be announced). The Sagehens will be making their first NCAA appearance since 1997, when they fell to CMS in the first round. The winner of the UT Dallas match will face the winner of top-seeded Cal Lutheran and Hardin-Simmons on Saturday. UC Santa Cruz, Mary Hardin-Baylor, Southwestern and Trinity comprise the other half of the regional bracket. Ellen Yamasaki ’15, Samantha Quesada-Diaz ’17 and Natalie Lindeman ’17 will be among the Sagehens competing in San Antonio this weekend.
The Football team will look to make it two in a row against CMS after shutting out the Stags 37-0 last year at Merritt Field. The Sagehens fell at SCIAC champion Redlands last weekend, as Isaac Richard III ’15, Nick Urban ’17, Julian Roberts ’17 and Bulolo Jonga ’17 all saw action on defense, while Sean Mulcahy ’16 started on the offensive line after playing all season at tight end.
Swimming was also in action last weekend at the Redlands Pentathlon, with the women’s team placing six swimmers in the top 25 (out of 160+ competitors), including Cayla Nishizaki ’17, who was 13th overall. The swimmers will host their first meet on Saturday against Cal Baptist, while the divers, including Dawn Barlow ’16 and Jeremy Goldberg ’17, will travel to the Redlands Diving Invitational.
Women’s Soccer saw its record-breaking season come to a close with a 1-0 loss against CMS in the SCIAC semifinals. Amina Luqman ’17 nearly provided a late spark to try to tie the game, as she had a late shot blocked to result in a corner kick and hit a strong crossing pass to the far post that was barely tipped away by the CMS goalkeeper in the frantic closing minutes. The Sagehens finished the year with a 13-4-1 record, breaking the old school mark for wins (11), set by the 2005 team. Sara Ach ’14 was among the senior leaders on this year’s squad.
Men’s Water Polo had a pair of overtime games this week, defeating Chapman 14-13 at home and falling to CMS on the road 16-15. Jarrod Gaut ’14 had the game-winner in overtime against Chapman and added another overtime goal against CMS, while Stephen Vint ’15 scored in overtime against the Stags as well to give the Sagehens one final chance. Men’s Water Polo concludes the regular season this week with road matches at Redlands on Wednesday and La Verne on Saturday.
Basketball season gets started this weekend, with the Men’s Basketball team hosting St. Thomas (Minn.) on Friday night at 7:30 p.m. in its season opener. The Sagehens return all five starters, including Xavyr Moss PI ’13 (CGU ’15), and had a strong showing in their one exhibition game, falling to Division I UC Riverside 83-73 in a game that was within three points in the closing minutes. Moss, Joseph Eyen ’15 and Nicholas Nordale ’17 played most of the minutes in the backcourt in the exhibition game and will have key roles this season.
The Women’s Basketball team, meanwhile, opens up play at the Whit Classic in Spokane, Washington, playing host Whitworth on Friday and Whitman on Saturday. The Sagehens have a young team this year with no seniors on it, but it returns a talented nucleus, led by returning starters Ruth Shapiro ’15 and Amelia Hummel ’16. Incoming freshmen Basha Brulee-Wills ’17, Kacie Hitomi ’17 and McKenna VanderKley ’17 will look to carve out playing time on the Sagehens this year as well.
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Wednesday, Nov. 13
Men’s Water Polo at Redlands, 7 p.m.
Friday, Nov. 15
Volleyball vs. UT Dallas, TBA (NCAA Regionals – San Antonio, Texas)
Women’s Basketball at Whitworth, 7 p.m.
Men’s Basketball vs. St. Thomas (Minn.), 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, Nov. 16
Women’s Cross Country NCAA Regionals, 9 a.m. (Strehle Track)
Men’s Cross Country NCAA Regionals, 10:15 a.m. (Strehle Track)
Men’s and Women’s Diving at Redlands Invitational, 10 a.m.
Men’s and Women’s Swimming vs. Cal Baptist, 11 a.m.
Men’s Water Polo at La Verne, 11 a.m.
Football at CMS, 1 p.m.
Women’s Basketball vs. Whitman, 4 p.m. (at Whitworth)
Volleyball at NCAA Regionals (TBA) – if Sagehens advance
Sunday, Nov. 17
Volleyball at NCAA Regionals (TBA) – if Sagehens advance
