Despite the loss of four starters, the UAA women's basketball team is receiving some preseason love nationally and in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference.
The Seawolves, 30-2 last season, enter the season ranked No. 4 nationally in NCAA Division II and are the preseason favorites to win their fourth straight GNAC title.
UAA opens the season this week with a game against Johnson & Wales, a member of the United States Collegiate Athletic Association, on Thursday in Charlotte, North Carolina, and a Sunday game against NCAA Division I powerhouse Duke in Durham, North Carolina.
The Blue Devils enter the season ranked No. 12 in NCAA Division I.
"We're really excited just to get out on the road and stop competing against each other and play against someone in a different colored uniform," UAA coach Ryan McCarthy said. "I think everybody is just excited to see how we look as a team."
UAA's lone returning starter is junior guard Tara Thompson, who averaged 8.9 points per game and shot 43.6 percent from 3-point land last season.
Men’s basketball picked to finish 4th in GNAC
The new-look men's basketball squad Tuesday was picked to finish fourth in the GNAC this season.
The Seawolves, who feature 12 newcomers, head to California this week to play Division I UC Irvine in a Friday exhibition in Irvine before opening the regular season against NAIA Antelope Valley on Saturday in Lancaster.
"We'll have a bunch of newcomers, we'll throw them into the fire and see where we come out," UAA coach Rusty Osborne said at a press conference.
Ahead of UAA in the preseason poll are No. 1 Western Washington, No. 2 Western Oregon and No. 3 Central Washington.
The Seawolves are coming off back-to-back 21-win seasons, but they have five new starters this season.
UAA rebuilt its roster with the addition of four Division I transfers, including preseason conference picks Jacob Lampkin and D.J. Ursery from the University of the Pacific.
Johnson nabs 2 honors, volleyball debuts at No. 8 in regional rankings
The UAA volleyball team is on a roll and so is junior outside hitter Chrisalyn Johnson. The same week the Seawolves entered the first West Region rankings at No. 8, the 5-foot-8 Dimond grad was named the American Volleyball Coaches Association Player of the Week and the GNAC Offensive Player of the Week.
Johnson powered the Seawolves (16-7, 11-3 GNAC) over two nationally ranked opponents last week with 40 kills on .243 hitting in five-set wins over No. 25 Central Washington and No. 10 Northwest Nazarene.
"It's the second round of GNAC (matches) so we were happy avenge a couple losses here at home," UAA coach Chris Green said. "We had huge crowds and I think that helped energize our team."
With three weeks to go in the regular season, UAA hits the road for the last time this week to face GNAC-leading Western Washington (19-3, 13-1) on Thursday in Bellingham, Washington, and Simon Fraser (11-11, 8-6) on Saturday in Burnaby, British Columbia.
The Seawolves are tied for third in the GNAC with Central Washington.
Cross country runs into regionals
The UAA women's cross-country team will try to add a second championship in as many weeks Saturday when the Seawolves compete in the NCAA Division II West Region cross-country championships in Monmouth, Oregon.
UAA coach Michael Friess said the main goal for both UAA cross-country teams is to qualify for nationals.
The UAA women — No. 4-ranked nationally — enter the meet off a win in the GNAC championships two weeks ago, but No. 1 Cal Baptist stands in their way of another title. Four West Region teams are ranked ahead of the No. 16 UAA men.
The top three teams at the region meet earn a guaranteed berth to nationals and eight other teams will be picked on an at-large basis.
Since the West Region is one of the tougher regions in the nation, Friess said UAA should earn at-large bids to nationals as long as the teams finish in the top five. But the goals are a win on the women's side and a top-three finish on the men's side.
"We think we have a shot at both (goals) if our athletes run to their potential," Friess said. "It's going to be an intense competition. We're going to have to be aggressive.
"Our women need to run at regions how they run at conference, which is upfront, pressure type of running. The guys are going to have to … press the front."
VOLLEYBALL
GNAC volleyball standings
Team GNAC Overall
Western Washington 13-1 19-3
Northwest Nazarene 12-2 20-2
Central Washington 11-3 16-6
UAA 11-3 16-7
Simon Fraser 8-6 11-11
Seattle Pacific 7-7 12-10
Concordia 5-10 10-12
UAF 3-11 10-13
Saint Martin's 3-11 8-14
Montana State Billings 3-11 7-17
Western Oregon 2-13 6-16
Last week
UAA def. Central Washington 21-25, 25-17, 28-26, 19-25, 15-11.
UAA def. Northwest Nazarene 19-25, 25-14, 12-25, 25-23, 15-9.
This week
Thursday — UAA at Western Washington, 6 p.m.
Saturday — UAA at Simon Fraser, 6 p.m.
HOCKEY
Last week
No games
This week
Friday — UAA at Lake Superior State, 3:07 p.m.
Saturday — UAA at Lake Superior State, 3:07 p.m.
MEN'S BASKETBALL
Last week
UAA 90, Alumni 52, exhibition
This week
Friday — UAA at UC Irvine, 6 p.m., exhibition
Saturday — UAA at Antelope Valley, 6 p.m.
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
This week
Thursday — UAA at Johnson & Wales (North Carolina), 3 p.m.
Sunday — UAA at Duke, 2 p.m., exhibition
CROSS COUNTRY
This week
Saturday — UAA at West Region championships, 9 a.m., Monmouth, Oregon