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Individual-based Tiger sports primed for success in fall campaigns

Six teams considered individual sports will be competing this fall for University of the Pacific, including women’s cross country, men’s and women’s swimming, men’s golf and men’s and women’s tennis.

a cross country student-athlete competes in a race

Cross Country

Head coach Josh Jones, the second longest tenured coach on the Pacific staff, started his 15th season traveling with his team to Oahu, Hawaii for the Big Wave Invitational hosted by the Rainbow Warriors on Saturday.

Pacific has kicked off its cross country season with this event six times in the past seven years, with the only exception the 2020 season that was impacted by COVID-19. The Tigers brought home the Big Wave championship in 2017. See the recent race results.

Seniors Sophie Pazzo ’24, Ella Leroy ’24 and Anahi Avila Perez ’24 return for the Tigers, leading a 15-runner roster that includes seven freshmen.

The schedule includes two races in California and the Pacific Invitational, which will be run Friday, Sept. 29 on the golf course at Micke Grove Park in Lodi. Pepperdine hosts the WCC Championships Oct. 28 with the top runners advancing to the NCAA Regional Nov. 10 in Sacramento.

“We stand ready to transform potential into excellence,” Jones said. “Our team's dedication and hard work have paved the path for success, and we're poised to conquer challenges and seize victories together."

swimmer

Men’s and Women’s Swimming

The swim program, considered a winter sport because of the February championship, will start Saturday, Sept. 24 when the women’s team hosts Cal State East Bay in a dual meet.

Even though the team lost only one senior from last year’s squad, the 23-woman roster has just two seniors this year, including Caitlyn Tan ’24, who earned First-Team All-Mountain Pacific Sports Federation honors last year at the championship. Five freshmen and a sophomore join head coach Katelyne Herrington’s squad as she prepares for her fifth season.

The men’s team starts Friday, Oct. 27 in a men’s and women’s dual meet against UC Santa Cruz. Four seniors plus graduate student Dylan Parente return for the Tigers. Parente was the program’s top finisher at the National Invitational Championships at the end of last season, advancing to the finals in the 50-meter and 100-meter freestyle.

“We intentionally reduced the number of September and October competitions so that we can focus on strong training at the start of the season,” Herrington said. See the full schedules for the men’s and women’s teams.

tennis player

Men’s Tennis

Coach Robin Goodman looks to build on the successful fall the program enjoyed a year ago. In the fall, collegiate tennis programs compete primarily in individual collegiate invitationals and Intercollegiate Tennis Association-sanctioned tournaments that prepare the teams for the spring season when it reverts primarily to a team sport with a dual-meet schedule.

Last fall, Ran Amar ’24 had great success in Intercollegiate Tennis Association events, winning the regional championship and advancing to the semifinals of the super regional with seven straight wins. He was ranked No. 120 in the country at the end of the fall season. He led the team in the spring with eight singles wins and seven at doubles.

Amar is one of three seniors plus fifth-year player Manroop Saini ’24. Peter Alam ’24 and Andre Rodeia ’24 are the other two seniors. The team will start the campaign at the Battle of the Bay, hosted by California and San Francisco, before beginning Intercollegiate Tennis Association events. The Tigers will wrap the fall season with a triangular event at the Eve Zimmerman Tennis Center November 3-5. See the full schedule.

“We are all incredibly excited to get going this year,” Goodman said. “All of our student-athletes competed over the summer and showed tremendous improvements. Additionally, we have added a new player to the roster, Justas Trainauskas ’25, who will undoubtedly have immediate impact on our team. We are all excited, focused, and ready to work hard this fall semester.”

tennis player

Women’s Tennis

Senior captain Klara Kosan ’24 returns for her final season, leading the Tiger women’s tennis program. She earned Second-Team All-WCC honors in each of her first three seasons. She had eight wins in singles and seven more in doubles last season. Her doubles team reached a No. 32 ranking in the country after knocking off the No. 1 and No. 4 teams during the season.

Kosan leads a veteran team as one of two seniors with five juniors, plus three freshmen newcomers. Tomi Main ’26, a second-year transfer from Texas Tech who had a successful summer, winning the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Summer Circuit in Davis, is expected to be a strong contributor. Liza Mladentseva ’25, a junior transfer from Oakland, and freshman Indiya McLeod, who has been competing on the Intercollegiate Tennis Association/Women’s Tennis Association tour in Australia while waiting to start college, are expected to be immediate contributors.

“We plan to hit the ground running with this group. The level of our returners and the depth our new players provide has us excited and looking to build on the momentum we’ve gained over the last couple seasons. Having Klara Kosan, and Zoe Clydesdale-Eberle back for a fifth year gives our team added leadership from two people who’ve gained a lot of experience, on and off the court, in their time at Pacific.”

The fall schedule opens with the Battle in the Bay in Berkeley. See the full schedule.

golf

Men’s Golf

In men’s golf, the competition in the fall and spring seasons count equally toward rankings and postseason selection. The Tigers have four competitions scheduled for the fall season, starting with a new event, the USF-Howard Intercollegiate hosted at TPC-Harding Park in San Francisco. The event, scheduled for September 18-19, will be held in the adopted hometown of Golden State Warrior standout Stephen Curry.

He made a significant commitment to Howard, enabling the HBCU institution to start college golf, beginning with the 2020-21 season, and continues to assist the golf program with fundraising efforts.

Pacific head coach John Cook will have an experienced roster with four seniors on his squad, Marerick Pavletich ’24, Petr Janik ’24, Alex Barclay ’24 and Haakon Mathiesen ’24. All four have seen considerable playing time in their careers. He also has two returning sophomores plus has added two freshmen and a junior transfer.

“We are excited to get the season started,” Cook said. “Everyone has been playing a busy summer schedule and looking forward to carrying that momentum into the upcoming season. With the depth of this year’s team, it will be exciting to see who makes the starting five.”

See the full schedule. There is no admission charge to home tennis, cross country and golf events.