Jonas Holt
Sports Editor
The fall 2024 season is here, and the Leopards are geared up to return to competition. Here’s a look at how each team is shaping up as the year kicks off.
Volleyball
Two sets away from an Elite Eight appearance and winning an NCAA Division III regional championship, the Leopards volleyball team is primed to get back to that stage and go even further this fall.
“We’re returning almost our entire starting lineup,” head coach Jeff Hendershot said. “We lost that regional final in Wisconsin last year and it was immediately, ‘we’re gonna get back to that stage’. The goal for us is to make the regional final again, which is a huge lofty goal, but this group is more than capable of doing it.”
The Leopards will start the season ranked as the No. 15 team in the country and their first official match will be at 12:30 p.m. Friday against Centre College at Frantz Athletic Court.
Women’s Soccer
Women’s soccer will have high expectations this year with a veteran-led and bolstered squad, after a difficult 2023 season, which saw them lose many close games in the final minutes.
“We have been training a lot this summer and know what to expect in the conference, it’s just a matter of putting in the work everyday and we’re excited to see our hard work pay off,” senior defender Miranda McGarry said. “We lost a ton of close games last year and with a big group of returning players and seniors, we know how to learn from those mistakes.”
The Leopards have their first official match against Oberlin at 7 p.m. Friday at Ortmayer Stadium.
Men’s Soccer
After a postseason berth in 2022, the men’s soccer squad missed out in 2023 after an up and down campaign. With the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference postseason expansion from four to five teams, they will have a greater chance of playing postseason soccer.
“Every practice matters, every scrimmage matters, every game matters for us,” head coach Trevor Persson said. “Our culture within the group is a little bit different than in past years with a lot of players coming back with experience, so everyone is excited to hit the ground running.”
The Leopards open the season at home against Westcliff University at 4:30 p.m. Sunday at Ortmayer Stadium.
Football
Football will be looking to bounce back from a challenging 2023 season, and look to be heading in the right direction ending the season with a win on senior day.
The Leopards are set to kick off the season on the road against Willamette on Sept. 7. Their home opener is on Sept. 21 against Puget Sound.
Men’s Water Polo
Men’s water polo faced a lot of adversity in the 2023 campaign, but with the return of most of the same squad, and senior captain Peter Trinh returning for another year, they expect to make some noise in the SCIAC this year.
“We were low on depth last year, but you could see the progress in our guys toward the end of the year. Now all those guys are back and they know what this is about now,” head coach Pat Beemer said.
The Leopards open their season at the Loyola Marymount Mini Tournament on Sept. 7, facing Loyola Marymount University at 10 a.m. and Chapman at 1 p.m..
Cross Country
The cross country program went through a big change this summer with the resignation of coach Jamie Norton. New head coach Rob Lander has now been announced as the man who will lead the Leopards going forward.
“I want to help build this program into a Division III national powerhouse where we are competing at the highest level and competing for national championships, while building amazing relationships along the way,” Lander said.
The Leopards open their cross country season at the Mark Covert Invitational on Sunday, with the race starting at 8 a.m. at Carbon Canyon Regional Park in Brea.
Jonas Holt can be reached at jonas.holt@laverne.edu.
Jonas Holt is a senior journalism major with a concentration in print and online journalism. He is sports editor of the Campus Times, a staff writer for La Verne Magazine and staff photographer for both publications. He has previously been a staff writer for the Campus Times.
