Winter Game Notes - Week 1
Will Freedman and the Pioneers will meet No. 10 Seattle Pacific and Western Washington at the Sodexo Tip-Off Classic in Seattle. (Photo: Kelly Paris)
- November 18, 2010
The Cal State East Bay winter season kicked off this week, as Pioneer men’s basketball opened the season with a win over Academy of Art and heads to Seattle for the Sodexo Tip-Off Classic this weekend. Meanwhile, the Pioneer swimming team continues its season with dual meets against Fresno Pacific, the third-place finisher at 2009-10 NAIA National Championships, and Biola, in Fresno on Saturday. Complete schedules and notes are below.
PDF: Winter Game Notes - Week 1
MEN’S BASKETBALL (1-0)
SODEXO TIP-OFF CLASSIC
Seattle Pacific
Friday, Nov. 19 • 7 p.m.
Brougham Pavilion • Seattle
Live video & stats: spufalcons.com
Western Washington
Saturday, Nov. 20 • 3 p.m.
Brougham Pavilion • Seattle
Live video & stats: spufalcons.com
Pioneers Head to Seattle for Sodexo Tip-Off Classic: The Cal State East Bay men’s basketball team hits the road for the first time this season, traveling to Seattle for the Sodexo Tip-Off Classic this weekend. The Pioneers (1-0) will meet host Seattle Pacific on Friday at 7 p.m. before taking on Western Washington on Saturday at 3 p.m. East Bay is coming off a season-opening 68-65 overtime win over Academy of Art and will be looking to build a solid start before opening CCAA play on Dec. 3.
Last Time Out: The Pioneers opened the regular season with a thrilling 68-65 overtime victory over Academy of Art at Pioneer Gym on Nov. 16. Cal State East Bay led by eight at the half, but the Urban Knights made a comeback, forcing the Pioneers to come up with a game-tying layup from Mark Samuels with 12 seconds remaining to send the game to overtime. From there, Samuels took over, scoring all seven of East Bay’s points, leading the team to the win with 20 points in the game. Will Freedman, Roshun Wynne and Donavon Jackson joined Samuels in double figures, with Wynne posting a 14-point, 10-rebound double-double.
Looking Ahead: Cal State East Bay will take a two-week break from competition following this weekend’s tournament, before returning to action to open CCAA play on Dec. 3 in the Battle of the Bay at San Francisco State. East Bay will then meet Cal State Monterey Bay on Dec. 4 before returning home to meet Notre Dame de Namur in nonconference actoin on Dec. 11.
Scouting Seattle Pacific: Seattle Pacific will open the 2010-11 campaign on Friday when they meet the Pioneers. The Falcons are ranked 10th in the NABC Division II Coaches Preseason Poll after going 22-6 last year and reaching their sixth straight NCAA Tournament. Senior point guard Chris Banchero is set to lead SPU after being named Great Northwest Athletic Conference and West Region Player of the Year last season and collecting The Sporting News preseason All-America honors. Four of Seattle Pacific’s top-six scorers are back and returning players accounted for 58 percent of last-year’s points. The Falcons went 3-0 in exhibition play against Eastern Washington, Nevada and Northwest University, with Banchero scoring 30 points or more in each game.
Watching Western Washington: Western Washington enters the weekend with a 1-0 record after topping Willamette, 115-84, to open the 2010-11 campaign on Tuesday. The Vikings also picked up a pair of wins in three exhibition games in the preseason. Junior forward Rory Blanche posted a double-double to start off the season, posting 23 points and pulling down 14 boards in the win. The Vikings lost all of its starters to graduation after reaching the NCAA West Regional semifinals in 2009-10, but return four experienced players including Blanche and senior Michael Duty who averaged 12.8 points per game last year. WWU takes on Dixie State to open the tournament on Friday night.
SWIMMING
Fresno Pacific/Biola
Nov. 20 • 12 p.m.
Sunnyside High School Pool • Fresno
Pioneers Head to Fresno for Pair of Dual Meets: The Cal State East Bay swimming team continues its 2010-11 campaign this weekend, as it travels to Fresno to take on Fresno Pacific and Biola in a pair of dual meets. The Pioneers are coming off a strong performance at the Bay Area Invitational and will be looking to pick up where they left off in dual-meet action after topping Mills College in their last dual meet on Oct. 23. East Bay will meet the Sunbirds and Eagles beginning at 12 p.m. on Saturday at Sunnyside High School Pool in Fresno.
Last Time Out: The Pioneer women’s swimming team performed well at the Bay Area Invitational hosted by Mills College on Nov. 12-13. Sara Bonino was a workhorse for the Pioneers, winning the 1650 yard freestyle in a best-ever in-season time of 18:34.23. Bonino was third in the 500-yard freestyle in 5:29.40 and had a pair of fifth-place finishes in the 200 butterfly (2:27.24) and 200 freestyle (2:03.59). Jenni Perez (3rd) and Becca Stratto (4th) also finished in the top five in the 1650, both with lifetime best efforts.The Pioneers received of a pair of runner-up finishes from Bethany Hoopman in the 50-yard backstroke (30.06) and the 100-yard backstroke (1:03.95), while Rachel Knowles notched a second-place effort in the 200 IM (2:20.32). The foursome of Hoopman, Perez, Knowles and Heidi Reddig captured the 200 free relay with a time of 1:51.19.
Looking Ahead: The Pioneers take the next three weeks off from competition to prepare for the UNLV Invtitational in Las Vegas, Nev., Dec. 11-13.
Scouting the Competition: Fresno Pacific opened its 2010-11 campaign with a fourth-place finish at the PCSC Invitational and a loss in dual-meet action to Fresno State after taking home third place at last year’s NAIA Championshps. Though the Sunbirds lost the 2010 NAIA Swimmer of the Year, they will field their deepest roster ever, including transfer and junior college state champion Danielle Lavery in the free events and two-time national record holders Stacy Carter and Lauren Malthaner in the medleys and breastroke, respectively. Biola finished seventh at the PCSC Invite to open the season and is led by senior April Smith, who became the Eagles’ first NAIA National Champion in swimming with a win in the 200 breaststroke at last year’s championships.
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
Idle
Last Time Out: The Cal State East Bay women’s basketball team dropped a 65-59 decision to Holy Names in its final exhibition game of the 2010-11 season. The Pioneers trailed by 10 at the half, 39-29, but made a big push in the second half, closing the gap to just six points in the end. Cassie Coble was key in the comeback effort, helping East Bay out-rebound the Hawks, 50-35, post 11 steals and hold Holy Names to 13 fewer points in the second half.
Looking Ahead: Cal State East Bay is set to meet Western Washington in the season opener on Nov. 26 to kick off the Lynda Goodrich Classic in Bellingham, Wash. The Pioneers will also meet St. Martin’s in the tournament on Nov. 27 before opening CCAA play on Dec. 3 at San Francisco State.
VOLLEYBALL (20-7, 15-7 CCAA)
Last Week: After falling to a Cal State San Bernardino team looking to avenge it’s only conference loss of the season on Nov. 12, the Pioneers capped the 2010 campaign with a 3-0 sweep of Cal Poly Pomona. East Bay was led by a record-breaking performance by sophomore middle blocker Kitona Offord, who laid down 15 kills and hit at an .882 clip in the match. The victory marked the Pioneers’ 20th win of the season and kept East Bay tied for second place in the conference with UC San Diego to finish the 2010 campaign. The match also marked the final appearance for seniors Katie Glomb, Cara Crowder, Jit Athwal, K.C. Walsh and Amanda Limeberger, as well as Ariel Ajagu, Roxanne Neely and Lauren Massa, who each survived the transition from Division III to Division II with the Pioneers.
Recording Artist: Sophomore middle blocker Kitona Offord set both a conference and program record in the final match of the season, swinging at an .882 clip in the win over Cal Poly Pomona. Offord enjoyed a sensational night, adding a career-high 15 kills and two blocks to her record-breaking accuracy. The Houston, Texas native had no errors in 17 attempts, breaking the 16-year-old program record of .823 set by Shawn Gibson against UC Santa Cruz in 1994. The impressive feat also broke the three-year-old CCAA mark of .812, set by Cal State San Bernardino’s Sara Rice against UCSD in October of 2007.
All-Conference All-Stars: Cal State East Bay was honored by the CCAA coaches on Nov. 18, as three players and Head Coach Jim Spagle each earned postseason recognition. Spagle collected CCAA Coach of the Yera honors, while seniors Roxanne Neely, Jit Athwal and Lauren Massa each were named to the All-CCAA teams. Neely, an outside hitter and setter, picked up first-team all-conference honors after a successful season that saw her hit at a .274 clip, dish out 341 assists and earn CCAA Player of the Week honors twice. Meanwhile, Massa and Athwal were named to the All-CCAA Second Team for their efforts. Massa finished second in the conference in digs and was named MVP of the Nanook Classic to start the season, while Athwal was second on the team with 2.74 kills per game and posted 10 or more kills in 11 CCAA matches. The honors are a first for the Pioneers since joining the CCAA in 2009.
Leader of the Pack: Pioneer Head Coach Jim Spagle was also honored by his peers, being named CCAA Coach of Year in just his second season in the league. In 2010, Spagle guided the Pioneers to a tie for second place in the CCAA just one season after finishing seventh in the conference. Under Spagle’s watch in 2010, East Bay captured the Nanook Classic Tournament title, earned a spot in the AVCA Division II Coaches Poll for the first time in program history, defeated three nationally ranked teams and was the only team to defeat CCAA champion Cal State San Bernardino. The Pioneers’ 20 wins this year give Spagle 14 20-win seasons in his 15 years at the helm for Cal State East Bay.