Category Archives: University of Redlands

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

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.).

 

Top 10 college athletes of 2012-2013

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Well the college sports season is officially over. So in celebration of some great accomplishments, I’m counting down the top 10 individual performances of the last season. There were a lot of candidates and narrowing it down to 10 wasn’t easy.

10. Camille Smith, Sr., Cal State San Bernardino volleyball

Was the  veteran leader and setter on an otherwise very young Coyotes volleyball team that managed to keep its CCAA title streak in tact. If nobody beat them out for a title this year, that may not happen for awhile. For good measure the Coyotes advanced all the way to the NCAA Division II West Region final, AGAIN!

9. Lenore Moreno, Sr., University of La Verne track/cross country

Was named Division III Cross Country West Region Female Athlete of the Year after placing first place at the West Region Championships, becoming the first-ever Leopard to win a regional championship meet. In track she set school records in two events.  Her season best of 17:09.70 in the 5,000 meters established a new La Verne record.  In addition, she set both a school and SCIAC record in the 10,000 meters (35:00.43) and placed eighth at nationals in the 10,000.

8. Vainayaki Sivagi, Sr., University of Redlands track

Won SCIAC titles in the 200 and 400 and contributed to a winning relay, earning conference Athlete of the Year honors. She went on to place second nationally in the 400 meters.

7. Khallifah Rosser, Chaffey College track

Won a state championship in the 400m hurdles with a time of 52:08 seconds and contributed to a fourth-place finish in the 4×100 relay. Next month he is headed to the U.S. Junior Championships.

6.Chandra Lukes, Soph., University of Redlands swimming

Became the school’s first female national champion with a win in the 100 free. She also placed fourth in the 50 free (23.31), an event in which she entered the competition seeded 16th.

5. Mitchel Anderson, Sr., Cal Poly Pomona basketball

He was the CCAA Player of the Year and an NABC All-American and the leader of the best team in the conference by far.  Ranked in among conference leaders in scoring (14.2 ppg), rebounding (8.1), steals (1.9). He’s not flashy but he’s consistent and reliable. Would probably av erage more for another team but the Broncos style of play doesn’t lend itself to huge numbers.

4. Kwame Alexander, Cal State San Bernardino basketball

Led the CCAA in both scoring (16.7 ppg) and rebounding (8.8 rpg), also earning NABC All-American honors. That’s pretty tough to do in a conference with great depth of talent in teams and individuals. He’s also high on the list because we was such great fun to watch.

3. Kristen Lim, Sr., Claremont-Mudd-Scripps tennis

Went undefeated in the regular season and was ranked No. 1 individually much of the year. Finished as national runner-up in singles and teamed with Caroline Ward for a runner-up finish in doubles as well.

2. Jeff Depew, Soph., University of Redlands swimming

It’s hard enough to win a national title but it’s probably even tougher defending it the next year and Depew did that, winning the 400 individual medley. He also gets props for winning an IM which means he’s good at every stroke which is the biggest compliment you can give a swimmer. He goes for a three-peat next year. He also placed 10th in the 100 back.

1. Brad Shigezawa, Jr., Claremont-Mudd-Scripps golf

Not much can trump a national championship and he was the best in all of Division III. In thinking about it, winning a national title in golf might be THE toughest sport to win one. No disrespect to say track or swimming. But in those sports you qualify, then have a prelim and a final. In golf you have to be the best over the course of four days – 72 holes. It doesn’t get tougher than that.

Bradley Shigezawa (Photo by Jack Hancock)

Redlands golfer gets national honor

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The University of Redlands men’s golf narrowly missed the cut the NCAA Divsion III national meet but the Bulldogs do have something to celebrate.

John McCord has been named recipient of the Phil Mickelson Award, presented annually to the most outstanding freshman in NCAA Division III.  It marks the first time in school history that a Bulldog men’s golfer has received the prestigious honor.

The Phil Mickelson Award dates back to 1992 when the inaugural award was given out.  For McCord, it follows a number of other accolades during the 2013 season, including landing on the All-West Region First Team and receiving the Ken Sherman Freshman of the Year honor for the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC).

McCord compiled an impressive 19-round average of 75.9.

His best round in a Bulldog uniform came at the West Cup where he tallied a 67.  On the season, he racked up nine rounds of 75 or lower.

Top 10 athletes I’m going to miss

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The college season is about done. It’s always fun to go back and think about who did what to make it a memorable school year.

So I’m going to kick out a series of lists, just for amusement. Today it’s the top 10 athletes I’m going to miss covering – I’m talking seniors at four-year schools or sophomores finishing up at a local community college.

Got to start at 10 and work my way up . . . build the suspense. Hopefully those not making the cut won’t be offended. I truly enjoy what I do, every game I cover (that doesn’t go overtime) and every athlete I meet.

10. Annie Lydens, Pomona-Pitzer track/cross country

The last two years have been tough on her (injuries). But she was the subject of a feature her sophomore year. She has interned at the United Nations and her goal is to visit another different country for every year she has been alive. That tells you all you need to know. Nice to see great athletes with such a different perspective. Every interview with a Pomona-Pitzer athlete is an enlightening one.

9. Sarah Beeman, University or Redlands softball

A great player who finally got through a season injury-free and had impressive numbers to show for it. Bonus points for saving me from getting drowned by a celebratory water bucket a few years ago when the Bulldogs won the SCIAC Tournament. Coach Laurie Nevarez was the intended target.

8. Jordan Richard, Cal State Los Angeles basketball

So he doesn’t “play” for a local school. He qualifies as a local because he went to Los Osos and played at CS San Bernardino as a freshman, Riverside as a sophomore. And he played many a game against Cal State and Cal Poly. His game improved each year he ended up being the top shot blocker in the country this season. That’s a good way to go out.

7. Stacey Howard, San Bernardino Valley football

He made just some ridiculous catches this year for the Wolverines. Don’t know how opponents left him so open sometimes, especially on the halfback option. He was the subject for my season preview story and it’s always nice when those guys deliver. Almost makes it seem like I know what I’m doing. (Headed to University of Hawaii).

6. Luke Sweeney, Pomona-Pitzer football

Some times guys pile up lofty statistics against garbage teams or they just because they get a ton of carries but Sweeney is legit. He’s pretty small by running back standards and took a beating. Injuries really limited him last season but he still became the school’s all-time leading rusher. I have to wonder what numbers he would have put up with more talent around him.

5. Jordan Garcia, University of Redlands football

Not a big guy by any stretch but had a nose for the football and always seemed to come up with the big play on defense. Also the only athlete to ever email me and thank me for a story after the interview and before it was even published.

4. Camille Smith, Cal State San Bernardino volleyball

The latest in a line of great Coyote standouts and maybe the MOST interviewed player on the list because of the team’s high profile and her major role in her time there. She’s tough, real tough. And she has always been quite articulate, win or lose. Bonus points for always keeping us guessing what color her hair was going to be next.

3. Sango Niang, Chaffey College basketball

The reason he makes the list is because I can’t remember the last time I saw a player improve so much from one season to the next. Sango excelled in track growing up. That comes from his father being an Olympian. He barely played basketball in high school. He was good as a freshman, phenomenal the past season. He’s small and quick but absolutely fearless. (He’s headed to Division II Simon Fraser next year).

2. Mitchel Anderson, Cal Poly Pomona basketball

He won a national championship with the Broncos in 2010 as a freshman. That is indicative enough of his talent. He’s just a smooth, consistent player. He may not be flashy but by the end of the night he is going to have his 15 pts, 8 rebs, 5 assists and a couple of steals.

1. Kwame Alexander, Cal State San Bernardino basketball

This was an easy choice. Who doesn’t like rim-rattling dunks? Kwame had some of the most ferocious ones I have seen at any level. Go ahead, Google him and check out the dunks on You Tube. Definitely the most exciting player to come along in the CCAA in the last decade.

Kwame Alexander vs. Chico State

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

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

Two locals garner SCIAC honor

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Athletes from two area SCIAC schools earned top honors for their performance in the last week.

Senior sprinter Vainayaki Sivaji of the University of Redlands track & field program garnered her first Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Female Athlete of the Week honor.

Sivaji captured three SCIAC titles and contributed to a record-setting relay during the recent SCIAC Track & Field Championships.  In the 400 Meters, she uncorked a new school-record time of 55.70 to take first place, while in the 200 Meters, she ran another career-best mark of 25.10 seconds to capture the gold and the third-fastest time in school history.  Her 400 Meters time is the fourth-fastest mark in the NCAA Division III this season, while the 200 Meters time is the 14th fastest.

She garnered her third championship as a member of the 4×400 Relay, which completed the race five seconds faster than the competition in a time of 3:53.93.  In addition, the Bulldog foursome boasts the 13th-fastset time among the NCAA Division III this season.  Additionally, Sivaji anchored the 4×100 Relay that clocked in a new school-record time of 48.30 for second place at the meet.

Junior golfer Brad Shigezawa of Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges was named the SCIAC Male Athlete of the Week.

Shigezawa won the SCIAC Championships by three strokes with a 54-hole total of 212 (-4). He was one shot down after 36 holes and tied for the low round of the tournament on the final 18 with a 68. He was one of only three players to break par.

Shigezawa also won SCIAC #1 (69) and SCIAC #2 (149).

 

Redlands, CMS in DIII Top 25

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NFCA Division III Top 25 poll – April 24, 2013

The National Fastpitch Coaches Association Division III Top 25 Poll is voted on by eight NCAA Division III head coaches representing the eight NCAA regions. 2013 records are shown. First place votes are in parentheses.

Rank Team Record Points Previous
1 Montclair State (5) 33-1 195 1
Texas-Tyler (3) 38-2 195 2
3 Salisbury 32-2 183 4
4 Trine 29-3 174 5
5 Emory 39-3 169 3
6 Linfield 36-6 159 7
7 Tufts 28-3 148 6
8 Redlands 32-8 144 8
9 Rowan 32-4 137 11
10 Coe 28-4 128 13
11 St. Thomas (Minnesota) 23-5 111 15
12 East Texas Baptist 30-10 108 14
13 Wisconsin-Whitewater 22-3 94 10
14 Central (Iowa) 26-7 91 19
15 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps 29-11 79 17
16 Christopher Newport 32-11 76 21
17 Virginia Wesleyan 34-6 71 22
18 Illinois Wesleyan 26-7 70
19 Lynchburg 30-9 56 16
20 Texas Lutheran 32-8 38 24
21 Carthage 21-7 27 25
22 Randolph-Macon 33-7 26
23 Wisconsin-Eau Claire 18-3 24
24 Luther 23-7 22 9
25 North Central (Illinois) 27-3 18 18

Others receiving votes:

Lebanon Valley (16), Simpson (13), Roanoke (10), Capital (6), Wesleyan (4), Eastern Connecticut (3), John Carroll (2), Utica (2) and Penn State Berks (1).

Dropped out:

The team experiencing the largest drop in this week’s poll was Roanoke (29-10) who fell from No. 12 last week to receiving just 10 points this week to land unranked. Previously ranked No. 20 the College of New Jersey and No. 23, Chapman fell in the poll to be unranked this week as well.

U of Redlands softball team gearing up for stretch run

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Vicki King unleashed a two-RBI single in the top of the 10th, propelling the Bulldogs to a 3-0 win (photo credit: Hugh Rose).

The University of Redlands softball team moved up to No. 7 in the latest National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Division III Poll.  Redlands (27-7) remains the highest of three Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) programs to be included among the nation’s top 25.

The strength of the conference in the sport is apparent with  Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (22-10) and Chapman (22-8) also making the cut at No. 18 and 21 respectively.

The Bulldogs have six games left – doubleheaders against Cal Lutheran, Chapman and CMS. And CMS also has a doubleheader with Chapman. So all the contenders are playing each other.

Of course the regular season is just for bragging rights. It is the four-team SCIAC tournament that decides the automatic qualifier. But the conference does have a good history of advancing a second, and even a third team.

This year all three of those teams should advance to regional play.