Head coach Tim Walsh has led the Cal Poly football team to a 27-19 record in his five-year tenure, including its first berth to the FCS playoffs since 2008.
Mustang Daily Staff Report
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Volleyball
Head coach: Sam Crosson
In only his second season at the helm of the Cal Poly volleyball team, head coach Sam Crosson is hoping for different results from his inaugural year.
And after the first six matches of the team’s 2013 campaign, the Mustangs’ notched four victories, tying their 2012 season win total.
Before coming to Cal Poly, Crosson served as the assistant coach at California for two years, helping the Golden Bears achieve their most successful season as a program when they won a share of the Pac-10 title and advanced to the NCAA championship match in 2010.
In addition to coaching at Cal, the Santa Cruz native began his coaching career at his alma mater, Pacific, and he went on to serve at Santa Clara and St. Mary’s College.
Crosson entered the 2012 volleyball season without Jennifer Keddy, the 2011 Big West Conference Player of the Year. The loss of Keddy to an injury severely crippled the team, and the Mustangs were held to a meager four wins throughout the season, compiling a 4-26 overall record and 3-15 in Big West action.
But this year, Crosson and his team have won six of their first 13 games including their last two at the Arizona State Tournament.
Before the Mustangs begin Big West play with a home match against UC Irvine on Sept. 27, Crosson will coach Keddy and his continuously improving team in both the Cal Invitational and the Arizona State tournament.
Track and Field/Cross-Country
Head coach: Mark Conover
Entering his 15th season at Cal Poly, Director of Track and Field/Cross-Country Mark Conover is used to winning.
The Humbolt State graduate led the Mustangs to 12 appearances at the NCAA Cross-Country Championships and has coached the men’s team to four top-20 finishes throughout his coaching career in San Luis Obispo.
Conover himself competed on the professional level and even made the US Olympic team in 1988; the cross-country star won the Olympic trials for the marathon and competed in Seoul, South Korea.
Conover was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma during the end of his professional running career, and soon began his coaching career thereafter.
After he was hired part-time in 1996, Conover eventually became a full-time coach at Cal Poly in 2003. It wasn’t until 2009, after he led the men’s cross-country team to its seventh straight Big West Conference Championship, that Conover assumed his current job title.
Returning on the women’s squad under the guidance of Conover is sophomore distance runner and All-American Laura Hollander.
In the season-opening UCSB Lagoon Open, Hollander dominated the competition, setting a new course record finishing in 16:36 over 5,000 meters and breaking her previous mark set last season of 16:42. The Mustangs swept the race with senior Chris Frias finishing second overall on the men’s side.
In the Fresno State Invitational, the Cal Poly men’s and women’s teams dominated the board as the men placed six runners in the top 10 and the women placed five.
Conover and his teams now have their sights set on the Stanford Invitational on Sept. 28.
Football
Head coach: Tim Walsh
Cal Poly record: 27-21 (as of Sept. 15)
Key game: 11/16 vs. Eastern Washington
Tim Walsh was named Cal Poly’s head coach in 2009, after spending two years as offensive coordinator and quarterback coach at the United States Military Academy. In four full seasons at Cal Poly, Walsh has compiled a 27-19 record, including three winning campaigns, two conference titles and an NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision playoff berth this past year.
Men’s soccer
Head coach: Paul Holocher
Cal Poly record: 66-53-23 (as of Sept. 25)
Key game: 10/25 vs. UCSB
After piecing together a 109-24-7 record as the head coach at UC Santa Cruz, Paul Holocher joined the Cal Poly coaching staff in 2006. He has since turned Cal Poly into a powerhouse soccer program, racking up four Big West Conference regular season titles and bringing the Mustangs to the 2008 NCAA Division I tournament. Holocher prides himself on creating an exciting atmosphere around soccer. Since his arrival, 11 of the top 27 best-attended games in NCAA regular season history include matches featuring Cal Poly.
Women’s soccer
Head coach: Alex Crozier
Cal Poly record: 249-137-40 (as of Sept. 25)
Key game: Oct. 25 @ UCSB
Alex Crozier has been head coach of the Cal Poly women’s soccer team since its intercollegiate inception in 1992. In those 21 years, Crozier has earned four Big West Coach of the Year awards and notched six NCAA tournament appearances. In 1993, Crozier led Cal Poly to a Division II national championship, earning himself the NSCAA National Coach of the Year award as a result.