SAN FRANCISCO – In a year that saw 13 games canceled due to inclement weather that swept through the Bay Area and beyond, ART U highlights included a mid-season surge ending the Tournament of Champions then into a Hawaii roadtrip, six straight wins to close the year, and the team's second All-Region honoree in sophomore catcher Lauryn Henderson.

"I think the weather was a major factor in our ability to create momentum during the season," said Gomez. "The players were emotionally invested in each of our home games, so having to cancel many of them was tough. Eventually we were able to create a nice momentum and really let go of the 'what ifs' that were those rain outs. I think once the team realized that we could still be successful without making them up, they were able to play much looser and true to their identity."

For the second consecutive year, Academy of Art began its campaign with the Montana State Billings Desert Stinger Tournament in Las Vegas, but for the first time in the history of the event, rain caused the cancellation of multiple games. Emerging from the tournament with just three contests under their belts, the Urban Knights returned to action a little under three weeks later with the start of Pacific West Conference play on Feb. 23. Beginning at Notre Dame de Namur, ART U got two home runs from Henderson, a masterful performance from junior pitcher Hannah Rose Balke (8-12), and swept the day.

Though slated to start a 14-game homestand hosting Cal State Monterey Bay, Azusa Pacific, Concordia, and Biola, an abnormally wet spring season prevented Academy of Art from playing even just one of those contests despite numerous relocations. The Urban Knights were finally back on the field on Mar. 8 at Stanislaus State where a split came after sophomore pitcher Cecilia Lopez (10-7) allowed one run and freshman outfielder Nikki West delivered the game-winning hit. Soon enough, Academy of Art found itself in its home-opener, rematching with NDNU on Mar. 16 and the result was another sweep while celebrating Military Appreciation Day.

"The initial victories were important in building our confidence as a team," said Gomez. "We lost some pivotal players this year, and the women on the squad needed to figure out their identity as a team. Being successful against conference opponents gave them the opportunity to assess the circumstance we were in and make the best out of the situation."

Leading up to the Tournament of Champions, ART U would take two one-run defeats at the hands of Holy Names then make up one game from its series with Azusa Pacific while in Turlock. The Urban Knights bounced back from two competitive games against NCAA Tournament qualifier UC San Diego and Central Washington on day one of the Tournament of Champions with a sweep of day two. Mar. 30 began with Lopez leading Academy of Art to a 5-0 shutout of Cal State East Bay then Balke allowed just one hit in 8.0 innings of what would be a 3-2 walk-off victory after Henderson singled home the winning-run. Lopez dominated Montana State Billings on Mar. 31 and Henderson capped the tourney finale with more clutch hitting to become the program's first Tournament of Champions Batting Champion as well as PacWest Player of the Week.

"During that stretch of success, we were given the chance to finally get on a streak and felt 'game ready,'" said Gomez. "We knew going into Tournament of Champions that we were not going to be as conditioned as the rest of the teams. Working through the tournament, we were able to gain that sense of being in season. We knew that we had to mentally approach this stretch of games differently because there were way more to play in a row than we had before. I think that really made the difference in the way the girls came together and really played together."

The momentum from Tournament of Champions carried into Hawaii as ART U won five of its first six on the 12-game roadtrip, giving the team eight victories in a nine-game stretch. Junior utility Dominique Seva'aetasi hit her first collegiate home run to propel the Knights to a split with Chaminade on Apr. 6 before senior infielder Brenna Youngquist crushed three homers in a day two sweep of the Silverswords on Apr. 7. From there, Balke and Lopez were once again at the forefront of two more wins over Hawaii Pacific on Apr. 9, however, the Sharks responded by evening the series the following afternoon. The trip would end on a high note though with Academy of Art dominating UH Hilo 9-0 thanks to a pair of two-run homers off the bats of Youngquist and Henderson on Apr. 14. Younquist, who would also become the program's career walks leader that day, picked up her second PacWest Player of the Week selection of the year for her work in Hawaii.

Back in the Bay Area at last, the Urban Knights were able to make up two of the four games against No. 14 Concordia, the eventual PacWest Champion, and finish up non-conference action with a twinbill at SF State. Academy of Art then exacted some revenge against Holy Names with an Apr. 26 sweep that saw ART U score 16 runs behind a five-hit day from junior outfielder Gabi Hirsch.

The 2019 campaign concluded with a home-road split of a four-game series with Dominican. Both gamedays were the teams' respective Senior Day celebrations and the Knights went first, honoring Youngquist and senior utility Katie Tablada prior to sweeping the Penguins on Apr. 27. One week later on May 4 in San Rafael, Academy of Art repeated the result, taking two from Dominican thanks in large part to two home runs from Youngquist who broke the program's career record in the process.

"Brenna went through this entire season not holding anything back while really trying to reiterate that to her teammates so that they would understand how quickly it all goes by," said Gomez.

The six victories at the end of the year led ART U to finish 20-19 overall and 16-11 in PacWest play, putting them sixth overall in the conference standings.

"[Winning six in a row] really ended the season on a high note and gave our underclassmen a preview of what we are going to be building on for next year," said Gomez. "It is really important for the morale of the team to remember that this game is supposed to be fun and that it truly is a game. The season, along with the pressures of the academic side make it tough when you're in the middle of it all. I think the end of our season just gave the team a chance to let go a little and play with no hesitations."

Multiple accolades went Henderson's way during the postseason. She began by being named All-PacWest Third Team then became the third Urban Knight in program history to receive D2CCCA All-Region Team honors. The Game Development major completed 2019 regular season with the West Region's second-highest slugging percentage (.802), fifth-highest on-base percentage (.500), and sixth-most home runs (10) all of which either broke ART U single-season records (slugging) or ranked top four.

"Lauryn truly had a breakout season and held nothing back," said Gomez. "It was really inspiring to see her come out of her shell and start to believe in herself. I try to remind the team constantly that there is no better feeling than knowing you left it all on the field. I think Lauryn kept that in the heart of her performances, and she was able to come in clutch so many times."

The Academy of Art pitching rotation proved to be instrumental to the team's success throughout the year. Beyond the aforementioned highlights from Lopez and Balke, ART U also relied upon freshman Haley Arnold-Jolley in a relief role and redshirt sophomore Sarah Wapner (2-0) both out of the bullpen as well as for multiple starts.

"Cece definitely came through for us when it came to consistency, but I feel like the entire pitching staff found themselves over the course of the season," said Gomez. "Hannah understood her struggles, and worked especially hard to overcome them. Sarah really worked on having a strong presence in the circle and supporting her other pitchers in any way that she could. Haley, as a freshman, was totally comfortable whenever she was given the opportunity. She forced a lot of groundouts and popups, and that was all we were asking of her."

Behind the pitchers, defensive leaders like junior infielder Gracie Sotomayor and Seva'aetasi not only excelled in 2019, but their return next season keeps the future as bright as ever for Academy of Art Softball.

"Gracie was a force to reckon with at second and came out extremely strong for us in that position," said Gomez. "With her, and then Dom at shortstop, they really caught a groove that I felt kept the defense together and focused. Everyone brought something to the table this season, and I think it was just a preview of things to come in the future for this team."