Westmont Volleyball head coach Jim Smoot had his first chance to see how is team looked in game-time situation on Friday, and the veteran coach liked what he saw.

“I think this is a good indication of where we stand,” said Smoot about their performance in the Point Loma Nazarene Seaside Invitational. “From what I am seeing, we can hang with everyone in our conference – if we play up to our level.”

While several other Golden State Athletic Conference teams are participating in the event, the Warriors won’t actually see them on the other side of the net. Instead, Westmont matched up with two non-conference opponents today, and will play two more tomorrow.

At the end of day one, Westmont can claim a 2-0 season record. In the first match, Westmont defeated Savannah Art and Design (Ga.) 3-0 (25-21, 25-23, 25-14) and then went on to sweep Huston-Tillotson of Texas (25-10, 25-12, 25-15).

[game 1 box] [game 2 box]

Thanks to Westmont photographer Brad Elliott, fans of Westmont Athletics can now order photos online through the new Westmont Athletics Photo Album. Photos available begin with the 2009-10 season. As the 2010-11 season gets underway, look for more photos in the album.

The photos are all taken by Brad Elliott and are made available through Smugmug at reasonable prices.

Rick Ho of Carpinteria crossed the finish line first with a time of 18:06 in the inaugural Westmonster 5K race to win the men’s race while Kelsey Larsen won the women’s race in a time of 22:44. The course led runners throughout the picturesque Westmont campus, beginning on the main road near the campuses new observatory and finishing on the new Westmont Track.

One hundred-three runners completed the course on a warm, Thursday afternoon. Larsen, from Wayzata Minnesota, surged at the end to beat out Sarah Shasberger of Goleta by two seconds. Both runners competed in the 15-19 year old division. Bailey Wolf of Santa Barbara won the girls 14 and under race in a time of 22:54 while Karly Dowling, also of Santa Barbara, won the 20-24 year old grouping with a mark of 23:58. The 25-29 women’s group was won by Jamie Freeman.

[Results by Age Group] [Overall Results]

Westmont College Athletics will turn Thursday, August 19 into a summer evening of fun and fundraising when it hosts the Westmonster 5K Run. The cross country event, which will finish on the new and stunningly beautiful Westmont Track, will be followed by a free kids 1K run and dinner for all participants.

The race is scheduled to start on Westmont’s Lovik field at 6:15 p.m. Click here to register. The cost is $30 for adults, $15 for high school and college students and $10 for children 11-14. The entry fee includes a t-shirt. Participants may also arrive early and register on race day.

The event provides the general public, and especially the Santa Barbara running community, an opportunity to take in the scenic vistas of the Westmont Track which opened in late March of this year. The facility, which includes a state of the art digital display and timing system, is part of an athletic complex which includes Thorrington Field and Russ Carr Field.

Westmont’s participation in the NAIA Outdoor Track and Field Championships came to an end today with Warrior runners competing in four races. Junior Eric Williams posted a time of 1:55.23 in the semifinals of the men’s 800 meters but missed qualifying for tomorrow’s finals. Williams was the seventh finisher in the second heat.

Freshman Matt Day finished in eleventh place in the third heat of the 5,000 meter prelims with a time of 16:13.46.

In the women’s 5,000 meter prelims, junior Chrissa Trudelle recorded a time of 19:11.27 in a thirteenth place finish in the second heat. Freshman Danica Rosendale competed in the first heat, completing the race in a time of 20:07.04 and finishing fifteenth.

By Kristi Kiely

Greetings from the end of our trip,

It’s Friday evening and we have finished our time in Gulu. Sorry for my absence in yesterdays blog…computer access was limited. First I must say, Happy Birthday Dan! Dan spent his 55th birthday here in Gulu doing some of the things he loves most: building a piggery and being serenaded by our women’s team at dinner.

Yesterday, we spent ALL day working on various projects (from digging to building a piggery) in the “bush” as they call it here in Gulu-meaning those that live deep in the bush in huts as part of small villages they are trying to rebuild after the war. It was a long and fruitful day. It felt good to work with our hands to the point of exhaustion. Nicole and I also shared the hard task of holding the cutest Ugandan baby! After our long day in the trenches we had a wonderful dinner (some of us had goat) outside under the Ugandan sky.

Eighth-ranked Westmont Men’s Tennis validated their national ranking by claiming a berth in the quarterfinals of the NAIA National Tournament. Westmont posted a 5-4 win over the tenth-ranked Yellowjackets of Graceland (Iowa) in a second round match. Tomorrow, Westmont will play a familiar foe in top-ranked Fresno Pacific. The match is scheduled to begin at 1:00 p.m. CDT.

Mattias Neuman and Diego Almeida started off strong at number two doubles, defeating Yassir El Ghazzi and Jeremy Ackerer 8-2 to give the Warriors an early 1-0 lead. However, things were not going as well for the Warriors in the other doubles matches.

“I was concerned that we were going to be down 2-1 in doubles because Bryan (Cox) and Carlos (Lima) were down a break and it was looking suspect,” said Westmont Head Coach Mark Basham about his number one team. “But Carlos, with all his leadership as a two-year All-American, is a really great doubles player, especially when he is playing his game. He set the tone and Bryan was there to follow suit.”

[results]

Westmont Men’s Tennis will have to wait a bit longer to learn who their first opponent will be in the NAIA Men’s Tennis National Tournament being played in Mobile, Alabama. Thunderstorms forced the suspension of first round matches on Tuesday afternoon. The incomplete matches will be resumed at 7:45 a.m. on Wednesday, assuming the weather cooperates.

Tenth-ranked Graceland (Iowa) and Sioux Falls (S.D.) will pick-up their match with the resumption of six singles matches. Graceland currently holds a 3-0 lead by virtue of a sweep in the doubles matches. The winner will take on #8 Westmont in a second round match beginning at one o’clock. The Warriors received a first round bye.

Westmont, which prepared for tomorrow’s match with a morning practice session at Medal of Honor Park on Tuesday, is looking forward to its first match.