Grand Canyon University Athletics
Coro: Reliving 2018's top moments
12/31/2018 1:00:00 PM | General, Paul Coro
Year capped by rundown of each sport's best, brightest
Grand Canyon took its Athletics program to new heights during 2018. From clutch performances to thrilling victories, the Lopes' achievements and breakthroughs were aplenty. Here is a look at the top 2018 moment for each GCU team:
BASEBALL
May 18 … Senior pitcher Jake Repavich won his 20th career game at Seattle to clinch GCU's second consecutive regular-season WAC title and win its 17th consecutive conference series, which is the longest active streak in the nation.
MEN'S BASKETBALL
March 9 … Head coach Dan Majerle celebrated in the Havocs student section in Las Vegas after the Lopes defensively dominated Utah Valley for a 75-60 WAC Tournament win. The victory put GCU in the tourney championship game.
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
March 3 … GCU denied CSU Bakersfield the WAC regular-season championship by beating the Roadrunners on the road in a double-overtime thriller. Lopes center ShaRon Miller made a buzzer-beating jump shot to send the game to its first overtime.
BEACH VOLLEYBALL
July 29 … Graduate and former All-American Molly Turner followed up her final collegiate season in the spring by recording her highest professional finish. She teamed with Cassie House for seventh place at the Hermosa Beach Open.
MEN'S CROSS COUNTRY
Oct. 27 … Senior Daniel Flores earned a spot on the All-WAC first team after a sixth-place finish at the WAC Championships in Seattle.
WOMEN'S CROSS COUNTRY
Sept. 29 … The team took third place among 26 teams at the Capitol Cross Challenge in Sacramento, Calif., where Paige Hildebrandt finished third individua
lly.
MEN'S GOLF
May 2 … Senior Vinnie Murphy, the two-time WAC Player of the Year, became the program's first NCAA Division I regional competitor when he earned an individual qualification.
WOMEN'S GOLF
April 18 … The team and freshman Siripatsorn Patchana won WAC titles when Patchana clinched both. Her tournament-closing putt sent the Lopes into celebration on the 18th green in Phoenix and onto an NCAA regional appearance.
MEN'S SOCCER
Nov. 11 … The team earned a NCAA tournament berth by winning the WAC Tournament with three 1-0 victories. The run was capped by a championship game victory against San Jose State with a game-winning goal from senior Alex Radilla.
WOMEN'S SOCCER
Oct. 30 … Senior midfielder McKenzie Cook became the first Lopes player to be selected to the All-WAC first team twice.
SOFTBALL
July 17 … Senior Bianca Boling was named the WAC's top female student-athlete for her play on the field (All-WAC first team) and performance in the classroom (College of Humanities and Social Sciences outstanding senior).
MEN'S SWIMMING AND DIVING
Nov. 22 … Senior Mark Nikolaev swam the fifth-fastest 100-yard backstroke time in NCAA history when he won the Hawkeye Invitational in 44.61 seconds, which was 2.45 seconds faster than the runner-up.
WOMEN'S SWIMMING AND DIVING
Feb. 24 … Senior Estela Davis Ortiz was named WAC Women's Swimmer of the Year after winning the 100- and 200-yard backstroke conference championships with GCU record times.
MEN'S TENNIS
Sept. 20 … Junior Lorenzo Fucile was the WAC representative for the Oracle ITA Masters tournament in Malibu, Calif., where he was seeded 19th for singles players.
WOMEN'S TENNIS
Aug. 25 … Greg Prudhomme, GCU's 12-year head coach, was awarded the Steve Wilkinson USPTA National College Coach of the Year award at a ceremony in New York.
MEN'S TRACK AND FIELD
May 26 … Seniors Marcus Flannigan (long jump), senior Scott Marshall (pole vault) and sophomore Jesse Newman (javelin) became the program's first NCAA Championships qualifiers by qualifying at the NCAA West Preliminaries.
WOMEN'S TRACK AND FIELD
May 12 … Senior Tarasue Barnett broke a 19-year-old WAC Championships record with a winning discus throw of 60.74 meters, which was the third-longest distance of the NCAA season.
MEN'S VOLLEYBALL
April 6 … The Lopes set a regular-season record of 18 wins with a home victory against USC and remained in the national top 15 for every week of the season.
WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL
Nov. 21 … After missing two seasons for injuries, middle blocker Kaira Moss was named to the All-WAC Freshmen Team and led GCU in kills, blocks and points in her debut season.
Follow Paul Coro on Twitter: @paulcoro.
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BASEBALL
May 18 … Senior pitcher Jake Repavich won his 20th career game at Seattle to clinch GCU's second consecutive regular-season WAC title and win its 17th consecutive conference series, which is the longest active streak in the nation.
MEN'S BASKETBALL
March 9 … Head coach Dan Majerle celebrated in the Havocs student section in Las Vegas after the Lopes defensively dominated Utah Valley for a 75-60 WAC Tournament win. The victory put GCU in the tourney championship game.
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
March 3 … GCU denied CSU Bakersfield the WAC regular-season championship by beating the Roadrunners on the road in a double-overtime thriller. Lopes center ShaRon Miller made a buzzer-beating jump shot to send the game to its first overtime.
BEACH VOLLEYBALL
July 29 … Graduate and former All-American Molly Turner followed up her final collegiate season in the spring by recording her highest professional finish. She teamed with Cassie House for seventh place at the Hermosa Beach Open.
MEN'S CROSS COUNTRY
Oct. 27 … Senior Daniel Flores earned a spot on the All-WAC first team after a sixth-place finish at the WAC Championships in Seattle.
WOMEN'S CROSS COUNTRY
Sept. 29 … The team took third place among 26 teams at the Capitol Cross Challenge in Sacramento, Calif., where Paige Hildebrandt finished third individua
lly.MEN'S GOLF
May 2 … Senior Vinnie Murphy, the two-time WAC Player of the Year, became the program's first NCAA Division I regional competitor when he earned an individual qualification.
WOMEN'S GOLF
April 18 … The team and freshman Siripatsorn Patchana won WAC titles when Patchana clinched both. Her tournament-closing putt sent the Lopes into celebration on the 18th green in Phoenix and onto an NCAA regional appearance.
MEN'S SOCCER
Nov. 11 … The team earned a NCAA tournament berth by winning the WAC Tournament with three 1-0 victories. The run was capped by a championship game victory against San Jose State with a game-winning goal from senior Alex Radilla.
WOMEN'S SOCCER
Oct. 30 … Senior midfielder McKenzie Cook became the first Lopes player to be selected to the All-WAC first team twice.
SOFTBALL
July 17 … Senior Bianca Boling was named the WAC's top female student-athlete for her play on the field (All-WAC first team) and performance in the classroom (College of Humanities and Social Sciences outstanding senior).
MEN'S SWIMMING AND DIVING
Nov. 22 … Senior Mark Nikolaev swam the fifth-fastest 100-yard backstroke time in NCAA history when he won the Hawkeye Invitational in 44.61 seconds, which was 2.45 seconds faster than the runner-up.
WOMEN'S SWIMMING AND DIVING
Feb. 24 … Senior Estela Davis Ortiz was named WAC Women's Swimmer of the Year after winning the 100- and 200-yard backstroke conference championships with GCU record times.
MEN'S TENNIS
Sept. 20 … Junior Lorenzo Fucile was the WAC representative for the Oracle ITA Masters tournament in Malibu, Calif., where he was seeded 19th for singles players.
WOMEN'S TENNIS
Aug. 25 … Greg Prudhomme, GCU's 12-year head coach, was awarded the Steve Wilkinson USPTA National College Coach of the Year award at a ceremony in New York.
MEN'S TRACK AND FIELD
May 26 … Seniors Marcus Flannigan (long jump), senior Scott Marshall (pole vault) and sophomore Jesse Newman (javelin) became the program's first NCAA Championships qualifiers by qualifying at the NCAA West Preliminaries.
WOMEN'S TRACK AND FIELD
May 12 … Senior Tarasue Barnett broke a 19-year-old WAC Championships record with a winning discus throw of 60.74 meters, which was the third-longest distance of the NCAA season.
MEN'S VOLLEYBALL
April 6 … The Lopes set a regular-season record of 18 wins with a home victory against USC and remained in the national top 15 for every week of the season.
WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL
Nov. 21 … After missing two seasons for injuries, middle blocker Kaira Moss was named to the All-WAC Freshmen Team and led GCU in kills, blocks and points in her debut season.
Follow Paul Coro on Twitter: @paulcoro.
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