February 2003

As we move into the end of February there is a lot happening in Gael Athletics. This is one of the busiest times of the year as currently men's and women's basketball are completing their seasons and our spring sports including baseball, softball, men's and women's tennis, golf, women's lacrosse, and women's rowing are all in full swing.

• The West Coast Basketball Conference Tournament is scheduled for March 6 through the 10 at the Jenny Craig Pavilion on the University of San Diego campus. Our men's team enters the final week of the season battling to earn one of the top four seeds in a new tournament format that now requires that the bottom four seeds to win four games to earn the automatic birth. Our women's team has experienced injuries to all but one senior this season and has faced the challenge well. Both teams have an opportunity to have a great tournament.

• Baseball's record is currently four wins and seven losses after taking two of three from Sacramento State this past weekend. A highlight this past Saturday was freshman Bryan Byrne from De La Salle High School hitting the first two home runs of his collegiate career in a 5-4 victory.

• Softball swept Cal State Hayward in a double header on Saturday and split a double header with Sonoma State on Sunday, raising their record to seven wins against nine losses. Claudia Williams was named the Pacific Coast Softball League Player of the Week after hitting .500 with four RBI over the weekend.

• The women's tennis team has five wins against four losses on the young season. The men's record stands at 2-6.

• Women's lacrosse opened the season this past Wednesday with a 7-5 win over the University of California at Saint Mary's Stadium. This was the Gaels first win ever over Cal in women's lacrosse.

• Both men's golf and women's rowing will have their first competition in the next few weeks.

• Our strategic planning continues to inform the campus wide "Next Steps" strategic plan and focus our efforts. We have been able to add 5 ½ additional athletic grants-in-aid to the budget for the coming academic year: one each for women's basketball, women's volleyball, women's soccer, men's soccer, and football, and a ½ grant to women's rowing. Additionally, we continue to evaluate our compensation packages for competitiveness and work toward our goal of our sport operations budgets being equal to conference mid points.

• All of these efforts are dependent on alumni and friends of the college generously supporting our fund-raising efforts. If you have not already done so for this academic year, please consider making a gift. You can do so on line at the following email address: http://www.stmarys-ca.edu/giving/athletic/

• Paul Ratcliffe, our women's soccer coach for the past five seasons, has resigned to accept the position of head women's soccer coach at Stanford. Paul did an outstanding job for us and we wish him the very best in his new role...except for that one day a year that the Gaels play the Cardinal. A search committee consisting of representatives from the women's soccer team, faculty, administrators, and coaches has been formed and is currently evaluating candidates with the goal of bringing the most qualified to campus for an interview. I will keep you updated on this search in future postings on this site.

I appreciate the opportunity to keep the "Gael Force" updated through this column. Please know that the support of our fans, alumni, and campus community is important to us and that we value each individual.

Best wishes and Go Gaels!

Carl R. Clapp
Director of Athletics