The latest polls issued by the championships committee for both sports show that the Coyotes men's team is ranked No. 4 and the women's team is No. 5 as of Tuesday.

    However, there are four matches remaining in the regular season for both teams, starting Friday at UC San Diego and continuing Sunday at Cal State East Bay, certainly an out-of-the-ordinary road trip since East Bay is currently considered part of the South Division of the CCAA conference.

    CSUSB women, currently 8-6-2 overall and 7-3-2 in the CCAA, will be tested Friday by a UCSD team that is ranked No. 2 in the West Region and No. 11 in the nation. The Tritons are 12-2 and defeated the Coyotes 2-0 in San Bernardino on Sept. 27. The women's match is set for 4:30 p.m.

    The Coyotes men, now 12-3-1 overall and 8-3-1 in the CCAA, face the Tritons -- 7-5-4 overall and 4-5-3 in the CCAA at 7 p.m. at the La Jolla campus field. CSUSB won the first meeting, 1-0, on Sept. 27.

    Both teams then travel 400-plus miles to Hayward to face the Pioneers on Sunday at 11:30 a.m. and 2 p.m. CSUSB swept the first meetings with East Bay by scores of 7-0 (men) and 5-0 (women).

    The regular season ends with a home-and-home doubleheader with Cal Poly Pomona on Oct. 30 and Nov. 1. The Oct. 30 matches will be the final home matches of the season for both Coyotes teams.

                    NCAA WEST REGIONAL POLLS
    MEN -- 1. Cal State L.A. (13-2-1); 2. Sonoma State (11-2-2); 3. Seattle Pacific (10-2-3); 4. COYOTES (12-3-1); 5. Grand Canyon (10-2-1); 6. Cal State Dominguez Hills (9-5-1).

    WOMEN --  1. Seattle Pacific (13-1); 2. UC San Diego (12-2); 3. Cal State L.A. (12-2-2); 4. Chico State (7-3-5); 5. COYOTES (8-6-2); 6. Cal State Dominguez Hills (9-6); 7. San Franciso State (7-6-3); 8. Western Washington (8-4-2); 9. Dixie State (8-3); 10. Humboldt State (7-7-2).

The ranking comes a day after the Broncos received a No. 9 ranking by The Sporting News.

Cal Poly Pomona, which finished last season 25-8 and played for the national title in Springfield, Mass., earned its first preseason ranking since opening the 2005-06 season No. 15 (NABC) and 13th (Division II Bulletin).

Cal Poly Pomona, tied Cal State San Bernardino and Cal State Dominguez Hills for the regular-season California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) title last season.

The Broncos are led by first team All-CCAA senior guard Austin Swift and second team All-CCAA junior forward Tobias Jahn.

BYU-Hawaii, which concluded the 2008-09 season with a 27-2 record and return two All-Americans, is ranked No. 1 in the poll. Findlay is No. 2 and is followed by Soutwest Baptist, Cal Poly Pomona and Bellarmine, which rounds out the Top 5.

San Francisco State will be the first CCAA team to get its 2009-10 season underway when it takes part in the Disney Tip-Off West Coast Classic that begins Oct. 30 in Anaheim.

2009-10 Division II Bulletin Preseason Top 25 Poll

1. BYU-Hawaii
2. Findlay
3. Southwest Baptist
4. Cal Poly Pomona
5. Bellarmine
6. Tusculum
7. Merrimack
8. Augusta State
9. Florida Southern
10. Bentley
11. Valdosta State
12. Southwest Minnesota
13. Metro State
14. Central Missouri
15. Winona State
16. Kutztown
17. Central Oklahoma
18. Grand Valley State
19. Philadelphia
20. Northern Kentucky
21. Delta State
22. Rollins
23. J.C. Smith
24. West Virginia State
25. Incarnate Word

The Coyotes, the 2009 NCAA Division II runnerup behind Sonoma State, started the final 18 holes in sixth spot, but their final round team total of 306 dropped them two spots into a tie with St. Mary's University of Texas and Northeastern State (Okla).

Oklahoma City University and Western Washington tied for the team title with identical one-under-par totals of 863 on the Estrella Ranch Golf Club course, a track measuring 7,121 yards to a par of 72. Based on WWU's fifth-man score, the Vikings were given the team trophy.

Chico State finished third followed by Colorado-Colorado Springs, the 2009 Central Region champion, and Western New Mexico.

The Coyotes finished 35 shots behind the leaders. Playing without two key players - Kenny Pigman and Josh Lansing - the Coyotes shot 295, 299 and 306 in the two-day, 54-hole tournament. Senior Joe Alldis was the top player for CSUSB, firing a one-under-par 71 over the final 18 holes to finish at even par 216 and in a tie for fifth place. Alldis played the par-3s in even par, was two over on the par-4s.

Senior all-American Gene Webster Jr., shot his second 75 of the tournament to wind up in a tie for 16th at 220 - four over par. Webster tied for second place in birdies made with 12.

Senior Thomas Chu's 77 on the final day put him in a tie for 32nd spot at 225, nine over par. Sophomores Bryan Kim and Nick Kelley had a tough final round, each shooting 83 to finish 72nd and 81st in the field of 89 golfers.

As a team, CSUSB scored the fourth-most birdies in the tournament with 37.
Medalist honors went to Julian Valenciana of Oklahoma City University with a 208 - eight under par on rounds of 67, 72 and 69.

GRAND CANYON FALL INVITATIONAL
            @ Estrella Mountain Ranch GC in Goodyear, Ariz.
TEAM SCORES: 1. (tie) Oklahoma City Univ. and Western Washington (863); 3. Chico State, 866; 4. Colorado-Colo. Springs - 878; 5. Western New Mexico - 884; 6. (tie) Grand Canyon and Texas Wesleyan - 892; 8. (tie) COYOTES, St. Mary's (Tx), and Northeastern State - 900; 11. Fort Lewis College - 910; 12. Wayland Baptist - 916; 13. Grand Canyon JV - 918; 15. Colorado State-Pueblo - 925; 16. Regis - 937; 17. Dominican - 1009; 18. Southwestern Ariz. - 1053
COYOTE CARDS: 5. Joe Alldis - 75-70-71 - 216; 16. Gene Webster Jr. - 70-75-75 - 220; 32. Thomas Chu - 72-76-77 - 225; 72. Bryan Kim - 78-78-83 - 239; 81. Nick Kelley - 79-81-83 - 243.
TOP INDIVIDUALS: 1. Julian Valenciana (Okla. City) - 67-72-69 - 208; 2. Nick Varelia (Western Washington) - 72-71-70 - 213; 3. Brian Barhanovich (Western Washington) - 73-69-72 - 214. 4. Drrew Koonce  (Texas Wesleyan) - 74-71-70 - 215. 5. (tie) Joe Alldis (CSUSB) - 75-70-71 - 216, and Sylvester Gama (Chico State) - 75-70-71 - 216.
 
 

                The awards are voted upon by the student-based Bronco Athletics Association.

                Torres (Anaheim) competes in cross country and has two top-20 honors this season. He finished 5th at the CSU Fullerton race and 20th at UC Riverside. His honors at UCR earned him CCAA Runner of the Week on Sept. 21. He was 29th at the Stanford Invitational.

The Enterprise honor is Torres' second in his career.

                Diaz (Escondido) is the leading player on the Broncos volleyball team. She established a career-high 19 kills against No. 15 Sonoma State on Sept. 25. She leads the Broncos (6-8 overall, 3-4 CCAA) in kills (141) and kills per game (3.00).

                It is her first Enterprise career honor.

The Seawolves, who defeated CCAA rival Cal State San Bernardino in a one-hole playoff to capture the 2009 national championship, begin the year ranked No. 5 after receiving seven first-place votes and totaling 317 points.

Georgia College is the top-ranked team and is followed by Barry, Columbus State and Lynn.

Joining Sonoma State in the Top 10 is Cal State San Bernardino, which is ranked ninth. Cal State Stanislaus is 12th, Chico State No. 15 and Cal State Monterey Bay is tied for 24th.

Sonoma State head coach Val Verhunce brings an experienced team into this season, highlighted by All-CCAA junior Patrick Bauer.

Cal State San Bernardino is led by senior Gene Webster, Jr., who enjoyed a solid summer that included advancing to the round of 32 at the U.S. Amateur Public Links Golf Championships in Norman, Okla.

Sophomore Teddy Schrier, who won a U.S. Amateur sectional qualifying event this past summer, is the top returning player at Cal State Stanislaus.

Chico State returns the CCAA Most Valuable Player (Lucas Delgado), Freshman of the Year (Kyle Souza) and Newcomer of the Year (Brandon Harkins) from a year ago.

Oskar Nystrom leads Cal State Monterey Bay into the season after concluding the 2008-09 campaign with a 75.17 stroke average in 10 events.

Cal State Monterey Bay will be the first CCAA team to get its season underway when it travels to Lacey, Wash. to compete in the Saint Martin's Invitational beginning Friday.

Sonoma State will open defense of its first-ever national title on Monday, Sept. 28, when it travels to Noblesville, Ill. for the NCAA Preview Tournament.

Cal State Stanislaus, Chico State, Cal State Monterey Bay and UC San Diego will also be in action on Monday when they comprise part of the field at the Western Washington Invitational in Bellingham, Wash.

2009-10 Golf Coaches Association of America Preseason Poll
(First Place Votes in Parenthesis)

1. Georgia College (5)
2. Barry (4)
3. Columbus State (1)
4. Lynn (1)
5. Sonoma State (7)
6. North Alabama
7. Florida Southern
8. Central Oklahoma
9. Cal State San Bernardino
10. USC-Aiken
11. Nova Southeastern
12. Cal State Stanislaus
13. Indianapolis
14. West Florida
15. Chico State
16. Clayton State
T17. Ferris State
T17. Lander
19. Grand Canyon
20. Valdosta State
21. St. Edward's
22. Northeastern State
23. CU-Colorado Springs
T24. Cal State Monterey Bay
T24. Newberry 

The Cal State San Bernardino volleyball team opened defense of its CCAA title in fine fashion and they did so against their biggest rival. The Coyotes throttled long-time nemesis UC San Diego 3-1 (25-16, 21-25, 25-20, 25-11) Friday at Coussoulis Arena in a battle of nationally ranked unbeatens.

No. 2 San Bernardino was the only team that lived up to its billing. The Coyotes hit .333 and  limited the No. 4 Tritons to a .106.

Cal State (8-0) took control with a ferocious blocking effort midway through the third game. They finished with five solos and 12 block assists, six of those assists coming in the third game. That doesn't include countless other balls they got their hands on to keep points going.

"We did a great job of pressuring them with our serving and our offensive attack and it allowed our blocking to dial in on the right hitters,"

Coyotes coach Kim Cherniss said. "We were able to use our size in the middle to our advantage and it gave us the momentum."

The teams split the first two games. The Coyotes trailed 16-15 in the third when Megan Johnson blocked a shot by San Diego's Julia Freidenberg. She teamed up with Morgan Carty for a block on the next point and the Coyotes were off and running.

Minutes later the Coyotes led 19-17 and extended that lead on another combo block -- this one by Carty and Samantha Middleborn. A kill by Jane Chafeh made it 21-17 and another block by Middleborn and Carty made it 22-17. The Coyotes were not challenged again.
The fourth and final game was even more of a rout. Up 11-6, the Coyotes reeled off nine straight points on the serve of Ashtin Hall. Chafeh had three winners in that run with three other points coming on blocks.

Middleborn's solo block on a tip by Elaine Chen gave the reigning West Region champion a commanding 20-6 lead.

Carty finished with five block assists and a solo while MIddleborn added four assists and a solo. Chafeh, who led all players with 21 kills and 11 digs, had two solos.

"It's something we focused on all week," Carty said of her team's blocking prowess. "We really worked hard on hand position and being in the right place. Some of those points really got us going."

Both teams struggled with serving as the Coyotes had 12 errors. San Diego had 16, including one on match point.

The Coyotes also got nine kills from Middleborn. They finished with a 47-323 advantage in digs with Chafeh followed in that column by Camille Smith with nine. Setter Sara Hoffman had 32 assists and seven digs.

"It's huge for us to open with a win like this over a team in our region. It is something we can build on," Cherniss said.

The Coyotes will host CCAA newcomer Cal State East Bay at 7 tonight. San Diego finishes a three-match road trip at Cal Poly Pomona, also at 7 p.m.

    The loss dropped the Coyotes to 1-2 on the season. Pacific West Conference member GCU is now 2-0 after defeating CCAA member Cal State Dominguez Hills and the Coyotes. CSUSB will play Mesa State in a neutral site match at Grand Canyon at 7:30 p.m. Friday night.

     Sophomore Jaclyn Clark gave the Coyotes a 1-0 lead just 6:30 into the match when she received a pass from junior Unity Beddingfield and booted the ball from the left side into the far corner of the net, giving Beddingfield an assist on the play.

     Eight minutes later, Grand Canyon got the equalizer on Kaylen Jackson's second goal of the season off an assist by Kelcee Newell.

     The 1-1 deadlock continued until Elias' match-decider.

     CSUSB goalkeeper Laura Lyons stopped five shots on goal while her counterpart, Mileena Buchel had two saves.

            Haas, an honorable mention all-American as a libero in volleyball and holder of the CSUSB career and single season records for digs, was among 30 student-athletes from 130 entries among three NCAA divisions to make the semifinals.

            The 30 semifinalists will be trimmed to nine - three from each division - next month and the NCAA Committee on Women's Athletics will select the national winner from the pool of finalists.

            The recipient will be announced during an awards dinner in Indianapolis, Ind., on Oct. 18.

            Haas was among 10 NCAA Division II student-athletes advancing in the awards program and the second from the CCAA. Also making it into the semifinals was Jasimen Bailey, a track and field athlete from Cal State Stanislaus.

            The NCAA Woman of the Year Award honors senior student-athletes who have excelled in the areas of academic achievement, athletics, service and leadership.

            Haas learned the news first from her mother, who was monitoring the NCAA website on a daily basis. "My initial response to the news was shock. When Morgan Walker (CSUSB's Associate Athletic Director for NCAA Compliance) and I began the application process, I had no idea it would take us this far!"

            The 6-foot  Haas, a Menifee resident and Temecula Chaparral HS graduate who helped lead the Coyotes win three straight CCAA volleyball titles, a West Region title and the NCAA championship match in 2008, said winning such an award would be "surreal."

            "Now, do I think I will actually win? No, I don't. I may have volunteered my time, kept my grades up and was lucky enough to be part of a successful volleyball team, but I don't feel my contributions were anything out of the ordinary.

            "As a college student, I wanted to get involved as much as I could, and if what I did is enough to be recognized at a national level, then that's great. But if not, I am still proud of what I was able to do."

            Haas received her bachelor's degree in kinesiology (pedagogy) in June commencement ceremonies.

            "In the end it goes to show that the opportunities that we are given as collegiate athletes are endless. For those four or five years of our lives we truly have the power to affect change and I applaud the NCAA for recognizing individuals all over the country who jump on such opportunities."

            Haas had a cumulative grade point average of 3.83 at CSUSB. She earned all-CCAA, all-West Region and honorable mention all-America as well as Daktronics third-team all-America in volleyball. She served as team captain or co-captain three times.
Academically, she was the Kinesiology department's outstanding graduate in the Class of 2009, graduating with high honors. She received the CCAA's Hal Charnofsky Award for academic excellence and was awarded an academic scholarship at CSUSB from the Martin Matich Family. She was voted to the ESPN-The Magazine/CoSIDA all-academic District 8 first team.

She served as vice-president of the Student-Athlete Advisory Council for the past two years and voluntarily participated in Relay for Life for three years, Read Across America, the CSUSB Disability Sports Festival, the SAAC Adopt-a-Family program and Make-A-Wish Foundation fund-raisers.

Haas also served as a counselor at Coyote summer youth volleyball camps and was head coach of the Rancho Valley club's 15-under team this past season.
 
 

The 6-foot-7 center-forward has signed a contract to play for Siauliai, Lithuania, of the Union of European Basketball Leagues. Brown said the decision was a financial one.

"I had to make some money to support my family," he said in a press release from the school.

It was the second major blow for veteran Coyotes coach Jeff Oliver, who had assembled a team that looked like it would contend for conference, region and national honors.
USC point guard Dante Smith, who earlier signed a letter of intent with Cal State, opted to stay with the Trojans. He was the No. 1 junior college point guard in the country when he came out of Mt. SAC.

Oliver said what bothered him most was the lack of communication and timing of Brown's move. Brown, named Newcomer of the Year in the CCAA last season, already had passed a summer class and was taking another.

"He kept telling me he was coming back," Oliver said. "I knew there was some fishing going on and he was exploring some options. Guys do that. But he told me he was coming back."

Brown's departure will free up considerable scholarship money if Oliver can find a quality player still available. His track record of landing players late is good.

The loss of Smith and Brown is huge, but Oliver already had secured the services of 6-foot-7 forward Brian Le Duc, the leading scorer and rebounder at Division I University of Pacific last season.

"We're going to go back to work and see what else we can come up with," Oliver said. "We might have a different type of team, but we'll find a way to survive."

Brown led the CCAA in scoring (21.5 ppg) and was third in rebounding (8.7 rpg). He also led the conference in blocked shots. He was a first-team All-CCAA and All-West Region selection. He also was named Most Valuable Player at the conference tournament, won by the Coyotes.

Brown had 11 double-doubles with a career high of 39 points at Chico State. It was the fifth-best single-game scoring performance in Coyote hoops history. He had a career-high 14 rebounds against UC San Diego. His 200 rebounds for the season ranked him No. 9 on the Coyotes' all-time list.

He was a four-time CCAA player of the week and led the team in scoring in 17 of the 23 games he played. He scored 30 or more points four times.

He will play for a team that went 15-5 last season in the Lithuanian LKL league. He signed a contract Tuesday and will leave for Lithuania today.

Oliver said if Brown had remained in school on an athletic scholarship, he would have been within a couple credits of obtaining his bachelor's degree by next June and still able to fulfill his dream of playing professionally.

Brown was projected as a preseason NCAA Division II All-American and potential CCAA and NCAA player of the year if the Coyotes proved to be as successful this coming season as some observers figured they would be with his presence in the middle.

"Physically he was ready to go pro, but mentally he wasn't," Oliver said.