Westmont Magazine Warriors Reach Final Four

Basketball

The men’s basketball team finished 29-6 and made Westmont’s second-ever trip to the NAIA Final Four. The Warriors bolted out of the gates with a 15-1 record and reached the No. 3 ranking in the NAIA polls. They enjoyed a 10-game winning streak, a victory over NCAA Division II quarterfinalist Cal State San Bernardino, a huge 54-53 win over NCAA Division I cross-town rival UC-Santa Barbara, and the championship of the annual Tom Byron Classic. Westmont may have been the only team in the country to post wins over teams from every level of college basketball: NCAA Divisions I, II, III and NAIA Divisions I, II.

Baseball

The Warriors finished 21-25, tied for sixth in the GSAC. After a slow start, they won nine of their last 13 games and just missed a playoff spot.

Three players made the GSAC All-Conference team: Scott Reeves ’00, Matt Ainley ’01, and Ryan Eisele ’01.

Eisele, a shortstop from Clovis, Calif., made history by setting three single-season Warrior records: a .433 batting average, 81 hits, and a 26-game hitting streak.

Right-fielder Ainley, from Visalia, Calif., hit .345 with a .572 slugging percentage. Reeves, a pitcher and a San Jose, Calif., native, finished 7-7 with a 3.77 ERA.

Tennis

Ranked eighth in the NAIA polls, the women’s tennis team (14-6) captured their second straight GSAC tournament title in May. They finished 10th in the NAIA National Tournament last year and hope for another top-10 finish. Kara Gochnour ’99 was rated 21st in singles, while Kristy Smith ’00 was 38th. The doubles team of Gochnour and Brittany McMillan ’00 was ranked 18th.

The men’s tennis team (6-11) finished fourth in the GSAC tournament, and Brian Kettler ’99 earned his second consecutive All-GSAC honor.

Track and Field

Warrior women came in third in the 1999 GSAC Champion-ships while the men finished fifth. Rebekah Reynolds ’01 won her second straight conference title in the shot put, setting a school record. The men’s 4 x 800 team (Dusty Hamlin ’01, Tony Morales ’99, Tim Meador ’02, Matthew Torres ’02) won the GSAC title.