Women’s basketball:
Pilot women’s basketball notched several key wins throughout the semester, ultimately leading to a West Coast Conference (WCC) championship. On Thursday, Jan. 25, the Pilots traveled to Pepperdine University and emerged victorious 82-49. Next, they traveled to play the University of San Diego on Saturday, Jan. 27 and won 64-59.
On Thursday, Feb. 1, the Pilots faced off against the University of the Pacific at a home game, winning 85-72. The Pilots continued their winning streak on Saturday, Feb. 3 in an away game against Saint Mary’s College, emerging triumphantly 68-35. Securing yet another win, the Pilots played Loyola Marymount University (LMU) at home on Thursday, Feb. 8, and won 58-52.
Pilot women’s basketball extended their winning streak to six games when they played Pepperdine University at home on Saturday, Feb. 10, winning 78-46. After four tough losses against the University of the Pacific, Santa Clara University, the University of San Francisco and Gonzaga University, the Pilots ended their regular season with a 75-63 win against LMU.
Women’s basketball traveled to Las Vegas for the 2024 WCC Tournament and played LMU in the quarterfinal on Saturday, March 9, winning 78-51. Advancing to the semifinals, the Pilots faced Santa Clara University on Monday, March 11, narrowly beating them 63-61. On Tuesday, March 12, the Pilots were crowned back-to-back WCC champions when they beat Gonzaga University in the final and pulled off an incredible 67-66 win.
The Pilots ended the season with an overall record of 21-12 and a WCC record of 10-6. The team was 13th seed for the 2024 NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament and played the No. 4 seed Kansas State University on Friday, March 22 at 1:30 p.m. in the first round of the tournament. The Pilots postseason run ended after the game as they lost to Kansas State University 78-65.
Men’s basketball:
On Saturday, Jan. 20, Pilot men’s basketball traveled to play against Santa Clara University and lost 101-86. After three tough losses against the University of San Diego, LMU and the University of San Francisco, the Pilots bounced back on Thursday, Feb. 1 with a 65-60 away win against the University of the Pacific.
The Pilots returned home to play Pepperdine University on Saturday, March 3 and won 93-89 in a close game. The Pilots struggled throughout the middle of the season due to several players recovering from injuries, losing five games in a row to Saint Mary’s College, the University of San Diego, Pepperdine University and Gonzaga University twice.
On Thursday, March 29, the Pilots beat Santa Clara University at home 80-75 in a much-needed victory. The Pilots rebounded from their prior losses on Saturday, March 2, winning 70-60 against LMU in their last regular season game.
Men’s basketball traveled to Las Vegas, Nevada to play in the 2024 WCC Tournament. On Friday, March 8, the Pilots played LMU in the first round of the tournament and won 78-70, advancing to the quarterfinals. But the Pilots postseason success ended abruptly on Sunday, March 10, coming up short against the University of San Francisco 72-51. They ended the season with an overall record of 12-21 and a WCC record of 5-11.
Baseball:
On Friday, Feb. 16, Pilots baseball started their season off on a high note at an away game against San Diego State University. Spencer Scott hit a go-ahead RBI single to lead the Pilots to a 5-4 win. In their second game against San Diego State University on Saturday, Feb. 17, the Pilots won 7-6 in a 13-inning nail-biter. In the third game and series finale on Sunday, Feb. 18, the Pilots lost 7-1.
The Pilots opened their second series of the season with a 4-0 away win against the University of Santa Clara on Friday, Feb. 23. In the second game of the series on Wednesday, Feb. 24, the Pilots lost 6-5. On Thursday, Feb. 24, the Pilots lost the series finale 10-4 against the University of Santa Clara.
In early March, the Pilots played a series of away games against Utah Valley University. On Friday, March 1, they played a doubleheader and won both games 16-8 and 7-5 respectively. In the series finale on Saturday, March 2, the Pilots took the series sweep with an 8-6 win. On Wednesday, March 6, the Pilots traveled to play a single game against the University of Nebraska Omaha and won 7-5.
In their next series, the Pilots played an away game at Creighton University. The Pilots lost their first game on Saturday, March 9 with a score of 9-5. On Sunday, March 10, the Pilots played a doubleheader for the final two games against Creighton University. They lost the first game 9-2 but won the series finale 6-3. On Tuesday, March 12, the Pilots traveled to play a single game against the University of Oregon and won 15-5.
Pilots baseball played a series of games against the University of Maryland. Starting on Friday, Mar. 15, the Pilots opened the series with a 5-3 win. Playing next on Saturday, March 16, they lost 9-8 in a close game. The Pilots finished the weekend series losing 7-6 on Sunday, March 17. The Pilots win and two losses against the University of Maryland brought their overall record to 10-8 so far.
The Pilots hosted Oregon State University on Tuesday, March 19 and lost 14-3. They will look to bounce back this weekend in their WCC opener — a three-game home series against Santa Clara University.
Women’s beach volleyball:
The Pilots opened their 2024 spring beach volleyball season on Friday, Feb. 23, against Corban University and Sacramento State University on Saturday, Feb. 24. They did not secure a win in either match, losing both five games to zero. To finish off the weekend, Pilots beach volleyball notched their first win of the season beating Bushnell University three games to two on Saturday, February 24.
On Thursday, Feb. 29, the Pilots traveled to California and beat the College of San Mateo and West Valley College in all five games of the match respectively. On Friday, Mar. 2, the Pilots won one of the three matches, playing the University of the Pacific and winning four games to one.
Shortly after playing the University of the Pacific, the Pilots played Sacramento State University and lost four games to one. To end the day, the Pilots played California State University Bakersfield and lost five games to zero. On Sunday, March 10, the Pilots traveled to play Bushnell University and won their fifth match of the season five games to zero.
The Pilots played Bushnell University again on Sunday, March 17, in the inaugural game at the new Portland Pilots Tom and Meg Names Family Foundation Beach Volleyball Courts, winning the match three games to two. The win brings their overall record to 6-4 so far this season.
Pilots beach volleyball traveled to Salem, to play two games against Corban University on Saturday, March 23 and lost 3-2 and 4-1. The Pilots will now travel to Santa Cruz, California to play in the WCC mid-season tournament that starts on Friday, March 29.
Men and women’s track and field:
On Sunday, Feb. 4, Pilots track and field raced at the Pilot Indoor #2, taking three first-place spots. Teresa Perez placed first in the women’s 400m race with a time of 58.39. Katie Newton placed first in the women’s indoor mile with a personal best time of 5:09.49. Yutaka Roberts placed first in the men’s 800m race with a time of 1:54.71.
The Pilots then traveled to participate in the Husky Classic on Friday, Feb. 9. Matt Strangio achieved a program record in the men’s 3,000m race with a time of 7:39.02. On the next day of the race on Saturday, Feb. 10, Laura Pellicoro broke her previous school record for the women’s indoor mile with a time of 4:31.39.
In their final home meet of the indoor season on Sunday, Feb. 18, Ella Parker placed first in the women’s 200-meter dash with a time of 26.07. On Sunday, Feb. 25, Marlee Cavitt beat the program records for the women’s 60-meter and 200-meter races in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) Championships times of 7.44 and 24:06 respectively.
On Monday, Feb. 26, the MPSF Championships concluded with Pellicoro setting yet another program record and placing first in the women’s 800-meter race with a time of 2:05.01. Ahmed Sado took first place on the podium for the men’s indoor mile with a time of 4:13.81. On Saturday, March 2, Courtney Klatt won the women’s 1,500-meter race, the first race of the outdoor track season, with a time of 4:38.22.
With their outstanding times and performances, Pellicoro and Strangio both qualified and raced at the 2024 NCAA Indoor Championships. On Friday, March 8, Pellicoro placed 12th in the women’s indoor mile semifinals with a time of 4:36.23. Completing the Pilots indoor season, Strangio placed 16th in the men’s 3,000-meter race with a time of 8:24.07.
Portland Indoor #2 on February 4th.
On Saturday, March 16, the Pilots participated in the Electric Forest Collegiate Open. Roberts won the men’s 800-meter run with a time of 1:50.59. Tiahna Woodger won the women’s 1,500-meter race with a time of 4:34.35. Eliason Kabasenche picked up a win in the men’s 1,500-meter race with a time of 3:46.88.
Pilots track and field will now rest and prepare for the start of their 2024 outdoor season at the University of Oregon Preview.
Men’s tennis:
Pilots men’s tennis opened their 2024 spring season with a 6-1 loss on Saturday, Mar. 20 against Purdue University. In their home opener on Saturday, Feb. 3, the Pilots beat Seattle University six games to one. Following their performance against Seattle, they defeated crosstown rivals Portland State University five games to two at home on Saturday, February 10. Next, the Pilots traveled to play the University of Washington on Friday, Feb. 23 and lost four games to two in a tough match.
Rebounding from the loss, men’s tennis won seven games to zero in a home sweep against Eastern Washington University. To extend their undefeated at-home record, the Pilots beat Montana State University six games to one on Sunday, Feb. 25. Men's tennis then traveled to play the University of California, Irvine on Sunday, March 3, but ultimately lost six games to one.
Men’s tennis played at home on Friday, March 15 against the University of Montana and won six games to one. To open their WCC season, the Pilots played Gonzaga University and won seven games to zero on Sunday, March 17. The wins bring their overall record to 6-3 and their WCC record to 1-0.
Next, men’s tennis traveled to play at San Diego State University on Friday, March 22, and lost 5-2. Following the loss, the Pilots traveled to play LMU on Saturday, March 23 and lost 4-2. They will now return home to host the University of San Francisco on Thursday, March 28.
Women’s tennis:
Pilots women’s tennis swept Seattle University on Friday, Jan. 19 in an impressive seven-games-to-zero win. Adding to their strong start, the Pilots beat rivals Portland State University four games to three on Saturday, Jan. 27. Women's tennis then traveled to play Boston University on Friday, Feb. 2, losing four games to three in a close match.
On Saturday, Feb. 3, the Pilots traveled to face off against Brown University and lost four games to three. The Pilots made a comeback on Sunday, Feb. 4 with a seven-game to zero sweep against Bryant University. Next, on Friday, Feb. 9, the Pilots beat Washington State University four games to three at home.
Playing at a neutral court, the Student Tennis Center in Eugene, Oregon, women’s tennis lost four games to two against the University of Denver on Saturday, Feb. 10. The Pilots made a comeback at home on Friday, Feb. 16, sweeping Montana State University seven games to zero.
Women’s tennis traveled to play the University of Washington on Friday, Feb. 23, but ultimately lost six games to one. Playing at the Nordstrom Tennis Center in Seattle, Washington, a neutral court, on Saturday, Feb. 24, the Pilots lost five games to two in a tough matchup against San Diego State University.
Bouncing back, the Pilots beat the University of Montana on Friday, March 1, winning seven games to zero. Women’s tennis remained undefeated at home against Eastern Washington University — winning five games to two on Friday, March 8. They then traveled to play the University of Oregon in their last non-conference game on Saturday, March 16 and lost six games to one. The loss brings their overall record to 7-6.
The Pilots traveled to face off against Gonzaga University on Saturday, March 23 in the first game of their WCC season and lost 4-3. Women’s tennis will now travel to face Santa Clara University in the second game of their WCC season on Thursday, March 28.
Women’s rowing:
Pilots rowing opened their 2024 spring season at the Sacramento State Invite on Saturday, March 9. The Pilots varsity four team earned first place with a time of 7:48.9 led by Coxswain Clarissa Gutierrez. It was the first win for the Pilots at the Sacramento State Invite since 2019. The Pilots two varsity eight teams placed third place and the Pilots novice eight team placed third in their respective races.
Pilots rowing will race next against the University of Puget Sound at American Lake on Saturday, March 30.
Aidan Hyde is a sports reporter at The Beacon. He can be reached at hydea25@up.edu.
