Sports
Texas Adds World Junior Record Holder and British Sprint Champion, Eva Okaro, for 2025
Fitter and Faster Swim Camps is the proud sponsor of SwimSwam’s College Recruiting Channel and all commitment news. For many, swimming in college is a lifelong dream that is pursued with dedication and determination. Fitter and Faster is proud to honor these athletes and those who supported them on their journey. British Olympian Eva Okaro […]
Fitter and Faster Swim Camps is the proud sponsor of SwimSwam’s College Recruiting Channel and all commitment news. For many, swimming in college is a lifelong dream that is pursued with dedication and determination. Fitter and Faster is proud to honor these athletes and those who supported them on their journey.
British Olympian Eva Okaro has signed with the University of Texas and will head to Austin next fall to join the women’s swimming and diving team. At the time of her verbal commitment, she wrote:
“I am so excited to announce my verbal commitment to the University of Texas where I will continue my athletic and academic career. I am super grateful for this opportunity, looking forward to seeing what the future holds. HOOK EM’
”
Okaro specializes in sprint free and fly. She is currently competing at the Aquatics GB Swimming Championships 2025, taking place this week in London, and has so far won national titles in the 50 free (24.48) and 50 fly (26.19), both with lifetime bests. She’ll swim the 100 fly on Saturday and the 100 free on Sunday.
She is the reigning World Junior Record-holder in the SCM 50 free, having taken down Anastasyia Shkurdai’s previous WJR mark (23.69) with 23.66 in the final at 2024 Short Course World Championships in Budapest last December. Okaro finished just off the podium in fourth place behind Gretchen Walsh (22.83 World Record), Kate Douglass (23.05), and Kasia Wasick (23.37). She became the second-fastest British swimmer of all time with the swim, trailing only Fran Halsall who clocked a 23.44 in 2009.
Okaro was featured in British Vogue when she became the first black woman to represent Team GB in the swimming pool at the Olympics last summer in Paris. She swam a leg on Great Britain’s women’s 4×100 free relay in both the prelims and the final, splitting 53.84 and 53.75, respectively. She first broke onto the international scene at age 14 when she represented Team GB at the 2021 LEN European Junior Championships in Rome and took home a bronze medal in the 50 free with 25.45, after going 25.33 in the semi-finals.
Okaro and her twin sister Izzy Okaro grew up in Kent. Both elite swimmers, they now board at Repton School in Derby, about 3 hours to the north.
Best times (converted):
| SCM | LCM | |
| 50 free | 23.66 (21.31) | 24.48 (21.33) |
| 100 free | 54.01 (48.65) | 54.45 (47.61) |
| 50 fly | 25.83 (23.27) | 26.19 (22.96) |
| 100 fly | 1:00.07 (54.11) | 59.44 (52.28) |
The Longhorns finished third in the team standings at the 2025 NCAA Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships, getting edged by Stanford, 417-394, for second place. Okaro’s best converted 50 free time would have landed her in the A final, where she would have placed 5th. She also would have been a welcome addition to Texas’s sprint relays. She will begin next fall with the other members of the class of 2029: Haley McDonald, Avery Collins, Sarah Rodrigues, Ella Mongenel, and Nikolett Padar.
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Sports
Valley men’s volleyball team splits pool matches
Home Sports Valley men’s volleyball team splits pool matches Valley men’s volleyball team splits pool matches Compiled by Hobby KingSPORTS EDITOR Vikings beat Georgetown (Ky), fall to Lawrence Tech (Mich.) at National Tourney After a slow start in their first match… Previous Post Owls fourth at NCMC tennis tourney Next Post KC man arrested with 4 […]
Valley men’s volleyball team splits pool matches
Sports
60 Tigers Named to All-Academic Teams — The Pacifican
Recognizing Pacific athletes who excel in competition and the classroom. To be eligible for WCC All-Academic honors, student-athletes must uphold a cumulative GPA of 3.00 or higher, be at least a sophomore in academic standing, and have completed one full year at their current institution. In addition to academic excellence, honorees must have competed in […]
Recognizing Pacific athletes who excel in competition and the classroom.
To be eligible for WCC All-Academic honors, student-athletes must uphold a cumulative GPA of 3.00 or higher, be at least a sophomore in academic standing, and have completed one full year at their current institution. In addition to academic excellence, honorees must have competed in at least 50% of their team’s competitions during the season.
The University of the Pacific proudly celebrates the 60 student-athletes who earned this recognition.
Leading all programs, the Women’s Soccer team had 11 honorees, which is more than any other sport. Those honored include juniors Haley Johnson and Aly Milford, who earned spots on the WCC All-Academic First Team. Nine players received Honorable Mention recognition.
Together, the Men’s and Women’s Swimming teams accounted for the most total selections from a combined program, with 10 women and nine men earning honors, garnering a total of 19 accolades in all.
Also within the pool, six student-athletes from the Men’s Water Polo team were recognized. Graduate Bae Fountain and senior Mihailo Vukazic earned First-Team honors, while four others received Honorable Mentions.
The Men’s Tennis team saw four student-athletes honored, representing all class levels from sophomore to graduate student.
The Women’s Tennis team had two honorees, with senior Megan Carmichael earning her third consecutive WCC All-Academic Team selection and Milena Maiorova receiving her first Honorable Mention as a sophomore.
Similarly, the Golf program had two honorees: sophomore Carlos Astiazaran was named to the All-Academic Team, and junior Timothy Jung to the Honorable Mention list. Astiazaran is one of ten WCC golfers named to the All-Academic Team, and Jung was named for the second year in a row to the Honorable Mention list.
Men’s Soccer also saw two student-athletes receive Honorable Mention recognition.
Beach Volleyball recognized three student-athletes, with one named to the All-Academic Team and two earning Honorable Mentions.
Six Tigers from Women’s Basketball earned Honorable Mention honors. Among them, Elizabeth Elliott, a three-time selection, graduates with a degree in Sociology, and two-time honoree junior Sydney Ward continues her studies in biological sciences.
In the fall, Pacific Volleyball had five players named to the 2024 All-Academic Team, tying for the most honorees in the WCC. Graduate Alexa Edwards was one of just five players in the conference to earn both First-Team All-WCC and All-Academic Team honors.
Special recognition also goes to student-athletes who have earned selection to the College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-District Team, which is a prestigious honor awarded to key starters or reserves with a minimum 3.5 GPA, voted on by CSC members. Current active recipients include Justas Trainauskas, Ran Amar, and Tiago Silva (Men’s Tennis), Megan Carmichael (Women’s Tennis), and Elizabeth Elliott (Women’s Basketball).
Men’s Tennis
Ran Amar, Economics – Applied Economics
Justas Trainauskas, Business Administration – Finance
Tiago Silva, Business Administration – Finance
Christof Schaertlin Coffey, Business Administration
Women’s Tennis
Megan Carmichael, Psychology
Milena Maiorova, Media X
Women’s Swimming
Alexia Ferguson, Accounting
Kate Geiger, Criminal Justice
Jordyn Gonzales, Applied Mathematics
Emma Hooper, Health & Exercise Science
Kelly Kermoian, Business Administration – Finance
Ellie MacPhail, Business Administration – Marketing
Noemi Melendez, Health & Exercise Science
Amanda Schweichler, Business Administration – Analytics
Paige Sondgeroth, Business Administration – Sports Management
Annelise Thomas, Business Administration – Analytics
Men’s Swimming
Leland Baltazar, Mechanical Engineering
Kyle Capili, Bio-Engineering
Ethan Cole, Electrical Engineering
Srboljub Filipovic, Computer Science
Matthew Honeck, Business
Mitchell Hopper, Mechanical Engineering
Alex Kurotori, Business
Aidan Scott, Mechanical Engineering
Aidan Vollmar, Health & Exercise Science
Beach Volleyball
Josephine Kinlan, Media X, Communications
Joelyn Abougoush, Pre-Dentistry
Kelea Saxton Vaka, Business Administration – Sport Management & Analytics
Golf
Carlos Astiazaran, Business Administration – Analytics
Timothy Jung, Business Administration – Sport Management & Analytics
Women’s Soccer
Haley Johnson, Business Administration – Marketing and Management
Aly Milford, Psychology
Faylinn Berkowitz, Health & Exercise Science
Trianne Cooper, Psychology, Sociology
Taylor Curtis, Business Administration
Audrey Fuchs, Exploratory
Ariana Gronauer, Communications
Allie Jones, Political Science
Alexis Pashales, Health & Exercise Science
Laila Saravia, Psychology
Mira Scarsella, Business Administration
Men’s Water Polo
Bae Fountain, Communications
Mihailo Vukazic. Graphic Design
Jeremie Cote, Business Administration – Finance
Reuel D’Souza, Health & Exercise Science
Stefan Vavic, Business Administration – Finance
Oliver Fodor, Business Administration – Analytics
Men’s Soccer
Massimo Erfani, Business Administration – Finance
Kai Sullivan, Business Administration – Marketing
Volleyball
Alexa Edwards, Political Science – Criminal Justice
Dylan Gilkey, Business Administration – Sports Management
Megan Nishimura, Business Administration – Marketing
Jenna Heller, Communications
Darina Kumanova, Business Administration – Sports Management
Women’s Basketball
Elizabeth Elliott, Sociology – Criminology
Lauren Glazier, Business Administration – Marketing
Jamie Kent, Health & Exercise Science
Nyah Lowery, Music Industry Studies
Liz Smith, Communications
Sydney Ward, Biology
Sports
Why is a PGA Tour golf event being played at a cricket club?
Philadelphia Cricket Club will host the 2025 Truist Championship on the PGA Tour. With the PGA Championship at Quail Hollow later this month, the Truist Championship will spend a year at Philadelphia Cricket Club. But why is it called that? Golf Club. Golf & Country Club. The something Club. All suffixes with which we’re familiar […]
With the PGA Championship at Quail Hollow later this month, the Truist Championship will spend a year at Philadelphia Cricket Club. But why is it called that?
Golf Club. Golf & Country Club. The something Club. All suffixes with which we’re familiar when scoping out the venue of an upcoming tour event. So if, like us, you’re wondering why this week’s Truist Championship is being played at Philadelphia Cricket Club, then you’re in the right place.
First of all, we know a lot of you reading this will be American and therefore may not even know what cricket is.
The closest comparison, perhaps, is baseball, in that it is a bat and ball sport with a batting team and a fielding team and they run around the pitch to score runs.
Generally that’s where the similarities end. In a bid to not drag this out, here’s the most basic explanation…
Cricket is played by two teams of 11 players on a large oval-shaped field with a rectangle pitch carved into the middle with three small wooden posts – called wickets – at each end.
The aim of the game is simple: score more runs than your opponents without all your batters – or batsmen, as they’re known in cricket – getting out.
Runs can be scored by hitting the ball into the field and running between the wickets, or over the boundary line. (A bit like a home run, really.)
Obviously, like all sports, it is way more complex than just three paragraphs, but I feel like I’m losing some of you already, so here’s a short YouTube video if you genuinely want to learn more about the second most popular sport on the planet.
Enjoyed by almost 3 billion people around the world – mainly in the UK, Asia, Caribbean, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand – only soccer is played by more people around the globe.
Right, so why is a golf tournament being played at a cricket club?
Fun fact: Cricket was the first organized sport played at the University of Pennsylvania in the mid 19th century.
So when one particular group of Penn students wanted to continue playing together following graduation, they decided to make it official. And so, on February 10, 1854, Philadelphia Cricket Club – the world’s first country club – was born.
The purpose of the club, according to its website, was “the practicing and playing of the games of cricket and tennis and the promotion of the health of its members”.
For the first 30 years, the club would play matches on any grounds available to them. Then, in 1883, and thanks to a generous land donation from benefactor Henry H. Houston, they had their first home in Chestnut Hill in the northern suburbs of the City of Brotherly Love.
While cricket was not played at the club between the 1920s until its revival in the ‘90s, it kept the sport in its name as a reminder of its origins.
When did golf arrive at Philadelphia Cricket Club?
Today, there are three golf courses at Philly Cricket – as the club is affectionately known. The original nine-hole course – St Martins, named after a nearby church – was built in 1895 by renowned architect Willie Tucker and replaced by an 18-hole layout just two years later.
The course hosted the US Open in 1907 and 1910, which were won by Alec Ross and Alex Smith respectively.
Also during the 1907 tournament was the first ever hole-in-one in a US Open, recorded by Jack Hobens, who would go on to finish in 4th place.
The most famous name linked to Philadelphia Cricket Club was Willie Anderson – the Scotland-born four-time US Open champion who, to this day, remains the only player to successfully defend the title twice in a row.
In 1920, Philly Cricket bought another patch of land in nearby Flourtown and the Wissahickon course – designed by AW Tillinghast of Bethpage Black, Baltusrol and Winged Foot fame – opened two years later. As well as the PGA Tour’s Truist Championship this year, the Wissahickon also hosted the 2016 Senior Players Championship, which was won by two-time Masters champion Bernhard Langer.
Then, in 1999, a third course – Militia Hill, by Dr Michael Hurdzan and Dana Fry – was commissioned and that opened for play in 2002, also on the Flourtown site.
That year, Philadelphia Cricket Club became the only club to open an 18-hole golf course in three different centuries – though the St Martins layout has since reverted to its original nine-hole status.
Other sports played at Philadelphia Cricket Club
Along with cricket and golf, tennis was the main sport played by members.
The club hosted the first US Women’s Singles Championship in 1887, the first Women’s National Doubles Tournament in 1889, and the first National Mixed Doubles Tournament in 1892. All of those tournaments, of course, are now known as the US Open and played on the same site in New York over a fortnight each September.
The club’s most famous member was Richard Norris Williams II, who survived the Titanic disaster in April 1912. Williams’ legs were so severely frostbitten by the ordeal that doctors aboard rescue ship Carpathia wanted to amputate them.
Not wanting to cut short his promising tennis career, Williams refused, and later that year won his first US Open title in the mixed doubles. He would go on to win the US Open singles in 1914 and 1916, as well as the Wimbledon doubles in 1920 and US Open doubles in 1925 and ’26.
Williams also won gold at the 1924 Paris Olympics in the mixed doubles, as well as the Davis Cup in 1925 and ’26.
As well as the tennis courts, cricket pitch and St Martins golf course, Philadelphia Cricket Club’s Chestnut Hill site also has squash facilities, padel courts, and an eight-lane, 25-meter swimming pool.
The club remains a regular host of the annual Philadelphia International Cricket Festival.
About the author
News editor and writer. Probably entertainer third.
He is a keen golfer who claims to play off 12 and enjoys traveling the world to try new courses. His three favorites are Royal North Devon, the Old Course at St Andrews, and Royal Portrush – with special mentions for Okehampton and Bude & North Cornwall, where he first fell in love with the game.
He uses a combination of Ping, TaylorMade and Callaway gear, and once bought the Nike SQ driver which he absolutely did not immediately regret.
Sports
Coaches association releases final WPIAL boys volleyball rankings
By: Michael Love Monday, May 5, 2025 | 11:50 AM Paul Schofield | TribLive The last week of the WPIAL boys volleyball regular season is here, and the final playoff picture will take shape over the next four days. With that in mind, the Western Pennsylvania Volleyball Coaches Association released its final top-10 team rankings […]
By:
Monday, May 5, 2025 | 11:50 AM
Paul Schofield | TribLive
The last week of the WPIAL boys volleyball regular season is here, and the final playoff picture will take shape over the next four days.
With that in mind, the Western Pennsylvania Volleyball Coaches Association released its final top-10 team rankings for both Class 3A and Class 2A.
The WPIAL boys volleyball committee will put together and release its playoff brackets Friday afternoon. The top four teams and ties in sections with seven or more teams will qualify for the postseason, while three teams and ties will make it in sections with six or fewer teams.
There will be a new champion in Class 3A as Shaler, which defeated North Allegheny for last year’s title, will go after gold in the Class 2A tournament.
Mars is the defending champion in Class 2A. The Fightin’ Planets are the No. 9 team in this week’s Class 2A rankings.
North Allegheny gained some momentum heading into the final week of the regular season by taking home the title of Saturday’s State College tournament. The Tigers defeated Lower Dauphin in the one-game championship final.
Latrobe, No. 3 this week in the Class 3A rankings, also played at State College and qualified for the quarterfinals.
Each week throughout the season, all 45 boys volleyball head coaches had the opportunity to cast a ballot for the top-10 rankings and also nominate players for each classification’s players of the week
Western PA Volleyball Coaches Association
WPIAL Top-10 Polls
Week 8 (Final)
Class 3A
1. North Allegheny (last week 1)
2. Seneca Valley (3)
3. Latrobe (2)
4. Pine-Richland (4)
5. Butler (5)
6. Penn-Trafford (6)
7. Mt. Lebanon (8)
8. Canon-McMillan (7)
9. Hempfield (9)
10. Central Catholic (10)
Class 3A Players of the Week
Brady Davidson, senior, outside hitter, North Hills
Owen Echegary, senior, libero, Gateway
Billy Sprott, senior, outside hitter, Moon
Gunnar Wheaton, senior, outside hitter, Hempfield
Malachi DeGraaf, junior, outside hitter, Seneca Valley
Will Robertson, junior, outside hitter, North Allegheny
Class 2A
1. Shaler (last week: 1)
2. Seton LaSalle (2)
3. Ambridge (3)
4. North Catholic (4)
5. South Fayette (5)
6. Thomas Jefferson (6)
7. Hopewell (7)
8. Derry (9)
9. Mars (10)
10. Montour (8)
Class 2A Players of the Week
Nick Henry, senior, libero, Ambridge
Dylan Huff, senior, right side, Montour
Alex Alvarado, junior, outside hitter, Hopewell
Larry Brown, junior, outside hitter, Seton LaSalle
Quinn LeRoux, junior, middle hitter, South Fayette
Chris Ramaley, junior, middle hitter, North Catholic
Michael Love is a TribLive reporter covering sports in the Alle-Kiski Valley and the eastern suburbs of Pittsburgh. A Clearfield native and a graduate of Westminster (Pa.), he joined the Trib in 2002 after spending five years at the Clearfield Progress. He can be reached at mlove@triblive.com.
Tags: Ambridge, Butler, Canon-McMillan, Central Catholic, Derry Area, Gateway, Hempfield, Hopewell, Latrobe, Mars, Montour, Moon, Mt. lebanon, North Allegheny, North Catholic, North Hills, Penn-Trafford, Pine-Richland, Seneca Valley, Seton La Salle, Shaler, South Fayette, Thomas Jefferson
Sports
Four Sun Belt Beach Volleyball Pairs Receive AVCA Top Flight Honors
Story Links Top Flight Full Listing NEW ORLEANS – Four Sun Belt Conference beach volleyball pairs have been honored as 2025 Top Flight award winners by the American Volleyball Coaches Association. UNCW had two pairs recognized, including senior Gracie Sistrunk and junior Lyvia Trimp in flight two, while juniors Gabby LaPata […]
Top Flight Full Listing
NEW ORLEANS – Four Sun Belt Conference beach volleyball pairs have been honored as 2025 Top Flight award winners by the American Volleyball Coaches Association.
UNCW had two pairs recognized, including senior Gracie Sistrunk and junior Lyvia Trimp in flight two, while juniors Gabby LaPata and Sarah Thompson received recognition in flight one.
Georgia State and Mercer each had one pair earn the distinction in flight four, as Panthers’ sophomore Michaela Jefferson and freshman Danica Singleton were honored along with the Bears’ senior tandem of Kathryn Corbett and Nicole O’Mara.
An All-Sun Belt First Team pair, LaPata and Thompson went 22-9 on the season with all their results coming as UNCW’s No. 1 pairing. The duo produced a 12-match winning streak spanning Feb. 28 through March 22. Individually, the honor is the second for LaPata, who also accomplished the feat in the first flight in 2024 alongside Sadie Sharkey.
The 2025 Sun Belt Pair of the Year, Sistrunk and Trimp closed the season with an incredible 30-1 overall record at the No. 2 spot in the lineup and closed the season with a 25-match winning streak, including a 5-0 mark during the Seahawks’ run to the Sun Belt Championship final. Sistrunk and Trimp compiled an 18-0 mark against conference foes.
An All-Sun Belt Second Team pairing, Jefferson and Singleton compiled a 24-11 overall record, including a 15-5 mark as the No. 4 pair, including a 4-0 record during the Panthers’ third straight Sun Belt tournament title.
Also an All-Sun Belt Second Team duo, Corbett and O’Mara produced a team-leading 29-7 overall record as Mercer’s No. 4 pairing which included 24 wins in straight sets. The tandem produced three different win streaks of at least five matches, including a season-long 11-straight victories between Feb. 21 and March 7.
Now in its seventh year, the Top Flight program recognizes beach pairs who compete in at least 15 matches together at a specific flight and win at least 75 percent of their matches. This year, 88 pairs representing 45 schools—from all three NCAA divisions, NAIA and Two-Year Colleges—earned Top Flight status.
2025 AVCA Top Flights
Flight 1: Gabby LaPata/Sarah Thompson, UNCW
Flight 2: Gracie Sistrunk/Lyvia Trimp, UNCW
Flight 4: Danica Singleton/Michaela Jefferson, Georgia State
Flight 4: Kathryn Corbett/Nicole O’Mara, Mercer
Sports
Baseball
May 5 (UPI) — A Minor League Baseball game in Missouri was delayed when a pair of ducks decided to land on the field and go for a walk during the bottom of the fourth inning. The Springfield Cardinals, a Double-A affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals in the Texas League’s North Division, shared a […]
May 5 (UPI) — A Minor League Baseball game in Missouri was delayed when a pair of ducks decided to land on the field and go for a walk during the bottom of the fourth inning.
The Springfield Cardinals, a Double-A affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals in the Texas League’s North Division, shared a video showing the “duck delay” during Saturday’s game.
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The video shows a pair of ducks wandering casually around the field during the team’s game against the Northwest Arkansas Naturals, a Kansas City Royals affiliate team.
One of the ducks flew away on its own, but the other insisted on remaining on the field, despite efforts by field crews to shoo it away.
The duck eventually waddled off the field when crews opened a gate in the outfield, eliciting cheers from the crowd.
The Cardinals ended up losing their third consecutive game with a score of 5-4.
Valley men’s volleyball team splits pool matches
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He made that look easy 
(via @kingofarchers0/TT)
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Why is a PGA Tour golf event being played at a cricket club?
Coaches association releases final WPIAL boys volleyball rankings
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