What is happening in Chapman sports this week?
Illustration by Yana Samoylova
Seven Chapman sports teams will be in action, with 14 different games and events happening this week. As conference standings start to take shape, this is a crucial stretch for teams to stay in position to secure a postseason berth.
Men’s water polo is the busiest squad. Their first game is at 4 p.m. on Wednesday, away at California Lutheran University. Chapman currently has a record of six wins and nine losses overall on the season, with one win and three losses in the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC). They sit seventh in the standings out of nine teams. Junior goalkeeper Jackson Sanders, a software engineering major who recently set the all-time school record for saves in a game, will be key to getting the Panthers back on track.
Over the weekend men’s water polo will have a reprieve from SCIAC play, as they travel to Cambridge, Massachusetts to play in the Harvard Invitational Tournament. They get the opportunity to challenge themselves against Harvard University, who are ranked top ten in the NCAA Division I, as well as other DI programs Wagner College, Mount Saint Mary’s, Maryland and DII Salem University. It will be a chance for the team to play low stakes games against high level opponents. If they can take some momentum out of this week then it could serve as a turning point in the season. The games will take place on Saturday (Harvard and Salem) and Sunday (Wagner and Mt. St. Mary’s).
Circling back to Wednesday, men’s and women’s soccer will both also be playing at 4 p.m. and will both be competing against California Institute of Technology. The men’s team will be the only sport competing on campus that day, and are riding a wave of good form currently. After seven straight games without a win, and six losses in that streak, Chapman hasn’t lost in five matches (two wins, three ties). This game against Caltech is crucial as Chapman only has five remaining in the regular season and need to make ground on the top five in the SCIAC standings. They are currently on the outside looking in on the playoffs and this game at Wilson Field is a chance to inch closer.
The women’s game will be played at Caltech, and they currently sit fifth in the conference. They’ll have their work cut out for them to move any higher, as they sit two wins behind Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges. Still, though, they need to get wins to stay in the picture. Coach Courtney Calderon has been striving for consistency from her team all season, and will need them to find it during this last stretch of the season.
Men’s soccer will be away against Whittier University at 7 p.m. on Saturday, with a chance to grab a win against a team who sits higher than them in the standings. Women’s soccer has their second away game of the week against Occidental College, who they recently beat 2-0 at home.
Cross country is back in action at the Highlander Classic, which is hosted by the University of California, Riverside. Senior runner Annika Carlson, a communication studies major, has set school records in both of her previous races. She will be looking to continue a historic season with another successful event. On the men’s side, sophomore screen acting major Gavin White has had the team’s best times at the last two meets. He can build on a strong start as he establishes him as the most competitive runner on the men’s roster.
Swimming and diving has their first home meet of the season at Allred Pool on Saturday, versus Mt. San Antonio College. The diving portion of the meet will start at 10 a.m. and fans should keep an eye out for junior communication studies major Reid Omilian, who finished 12th at the NCAA DIII championships last season. The swimming portion is slated to start around 11:30 a.m., or whenever diving finishes. Chapman finished third at the SCIAC Championships last season and are hoping to start the season out strong, as this is their first full meet. With a slate of strong swimmers across all distances, the Panthers have one of the most well rounded squads in the conference.
Volleyball has two games on Saturday, both being played in Whittier. At 2 p.m. they play against Whittier before playing DePauw University, who don’t compete in the SCIAC, at 4:30 p.m. The team had two sweeps this past weekend, beating Occidental and Caltech both by three sets to none. After a streak of four losses, Chapman is now on a roll and are up to sixth in the conference. A win against Whittier would bring the two school’s to the same record of four wins and four losses in the conference, and would put the Panthers on the brink of making the playoffs.
Football can continue their perfect start to SCIAC play at 7 p.m. on Saturday night, as they welcome Pomona-Pitzer Colleges to Ernie Chapman Stadium. This is a rematch of the 2023 SCIAC Championship game, where the Panthers took home the silverware. Chapman is 3-0 in the conference and 4-1 overall after dismantling CMS on the road by a score of 41-13. This came after the team won their first Homecoming Weekend game since 2019. Chapman is currently top of the Surf Division, and Pomona-Pitzer is top of the Sun Division just like last season. This could be a preview of the 2024 edition of the championship game, and the winner is almost guaranteed a spot in the final.
This is a make or break week for many Chapman teams, so make sure to catch some of the action for yourself.
