Pioneer Points
Director of Athletics Debby De Angelis.
- September 5, 2012
In case you missed it, Pioneer Athletics got the 2012-13 campaign off to an amazing start last weekend, going 4-2 with each fall team sport getting its first win of the season! This successful opening weekend came on the heels of a great summer and we couldn’t be more excited to get back into the swing of things when we open the CCAA seasons, welcome back students and set the foundation for potential playoff runs in the coming weeks
We are beyond excited that our fall seasons are underway and couldn’t have been prouder of our teams during our first weekend. After just three weeks of practice, men’s and women’s soccer and volleyball all picked up wins to open the season last week, while both cross country teams impressed against nationally ranked Division I and II squads in their first meet.
Pioneer men’s soccer not only notched three goals against University of Colorado – Colorado Springs but also looked strong defensively, holding the Mountain Lions without a goal to earn its first win, with senior Florian Reppin leading the way with two goals and an assist. Volleyball was next, sweeping Notre Dame de Namur to kick off the Nanook Classic in Fairbanks, Alaska, where it went 2-1 to take second place. Seniors Suzy Ni Xu and Nicole Boyle earned spots on the All-Tournament Team after leading the Pioneers to the runner-up finish.
Cross country traveled across the bay to Golden Gate Park where both teams performed well against tough competition, with the men beating out two Division I programs as well as one CCAA squad and the women finishing less than 15 points out of the top-10 in a field of 19 teams. Women’s soccer closed out the weekend with a dominating 8-1 win over UC Merced that included a five-goal performance from senior Kara Yamamoto.
Our early success this season wouldn’t be possible without the help of our fans and friends, including the great group of participants at the 16th annual 麻豆传媒社区入口 Golf Classic, held at TPC Stonebrae last month. The event went off without a hitch and saw 麻豆传媒社区入口 alumni, staff, faculty and friends of the Pioneers enjoy a beautiful day of golf and fun above the bay, all while raising money to support athletic scholarships through the Richard and Susan Sherratt Athletic Scholarship Endowment. We would be nothing without our amazing supporters, so we thank everyone who made that event a success.
The golf tournament served as a great kick off to the season after a summer that saw our student-athletes and teams collect an unprecedented number of academic awards for their hard work in the classroom last year. In addition to collecting 43 CCAA All-Academic selections, an Academic All-America recognition and a spot on the WBCA Academic Top 25 Honor Roll, last month we capped off award season with honors from the Division II Athletics Directors Association (DII ADA). Twenty-one Pioneers were recognized for their hard work in the classroom with DII ADA Academic Achievement Awards, led by four selections apiece for women’s basketball and women’s soccer.
Though we’ve already played six contests and competed at one meet this fall, we are just getting started. This weekend we invite the Pioneer community to join us for the volleyball tournament at Pioneer Gym, where teams from all over the West Region will compete in 10 matches in two days this Friday and Saturday, including four matches for our Pioneers. Meanwhile, men’s and women’s soccer open the 2012 conference season Sunday, when they meet perennial CCAA contender Sonoma State, whose women rank No. 17 in this week’s national poll.
We hope to see you in the stands this weekend and in the weeks ahead. Go Pioneers!