Editor’s note: We’re debuting a new column on Western Washington Athletics that will publish weekly. Got a WWU sports-related news tip, or a good story idea? We’re all ears. Send it to newstips@cascadiadaily.com, subject line “WWU sports notebook.”
In one of Western’s best worst-kept secrets, rowing assistant coach Courtney Moeller is expected to be named head coach of Western’s vaunted women’s rowing program. She will replace the legendary John Fuchs, who announced his retirement in June after 26 seasons at the helm (40 years total) of Western’s most successful athletic program.
Fuchs finished a foundational career with a fitting coda — a ninth NCAA Division II team title in June, its first since 2017, and all under Fuchs. He built a dynasty at Western, winning seven consecutive titles from 2005–11.
Big shoes to fill for Moeller, but the 2005 Western grad (age: a “spry 41,” she says) appears up to the task. She isn’t your typical assistant. Just last season, her ninth, she was named the 2024 NCAA Division II National Coach of the Year in her role as Vikings’ lead assistant to Fuchs.
She’s got a great support crew, too — the coaches and staffers that included athletic trainer Masa Migita and strength and conditioning coach Damien Fisher were named by the Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association as the 2024 national staff of the year. Moeller helped lead the team to that 2017 national title, a runner-up finish in 2018 and third-place results in 2016 and 2019.
Moeller, a member of Western’s first NCAA Division II championship team in any sport as varsity four stroke in 2005, will begin her 10th season with the program. A graduate of Liberty High School in Renton, Moeller is also program director for the Whatcom Rowing Association.
Season openers start Thursday
Classes don’t begin until Sept. 25, but Western’s sports season starts with a bang on Thursday, Sept. 5, with season openers for women’s and men’s soccer and volleyball, and a full slate of games running through the weekend with all three teams (see Best Bets below).
Women’s soccer looks to rebound
Last season: 12-5-4 overall, 9-2-3 in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference (second).
This season: Looking to avenge a season that went pfffttt with a 2-1 loss to Simon Fraser University in the conference tournament final. That left the Vikings sitting home, denied a berth in the NCAA tournament after 10 straight appearances, the last of which was 2022, when they won the national championship.
Three things you should know:
- The Vikings are ranked preseason No. 1 in the GNAC coaches poll, but just barely, over Seattle Pacific and Simon Fraser.
- The lineup is loaded with talented returners, including first-team all-conference players Morgan Manalili, a two-time third-team All-American, and Asia Hardin. Manalili, a junior from Shoreline, was the team’s leading scorer and second in the GNAC with 15 points (six goals, three assists). She had four game-winning goals. Co-captain Hardin, a junior defender from West Linn, Oregon, started all 21 games and missed just 15 minutes of game time all season. She was key in the GNAC’s leading defense (0.76 goals against average). Senior defender and co-captain Halle Noel is also an all-conference returner. Local roster ties include twin (fraternal) sisters Audrey and Emily Holdridge, freshman midfielder/forwards, from Ferndale.
- The Vikings have yet to score, going 0-2-1 in preseason exhibitions, losing 2-0 to the University of Victoria at home on Aug. 22; tying Trinity Western, 0-0, in Langley, B.C., on Aug. 27 and losing, 3-0, to the University of British Columbia, the eight-time Canadian U Sports national champions, Aug. 29 in Vancouver.
Men’s soccer ranked No. 3 in preseason poll
Last season: 6-6-6 overall, 3-4-5 GNAC (t-third)
This season: Predicted to finish tied for third with Seattle Pacific by the GNAC preseason coaches poll, behind defending conference champ Simon Fraser and No. 2 Western Oregon.
Three things you should know:
- Top returners are first-team all-conference players Sebastiano Silvetti, the 6-foot-5 sophomore defender from Bergamo, Italy; leading scorer (five goals, two assists) and junior forward Albin Jonsson from Sweden and conference second-team senior midfielder Lucas Hakamada from Bothell, who started 17 of 18 matches.
- Local ties include freshman defender Reiley Buri-Brown, Sehome; sophomore goalkeeper Henry White, Bellingham High; senior midfielder Adan Fernandez, out of Whatcom Community College, from Snohomish.
- We’ll find out fast how this team measures up — a four-game season-opening stretch at home includes two nationally-ranked opponents in No. 18 Chico State at 4 p.m. on Sept. 5 and No. 5 Cal State L.A. at 7 p.m. on Sept. 12. The Vikings recorded home preseason exhibition wins against Trinity Western, 2-1, Aug. 23 and the University of British Columbia, 1-0, Aug. 29
Volleyball: On the upswing
Last season: 12-14 overall, 12-6 GNAC (third)
This season: Predicted to finish third by the GNAC preseason coaches poll, behind No. 1 Central Washington and No. 2 Seattle Pacific.
Three things you should know:
- Look out for this team. It’s young, with no seniors, but returns almost its entire roster under veteran Diane Flick-Williams, in her 25th season as the program’s most successful coach. Remarkably, last season was the first time the team posted an overall losing season in Flick-Williams’s tenure, one that still averages more than 21 wins per season over a quarter-century of them. One streak remains intact: DiFli has never had a losing conference season.
- Key returnees include first-team all-conference junior outside hitter Devyn Oestreich of Olympia; team-leading blocker Emily Vossenkuhl, a sophomore middle from Ridgefield; and sophomore outside hitter Delaney Speer from Maple Valley; all 2024 preseason all-conference team picks.
- Local roster ties include junior Anna VanderYacht of Lynden High, a defensive specialist/libero (DS/L); DS/L sophomore Finnley Claeys of Meridian High; coach’s daughter DS/L freshman Chayse Flick-Williams, Bellingham High; and middle Teya Zaddack, a freshman from Blaine High.
BEST BETS
Thursday, Sept. 5, 4 p.m. – WWU men’s soccer vs. No. 18 Chico State, Bellingham; 7 p.m. – women’s soccer vs. Metropolitan State University-Denver, Bellingham and volleyball vs. Sonoma State. All are home and season-openers.
Friday, Sept. 6, 7 p.m. – WWU volleyball vs. No. 7 Metropolitan State University-Denver, Bellingham
Sunday, Sept. 8, 1 p.m. – WWU women’s soccer vs. No. 6 University of Colorado-Colorado Springs, Bellingham
Thursday, Sept. 12, 7 p.m. – WWU men’s soccer vs. No. 5 Cal State LA, Bellingham
Saturday, Sept. 14, 7 p.m. – WWU men’s soccer vs. Cal State Dominguez Hills, Bellingham
Tickets. Get them online at wwuvikings.com/tickets or in person one hour prior to game time. Box offices are outside Carver Gym (volleyball) and at Harrington Field (soccer).
Parking. It’s free for sports, a rarity on a campus whose parking enforcement officers are notorious for their ticketing enthusiasm. For volleyball, season ticket holders can park in 9G, everyone else in 19G lots. Soccer parkers use the C lots on south campus. See wwu.edu/parking for a detailed map.
Can’t make it? Stream, stream, stream
All home games are streamed via a live and free YouTube webcast that also features live stats. Use these links:
If you have a smart TV, search for “WWU Athletics” on YouTube.
Meri-Jo Borzilleri is a freelance journalist whose stories have appeared in Cascadia Daily News, The Seattle Times, New York Times and ESPN.com, among other outlets. She was a former sports reporter for the Miami Herald, Colorado Springs Gazette and Hilton Head Island Packet.
