Weekly Recap

Holmgren advances to final for men’s tennis; volleyball continues unbeaten streak in WCC

Mari Olson / Sports Editor / The USD Vista

It was a busy week for USD sports as women’s rowing, tennis, and swim & dive began to pick up their fall seasons. Check out how everyone fared this weekend, and stay tuned for updates as everyone’s seasons progress. 

Volleyball 

Volleyball continued their undefeated run to start West Coast Conference (WCC) play, beating Gonzaga University 3-0 at the Jenny Craig Pavilion on Thursday, Oct. 7. 

The Toreros won 25-23, 25-12, 25-18 to put away the Bulldogs in quick succession. 

USD volleyball rounded out the weekend with another WCC win, over the University of Portland on Saturday, Oct. 9. The Toreros extended their undefeated conference win streak for this season, and are 12-3 overall, 6-0 conference. 

USD won 25-16, 25-15, 25-19, putting together an impressive team win to get past the Pilots. Redshirt sophomore setter, Isadora Terçariol, had 29 assists for her teammates during the three sets. 

The Toreros play 23-ranked Pepperdine University away on Thursday, Oct. 14, and will play Loyola Marymount University away on Saturday, Oct. 16. 

Football

The USD football team played Pioneer Football League (PFL) opponent Butler University on Saturday, Oct. 9. The Toreros won 52-21 in Indianapolis. 

After going down by a touchdown in the first quarter, at 7-14, the Toreros found enough offense to tie the score going into halftime. 

USD exploded in the second half. A field goal scored by junior kicker, Brandon Eickert, and five touchdowns put the Toreros up 52-14. 

Butler was able to score one last touchdown with a minute and a half left in the game to make the final score 52-21 to the Toreros.

USD will play Drake University at home at 1 p.m. next weekend, Oct. 16, in their homecoming game. 

Men’s soccer

USD’s men’s soccer team traveled to the Pacific Northwest to take on the University of Portland on Saturday, Oct. 9. USD couldn’t turn things around, and a 1-5 loss to the Pilots dropped their record to 1-10 overall and 0-2 in conference. 

First-year defender, Robert Webb, scored the Toreros’ only goal of the evening in the 63rd minute to make the score 1-4. The Pilots scored ten minutes later for the final goal of the game, with USD conceding five goals. 

Senior goalkeeper, Berk Watson, made four saves in the first half and substitute senior goalkeeper, Marley Mascarenas, made five, but it wasn’t enough to keep the Pilots from finding the back of the net. 

The Toreros will take on the San Diego State University Aztecs on Friday, Oct. 15 at 7:30 at Torero Stadium. 

Women’s rowing

Women’s rowing competed in their first race of the fall season at the San Diego Row for the Cure regatta early in the morning on Saturday, Oct. 9. 

The team entered boats in the open eight, open four, and open pair categories, meaning many athletes raced twice. Although no other collegiate teams competed on Saturday, the USD boats posted good times to start the year and will be looking to improve in their next race. 

USD will take an 8+ and a 4+ to the Head of the Charles Regatta in Boston, MA on Oct. 23 and 24. This is the first time the Toreros will have two boats competing at the prestigious race. 

Women’s soccer

The University of San Diego women’s soccer team hosted no. 6 Pepperdine University at home on Wednesday, Oct. 6, falling to the Waves by a score of 0-4. 

Pepperdine registered 22 total shots over the course of the game, while USD managed 10. USD’s senior goalkeeper, Ellyn Casto, made four saves, but it wasn’t enough to keep out Pepperdine’s attack. 

USD continued their WCC schedule on Saturday, Oct. 9 against no. 20 Brigham Young University. The Toreros lost to the Cougars 0-6.  

The loss puts USD’s record at 5-7 overall and 0-3 in conference.

Women’s soccer returns to Torero Stadium at 5 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 15 to play Loyola Marymount University. 

Women’s tennis

USD redshirt junior Solymar Colling and redshirt sophomore Elizabeth Goldsmith traveled to South Carolina this week to participate in the International Tennis Association (ITA) Women’s All-American Championships against the best collegiate tennis players in the country. 

The pair competed in the open doubles tournament, and won their first match on Oct. 7 in an upset against the no. 4 team from Tennessee State University, 9-7. 

In round two, Colling and Goldsmith met a doubles pair from Iowa State University, who beat the Torero team 8-4 to move on. 

Colling also competed in the open singles tournament, but fell in the first round to University of Oklahoma senior, Ivana Corley.

Men’s tennis

USD redshirt senior, August Holmgren, competed in the ITA Men’s All-American Championships this week in Tulsa, OK. Holmgren won his round of 64 match against Princeton University senior, Karl Poling.

Holmgren continued to advance through the stages, beating athletes from the University of Texas, Austin and Tennessee State University to make it to the quarterfinals. 

On Friday, Holmgren faced off with Mason Beiler from the University of Oklahoma, fighting through two sets for a win to make it into the semi finals. 

Holmgren marched his way through the semis, beating University of Hawaii, Manoa, junior, Andre Ilagan,  for a place in the final against University of Florida sophomore, Ben Shelton.

Holmgren couldn’t quite find the winning ticket, falling to Shelton 3-6, 4-6 in the final. 

Next up for Torero men’s tennis is the ITA Southwest Regional Championship on Oct. 22-25. 

Swim & Dive 

USD swim & dive competed in the Pepperdine Invitational meet on Saturday, Oct. 9. The Toreros had five teams competing in the 200-yard medley relay, and one of the teams won the event.

Swimmers also raced in the 400-yard individual medley, with first-year, Shelby Nicolaisen, taking second and sophomore, Hannah Hintermeister, finishing third. 

The Toreros came second as a team in the Division I women’s team category, beating Loyola Marymount University but unable to overcome Pepperdine. 

USD’s next meet will be at California Baptist University on Oct. 21.