Monday, May 1, 2017
PORTLAND, Ore. – As GNAC Insider prepares for the 2017 GNAC Softball Championships that begin on Thursday, Western Washington twins Cylie and Carlie Richards joined the conference’s 30-minute weekly online radio show. The 123rd episode hosted by Rob Lowery featured Saint Martin’s head softball coach Rick Noren and Simon Fraser golf interim head coach Matthew Steinbach.
Cylie and Carlie Richards joined GNAC Insider as Western Washington prepares for the GNAC Championships. The second-seeded Vikings will play host Saint Martin’s in the first round at noon on Thursday. The twins are in their junior season at WWU after previously playing together at Kamiakin High School in Kennewick, Washington. Cylie plays shortstop and enters the tournament with a hot bat, going 6 for 14 with five RBIs and three home runs in the last five games. Carlie plays both catcher and outfield and has a .398 batting average this season with 10 extra-base hits and 22 RBIs this season.
Noren is in his seventh year as the head coach at Saint Martin’s and has nearly two decades of experience as a head coach at the NCAA Division II and III levels. Noren led the Saints on a run of six wins in seven games during the final two weeks of the season to secure a fifth consecutive berth into the GNAC Championships as the No. 3 seed. During the regular season, the Saints lost each of the first three meetings with WWU before winning the most recent encounter on April 8, 10-5. The hosts of the GNAC Championships are looking to get back to the tournament final for the first time since winning the event in 2013.
Steinbach joined GNAC Insider after a busy week in the news cycle for the Simon Fraser women’s golf team. After winning the GNAC Championships with a record score on Tuesday, the Clan was selected as the Red Lion/GNAC Team of the Week. On Monday, the Clan discovered that it will be also be competing in the NCAA Division II Women’s Golf West Super Regional in Wichita, Texas, beginning on May 8. Then on Tuesday, Simon Fraser received several honors in the GNAC All-Conference Team. Late head coach John Buchanan was named the GNAC Coach of the Year and sophomore Emily Leung was selected as the conference’s Player of the Year. Leung was joined on the first team by Co-Freshman of the Year Jaya Rampuri and junior Kylie Jack.