Full Slate of Sports to Be Played This Spring

When the COVID-19 pandemic struck, many collegiate sports were cancelled or had their seasons postponed. I am happy to share that most of those sports are now back in action.

Among the fall sports being played this spring are men’s and women’s soccer and women’s volleyball. The women’s soccer team was ranked No. 1 in the east division in the Conference USA coaches’ preseason poll, after winning C-USA Regular Season titles in 2018 and 2019. Sophomore Luisa Daikeler was chosen as preseason Defensive Player of the Year, while she and fellow second-year Cassidy Wasdin were named to the Preseason All-C-USA Team. From the men’s soccer team, Alonso Coello Camarero and Ivan Mykhailenko were named to the C-USA Preseason Team. Alonso also was named to the C-USA First Team last season, a first for the Owls since the program joined the league in 2013. Last season, Ivan was named to the C-USA Second Team after ranking third in goals, game-winning goals, and goals per game in C-USA.

Men’s and women’s tennis had their 2020 seasons cut short and returned to the courts in mid-January. From the men’s team, Maxime Lapraille was named C-USA Co-Newcomer of the Year. The women’s tennis team, which was poised to challenge for the league’s title in 2020, saw four Owls earn All-Conference honors, with Radka Buzkova leading the charge as a First Team All C-USA selection and as the 2020 C-USA Freshman of the Year. The team also received Intercollegiate Tennis Association All-Academic Team honors with a 3.645 GPA.

The golf teams also are back after missing the fall portion of their season. Last year, women’s golfer Justine Fournand won Conference USA Freshman of the Year, and men’s golfer Sully Zagerman earned the 2019-20 Srixon/Cleveland Golf All-America Scholar award from the Golf Coaches Association of America. The men’s team was named an All-Academic team by the Golf Coaches Association of America.

Our beach volleyball, baseball and softball teams have a history of excellence and will announce their schedules soon. The beach volleyball team was 11-1 when its 2020 season was cut short and recently was ranked No. 12 in the nation in the AVCA Preseason Rankings.

In 2019, the FAU baseball team was the Conference USA regular-season champion and Coach John McCormack was named the 2019 C-USA Coach of the Year. It was the team’s second regular season title since 2016 and its sixth regular season title overall. The team also earned the 2020 Team Academic Excellence Award, as bestowed by the American Baseball Coaches Association with a 3.318 cumulative team GPA. The FAU softball team has won 12 conference championship titles. Head coach Joan Joyce was selected as the recipient of the 2020 TPW Fastpitch ELITE Life Award, adding to her many other accolades, including 20 Halls of Fame.

Other teams currently competing include indoor track & field, men’s and women’s swimming & diving, and men’s and women’s basketball.

Welcome back to all of our athletic teams, and Go Owls!