Welcome back to this week's Pilots Weekly RoundUP. UP students are adjusting back to life on The Bluff after break and cross country added two more trophies to the Pilots’ cabinet last week. Student-athletes are also preparing for the second half of the semester and to take on the final stretch of their 2023 fall athletics season.
Women’s Cross Country:
Pilot women’s cross country competed and excelled at the 2023 WCC Championships last weekend on Saturday, Oct. 28 and Sunday, Oct. 29.
The Pilots were crowned champions as they finished the race in first place with a total of 40 points ahead of Gonzaga University's 46 points. Leading the Pilots scoring five was Laura Pellicoro who finished in second place overall with a time of 20:52.7. Right behind her in third place was Pilot Fleur Templier who finished with an overall time of 21:05.3.
Finishing in ninth place for the Pilots was Maebh Richardson with a time of 21:54.7. Next was Courtney Klatt who came in twelfth place with a time of 22:01.0. And rounding off the Pilots scoring five was Sam Prusse who finished in fourteenth place with a time of 22:02.0. Janelle Avilez, Mie Nielson, Teresa Perez, Tiahna Woodger and Stina Pettersson also finished the race for the Pilots, coming in 15th, 16th, 24th, 31st and 36th respectively.
Six Pilots earned All-WCC honors, tying Portland’s 2007 school record. Laura Pellicoro, Fleur Templier and Maebh Richardson earned first-team honors while Courtney Klatt, Sam Prusse and Janelle Avilez earned honorable mention honors.
The WCC Champions will return to action in a couple weeks to compete at the NCAA West Regional Championships in Sacramento, California on Friday, Nov 10.
Men’s Cross Country:
Pilot men’s cross country joined the women’s team to compete at the 2023 WCC Championships last weekend.
Men’s cross country placed second overall with 56 points behind Gonzaga University’s 44 points. Pilot Matt Strangio finished in first place with a time of 24:08.1, earning himself the individual championship title. The Pilots scoring five were Matt Strangio, Danny Abdala, Nolan Hosbein, Teddy Buckley and Dalton Kaines who finished in first, seventh, 13th, 17th and 18th respectively.
Matt Strangio and Danny Abdala earned All-WCC first-team honors while Nolan Hosbein earned an All-WCC honorable mention.
Pilot men’s cross country will accompany women’s cross country to compete at the NCAA West Regional Championship.
Men’s Soccer:
On Saturday, Oct. 21, Pilots men’s soccer remained unbeaten at home this season when they beat the University of San Diego 5-1. The goals for Portland were scored by Muslim Umar, Kevin Bonilla, Sebastian Hernandez, Jacob Babalai and Samory Powder. This was a revenge win for the Pilots as San Diego beat them last year to win the 2022 WCC championship.
The Pilots then played on Merlo Field again facing Gonzaga University in a midweek match on Wednesday, Oct. 25, cruising to a 5-0 victory. Sebastian Hernandez scored the first, before Jacob Babalai added two goals just after halftime. Buba Fofanah and Nicholas Dunbar capped off the performance with each getting a goal late in the second half. It was a special night for Nicholas Dunbar, who notched his first goal for the Pilots.
The men’s soccer team traveled last weekend to play Loyola Marymount University on Saturday, Oct. 28. They went into the game ranked No. 9 nationally and just one point behind first place in the WCC. The Pilot’s could not find a breakthrough and lost 1-0. Their overall record dropped to 10-4-0 and their WCC record dropped to 3-2-0. All four of their losses have been away games and they hold a home record of 9-0.
The Pilots will travel to California to play Saint Mary’s College in their next conference game on Saturday, Nov. 4.
Women’s Soccer:
Pilots women’s soccer traveled to face Pepperdine University on Sunday, Oct. 22. In a tough battle, the Pilots could not hold off Pepperdine’s attack and lost the match 3-1. The Pilots only goal was scored by striker Nedya Sawan.
Women’s soccer returned home to Merlo Field to face the University of San Francisco on Saturday, Oct. 28. The Pilots won the game 4-1 and added their tenth win of the season. The goals were scored by Sophia Mattice, Nedya Sawan, Aubrey Turner and Keeley Dockter. The win improved the Pilots overall record to 10-3-2 and WCC record to 4-2-0.
Women’s soccer will travel to California to play Saint Mary’s College in their penultimate regular season game on Wednesday, Nov. 1.
Volleyball:
Pilots volleyball played Gonzaga University at the Chiles Center on Saturday, Oct. 21 and won three sets to one. Elin Larsson and Maui Robins both notched double-doubles in the game helping the Pilots improve their WCC record.
Next, Pilots volleyball played the University of San Francisco at home on Thursday, Oct. 26. They won three sets to two and Elin Larsson and Maui Robins both had double-doubles again. In a quick turnaround, the Pilots played at the Chiles Center again on Saturday, Oct. 28 against Santa Clara University. They lost three sets to two and dropped their overall record to 8-15 and their WCC record to 3-8.
Pilots volleyball will travel to play their next game against Loyola Marymount University on Thursday, Nov. 2.
The Volleyball team celebrates in the Chiles Center.
Women’s Tennis:
Women’s Tennis competed at the Gonzaga Invitational last weekend. Pilot freshman Iye Onoja went unbeaten to start the tournament on Friday, Oct. 27 and the Pilots picked up three singles wins and two doubles wins on the first day.
On the second day of the tournament, Pilot Rimona Rouf was able to advance to the semifinals of the Gold Singles Draw, but lost in her semifinal match. The Pilots also won three consolation singles games to conclude Saturday's action.
Sunday, Oct. 29 marked the final day of the tournament and Pilot Rose Watanabe won the consolation final of the White Singles Draw. Alaia Rubio Perez and Nadine Arbaizar Martinez also won consolation matches to reach the consolation finals of their singles draws.
Women’s Tennis will return to action for their final tournament of the fall season at the CSUN Fall Invitational on Nov. 10-12.
Men’s Tennis:
The Pilots competed at the ITA Super Regionals on Oct. 20-22. Pilots Maxim Groysman and Nicolas Ocana both earned extra match singles wins on the final day of the tournament. The Pilots finished the tournament with six singles wins coming from Ocana, Groysman, Oscar Brown and Nikola Keremedchiev.
The Pilots then traveled to compete at the SoCal Intercollegiates on Oct. 26-29 and opened with a strong performance. Nikola Keremedchiev, Nikolas Tvedt, Nicolas Ocana and Luka Vukovic advanced to the main singles draw through the qualifiers for The Pilots, while Portland duo Maxim Groysman and Fabian Gusic qualified for the doubles draw.
On Friday, Oct. 27 Luka Vukovic advanced to the quarterfinals of the main draws in both singles and doubles. Vukovic was the only Pilot to advance past the round of 16 stage in the main singles draw.
On Saturday, Oct. 28 Portland doubles team of Vukovic and Tvedt advanced to the semifinals of the tournament. The Pilots went 4-0 in doubles action on Saturday. To conclude the tournament, on Sunday, Oct. 29, Vukovic and Tvedt won their semifinal match but lost against the University of Southern California in the championship match.
Men’s tennis will return to the court for the conclusion of their 2023 fall season next weekend at the Gonzaga Invitational in Spokane, Washington.
Rowing:
Pilots rowing hosted the Portland Fall Classic race on Sunday, Oct. 29. The Pilots traveled to Vancouver Lake for the race and fielded five boats. The rowing team will return to the water on Sunday, Nov. 5 for the highly anticipated Head of the Lake races in Seattle.
This concludes the Pilots Weekly RoundUP. The Pilots will be back in action right away to finish out their fall seasons.
Aidan Hyde is a sports reporter for The Beacon. He can be reached at hydea25@up.edu.
