Broncos Spring into Action

Despite a rocky start for many, Athletics teams look towards a winning spring quarter

As senioritis seemingly soaks into every corner of campus, students can relax outside by catching a softball game, serving looks at the tennis courts or practicing their golf clap as they cheer on their peers.

Follow this outline to get the main scoop on each sport sprouting up this quarter.

Rowing

The Santa Clara men's rowing team came second in two events during their participation in the Ky Ebright Invitational this past weekend, topping the charts in both the V8 and 2V8 races. They have little time to rest on their laurels, though. Upcoming this weekend is the Chula Vista Invitational, their second-to-last regular season competition and opportunity for practicing good habits before they hit the WCC Championship on May 13.

“We have another challenging weekend ahead of us that will give us an early preview of our conference competitors and an early indication of how we stack up for Western Sprints in mid-May," said Jay Farwell, the team’s director. 

The Santa Clara women’s rowing team last competed in the San Diego Classic in early April. Since then, the team has been fearlessly gearing up for the Chula Vista Invitational, where they will look to improve on results from their last races, which saw them placing last in both events.

However, let's put this into perspective: the women faced some of the best programs in the nation, including University of Texas, University of Southern California and University of California Berkeley–three top-20, nationally-ranked crews.

The Broncos won't lick their wounds for long, according to Associate Head Coach Marjorie Setchko.

“Lining up against such stellar programs is an extraordinary opportunity for our program,” she said. “We intend to make the most of it."

Golf

Women’s golf is one step ahead, having already finished their regular season at the Silicon Valley Showcase on Tuesday, April 11. Four top-20 finishes included golfers Borina Sutikto (T-11th), Lauren Shew (15th), Audrey Brust (T-20th), and Claire Choi (T-23rd). Choi was one of only four players to have an eagle on her card–meaning she finished a hole two strokes before par.

Impressive stuff as the women’s golf team also looks forward to the WCC in Washington State. The golfers will have a deserved break before the tournament kicks off this weekend. 

Although the men’s golf season is coming to a swift (and hopefully sweet) close, let's look back at their most recent event. The Broncos got good practice out of the Goodwin tournament, as Julien Paltrinieri and Viraj Garewal placed 11th and 24th, respectively. 

Upcoming for the golf team is one final regular season tournament, the El Macero Classic hosted by UC Davis between April 14-16. After that, the WCC Championship awaits in Bremerton, Washington. 

Be sure to watch and support from afar, or, if you're diehard, pull up to Bremerton!

Tennis

Men’s tennis has a stacked Saturday coming up, facing both USF and William Jessup University. Having recently competed against Weber State and BYU, losing 4-1 and winning 4-1, respectively, the men’s tennis team will be looking to build momentum as the season approaches its close.

Having been instrumental in a victory over BYU, Santa Clara graduate student Christian Lerby has made the Intercollegiate Tennis Association National rankings, coming in 117th–quite a feat for his first year on the court representing the Broncos.

In women's tennis, things have been rough so far this season, as the Broncos currently sit 0-16. However, don’t judge a book by its cover–many competitions have seen the Broncos beaten by narrow margins and sitting in a tough conference does not help either. In addition, to actually win in tennis means to win more than just duels, doubles and singles–all of which the Broncos have proven themselves to be good at. In order to secure a dub, the team must look to win the majority out of six games in a set, and then win the majority out of three games to win the match. 

Up next is an opportunity for a first win, as the Broncos meet WCC action in San Francisco, taking on USF on April 15.

Softball

First, let’s start with big news–Sage Hager nabbed WCC Pitcher of the Week on April 10 after tossing Santa Clara’s fifth no-hitter since 2000. Hager walked one and hit three batters within seven innings in Santa Clara's 1-0 win.

Since then, it has been a little bit tougher for the Santa Clara softballers, recently losing a three game series against BYU on April 7 and 8, losing 4-3, 8-2, and 8-0 respectively. Overall, though, it has been far from a bad start for the softball team, with a record of 18-17. 

Until early May, the Broncos will have a packed regular season, with postseason opportunities up for grabs as well. This upcoming weekend, the Broncos will play a three-game series hosted by Saint Mary’s. 

Beach Volleyball

If anything screams spring quarter, warm weather and summer vibes, it’s beach volleyball. At the moment, the Broncos have a 12-10 record. Recently, they have fallen short in their previous two matches, but before that they took out Sacramento State, winning 4-1. 

Soon, the Broncos will go in for more, facing Sacramento again this weekend at the Pacific Invite, where they will also go head-to-head with UC Davis and Pacific. In late April, the volleyball team will attend the WCC Beach Volleyball Tournament in Santa Monica, California. In early May, the Santa Clara beach bums will take on the NCAA tournament. A quick trip to Gulf Shores, Alabama will determine how far the Broncos can go at the nationally-acclaimed tournament–the most prestigious competition for any college athlete. 

Warmer weather provides a perfect opportunity to support your fellow Broncos in their athletic endeavors in the water, on the course or on the beach. Catch some games and some rays this spring!