Highlighting Grand Canyon Women's Athletics in 2015

1/4/2016 10:18:00 AM | General, Softball, Women's Basketball, Women's Cross Country, Women's Golf, Women's Soccer, Women's Swimming and Diving, Women's Tennis, Volleyball, Track and Field, Beach Volleyball

Men's 2015 Highlights Top Photos of 2015

By: Steven Gonzalez

No two highlights are exactly the same. That's definitely the case for Grand Canyon's athletic teams as each squad celebrated many high points in the 2015 calendar year.

Take a look back at some of top moments across the Lopes women's sports spectrum, from dramatic victories, to coaching hires, and academic achievements.

Basketball:
GCU Rallies From 14 Points Down for First Win of 2015-16

On Nov. 16, 2015 the Grand Canyon women's basketball team was looking for its first win of the season against Oral Roberts. The Antelopes came all the way back from a 14-point deficit to tie the game late in the fourth quarter and force overtime. Behind Cheyenne Hedrington, who tied a school single-game record with 19 rebounds, and eight points by Dana Jones in the extra session, GCU edged the Golden Eagles by a final score of 66-64.

Beach Volleyball:
Duo Reaches National Semis, All-America Status

Competing in the 2015 AVCA Pairs Championship in Gulf Shores, Ala., Grand Canyon's Mackenzie Phelps and Shannon Dugan closed out the beach volleyball season on a high note by advancing to the national semifinals and being named 2015 AVCA Collegiate Sand All-Americans. In their opening-round matchup, Phelps and Dugan snagged a close two-game victory over the No. 3 seed from Long Beach State by a score of 21-17, 21-19. In the quarterfinals, the duo faced No. 2 Hawaii's Nikki Taylor and Brittany Tiegs, picking up a second consecutive straight-sets victory to pave their way to the semifinals. The run marked the tandem's sixth victory on the season over a ranked pair, including wins that earned them the Sand Volleyball Showcase title during the regular season.

Cross Country:
Lopes Hire Slattery as Head Coach

Grand Canyon started down a new path in its cross country history, as it announced the hiring of Sara Slattery on Aug. 18, 2015 as the next men's and women's head coach. Slattery has a wealth of personal experience to draw on as she began her professional distance running career in May 2005, competing in both national and international competitions. In 2007, she was the Pan American Games champion in the 10,000-meters in Rio de Janerio, Brazil. Slattery was an alternate for the U.S. Olympic Team at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing and has been a member of multiple U.S. National Teams.

Golf:
Giesecke Brought on to Lead Program as Head Coach

On June 28, 2015, Grand Canyon women's golf drove one straight down the fairway with the announcement of the hiring of Lauren Giesecke to be the school's next head coach. Giesecke brought a strong playing and coaching pedigree. She came to GCU from South Florida where she was an assistant coach under Marci Kornegay since 2013. While at USF, Giesecke helped lead the program to a national ranking and coached USF standout Ashley Burke to all-conference status as well as a berth in the NCAA regional tournament.

Soccer:
GCU Defeats NAU, Breaks State Attendance Record

The atmosphere was electric with 2,565 screaming fans, continuing their chants and enthusiasm from well before the match when they made the first ever "March to Match" with more than 300 members of the Havocs student section. It was a spirited group of students leading cheers, the band playing music and the spirit team getting people riled up. The end result? An incredible build up for GCU's first match of the season, one culminated with the Antelopes delivering a late thriller on a header from Kelsie Roberts to defeat Northern Arizona for the first time in school history. Along the way, the match set the record for most fans to attend a college soccer game in the state of Arizona.

Softball:
Lopes Earn Second-Highest GPA in Division I

Grand Canyon reaped the rewards of hard work in the classroom as the Lopes received word in the fall of 2015 that they had the second-highest team grade-point average among any Division I program during the 2014-15 academic year. According to information released by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA), the Lopes' GPA of 3.640 trailed only the combined total of Lipscomb, which led DI with a team 3.645 GPA. The honor came on the heels of learning GCU's total of 14 NFCA Scholar-Athletes last season was the third-highest in Division I.

Swimming and Diving:
Grand Canyon Shows Well on National, International Stage

The Antelopes were once again well-represented on the national level, taking part in the FINA World Championships and the USA Swimming 2015 Phillips 66 National Championships. Daria Talanova competed for her country, Kyrgyzstan, at the FINA World Championships from July 24-Aug. 9 in Kazan, Russia. Talanova competed in the 100-meter breaststroke and 200-meter breaststroke, while Iryna Glavnyk and Hannah Kastigar represented GCU at the USA Swimming 2015 Phillips 66 National Championships. Glavnyk swam in the 100-meter backstroke and 200-meter backstroke, while Kastigar took part in the 200-meter medley, 400-meter individual medley, 200-meter butterfly and 100-meter breastroke.

Tennis:
GCU Earns WAC Coach- and Player-of-the-Year Honors

Head coach Greg Prudhomme was designated as the Western Athletic Conference's Coach of the Year for the women's team on April 23, 2015. During conference season, he helped GCU to a 5-0 sweep to earn the WAC regular-season team title and closed out the regular season with an 11-6 overall record. Senior Priscilla Annoual earned the league's player-of-the-year accolade for her 5-0 conference performance in GCU's No. 1 slot. Her success on the court also merited a first-team spot on the All-WAC singles squad. Annoual held a 13-3 record during the regular season in singles, ending her career as an Antelope on a 10-match win streak.

Track and Field:
Lopes Repeat as WAC Indoor Champion

On Feb. 28, 2015, Grand Canyon made it back-to-back WAC Indoor Championships, as the Antelope women had a strong final day in Colorado Springs, Colo. Aaliyah Cook, the outstanding freshman of the year for the conference, won the high jump after clearing the bar at 1.67 meters. Tope Williams raced to a top finish in the 60-meter dash, clocking a time of 7.49 seconds and finished second in the 200-meter dash.

Volleyball:
Lopes Help Tardy Earn All-Tournament Honors at Nebraska

Grand Canyon closed out its regular season on a strong note, winning three of its last four matches including a pair of sweeps on the final weekend, but one of its biggest moments came early in the non-conference slate. Sophomore outside hitter Natalie Tardy had 14 kills on .300 hitting and added two blocks against then-No. 4 Nebraska, helping her to all-tournament honors at the Cornhuskers' home tourney. Nebraska went on to claim its third national title in program history to finish the season No. 1 in the country.