Senior Spotlight

   With the spring sports season in their final stretch, senior athletes of each sport are soaking up their last practice, last game, last time wearing a Boxer uniform.

Lacrosse

  The Lacrosse team has two seniors, Mia White, and Amelia Haindl. White had a season-high of five goals scored against Whitworth. As the team’s goalie for most of the season, Haindl led the conference with 10.6 saves per game and matched the program record with 23 saves in a game.

Mia White

Index: What is your favorite memory as a Boxer?

Mia White: Celebrating my team and my best friend after her game-winning goal against Whitworth

Index: What advice would you give incoming freshmen?

MW: Try new things, put yourself out there, and meet new people, don’t limit yourself and your experiences. You only get this experience once and you should get the most out of it while you can.

Softball

Samantha Petit, Sydney Rusin, Michelle Winfield, Rylee Patton, and Haylie Uetake are the softball seniors this year. These seniors have had a big impact on the program, their talents lying in all different positions on the field.

Rylee Patton

Index: What’s your favorite memory as a Boxer?

Rylee Patton: My favorite memory is when I won my first team all-conference award last year and then got to come back for my fifth year.

Index: What advice would you give incoming freshmen?

RP: The advice I would give to incoming freshmen would be to learn time management, communicate with their coaches, and find upperclassmen to look up to and learn from.

Men’s Golf

Kaleb Makimoto, Mason Rodewald, and Matthew Zeback take their turn as the upperclassmen for the men’s golf team this year.

Men’s Track and Field

The upperclassmen that took over the track and field this season were Dominic Funk, Daniel Gonzales, Joey Grafton, Andrew Reid, Garret Stuart, and Will Wada.

Index: What’s your favorite memory as a Boxer?

Dominic Funk: I think my favorite memory of Pacific was meeting my friends during freshman orientation and having no clue that they would become as close to me as they are now. Pacific has really been a place where I’ve gotten to meet people from all over and learn about their cultures as well as show them mine.

Index: What advice would you give incoming freshmen?

DF: Some advice I’d give incoming freshmen would be to work hard and persevere. Lean on your friends and when you need help seek it out from your professors during office hours. It’s a small school so it’s easy to build a relationship with your professors.

Women’s Track and Field – This year’s group of seniors who led the charge include Elizabeth Bradley, Samantha Clark, Kyleigh Corpuz, Maddy Hubs, Alexis Lowery, Emily Rutkowski, and Itzel Vasquez.

Itzel Vasquez

Index: What’s your favorite memory as a Boxer?

I can’t really choose a favorite memory, honestly all memories with my team are my favorite. Even if it’s the hardest workout, we run and we’re dead on the field or our hands-on knees cheering each other on, it’s all fun.”

Index: What advice would you give incoming freshmen?

IV: I guess the advice I’d give freshman would be time management is huge! College is exciting. Yes, have fun, but make sure to prioritize your academics. It’s going to help a lot in the long run. You’ll thank yourself when you’re a senior.

Baseball – This big group of seniors that took the diamond this year include Kahi Bisho, Nick Bower, Will Clark, David Allen, Tyler Agnew, Tyler Quinn, Walker Matthews, Sage Dunaway, Robert Drayer, JP Lyssenko, Aidan Kearns, JJ Buehler, Isaac Lovings, Nick Bentsen, Andrew Thomas, Daniel Park, and Patrick Muskat.

Index: What’s your favorite memory as a Boxer?

JP Lyssenko:My favorite memory at Pacific is winning the NWC conference championship my junior year after beating Linfield twice. I have a vivid memory of standing in the outfield after the last strike was thrown and watching us storm the field. I remember thinking about how special this moment is. That feeling is something that will stick with me forever.”

Index: What advice would you give incoming freshmen?

JPL: My advice to incoming freshmen is to trust the process. Sometimes it will feel like your work is being unnoticed. It’s gonna make you feel frustrated and discouraged. Keep pushing through and have faith in yourself and you will find the results you want. “

Men’s Tennis

Quentin Gonzalez and Koby Murata are the senior duos for the men’s tennis team. In 2022 Gonzalez went 11-9 in singles, and 16-9 in doubles, his performance awarding him a first-team NWC award. Murata went 11-11 in singles and 16-7 in doubles in the 2022 season.

Index: What’s your favorite memory as a Boxer?

Quentin Gonzalez: It’s really hard to pick a single favorite experience of mine during my time on the Men’s Tennis team. I’ve been very fortunate to have had so many fond memories that I’ll be able to look back on after I graduate. However, for me, my favorite experiences have always been the road trips with the team. There has been a lot of fun that I’ve been a part of Spokane WA, Austin TX, and Burbank CA. But the one that is the most memorable for me is when our team got to travel to Oahu Hawaii for 5 days to play some matches. Everything about the trip was great. I was in Hawaii with my best friends playing the sport I love with great weather and great food (shout out to IHOP).  I also remember playing extremely well that entire week against some very competitive schools. I went 4-4 overall and earned arguably one of the best singles wins of my career on that trip. This trip was truly a highlight in my experiences as a boxer and is the source of many memories that I will carry for the rest of my life. Beating fellow teammate Koby Murata in a 3 out of 5 set match is a close second favorite experience.

Index: What advice would you give incoming freshmen?

QR: My biggest piece of advice to any incoming freshman would be to enjoy every moment and make the most of your time while you are here. Obviously, plan for the future but make sure to be present in every moment going on right now because before you know it, it’ll be time to graduate. These couple years are what you make of it so why not make them memorable? Don’t forget to be grateful and enjoy the journey.

Men’s Golf

Index: What’s your favorite memory as a Boxer?

Mason Rodewald: My favorite memory as a boxer is definitely just traveling with the team. We’re a super tight-knit group so any downtime during team trips is spent together which is a super fun dynamic

Index: What advice would you give incoming freshmen?

 MR: I would tell any incoming student-athletes to just have fun and try to find a balance. It’s super easy to get into a pattern of overworking for our sport so try to find other hobbies/friends to hang out with to get your mind off of sports for a little.

— Avari Schumacher & Zander Breault