AWARDS
UCU Athletes of the Week » Michael Crossland (BSB), Varsity Eight – Kiera Cooper, Natasha Vallancey, Laine Bradley, Annica Ford, Samantha Anderson, Lily Feagler, Matti Key, Rachel Cuneo, Sabina Petersen (WROW)
All Big West First Team » Anthony Cherfan, Bryce Dvorak (MVB)
All Big West Honorable Mention » Josh Schellinger (MVB)

#TRITONGIVINGDAY IS APRIL 30
Support the UC San Diego scholar-athletes by making a team-specific or general funds donation on April 30. For more information, click here. 
 

BASEBALL (22-20, 11-10 BIG WEST)
This Week » UC San Diego travels to face No. 8 UC Irvine—the Big West leader—for a three game series, Friday-Sunday.
 
Last Time Out » The Tritons won their mid-week game against LMU, 6-5. Then, over the weekend, they won two of three games to secure their first ever series victory over UC Santa Barbara.
 
Need to Know » Michael Crossland finished the week 6-for-16 (.375) with two doubles, three walks, five RBI and two runs scored to help the Tritons to a 3-1 week. 
 

SOFTBALL(14-28, 12-12 BIG WEST)
This Week » The Tritons will finish Big West play in Hawai’i, with one game on Friday and a doubleheader on Saturday.
 
Last Time Out » UC San Diego went 1-2 over the weekend against CSUN.
 

TRACK & FIELD
This Week » The Tritons have just one final regular season meet left on the schedule. UC Irvine hosts the Steve Scott Invitational May 2-3, with The Big West Multis and Championships to come in the weeks following.
 
Last Time Out » The UC San Diego track and field team split up to take on three different meets. The Tritons competed in the Beach Invitational, Bryan Clay Invitational, and Mt. SAC Relays.
 
Need to Know » Over that weekend, the Tritons set five program records and had 16 marks in the top 10 all-time at UC San Diego. Nine Tritons reached the qualifying levels for The Big West Championships, and 29 personal-bests were set.

MEN’S VOLLEYBALL (18-12, 3-7 BIG WEST)
Last Time Out » The Tritons ended the season at the 2025 Outrigger Big West Men’s Volleyball Championship. There, they outlasted UC Santa Barbara in the quarterfinal round but were defeated by Long Beach State in the semifinal round.
 
Need to Know » Josh Schellinger set a new career high of 22 kills and 12 digs in the quarterfinal game.
 

WOMEN’S WATER POLO (16-13, 4-3 BIG WEST)
Last Time Out » UC San Diego closed out the season in Irvine at the Big West Championship. They defeated UC Davis, 15-10, in the quarterfinal round to move to the semifinal round, where they were narrowly defeated by Hawai’i, 9-11.
 
Need to Know » Caroline Christl extended her goal-scoring streak to 24 games. She has scored in 29 of 30 games and netted multiple goals in 22 contests.
 

WOMEN’S TENNIS (11-11, 5-4 BIG WEST)
Last Time Out » UC San Diego senior Adriana Tabares was a winner on court five, but the Tritons fell to UC Davis, 4-1, in the opening round of The Big West Women’s Tennis Championship

MEN’S TENNIS (7-14, 3-3 BIG WEST)
Last Time Out » The Triton men made their first appearance in the Big West Championship last week.  Their first match was in the quarterfinal round against Cal Poly, and they took a 4-2 win.  Then, they played UC Santa Barbara in the semifinals and took a 0-4 loss.
 

PHOENIX (AZFamily) — Players, coaches and recruits are feeling blindsided by the news that Grand Canyon University is discontinuing its men’s varsity volleyball program after 17 years.

The GCU men’s volleyball team has been one of the best in the country, finishing 18-10 this year and making the NCAA Final Four in 2024. But the team’s success wasn’t enough to save the program. School officials shocked the Valley sports world Monday when they announced that GCU is eliminating men’s volleyball.

Cole Duncanson played on the team this year and had one year left of eligibility. His plans now are to turn pro, but his teammates are left scrambling, trying to transfer to another school. “The younger players definitely took it the hardest,” said Duncanson. “I think because they came to GCU expecting to play four years of volleyball, and dedicate themselves to the program, day in and day out.”

The sudden announcement is also having an impact on incoming recruits like Thatcher Fahlbusch, from Mira Costa High School in the Los Angeles area. Thatcher’s father, Chad, can’t understand why GCU didn’t give them more notice, dropping the news on them just 30 days before graduation. “They pride themselves on being a school that has high morals,” said Chad Fahlbusch. “I think based on the activity of yesterday, they completely botched this, and have done a terrible disservice to our family and to the boys on that team.”

GCU posted this statement on its website:

A former assistant coach has started a petition drive to get GCU to reconsider and reinstate its volleyball program. GCU will be offering men’s volleyball as a club team.

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USA Volleyball has named three-time Olympic medalist April Ross as head of coaching for the beach national teams, turning to one of the country’s most successful beach volleyball players after the Americans had their first-ever medal shutout in Paris.

The national governing body said the southern California native will work to improve the performance of “our top American athletes on the international stage” as it looks ahead to hosting the 2028 Los Angeles Games.

“I’m honored to join USA Volleyball in this new role and look forward to working with our coaches and athletes to continue the legacy of success on the international stage,” Ross said. “I’ve always believed in the power of collaboration, and I’m excited to be part of a team that shares that vision.”

Ross, 42, won a silver medal in London, a bronze in Rio de Janeiro and a gold medal in Tokyo — with three different partners; she also won back-to-back NCAA indoor volleyball titles at Southern California.

“April brings a unique combination of elite-level experience, deep technical knowledge, and a passion for mentoring,” said Sean Scott, director of beach national teams. “She’s competed at the highest levels and understands what it takes to succeed. I’m excited to work alongside her as we continue to build a world-class coaching culture that supports our athletes’ growth and prepares them to win at the highest level.”

The Americans dominated beach volleyball after the sport that was conceived on the coasts of Hawaii and California was added to the Olympic program in 1996, winning seven of the first 14 Olympic gold medals. But the haul has sputtered as the generation that included Ross and three-time gold medalists Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh Jennings aged out.

The U.S. women failed to medal in Paris for the first time since 2000; the American men have not medaled at all since 2008.

USA Volleyball said Ross will be based at the beach volleyball training center in Torrance, California, and work to improve the quality of coaching and training at all levels of the national team program.

“April’s leadership and dedication to the sport are unmatched, and we are thrilled to have her in this new role,” USA Volleyball President and CEO John Speraw said. “She is a true champion and a mentor who understands the value of collaboration and developing the next generation of elite athletes. We are confident that her expertise will continue to elevate U.S. Beach Volleyball on the global stage, especially as we look ahead to LA 2028.”

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ERIE, Pa. – The Gannon University athletic department held its 16th Annual Golden Knight Awards on Tuesday night at the Bayfront Convention Center. The event honored Gannon’s student-athletes while also handing out season-ending awards. Coaches from each of Gannon’s sports gave a brief wrap-up of their season.
 
The highlight of the evening was the announcement by Director of Athletics Lisa Goddard McGuirk of the 2024-25 Senior Female and Male Student-Athletes of the Year. Bautista Corti was named Male Student-Athlete of the Year, while Co-Female Student-Athletes of the Year going to Ditte Petersen and Emma Hall. 

Corti essentially never came off the field for the men’s soccer team and was part of a squad that advanced to the second round of the NCAA tournament. He was named to the All-PSAC West four times, was the PSAC West Defensive Player of the Year in 2021, a first team All-Atlantic Region selection, and was a cornerstone piece of other deep postseason runs.

Hall has been a part of a program that has secured three PSAC titles, three NCAA Regional titles and a NCAA Final Four appearance in 2021. She was recognized as a two time All-American, three-time Atlantic Regional All-tournament team, two time AVCA Atlantic Region first team, three-time D2CCA All-Region, and a three- time All-PSAC West selection. Hall was also the 2022 & 2024 PSAC Defensive Athlete of the Year and this season set a program record for the most digs, eclipsing the 2000 mark, with 2,468 career digs. That eclipsed the previous school record by 465 digs.  She became the first GU player to have four consecutive 500-dig seasons and is also the first Gannon player with three 600-dig seasons.

Petersen has helped the women’s golf team dominate the PSAC for the last four years as Gannon won its sixth straight PSAC Championship this past weekend. She has been named to the All-Region team, was the 2022-23 and 2023-24 PSAC Women’s Golf Athlete of the Year, a member of four PSAC team championships, and just this past weekend captured her third consecutive PSAC individual championship, becoming the first women’s golfer ever to do so. The win over the weekend also tied her for most individual wins in program history with seven. She will be known as one of the greatest golfers in program history.  

The ceremony also recognized student-athletes for a variety of accomplishments, including the Doc Beyer Award, presented to a male and female student-athlete for Outstanding Achievement in Scholarship and Athletics, along with the Team MVPs and the Play of the Year, which was voted on through social media.

 

Jillian Sullivan was selected the female recipient of the Doc Beyer Award, while Ryan Barclay received the award for the men’s sports. Sullivan is a four-year member of the competitive dance team. She is an outstanding student in the classroom, carrying a 3.941 GPA in biochemistry and pre-med. Sullivan has also proven to be a standout leader on the dance team during her time at GU and has served as the Competitive Cheer & Dance Student Athletic Advisory Committee (SAAC) representative for the past two years. 

Barclay is a four-year member of the men’s swimming team and a leader both in and out of the pool. Boasting a cumulative GPA of 4.0 in mechanical engineering, he was named the PSAC Men’s Swimming Champion Scholar both in 2024 and 2025. Barclay is also a PSAC Scholar-Athlete. 

 

2024-25 TEAM MVPS

Acrobatics & Tumbling – Peyton Oliver

Baseball – Alex Bemis

Men’s Basketball – Tasman Goodrick

Women’s Basketball – Bri Claxon

Cheer – Kiera Donnelly

Dance – Jillian Sullivan

Men’s Cross Country – Ely Personius

Women’s Cross Country – Emily Bowers

Football – Trey Baker

Men’s Golf – Mattia Parrini

Women’s Golf – Ditte Petersen

Women’s Lacrosse – Charlie Hunter

Men’s Soccer – Sverre Orten

Women’s Soccer – Brooklyn Respecki

Softball – Katie Armstrong

Men’s Swimming – Will Retsch

Women’s Swimming – Emily Hedges

Men’s Water Polo – Alvaro Marco

Women’s Water Polo – Jade Strickland

Men’s Wrestling – Dorian Crosby

Women’s Wrestling – Nyla Burgess

Ali Sorenson – Volleyball

 2024-25 PLAY OF THE YEAR WINNER: … Women’s Soccer: Paige Taylor scores with 28 seconds left in regulation to lift Gannon to the regional title game.