MORAGA, Calif. — After closing out the final week of the regular season on a high-note, Jasmin Suarez and Jennifer "Boo" Laird have been named this week's Bay Alarm Student-Athletes of the week. The Gaels second pair for beach matches were the most successful pair that won their final two home matches of the season and scored a big ranked win over the weekend.
 
Suarez and Laird have been a strong tandem all season long, and they proved it again in the final week of the regular season. The two seniors won on Wednesday and Thursday in the final home matches of the 2022 season, with wins over Santa Clara and San Francisco. Over the weekend, the Gaels took on three ranked teams, and the combination of Suarez and Laird picked up the team's first ranked win of the year. Suarez and Laird beat the second pair of No. 11 Cal in three sets, representing the first ranked win for either Suarez or Laird since 2021. They also suffered a loss to No. 8 Stanford in three sets, taking the final set to bonus points.
 
With three wins on the week, Suarez and Laird now have a 17-14 record when working together this season, the most of wins of any pair the Gaels have rolled out in 2022. They are also the only pair that has at least six wins in multiple positions (6 in the twos, 11 in the ones).
 
With the regular season over, Saint Mary's will now prepare for the 2022 West Coast Conference Championship, beginning on April 29 and ending on April 30. The double-elimination tournament will feature every beach team in the WCC, and it is expected that Saint Mary's will enter the tournament as the third seed. Last season, Saint Mary's finished third overall after starting the tournament as the third seed.