By: Jeff Evans, Assistant AD for Athletic Communications
BELLINGHAM, Wash. – It is another busy week of action for the Western Washington University Vikings with the first full week of crossover season.
The men's and women's soccer programs open postseason play at the GNAC Championships in Burnaby, B.C., the basketball teams continue early season non-conference play on the road, cross country prepares for the NCAA Championships in Wisconsin, and the volleyball team hosts Simon Fraser in a key Saturday evening match inside Carver Gym.
Four of the Vikings five fall teams are listed in the national rankings with women's soccer (#12), men's cross country (#12), volleyball (#15) and women's cross country (#18) all inside the top 25. The men's golf team also broke into the national top 25 at No. 19 in the coaches poll following an outstanding fall tournament performance.
WWU Current National Rankings:
- 12 – Women's Soccer
- 12 – Men's Cross Country
- 15 – Volleyball
- 18 – Women's Cross Country
- 19 – Men's Golf
All event information, including ticket prices and live game coverage, can be found online at WWUVikings.com. For the third consecutive year, all current WWU students receive free admission to home regular-season games. Here are some handy links to follow the Vikings:
Click on the link below to read the great story in Cascadia Daily News on WWU women's golf student-athlete Lauren Lee and her courageous battle to help spread alopecia awareness. Lee is one of the top women's golfers in the nation this season after earning honorable mention All-America honors last season. The article was written by Meri-Jo Borzilleri and the great photo taken by Finn Wendt.
The Vikings clinched their 11th GNAC regular-season title going undefeated at 11-0-3 in conference play, extending a string of 29 consecutive GNAC games without a loss. WWU is the No. 1 seed in the GNAC Tournament with a semifinal match-up against rival Seattle Pacific University at 2 pm on Thursday in Burnaby, B.C. The Vikings are making their 13th consecutive appearance in the conference postseason tournament (every season possible) and is a six-time champion at the event. WWU enters the postseason ranked No. 12 in the nation via the United Soccer Coaches poll and listed by the NCAA as No. 2 in the West Region. Western carries a 16-match undefeated streak (13-0-3) into the GNAC Tournament and is 13-1-5 overall. The team led the conference with 10 players earning All-GNAC honors, led by unanimous Player of the Year Morgan Manalili, who is among the national leaders with 16 goals. Seniors Asia Hardin, Emily Rice and Claire Potter, and junior Mie Cairns joined Manalili as First Team All-GNAC selections. Junior midfielder Reese Walkerwas voted the GNAC Newcomer of the Year and Travis Connell earned his ninth GNAC Coach of the Year award.
- Overall Record: 13-1-5
- GNAC: 11-0-3 (1st place)
- Trend: 16-game unbeaten streak (13-0-3)
- National Ranking: #12 West Region: #2
Thursday, November 13:
GNAC Championships Semifinal
vs. Seattle Pacific – 2 pm (Burnaby, B.C.)
GNAC Network | Live Stats
Saturday, November 15:
GNAC Championships Final (with win on Thursday)
vs. WOU or SFU – 2 pm (Burnaby, B.C.)
GNAC Network | Live Stats
The Vikings punched a pair of tickets to the NCAA Division II Cross Country Championships on Saturday with the men placing 2nd and women 3rd at the West Regional meet in Monmouth, Oregon. Two weeks after sweeping the GNAC Championship titles for the fourth consecutive season, WWU recorded two automatic bids to nationals. WWU is one of 18 programs across the country to send both a men's and women's team to nationals, with the competition slated for November 22 in Kenosha, Wisconsin. This marks the third consecutive season and 11th time overall since joining the NCAA in 1998 that both the WWU men's and women's cross country teams have qualified for nationals. The WWU women will be making its 12th trip to NCAA nationals, and the Viking men will be racing at nationals for the 15th time in program history. Both teams placed in the top 15 last year with the women finishing 11th and men 13th. All-West Region selections for placing in the top 25 at included Jonah Billings (8th), Jared Alderfer (13th), Sten Brakstad (17th) and George Fernandez (23rd) on the men's team and Ella Edens (16th), Jill Philbin (17th) and Alexis Parker (23rd) on the women's team.
- Men Ranking: #12 (National), #2 (West Region)
- Women Ranking: #18 (National), #3 (West Region)
Saturday, November 22:
NCAA II National Championships (Kenosha, WI - Wayne E. Dannehl National Cross Country Course)
Live Results | NCAA.com Webcast
The Vikings enter the penultimate week of the regular season in a playoff position listed No. 2 in the GNAC standings (12-3) and ranked No. 6 in the West Region with an 18-4 overall mark. WWU is coming off a 1-1 road trip to Alaska, defeating No. 19 UAF in straight sets and falling to UAA in four sets in a back-and-forth match featuring 23 lead changes and 36 tie scores. WWU has three regular-season matches remaining – all in Carver Gym – beginning with a 7 pm match this Saturday hosting No. 12 Simon Fraser for WWU Faculty & Staff Appreciation Night. Senior outside hitter Devyn Oestreich continues to make a strong statement for GNAC Player of the Year and All-America honors, averaging 3.94 kills and 3.88 digs per set, while recording 15 double-doubles. Following the match vs. SFU, WWU hosts Central Washington (Nov. 20, 7 pm) and Northwest Nazarene (Nov. 22, 5 pm) for Senior Week with Oestreich, Adele Holland, Abby May and Janelle Grant playing their final matches in Carver Gym.
- Overall Record: 18-4
- GNAC: 12-3 (2nd place)
- National Ranking: #15 West Region: #6
Saturday, November 15:
Simon Fraser – 7 pm (Bellingham, WA – Carver Gym)
GNAC Network | Live Stats
Free Parking in C Lots
The Vikings finished the regular season with an 8-7-3 overall record and placed third in the GNAC at 6-3-1 to earn the No. 3 seed in the inaugural GNAC Championships. WWU faces No. 2 seed Seattle Pacific in the GNAC semifinal Thursday at Terry Fox Field in Burnaby, B.C. After starting the year 0-4-2, the Vikings turned their season around going 8-3-1 over the final 12 games to put themselves in a playoff position. WWU had eight players earn All-GNAC honors, headlined by senior defender Joar Tidblom voted a first-team selection.
- Overall Record: 8-7-3
- GNAC: 6-3-1 (3rd place)
- This Week: GNAC Championships
Thursday, November 13:
GNAC Championships Semifinal
vs. Seattle Pacific – 11 am (Burnaby, B.C.)
GNAC Network | Live Stats
Saturday, November 15:
GNAC Championships Final (with win on Thursday)
vs. Western Oregon – 11 am (Burnaby, B.C.)
GNAC Network | Live Stats
The Vikings return to play during the early part of the non-conference portion of the schedule, traveling to play in the West Region Tip-Off Challenge hosted by Dominican University in San Rafael, California. WWU will face Cal Poly Humboldt and San Francisco State in 5 pm neutral-site games inside the Conlan Center. The Vikings are 1-2 on the season after playing at the D2 Canadian Tip-Off Classic, defeating Central Oklahoma 69-63 in the final game to carry momentum into this week's tournament. Guards Aidan Rice (15.0), Nehemiah Pollard (14.7) and Malachi Miller (12.3) are all averaging double digits scoring through the first three games. WWU's first home game in Carver Gym is scheduled for Friday, November 28 hosting UC-Colorado Springs with tip-off at 5 pm. Team captains Garrett Levesque, Trevor White and Rice were all selected to the GNAC Preseason All-Conference team.
West Region Tip-Off Challenge
San Rafael, CA – hosted by Dominican University
Friday – Cal Poly Humboldt, 5 pm
Saturday – San Francisco State, 5 pm
Webcast | Live Stats
After going 2-1 to open the season at the D2 Canadian Tip-Off Classic, the Vikings return to action this week with a pair of games against top West Region competition. WWU faces No. 17 nationally ranked Cal State Dominguez Hills (2024-25 national runner-up) on Friday and Cal State LA on Saturday, with both games featuring a 5:15 pm tip-off inside Royal Brougham Pavilion in Seattle. Junior guard Libby Stump was selected as the GNAC Player of the Week following her season-opening performance averaging 20.3 points per game, including a 33-point performance against Minot State for a top 15 scoring effort in program history. Senior forward Olivia Hodges – a transfer from Cal State LA – leads the team averaging 10.7 points per game. Stump, junior Demi Dykstra and senior Aspen Garrison were all Preseason All-GNAC selections.
GNAC-CCAA Challenge
Seattle, WA – hosted by Seattle Pacific
Friday – #17 Cal State Dominguez Hills, 5:15
Saturday – Cal State LA, 5:15 pm
Webcast | Live Stats
The WWU women's golf team had a great three-tournament fall season, capped by placing fourth in the 15-team East Bay Invitational at the TPC at Stonebrae in Hayward, California. The Vikings finished runner-up at the Grisham Memorial Shootout, 12th out of 21 teams at the tough Regional Preview and the top five finish at the final tournament. Western is ranked No. 39 in the national Scoreboard rankings powered by Clippd and No. 11 in the West Region. Senior Lauren Lee continues to etch her name in the program record book completing the fall with a GNAC-best scoring average of 72.2 and is listed 10th in the NCAA II Scoreboard player ranking. Lee earned a pair of top-five finishes during the fall, including tying for first place at the East Bay Fall Invitational. Dating back to the West Regional championship in the spring, Lee has recorded a round of par or better in eight of her last 12 rounds. Freshman Carly Ikei placed in the top 20 in all three fall tournaments to open her collegiate career. WWU opens the spring schedule February 2-3 at the LA Spring Kickoff. The Vikings are listed No. 39 in the nation and No. 11 in the West Region in the Scoreboard rankings powered by Clippd.
Completed the fall portion of the schedule with four solid tournament finishes. Turned in a winning performance at the Otter Invitational in the final fall tournament, tied for first place at the SMU Bishop Invitational and earned third-place finishes as the WWU Invitational and the Chico State Wildcat Classic. Recorded a team average scoring round of 284.4 (-4 to par) with junior Conrad Brown leading the GNAC with a scoring average of 70.3 (-2 to par) turning in 11 of 12 rounds at par or better. WWU's next tournament is scheduled for February 9-10, 2026 at the Fujikura Invitational hosted by Cal State San Marcos. WWU broke into the national top 25 at No. 19 in the Bushnell/Golfweek DII Coaches Poll, holds the top West Region ranking and listed No. 14 in the nation according to the Scoreboard rankings by Clippd.
