California Baptist Sports Update, Nov. 3rd.
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Men’s Basketball: Lancers Ready to Scrimmage Cal
Eight days before the regular season tips off, California Baptist University will see where it stands in a scrimmage against the University of California Thursday in the Haas Pavilion at 7 p.m.
Cal should give the Lancers an early test after the Golden Bears went 23-11 last season and 12-6 in the Pac-12 Conference. The Lancers debuted at No. 9 in the NCAA Division II 2016-17 preseason rankings released by the National Association of Basketball Coaches on Tuesday. CBU finished last year with a 28-7 overall record and ranked 14th in Division II after winning the PacWest Tournament championship.
CBU opens the regular season next week, hosting Montana State-Billings on Friday, Nov. 11, at 4:00 p.m. The next day, the Lancers take on Cal State Dominguez Hills at 3:00 p.m.
Women’s Basketball: Ready for Tipoff
Defending 2015-16 PacWest Champion and preseason favorite California Baptist University tips off the season this weekend, a week earlier than most of the nation, and couldn’t be more excited to get after it.
“We’re looking forward to having a really good year,” said Coach Jarrod Olson, who is one win away from hitting the 100-mark at CBU. “We have a lot of good players returning, but we know we’re going to have our hands full with a lot of good teams in the PacWest.”
The No. 2-ranked Lancers open at the DII Tipoff Classic in Orange, Calif., Friday against Simon Fraser at 6:15 p.m. The next day, CBU has what might be its toughest competition before postseason in March, as it takes on No. 3 West Texas A&M on Saturday at 1:30 p.m. The Lancers conclude the three-day tournament with an 8:30 p.m. tip against University of Mary on Nov. 6.
Women’s Soccer: Lancers Rank Sixth in Region
With just two games left in the regular season, California Baptist University’s postseason hopes come down to this week. The Lancers rank fifth in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America West Region poll, but will need a strong finish to be one of the six teams announced on Monday’s NCAA Division II Selection Show – aired at 3 p.m. Pacific time at ncaa.com/live.
The PacWest title is still within reach for CBU (9-4-3, 8-1-2 PacWest), and by extension the conference’s automatic qualifier (AQ) for the tournament. The Lancers currently sit in second in the PacWest, just three points behind rival Azusa Pacific.
The Cougars have one game left on the schedule, while the Lancers have two. If CBU were to win its final two games and APU were to lose or tie on Saturday against Point Loma, the Lancers would win the conference championship and AQ. If the Cougars beat the Sea Lions, they would beat out CBU in the conference tiebreaker rules.
CBU hosts Academy of Art at 3:00 p.m. on Thursday before finishing the regular season on the road at Dixie State on Saturday.
Women’s Volleyball: Lancers Open at Fifth in West Region
With seven matches left in the regular season, California Baptist University finds itself in the playoff picture with the release of the first NCAA Division II West Regional rankings on Wednesday afternoon.
Tops among PacWest schools, the Lancers rank fifth in the West Region, with two-plus weeks left in their regular season. At 16-5, 11-2 in the conference, CBU sits second in the PacWest standings. The final regional rankings will be revealed during a live selection show on Nov. 21st at 4:30 p.m. PDT.
Men’s Swimming and Diving Tolman: Takes RMAC Weekly Award
Many student-athletes will go their whole career without being named a conference standout. On the flipside, California Baptist University’s Scott Tolman earned his first just three events into his collegiate career when the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference announced its Swimmer of the Week on Wednesday after CollegeSwimming.com named him the RMAC Swimmer of the Week on Tuesday, as well.
Men’s Soccer: CBU Moves Up To No. 5 in Region
California Baptist University moved up two spots in the NCAA Division II West Region rankings Wednesday, sitting at No. 5 in the region.
The Lancers (11-5, 7-4 in the PacWest) have two games left in the regular season, including a matchup at the fourth-ranked team in the region on Saturday at Dixie State. CBU hosts Academy of Art before that, with a 12:30 p.m. kickoff time on Thursday.
CBU will then have to wait until Monday at 3:30 p.m. Pacific time for the NCAA Division II Selection Show – aired at ncaa.com/live – to see if it will be one of the six teams advancing to the postseason tournament.
Men’s Cross Country: Gall, Somogyi Top PacWest Honors
After sweeping the PacWest Conference Championships for the third-straight year, it came as no surprise that California Baptist University picked up some postseason honors Wednesday.
Head Coach Ben Gall was named both the Men’s and Women’s Coach of the Year, while Annett Somogyi picked up the PacWest Runner and Freshman of the Year awards.
Under Coach Gall, CBU’s men have won an unprecedented six-consecutive PacWest titles, while the women have won four overall and three in a row.
Somogyi became the first Lancer to be named the conference’s top runner and the third to be top freshman. She is also the first student-athlete to win both PacWest Runner and Freshman of the Year in the same season. She made her season debut at the Capitol Cross Challenge in Sacramento, finishing the 6K race in 16th place in a time of 21 minutes, 14.9 seconds.