March 2008 Archives

DREW HEDMAN

Pomona-Pitzer

Baseball

The lowdown: The junior first baseman is coming off a week in which he earned Division III national player of the week honors. In 25 games he is hitting .452 (42-for-93) with 47 RBI, 32 runs, nine doubles and 13 home runs with a slugging percentage of .968. He also has a fielding percentage of .991. Was a first-team All-SCIAC, All-West Region and All-American selection as a junior when he hit .389 with 14 home runs and 56 RBI in 43 games. Also carries a 3.61 GPA.

Age: 21

Hometown: Redding

High school: Shasta High School, 2005

Major: Politics, Philosophy, Economics (with concentration on economics).

Favorite athlete: Travis Hafner, J.T. Snow

Favorite team: San Francisco Giants

Role model: My parents because they are honest, hard-working and generous people.

Most memorable sports moment: Last year on the last day of the regular season when our baseball team qualified for the regional tournament.

Most embarrassing sports moment: I was so excited for my first game as a freshman that I didn’t pay attention to the lineup and I went to the wrong position, only to have the person who was playing that position tell me I was in the wrong spot.

Person most influential in your athletic success: My dad. He taught me to play hard, to work hard at practice and to push myself in the weight room. He taught me to play hard but play smart. Many days when I was younger were spent throwing the ball in the backyard or hitting at my school.

Best advice anyone has ever given you: Don’t ne satisfied. There is always room for improvment.

Pre-game ritual or superstition: I always give my batting gloves to my first base coach right when the game starts. Even after checking the lineup and knowing the answer, I ask our statistician where I am hitting in the order.

Can’t miss TV show: The Office

Celebrity you most want to meet: Michael Jordan

Last good book you read: White Fang (while I was studying abroad in Spain it was the only book in English in my room).

Favorite food: Steak

Favorite movie: Gladiator

Favorite vacation spot: Anywhere sunny, warm, with a beach nearby.

Other hobbies: Working out, listening to music, playing the piano.

What’s in your CD player/iPOD: Red Hot Chili Peppers, Citizen Cope, Jay-Z, Tom Petty.

What do you want to be doing in five years?: I want to play baseball as long as I can. After that I could see myself getting my MBA and working as a sports agent or in a front office of a baseball team.

- Compiled by Michelle Gardner

The University of Redlands men’s tennis team is gearing up for another run at the regional playoffs. The No. 11 Bulldogs, coached by Geoffe Roche, are 15-3 with seven wins over nationally ranked opponents.

The Bulldogs have advanced to regional play for 16 straight years. They usually end up running into either UC Santa Cruz and Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, who are top contenders again this season.

“I like to think we have played good enough competition we’re going to be ready,” Roche said. “We return most of our team and they did too so it will be a battle.”

The Bulldogs have been bolstered by the addition of sophomore Matt Liebman, a transfer from the University of Delaware who has moved into the No. 1 slot. That has strengthened the lineup by allowing senior Eric Wagar, who was No. 1 last year, to move down to No. 2.

Rounding out the top five are junior Aron Ouye, sophomore Mike Reading, junior Chris Trippel and sophomore Jeff Hammond. The doubles lineup consists of Wagar and senior Ransom Cook at No. 1, Reading and senior Zack Hasenyager at No. 2 and Hammond and freshman Keven Wong at No. 3.

“I think it’s just a matter of everyone being a year older and more experienced,” Roche said. “Now they all know more about what they’re facing.”

The three losses have all been to top 10 teams - No. 5 Middlebury (6-3), No. 9 Williams (5-4) and No. 10 University of Mary Washington (6-3).

No doubt the most dramatic match came last week as the Bulldogs upset No. 1 Gustavus Adolphus (Minn.) 5-4, the pivotal match coming when Wagar won the last match of the day in a third-set tiebreaker.

The Bulldogs were up 2-1 after doubles but the Gusties won three of the five singles matches to tie it with Wagar still out on the court.

“It doesn’t get any more exciting than that,” Roche said. “It was a great match and a great atmosphere. And what makes it even more interesting is that he was in that same position last year and lost. So it was ironic.”

Next up for the Bulldogs is a Wednesday home match against Concordia-Irvine, a quality NAIA program. The most notable matches will come on April 11 when the Banana Slugs come in and April 12, the last match of the season, when the defending SCIAC champion CMS team pays a visit.

The University of La Verne golf team earned yet another victory in SCIAC competition by taking top honors at the SCIAC #3 Tournament Monday at the friendly confines of Sierra La Verne Country Club.

The Leopards finished with a four-player team total of 294 to prevail over Redlands (297) by three strokes. Claremont-Mudd-Scripps finished third at 300 followed by Cal Lutheran (308), Pomona-Pitzer (309), Occidental (317) and Whittier (350).

Chris Davis earned medalist honors with the top individual finish of the day with a round of 72 (37-35). Teammates Mitchell Fedorka and Ryan Waring were among five players who tied for second one stroke back with respective rounds of 73, while Rizal Amin contributed with a 76.

The Leopards break from conference play to compete at the West Region Invitational held April 8 at Berry Creek Country Club in Texas.

REDLANDS — The No. 7 University of Redlands softball team proved it can win with the short game and the long game, all in the same day.

The defending champion Bulldogs swept a SCIAC doubleheader from much-improved Pomona-Pitzer 1-0 and 7-6 Saturday to keep a strong hold on first-place.

Redlands (20-2, 11-1), which has won 20 straight games, took the first contest on a one-out squeeze bunt in the bottom of the eighth by senior shortstop Melanie Hamlin.

The Bulldogs then won the nightcap on a two-run walkoff home run by sophomore catcher Nicky Neumann.

“We didn’t play up to our potential today but we found a way,” Redlands coach Laurie Nevarez said. “We got lucky with a couple of hits and that was the difference.”

The first game was a pitcher’s dual between seniors as Katie Brnca allowed the Sagehens just two hits and struck out six. Pitzer’s Billie McGrane was up the challenge and gave up just six while striking out four.
But one of those hits was a triple to Neumann with one out in the bottom of the eighth. Hamlin, a Redlands East Valley product, came up next and laid down a bunt that was retrieved by McGrane, whose toss to home wasn’t handled by catcher Alyssa Corley.

Neumann factored even bigger in the nightcap. The Sagehens (12-8, 5-5) surged out to a 4-0 lead, powered by a solo home run by Christine Calderon in the fourth and a two-run shot by Corley in the fifth.

The Bulldogs answered with a five-run outburst in the bottom of the inning, the big blows being a run-scoring double by Dory Baga and two-run singles by Remy Kawaguchi and Kayla Peterson.
But back came the visitors, who took a 6-5 lead on a two-run bloop single by Leanna Guillermo in the sixth.

The Sagehens again were on the brink of victory as sophomore Melanie Gularte, who entered in relief of starter Alexis Garcia in the fourth, fanned the first two hitters in the seventh.
Peterson then reached on an infield single, setting the stage for Neumann who smacked a 1-0 pitch over the leftfield fence, ending the contest.

“We seem to know when to turn it on,” Neumann said. “I was really just interested in getting a single. The last thing I was thinking about was a home run. Wow. That was so exciting, I don’t know what else to say.”

The close calls were little consolation for a Sagehen team that has made monumental strides. In 2007 Pitzer finished sixth of seven teams in the conference at 15-24 overall and 8-16 in conference. Their losses to Redlands came by scores of 5-0, 9-4, 11-2 and 10-0.

“I am pleased with how far we have come and that we have raised the bar,” second-year coach Joanne Ferguson said. “It’s a step in the right direction but we’re not satisifed.”
Nevarez, a former player at UCLA, was impressed with the opposition.

“That coach has done a great job with them,” Nevarez said. “They aren’t just improved, they’re a good team that really gave us our most competitive conference games so far.”

University of La Verne junior forward Trenecca Jones was named to the D3hoops.com First Team All-West Region as voted on by Sports Information Directors in the region and announced on Wednesday.

A 5-9 product from Ontario and a 2008 First Team All-SCIAC selection, Jones helped lead La Verne to a 20-8 overall record and a second consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament.

Jones led the SCIAC in both scoring and rebounding for the second year in the row, averaging a double-double of 17.2 points and 10.9 rebounds in 2007-08. Moreover, she paced the Leos in field goal percentage at .503 to rank third overall in the conference.

She distinguished herself in the postseason by averaging 19.0 points and 11.7 rebounds in ULV’s three tournament games. She helped lead the Leopards to the first-ever SCIAC Tournament Championship with a 17-point, 18-rebound effort in a 65-60 triumph over Redlands in the tournament semifinals on Feb. 28 along with a 20-point, 12-rebound performance in a 79-51 triumph over Occidental in the conference championship game on March 1. For her efforts, she was named SCIAC Female Athlete of the Week on March 5. Jones ended the season with a game-high 20 points in La Verne’s 74-58 NCAA first round defeat to Puget Sound.

Jones registered a career-high 19 rebounds against Tri-State University (IN) on Dec. 17 while recording a season-high 34 points against UC Santa Cruz on Nov. 17. All told, she recorded 15 double-doubles for the Leopards this season. On February 16, Jones reached the 1,000-point milestone for her career in a 72-40 victory over Caltech, becoming the sixth Leopard in school history to reach 1,000 points.

A D3hoops.com First Team All-Region selection last season, Jones is a repeat member on the squad and is the only SCIAC player to earn First Team honors.

Players were nominated for the D3hoops.com awards by the Sports Information Directors at the various schools in the West Region. A record 606 players were nominated nationwide. The ballot was then made available to SIDs, who voted for 10 players in their region. SIDs voted for six frontcourt players and four backcourt players and the top vote-getters at each position were named to the All-Region team.

The University of Redlands baseball team got a chance to see how it stacks up against a national champion and the Bulldogs weren’t quite up to the task.

The Bulldogs fell to visiting Kean (N.J.) 9-6 on Tuesday in nonconference play at The Yard.
The Cougars (10-3), the defending Division III champion, pounded four Redlands pitchers for 18 hits and came up with some clutch defensive plays in the final innings to secure the win.

“It was kind of a roller-coaster game,” Redlands coach Scott Laverty said. “They score, we score, they scored. When that happens and the other team makes a couple plays, it pretty much kills your momentum.”

Kean, ranked No. 8 nationally, led 7-6 after six innings. The No. 18 Bulldogs (14-7) had a chance to tie it in the seventh as its first two runners reached base. Matt Goldstein missed on his first try at a sacrifice bunt and eventually grounded out to third. Chase Beatty then grounded into an inning-ending double play.

Laverty said he took the bunt off after the first strike and didn’t regret that call even though it backfired.

“He (Goldstein) has been swinging the bat so well and the first try wasn’t very good,” Laverty said. “The third baseman was creeping in so I took it off. Seeing the way the defense was playing, I would play it the same way.”

Kean, playing its fourth game on a spring-break swing through Southern California, then plated a pair of insurance runs in the eighth on three hits to go up 9-6.

Kean then came up with the play of the game in the bottom of the inning with two Bulldogs on and one out. Brandon Owashi lofted a fly ball into foul territory where three Cougars gave chase. Shortstop Mike Diaz, who entered the game when the starter went in to pitch, made a diving catch toward his left, then leaped to his feet and nailed the runner trying to advance to third to end the inning.

In the ninth, third baseman Chris Carrano dove toward the bag to snag a line drive off the bat of Jefre Johnson and leaped to his feet in time to make a strong throw to first base.

Senior first baseman Brian Schumaker had three hits to lead the Bulldogs offense,. The highlight was his fifth home run which came in Redlands’ three-run fifth. Unfortunately for the Bulldogs, it came right after a runner was picked off.

“It was a fastball inside,” he said. “They were trying to pitch around me but I was lucky to get just enough of it.”

Johnson, Billy Lavelle and Corey Vane also had multiple hits with Johnson knocking home two runs.
San Gorgonio product Steven Dryden (0-1), who entered in relief of starter Nolan Nicholson in the sixth, took the loss.

Michael Noceri and Derek Gianakas had three hits each while Bryan Burke, Dan Mattonelli and Kevin O’Neill each knocked in a pair of runs for Kean.

Junior Matt Grinkevich (2-0), the second of three Kean pitchers, earned the win.

The contest was the Bulldogs’ fifth in a stretch of nine nonconference games. They next play this Thursday against Rutgers-Newark at 2:30 p.m. and They resume SCIAC play against defending conference champion Pomona-Pitzer on March 28.

“We played crummy today,” Laverty said. “We have a few more games to work out the kinks, though.”

The 19^th Annual University of Redlands Bulldog Bench Golf Tournament will take place at the historic Redlands Country Club on Monday, May 12, 2008.

“We look forward to hosting this exciting and important event once again,” Director of Athletics Jeff Martinez said.  “This tournament is an excellent way to show your support for Bulldog Athletics while enjoying a great day out on the golf course.”

The fundraising event benefits the University of Redlands intercollegiate athletic programs, which includes 21 varsity teams.  The day begins with a golf clinic by Senior PGA Tour Member Dave Stockton, followed by a round of golf at 11:30 a.m.  The golfers enjoy a barbecue lunch on the course and then return to the club house for a no-host social hour.  Tournament awards, raffle prizes and a live auction take place during dinner.

Cost to participate in this great day is $395, which includes green fees, cart, tee-prize package, foursome photo, door prize ticket, clinic, BBQ lunch and buffet dinner.  To attend the evening program, which includes dinner, auction and awards, the cost is only $75.  Supporters of the tournament may donate a door prize or auction item, or serve as a sponsor.  Sponsorship levels vary from $300, $1250, $2500, $5000 or more.  For more information or for sponsorship opportunities, please call the Department of Athletics at (909) 748-8400. 

All proceeds benefit the University of Redlands intercollegiate athletic teams.

By Michelle Gardner

Staff Writer

It wasn’t a moment in the pool but one out of it that showed Claremont-Mudd-Scripps swimming coach Charlie Griffiths what freshman Nick Ostreim was made of.

Ostreim, 19, had just finished his best individual event at the SCIAC championships and hadn’t even had time to catch his breath when Griffiths asked him to swim the anchor leg in the 800 free relay which was coming up next.
Ostreim said he was ready to go.

“That’s a lot to ask,” Griffiths said. “Most guys would have tried to talk their way out of it or tell me to think about using someone else, especially on the anchor leg where there’s more pressure. He didn’t hesitate.”

Minutes later Ostreim was back in the pool, swimming that anchor leg and touching out a Redlands swimmer for first place in one of the more dramatic events of the meet. The win helped the Stags to a team title that ended the Bulldogs’ seven-year run.
“I’m really competitive. I hate to lose,” Ostreim said. “With swimming you really have to have that inner drive and personal motivation to keep you going.”

Griffiths thinks his standout also will be prepared when the stakes are higher this week. Ostreim will compete in the Division III national meet which starts Thursday at the University of Miami (Ohio).

He is the area’s lone representative and one of only three men from the SCIAC to qualify, the others being senior backstroker Dickson Fai of Occidental and senior fly specialist Manny Sanchez of Whittier.

Ostreim will swim the 200-yard individual medley Thursday, the 100-backstroke Friday and his speciality, the 200-backstroke on Saturday. He is seeded sixth in the 200 with a season-best time of 1:51.81. First place is nearly three seconds faster but second place is within reach.

The meet sets up perfectly for him with two events to get used to the venue and the championship atmosphere before he goes out for his best race.

Griffiths admits the freshman has done better than he expected. He has cut nearly six seconds off his times in the 200-backstroke and the 200-individual medley and a full second off his time in the 100-backstroke - all significant improvements.

What makes those drops more impressive is that Ostreim missed the first two months of the season with mononucleosis. It wasn’t until after Christmas that he was able to train.

“He worked out the first two weeks and looked very good. He was leading the team through everything,” Griffiths said. “Then, the next week he didn’t look quite the same. Then he missed a few days. When he came back from fall break we sent him to be checked out.”

Despite the slow start Ostreim won the 200-backstroke at last month’s SCIAC meet, placed second in the 100-ackstroke to Fai and was third in the 200 IM. His goals for this week’s meet are more about his time than a placement.

“I’d like to swim my best times and maybe break the school records,” he said. “I can’t control what someone else does so if I can go my best I’ll be happy, very happy.”

No matter what happens though, Ostreim has had a strong rookie season. He attended swimming power Brophy Prep in his native Phoenix, Ariz., and chose CMS over Lehigh (Penn.) because the weather is better and it is closer to home.

He first became familiar with the school through current teammate Alex Hill, who came out of Brophy Prep three years earlier.

Ostreim dabbled in other sports growing up including soccer and baseball. Swimming appealed to him because there is both an individual and team aspect to the sport.

“It is individual but it is also a team because you’re swimming relays and your there to cheer for you teammates,” he said. “It’s the best of both worlds.”

It was announced earlier today that sophomore pitcher Olivia Ellis (Colfax, CA) was named the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) Female Athlete of the Week for March 3-9, 2008.

After helping Redlands to a 10-1 routing over Occidental College on Saturday, Ellis threw the first no-hitter of her career en route to an exciting 1-0 victory over #4 Ithaca College.  Against the Tigers, she scattered two hits and struck out five in four innings of work to earn the win.  On Sunday, she faced 25 batters and stuck out three in seven innings on the mound for the no-hitter against the Bombers.

On the season, Ellis boasts an ERA of 0.90 with 40 strikeouts in 39 innings pitched.  She has helped Redlands accumulate an overall record of 14-2 and a SCIAC mark of 7-1.  The Bulldogs host Whittier College in a conference doubleheader on Saturday at 12 noon.

Senior Connor Whitman (Los Angeles, CA) of Occidental earned the SCIAC Male Athlete of the Week for his showings during the Tigers’ two NCAA postseason basketball games.

The conference sports information directors nominate and vote on the athletes of the week.

2007-08 Women's Basketball All-SCIAC Awards
March 4, 2008 

The 2007-2008 All-SCIAC Women's Basketball Honors have been named.  The Occidental Tigers and Head Coach Jaime Hoffman claimed the title of Conference Champions finishing 12-2 in conference.  Head Coach Julie Kline and the Leopards of La Verne (11-3, SCIAC) were crowned champions of the inagural SCIAC Tournament and will represent the SCIAC in NCAA post-season competition as they go on the road to face Puget Sound Friday night.

Player of the Year:  Brianne Brown, Junior, Occidental College

Ed Baldwin Award Recipient: Lindsay King, Senior, California Institute of Technology                                               

The 2007-2008 All-SCIAC Men's Basketball Honors have been named.  The Conference Co-Champions and recipients of the Dave Jacobs Trophy were the Occidental College Tigers and California Lutheran University Kingsmen.  Pomona-Pitzer Sagehens were crowned the SCIAC Tournament Champions.   

David Wells Player of the Year:  Connor Whitman, Senior, Occidental College, 6'1"
Ted Ducey Award Recipients: Jabarri Reynolds, Senior, Pomona-Pitzer, 6'4"
                                                 Matt Loretz, Senior, University of Redlands, 6'5"

TRENECCA JONES

La Verne

Basketball

The lowdown: The 5-9 junior forward is ranks first in the conference in rebounding (10.4 rpg), second in scoring (16.1 ppg) and fourth in field goal percentage (.516). Has led the team in scoring nine times with a best of 34 coming against UC Santa Cruz. Had a rebounding high of 19 against Tri-State. Was the SCIAC Player of the Year last season as a sophomore. Career high of 37 points came against Occidental as a sophomore in conference-winning game. Carries a 3.34 GPA.

Age: 19

Hometown: Ontario

High school: Chaffey High School, 2005

Major: Chemistry

Favorite athlete: Chris Webber

Role model: Jesus

Can’t miss TV show: Reba

Most embarrassing moment: Falling down right in the middle of a fast-break.

Person most influential in your athletic success: My cousin Henry Daron Ross

Favorite food: Glazed twist doughnuts

Favorite vacation spot: Anywhere but home

Favorite movie: 50 First Dates

Last good book you read: Monster

Other hobbies: Scrapbooking, traveling

What’s in your CD player/iPOD: Holy hip hop

Best advice anyone has given you: Keep moving forward

Pre-game ritual or superstition: I make sure I am wearing two pairs of socks.

What do you want to be doing in five years: Traveling the world.

By Michelle Gardner

Staff Writer

Last time the women’s basketball teams from La Verne and Occidental squared off, Tigers junior Brianne Brown torched the Leopards for 33 points.

The two teams met again Saturday, this time with the SCIAC championship and a postseason playoff berth on the line. La Verne neutralized its biggest threat and was rewarded with a 79-51 win at Rush Gymnasium.

The Leos (20-7) advance to face Puget Sound Friday in a first round NCAA Tournament game.

Brown, a transfer from Division I Western Kentucky, went just 3-of-11 from the field with seven points and fouled out with 6:33 to play and the Leos comfortably ahead 63-42. She twisted an ankle the last week of the regular season, but Tigers coach Jaime Hoffman said the injury was not a factor and credited the Leos’ defense.

Junior forward Treneeca Jones, a product of Chaffey High School, took the challenge personally.

“We had to stop the one person that beat us last time because it was that one player that beat us,” La Verne junior forward Trenecca Jones said. “I heard she had an injured ankle, but I had diarrhea and that’s worse.”

The first half was an even battle that featured four ties and eight lead changes. It ended with La Verne up 28-25 after La Verne’s Marissa Raya heaved one in from half-court at the buzzer.

“That’s her range,” Hoffman said.

La Verne outscored Occidental 51-26 in the second half. The Leos led 35-32, then chalked up the next nine points, highlighted by a 3-pointer from Raya that gave La Verne its first double-digit lead of the contest at 44-32.

The Tigers (21-6), seeded first and riding an 11-game win streak, got within eight at 48-40 on a 3-pointer by lone senior Stacie Roshon whose 21 points included five 3’s.

But Occidental could get no closer. Raya hit a 3-pointer from the top of the key on the Leos next possession. Then after a Tigers miss, Charleen Guerrero scored inside off a nifty pass from Lindsey Shiomi to make it 53-40. The host team was not in striking distance again.

“We just started pushing the ball up the floor quicker,” Kline said. “That’s our game and we just needed to get back to doing that. It made all the difference.”

La Verne shot 49.1 percent (27-for-55) for the game but was a sizzling 61.5 percent (16-for-26) in the second half thanks to many point blank shots in the paint that came off the fast break. The Leos also sank 17 of 21 free throws.

Raya, who tied the school record for games played, finished with 22 points while Jones tallied 20 with a game-high 12 rebounds. Ashley Paul finished with 13 and Shiomi dished out 11 assists to establish a new career record in that department.

Occidental shot 29.6 percent (16-for-54). It also played without 5-11 freshman center Stephanie Babij, who is out with a hand injury that required surgery. But Hoffman didn’t use that as an excuse either.

“They just beat us. They were the better team,” she said.