May 2009 Archives
Senior center Sam Greenawalt (Riverside, CA) of the University of Redlands women's water polo team and Bulldog women's lacrosse's senior midfielder Lauren Matta (Holyoke, MA) both earned a spot on the ESPN The Magazine/College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Academic All-District VIII At-Large Second Team for the College Division, according to an announcement made today by CoSIDA.
Greenawalt, who boasts a 3.53 GPA as a Communicative Disorders major, enters the ranks of the Academic All-District honorees for the first time in her collegiate career. An outstanding student, she earned the Redlands Scholar-Athlete honor this year, which is bestowed upon those that possess a GPA of at least a 3.5.
In the pool, Greenawalt has been a mainstay in the Bulldogs' offensive attack throughout her four years, finishing out her tenure ranked fourth all-time in career goals (255).
This past season, she helped lead the team to the Collegiate III Women's Water Polo National Championship title game. Greenawalt also garnered First-Team All-Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) honors and gained a selection to the Collegiate III Women's Water Polo National Championship All-Tournament First Team. She scored a team-high 74 goals this year while also adding team-highs in assists (29) and field blocks (15). Greenawalt also supplied 30 steals and 35 ejections drawn.
Matta owns a 3.70 GPA as an Accounting major, and her selection to the Academic All-District team marks the second time she has received this honor. A three-time Redlands Scholar-Athlete, she has continuously personified the ideals of a true student-athlete, boasting both academic and athletic excellence.
Matta, who also earned an Academic All-District nod in 2008, has proven to be one of the most potent offensive threats in program history. She owns career program records in ground balls (198) and draw controls (169) and also ranks second all-time in goals (100). This past season, Matta produced the team's second-highest totals in goals (27), points (30) and draw controls (53) while also adding three assists, 30 ground balls and 13 caused turnovers.
Both Greenawalt and Matta were chosen through the At-Large program, which includes all student-athletes in varsity sports that do not have a designated CoSIDA nomination process. These sports include women's bowling, women's crew, men's and women's fencing, women's field hockey, men's and women's golf, men's and women's gymnastics, men's and women's ice hockey, men's and women's lacrosse, men's and women's skiing, men's and women's swimming, men's and women's tennis, men's volleyball, men's and women's water polo and men's wrestling.
CoSIDA's District VIII includes institutions located in Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Utah and Washington in addition to those located in the Canadian provinces of British Columbia and the Yukon. The College Division includes all non-NCAA Division I institutions in the district.
All nominees must have a cumulative GPA of at least 3.30 and participate in 50 percent of their team's games to be nominated. The CoSIDA Academic All-District teams, which are presented by ESPN The Magazine, are voted on by members of CoSIDA.
About the only thing missing on the resume of Claremont-Mudd-Scripps senior Larry Wang is a win at the NCAA Division III Championships. He went a long way in remedying that with two victories on the first day of the singles draw Friday at the Biszantz Family Tennis Center.
It is Wang's fourth appearance in the national event and he failed to win a match the first three years. He entered this year's event seeded No. 2 with the added pressure of playing on his home court.
But Wang delivered, coming from behind to defeat Steven Sullivan of Bowdoin 7-5, 6-2 in the round of 32, then advancing to the quarterfinals with a 5-7, 6-2 6-3 win over John Pelton of Hope College (Mich.).
Wang is the last hope for a local winner as freshman teammate Robbie Erani lost a three-setter to Ben Stein of Bates College 6-1, 2-6, 6-2.
The University of Redlands duo of junior Mike Reading and sophomore Cameron Spearman fell to the No. 4 seeded team of Zack Lerner and Moritz Koenig of Amherst College 6-2, 3-6, 6-3.
"I was kind of nervous, playing on my home court and being our last hope," he said. "I just needed to settle in and start playing my game. I was really just focused on the first round and getting past that."
Wang trailed 5-3 in the opening set against Sullivan, but reeled off the next four to win the set. He cruised in the second.
His match later in the day was just the opposite. He surged out to a 4-1 lead in the opening set, then dropped five of the next six games with Pelton securing the set when Wang netted a forehand return.
Wang also got out to a 4-1 lead in the second set but didn't falter at that point again. Pelton held serve to make it 4-2 but Wang held the next game, then got a set-ending service break when Pelton netted an overhead.
"He did a good job of adjusting to my game," Wang said. "I just had to do a better job of executing my shots."
Wang dominated the third set, getting the key break to go up 5-3 when Pelton returned a serve out. Wang then won his serve at love, closing out the match with an overhead as Pelton was running in.
Wang squares off against No. 5 seed Michael Goodwin of Emory (Ga.) today at 9 a.m. The two have played twice this season, splitting matches. Earlier in the week, Wang was named West Region Player of the Year while Goodwin was the South Atlantic Player of the Year, then nabbed the overall National Player of the Year honor.
"I'm going to have to bring my 'A' game and I can't get off to a slow start," he said.
UC Santa Cruz won the team title, beating Amherst 5-0. It was the seventh championship for the Banana Slugs who defeated CMS in the West Region final, preventing it from playing for the team title on its home court.
CMS coach Paul Settles had mixed feeling about that. Santa Cruz and CMS have played in the past four regional finals, splitting those. Both are consistently in the top five in the country, but playing in the same region prevents both from advancing.
"It's frustrating because both of us deserve to be here. But that's the way it is," he said. "We all know the situation going in."
While Wang is a veteran at nationals, both Redlands players were making their debut. The team is a relatively new one with Spearman transferring in from Nevada-Reno this season.
They came back from a one-set deficit to force a third. With the pivotal set tied at 3, the Amherst duo reeled off three straight games, winning the last at love and all the points coming on return errors by the Bulldogs. They finished the season 15-7.
"It was a great experience to come and play in championship environment," Reading said. "It was nice to come back and make it a match. Both of us have big serves and we used that to get back in it." "It takes time to build a rapport and a relationship," Bulldogs coach Geoff Roche said. "This was a great showing for them to get this far in their first year playing together."
During the 2009 campaign, Smith led the Bulldogs in every statistical category for field players. In 13 games, she tallied 48 goals and 13 assists for 61 points. She picked up 49 ground balls and captured 54 draw controls. With her stellar defense, she forced opponents to make 22 turnovers.
Nationally, she landed 24th in draw controls per game at 4.15 and ranked 36th in ground balls per game at 3.77. Smith also finished out the season among the top 100 in Division III for goals per game (52nd) and caused turnovers (73rd).
In addition, Smith played a crucial role in the Bulldogs' final ranking of eighth in the nation for draw controls at 15.93 per game.
Currently, Smith sits among various top-10 lists at the University of Redlands for single-season and career records. In just two years, she owns the mark for career points per game (4.79) as well as career goals (116).
This is Smith's second All-Region award in as many years, following last season's spot on the First Team.
Smith is now eligible for inclusion on the IWLCA/US Lacrosse All-American teams, which will be announced on May 22.
Sophomore Mackenzie Smith (Hoquiam, WA) and junior Jake Baechle (Aurora, OH) of the University of Redlands track & field teams gained invitations to the 2009 NCAA Division III Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Marietta, OH, according to an official announcement made today by the NCAA.
Smith, who will compete in the Javelin Throw, enters the meet with the eighth-best mark in NCAA Division III at 139' 6". A two-time Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) Champion in the event, she placed sixth at the 2008 NCAA Championships in the Javelin Throw, earning All-American status. Trials and finals for the Javelin Throw are both on May 21.
For the second straight season, Baechle has graced the list of NCAA Championship invitees in the 800m Run. Also a two-time SCIAC Champion in the event, he competed in last year's national championship meet, clocking a 1:53.77 in the preliminary heats of the 800m Run. His entry time of 1:51.28 ranks sixth in NCAA Division III this season. Trials for the men's 800m Run are on May 22 while finals take place on May 23.
Hosted by Marietta College (OH), the NCAA Championships occur from May 21-23 at Don Drumm Stadium in Marietta, OH.
For an official list of those chosen for the 2009 NCAA Division III Outdoor Track & Field Championships, please visit http://www.raceberryjam.com/indexod.html.
According the ITA web site, this award recognizes men's and women's tennis players at the NCAA Division I, II, and III, NAIA, and Junior College levels who have exhibited outstanding sportsmanship and leadership as well as scholastic, extracurricular and tennis achievements.
During the 2009 campaign, Sumida bolstered the Redlands lineup at No. 2 singles and compiled a 15-7 record. In doubles, she and junior Whitney Waters (Austin, TX) competed at the No. 1 slot, earning a 16-9 record.
Sumida played an integral role in the Bulldogs' back-to-back Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) co-championships and ninth NCAA berth in ten years. This three-time First Team All-SCIAC honoree also helped Redlands achieve one of its highest rankings during the 2009 season at No. 8.
Currently, Sumida is one of three women's tennis players at Redlands who are looking forward to the NCAA Individual Championships, which begin on May 22 in Lawrenceville, GA. She advances to the tournament as one of 32 singles competitors and joins Waters as one of 16 doubles duos.
In the classroom, Sumida boasts a 3.48 cumulative GPA as a Psychology major. In her spare time, she serves the community by volunteering at Inland Temporary Homes, which offers 90 days of shelter for homeless families with children under the age of 17.
Last season, Sumida was named the ITA West Region Player to Watch.
The University of La Verne golf team moved into first place after two rounds of the Division III national tournament at the PGA Club in Port St. Lucie, Fla. on Thursday.
The Leopards (575) shot a team total of 5-under 283 over the par 72, 6,973-yards Ryder course to surge past first-round leader Methodist (NC) which ballooned to a 15-over 303 on the harder 7,123-yard Dye course for a two-day 582.
The University of Redlands, the national runner-up four of the last five years, remained in seventh place (695) in the 36-team field after a 10-over 298.
Leading the charge for La Verne were junior Mitchell Fedorka and senior Rizal Amin who are 1-2 on the individual leaderboard.
Fedorka added a 1-under 71 to his 5-under 67 the first day for a 138, which is three strokes better than Amin. He went 3-over on the seventh, eighth and ninth holes but followed that up by going 4-under over the next four holes highlighted by an eagle on the par 5 13th hole.
"He really doesn't get too rattled," La Verne coach Joe Skovron said of his top player, who entered the event ranked No. 1 individually. "That's the best thing about him. He has shown the last two days what kind of player he is."
Amin's 3-under 69 was the best round of any player on Thursday. He continued his steady play with a round that consisted of five birdies and two bogeys with a 35 on the front nine and a 34 on the back.
Rounding out the scoring for the Leopards were Andrew Kramer with a 2-under 70 (147) and Eric Bunge with a 1-over 73 (153). The non-scoring member on Thursday was Kevin Smith with a 3-over 75 (151).
Redlands is 20 strokes behind La Verne but just four strokes out fourth place. The Bulldogs were led by sophomore Alex Hedlund who is fourth individually after carding a 2-over 74 for a total of 144.
Junior Ross Canavan settled for an even-par 72 which puts him 26th in the field of 185 golfers at 148.
Also factoring in the scoring were freshman Todd Steller (75) and lone senior J.C. Riter (77), with Steller improving on an opening round of 84.
Scott Pena (82) was the discarded score of the day.
Freshman Tain Lee of Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, who qualified for the event as an individual, shot a 2-over 74 and is tied for 57th with a 151.
All the teams will compete on the Dye course Friday. The Leopards will be in the first group, teeing off the first hole at 10:30 a.m. The first player from Redlands will go off No. 10 at the same time.
Upon further review and after obtaining an important agreement involving off-campus facility usage, University of La Verne Interim Athletic Director Julie Kline announced that the women's tennis program will continue as an intercollegiate athletic sport.
Kline said that following an earlier decision to place both the La Verne women's and men's tennis programs on hiatus at the conclusion of the 2009 season, discussions were held on how to resolve the issues involved in an effort to reactivate the programs.
"We felt it was important to go back and reassess and reevaluate our decision after meeting with all the student-athletes from both programs and see if we could find ways to some how align these programs with the philosophical principles of our athletics department," said Kline. "As a result, we were only able to do so with one program. Given the number of returners on the women's team and the expected incoming recruiting class, we felt we should channel available resources into the women's program."
The university's men's tennis program remains on hiatus with no definitive timetable for its return.
One factor assisting in the revised decision on women's tennis was provided by The Claremont Club. President and CEO Mike Alpert came forward with an offer to provide the athletics department use of the club's facilities, leading to a scheduling agreement that will meet the tennis program's practice and match needs. La Verne, which removed its campus tennis courts in August 2007, has plans for a new facility included as part of a partnership between the university and the City of La Verne to establish a joint-use sports complex.
The Lady Tigers (38-7), regular season champions of the American Southwest Conference East Division, advance to face rival Louisiana College at 2 p.m. Friday.
The Athenas (28-15) will face SCIAC rival La Verne in an elimination game Friday at noon.
ETBU exploded for four runs in the second inning without ever getting the ball out of the infield. Stacy Jordan started things with an infield single, and came around to score the game's first run on Dani Miller's groundout.
Kaleigh Mushinski walked to push across the second run, and Adrienne Meier delivered a rare two-run infield single latr in the inning.
ETBU added five more runs in the fourth inning, all coming with two outs. Back-to-back singles from Brooke Martin and Meier started the rally, and Jordan made it 5-0 with an infield single.
Jones followed with a two-run single to center for a 7-0 lead, and Miller capped the win with a two-run double to right-center for the run-rule victory.
ETBU's Ayrika Henderson (18-3) allowed just four hits and struck out five in getting the five-inning victory. Ericka Weingart (10-8) took the loss for the Athenas, allowed four earned runs on three hits and four walks in 1 2/3 innings.
The University of Redlands softball team made the trip to East Texas Baptist University for the First Round of the NCAA Championships and suffered an early exit from the tournament by losing both games on the opening day.
The No. 18 Bulldogs kicked of the double-elimination tournament in Marshall, TX, with a tough 1-2 loss to No. 4 University of Texas-Tyler.
The Patriots initiated the scoring in the first inning with back-to-back doubles.
Redlands responded in the second inning as senior left fielder Roxy Lambert (La Jolla, CA) drove a ball to left field, scoring junior designated player Amanda Doeppel (Monrovia, CA) to tie the game at one.
The game remained knotted until the top of the fifth inning when UT Tyler walked in what would become the winning run.
With the loss, the Bulldogs faced top-ranked Linfield College (OR) in the final game of the day.
The Wildcats jumped out to a three-run lead in the bottom of the first inning.
After 2 ½ innings without a hit, Linfield capitalized on an error and two hits in the fourth to score two more runs.
Down by five, Redlands battled back with four runs in the top of the fifth inning. Doeppel doubled to right center and then freshman right fielder Breanna Ruelas (Brawley, CA) walked. With two outs, freshman shortstop Kai Masutani (Honolulu, HI) singled to right field to load the bases. Junior catcher Nicky Neumann (Fremont, CA) stepped up to the plate and knocked in two runs with a double to left center. Junior center fielder Kayla Peterson (San Jose, CA) followed suit with a two-RBI single up the middle to move the Bulldogs within one.
However, Linfield steadily scored runs in each of the remaining innings while Redlands mustered only one, resulting in a 5-8 loss for the Maroon and Gray.
Neumann accounted for three of the team's seven hits, while Peterson provided three RBI.
Redlands finished out the 2009 campaign with a 30-12 record, boasting at least 30 wins for the fifth year in a row.
In most sports the SCIAC does well to get two teams from the conference in the playoffs so it was a pleasant surprise that three have been selected to the double-elimination Division III West Regional to be hosted by East Texas Baptist starting Thursday.
The University of Redlands (30-10) got the automatic bid by winning the four-team conference tournament but the Bulldogs also won the regular season. They will be the No. 4 seed in the seven-team event.
Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (28-14), the SCIAC tournament runner-up), received the No. 6 seed while the University of La Verne (28-18) is the No. 7.
"I'm very excited that we got three teams in and all are deserving," Redlands coach Laurie Nevarez said. "I think we're going to surprise some people."
Athenas coach Betsy Hipple agrees.
"The object is to take the best teams in the West Region," she said. "I don't see how you can not take all three teams."
Joining host and No. 3 seed East Texas Baptist (37-7) are top-seed Linfield, Ore. (36-4), No. 2 Louisiana College (36-7) and No. 5 Texas-Tyler (34-8), which hosted the event in 2008.
As surprising as the fact that three SCIAC teams got in is that three got in and Redlands still was not awarded the right to host. The school did submit a bid and the NCAA typically gives that honor based on finanical concerns. The fewer teams that need to fly, the better.
Even though the three SCIAC teams are closer in proximity, four teams were going to have to fly in to either location.
"They were ranked higher than we were most of the season so I guess they didn't think they could take it away from them," Nevarez said.
La Verne was the second seed in the SCIAC tournament but lost a 13-inning game to CMS in the loser's bracket that resulted in their elimination.
What likely helped get the Leopards in was a 5-4 win over Linfield, the No. 1 ranked in the country. Five of the seven in the field are ranked with East Texas at No. 3, Louisiana at 11, Texas-Tyler at 14 and Redlands at No. 25.
The teams will leave today and practice at the venue on Wednesday.
Division II men's golf
The University of Redlands will join the University of La Verne at the Division III national tournament which starts May 13 at the PGA Club in Port St. Lucie, Fla.
La Verne, ranked second nationally, was the SCIAC's automatic qualifier. Redlands received one of just two at-large bids handed out.
The Bulldogs success on the national stage seems to warrant that as they have finished as the national runner-up four of the last five years. The year that Redlands didn't go, 2007, La Verne was the runner-up giving the conference a streak of five straight second-place finishers.
"We're glad to get the chance to go again," Redlands coach Art Salvesen said. "Winning the conference is nice but it isn't our main goal.
Redlands is ranked ninth nationally. Claremont-Mudd-Scripps is No. 12 and had a shot at earning an at-large bid as well but the Bulldogs likely secured a bid by finishing one spot ahead of the Stags at the SCIAC 36-hole tournament, the last event of the regular season.
Methodist (N.C.) is ranked No. 1 but Salvesen likes La Verne's chances.
"I think they're the team to beat, I really do," he said. "They're talented and have some veteran players that have been there before."
It will be the first time La Verne has made the trip without veteran coach Rex Huigens, Salvensen's close friend, who retired after last season. The Leopards are now coached by Joe Skovron, a former player at the school.
Chaffey baseball
The Panthers (29-13) drew the No. 18 seed and will travel to No. 15 Ventura (26-16) for a first round playoff game at 2 p.m. today. It will be the sixth straight playoff appearance for coach Jeff Harlow's team.
The Panthers finished third in the Foothill Conference behind Mt. San Jacinto (31-10) and Rio Hondo (24-16) which drew the No. 7 and No. 16 seeds respectively.
"It was pretty much what I expected," Harlow said. "We had the highest RPI of the teams in the Southern region so we deserved to get in. We had a good practice yesterday (Sunday) so the guys are ready and excited."
Freshman right-hander Colby Gurney (10-0), out of Alta Loma High School, will get the start for the Panthers.
CMS women's lacrosse
The Athenas (12-1) were selected for the 26-team NCAA field and will travel to Cortland State for a first-round game on Wednesday.
CMS has qualified for the NCAA Championships three straight years. The team is led by the scoring trio of sophomore Sarah Dick (41 goals), senior Courtney Cronin (41 goals) and junior Colbi Brawner (40 goals).
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By Michelle Gardner
Staff Writer
REDLANDS -- The young Claremont-Mudd-Scripps softball team knew it faced a formidable challenge in having to face traditional power University of Redlands in the championship game of the SCIAC tournament Saturday afternoon.
It didn't help that the Athenas had to fight through the loser's bracket, outlasting La Verne in 13 innings, only to play Redlands an hour later.
Experience paid off as the top-seeded Bulldogs posted a 5-1 win in the title tilt. Redlands (30-10) now awaits word on where it will head for the Division III West Region while CMS (28-14) is hoping the strong showing will result in an at-large berth. The SCIAC did get two teams in the regional last season.
"They have a championship culture and we're still trying to build one. We went a long way in doing that today," CMS coach Betsy Hipple said. "That game took a ton out of us but we still had to stay the course. We knew it was going to be an uphill battle."
The Bulldogs, ranked No. 25 by the NFSCA, had their ace in the circle as junior Olivia Ellis hurled every inning of all three of her team's games in the event. She set down the first 13 hitters she faced with the first hit being a single by Emily Lopez with one out in the fifth.
By then Redlands had already surged out to a 5-0 lead with senior second baseman Dory Baga knocking home four of those runs. She clubbed a three-run home run off an 0-2 pitch from Julia Cruz in the third that followed singles by Kayla Peterson and Lizett Casillas.
"I was looking for something inside," Baga said. "We have been focusing on swinging hard and it paid off. It was nice to have a lead but we respect the game and we know anything can still happen."
Redlands, the visiting team despite playing on its home field, added to that in the fifth with the same players doing the damage. Peterson and Casillas singled with Peterson scoring on Baga's second hit of the day. Lindsay Henry then drove home Casillas with a single and the Bulldogs were not threatened again.
Ellis surrendered just four hits and one run while striking out six.
CMS, which finished the game with four freshman and five sophomores on the field, prevented the shutout with a run in the seventh on a run-scoring single by sophomore Chelsea Baker.
Ellis was also backed by a defense that played error-free.
"Our first goal was winning the regular season and the second was the conference tournament," Redlands coach Laurie Nevarez said. "We're going to savor this today and tomorrow refocus on a regional championship."
Redlands will find out its destination for the regional on Monday. It has submitted a bid to host but everything depends on what teams qualify and how many will have to be flown in.
Hipple will be on the call as the conference rep.
"I hope we get a shot to keep playing but I'm proud no matter what happens," she said.
CMS 3, La Verne 2
Michelle Brody stroked a run-scoring single in the 13th inning to boost the Athenas past defending champion La Verne in loser's bracket play.
The game tookl more than three hours. CMS managed 13 hits and La Verne collected 12. Each team finished with 13 runners left on base with CMS loading the bases in the eighth and ninth with no outs but failing to score.
Brody and Jessica Vaughn had three hits each for the Athenas. La Verne got two each from Melissa Carlson, Diandra Burns and Daryn Schively.
