PORTLAND, Ore. – It was an incredibly strong fall both on and off the field for the University of Portland Athletics Department, with Pilot student-athletes posting a 3.47 cumulative fall GPA across all varsity teams. The GPA is the highest ever posted by the department.
"Looking at the fall academic performance, I could not be more proud of our student-athletes, as well as our coaches and department," Associate Athletic Director of Academic/Student-Athlete Development Glenna Andrews said. "These accomplishments are concrete examples of how the genuine spirit of 'scholar-athlete' lives out on The Bluff each day; what our student-athletes have achieved is truly outstanding."
"We are incredibly proud of our student-athletes for achieving one of the best academic semesters in the history of our Department," Vice President of Athletics Scott Leykam said. "Combined with our impressive on the field success this fall, it is a great time to be a Pilot. I can't thank our student-athletes, coaches and staff enough for all they have done to take our Department to the next level."
Almost every team posted a team GPA above a 3.0, with nine posting GPAs higher than 3.5. Along with this, 83.39% of student-athletes posted a GPA of 3.0 or higher and 52.30% of student-athletes made the Dean's List, both the highest totals posted by the department. With 43 student-athletes posting a 4.0, the department also matched their highest total of student-athletes with a perfect GPA.
"I want to thank our student-athletes for their relentless commitment and for continuing to raise the bar, our coaches for their investment, the academic support team, and our campus community," Andrews said. "This is an accomplishment we all share in and I'm excited to recognize the tremendous effort put forth by all."
The success in the classroom only bolsters what has been a stellar year athletically for UP's fall and winter sports teams. Below is a list of some of the different athletic accomplishments from the fall.
MEN'S SOCCER
- Finished the season 15-3-3, their best overall record since 1995 and their best win-loss -tie percentage (.786) since that same year.
- Advanced to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament for just the third time in program history and the first time since 1995.
- Led the WCC in 14 different statistical categories and ranked in the top 10 nationally in goal differential (third, 32), total goals (fourth, 51), total points (fourth, 154), won-lost-tied percentage (seventh, .786), goals per game (eighth, 2.43), points per game (ninth, 7.33) and total assists (ninth, 52).
- Became just the 10th Pilot team in history to score at least 50 goals in a season.
- Brandon Cambridge, Delentz Pierre and Gurman Sangha all signed MLS pro contracts after the season. It's the highest number of players to sign pro contracts in the same year since 2012.
- 10 players earned All-WCC honors, with Brandon Cambridge winning offensive player of the year and George Tasouris winning co-goalkeeper of the year.
- All-WCC honorees include Cambridge (first team), Pierre (first team), Nick Fernandez (1st team), Kevin Bonilla (second team), Jake Arteaga (honorable mention), Sebastian Nava (honorable mention), Sangha (honorable mention), Tasouris (honorable mention), CJ Tibbling (honorable mention), Olive Jeppe (freshman team) and Muslim Umar (freshman team).
- Four players earned United Soccer Coaches All-West Region honors: Cambridge (first team), Pierre (second team), Nava (second team) and Fernandez (third team).
- Cambridge was also named a College Soccer News All-American (third team) while Pierre and Fernandez earned TopDrawerSoccer Best XI honors. Pierre made the postseason Best XI Third Team while Fernandez made the Freshman Best XI Second Team.
- Tasouris was named to the WCC All-Academic First Team while six other Pilots earned honorable mention: Nava, Fernandez, Greg Tracey, Buba Fofanah, Jacob Babalai and Nick Denley.
- Tasouris, Tracey, Denley and Babalai each made the College Sports Communicators Academic All-District Team.
WOMEN'S SOCCER
- Finished with their best record since the 2013 season at 12-5-4.
- Made the playoffs for the first time since 2013, advancing to the second round with a dominant 3-0 win over the Arizona State Sun Devils.
- Five players earned All-WCC honors on the year: Bre Norris (second team), Shay Adams (second team), Cally Togiai (second team), Sophia Mattice (honorable mention) and Isabella Yakel (freshman team).
- Adams and Norris both made United Soccer Coaches All-West Region teams, with Adams making the first team and Norris the second team.
- Coaching staff was named the United Soccer Coaches West Region Staff of the Year, the first time the staff has earned the honor.
- Norris and Nedya Sawan made the WCC All-Academic First Team with eight other Pilots earning honorable mention: Aubrey Turner, Colby Wilson, Camille Ashe, Emily Collier, Cally Togiai, Elianna Wong, MJ Roe and Selma Licina.
- Norris, Sawan, Wilson and Ashe each earned College Sports Communicators District All-Academic honors as well.
VOLLEYBALL
- Posted their highest win total since 2019.
- Won two preseason tournaments in the same season for the first time since 2018, winning the Portland North Marriott Invitational and the Sacramento State Invitational.
- Jayde Harris and Noelani Helm earned All-WCC Honorable Mention while Maui Robins made the freshman team.
- Helm landed on the WCC All-Academic First Team while Keilani Mumolo, Emma Swett and Grace Zilbert earned honorable mention.
- Helm led the conference and ranked sixth nationally in triple-doubles with four on the year.
- As a team, the Pilots ranked second in the conference in service aces (197) and aces per set (1.76).
MEN'S CROSS COUNTRY
- Took first at three different races – the Viking Rust Buster, the Charles Bowles Willamette Invitational and the Lewis & Clark Invitational.
- Finished third at the WCC Championships.
- Bradley Peloquin earned All-WCC First Team honors, Matt Strangio picked up second team honors and Nolan Hosbein was named WCC Freshman of the Year.
- Peloquin and Strangio also earned All-West Region honors at the NCAA West Regional meet.
- Leo Donlea made the WCC All-Academic First Team while five other runners earned honorable mention: Kevin Andrews, Nolan Hosbein, Bradley Peloquin, Kai Vickers and Cohen Williams.
WOMEN'S CROSS COUNTRY
- Finished third at the WCC Championships, with Laura Pellicoro and Courtney Klatt each earning All-WCC First Team honors.
- Pellicoro earned All-West Region honors after finishing second in the NCAA West Regional. She qualified as an individual runner for the NCAA Championships.
- Pellicoro then posted the third-highest finish in Pilot history at 25th overall, good enough to earn All-American honors.
- Pellicoro was also named WCC Co-Women's Runner of the Year and made the WCC All-Academic First Team.
- Seven other Pilots earned honorable mention: Lauren Block, Alexa Hague, Phoebe McKnight, Mie Nielsen, Teresa Perez, Sam Prusse and Tiahna Woodger.
MEN'S BASKETBALL
- Participated in the prestigious PKI Tournament, facing college basketball giants in North Carolina, Villanova and Michigan State. Portland dropped their games against the Tar Heels and the Spartans but defeated the Wildcats.
- Shantay Legans was selected by Andy Katz to the Top 10 Rising Coaches list nationally and was also picked as one of the 11 most improved teams in college basketball.
- Tyler Robertson has put up several record-breaking performances this season:
- He recorded the third triple-double in UP history on Nov. 30 against Multnomah. He had the second triple-double for UP as well last year against LMU.
- Robertson set the record for most free throws made and attempted in a game, going 22-of-24 against Portland State.
- Robertson's 15 assists were also the most ever by a Pilot, a record he broke this year against New Orleans. He also surpassed the 1,000-point mark for his career in that contest.
- The Pilots lead the WCC and rank 25th nationally in free throws made per game (16.3). They are also second in the conference in assists per game (25.94), 3-pointers per game (9.5), effective field-goal percentage (54.3%) and bench points per game (25.94).
- Robertson earned WCC Player of the Week honors on Nov. 28 while Alden Applewhite earned WCC Freshman of the Week honors the same week.
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
- Started the season 5-0 in WCC play for the first time since the 1996-97 season.
- The Pilots are also currently riding a six-game winning streak, their longest such streak since the 2009-10 season.
- Picked to finish second in the WCC for the first time since the 1990s.
- Alex Fowler set the program record for most rebounds in a career by a Pilot who only played Division I in win over Portland State.
- Fowler also is only the third Pilot ever to reach 1,800 points in her career, reaching the mark against LMU.
- Fowler currently leads the WCC in points per game (18.1), total points (289), field-goal percentage (66%) and free throws made (76). She ranks fifth nationally in field-goal percentage and also ranks 14th in free throws made, 20th in total points and 30th in field goals made (103).
- The Pilots recently matched the program record for 3-pointers made in a single game with 15 in a win over the Santa Clara Broncos.
- They currently lead the conference in assists per game (17.4), field-goal percentage (47%), free throws made per game (13.69), steals per game (10.1) and turnovers forced per game (18.31).
- Nationally, they are 17th in field-goal percentage and 24th in assists per game.
