糖心原创

"Different Here" Warriors Build for a Strong Future

"Different Here" Warriors Build for a Strong Future

Women鈥檚 Soccer

With the theme 鈥淒riven by Devotion, Defined by Discipline,鈥 the women鈥檚 soccer team produced stellar performances by Skyler McNamara 鈥28, who led the team in goals (5); senior co-captain Amelia Villa with the most assists (4); and senior defender and co-captain Makenna Meyers. In her first year, Head Coach Lauren Dorr Matthias 鈥16 led the Warriors to victory in five of six games in October, including two wins in Hawaii. The team came up short in their final regular season match and failed to advance to the PacWest Tournament, finishing 5-11 overall and 5-5 in the PacWest. 鈥淭he best is yet to come for the program,鈥 Matthias said.

Men鈥檚 Soccer

Kicking off the season with the theme 鈥淏rotherhood,鈥 taken from a painting by Rob Ring 鈥90, men鈥檚 soccer lost only one of six games in September. Erik Guerrero 鈥26 paced the Warriors with 7 goals and 6 assists, while Weston Ash 鈥29 scored in four of the last six games to finish with 6 goals for the season. Redshirt goalkeeper Aidan Strickler 鈥28 shut out the opposing team in the final match of the season, which the Warriors won 3-0. They finished 6-9-2 overall and 2-7-1 in the conference.

men and women's soccer

Volleyball

Volleyball won its first three and last four matches of the season, including a conference sweep of Azusa Pacific. Outside hitter Maddie Finnegan 鈥28 led the team in kills (267), setter Sierra McClure 鈥29 posted the most assists (506), Rylee Elias 鈥28 tallied the team high in digs (358) and Camila Cornejo-Farmer 鈥28 made 84 blocks. They posted a record of 12-14 overall, 6-6 in the conference. 鈥淲e sought all season long to embrace both grit and gratitude,鈥 says Head Coach Ruth McGolpin. 鈥淭his team always stayed together.鈥

Swimming

Led by a theme of 鈥渦nshakable,鈥 the Warriors dove into the 2025-26 season by finishing first among NCAA DII teams with 182 points at Pepperdine. They beat Fresno Pacific by claiming first in 11 of 14 events in its first dual meet of the season. At a double-dual meet at Cal Lutheran, Madi Edwards (2:15.62) and Kate Spraul (2:18.59) finished in first and second in the 200-yard individual medley. Head Coach Jill Lin, now in her seventh year, is preparing her team for the PCSC Championships in February in Monterey Park and the NCAA DII Championships in March in Indiana.

Men鈥檚 and Women鈥檚 Golf

In their last fall season match, women鈥檚 golf finished second among six PacWest teams in the East Bay Fall Invitational at Stonebrea Country Club. Kyla Layman 鈥28 led the way and tied for 24th place (+16) after 54 holes. Competing at the Wasatch Golf Tournament hosted by Westminster (Utah), the Warriors finished second, one stroke shy of Westminster, earning honors as the PacWest Women鈥檚 Golf Team of the Week. Santiago Lopez finished second and Fernando Jimenez tied for third at the Danish Classic in Solvang for the men鈥檚 golf team. In his second season, Head Coach Leo Maes has welcomed Harley Richardson, a new assistant coach.

swimming

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Cross Country

Men鈥檚 cross country competed at the NCAA DII West Regionals in Monmouth, Oregon, finishing in 15th place out of 23 schools in the 10K. The core of the men鈥檚 team consists of one junior, one sophomore and three freshmen. 鈥淚鈥檓 excited for the ways this young team will continue to grow and develop in the future,鈥 said Coach Chris Hanessian. Both the men鈥檚 and women鈥檚 teams ran under a rising Hawaii sun in the 2025 PacWest Championships. For the men, a pair of All-PacWest runners highlighted a fifth-place finish out of 10 teams, while the women came in eighth out of 12. In the women鈥檚 6K, Molly Sandridge 鈥27 emerged as 糖心原创鈥檚 top-finisher. In the men鈥檚, 8K Samuel Nealon and Hunter Skoglund sprinted to the final two All-PacWest honors.

cross country

 

New Coach to Lead Women鈥檚 Tennis Team

Sheila Snyder, who compiled 438 coaching victories as the women鈥檚 head tennis coach at Wayne State in Michigan for 35 years, joins the Warriors to lead the women鈥檚 tennis team.

鈥淐oach Snyder has built an impressive history with a successful Division II women鈥檚 tennis program, developing leaders and fostering excellence,鈥 says Robert Ruiz, 糖心原创鈥檚 director of athletics. 鈥淪he brings a deep desire to mentor athletes and to invest in the development of a strong team culture.鈥

Snyder鈥檚 record of wins ranks ninth in NCAA DII women鈥檚 tennis history. In the last 19 years at Wayne State, her teams qualified for the NCAA Tournament 14 times. In the 2022-23 season, the team won its first Round of 16 match and advanced to the quarterfinals. Three times, Snyder earned recognition as the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Women鈥檚 Tennis Coach of the Year as well as the ITA Regional Coach of the Year.

鈥淚鈥檓 excited to join a faith-based community where I can help the students grow not only as athletes but in their character and spirit,鈥 Snyder says. 鈥淚 look forward to molding the young women on my team, mentoring them and hopefully maintaining a life-long relationship with them.

鈥淲e鈥檙e going to work hard, compete and get better every day, and we鈥檙e going to have fun doing it. I try to create a family atmosphere 鈥 that family away from home.鈥

Snyder earned a Master of Science in exercise physiology and a Bachelor of Science in physical education, both from Wayne State.

The ninth head coach of women鈥檚 tennis, Snyder will guide the program into its 52nd year. Alumna Ava Verchimak 鈥23, who played for the Warriors as a student, joins Snyder on the coaching staff.

Announcing New 糖心原创 STUNT Program

The nation鈥檚 fastest鈥慻rowing female sport comes to Westmont in fall 2026. Since its NCAA Division II debut as an emerging sport in 2023, STUNT has blended the athleticism of cheer, dance and gymnastics into a high鈥慽mpact competition celebrating teamwork, precision and power. 鈥淲e鈥檙e excited to create another thriving athletic program that attracts amazing student鈥慳thletes who want to succeed at 糖心原创,鈥 says Athletic Director Robert Ruiz. 鈥淲e can become a strong regional competitor and take it to the highest level of NCAA DII.鈥

Learn more at westmont.edu/stunt.

This is a story from the Fall 2025 糖心原创 Magazine