The 2021-22 academic year was a historic one for the University of Portland Athletics Department, with several programs putting together incredibly strong seasons. From postseason appearances to All-American honors to academic success, it has been a landmark year for the Pilots both on and off the field.

"I cannot say enough about the excellent performance by our student-athletes, coaches, and support staff during the 2021-22 academic year," University of Portland Vice President for Athletics Scott Leykam said. "There were many unknowns for us coming into the year and how we would respond as a department, both on and off the field, to the ever evolving COVID-19 landscape, changes around the transfer portal and transition in some key coaching and staff roles. We couldn't have responded any better, both on the field and in the classroom with many sports having their best seasons in a very long time in addition to a very strong academic performance. The 2022-23 academic year will bring us a different set of challenges, both new and old, but I am confident we have the pieces in to place to continue to turn in strong performances across the board."
 
Portland Pilot Athletics saw six different programs participate in some form of national postseason play. The last time that many programs participated in the postseason was the 2016-17 season. This year, both basketball teams, both track and field squads, men's soccer program and men's cross country represented the Pilots in the postseason.
 
Both basketball teams played postseason hoops in the same year for the first time since 2010, with the men's team partaking in The Basketball Classic (TBC) and the women's team playing in the Women's National Invitation Tournament (WNIT). Not only did both teams host a playoff game for the first time in program history, both teams won their respective first round matchups. It was the first postseason win ever for the men's program and the first WNIT victory for the women. The 2021-22 season also marked the third year in a row the women's team had earned a postseason berth.
 
Track and field was represented at nationals for the 21st straight year and the 29th time in 30 years. Cathal Doyle represented the men's team in the 1,500-meter run, taking eighth in his semifinal heat, and Laura Pellicoro showed out for the women's team in the 800-meter, finishing sixth in her semifinal heat. Pellicoro broke the school record in the 800m in the process.
 
Men's soccer once again found their way into the postseason, making it three times in five fall seasons (six total) under head coach Nick Carlin-Voigt. The Pilots hosted the Seattle U Redhawks in the opening round, defeating their Pacific Northwest rivals 3-2 to advance to the second round for the second time under Carlin-Voigt and just the third time since 2009. The win at home was just Portland's third postseason home victory since 2002.
 
Finally, men's cross country continued their sustained run of national excellence, taking 16th at the NCAA Cross Country Championships. It was the 22nd time the Pilots have made the championships, and the 18th top 20 finish under head coach Rob Conner. Women's cross country also put together a solid season, matching their best finish in program history at the NCAA West Regional after placing fifth.
 
Also, notably, Pilot baseball put together one of the best seasons in program history, finishing 32-23 overall and 17-10 in conference play, their best overall finish since 2010 and their best WCC record ever. They took second in the conference – the highest regular-season finish ever – and also earned the program's first berth to the WCC Tournament. The Pilots took third at the tournament.
 
Several individual Pilots shined on the year, with 42 student-athletes across all sports earning All-WCC honors. Another 13 Pilots earned some form of All-Region honors and two earned All-America honors. Baseball pitcher Brett Gillis was named a second team All-American by both Collegiate Baseball News and the ABCA/Rawlings while men's soccer defender Kevin Bonilla made the TopDrawerSoccer Freshman Best XI first team and the College Soccer News All-Freshmen Third Team.
 
Pilot student-athletes continued to thrive off the field, posting a 3.4 cumulative GPA across all teams. 126 student-athletes made the Dean's List in the fall and 114 made it in the spring as well. The latest Academic Progress Report (APR) showed that Portland continued to perform at a high level in the classroom, with an overall department score of 981. Portland student-athletes also graduated at a rate of 93 percent this according to the latest NCAA Graduation Success Rate. Conference-wise, 80 different Pilots earned WCC All-Academic recognition, with 17 making their respective WCC All-Academic First Teams and 63 named honorable mention.
 
Read below to learn more about what each individual program accomplished this past school year.
 
MEN'S BASKETBALL (19-15, 7-7 WCC)

• Recorded the fourth most wins in a season since joining Division I in head coach Shantay Legans' first season.
• 19 wins were also the most since 2010.
• Seven conference wins were the most in WCC play since 2015.
• Recorded a WCC Tournament opening round win against San Diego.
• Won the first postseason game in program history (defeated New Orleans in opening round of The Basketball Classic).
• Tyler Robertson was named to the All-WCC Second Team while Moses Wood was earned All-WCC Honorable Mention.
• Mike Meadows and Tyler Robertson each recorded triple-doubles, the first two in program history.
• Robertson's triple-double was historic, with him being the only NCAA Division I player in the last 25 years to log a 30-point triple-double, make five-plus threes without a miss and drill 10-plus free throws without a miss.
• The team posted a six-game win streak late in the season including a road win over eventual NCAA Tournament participant San Francisco.
• Legans will return the top seven scorers and all major contributors to next year's roster.

WOMEN'S BASKETBALL (20-11, 8-7 WCC)

• Earned their third postseason berth in three years under head coach Michael Meek, qualifying for the WNIT for the first time since 2009.
• Hosted and won their first ever home postseason against Colorado State to advance to second round of tournament.
• Posted 20 wins for just the fifth time in program history and recoded the winningest season since 1996-97.
• Finished fourth in the WCC, marking their second top-five finish in conference under Meek.
• Advanced to semifinals of the WCC Tournament, defeating Loyola Marymount before falling to the regular season champions in BYU.
• Alex Fowler made the All-WCC First Team, Haylee Andrews made the All-WCC Second Team and Lucy Cochrane earned All-WCC honorable mention.
• Fowler became the third Pilot to make the All-WCC First Team three times and the second to be selected three seasons in a row.
• Fowler moved into the top five all-time in scoring in program history, including fourth among Pilots who only played NCAA Division I, at 1,561. She's also moved to eighth in rebounds (fifth among Pilots who only played NCAA Division I) at 704.
• Cochrane led the NCAA in blocks per game (3.9) and ranked second in total blocks (114). Her total blocks number is also the most of any Pilot over the course of a single year.
• Six Pilots earned WCC All-Academic recognition. Maddie Muhlheim and Rose Pflug made the WCC All-Academic First Team while Andrews, Fowler, McKelle Meek and Emme Shearer earned honorable mention.
• Maddie Muhlheim set the program record for games played in a career and became the first women's basketball player to make four WCC All-Academic Teams.

BASEBALL (32-23, 17-10 WCC)

• Qualified for the WCC Tournament for the first time in program history, finishing third.
• Finished with their best overall record since 2010 and recorded the most WCC wins in program history.
• 10 Pilots earned All-WCC distinction: Brett Gillis (First Team), Jake Holcroft (First Team), Peter Allegro (Second Team), Sam Brown (Honorable Mention), Brock Gillis (Honorable Mention), Eli Morse (Honorable Mention), Ben Patacsil (Honorable Mention), Trace Tammaro (Honorable Mention), Jake Tsukada (Honorable Mention) and Joey Gartrell (Freshman Team).
• Brett Gillis was named the WCC Pitcher of the Year, becoming the first Pilot to ever win the award.
• Brett Gillis was also named a Collegiate Baseball News All-American and an ABCA/Rawlings NCAA Division I All-American, making the second team for both. He was the first non-freshman All-American since 2012.
• Brett Gillis and Peter Allegro both made the ABCA/Rawlings NCAA Division I West All-Region squads, with Gillis making the first team and Allegro making the second team. They were the first All-Region selections since 1992.
• Jake Holcroft and Evan Scavotto were both named to the All-WCC Tournament Team.
• Eli Morse became the strikeout king, reaching 297 strikeouts to become the all-time leader in that category in program history.
• 12 Pilots earned WCC All-Academic recognition, with two making the first Team: Peter Allegro and Ben Patacsil. Caleb Franzen, Brett Gillis, Jake Holcroft, Nich Klemp, Briley Knight, Henry Muench, Ty Saunders, Evan Scavotto, Gabe Skoro and Jake Tsukada all earned honorable mention.

MEN'S SOCCER (11-7-1, 4-2-1 WCC)

• Finished tied for third in the WCC and made the NCAA Tournament for the third time in five fall seasons (six total) under head coach Nick Carlin-Voigt. They were one of only two WCC teams to make the tournament.
• Defeated Seattle U at home for third home playoff win since 2002. It was the third time since 2009 the Pilots have made the second round of the tournament.
• Finished the season 25th in TopDrawerSoccer's final Top 25 rankings.
• Beat four teams that were ranked in the NCAA RPI Top 40 to end the regular season.
• Three players earned All-West Region honors: Jake Arteaga, Kevin Bonilla and George Tasouris. All players made the third team, becoming the first Pilots since 2019.
• Bonilla also named to the TopDrawerSoccer Freshman Best XI First Team and the College Soccer News All-Freshmen Third Team.
• Brought in yet another top 10 recruiting class for the 2022 season.
• Six Pilots made earned WCC All-Academic recognition, with RJ Stretch making the first team. Jacob Babalai, Buba Fofanah, Christoforos Kourtis, Paul Odendahl and Greg Tracey all earned honorable mention.

WOMEN'S SOCCER (9-8, 5-4 WCC)

• Finished with their best conference record since 2013. Their fifth-place finish in the WCC was also their best since 2013.
• Most notable win came against the 2021 national champions, the Santa Clara Broncos. The Pilots shut out the Broncos – who advanced to the College Cup semifinal – 2-0 at Merlo Field.
• Four Pilots earned All-WCC honors: Nedya Sawan (First Team), Ellie Walker (Second Team), Taryn Ries (Honorable Mention) and Bre Norris (Freshman Team)
• Sawan also made the All-West Region Third Team, being the first to do so since Ries in 2019. Sawan had 26 points (12 goals, two assists) on the year, good for fourth in the WCC. She was third in total goals and first in game-winning goals (six).
• Norris recorded eight shutouts with 64 saves and a .771 save percentage in 1,530 minutes played. All those tallies were the most by a freshman Pilot goalkeeper since Cori Alexander in 2003.
• 10 Pilots earned WCC All-Academic recognition, with three Pilots making the first team: Nedya Sawan, Aubrey Turner and Olivia Dendinger. Camille Ashe, Gabi Brummett, Emily Collier, Sophie French, Selma Licinia, Hannah McCord and Taryn Ries all earned honorable mention.
• Olivia Dendinger earned regional recognition for her performance both on and off the field, being named to the CoSIDA Academic All-District Second Team. It was the second time for the senior making the team.

MEN'S CROSS COUNTRY

• Qualified for the NCAA Championships for the 22nd time under head coach Rob Conner.
• Finished 16th at the NCAA Championships, marking Portland's 18th top 20 finish in the Rob Conner era.
• Four Pilots earned All-WCC recognition at the WCC Championships, where the Pilots placed third as a team. Zak Kirk and Stan Niesten made the All-WCC First Team while Bradley Peloquin and George Duggan made the All-WCC Second Team.
• Finished third at the NCAA West Regional, with Zak Kirk, Jonas Gertsen, Stan Niesten and Jacob Klemz earning All-West Region honors.
• Ranked in Top 30 majority of the season, ranking as high as 16th.
• 14 Pilots set personal records.
• Two Pilots nabbed individual wins: Justin Hazell and Matt Strangio.
• Seven Pilots earned WCC All-Academic recognition, with Leo Donlea and Stan Niesten making the first team. George Duggan, John Kavulich, Zak Kirk, Jacob Klemz and Cameron Thompson each earned honorable mention.

WOMEN'S CROSS COUNTRY

• Finished fifth at NCAA West Regional, tying a program-best finish.
• Three Pilots earned All-West recognition: Anna Pataki, Laura Pellicoro and Veerle Bakker.
• Finished third at the WCC Championships with two runners – Laura Pellicoro and Anna Pataki – each earning All-WCC honors.
• Pellicoro also named the WCC Freshman of the Year.
• Pellicoro took first-place at the PSU Rust Buster.
• Team win at the Charles Bowles Invitational.
• Eight Pilots set PRs on the year.
• 11 Pilots earned WCC All-Academic Recognition, with Veerle Bakker and Anna Pataki making the first team. Ellee Becker, Lauren Block, Lacey Conner, Makenna Cowan, Ellie Erikson, Alexa Hague, Emma Jenkins, Grace Oswin and Grace Ritchie each earned honorable mention.

MEN'S TRACK AND FIELD

• Cathal Doyle qualified for the NCAA Outdoor Championships for the second year in a row in the 1,500-meter, finishing seventh in his semifinal heat. Doyle's accomplishment makes it 29 out of 30 years that a Pilot has qualified for nationals.
• Prior to that, seven Portland runners qualified for the NCAA West Preliminaries, with Jacob Klemz being the lone Pilot to qualify in multiple races.
• Matt Strangio set the school record in the Indoor Mile (3:59.19) and second best 1,500-meter outdoor time (3:30.11). George Duggan and Chris Morzenti also posted Top 10 1,500-meter runs.
• Doyle and Klemz also recorded the No. 2 and No. 5 times in school history in the 5,000-meter, while Klemz posted the sixth best 10K.
• Doyle had the fourth best 800-meter outdoor time (1:49.58), while Konnor Hathaway (6th, 1:50.08) and Parker Wilkerson (9th, 151:04) also cracked the Top 10.
• Wilkerson established the school record for the Indoor 800-meter with a time of 1:49.85, while Hathaway (2nd, 1:52.33) and Morzenti (7th, 1:53.83) also posted top times.
• Klemz (2nd), Stan Niesten (6th) and Riley Osen (8th) also broke into the 3,000-meter Top 10 indoors.
• Osen also recorded the sixth best time in program history in the Steeplechase (8:40.12).
• 13 runners earned MPSF Indoor Track & Field All-Academic Team honors.
• 23 personal records were set during the outdoor season. 30 were set during the indoor season.
• Eight Pilots earned individual wins on the year, with Klemz taking first at the MPSF Championships in Spokane, Wash.

• 2022.

WOMEN'S TRACK AND FIELD

• Laura Pellicoro broke the school record in the 800-meter at the NCAA West Preliminary (2:03.17). She placed sixth in her semifinal heat at nationals.
• Pellicoro set another record earlier in the year, breaking the school record in the Indoor Mile with a time of 4:34.45. She took seventh at the NCAA Indoor Championships in the prelims.
• She also recorded the third best 800-meter run (2:07.48), No. 7 400-meter (58.74) and No. 9 3,000-meter run (9:24.54) during the indoor season.
• Pellicoro, Tara Fuiten, Avery Gill and Ella Parker broke the school record for both the indoor 4x400-meter relay (3:51.19) and the outdoor 4x400 relay (3:50.22).
• Veerle Bakker broke the school record for the indoor 3000-meter run, running a time of 9:11.90. Bakker also posted the third best Indoor Mile time (4:43.38). She set the new Steeplechase record in the outdoor season (10:01.04) as well as the No. 3 5,000-meter time (15:54.19).
• Parker recorded the No. 3 time in the 200-meter (25.78) and No. 4 time in the 400-meter (58.11) indoor events. She posted the No. 6 time in program history in the 200-meter outdoors (25.40).
• Anna Pataki posted the No. 3 indoor 5,000-meter time (15:55.65), while Claire Fagan recorded the No. 8 time in school history (16:32.08).
• Pellicoro (2nd, 4:15.30), Bakker (5th, 4:21.58) and Emma Jenkins (9th, 4:24.23) all recorded Top 10 times in the outdoor 1,500-meter run.
• Jenkins also posted the No. 8 time in the 10,000-meter (34:15.67).
• 14 individual wins across both the indoor and outdoor season.

ROWING

• Earned two wins at the Husky Open, with both varsity eight squads taking first at the meet.
• Finished first in first varsity eight race at only home meet of the year at Vancouver Lake.
• Defeated WCC schools in four different races this season.
• Maddie Olson and Catherine Watson were both All-WCC selections. Both rowers were also named to the All-WCC preseason team.
• 10 Pilots earned WCC All-Academic recognition, with three earning first team honors: Maddie Olson, Lauren Poehlmann and Megan Duifhuis. Katie Bayford, Colleen Cushing, Emmalee Dolcini, Sage Iona, Lexi Turner, Lexa Wendl and Olivia Zilavy-Pailthorp each earned honorable mention.
• Construction began on on-campus boathouse and dock, which should be completed by late summer/early fall

MEN'S TENNIS (11-10, 6-3 WCC)

• Finished in the top three of the WCC, securing it with a win over the No. 59 Gonzaga Bulldogs in the season finale.
• Finished a perfect 8-0 at home and ended the year with a Top 75 ITA ranking.
• Earned two ranked wins on the year, beating the Zags after beating the Montana State Bobcats earlier in the when they were ranked 70th in the nation.
• Sema Pankin and Eleftherios Neos each earned All-WCC honors, with Pankin making the All-WCC First Team for singles and Neos making the second team for singles.
• The duo also made the All-WCC First Team for doubles.
• Swept WCC Players of the Week twice in one year, with Pankin winning the singles award and Nicklas Oberg and Issa Yoshida winning doubles on April 5. On April 19, with Pankin and Neos winning as a doubles duo and Pankin winning again as a single.
• Duo of Pankin and Neos ranked as high as 24th in the ITA rankings.
• Five Pilots earned WCC All-Academic recognition, with Eleftherios Neos making the first team. Nicklas Oberg, Sema Pankin, Nikolas Tvedt and Issa Yoshida all earned honorable mention.

WOMEN'S TENNIS (6-14, 1-8 WCC)

• Iva Zelic became the fourth Pilot in program history to earn an ITA National Singles Ranking, going as high as 108.
• Zelic also made the All-WCC Second Team for singles, with Sally Pethybridge and Rimona Rouf each earning All-WCC Honorable Mention for doubles.
• Highest win total since 2019, including double the wins from last season.
• Six Pilots earned WCC All-Academic honorable mention: Angela Shuster, Marija Elenova, Rimona Rouf, Neli Sunjic, Jana Tanevska and Iva Zelic.
• Filip Zivkovic – an assistant coach for 10 years and a former Pilot tennis player himself – was officially named head coach after serving as interim coach the whole season.

 
VOLLEYBALL (5-20, 2-14 WCC)

• Jayde Harris earned All-WCC Honorable Mention.
• Took two of three games at the Idaho Volleyball Classic to start the year.
• Beat two WCC opponents in Gonzaga and San Francisco, taking the only game against the Dons and sweeping the Zags to begin conference play.
• Harris notched a team-high 261 kills, Noelani Helm added a team-high 416 assists and Grace Zilbert posted a team-high 231 digs.
• Four Pilots earned WCC All-Academic honorable mention: Chelsey Harmon, Noelani Helm, Jiana Lawson, Grace Zilbert.

BEACH VOLLEYBALL (7-17, 3-4 WCC)

• Finished with a program-best seven wins on the year, including three conference wins.
• Highest finish in WCC play after entering the WCC Tournament ranked fifth in the standings.
• Swept two WCC teams back-to-back for the first time in program history, taking down Pacific 5-0 on March 25 and San Francisco 5-0 on March 26.
• Won against San Francisco again in the WCC Tournament, their first win at the championships since 2018.
• Noelani Helm and Grace Zilbert each made the All-WCC Second Team.
• Three Pilots earned WCC All-Academic honors, with Sarah Strong making the first team and Noelani Helm and Grace Zilbert earning honorable mention.