Bailey Stevens
Bailey Stevens (senior) hit two home runs in a season-opening softball game versus Pacific Lutheran University Feb. 9. In one weekend, her home run tally is already half of her total from last year, positioning Stevens for a potential record-breaking season. According to Stevens, continuing to set new goals for herself as she enters her final season at Occidental is still important in order to make her mark on Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC).
“As a senior, I want to leave a lasting impact on my team,” Stevens said. “I think opening day, I really wanted to set the bar high for myself personally, just so I can make it noticeable that this is my last season, this is my last couple games to play the sport that I love.”
Stevens said she feels hitting is one of the most significant ways she contributes to the team, so having a strong offensive day was a positive way to open her senior season.
“I guess I was most proud of the way that I was seeing the ball and the way I was turning on the inside pitch,” Stevens said. “I think I was most proud of the way I was timing the ball and seeing it off of the pitcher’s hand.”
Outfielder Nyla Gatison (junior) said that Stevens’ contributions to the team extend far beyond her offensive abilities, as her consistent communication and encouragement makes her an influential leader.
“Bailey is the vocal leader on the field,” Gatison said. “She commands our team on defense and consistently steps up huge offensively in the times we need it the most. She is a natural leader and will always have your back on and off the field.”
Stevens highlighted the team’s defensive performance and said that getting into a rhythm allowed them to come up with big stops.
“I was definitely most proud of how fluid our defense was, how sound it was, especially in game two,” Stevens said. “We were getting all the routine ground balls, we were also making plays … keeping the ball in the infield, making those diving stops, and I think that was the highlight of the game.”
Gatison commended Stevens’ high energy and uplifting presence for bringing the team together in critical moments in order to keep raising the level of competition.
“Bailey’s energy and intensity is infectious,” Gatison said. “She really knows how to rally the team behind her to get everyone motivated and is always encouraging us to play as hard as we can.”
Stevens is a Diplomacy & World Affairs major, and her favorite spot on campus is the Erdman balcony room.
Dion Holden
Dion Holden (first year) won the 1-meter and 3-meter dives at a meet against Chapman University Feb. 9. In the final conference meet of the year, Holden said that overcoming fatigue was one of the biggest challenges, but he relied on the technical foundation he had built throughout the season.
“Diving is such a different sport compared to a lot of things, because it’s not like swimming where I’m training, training, training to get better times,” Holden said. “I’m trying to get this dive or perfect a technique, but it’s also physical ability and mental clarity.”
As the six-month swim and dive season near a close, Holden said that staying locked into his training is of paramount importance, especially as the pace of schoolwork begins to pick up.
“The main thing about diving is really balancing my time with practice and homework,” Holden said. “Once I’m in the pool when I’m diving, it’s usually just kind of routine by now, and so it’s just finding the balance, not being tired at practice and being able to fully focus and be in the zone.”
Due to the limited number of divers in SCIAC, Holden occasionally found himself competing alone at some conference competitions. Instead of resting on his laurels, Holden said that he used the opportunity to perform his best in hopes of qualifying for the regional meet in March.
“For swimmers, SCIACs is how you qualify for nationals, but for diving, it’s different,” Holden said. “To go to regionals, I have to get a certain score. Every meet that you have is a chance to qualify for regionals.”
Due to the differing point structure between diving and swimming, Holden said that the SCIAC Championship meet does not present too much pressure, as it is gives him an opportunity to compete against a greater number of divers while not having to worry about the magnitude of the meet’s outcome.
“I’m honestly just excited to see all the other divers, because in diving meets, usually the divers are a smaller group, and we all just bond over diving stuff,” Holden said. “We kind of support each other. It’s a different culture in a way, so I’m excited to see the other divers because I’ve started to get closer to some of them.”
Holden is an intended Diplomacy & World Affairs and Mandarin double-major, and before taking up diving, he competed in the Junior Olympics for gymnastics.
Feb. 16-17 Holden competed in SCIACs at Pomona-Pitzer, and got fifth place in the 1-meter and sixth place in 3-meter. His score of 433 points in the 1-meter earned him a spot at the NCAA West Regional Diving Competition at Grinnell College from March 1-2.
