Sports roundup: a mid-season review

Santa Monica College's fall sports season has been extremely eventful so far this year. With just shy of a month left for all of the teams, we take a look at how the Corsairs have been doing across the board.

Football

The SMC football team simply can not be stopped this year in their quest for an undefeated season. Entering their upcoming game this next Saturday, October 24 at home against LA Valley, the Corsairs have won all six of their games this season. The football team has currently won 30 straight conference games, a streak that dates back five seasons now. The Corsairs are seeking to win their fifth consecutive conference championship all under head coach Gifford Lindheim. The Homecoming game will be played on Halloween this year, October 31 at 1 p.m. The football team has only four games remaining; however, it is highly likely that they will be invited to compete in a bowl game at the end of the season.

Men's Soccer

The men's and women's soccer teams are both have winning seasons and look like they both might be able to make an impact in the playoffs this year. The men's team is currently 9-2-4 (9 wins, 2 losses, 4 draws) and lost their first game since September 18 yesterday against Oxnard who is the only team to have beaten SMC this season. The success of the men's team has helped earn them a current ranking of #13 in the most recent CCCAA (California Community College Athletic Association) rankings. The men only have six games remaining on their schedule, but do not play a home game until November 3rd when they will host Glendale.

Women's Soccer

The women's team has a record of 6-4-4 (6 wins, 4 losses, 4 draws) and are coming off of a scoreless draw at home against Bakersfield yesterday. The women have seven remaining games on their schedule and look to improve upon their record to solidify a spot in the playoffs. The next home game for the lady Corsairs will be playing a back to back with the men's team on November 3 against Citrus College.

Women's Volleyball

The SMC women's volleyball has recently been on fire. The Corsairs have yet to lose a match in the month of October by winning four straight games in the month. The overall season record for the volleyball team is 10-7 and their recent success has helped them move up the CCCAA weekly rankings. As of October 19, the SMC women's volleyball team is ranked #30 in the entire state.

Cross Country

The SMC men's and women's cross country teams are looking forward to their upcoming Western State Conference Championship this upcoming Friday at Legg Lake Park in South El Monte. The men's cross country team come into the meet ranked #13 in Southern California as of October 13 rankings. The women's look to improve from their previous times. On the women's side, Sandra Ignacio looks to improve on her 23:23 5k time that earned her a 24th place finish at the Santa Barbara Invitational back on October 9. For the men, at the Santa Barbara Invitational, three runners posted sub 24 minute, four miles times that placed all three in the top 25. Top ten finisher, Brian Northrup looks to improve and keep himself under 23 minutes like he did at Santa Barbara for the upcoming meet this Friday.

Water Polo

Both the men's and women's water polo teams have struggled a bit this season. The men have played some extremely close matches; however, they tend to not be able to come out on top this season. So far, the men's team has a record of 2-20. There is still another eight scheduled matches on their schedule so their is still a chance to salvage the season. The women's team have a record of 4-12, but are recently on a win streak. The lady Corsairs won back to back matches last week on October 16 and 17. The women only have four more scheduled matches remaining. Both teams will host the SMC Mini Tournament which will take place this upcoming Friday, October 23.