Very little will be the same this year as the women’s soccer team prepares to begin its 10th season as part of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). Nevertheless, Head Coach Arthur Salazar‘s expectations will be the same as in years past…”to be competitive and to do our best to be successful. We have a young team this year. For all intents and purposes, half of our players are new so there is a lot to work through. There is a lot to do to establish our identity.” The team will play a home scrimmage this Thursday at 1 p.m. against Jacksonville College.

In October 2006, Athletic Director Jack Hank hired the first head coach – Shane Hurley – for the first team that would kick off intercollegiate athletics the following year. That fall, Hurley began to put his inaugural men’s soccer team together and in August 2007, his team began competing in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics. From that maiden year through 2017, the Saints have continued to be the leaders among all 13 teams at OLLU. Hurley is proud of this legacy and he says, “Each and every year, we’ve taken steps forward to [make an impact] socially, in the community, academically, on being able to retain students and of course our competitiveness on the field.” Hurley concedes that this year’s team will have many changes. The team will play a home scrimmage this Thursday at 3 p.m. against Jacksonville College.

 

Women’s soccer improved to No. 24 in the 2017 NAIA Women’s Soccer Coaches Top 25 Preseason Poll, the national office announced last Tuesday. The Saints finished out the 2016 season ranked 25th in the nation. The Saints began 2016 ranked No. 21 in the Preseason Poll that was released Aug. 16. They dropped off the poll, but received 39 votes on Sept. 20, 12 votes on Sept. 27, 11 votes on Oct. 4, 20 votes on Oct. 11, 37 votes on Oct. 18, 40 votes on Oct. 25, 52 votes on Nov. 1 and 70 votes on Nov. 8. In previous years, the Saints were ranked 18 on Nov. 17, 2013; No. 19 on Oct. 29, Nov. 5, Nov. 12 and Dec. 11 in 2013; and 21 on Oct. 15 and 22, 2013. In 2014, they began the season as No. 19 and received 35 votes on Dec. 10, 2014. Last season, the Saints ranked No. 24 on Aug. 18 and Nov. 15 and they finished out the year at No. 22.

A year ago, men’s basketball signed 6’8″ forward Joshua Santos, and this summer, the Saints are congratulating him for signing a professional contract with a team from Italy. Head Coach Ryan Wall said, “Josh did a great job for me. I was pleased with his efforts. Although we will miss him this season, I am excited that he got an opportunity to play professionally in Italy. We try to develop our guys and push them very hard so that they have opportunities like Josh has. He represented this program and this university well.”

Before coming to OLLU, Santos played for the Cincinnati State Surge of the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) in the Ohio Community College Athletic Conference. The Saints were excited to add Santos to their team, and he played a pivotal role in the team’s success last season. In 27 games played, Santos hit 42 of 113 from the field, 17 3-pointers and 28 of 36 from the charity stripe. He scored 129 points. Santos recorded 18 offensive rebounds and 49 on defense. He tallied four blocks for the team. Against Jarvis Christian College – his best game of the season – he scored 16 points.

Santos, a native of London, will play for the Sunshine Basket Vieste, based in Vieste, Italy in the town of Puglia.

The Athletic Department is proud to announce the return of two alumni to its staff. Alyssa Guerra (neé Mora) has been hired as the assistant athletic trainer and Sera Quiroga is the new sports information assistant. Guerra said, “It’s very exciting to be back. It’s been about three years since I graduated, so I am really excited to be on the athletic training side of things. It’s very cool to see the different side of what goes into the athletic department and seeing how things are run.”

Guerra was a prominent member of the soccer team at OLLU from 2011-2013. In her senior year, she was named the university’s Big Blue Top Saint – the top award given to an athlete based on academics, athletics and community service. Guerra finished out her collegiate career in 2013 and received her degree in May 2014. Upon graduating from OLLU, Guerra spent a year coaching some youth soccer teams and after that she was accepted into graduate school at Texas A&M University. While there, she was able to work with some NCAA D1 schools and high schools through her rotations at graduate school. She also got to work with the Corps of Cadets.

Quiroga graduated from AC Jones High School in Beeville, Texas. She went on to attend Coastal Bend College (CBC), and then transferred to OLLU in 2011. Quiroga joined the softball team as a pitcher and played 13 games before leaving the team to concentrate on her studies. Upon receiving her degree from OLLU in December 2014, Quiroga began a position at CBC as a communications staff writer. She continued her position for a little more than two years.

Quiroga is starting her postgraduate work this fall. She was accepted into the Master of Science in Organizational Leadership (MSOL) at OLLU. She hopes to continue on her career path in higher education.

Two-time defending Red River Athletic Conference (RRAC) regular season and tournament champion Our Lady of the Lake University) heads the list of conference contenders again this year as the top pick in the 2017 RRAC Volleyball Preseason Poll. The Saints notched six first-place votes while second-ranked Wiley College earned one and the University of the Southwest (USW) collected one. USW and the University of St. Thomas (UST) tied for third in overall points. OLLU, coached by two-time RRAC Coach of the Year Jeremiah Tiffin, maintains the top spot despite the loss of 2016 RRAC MVP Kendall Groff and three other all-conference selections. The Saints return first-team all-conference performers in Raven Swain and Anyssa Rivera. The team will begin the 2017 season on Aug. 25-26 as the host of the Hotel Indigo at the Alamo Saints Classic.

Our Lady of the Lake University (OLLU) presented the Hispanic Sports Foundation for Education’s (HSFE) 11th Annual National Hispanic Heritage Hall of Honor (NHHHH) Induction Ceremony and Scholarship Awards banquet on Saturday, Aug. 5, 2017. The banquet took place at OLLU’s University Wellness and Activities Center (UWAC).

The Hall of Honor Induction Ceremony included the awarding of scholarships to 10 current and incoming OLLU student-athletes. These students have committed to staying in school and achieving academic success.

Receiving scholarships are the following:

• Volleyball – Anissa Tamez (FR/San Antonio, Texas) from Incarnate Word High School in San Antonio; Elizabeth Olivarez (FR/Edinburg, Texas) from Edinburg High School in Edinburg, Texas
• Women’s Basketball – Alexis White from George Ranch High School in Fort Bend County, Texas; Olivia Harolds from Katy Mayde Creek High School in Harris County, Texas
• Men’s Basketball – PJ Medrano (SO/San Antonio, Texas), current student at OLLU, graduate of O’Connor High School in Helotes, Texas
• Golf – Jonah Guajardo (SO/San Antonio, Texas), current student at OLLU, graduate of O’Connor High School in Helotes, Texas; Kevin Pourasef from Churchill High School in San Antonio
• Cross-Country – Amanda Esparza from Southside High School in San Antonio
• Softball – Ciera Martinez (FR/San Antonio, Texas) from St. Anthony High School in San Antonio
• Baseball – Jorge Collazo from Johnson High School in San Antonio
• Men’s Soccer – Gabe Quinones (FR/San Antonio, Texas) from MacArthur High School in San Antonio

The partnership between OLLU and the NHHHH began in 2007 and has since presented scholarships to OLLU student-athletes annually.

For additional information on HSFE, visit www.hsffe.com.