THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. – The quiet mornings in the Gilbert Sports and Fitness Center concluded today as members of the Cal Lutheran football, women’s soccer and volleyball teams reported back to campus this morning for pre-season training.
With nearly 300 athletes scheduled to return to Thousand Oaks in the next three days, the campus is buzzing with excitement.
“After a successful 2011-12 academic year, the anticipation and promise of a new year of competition is upon us,” director of athletics Dan Kuntz shared. “Our coaches have used their respective off seasons to prepare for this day and the upcoming season. We are all excited to get things underway for 2012-13.”
Football welcomes over 100 athletes for camp, which is set to begin tomorrow in the team’s quest for a fourth consecutive SCIAC title. Athletes will have three weeks to prepare for the season opener on Sept. 8 at Pacific Lutheran in Washington.
The volleyball team will begin their pre-season regimen before suiting up as the first team to compete for CLU this fall. The Regals will play a pair of matches on Aug. 31 at La Verne against two strong teams as part of the Pacific Coast Classic to serve things up for 2012. CLU is after its third consecutive SCIAC title this year under the tutelage of seventh-year head coach Kellee Roesel.
Rounding out the returning teams on Saturday is the defending, undefeated SCIAC Champion women’s soccer squad. The Regals return 13 athletes and kick off their own 2012 campaign just hours after the volleyball team gets the competitive year going for the Violet and Gold. The women’s soccer team also seeks its third straight league title. CLU will travel to Oregon to play Linfield at 1:00 p.m. on Aug. 31.
Monday the final three teams will report with the men’s soccer squad, men’s water polo players and men’s and women’s cross country teams rounding out the fall sports.
Cal Lutheran men’s soccer looks to climb in the SCIAC standings in 2012. The Kingsmen welcome back more than half their roster from a year ago, including six seniors. CLU gets the season started at home on Monday, Sept. 3 at 2:00 p.m. against Pacific (Ore.).
Both the men’s and women’s cross country teams will prepare for the five-meet regular season with a team trip later this week after reporting to campus. The Kingsmen and Regals will run the fifth annual Cal Lutheran time trial on Aug. 31 before competition officially gets underway on Saturday, Sept. 8 at the Asics/UC Irvine Invitational. The SCIAC Multi-Dual meet is set for Friday, Oct. 12.
Rounding out the fall teams is the men’s water polo team. The Kingsmen have 13 players returning from a year ago when the team finished fourth in the league. CLU will dive into 2012 on the road at the Princeton Invitational Sept. 7-8 where they will face tough competition from the Ivy League schools.
Campus is glad to have the buzz back. Not only are the student-athletes ready to go, but the coaches and support staff are prepared and excited for the upcoming year of CLU sports.