When you talk to head coach Nat Gonzalez about the UCR women’s soccer team, there’s a distinct feeling that’s oozing through all of his words. At first, the subtlety of his inflections makes it somewhat difficult to capture, but as you continue to listen, you hear it. A hint of optimism mixed with pride seems to fit itself into...
After Linda Garza departed from UCR at the start of the summer to fill the head softball coach position at Fresno State, Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Tamica Smith Jones made sure no stone was left unturned in the search for the Highlanders’ new softball coach. After a meticulous and methodical national search, the Highlanders hired Nikki Palmer to take...
Courtesy of UCR Athletics
MLB 2016 First-Year Player Draft summary: Gauging Highlander prospects
By: Christian May-Suzuki, S.S.W.
The MLB First-Year Player Draft is the largest draft of prospective rookie talent in professional sports that gives many high school and college athletes their chance at fulfilling their lifelong MLB dream. Three Highlanders were selected in this year’s draft — pitcher Austin Sodders in...
Title: Year in review
By: Compiled by Jon Hammond S.S.W
Women’s sports showed up big for fall quarter
The fall sports season saw men’s and women’s soccer and cross country as well as volleyball in action for the Big West Conference. Every single one of these programs displayed excellent effort and achievement, and some even made their unique mark on the record...
Title: Pack your bags, we’re going to France
By: Jon Hammond S.S.W
Recently graduated UCR student-athlete Helena Peric signed a one-year contract with Sens Olympique Volleyball Club, a professional club in France. Peric played for two years with the Highlanders as an outside hitter and earned a Big West Conference Honorable Mention in 2015.
Prior to her two years at UCR, Peric...
Title: It's never too early to look ahead
By: Jon Hammond S.S.W
The UCR 2015-16 athletic season has now come to an end. For some programs this season was defined by reaching new heights, the likes of which the school or conference has ever seen. For others, it was defined by not quite reaching the goal and fueling hunger for next...
Why, What and Who: NBA Top-Five Mock Draft
By: Christian May-Suzuki, SSW
After a college basketball season capped off by an outrageous NCAA tournament, the next step for many of the young players who took part is putting their names in for the NBA Draft. A great deal of preparation, scouting and testing goes into each team’s decision to select one...
Courtesy of HIGHLANDER Archive
Title: UCR Athletic Director asks, “Where is the love?”
By: Jon Hammond S.S.W
UC Riverside’s athletic programs had one of the most successful collective seasons the school has ever seen since joining Division I in the 2001-02 season. This earned the school some much-welcomed recognition as they received the school’s highest finish in the Commissioner's Cup standings, finishing...
UC Riverside baseball ends 2016 regular season with a bang
By: Earl Ignacio, C.W.
The UC Riverside (26-29, 12-12) baseball team fought resiliently in a 2-1 loss Friday afternoon against the UC Santa Barbara Gauchos (37-18-1, 13-11). The Highlanders could not find their rhythm against UCSB starting pitcher Shane Bieber (11-3), who picked up nine strikeouts and only allowed six hits...
Title: UCR’s dynamic media duo: John Maxwell and Jeremiah Smith
By: Jon Hammond S.S.W
It truly takes a village to cover and recap all 17 Division I sports at UCR. The stats and stories on gohighlanders.com do not get there on their own nor do the interviews of coaches, teams and players that the Highlander feature do not coordinate themselves. All...