Sagehens Claim All-Sports Trophy for Men’s Teams
Pomona-Pitzer claimed its first Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) All-Sports Trophy in 26 years last spring, taking the men’s trophy after winning four SCIAC championships.
On the women’s side, the Sagehens finished second to Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (CMS). CMS claimed the combined All-Sports Trophy in a closely contested battle with Pomona-Pitzer, finishing the year with a total of 159.5 points to the Sagehens’ 153.
“We knew we were having a strong year and to finish it like this is a huge step forward for our department,” said Director of Athletics Lesley Irvine.
On the men’s side, the 2017–18 Sagehens won SCIAC championships in cross country, swimming and diving, water polo and track and field.
The men’s cross country’s championship was Pomona-Pitzer’s first since 2005, and the men’s track and field team rose to the top of the SCIAC for the first time in 27 years. In Jordan Carpenter’s first year as head coach of both cross country and track and field, he took SCIAC Coaching Staff of the Year along with SCIAC Athlete of the Year in Andy Reischling ’19.
The men’s water polo team appeared in their second straight NCAA tournament with back-to-back SCIAC championships, finishing the year ranked No. 17 across all divisions. Head Coach Alex Rodriguez and his staff earned SCIAC Coaching Staff of the Year, and goalkeeper Daniel Diemer (Pitzer ’18) was named SCIAC Player of the Year.
Swimming and diving claimed the program’s first SCIAC championship with Athlete of the Year Mark Hallman ’18 and Newcomer of the Year Lukas Menkhoff ’21.
The women’s teams claimed two SCIAC championships. The women’s swim and dive team captured their second SCIAC championship in three seasons behind SCIAC Coach of the Year J.P. Gowdy and SCIAC Athlete of the Year Maddie Kauahi. The women’s water polo team won the SCIAC championship for the second year in a row and moved on to play in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament. Alex Rodriguez and his team finished the regular season undefeated in SCIAC play earning him SCIAC Coach of the Year along with SCIAC Athlete of the Year in Jocelyn Castro.