Santa Clara University

Santa Clara Club Sports has tripled in size this year from 5 to 15 Club teams. Our veteran teams maintained strong performances and produced stellar results this fall quarter, and our young teams have shown great potential for the winter quarter.

Men's Lacrosse finished this quarter with an unmarred record. They competed against three schools (UC Santa Cruz, Saint Mary's, and Cal) on Saturday, November 11th and came away with three great wins. Outstanding performer sophomore goalie Phil Donici and freshman attackman Charlie Ellis helped the Broncos in the 9 - 4 win over UC Santa Cruz. The incredible 12 - 3 win over Saint Mary’s was an all around great team effort made by veteran juniors and seniors as well as newer freshmen and sophomores. The win over Cal, a preseason ranked top 25 team, gave Men’s Lacrosse a boost of confidence for the upcoming season. Don't miss the next game against #1 Sonoma State on Sunday, February 11th!

Men's Volleyball played two hard-fought tournaments at Haas Pavilion in Berkeley. On Friday, November 3rd, the Broncos were victorious over Cal 3 – 0. Outstanding stats were senior co-captains Jason Kennedy and Scott Clark with 9 kills on only 12 attempts and 27 assists and Dan Kwon with 12 digs and 1 service ace. The newer additions to the team emerged as key players: sophomore Jon Takara made 8 kills; freshman Matt Brubaker recorded 1 kill, 2 assist blocks, and 2 service aces; freshman Colin Niedermeyer lead with 12 kills, and 4 solo blocks.

On Saturday, November 11th, Men's Volleyball tied for 3rd in a tournament that featured 2 NCAA teams, 1 NAIA team, and 6 nationally top-rated club programs. The biggest win for the Broncos were the two wins 25 - 21 and 25 - 18 over UC Santa Cruz - 1 of the 2 NCAA teams. The number 1 rule for an NCAA team is not to lose to a club team, as UC Santa Cruz did to Santa Clara that day. The team rattled off 6 service aces and hit .469. Outstanding performers Scott Clark hit astronomically high at .857 with 6 kills and 2 blocks and Colin Niedermeyer recorded 13 kills and 5 service aces. For the next preseason match, the Santa Clara Broncos will play against the UC Santa Cruz Banana Slugs again in Santa Cruz on Friday, January 19th.

As for the new club teams, Christine Andry, Megan Leonard, and Laura Skinner of Equestrian competed avidly throughout the quarter, placing 1st, 2nd, and 3rd multiple times in events such as Novice and Intermediate Over Fences; Intermediate Flat; and Advanced Walk, Trot, Canter.

Matt Spevak and Matt Nahlik were key sailors for Sailing. On Saturday, November 11th, Matt Nahlik crossed the finish line in 3rd place for the Broncos. “It was a very exciting regatta. There was a storm that caused winds from the land to rise to 30 knots seaward. Sailing was a big adrenaline rush and everyone was capsizing,” reports Andrew Smith, president of Sailing.

Shotokan Karate took home 1st, 2nd, and 3rd multiple times in Kata and Sparring with the efforts of Dean Paul Dominguez, Eric Edem, and William Whitener.

Freshmen Britt Williams and Stephanie Turnbull of Triathlon ran, swam, and biked their way to 2nd and 3rd place the weekend of November 4th-5th.

Ultimate Frisbee faced some tough competition this fall season. Alex Seber, club president, reflects, “The new guys played better than expected and showed a lot of promise. We got the new guys a lot of playing time and they learned a lot, which was what we wanted to do.” Their season is going to start getting serious in the winter as they hope to make a splash in the Bay Area ultimate scene.