Category Archives: University of La Verne

Local college golfers saluted

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Bradley Shigezawa (Photo by Jack Hancock)

There may not be a better conference in the country when it comes to golf than the SCIAC. Several players were among the PING All-America teams announced this week.

Junior Brad Shigezawa of Claremont-Mudd-Scripps leads the group. He was the low medalist at the NCAA Division III championships last month.

Here’s the entire list so you can see how our locals stack up:

 First Team

  • Cory Howard, LaGrange; Brian Jaeger, Christopher Newport; Alex Kolquist, Gustavus Adolphus; Anthony Maccaglia, Oglethorpe; Noah Ratner, Guilford; Brad Shigezawa, Claremont-Mudd-Scripps; Casey Vangsness, Saint John’s; Mike Wesko, Methodist

Second Team

  • Alex Andrews, Wittenberg; Andrew Bateman, Methodist; Bobby Holden, Redlands; Stefan Johnson, Illinois Wesleyan; Alex Kapraun, St. Thomas; Mikey McGinn, California Lutheran; Eric Quinn, Oglethorpe; Oliver Rudnicki, Whitworth

Third Team

  • Ian Bangor, Carnegie Mellon; Chris Blyth, St. John Fisher; Cameron Button, Southwestern; James Charles, Southwestern; Johnathan Chen, Emory; Anthony DiLisio, Skidmore; John Dukes, UT Tyler; Bobby Ehrhardt, Wesley; Ben Fister, Transylvania; Dennis Granath, Saint John’s; Josh Grisa, UW-Stout; Buddy Hallman, UT Tyler; Wes Hillen, Millikin; Clay Hinton, Transylvania; Onni Hurri, Averett; Hayden Jones, Oglethorpe; Jantzen Latham, Transylvania; Drew Lynch, Saint John’s; John McCord, Redlands; Tyler McMorrow, Gustavus Adolphus; Nick Palladino, Rochester; Andrew Peter, Luther; Joe Radulski, St. John Fisher; Andrew Thompson, Guilford; Jeff Wells, Methodist; Jack Whelan, St. Lawrence; Oliver White, Allegheny; Kenny Wienckowski, Illinois Wesleyan; Alex Wunderlich, Emory; Derek Zachman, La Verne

Look who’s streaking, the top 10 win streaks by local college teams

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They always say its harder to stay at the top than get to the top. Well a bunch of area teams have learned to deal with the pressure that comes with repeating and have established nice traditions.

So today’s top 10 is top active streaks. The length of the win streak isn’t necessarily the most important factor. Quality of competition in that sports in that conference was an even bigger factor.

10. Claremont-Mudd-Scripps men’s swimming 5 straight SCIAC titles

Much like on the women’s side, CMS has so much depth it’s hard for other teams to really challenge.

9. San Bernardino Valley men’s cross country 17 straight Foothill Conference titles

The Wolverines could easily be ranked higher than this but competition in the conference isn’t quite up to snuff. Of course the fact that SBVC is so good is one reason the rest of the conference looks so bad. More on this team later.

 8. Claremont-Mudd-Scripps women’s swimming 10 straight SCIAC titles

The Athenas have maintained their stranglehold on the top spot with superior depth. Other teams may have more individual winners but CMS tends to have a couple of those, as well as place multiple swimmers in each event. That doesn’t look like it will change any
time soon.

6. Claremont-Mudd-Scripps men’s tennis 8 straight SCIACs The Stags  have repeatedly finished at the top of a conference that also has high-caliber programs in Redlands, Pomona-Pitzer and Cal Lutheran. This year the Stags (30-4) were national runner-up, and may well have won a title had it not been for the suspension of its No. 1 player before nationals.

5. Cal State San Bernardino volleyball 7 straight CCAAs.

The Coyotes have established a dynasty under head coach Kim Cherniss with seven straight and 10 in the last 12 years. This year’s might be the most unlikely because the team had graduated 7 players from the previous team and was relying primarily freshman. If another school didn’t wrestle the crown from the Coyotes this year, it might not happen for awhile. They went 24-9 overall, 19-3 in CCAA play to win by three matches. More on this team to come.

4. San Bernardino Valley men’s cross country 7 SoCals

The Wolverines are a dominant force, led by coach Wes Ashford. During this streak SBVC also went on to win five straight state championships from 2006 to 2010. SoCal is more competitive than NorCal, so win the region and you have a good shot to win it all.

3. University of La Verne men’s golf 7 straight SCIAC titles

The Leopards can change players and change coaches but have remained the best team in what is arguably the top conference in the country in Division III. How good is it? Well La  Verne may have gotten the AQ, but three others were given at-large berths to nationals. That’s three of seven given for the entire country.

2. University of Redlands softball 9 straight SCIACs

The Bulldogs (36-12, 22-6) retained their title again this year, despite losing All-American outfielder Amanda Lievanos to an injury before the season even started. Coach Laurie Nevarez also had a lineup, primarily of underclassmen and overcame a huge challenge from nationally ranked Claremont-Mudd-Scripps as well as SCIAC newcomer Chapman, which had been a national title contender even when competing as an independent.

1. Cal State San Bernardino volleyball 13 straight appearances in regional final

Winning a conference title is one thing, but doing better than that and making it all the way to the step before the Elite Eight is even more admirable, especially given the level of competition in the West region. This program is by far the premier program in the Inland Empire in any sport. A footnote here . . . The first win by the Coyotes next year will be the 500th in the tenure of Cherniss.

McIntosh_CSUSB_VB

 

ABCA/Rawlings Division III All-West Baseball Region

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Players from all four local SCIAC schools made the cut, impressive  considering the size and quality of the West Region. A total of 21 players from the SCIAC were selected.

FIRST TEAM

DH Philip Windham, East Texas Baptistl; C Josh Rapacz, George Fox (Ore.); 1B Nick Boggan, Cal Lutheran; 2B Tim Wilson, Linfield (Ore.); 3B Nicho Della Valle, Cal Lutheran; SS Trevor Koons, Cal Lutheran; SS Christian Muscarello, Trinity (Tex.); OF Pat Hirschberg, Trinity (Tex.); OF Jake Wylie, Linfield (Ore.); OF Nick Gentili, Pomona-Pitzer; UT Jake Peterson, Cal Lutheran; RHP Chris Haddelandm Linfield (Ore.); LHP Ryan Lucero, Trinity (Tex).; Rellief RHP Aaron Roth, Cal Lutheran; Relief LHP Sean Kistler, Texas Lutheran.

SECOND TEAM

DH Johnathan Brooks, Occidental; C Stephen Zavala, Whittier; 1B Derek Dixon, George Fox (Ore.); 2B Jason Henning, Redlands; 3B Kevin Francke, Trinity (Tex.); SS Jordan Dresner, Redlands; OF Erik Munzer, Pomona-Pitzer; OF Nick Fisher, Linfield (Ore.); OF Kramer Lindell, Linfield (Ore.); OF Timothy Williams, George Fox (Ore.); UT Jake Bruml, Pomona-Pitzer; UT Scott, Hong, Occidental; Relief RHP Derek Miller, Texas-Tyler; RHP Zack Speer, Trinity (Tex.); RHP Matt Delegato, Pacific (Ore.); RHP Aaron Thomasson, Linfield (Ore.); RHP Kevin Knight, La Verne; RHP Jeff Spillane, Texas Lutheran.

THIRD TEAM

C Chase Caldez, Schriener (Tex.); 1B Chris Whitehead, Schreiner (Tex.); 1B Trevor Keele, Dallas; 2B Marcus Uechi, Hardin-Simmons (Tex.); 2B Garrett Smith, Cal Lutheran; 3B Julian Barzili, Whittier; SS Logan Allen, Occidental; SS Scott Witte, Claremont-Mudd-Scripps; OF Collin Radack, Hendrix (Tex.); OF Tyler Pfeffer, Whitworth (Wash.); OF Tyler Bates, East Texas Baptist; OF Alex Scheiwe, Redlands; UT Carlton Brown, Howard Payne (Tex.); LHP Scott Peters, Cal Lutheran; Relief RHP Tyler Brunnemann, Hardin-Simmons (Tex.); Relief RHP Taber watson, Chapman; RHP Curt Copeland, LeTourneau (Tex.).

 

Citrus names new water polo coach

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Former Owl Kenny Clements has been named the new Head Coach of the Citrus College Men's Water Polo Program.

Former Owl Kenny Clements had been named the new Citrus College men’s water polo coach. Clements played two seasons for Citrus from 1995-1996, earning All-American honors in both his freshman and sophomore campaigns as well as being named the 1996 Foothill Conference Player of the Year and Southern California Player of the Year, the last time an Owl earned such an honor.

“The Citrus College Men’s Water Polo program has a storied history which I am proud to say I was a part of in the mid 90′s,” Clements said. “It has always been a goal of mine to be the head coach of this program. My long term goal here is to build a premiere water polo program that competes at the championship level.”

After Citrus, Clements went on to play two seasons for nearby the University of La Verne. Clements continued his storied playing career for the Leopards earning All-American honors as both a junior and senior. As a senior, Clements helped lead La Verne to its first ever Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Championship, and was named the Division III Player of the Year by the Collegiate Water Polo Coaches Association.

Clements was inducted into the University of La Verne Athletics Hall of Fame in 2009. Clements was also a decorated high school athlete. Clements prepped for Rowland High School, where he was an All-American and CIF Division VI High School Player of the Year in 1994.

Clements has spent the last eight years as the Head Coach at Montebello High School where he also teaches.

 

 

 

Top 10 jobs by local college coaches

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As always it was a banner year for local college programs. None won a national title but there were many in the running. Today’s countdown, the top 10 coaching jobs of the school year. Heavy emphasis placed on teams that won conference titles or were close.

10. Kristin Dowling, Claremont-Mudd-Scripps women’s basketball

Gets major props for how far her team came in the course of a season. She got the job so late admissions were closed so she was left with whatever players remained. She had to get a tennis player and another who had never played before just to round out a roster of eight. The Athenas lost a lot of games early but were competitive by the end of the season. Can’t imagine how well she will do given a full year and chance to recruit.

9. Kristen Hauge, San Bernardino Valley College women’s soccer

The Wolverines (14-3-5) regained their Foothill Conference title and did so with a freshmen-laden roster. Some of the sophomores she did have, were ones with limited experience. Some minor injuries along the way also proved problematic but the Wolverines made their usual run deep into the playoffs. She also plays a difficult schedule and does a wonderful job of moving players on to the next level.

8. Bill Mierzwik, San Bernardino Valley College baseball

The Wolverines won their first Foothill Conference title since 2004 and they did it without a Pitcher of the Year or Player of the Year as those went to athletes from other schools. He might have been higher on the list it weren’t for a quicker than expected departure from the playoffs.

7. Chris Krich, University of La Verne football

The Leopards went 4-5, which was a repeat of the previous season. But it was a much better looking and more competitive 4-5. Let’s not forget how bad this program was when he took over three years ago. Numbers were down, interest was down. This should be the year the Leopards really turn the corner and make a significant impact.

6. Ben Cooper, Chaffey College men’s soccer

The Panthers went 16-5-2 overall, won the Foothill Conference and won three playoff games before falling to favored Golden West 3-1. The Panthers did it without a what you would call a “dominant” player. This is definitely a program on the rise.

5. Greg Kamansky, Cal Poly Pomona men’s basketball

Another one that is going to be on the list every year. The Broncos (28-3) won what is one of the toughest conferences in the country by a whopping four games and they advanced to the West Regional semifinal. Kamansky did it with two experienced players in Mitchel Anderson and Terrence Drisdom. After that, Kamansky had a bunch of unproven role players. Yet the beat goes on for the Broncos.

4. Frank Pericolosi, Pomona-Pitzer baseball

The Sagehens (29-16) finished second in the SCIAC to Cal Lutheran and were given at at-large berth in the NCAA Division III regional. We have come to expect good things from the Sagehens because they have always delivered. But this year’s team  exceeded expectations. Pericolosi lost three pitchers and a catcher for a good portion of the year with injuries. One of the pitchers also plays first so it was like losing two players. Let’s not forget the high academic standards which  can make it tough to contend. Bonus points for playing a strong schedule that included three games against No. 1 Linfield (Ore.)

3. Laurie Nevarez, University of Redlands softball

The Bulldogs lost their All-American and career home run leader Amanda Lievanos to a knee injury before the season started and they didn’t have an experienced pitcher after workhorse Kayla Uphold. Still the Bulldogs won a ninth straight SCIAC title and came within one game of playing for the regional final and their 36 wins equals a program record.

2. Kim Cherniss, Cal State San Bernardino volleyball

Yes, she could collect a Coach of the Year honor pretty much every year. But this year was one of her best jobs. Maybe the Coyotes didn’t make it to nationals like they had done the previous four seasons but they did make it to the West region final, despite having graduated seven seniors. So this year’s run came with a senior setter and a boatload of freshmen yet the still won the CCAA by three games. If someone else didn’t win this year, they may never win. An absolute travesty that a coach with a sub-.500 record got Coach of the Year honors this season in the CCAA

1. Jeff Klein, Chaffey College men’s basketball

The Panthers (27-7) had the best season in school history, making it all the way to the state title game before falling to Mt. SAC 102-88. Most impressive was an 87-85 win over previously unbeaten San Francisco in the state semifinal. The Panthers had a solid, united core of sophomores that were the foundation for that success. They played hard, they played together, played with poise and were not in awe of their surroundings no matter what the situation. That’s a reflection of the coach and his staff.

Jeff Klein

 

All-SCIAC baseball players honored

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Player of the Year: Jake Petersen, JR, California Lutheran

Pitcher of the Year: Aaron Roth, JR, California Lutheran

Newcomer of the Year: Jake Petersen, JR, California Lutheran

All-SCIAC First Team

1B: Nick Boggan, SR, California Lutheran

2B: Jason Henning, SR, University of Redlands

3B: Nicho DellaValle, JR, California Lutheran

SS: Logan Allen, SR, Occidental

SS Jordan Dresner, SO, University of Redlands

SS Trevor Koons, SR, California Lutheran

C: Sean McMillan, SO, University of Redlands

OF: Nick Gentili, SR, Pomona-Pitzer

OF: Erik Munzer, SR, Pomona-Pitzer

OF: Alex Scheiwe, JR, University of Redlands

P: Jake Bruml, SO, Pomona-Pitzer

P: Scott Hong, SR, Occidental

P: Kevin Knight, SR, University of La Verne

All-SCIAC Second Team

1B: Mark Saatzer, JR, Chapman

2B: Garrett Smith, SR, California Lutheran

3B: Julian Barzilli, JR, Whittier

SS: George Hanna, JR, University of LaVerne

C: Spencer DuBois, SO, California Lutheran

DH: Johnathan Brooks, SO, Occidental

OF: Connor Battaglia, JR, Chapman

P: Kyle Hart, SR, University of Redlands

P: Tyler Hebda, JR, California Lutheran

P: Scott Peters, SO, California Lutheran

P: Taber Watson, JR, Chapman

UT: Simon Rosenbaum, FR, Pomona-Pitzer

UT: Eliot Smith, SR, University of Redlands

Local product takes over at Citrus

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Alicia Longyear has been named the new Head Coach for the Citrus College Cross Country program.

Alicia Longyear will take over the helm of the Citrus College cross country program. Longyear takes over the reins of the program from Nicki Shaw, who led the Owls’ cross country program the previous three season and steps down to accept an academic position.

Longyear, a product of Claremont High school and the University of Redlands, takes over the head coaching position after being away from the sport the past five years. Prior to that break, Longyear had served as an assistant coach with the Citrus track team, specializing in the distance events

Longyear also served as an assistant track and field and cross country coach at Claremont High (2003-2007). In 2004, Longyear helped direct the Pomona-Pitzer track program while head coach Kirk Reynolds was on sabbatical. Longyear’s coaching career began at the University of La Verne where she was a graduate assistant to the Leopard cross country and track and field teams while she earned her Master’s Degree.

“Now that my children are a little older I feel ready and excited to get back into it.  I have missed the sport,” Longyear said. “As a committed lifelong distance runner, I have continued to train on my own but being part of a cross country team is truly an extraordinary experience.  There is something special about a group of people pushing each other to their utmost limits.”

Longyear’s running career began as a junior at Claremont High School, where she picked up the sport and never looked back.

Along with her coaching duties, Longyear as serves as the Citrus College Athletic Counselor, a position she has held for the past nine years. Longyear holds a Bachelors Degree in Psychology with an emphasis in Sport Psychology from Redlands, and a Masters Degree in Counseling with an emphasis in Athletic Counseling from La Verne.

 

All-SCIAC softball honors announced

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SCIAC honors have been announced in softball and it is Claremont-Mudd-Scripps with a conference-best seven players recognized. The University of Redlands finished first in the regular season but it was CMS winning the post-season tournamentr.

Here’s the full list:

Player of the Year: Kayla Uphold, SR – University of Redlands

Rookie of the Year: Katie Savard, FR – Claremont-Mudd-Scripps

All-SCIAC First Team

P – Natalie Both, FR – Chapman

P – Hayley Schultz, SO – Claremont-Mudd-Scripps

C – Samantha Mellano, SO – Whittier

1B- Raven Freret, JR – University of La Verne

2B – Harmony Palmer, SR – Claremont-Mudd-Scripps

SS – Danielle Vela, SO – University of La Verne

3B – Mercedez Cundiff, SO – Whittier

OF – Jenny Richards, SR – Chapman

OF – Jacqueline Shimamoto, JR – Occidental

OF – Sarah Beeman, SR – University of Redlands

DP – Nikoli Sharp, SO – University of Redlands

UTKaty Kibbe, FR – University of La Verne

At-Large – Marie Bradvica, SO – Claremont-Mudd-Scripps

All-SCIAC Second Team

P – Brittany Vacura, SR – Occidental

P – Cassie Oregel, SO – Chapman

C – Shannon Tinsley, SR – California Lutheran

1B – Caitlyn Hynes, JR – Pomona-Pitzer

2B – Alexandra Flores, SO – Whittier

SS – Jordan Learn, JR –Whittier

3B – Candice Nunez, JR – University of La Verne

OF – Tara Robinson, FR – Claremont-Mudd-Scripps

OF – Kerry Peterson, SR – Chapman

OF – AJ Carrasco, FR – University of Redlands

DP – Mikayla O’Neal, FR – Claremont-Mudd-Scripps          

UT – Shonna Christianson, SO – California Lutheran

At-Large – Megan Latta, JR – Claremont-Mudd-Scripps

U of La Verne runner saluted

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Lenore Moreno

University of La Verne senior Lenore Moreno has once again captured SCIAC Female Athlete of the Week honors.

Moreno was named SCIAC Female Athlete of the Week for the week of April 15-21 after lowering her school and conference record in the 10,000 meters at the Mt. SAC Relays in Walnut.  She posted an all-time conference best of 35:00.43 in her race to shave nearly three seconds off her previous best set a month ago.

Her time of 35:00.43 in the 10,000 set at the Mt. SAC Relays currently stands as the fastest in Division III.

An All-American in cross country this season, Moreno has garnered SCIAC Female Athlete of the Week accolades five times during the 2012-13 academic year.  She earned the honor on three occasions during the cross country season and earlier received the Athlete of the Week award in track & field after running 35:03.39 on March 15.at the Occidental Distance Carnival to set the previous conference record.

This week’s college sports events

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WED, JAN. 23
MEN’S BASKETBALL

Pomona-Pitzer at Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, 7:30 p.m.; Cal Lutheran at Redlands, 7:30 p.m.; Occidental at La Verne, 7:30 p.m.; Chaffey at Mt. San Jacinto, 7 p.m.; San Bernardino Valley at Antelope Valley, 7 p.m.; Saddleback at Riverside, 7:30 p.m.; Barstow at Victor Valley, 7 p.m.

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

Chaffey at Mt. San Jacinto, 5 p.m.; San Bernardino Valley at Antelope Valley, 5 p.m.

THUR, JAN. 24

MEN’S BASKETBALL

UC Riverside at Pacific, 7 p.m.

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

UC Riverside at at Pacific, 7 p.m.; Occidental at La Verne, 7:30 p.m.; Cal Lutheran at Redlands, 7:30 p.m.; Pomona-Pitzer at Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, 5 p.m.

FRI, JAN. 25
MEN’S BASKETBALL

Cal Poly Pomona at CS Dominguez Hills, 7:30 p.m.; CS San Bernardino at Sonoma State, 7:30 p.m.; Irvine Valley at Riverside, 7:30 p.m.

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

Cal Poly Pomona at CS Dominguez Hills, 5:30 p.m.; CS San Bernardino at Sonoma State, 5:30 p.m.

SAT, JAN. 26
MEN’S BASKETBALL

UC Riverside at UC Davis, 7 p.m.; Cal Poly Pomona at CS Los Angeles, 7:30 p.m.; CS San Bernardino at San Francisco State, 7:30 p.m.; Cal Baptist at Grand Canyon (Ariz), 5:30 p.m.; UC Santa Cruz at La Verne, 7 p.m.; Redlands at Pomona-Pitzer, 7 p.m.; Claremont-Mudd-Scripps at Whittier, 7 p.m.; Victor Valley at Chaffey, 7 p.m.; San Bernardino Valley at Desert, 3 p.m.

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

UC Davis at UC Riverside, 7 p.m.; Cal Poly Pomona at CS Los Angeles, 5:30 p.m.; CS San Bernardino at San Francisco State, 5:30 p.m.; Cal Baptist at Grand Canyon (Ariz.), 5:30 p.m.; UC Santa Cruz at La Verne, 1 p.m.; Redlands at Pomona-Pitzer, 5 p.m.; Claremont-Mudd-Scripps at Whittier, 5 p.m.; Victory Valley at Chaffey, 1 p. m.; San Bernardino Valley at Cerro Coso, 1 p.m.