University of La Verne junior Mitchell Fedorka has been named winner of the 2009 Jack Nicklaus Award which goes annually to the nation’s top golfer in Division III.

Fedorka, out of Upland High School, led the Leopards to a runner-up showing at the Division III national tournament last month at the PGA Club in Port St. Lucie, Fla.

The award was presented by Nicklaus to Fedorka on Sunday prior to the final round of The Memorial, the PGA event hosted every spring by Nicklaus at Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio.

Fedorka was the top ranked player in the Golfstat Division III individual standings with an overall scoring average of 72.35.

At the NCAA Division III Championships he tied for the overall lead with a total of 285 (67-71-74-73) but lost a sudden death playoff for medalist honors to Ogelthorpe University sophomore Olafur Loftsson.

Fedorka was a first team All-America selection in 2009. He also earned All-West Region and SCIAC Player of the Year accolades.

He captured the SCIAC 36-Hole Championship with a total of 138 (66-72) as he helped propel the Leopards to their third straight conference crown. His conference scoring average of 69.3 is a SCIAC record. Fedorka won three tournaments this season and only finished out of the top 10 on two occasions.

“This definitely takes some of the sting out of finishing second at nationals,” Leopard first-year coach Joe Skovron said. “He really deserved it. He was so consistent all season.
“It isn’t just his ability but his demeanor out there. To look at him out there you wouldn’t know whether he birdied or bogeyed that last hole.”

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.

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.

Last year the University of Redlands softball team was fortunate. The Bulldogs finished first in the SCIAC during the regular season, only to lose the tournament final and the automatic playoff bid to University of La Verne.

But the Bulldogs made it into the Division III West Region tournament with an at-large bid.

They are hoping it doesn’t come down to that this season.

The Bulldogs host the four-team double-elimination event today and Saturday. No. 2 La Verne (27-13, 16-8) will face No. 3 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (26-12, 15-9) at 9 a.m. with No. 1 Redlands (27-10, 20-4) following against No. 4 Whittier (24-16, 11-13).

The loser’s bracket game is slated for 2 p.m. with the winners following at 4:30 p.m. Action gets underway at 10 a.m. on Saturday with a loser’s bracket game.

The Bulldogs, ranked No. 25 by the National Fastpitch Softball Coaches Association, went 4-0 against the Poets this season with two games ending early on the mercy rule.

Redlands leads the conference in hitting and fielding and ranks second to CMS in pitching.
Junior outfieler Kayla Peterson (.434) leads the team in hitting with sophomore first baseman Lizett Casillas (.419) and junior catcher Nicky Neumann (.383) among the other valuable offensive weapons. The Bulldogs have also gotten a boost from freshman Lindsay Henry (.393), named the SCIAC Rookie of the Year.

Junior Olivia Ellis (20-5, 1.70) and Amanda Doeppel (7-3, 1.93) have handled the bulk of the pitching.

The Leopards split both doubleheaders they played against the Athenas this season. Coach Julie Smith thinks her team is peaking at the right time.

It is led by senior outfielder Melissa Carlson (.462) who led the conference in hitting, runs scored and stolen bases. She earned SCIAC Player of the Year honors even though her team finished second.

Among the other La Verne standouts are freshman outfielder Diandra Burns (.443) and sophomore shortstop Ashley Paul (.384), also a starter on the basketball team.

“We’re loose. We’re confident. We’re ready to go,” she said. “I think we’re in a good place right now.”

Smith said the turning point for her team likely came halfway through the season when junior Sabrina Garcia (7-2, 2.68) joined the team. Sophomore Delaney Baylor (15-7, 2.36) had shouldered much of the load in the pitching circle but the team didn’t have a consistent No. 2.
Garcia was at the school, having transferred from NAIA Hope International. She planned on playing next year but Smith enlisted her help midseason.

“It’s in how you present it,” she said. “I just told them she is giving up more than she’s taking because she is giving up a year of eligibility to help us now.”

Redlands won three of four games against La Verne and split four games against CMS.

CMS is led by junior pitcher Julia Cruz (13-5, 1.18) and senior pitcher Erika Weingart (10-6, 2.80) and sophomore outfielder Gizelle Pera (.379).

By capturing the 2009 Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) Championship with sweeps over Whittier College and Pomona-Pitzer Colleges, the University of Redlands softball team looks forward to hosting the second annual SCIAC Postseason Softball Tournament on Friday, May 1, and Saturday, May 2, at the “Field of Dreams”.

The double-elimination tournament begins at 9 a.m. on Friday with the second-seeded University of La Verne Leopards taking on the No. 3 Athenas of Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges.

As the No. 1 seed, the Bulldogs face off against the No. 4 Poets of Whittier College at 11:30 a.m.

The losers compete again at 2 p.m., followed by a winners’ duel at 4:30 p.m.

Play continues on Saturday with games at 10 a.m. and 12:30 p.m., and then at 3 p.m. if necessary.

Admission is free. Fans are reminded that pets are not permitted at the “Field of Dreams”, per University of Redlands policy.

For additional information, please log onto http://www.goredlands.com/sports/sball/2008-09/SCIAC_Postseason.

Lynsey Padilla capped off her final home appearance at Wheeler Park with not one but two grand slams in the second game of a doubleheader sweep over Cal Lutheran Friday as the Leopards earned mercy-rule wins over the Regals by scores of 8-0 and 10-2.

Padilla, one of five seniors honored prior to the opening contest, erased a 2-0 Cal Lutheran lead in the bottom of the third with a bases-loaded homer off pitcher Lizzy Chacon over the centerfield wall to give the Leopards a 4-2 advantage. She repeated the feat in the bottom of the fifth with her second grand slam over the leftfield wall to propel the Leos to an 8-2 advantage.

The two homers briefly tied Padilla for the team lead in homers this season with her fifth and sixth round-trippers of the year, but senior Melissa Carlson closed out the contest with a walk-off blast in the bottom of the sixth to end the game 10-2. The homer allowed Carlson to re-claim the team lead in home runs with seven.

All told, Carlson went a combined 6-7 at the plate in the two games with 6 runs scored.

La Verne improves to 26-12 and 15-7 in conference play heading into its final regular season doubleheader tomorrow at Occidental.

Sabrina Garcia allowed two runs on four hits to earn the win on the mound for the Leopards and improve to 7-1.

University of La Verne Interim Athletic Director Julie Kline announced today that the men’s and women’s tennis programs will be placed on hiatus at the conclusion of the 2009 season.

Kline said the decision was based on issues related to appropriate facilities necessary for tennis within the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC). She also touched on an inability to provide student-athletes of both programs a level of participation and competition consistent with the established tenets and goals for intercollegiate athletics at La Verne.

“It is our sincere hope that in the future we will reinstate both men’s and women’s tennis,” Kline said. “In order to do so, we must be able to fully support these programs with facilities, which are at a minimum competitive with other SCIAC member schools, with full-time staffing for the programs, and with budgets which allow our coaches and student-athletes to compete at the highest levels.”

In an effort to compensate for the reduction of parking spaces due to construction of the new Campus Center, the university closed its campus tennis facility in August 2007 to convert it into a temporary parking lot. A new tennis facility is included in the partnership between the university and the City of La Verne to establish a joint-use sports complex on 28 acres of undeveloped land located a mile from the main campus.

The La Verne City Council, acting in its capacity as the La Verne Redevelopment Agency, recently voted to approve an amendment to the original Disposition and Development Agreement, providing the university a five-year extension to complete the initial facilities.

In her announcement, Kline emphasized that the decision to place the men’s and women’s tennis programs on hiatus was in no way intended to diminish the efforts and accomplishments of those involved. Over the years numerous student-athletes, coaches and support staff involved with the tennis program have excelled and represented the university admirably. She thanked her staff for their participation.

The University of La Verne golf team holds the #2 spot in the latest Golfstat Division III rankings released on April 1.

Methodist (NC) ranks #1 in the poll followed by La Verne, Huntingdon (PA), Claremont-Mudd-Scripps and Skidmore (NY) to round out the Top 5.

The Golfstat ranking is based on head-to-head competition between respective schools. The Leopards have an overall Division III mark of 255-2 and are 4-0 against Division III Top 25 teams thus far in 2009. La Verne has also posted four tournament wins this season.

Additionally, three Leopard players are ranked among the Top 10 in the Golfstat individual player rankings. Mitchell Fedorka is ranked #2 overall along with teammates Rizal Amin (#6) and Andrew Kramer (#9).

The Leopards also moved up one notch to #8 overall in the latest Golfworld/Nike Golf Division III Top 25 Poll.

La Verne will next compete at the West Region Invitational held April 5-7 in Austin, TX.

The University of La Verne baseball team earned a pair of key regional wins over the weekend by defeating non-conference rival Chapman University on Saturday in Orange before concluding with a come-from-behind 11-10 triumph over Pacific Lutheran Sunday at Ben Hines Field.

The Leopards have won three straight games to improve to 3-2 on the season heading into SCIAC play next weekend.

La Verne overcame a 7-2 decifit in the seventh inning to overtake Pacific Lutheran. Mark Larini was the offensive hero for the Leopards against the Lutes, batting in both the game-tying and game-winning runs.

La Verne erupted for four runs in the bottom of the seventh to pull to within a run at 7-6, only to watch the Lutes add a pair of runs in the top of the eighth on a Geoff Gabler homer to give PLU a 9-6 advantage. Back came the Leopards in the bottom half, as a Jon-Michael Hattabaugh RBI single was followed by a two-run single from Larini to knot the game at 9-9.

After the Lutes reclaimed the lead at 10-9 in the top of the 10th, the Leopards loaded the bases in the bottom half of the frame to set the stage for Larini, who delivered with a two-run double down the left field line that scored Hattabaugh and Allen Komori to end the game. Komori pitched the final three innings to earn the win.

Both teams registered 15 hits while the Leopards overcame three errors. Larini totaled 4 RBI for the game on a 3-3 performance at the plate. Victor Pinado tallied 3 hits along with 2 RBI and 2 runs scored.

A night earlier against Chapman, the Leos plated a pair of runs in both the fifth and seventh innings to take a 4-2 lead and finished with a three-run ninth inning to sweep the home-and-home set with the nation’s second-ranked team in Division III. The Leopards pounded out 13 hits highlighted by solo homers from Pinada and Kevin Ibarra. Pinado went 3-3 with 2 runs scored.

On the mound, the trio of Tim Jolly, Willie Patti and Grant Wheatley combined to allow two runs on five hits against Chapman as Patti earned the win while Wheatley registered a save. Jolly struck out 7 batters in 4 2/3 innings of work.

La Verne opens conference action next weekend with a three-game set against Cal Lutheran, beginning with a single game Friday in Thousand Oaks followed by a doubleheader saturday at Ben Hines Field.