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From the Desk of Dr. Steve
Nichols: A New Semester – and What a Semester It Will Be! |
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This series of messages is
from Dr. Steve Nichols, CSUSM Director of Athletics. It is
intended to give viewers of The Cougars Online a perspective of
the athletic department from its top administrator. Subsequent
updates will be posted periodically. |
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The relative quiet that Winter break brought the offices of the Cal State San Marcos Athletics Department is nearly over, and will be gone completely next week, when students return for the start of the Spring semester. Spring is a busy time for us, anyway -- this Spring, though, promises to be even more eventful than usual! First, our inaugural baseball and softball games are just days away. Our baseball team plays its first-ever game on January 24, facing San Diego Christian; their inaugural festivities will be held a week later, on February 2, beginning at 1:00 at the San Marcos High field. A week after that, at 11:00 a.m. on February 10, our softball team will square off against Vanguard in our first home game on the field at Mission Hills High. Continuing a year of “firsts” that started with our magical soccer season last Fall, these teams represent our first-ever Spring team sports contests – and if their seasons are anything like soccer’s, we are all in for a treat. This should be a special year for our golf program, as well. Our men’s team approaches the new season ranked 13th in the country, and could surprise some people. Our women’s team, meanwhile, finished 4th in the nation last year, and begins this Spring season with a lofty #6 national ranking. The women’s chances at winning their first national championship are helped considerably by the fact that the championship will be decided on one of their home courses. Cal State San Marcos, working with the San Diego International Sports Council and the Lake San Marcos Resort and Country Club, will host the women’s national championship tournament at the Lake San Marcos golf course. We are the first west coast school ever selected to host this event, and we couldn’t be more excited about it. Coach Steve Scott has announced a bold goal for his upcoming outdoor track and field season: he wants to see 30 of his student-athletes meet the qualifying standards to compete in the NAIA National Championship meet. That would be a school record, by a wide margin. I wouldn’t put it past Steve to pull it off, though – he is well-known for setting lofty goals, and then meeting them. As if all that weren’t enough, we have still another major event on our calendars: on April 14, Athletics will be the focus of the university’s Spring fundraising event. The theme of the event is, “Field of Dreams: They’re Here, Let’s Build!” The night of dinner and dancing will raise much-needed funds toward the construction of on-campus facilities for our baseball, softball, and soccer programs, and for scholarships for all our teams. A volunteer committee, University Advancement and our own staff are working very hard to make the night a great success. As you can see, there is much going on in the Cal State San Marcos Athletics program! Why don’t you join us? Come see our student-athletes in competition, and buy a ticket for our April 14 fundraiser. You’ll be glad you did, and we’d be glad to have you. Go Cougars! Sincerely, |
