DENVER, Colo. – The postseason is finally arriving for fall sports this week as we begin the RMAC Championships in multiple areas while soon beginning our crossover to winter sports as well.
Below is a breakdown of all that happened last week while diving into our upcoming events this week:
LAST WEEK'S RESULTS
Tuesday October 27th
Volleyball: Chadron State 3, Regis 2
Wednesday October 28th
Women's Soccer: #16 Regis 2, Black Hills State 0
Men's Soccer: #15 Regis 5, Colorado School of Mines 1
Friday October 30th
Volleyball: Regis 3, Westminster 2
Saturday October 31st
Volleyball: Regis 0, #RV Colorado Mesa 3
COMING UP THIS WEEK
Tuesday November 3rd
Men's Basketball: Regis at Wyoming (Exhibition) ~ 6:30 PM ~ Laramie, Wyo.
Wednesday November 4th
RMAC Women's Soccer Championships
Women's Soccer: No. 1 Regis vs. No. 4 Colorado Mesa ~ 1 PM ~ Regis Turf Fields
RMAC Men's Soccer Championships
Men's Soccer: No. 1 Regis vs. No. 5 Westminster ~ 7 PM ~ Regis Turf Fields
Saturday November 7th
Men's & Women's Cross Country: at RMAC Championships ~ Rapid City, S.D.
Women's Soccer: TBD vs. TBD ~ TBD ~ Regis Turf Fields
Men's Soccer: TBD vs. TBD ~ TBD ~ Regis Turf Fields
Volleyball: Regis at #22 Colorado School of Mines ~ 5 PM ~ Golden, Colo.
TEAM UPDATES
VOLLEYBALL
The Rangers played to one of their busiest stretches of the season this past week as they took part in three games over five days, all being at home.
Regis went 1-2 in those games with them falling to Chadron State and Colorado Mesa while earning their lone win against Westminster.
They played in five sets in two of the games with them losing 3-2 to Chadron State and beating Westminster 3-2. They fell to Colorado Mesa in a 3-0 sweep.
All four of the Rangers' wins this season have come in five sets as well.
Weekend Notes:
· Kailyn Polzin led all Rangers with 34 total kills with her finishing in double-digits in two of the games
· She recorded a season-high 16 kills against Westminster
· Sabrina Landman added 31 kills while Jacie Kaniho had 18 for the team's top three
· Maddie Lynett had 69 assists to average over five per set
· Cady Knight recorded 51 digs
· Kendal Allaire had eight total blocks
· Lauryn Uyemura had five service aces
Coming up this week the Rangers will now play in their final game of the season when they travel to No. 22 Colorado School of Mines on Saturday for a 5 PM start.
Mines is 21-3 (10-2 RMAC) with them currently in second place of the conference standings and on a 14-game winning streak. The conference regular season champion still hasn't been decided either with Mines in the hunt and just one-game behind MSU Denver.
WOMEN'S SOCCER
The Rangers secured their first undefeated RMAC schedule since 2017 this past week as they won their lone game played in their regular season finale against Black Hills State.
This is just the third time in school history this feat has been achieved with the Rangers also having not lost a game since Sept. 3.
Regis defeated BHSU 2-0 in the matchup with this being the team's 11th shutout of the year.
In addition to the great ending to the regular season, in the most recent IWSOC rankings, Regis was voted as the new No. 16 team in the nation with them now being recognized for the fifth straight week as either ranked or receiving votes. This is their highest ranking in program history 2008.
Furthermore, in the most recent NPI rankings Regis was ranked No. 22 in the nation and fourth in the South Central Region. They are the highest ranking in the RMAC for that poll while being the only team currently recognized in the IWSOC polls.
Weekend Notes:
· Brooke Castillo and Fernanda Rodriguez both scored in the game with Castillo having the game-winner
· Castillo also added an assist for three total points
· Paula Igual recorded an assist as well for eight now on the season
· Maggie Payne recorded 12 saves in the game which was a new season and career-high
· Payne was also honored as the RMAC's Goalkeeper of the Week for a fifth time in a row due to her performances
Regis will host the RMAC Women's Soccer Championship this week now with them hosting the semifinals round on Wednesday and the championship game on Saturday.
Regis will face off with No. 4 seed Colorado Mesa in their game after CMU defeated Fort Lewis College 1-0 in the quarterfinals this past Sunday.
No. 2 seed UCCS and No. 3 seed Colorado School of Mines will face off after the Rangers' game on Wednesday in the other semifinals game with the winner of each semifinals game facing off on Saturday.
The winner of the tournament earns an automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament as well.
Colorado Mesa is 10-4-4 this season with the last time they came to the Regis Turf Fields being just two weeks ago when they tied with the Rangers 1-1.
MEN'S SOCCER
The Regis men's soccer team clinched their first RMAC Regular Season Championship since 2013 this past week with a win over Colorado School of Mines in their singular contest of the week.
Thanks to a tie between CSU Pueblo and UCCS while the Rangers were playing their game, Regis just needed a win to jump CSU Pueblo in points and did so with them taking down Mines 5-1 to emphatically close out the regular season.
The Rangers regular season title was just the fourth in program history with them now hosting a playoff game at the Regis Turf Fields because of it.
Due to their stellar play ending the regular season, the Rangers are also currently ranked No. 15 in the nation by the United Soccer Coaches which is their highest ranking since 2016. In the most recent NPI rankings they are also still the No. 8 in the nation while moving up to fourth in Super Region four.
Weekend Notes:
· Jacobo Betancourt-Tovar and Michael Ajagbe both scored two goals apiece in the win over Mines with each of them converting once on penalty kicks
· Joakim Gunnar also had the game's other goal
· Johan Murrilo, Kaden Riedel and Liam Corr all had assists in the game too
· Zach Jennings totaled three saves in the net with his defense limiting the Orediggers heavily
· Regis outshot Mines 34-7 in the game with Mines also collecting six cautions, including one red card
The Rangers will now host a semifinal round game on Wednesday against No. 5 seed Westminster University with the winner of that game then moving to the championship game on Saturday. If Regis wins, they will host again with the highest remaining seed getting to host.
Westminster comes into Wednesday's game after winning their quarterfinals game against No. 4 seed UCCS in a 4-1 decision.
Regis has played Westminster already twice this season with the Rangers winning both times by scores of 3-0 and 3-1. The Griffins come into this week on a two-game winning streak though and are 8-7-4 overall.
M/W CROSS COUNTRY
Both the men's and women's cross country teams enter the postseason phase of their season as well this week when they travel up to South Dakota on Saturday, Nov. 7 to take part in the RMAC Championships, hosted by South Dakota Mines.
In their last race of the regular season, the Rangers took 7th place in both the men's and women's side at the UCCS Open on Oct. 25 with both teams competing in four regular season events.
Liam Chavez led the men's side at the race with a 33rd place finish while Allie Braney earned second place honors for the women while also setting the school record for the 6K at 21.23.1.
This mark had stood since 2010 with Braney now being in the top three for both women's racing categories of the 6K and the 5K.
In last year's trip to the RMAC Championships the men's team took 14th/15 teams while the women's team came in 13th/15. Both teams were predicted to finish 13th in the conference this season in the preseason poll.
MEN'S BASKETBALL
The Rangers will see their first action of the preseason this week when they travel up to Laramie, Wyoming on Tuesday for an exhibition matchup with Division One foe Wyoming University.
This will be one of two exhibitions the Rangers take part in this season with them also facing off against University of Northern Colorado in December.
In addition, this is the first time in school history that Wyoming and Regis will ever meet in a men's basketball game.
In the RMAC Preseason Poll, Regis was voted to finish 15th in the conference with them currently in the second year under the leadership of Head Coach Rex Walters.
This year's team features five returners only while 13 new players have joined the ranks.
