12/31/2022 11:00:00 AM | General, Paul Coro, Lopes Insider Blog
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GCU Athletics' yearlong success reflected by totals produced
By: Paul Coro
GCU Athletics closed a year of choice championships, regal records and memorable moments for Lope Nation, which continued to create a unique home environment. As the Lopes head into 2023 striving for more, here's a by-the-numbers reflection of some of what made GCU special in 2022:
7,146
7,146 at volleyball
The GCU women's volleyball program's attendance record for an Aug. 30 match that was in correlation with Lope-A-Palooza, a university welcome event.
7,004
Average 2021-22 season attendance for GCU men's basketball, making it the only programs besides Gonzaga and Houston to have 100% arena capacity on average.
6,019
The GCU women's basketball program's record attendance for its Nov. 30 home game against Arizona State.
3,392
Klaire Mitchell
GCU setter Klaire Mitchell's career assist total, who passed 3,000 this year to extend her Division I-era program record and put her 22nd nationally among active players for career assists per set (10.25).
3,241
The GCU women's soccer program's record attendance for its Sept. 1 home win against Arizona.
500
Career wins milestone that GCU softball head coach Shanon Hays reached with an April 22 doubleheader sweep of New Mexico State.
213
Siri Patchana
GCU senior golfer Siripatsorn Patchana's winning WAC Championship score, making her a two-time conference champion.
200
Career coaching wins milestone reached by GCU men's basketball head coach Bryce Drew, who followed that Feb. 23 achievement with his 50th win at GCU on Dec. 29.
100
Career coaching wins milestone reached by GCU men's volleyball head coach Matt Werle with a March 12 sweep of Harvard.
75.1
Israel Oloyede
Meter length of GCU senior Israel Oloyede's hammer throw at the USA Track and Field Championships, placing him fifth in the competition with the fifth-best collegiate throw of the year.
51
WAC-record stolen bases by GCU softball player Gianna Nicoletti, who ranked third nationally.
39.3
Nation-leading number of plate appearances per strikeout for GCU shortstop Jacob Wilson.
40
Nick Hull
Years since GCU baseball had four players selected in the MLB Draft's top 20 rounds. Nick Hull (seventh round), Tayler Aguilar (15th), Vince Reilly (18th) and Eli Ankeney (20th) were picked.
39
Program-record wins for GCU softball, which reached the NCAA Division I tournament for the first time.
38.4
Opponent field goal percentage that GCU men's basketball allowed last season, putting the Lopes in the national top five for the second consecutive season.
25
GCU baseball's national ranking at the end of the regular season to earn an at-large NCAA tournament bid, its second consecutive NCAA regional trip.
23
Maria Brunlehner
Years that the WAC women's 200-yard freestyle relay record stood until GCU's Maria Brunlehner, Kaitlyn Carr, Claire Banic and Emily Muteti broke it with a WAC Championship swim of 1 minute, 30.05 seconds in February.
22
Teams that GCU men's golf defeated to capture its first GCU Invitational title in March, when it tied a tournament record with an 18-under score.
18
GCU-record goals scored in the 2022 season by soccer player Gianna Gourley, who tied for fourth nationally.
16
Matthew Braley
WAC Championship-high birdies made by GCU golfer Matthew Braley, who finished as the tournament runner-up.
15.5
The nation-leading steals average for GCU women's basketball, which ranked third and second nationally for the category in the previous two seasons.
12
Goals scored in the 2022 season by GCU soccer player Shaun Joash, who tied for seventh nationally with the second-best total in GCU's Division I era.
10
Commissioner's Cup
WAC championships claimed in 2021-22 to make GCU the WAC Commissioner's Cup winner for a second straight year. (Baseball, men's and women's soccer, softball and women's tennis in the regular season and women's soccer, softball, men's and women's indoor track and field and men's outdoor track and field in the postseason)
7
National seed for GCU beach volleyball in its first-ever NCAA Championships appearance for a 28-win season, twice as many victories as the Lopes posted in 2018.
6
National Consecutive WAC men's indoor track and field championships won by GCU, which scored 201.5 points at the February conference meet to more than double runner-up Stephen F. Austin.
5
Esai Easley
Number of programs besides GCU to have multiple players selected in the MLS SuperDraft's first round. Esai Easley went at No. 22 to Sporting Kansas City and Justin Rasmussen was taken at No. 27 by the Portland Timbers.
4
WAC regular-season championships in six seasons for GCU women's tennis.
3
Consecutive GCU Invitationals won by the Lopes women's golf team, which defeated 18 teams at the March event with a tournament record score of 4 under par.
2
Number of GCU men's volleyball players receiving All-America honors (second-teamer Christian Janke and honorable mention Camden Gianni) for the first time.
