Daytona State’s sports teams have both fresh and familiar faces showing up for this fall semester.
The Daytona State Women’s Golf team seemed to hit a slump at the beginning of last year, finishing 13 out of 13 teams at the Lady Paladin Invitational. After finishing 2nd at the NJCAA National Championships, they seem to be keeping the momentum, with star player Maddie Tenson saying “Things are different this year. We have a stronger roster, and our girls are ready for action.” One specific newcomer to watch out for is Angelica Holman, whose hitting power makes her one of the top golfers in the freshman class.
Women’s Volleyball had a positive record last year, finishing with 13-8 and losing to Hillsborough Community in the FSCAA State Tournament. Albeit a good record, this year they seem to be out for revenge, starting with six straight wins and no losses to date. Emma Testi, through her first six games as a falcon, already has 15 kills and 3 service aces. Testi, being born in Italy and recruited to Daytona State, will prove to be an important member this coming fall.
Finishing strong last year, Men’s Soccer ended with a 13-1-2 record, losing to Salt Lake Community in 2OT by a single goal. William Diaz, a returning sophomore and now captain of the Men’s Soccer team, had 8 saves as the goalie in the last game of their season. This year, the motto is “Offense is the best defense”, as in the first four games of the season Daytona State has allowed a single goal while scoring 19 of their own.
Women and Men’s Cross Country are both being coached by Judy Wilson, a legend in her field, who has experience both on and off the track. Men’s XC finished 2nd last year at the NJCAA National Championship, with top sophomores Sebastian Hernandez and Christian Rocco headlining the team this year. Jared Falchook, a freshman on the team, says “Practicing with these guys nearly every day, we’re in more sync than ever. Every single runner in our group matters to us, we have a flow going and we plan on running this event this year and bring home a trophy.”
As for Women’s XC, recruit in Shannon Jones doubles as both a mother and a star for the cross-country team this year. Jones, running at the Embry Riddle invitational this year, finished 17th, leading her teammates to a 7/17 placement. At the St. Leo Abbey Invitational, Jones showed out, finishing 6th of all runners in her division. With all Florida natives on the roster, the team has aspirations of finishing first at nationals this year.
The Women’s Soccer team had to deal with setbacks last year, as they finished 4-6 with several games being postponed or canceled. This year, they’ve made it a mission to stand out, already beginning with 4 wins and no losses to date. The team has moved from the outside looking in, as they cracked the NJCAA DI Women’s Soccer ranking, becoming 15/20. Not to mention, Alison Worley, a sophomore and forward for the team, was named the NCJAA DI Player of the Week.
Fall sports are already underway, but there are still many more games left in the season that you can attend. The full athletic calendar can be found on our falcon website at https://dscfalcons.com/landing/index.
Will Martinez, contributing writer.
Photos taken by Alexander Espinal.