Eye of the Tiger
Photo taken by Mōhailani Peloso
With nine games over the weekend, the Tyges were true competitors.
The Women’s Tennis opener at Fresno State was electric, but bittersweet. At court one, senior Megan Carmichael was tenacious at No. 1 singles, battling hard but ultimately falling 7-5, 6-4. The final team score stood at 0-6, with Fresno State (1-0) taking control early after winning the top two doubles matches. On court three, Nahreen Cheam and freshman Rayna Sugai were trailing 4-3 when the point was decided. Despite the early setbacks in doubles, Sugai, along with sophomores Indiya McLeod and Milena Maiorova, showed great promise in singles, pushing their opponents to tight 6-4, 7-5, and 7-6 set scores. However, losses on courts one and three in doubles left Pacific (0-2). As the match came to a close, the seniors reflected on the team’s overall performance, brewing a mix of pride and determination to bounce back.
“I was very excited for my last opener of my Pacific career. It’s definitely something I’ve been thinking about. We have a great group of seniors who are all trying to finish on a good note and enjoy it. I’m looking forward to our season.” - Megan Carmichael ‘25
The Pacific Men’s Tennis team took a field trip on Saturday to Fort Worth, Texas to compete against TCU, who is ranked number 2. Although it resulted in a 0-4 loss, the Pacific Men's Tennis team (2-1) continued to show strong determination in their singles play. At No. 1 singles, junior Tiago Silva was locked in a competitive third set, with the score tied at 2-2 after splitting the first two sets 6-3, 3-6, before the match was halted. Meanwhile, on court three, senior Justas Trainauskas took the opening set 6-3 but was edged out 4-6 in the second, leaving his match unfinished since the rest of the concurrent matches finished, causing Trainauskas’ game to cease immediately.
On Saturday, the Women’s Basketball team competed in a thrilling overtime win by one point against Oregon State. With seconds left in overtime, Graduate Liz Smith skillfully gave the Tigers a one-point lead, and on the defensive end, junior Sydney Ward blocked Oregon State's game-winning attempt. This win marks the fourth consecutive win for the Women’s Basketball team. With this win, Head Coach Bradley Davis claws his way toward claiming the title of winningest coach in program history from Melissa Taketa (140 wins), with five wins standing between him and the title.
Meanwhile on Saturday, the Men’s Basketball team fell to Pepperdine 44-60 after two halves of fast-paced gameplay. The Tigers could not overtake Pepperdine as there were zero lead changes throughout the course of the game due to 21 fast break insurance points by the Waves, and 20 points capitalized off of many turnovers by the Tigers. Highlights include junior Elijah Fisher’s 19 point performance, Lamar Washington’s 8 rebound game, and a team contribution to 22 points in the paint. The Men’s Basketball team looks to recoup their losses by seeking out a sweep against Washington State at home on January 30 at 7 PM.
On Sunday, the Pacific Men's Tennis team suffered a 4-1 defeat to Liberty at TCU's campus. Pacific secured a point on court four, where freshman Vraj Patel delivered an impressive straight-set win, 7-5, 6-2. The Tigers were also in a strong position on court three, with senior Justas Trainauskas up a set 7-6 before play was suspended in the second set due to other games finishing, forcing Trainuaskas; match to discontinue. In doubles, despite holding a lead on court two, Pacific was unable to claim the point. Juniors Terence Das and Tiago Silva led 5-4 before Liberty (2-1) ultimately secured the doubles point.
On Saturday, the Tigers' Women's Swim team (5-4) tallied a grand total of eight first-place victories in the 150-110 defeat to the Aggies. The swimmer of the day was Senior Jordyn Gonzales, as she landed in the top spot in the women's 200-yard backstroke (2:02.83) and 100-yard butterfly (56.05). Gonzales impressively set personal bests in both of those competitions.
The Women’s and Men’s Swim teams were both victorious on Sunday, establishing winning seasons on both sides for the first time under head coach Katelyne Herrington's leadership since the 2019-2020 season. The Women’s team final was a 149-111 victory and the Men’s team final was an 186-76 blowout win. Under the admirable leadership of the 15 seniors on both teams, the Tigers were able to tally 21 first-place finishes throughout the afternoon, with first-place finishes in both medley relays and both 400-yard free relays.
“To be able to win their last dual meet at home is a pretty special memory for all of them. I'm really proud of the seniors. This class has made such an impact on me since I've been head coach at Pacific and has really helped develop the program to where it is today. The double win truly signifies the culture and the desire for us to be that winning team that we've been talking about since the beginning of the year." - Coach Katelyne Herrington
The Women’s Track program commenced the 2025 season with an amazing feat by graduate student Talia Johnson, who recorded a time of 8.24 seconds during the blue preliminaries of the 60-meter dash. This matched the previous record held for the dash.
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