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A HISTORY OF EXCELLENCE

2019-20: Ronquillo Becomes All-American as Pioneers Place Ninth at 2019 NCAA Championships

Originally posted on eastbaypioneers.com

SACRAMENTO — The Cal State East Bay women's cross country team's dream season came to a thrilling end on Saturday, as sophomore Angie Ronquillo earned All-America honors to help lift the Pioneers to a ninth place team finish at the 2019 NCAA Championships at Haggin Oaks Golf Course.

CSUEB, which entered Saturday's national championships ranked No. 14 in the country, earned 380 points to finish ahead of Walsh (393) and just behind eighth-place Alaska Anchorage (374).

Ronquillo placed 30th overall in the 6K race by crossing the finish line in 20-minutes, 53.9 seconds, shattering her own previous program-record mark of 21:03.6. 

Junior Claire Fisher earned 58th-place overall behind a time of 21:14.4, which is now second best in program history. 

Sophomore Amanda Navarro climbed into third all-time in program history by placing 80th overall in 21:29.3. Senior Andrea Romero took 138th with a time of 22:01.5, which is now sixth in school history.

Senior Alondra Castro Ortiz earned 146th place overall after crossing the finish line in 22:08.0, moving into eighth all-time in program history.

Freshman Ariel Van Riper placed 211th overall with a time of 22:58.1, which is good for 15th-best all-time in school history. In addition, senior Brittney Duquette (245th) crossed the finish line in 23:46.4.

The Pioneers wrap up a season in which they were ranked for the first time ever in the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) National Coaches' Poll, secured the program's top finishes in program history at both the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) Championships (2nd) and the NCAA West Regional (3rd), as well as making its first-ever appearance at the NCAA Championships.

2016-17: East Bay Women Top UCSD to Repeat as CCAA Champions

Originally posted on eastbaypioneers.com

SAN MARCOS — The 2016-17 Cal State East Bay women's basketball team was crowned champion of the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) Tournament for the second year in a row after defeating top-seeded UC San Diego 62-53 on Saturday evening in the title game at Cal State San Marcos.

The Pioneers (22-8) earned the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Division II West Regionals and will have a chance to compete for the national championship for the second straight season after a 28-year absence from the tournament. 

East Bay will take a nine-game winning streak into next week's Regional, whose field and host location will be announced Sunday night during the online selection show. The Pioneers have won 14 of their last 15 overall and will enter the tournament as one of the nation's hottest teams.

CCAA Player of the Year Shomari Harris was named CCAA Tournament Most Valuable Player after leading all scorers with 24 points in the championship game. She was named to the All-Tournament team along with senior First Team All-CCAA honoree Remy Puou and freshman Second Team All-CCAA pick Morgan Greene.

Puou reached double figures in scoring with 10 points to go with seven rebounds and three blocks. Greene posted double-digit boards for the eighth straight contest, pulling in a game-high 13 rebounds.

The Pioneers out-shot the Tritons 42 percent to 35.6 percent for the game. They were especially hot from long distance, finishing 8-for-18 on three-pointers.

CSUEB got off to an impressive start and led the Tritons 24-19 after Bri Guillory banked home a long three-pointer to beat the first quarter buzzer. UCSD clawed back in a low-scoring second quarter, and the Pioneers took a narrow 31-29 lead into halftime. 

East Bay's defense was stout to open the second half. They held the Tritons to just eight points in the third quarter and led by as many as 13, but UCSD went on a 9-0 run to end the quarter and keep the score tight heading into the final period. 

However, Harris and the Pioneers refused to surrender momentum to the talented Triton squad. Kayley Hsiung and Elayshia Woolridge both buried clutch three-pointers in the fourth quarter, and the team hit enough free throws down the stretch to quell any hopes of a UCSD comeback.

As they have continually done over the latter half of the season, the Pioneers showed poise and discipline on both sides of the ball to keep their lead in the final minutes.

The history books will show that Cal State East Bay repeated as CCAA Tournament champions in 2016-17, but that undersells what a truly remarkable accomplishment it was. Head coach Shanele Stires was hired in October to coach a team entirely made up of student-athletes she didn't recruit. The Pioneers graduated six of their seven best players from 2015-16, with Puou the only returning starter. This year's squad starts three freshmen, and they began the year 5-6 before winning 17 of their next 19 games. 

The growth this team has displayed since November is impossible to overstate, and now they'll head into the NCAA Tournament with the confidence that they can compete against anyone.

As a program, CSUEB has a 34-6 record in CCAA regular season games over the last two years with a perfect 6-0 record in the CCAA Tournament. Perhaps someday we will look back on this as the beginning of a dynasty. But for now it stands as one of the most impressive, improbably achievements by a Pioneer team in the University's history.

2015-16: East Bay Sinks Sonoma State to Win Program's First CCAA Championship

Originally posted on eastbaypioneers.com

NAPA — The Cal State East Bay men's golf team made history on Wednesday, defeating Sonoma State in match play to capture the 2016 California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) team championship. It's the first CCAA championship in team history for the Pioneers.

Men's golf is the second Pioneer squad to capture a conference title in 2016, joining women's basketball, which won both the regular season and tournament championships in March. After six years of championship-eligible membership in the CCAA with no team titles, Cal State East Bay has now won two championships in just over six weeks.

The Pioneers defeated the Seawolves in three out of the five matches at Silverado Resort & Spa on Wednesday to emerge victorious. For head coach Alan Sue and his squad, it's the culmination of a tremendous amount of hard work and improvement over the course of the season. 

East Bay didn't win a tournament all season until this week, but they played their best golf of the season when it mattered most. As CCAA champions, they also earn the conference's automatic bid to the 2016 NCAA Division II West/South-Central Regionals. It's a tremendous accomplishment, as the Pioneers entered the week ranked outside the top 10 in the region and needed a huge performance this week to make the NCAA field. It was also truly a team effort, as all five golfers contributed to the victory and turned in strong performances throughout the tournament. 

CSUEB opened the day on a high note, as senior Joel Keylor and junior Chad Hall both took early leads in the first two pairings. Both of them held on with clutch championship performances to win their matches. 

Keylor fired a 74 (+2) to beat Kenny Maroney of Sonoma State (77) by three strokes. Hall completed an impressive week with the low round of the day for the Pioneers, carding 71 (-1) to hold off Justin Shluker (72) by just one stroke.

East Bay won the first two matches, but the Seawolves were victories in the next two. Adam Stone, Monday's CCAA individual champion, shot 75 (+5) and lost to an outstanding round by SSU's Brandon Lee (69). Freshman Jonathan Mulvany, who was clutch for the Pioneers the last two day, turned in a 76 (+4) to fall to Spencer Clapp (72) by four strokes.

It came down to the final pairing for the CCAA Championship, junior Owen Hutchison vs. Sonoma State's Nicolas Daniels. Hutchison got off to an early lead as Daniels bogeyed three of the first five holes, and the Pioneer newcomer avoided any major mistakes by shooting one over par on the front nine. Hutchison protected his lead down the stretch, shooting even par on the back nine to finish off a 73 (+1) and a four-stroke victory over Daniels (77) to clinch the championship. 

The Pioneers were tremendously consistent this week, shooting team scores of 294 (+6) and 295 (+5) on Monday to finish third in the stroke play tournament. They kept that momentum going in the medal rounds and won seven out of 10 match-ups to beat Stanislaus and Sonoma for the title. It was truly a team effort, as all five golfers contributed to the victory and turned in strong performances throughout the tournament. 

Thanks to their historic victory, East Bay's season will continue in two weeks at the NCAA Regionals, which will be hosted by Western New Mexico University in Las Cruces, N.M. The tournament takes place May 1-4, with the Pioneers looking to advance to the NCAA Div. II National Championships for the first time ever.