Golf

Seattle University’s golf teams are looking to be on-par this season as coach Marc Chandonnet takes the lead and drives the team towards wins. Of the nine additions to the teams this year, three are Washington state champions.

“We have people who know how to win,” said Chandonnet. “We have proven winners and that’s something we didn’t necessarily have last year.”

One change Chandonnet notes will be team training. The golf team will be hitting the gym much harder this year in preparation for matches.

“Better fitness, better results.” Chandonnet said.

After 38 years without hosting a golfing event, this year the men’s team will be hosting the Chambers Bay Redhawk Invitational at Chambers Bay golf course on April 7 and 8. The men’s team will be traveling to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico in October and the women’s team will be going to Maui in March.

Tennis

The women’s tennis team starts the season off with success as they finished their tournament in Boise, Idaho and they are quickly approaching the Cougar Invite in Pullman, Wash.

“We did really well,” said sophomore team member Kristin James. “I think it might have been overall one of our best finishes at that particular tournament in the past couple years.”

The improvement is all in team interaction. The team has been working on developing a good team bonding, especially with the new members as they get ready for their winter season and ultimately, the Western Athletic Conference.The men’s tennis team also welcomes new players this fall. A transfer student and two freshmen join the crew to add some strength to the team.

“We really want to be part of state this year,” said sophomore team member Will Topp. “We think our team looks a lot stronger from last year to this year, so we are hoping to get quite a bit more wins.”

This weekend the men’s team will be playing an invitational at Eastern Washington University and the Boise State Invitational the next weekend.

Softball

Although Seattle U softball is not in season until spring, they will be competing in several fall games.

This year the team is excited about having four pitchers on the roster for the first time since moving to Division I.

Their goal is to make it to the WAC championship. Powers believes this year the team has improved depth in field position and is reaching a new level of competition with Division I.

“We are optimistic about our chances,” said Powers. “We had a few injuries late last year that set us back a little bit, and having all the returners that we have coming back, we’re going to do a lot of good things this year.”

Women’s Soccer

The greatest advantages for the women’s soccer team this fall are the team’s experience and maturity. According to head coach Julie Woodward, the women’s soccer team is fortunate to have a large senior class, which lends experience and solidarity to the team. That’s not to say that there won’t be challenges ahead; Woodward noted that there are many other good teams in the conference. Regardless, Woodward believes that pre-season has prepared the team well for the fall season, and she hopes that the women’s team will make it into the WAC tournament and win. Woodward hopes that the thrill of evening games under the lights that will soon be added to Championship Field will draw more fans to the games, and encourages students to attend every home game this fall.

Men’s Soccer

Seattle U’s men’s soccer team begins the fall season with a young team. According to head coach Pete Fewing, however, the group is strengthened by a number of outstanding experienced players. These include goalkeeper Jake Feiner and forward Miguel Gonzalez, among others. The major challenge for the fall season, as mentioned before, will be the high number of new players. The men’s team has ten new players this season, and the increased number of freshmen means an age difference of four years in match-ups. According to Fewing, one of the toughest challenges will be meeting the intensity of other teams. Fewing’s goal is to improve game by game, week by week. Fewing encourages students to come out and support the men’s team at home games.

Cross Country

For both the men and women’s cross country teams, the biggest strength in the fall season will be the experience that Seattle U’s runners gained from last year, the first year that both teams competed in Division I athletics. For the men’s side, head coach Trisha Steidl hopes that this year will be a good building year, due to the large number of younger athletes. Two of the team’s top runners graduated last year, and another two are red-shirting this year. The women’s side lost no seniors last year, gained three new members, and is hoping for a high placement in the conference. Steidl is confident that the experience of competing at West Regionals last year greatly reduces the intimidation factor. She encourages students to attend the home meet, the “Emerald City Open,” on Oct. 25. In addition, the team is hoping to plan the cross country team’s first ever “pink meet” in support of Breast Cancer. Finally, Seattle U is hosting the 2013 WAC Cross Country Championships, which students can watch on Nov. 2 at Jefferson Park.

Rowing

The biggest challenge for the women’s rowing team this fall will be training the multitude of walk-on rowers. But, according to head coach Jenny Park, this will definitely be a fun challenge. This season, Park hopes that the incoming novices will bond with returning rowers, and that the team will perform well. Park mentioned that one major advantage this year is a higher number of experienced rowers than last year on the team. Additionally, Park is excited about what the new assistant coach will bring to the mix. Although spring is the major competition season for the rowing team, there are still a number of important regattas happening this fall. These include the local “Head of the Lake” on Nov. 3. The best place for students to watch the race, according to Park, is the Montlake Cut.

Volleyball

Like many of its fellow sports teams, the Seattle U women’s volleyball team is taking in a high number of new student athletes this fall. The volleyball team begins the 2013 season with eight new student athletes. According to a recent article from Seattle U the team hopes to finish in the top six in the WAC in order to qualify for the WAC tournament in November. The new players bring both talent and diversity to the team. Along with the skills brought in by new players, the team will also be strengthened by the addition of a volunteer assistant coach, Stefanie Shiramizu. These advantages could help the women’s volleyball team do well this season; they were already picked to finish fourth in the WAC in a preseason poll. So far the team’s record for the 2013 season is 3-12, but they have many games ahead to prove their ability to excel this season.