Our scholar-athletes have been thriving this fall season in NCAA Division III intercollegiate sports as they push themselves in their academic and athletic prowess. With the help of our supporters, staff, and the newly opened Center for Athletics, Recreation, and Wellness, our Sagehens are achieving victory as individuals and teams. See some recent successes in basketball, soccer, swimming and diving, and football!
Photo courtesy of Sagehen Athletics.
Sagehens Men’s Basketball Team Win Lopata Tournament
On December 3, the Pomona-Pitzer men’s basketball team won the 38th annual Lopata Tournament with their 71-69 overtime win over Washington University in St. Louis (WashU).
The Sagehens were led by Joe Cookson PO’25, who registered a team-high 16 points. Brendan Mora PO’23 had 11 points and pulled down eight rebounds while Ty Bergman PO’26 and Pitzer’s Peyton Mullarkey ’25 each chipped in with nine.
Pomona-Pitzer led for the majority of the second half and went up by as many as seven points after an Owen Avdalovic ’25 three made it 43-36. WashU took the lead late in the second half, but the Sagehens scored a buzzer beater with Mora getting the layup to send the game into overtime tied at 60-60.
Hayden Moser PO’24 hit a big three early in the overtime period to put the Sagehens up 65-60. The Bears came back to tie the game, but Cookson came back with back-to-back makes to put the Sagehens on top 69-65. The Sagehens closed the game out at the line to win the Lopata Tournament.
Adapted from the Pomona-Pitzer Athletics press release “Sagehens Win Lopata Tournament With Overtime Win Over WASHU.”
Photo courtesy of Sagehen Athletics.
Madison Quan ’22 Earns 1,000th Point in Sagehens Women’s Basketball
Madison Quan ’22 netted her 1,000th career point as the Sagehens fell to SCIAC rival CMS 70-64 on November 30. A recent Pitzer alum and a current Claremont Graduate University student, Quan is playing this season on the Pomona-Pitzer women’s basketball team after missing one year to Covid as an undergraduate.
Adapted from the Pomona-Pitzer Athletics press release “Quan Earns 1,000th Point In Loss to CMS.”
Photo courtesy of Sagehen Athletics.
Matthew Carlson ’23 Doubly Honored by United Soccer Coaches
Pitzer senior Matthew Carlson ’23 earned Third Team Scholar All-American honors as announced by United Soccer Coaches. Carlson adds his name to a shortlist of Sagehens to earn United Soccer Coaches Scholar All-American honors after his performance on and off the field during the 2022 campaign.
Carlson also earned his way onto the United Soccer Coaches Second Team All-West selections as a midfielder.
Carlson finished his career at Pomona-Pitzer with career-highs in points and goals. Carlson tallied 19 total points coming off of eight goals and three assists while picking up First Team All-SCIAC in the process. He appeared in 14 games this season with 13 starts and ended with two game-winning goals. Carlson also netted his first career hat-trick this season after he scored four goals in the Sagehens’ season-opening win over Bethesda.
Adapted from the Pomona-Pitzer Athletics press releases “Matthew Carlson Named United Soccer Coaches Scholar All-American” and “Matthew Carlson Earns Second Team All-West Honors.”
Photo courtesy of Sagehen Athletics.
Three Pitzer Students Earn All-SCIAC Honors in Men’s Soccer
The Sagehens men’s soccer team received four All-SCIAC honorees after the announcement of the 2022 Men’s Soccer All-Conference selections on November 1. Leading the way was Matthew Carlson ’23, who earned First Team honors. Niclas Ulrich ’26, Alex Bonville ’24, and Giri Mase PO’26 made their way onto the Second Team All-SCIAC selections as well.
Bonville was the second upperclassman to be named to the All-SCIAC teams with a second-team appearance as a forward. Bonville came up big in some key moments for Pomona-Pitzer this season and finished with eight points off of three goals and two assists.
The Sagehen newcomers found their way into the second team selections with Mase and Ulrich. Ulrich established himself as a force on the backline for Pomona-Pitzer while still assisting on the offensive side of the field. As a defender, Ulrich compiled five points with his two-goal performance at Redlands and also added an assist later in the year.
Adapted from the Pomona-Pitzer Athletics press release “Carlson, Ulrich, Mase And Bonville Earn All-SCIAC Honors.”
Photo courtesy of Sagehen Athletics.
Ben Willett ’23 Wins 1m and 3m Dive at Winter Invitational
On November 20, the Pomona-Pitzer men’s swim and dive team competed in the La Verne Winter Invitational, taking fifth as a team with 811 points. The Sagehens performance was highlighted by Pitzer’s Ben Willett ’23, who won both the 1m and 3m dive. Willett set a program record for the 1m dive with 281.55 points and won the 3m with a score of 296.65 points.
Adapted from the Pomona-Pitzer Athletics press release “Willett Wins 1m and 3m Dive as Sagehens Take Fifth at Winter Invitational.”
Photo courtesy of Sagehen Athletics.
Three Pitzer Students on Sagehens Football Team Earn D3football.com All-Region Selections
On December 8, the Pomona-Pitzer football team had three athletes named to the D3football.com All-Region selection teams with Nicholas DelBiaggio ’23 and Skylar Noble ’23 earning Second Team All-Region and Quinten Wimmer ’24 earning Third Team All-Region as announced by D3football.com.
DelBiaggio led a Sagehen defensive line that wreaked havoc this season across the SCIAC en route to the Sagehens’ first-ever SCIAC Championship and first appearance in the NCAA Tournament in program history. DelBiaggio finished the season with 29 total tackles, 6 sacks, 9.5 tackles for a loss, and a forced fumble in 11 games played.
Noble also earned Second Team All-Region with the best season by a quarterback in program history. Noble set single-season records for All-Purpose Yards with 3,377 and the Single Season Passing record at 2,587. Noble ended the year with 24 passing touchdowns and the most rushing yards on the team with 790 and added 13 more touchdowns to his total on the ground. Noble earned SCIAC Offensive Player of the Year this season.
Wimmer earned Third Team All-Region as a tight end as Noble’s favorite target in the Sagehen receiving core this season. Wimmer led the Sagehens with 779 yards and 11 touchdowns this season as a matchup nightmare for defenses. Wimmer averaged 70.8 yards per game and 5.8 receptions with a long of 40 yards.
Adapted from the Pomona-Pitzer Athletics press release “DelBiaggio, Noble, and Wimmer Earn D3football.com All-Region Selections.”
Photo courtesy of Sagehen Athletics.
Sagehens Men’s Football Team and Coach Walsh Highlight All-SCIAC Awards
The Pomona-Pitzer football team capped off its championship regular season with nine All-SCIAC honorees on November 17.
Head Coach John Walsh led the staff with SCIAC Coach of the Year honors after leading the Sagehens to their first SCIAC Championship and NCAA bid in program history with a program-best 8-2 overall record and 5-1 in SCIAC play.
Skylar Noble ’23 has the single-season record for all-purpose yards in a season for the Pomona-Pitzer football team.
The SCIAC named seven Sagehens to the first team with Noble as a quarterback, Pitzer’s Quinten Wimmer ’24 as a tight end, Michael Collins PO’23 and Pitzer’s Adam Camargo ’23 as offensive linemen, Graham Olson PO’23 and Pitzer’s Nicholas DelBiaggio ’23 on the defensive line, and Thomas McConnell PO’25 at linebacker. Pomona-Pitzer also added one more athlete on Second Team All-SCIAC with Pitzer’s Mark Carling ’23 as a defensive lineman.
Collins and Camargo have been staples on the Sagehen o-line this season and were a key part in the Sagehens’ success moving the football. Camargo and Collins led an offensive line group that assisted with protecting the conference’s most passing yards per game and second-most rushing yards.
The last offensive player to earn SCIAC First Team honors was standout tight end Wimmer.
The defense was also well represented. DelBiaggio returns to the All-SCIAC list after he earned the second team a season ago. DelBiaggio led a defensive line that dominated the trenches in the SCIAC, along with Olson and Carling.
Carling added his name to the All-SCIAC list after he finished the season with 23 total tackles, 10 tackles for a loss, three sacks, and one fumble recovery to round out an impressive defensive line unit.
The only other All-SCIAC selection to not be named to the defensive line was linebacker McConnell, who earned First Team All-SCIAC as a linebacker.
Adapted from the Pomona-Pitzer Athletics press release “Noble And Walsh Highlight Sagehens’ All-SCIAC Awards.”
For more news on our athletics program and scholar-athletes, visit Sagehen Athletics. Become a champion of Sagehen Athletics by donating and providing the tools to our scholar-athletes and coaches to live, learn, play, and grow. Show your support to Sagehen Athletics today!
