Biola University
Baseball
Two Biola baseball players signed with professional teams this past summer. The Texas Rangers drafted left-handed pitcher Larson Kindreich with the 224th overall pick in the Major League Baseball draft in July, making him the fifth-highest draft selection in the history of Biola’s program. Infielder Robert Anthony Cruz later signed with the Washington Nationals as an undrafted free agent and made national headlines after capturing himself sharing the news with his father in an emotional video that garnered more than 18 million views on TikTok.
Cross Country
Lynette Ruiz was named the Women's Cross Country PacWest Freshman of the Year in November. At the NCAA Division II West Regionals in Oregon in November, the women’s team finished fifth out of 24 teams, while the men’s team finished seventh out of 21 teams. Earlier, in October, the women’s team finished in second place and the men’s team finished in third place at the PacWest Conference Championships in Hawaii.
Golf
Brady Turnquist won three tournaments in the fall: the PLNU Sea Lion Invitational in San Diego, the Westminster Wasatch Invitational in Utah and the Dennis Rose Intercollegiate tournament in Hawaii. Her performances earned her the title of PacWest Golfer of the Week on four separate occasions in the fall.
Soccer
The men’s soccer team earned its first appearance in the NCAA Division II National Tournament competition in November, falling to No. 7 seed Cal Poly Pomona in the opening round. Izaac Zausch was named the 2021 PacWest Defender of the Year and Theo Le Calve was named PacWest Newcomer of the Year, with both players earning a spot on the All-PacWest First Team. Adam Jones earned recognition as PacWest Freshman of the Year. On the women’s soccer team, Katelyn Penner was one of just 11 student-athletes from the NCAA Division II District 8 to earn a spot on the CoSIDA Academic All-District team, and one of only two from the PacWest Conference.
Swimming and Diving
Jacob Haaksma set a new Biola record in the 200-yard breaststroke with a time of 2:05.45 at the La Verne Collegiate Winter Invite in November. Grace Kling earned NCAA Division II national qualifying times in the 100-yard breaststroke with a time of 1:04.07 and the 200-yard breaststroke with a 2:17.51.
Tennis
Sebastian Herrera won six matches in a row on his way to winning the tournament title at the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) West Regional Championships in Fresno in October — despite entering the tournament unseeded. Herrera went on to compete at the ITA Cup Finals in Rome, Georgia. The women’s doubles team of Mary Brascia and Colbeyshae Emery won four straight matches on their way to a spot in the doubles finals in the regional.
Volleyball
Senior Sami Hover concluded her Biola career by setting a new program record with 2,334 career digs for the Eagles. Head Coach Aaron Seltzer, now in his 20th season at Biola, reached 500 career wins as a coach in November with a victory over Dominican University of California. The Eagles were 16-4 in PacWest play, finishing second and just one win shy of the outright title.
Water Polo
The men’s water polo team completed its inaugural season with a 3–22 record. The team made a strong showing at the end of the season in the Western Water Polo Association Tournament, defeating the No. 8 seed, Fresno Pacific University, before falling to the No. 1 seed, University of California Davis, and losing on a last-second goal to the No. 7 seed, Concordia University Irvine.
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