College roundup: SRJC, Sonoma State open conference play

The fall sports season is well underway at Santa Rosa Junior College and Sonoma State.

Let’s catch up on how teams are faring as conference play gets started.

SRJC

Football

After being idle for all of the 2020-21 school year, the Bear Cubs returned to action this fall but through five games are still searching for their first win.

They dropped to 0-5 on Saturday with a 42-7 loss at San Francisco City College. On the season, they’re allowing 37 points per game on defense while scoring just 10 on offense.

Big 8 Conference play begins Oct. 16 at home against Butte.

Men’s soccer

The Bear Cubs opened conference play on Friday with a 2-1 win at Folsom Lake to move to 4-2-2 overall. Alan Soto, a Montgomery grad, and Alex Climaco, a former Piner standout, each found the back of the net. Soto currently leads the team with 13 points on five goals and three assists. Dennis Hernandez isn’t far behind with 12 points on five goals and two assists.

SRJC is currently the defending Big 8 champion as it went 18-2-2 overall and 9-0-1 in conference play to capture the title in 2019. It did not play in the 2020-21 school year.

Men’s cross country

The Bear Cubs have turned in some solid performances in their first three meets of the season. As a team they finished third out of five teams at the Big 8 Preview on Aug. 27, then finished fifth out of 12 teams at the NorCal Preview on Sept. 10. Most recently, they finished second out of four teams at Chabot Twilight on Sept. 24.

Paden Collard, a former Cloverdale standout, has turned in the best finishes for SRJC so far. The Bear Cubs return to action on Oct. 15 for the Pat Ryan Invite.

Volleyball

SRJC opened conference play on Friday with a straight-set loss, 25-13, 25-20, 25-14, to San Joaquin Delta, dropping to 3-6 overall and 1-4 in the Big 8.

Petaluma High products Lilah Bacon and Emma Weiand led the Bear Cubs with eight and seven kills, respectively. Nailea Flores, out of Santa Rosa High who leads the team with 127 digs, had a team-high 12 on Friday, while Kailegh Weiand had 18 assists to bring her team-leading total up to 220.

Women’s soccer

The Bear Cubs were sitting at 4-3 overall ahead of their Big 8 opener vs. Sacramento City College on Friday. As of press time, results were not available.

Former Montgomery High standout Abria Booker went into the opener with the team lead in points with 15 on seven goals and one assist. Former Cloverdale standout Grace Messenger was second on the team with 10 points on four goals and two assists.

Women’s cross country

The Bear Cubs haven’t competed in a team competition yet but have had a few individual strong showings.

Former Rancho Cotate standout Madi Monroe finished eighth out of 29 runners at the Big 8 Preview with a 3-mile time of 21 minutes, 21.9 seconds. She also had the team’s best finish at the NorCal Preview, coming in 34th out of 63 runners.

Like the men’s team, they have a few weeks off until the Pat Ryan Invite.

SSU

Women’s soccer

The nationally-ranked Seawolves picked up their biggest win of the season on Friday, beating Cal Poly Pomona 1-0 in double overtime in their conference opener to move to 6-1 overall. Freshman Olivia Aschbrenner scored the game-winner as time expired.

That win is sure to boost the Seawolves in the national rankings, where they sat at No. 15 prior to the game. Junior Molly Murphy has scored four goals and dished out three assists for a team-leading 11 points.

Men’s soccer

The Seawolves also went to double overtime with Cal Poly Pomona in their conference opener on Friday but walked away with a 1-1 tie. Luis Diaz-Mendoza score the lone goal for SSU, which dropped to 4-3-1 overall and 0-0-1 in conference play.

Brian Field leads the team with four goals and Sean Rohane paces them in total points with 11 on five assists and three goals.

Women’s golf

The Seawolves have gotten off to a strong start to the season with some impressive showings at their first two tournaments. They finished second out of six teams at the 2021 Fall Birdie Fest at Peacock Gap a few weeks ago behind a phenomenal outing from Lexi Nielson, who finished second overall as an individual with a 67-72 to finish at 3-under par 139 for the two-day event.

Most recently, the Seawolves finished fourth out of 19 teams at the RJGA Shootout in Arizona. Amelia Gladys carded a 72-75 to finish at 3-over-par 147 while Brenna Ozel fired a 75-74 for a 149. Both those scores landed them in the top 10 of individual finishers.

Men’s golf

SSU finished second out of 11 teams in its lone event of the season, the Sonoma State Men’s Golf Invitational at Valley of the Moon. Griffin Pace finished tied for second overall on the individual side with a 72-68-67 to card a 3-under 207 for the tournament.

The Seawolves will return to action on Oct. 10 for the Wildcat Classic at The Links at Rolling Hills in Corning.

Volleyball

The Seawolves were sitting at 7-6 overall and 4-1 in conference play heading into their tilt with San Francisco State on Saturday. Results were not available by press time.

Former Clear Lake High standout Kiana Richardson leads the team with 126 kills while Jenn Trephan has a team-high 283 assists. Riley Beyma has the team lead in digs with 155 and Leilani Hallman has a team-high 45 blocks.

Women’s cross country

SSU finished fifth out of nine teams at the Pacific Invitational on Friday, its best team finish on the season after four meets. Alexandria Boyle paced the Seawolves as she picked up their first top-10 individual finish of the season, crossing the line in seventh overall with a time of 22:37.2.

The Seawolves opened the season finishing 11th out 14 teams at the Mark Covert Invitational, 12th out of 12 teams at the SF State Invitational and 10th out of 13 teams at the Cougar Challenge.

You can reach Press Democrat Staff Writer Gus Morris at 707-304-9372 or gus.morris@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @JustGusPD