The spring sports season is winding down for the Sea Lions, and Point Loma Nazarene University’s athletics program is well-positioned as teams reach the home stretch.
Women’s Tennis
The women’s tennis team has followed up last year’s PacWest-winning team well, as it finished the regular season 15-3 and came within two points of beating Azusa Pacific to win back-to-back PacWest titles.
The Sea Lions have had immense success in the doubles category, as they’re 41-8 on the season. PLNU won the doubles point in the PacWest Championship against APU thanks to the pairings of third-year Perla Conde Vendrell — PacWest Newcomer of the Year — and fourth-year Alina Kupfer, and third-years Melissa Zirkle and Zoe Moley.
Moley also won a point for the Sea Lions in her singles match, but the final score was 4-2. Because of PLNU’s dominant season and second-place finish in the PacWest, they’re primed to get into the NCAA West Regional, but await seeding.
PLNU had solid representation in the All-PacWest Honors. Kupfer (12-7) finished on the First Team for singles, while third-year Emely Valencia Andrejeva (13-6) and Conde Vendrell (14-5) finished on the Second Team. Kupfer, Conde Vendrell, Valencia Andrejeva and third-year Anna Pallencaoe all received Second Team honors for doubles.
Men’s Tennis
Though the men’s team had a slight dip in terms of record, it finished the PacWest Championships strong with a third-place finish. After a loss to APU in the semifinals, the No. 4 Sea Lions battled back to beat No. 3 Hawaii Pacific in the third-place match, likely giving PLNU a better shot at an at-large bid in the NCAA West Regional.
The Sea Lions lost the doubles point but wound up winning four of the five singles matches to pull out the victory. The winners included fourth-year transfer and PacWest Newcomer of the Year Stanislas Noel, second-year David Fisinger, third-year transfer Paul Sobich and first-year Marcos Alogo-Piqueras. Third-year Finn Kirschner was also leading his match at the time PLNU clinched the win.
Noel (11-7 singles, 10-7 doubles) earned All-PacWest Singles and Doubles First Team honors. Fisinger (12-5 singles, 8-7 doubles) earned Second Team honors in the singles category, and Kirschner (10-7), Noel’s doubles partner, joined Noel on Doubles First Team. Fisinger and Alogo-Piqueras (8-3 together) earned Third Team honors.
If PLNU gets an at-large bid for the NCAA West Regional, it’ll be played on May 11 and 12. Location and time to be determined.
Baseball
Head Coach Justin James and the PLNU baseball program have continued its reign of dominance, as the team is 33-8 on the season, currently atop the PacWest standings.
Perhaps the most impressive part is that James is doing it with an entirely new pitching staff. Except for fourth-year Kenny Esposito, every pitcher to have logged an inning this season is either a transfer or a first-year player.
First-year Vaughn Neckar has been a standout on the pitching side. Donning a 3.61 earned run average (ERA) with an 8-2 record, Neckar has twice won PacWest Pitcher of the Week this season. In both instances, Neckar threw complete game, one-hit shutouts; once against Hawaii Pacific and once against Hawaii Hilo.
Derek Silva, a redshirt third-year and transfer from Mesa College, has been the anchor of the Sea Lions’ rotation, as he leads the team in ERA (3.20), innings pitched (59) and strikeouts (72). The Sea Lions lead the PacWest in team ERA at 4.35. Second is Concordia at 5.14.
PLNU’s lineup has been rock solid, as they lead the PacWest in batting average, runs scored, runs batted in and on-base percentage. Second-year infielder Josiah Rodriguez has been the most consistent bat in the lineup, posting an impressive .438 batting average and .508 on-base percentage, leading the team in hits with 64. Tristan Moore, the grad transfer outfielder, has supplemented some pop, notching eight homers, 18 doubles and four triples.
The Sea Lions have eight games left in the regular season slate before heading to Santa Barbara for the PacWest Championships from May 6-8.
Track & Field
Multiple runners for PLNU’s track and field team have had standout performances in the 2025-26 campaign.
Fourth-year Maddie Reeves has broken multiple of her own school records: the 10K, 3,000-meter and 5,000-meter races. Reeves’ times in both events rank her fourth and sixth, respectively, in all of Division II, putting her in a good position to return to the Division II Outdoor Track and Field Championships on May 21 in Emporia, Kan.
Fourth-year Elizabeth Satterlee moved up to third in PLNU history in the 3,000-meter steeplechase with her time of 10:50.06. Second- and fourth-years Sarah McGarry and Reagan Cole rank third and fourth in program history in the 400-meter hurdles, posting times of 61.10 and 61.16 seconds.
First-year graduate student Nica Zsiros, who competes in the heptathlon, posted the seventh-best time in the 100-meter hurdles in program history.
Fourth-year Zaila Smith reached the top five in program history for the 10,000-meter race after posting a time of 37:19.96 at the Bob Larsen Distance Carnival at UCLA.
The first-years have made their mark early in their PLNU careers as well, as Abby Patton (200 meters), Skyler Cazale (triple jump) and Aubrey Montoya (100 meters) each rank sixth in PLNU history in their respective events.
Fourth-year Katherine Heekin’s 12.26-second 100-meter dash places her in the top ten as well.
There will be more opportunities for records to be broken or names to be etched in PLNU history, as the Sea Lions are set to host the PacWest Championships from April 23-25.
Belen Palomino Young