Athletics

This is part of a series of profiles of new UC Merced Bobcats enrolled for the fall 2024 semester.

Alexis “Lexi” Wright gives her all, excelling in school and on the soccer field. A transfer from Saddleback Community College in Orange County, Wright also spent a year at San Francisco State helping knock out the prerequisites for attending UC Merced.

If you're looking for someone to make a late-night sushi run with and teach you the finer points of sudoku, Lexi might be your new best friend.

Between academic semesters and collegiate soccer seasons, UC Merced standout defender Preeya Singh is representing Fiji on the world stage.

Over the past eight months, Singh has played in multiple World Cup and Olympic qualifying games in addition to NAIA National Championship matches. She has scored goals, won trophies and anchored shutouts. Singh, a biological sciences major, also earned a trio of academic accolades recently and has a 3.78 GPA through four semesters.

2023 was a remarkable year in which UC Merced experienced tremendous growth and acclaim. Several milestones were reached, setting up the university to continue thriving in the near future and beyond. As we embark on a new year, here's a look back at the stories that shaped 2023.

The year just ending has been one for the college sports record books and many kudos are due to the Bobcat athletes and their coaches.

UC Merced men’s and women’s outdoor track swept the California Pacific (Cal Pac) Conference Championships in their inaugural seasons. Women’s soccer beat 14^th-ranked Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in the Cal Pac Tournament Championship game and got to hoist their first trophy in front of Bobcat Nation on Bobcat Field.

One of the nation's top NCAA Division II conferences - the California Collegiate Athletic Association - will get that much stronger as its Board of Presidents has voted unanimously to admit the University of California, Merced.

Distinguished rankings, new academic offerings, world-class research and campus expansions were among the highlights of the UC Merced State of the University address delivered by Chancellor Juan Sánchez Muñoz.

"The state of this 20-year-old institution is unparalleled in the history of American higher education," said Muñoz. "And now I would like to invite you to join me in imagining an even more impactful future for our campus, faculty, staff and students."

UC Merced is highlighting incoming students for fall 2023 — a dynamic, diverse and accomplished cohort of new Bobcats.

When Clovis native and lifelong volleyball player Morgan Wilson first began exploring her options to play at the collegiate level, her path was not clear. She had several out-of-state opportunities, none of which felt like the right fit.

"I didn't even feel a spark with a lot of the schools," she said.

Then she visited UC Merced.

ALISO VIEJO, Calif. – The University of California, Merced men's and women's outdoor track teams swept the team titles at the California Pacific Conference Championships on Friday at Soka University Track Complex.

Individually, Jonathan Chavez took home Cal Pac Track Male Athlete of the Year honors, Elizette Ysais earned Cal Pac Female Athlete of the Year, and head coach Vicente Velarde was named the Cal Pac Men's and Women's Coach of the Year.

First-year student Edwin Casillas found everything he was looking for in a university — and more — at UC Merced. Nearly a year after the Sonora native said he "felt at home" when visiting the campus, he is confident he made the right decision to become a Bobcat.

2022 was a banner year for UC Merced marked with growth, innovation and prestige. As we boldly move forward toward 2023, here's a look back at the stories that stood out this year. 

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