Welcome back to the Pilots Weekly RoundUP. Pilots basketball opened their season last week while rowing, men’s tennis and women’s soccer wrapped up their fall seasons. As the fall athletic season comes to an end, the Pilots look to conclude the season on a high note.
Men’s Soccer:
On Saturday, Nov. 4, Pilot men's soccer traveled to California to play against Saint Mary’s College of California. The Pilots dominated the game and won 3-0.
The first goal was scored by Samory Powder who notched his sixth goal of the season in the 44th minute. The Pilots were able to hold off Saint Mary’s from scoring until adding to their lead late in the second half. Buba Fofanah scored his ninth goal of the season through a penalty kick in the 79th minute. Muslim Umar scored his third goal of the season in the 85th minute to finish off the game for the Pilots.
On Saturday, Nov. 11, men’s soccer played the University of San Francisco at home in the final game of their WCC season. It was senior night for the Pilots and they won the game 2-0, continuing their home unbeaten streak. Pilot men’s soccer are now unbeaten in their last 28 home games, which is a program record. Nick Fernandez opened the scoring in the 49th minute. Sebastian Nava doubled their lead late in the game in the 84th minute. The win brings the Pilots to an overall record of 12-4-0 and a WCC record of 5-2-0.
The Pilots were selected as No. 11 in the NCAA National Tournament and will have a bye in the first round of the tournament. This is the first time in program history that the Pilots have been selected for a first-round bye.
Pilot men’s soccer will host either Oregon State University or Seattle University on Sunday, Nov. 19, at 5 p.m. in the second round of the national tournament.
Women’s Basketball:
On Monday, Nov. 6, Pilot women’s basketball played their first game of the season at the Chiles Center against San Diego State University.
The Pilots beat San Diego State University 72-58 and had three players in double figures for points. Emme Shearer had 17 points, Maisie Burnham had 13 points and McKelle Meek had 10 points. Meek added five assists to a total of 19 assists for the Pilots’ offense. Defensively, the Pilots forced 20 turnovers and tallied six blocks.
On Friday, Nov. 10, women’s basketball played Villanova University at home and lost 64-42. Lucy Cochrane and Maisie Burnham both had double figures in points, getting 11 and 10 respectively. The loss brings the Pilots overall record to 1-1.
Pilot women’s basketball will play their next game on Tuesday, Nov. 14, at Seattle University.
Freshman guard Rhyan Mogel goes up for a layup shot in the women's basketball game against San Diego State.
Men’s Basketball:
On Monday, Nov. 6, Pilot men’s basketball opened their season at the Chiles Center against California State University, Long Beach.
The Pilots won the game 78-73 and Vukasin Masic scored a career-high of 25 points, which is the most debut points for anyone in Pilot men's basketball history. First-year Tyler Harris earned a double-double, getting 17 points and 12 rebounds on his debut for the Pilots. Harris is the first first-year in Pilot history to debut with a double-double and was named WCC Freshman of the Week for his performance.
On Wednesday, Nov. 8, men’s basketball faced off at home against Lewis and Clark College. The Pilots won 89-72 thanks to double-double performances from both Tyler Robertson and Noah Jordan. Robertson had 14 points and 10 assists while Jordan tallied 13 points and 12 rebounds.
On Sunday, Nov. 12, the Pilots played the University of California, Riverside at home and won 76-65. Harris got his second double-double of the year with 22 points and 12 rebounds. The Pilots were led in scoring by Robertson who had 18 points. The win brings their overall record to an undefeated 3-0.
The Pilots will play their next game at home on Wednesday, Nov. 15, at 6 p.m. against Tennessee State University.
Freshman guard Tyler Harris dribles towards the basket in the men's game against Long Beach State.
Women’s Soccer:
Pilot women’s soccer traveled to play Saint Mary’s College of California on Wednesday, Nov 1. The game ended in a scoreless 0-0 draw and was the eleventh shutout of the year for the Pilots.
On Saturday, Nov. 4, women’s soccer played their final regular season game against Santa Clara University. They played under the lights of Merlo Field for their senior night, but ultimately lost the game 1-0. The Pilots ended their regular season with an overall record of 10-4-3 and a WCC record of 4-3-1. They finished fourth place in the WCC with 13 points.
Seven Pilots earned All-WCC honors following the conclusion of their season. Bre Norris won WCC Goalkeeper of the Year and made the All-WCC First Team. Pilot Camille Ashe also made the All-WCC First Team. Sophia Mattice, Nedya Sawan and Cally Togiai made the All-WCC Second Team. Katana Norman earned WCC honorable mention and Violet Rademacher made the All-WCC Freshman Team.
Nedya Sawan dribles towards the goal in the women's soccer senior night game against Santa Clara
Volleyball:
Pilots volleyball traveled to play Loyola Marymount University on Thursday, Nov. 2. They lost the match in a 3-set sweep. In a quick turnaround on Saturday, Nov. 4, Pilots volleyball traveled to play Pepperdine University and lost in another 3-set sweep.
On Thursday, Nov. 9, the Pilots played against the University of the Pacific and lost in a three-set sweep. The Pilots then faced off against Saint Mary’s College of California on Saturday, Nov. 11. They ultimately lost three sets to two in a tough battle. The losses dropped their overall record to 8-19 and their WCC record to 3-12.
The Pilots will travel to face Gonzaga University in their final match of the fall season on Thursday, Nov. 16.
Men’s Cross Country:
Pilot men’s cross country traveled to California to compete at the NCAA West Regional Championships last weekend.
The Pilots finished the race in third place overall with a total of 125 points, qualifying for the NCAA Cross Country Championships. The Pilots were led by Matt Strangio who finished in second place with a time of 28:59.5. The rest of the Pilots scoring five were Danny Abdala, Jona Bodirsky, Jonas Gertsen and Nolan Hosbein with times of 29:41.0, 29:41.2, 29:56.2 and 30:24.7 respectively. Strangio, Abdala and Bodirsky earned All-Region honors for their race.
After qualifying, the Pilots will now prepare for the NCAA Cross Country Championships.
Women’s Cross Country:
Pilot women’s cross country traveled to California with the men’s team to compete at the NCAA West Regional Championship.
The Pilots finished in sixth place overall with 179 points and were led by Laura Pellicoro who finished with a time of 19:24.7. The rest of the Pilots scoring five were Fleur Templier, Courtney Klatt, Maebh Richardson and Janelle Avilez who finished with times of 20:01.8, 20:27.1, 20:38.4 and 20:44.1 respectively. Pellicoro and Templier both earned All-Region honors for their race.
Pellicoro claimed an individual at-large position for the NCAA Cross Country Championships and will travel with the men’s team to race at the national tournament.
Women’s Tennis:
Pilot women’s tennis traveled to California to compete in their final fall tournament at the California State University,Northridge Fall Invitational from Friday, Nov. 10 to Sunday, Nov. 12.
On the first day of the tournament, the Pilots won four singles matches and three doubles matches. The singles wins came from Iva Zelic, Alaia Rubio Perez, Nadine Arbaizar Martinez and Meagan Pearson. The doubles wins were from the duos of Zelic/Rubio Perez, Sally Pethybridge/Arbaizar Martinez and Rimona Rouf/Rose Watanabe.
On the second day of the tournament, women’s tennis added five singles wins and one doubles win. Zelic, Pethybridge, Rubio Perez, Arbaizar Martinez and Pearson won their singles matches while the duo of Zelic/Rubio Perez won their doubles match.
On the final day of the competition, the Pilots finished strong adding four more singles victories and winning three out of three doubles matches. Zelic, Pethybridge, Rubio Perez and Pearson won their singles matches, while the duos of Zelic/Rubio Perez, Pethybridge/Arbaizar Martinez and Rouf/Watanabe won their doubles matches.
Women’s tennis will now prepare for their spring dual season which starts Saturday, Jan. 20 at Seattle University.
Men’s Tennis:
Pilot men’s tennis traveled to Washington to compete at their last fall tournament, the Gonzaga Invitational, from Friday, Nov. 3 to Sunday, Nov. 5.
On Friday, Oscar Brown, Luka Vukovic and Maxim Groysman advanced to the quarterfinals of the top-flight Blue Singles Draw. Cade Fernando, Nikola Keremedchiev and Nikolas Tvedt advanced to the quarterfinals of the White Singles Draw. The Pilots dominated the Doubles Draw winning seven doubles matches on the day. Two Pilot teams are scheduled to face off in the top-flight Blue Doubles Final.
On Saturday, Stefan Skobelev, Nikola Keremedchiev and Nikolas Tvedt each advanced in their singles draws. Skobelev beat Aalex Asenov of Idaho, Keremedchiev beat Gonzaga’s Tom Dunlap and Tvedt beat Idaho’s Matteo Masala.
On Sunday, Skobelev completed an undefeated tournament and won the championship match of his singles draw. The Pilots finished the weekend with an impressive 17 singles wins and 11 doubles wins.
Men’s tennis will now prepare for their spring campaign which opens against Purdue University in Seattle on Saturday, Jan. 20.
Rowing:
On Sunday, Nov. 5, Pilots rowing finished their fall season at the Head of the Lake race in Seattle. The Pilots first varsity eight team placed fourth, finishing with a time of 17:47.785. Rowing’s second varsity eight team placed fifth in their race with a time of 19:07.572. Their varsity four team placed sixth with a time of 21:36.333.
This concludes the Pilots Weekly RoundUP. Stay tuned for more updates on the remaining Pilots fall seasons and upcoming spring athletics.
Aidan Hyde is a sports reporter at The Beacon. He can be reached at hydea25@up.edu.
