Welcome back to the Pilots Weekly RoundUP. Men and women’s track and field started their indoor track seasons and earned some prestigious awards. Pilots basketball set the ball on fire last week with some big wins.
Men’s Track and Field:
The Pilots traveled to Boston, Massachusetts on Saturday, Dec. 2, to compete in their first track meet at the Boston University Sharon Colyear-Danville Season Opener. The Pilots raced in the 5,000-meter race and four Pilots earned personal best times.
Matt Strangio finished the race with a time of 13:31.92, a personal best and a UP school record. Strangio also earned the WCC Runner of the Year award for his achievements during the 2023 cross country season. Pilots Estanis Ruiz, Danny Abdala and Ahmed Sado also ran personal bests with times of 13:53.71, 14:10.88 and 14:16.61 respectively.
Pilots track and field will return after the holidays to compete on Jan. 13, 2024, at the University of Washington Indoor Preview.
Women’s Track and Field:
On Saturday, Dec. 2, Pilots Fleur Templier and Laura Pellicoro joined the men's team to open their 2023-24 track season at the Boston University Sharon Colyear-Danville Season Opener.
The Pilots ran the 3,000-meter distance. Pellicoro placed second in her heat and finished with a school record time of 9:00.46. Templier finished with a time of 9:21.14, earning her a spot in the top ten of Pilots history and setting the French U-20 record.
Pilots track and field will return after the holidays to compete with the men’s team on Jan. 13, 2024, at the University of Washington Indoor Preview.
Women’s Basketball:
On Thursday, Nov. 30, Pilots women’s basketball beat the University of Oregon at home 91-60.
The win is the Pilots’ biggest victory over a Pac-12 team in school history.
Six players scored double figures for the Pilots. Maise Burnham and Dyani Ananiev led in scoring, both scoring 15 points. They were followed by Kennedy Dickie and Emme Shearer who scored 11 points each and finally Lucy Cochrane and Florence Dallow who both scored 10 points.
Women’s basketball continued their winning form and beat Montana State University at home 73-64. The Pilots were down by 16 points in the second quarter but were able to mount a comeback in the second half. Ananiev led the scoring for the Pilots with 18 points. Shearer added 16 points and Burnham got 12 points. Defensively, Cochrane got a total of six blocks helping the Pilots start the comeback. Cochrane is currently leading the nation with a total of 39 blocks so far this season.
The two wins bring the Pilots to an overall record of 5-4. Ananiev earned her third WCC Freshman of the Week award for her performances and is the first Pilot ever to win the award for three consecutive weeks.
The Pilots will now travel to Texas to play Stephen F. Austin State University on Thursday, Dec. 7.
Men’s Basketball:
On Friday, Dec. 1, Pilots men’s basketball played the University of Wyoming at home and won 81-70.
Five Pilots scored double figures during the night, with Chris Austin leading the team getting 17 points. Vasilije Vucinic and Alimamy Koroma followed, both scoring 13 points. Tyler Robertson scored 12 points and Tyler Harris picked up his third double-double of the season getting 11 points and 10 rebounds.
Men’s basketball played at home against the United States Air Force Academy on Sunday, Dec. 3, and lost 80-58. Robertson led the Pilots with 14 points and Vukasin Masic followed with 11 points. The loss brings the Pilots to an overall record of 5-4.
Men’s basketball will now travel to play North Dakota State University on Thursday, Dec. 7.
Men’s Soccer:
Pilots Kevin Bonilla and Nick Fernandez both earned first-team United Soccer Coaches All-West Region honors while Jacob Babalai earned second-team United Soccer Coaches All-West Region honors.
In addition, Bonilla and Babalai both earned invitations to the 2023 Adidas MLS College Showcase for their top performances this season. The showcase is a closed-door, invite-only scouting event put on for MLS teams ahead of the MLS SuperDraft 2024 and will be held from Dec. 6-9 in Phoenix, Arizona.
Aidan Hyde is a sports reporter at The Beacon. He can be reached at hydea25@up.edu.
