May 2008 Archives

Five student-athletes who left indelible marks on Division II Track and Field were inducted into the USTFCCCA Division II Track and Field Athlete Hall of Fame May 21st at Cal Poly Pomona during the NCAA Division II Outdoor Track and Field Championships.

Four of the five made their marks while competing at California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) institutions.

Between the five athletes, the accolades stand second to none.  Combined they have won 16 national championships and earned 44 All-American honors.  Nicole Duncan, formerly of Cal State Los Angeles, is the most decorated of the group as an 11-time national champion and 18-time All-American.  The four other athletes to be enshrined are Geoffrey Bradshaw (Cal State Stanislaus), Tabreshia Lawrence (Cal Poly Pomona), Tommy "Tiny" Lister (Cal State Los Angeles), and Elena Swan (University of South Dakota).

The Division II Track and Field Athlete Hall of Fame inductees are selected by the Division II Track and Field Coaches Association Hall of Fame Committee.  Since 1996, a total of 61 student-athletes have been honored by the Division II Track and Field Athlete Hall of Fame.

The 2008 USTFCCCA Division II Track and Field Athlete Hall of Fame Inductees:

Geoffrey Bradshaw, Cal State Stanislaus

During his tenure as a Warrior, Bradshaw was a two-time All-American and an 11-time All-CCAA Conference performer.  He was the 1994 Division II National Champion in the decathlon, helping the Warriors to their best team finish at the national championships.  That same year, he set a new Division II decathlon record in the javelin, tossing the spear 198'11".  Bradshaw still holds the school record in the javelin and is currently in the NCAA Division II top ten in the event.  Bradshaw is currently the head coach of Cal State Stanislaus.

Nicole Duncan, Cal State Los Angeles

For three years, Duncan starred at Cal State L.A. becoming only the fourth athlete, regardless of gender, to win the NCAA Championship in the 100-meters, 200-meters and the long jump in the same year (2002).  Her feat also tied her for the most individual titles by a women's athlete in Division II.  Duncan left Cal State L.A. as the most decorated athlete in school history as she finished her career with 11 national titles (eight in Division II, three in NAIA) and 18 All-American awards (14 in Division II and four in NAIA).  In 2002 Duncan was named the NCAA Division II Collegiate Women of the Year and was presented with the prestigious Honda Award at the national convention in Dallas, Texas.

Tabreshia Lawrence, Cal Poly Pomona

A Rialto, California native, Lawrence was an eight-time All-American for Cal Poly Pomona.  She was the 1998 National Champion in the 400-meter hurdles, running 58.95s, which is still the school record in that event.  She was named the 1998 California Collegiate Athletic Association track and field tri-athlete of the year and 1997 CCAA track and field co-athlete of the year.

Tommy "Tiny" Lister, Cal State Los Angeles

Known more for his successes off the track than on, Cal State L.A.'s Tommy Lister has been a beacon of light for the Golden Eagles program well after he left his impression on the squad over 20 years ago.  In 1982 Lister won the NCAA National Championship in the shot put becoming the first student-athlete in the program's history to record a throw over the sixty-foot barrier.  His record toss of 61'8" stood for 15 years.  Lister improved his personal best in 1983 to 64'3" with the Converse Track Club but gave up track and field to pursue a career in professional football.  When that didn't pan out, Lister tried his hand in acting, a career change that has served him well.  Lister became well-known in the entertainment world starring in over 90 films over a 20-year span.  Lister was also once known as "Zeus", a professional wrestler whose rival was in the ring Hulk Hogan.  Tommy Lister and his wife Felicia minister across the country, reaching out to trouble youth and sharing his story in churches and in schools.

Elena Swan, University of South Dakota

Swan was a 15-time All-American for South Dakota, winning the 1998 National Championships in both the long jump and triple jump.  That year she scored 22 of 43 points to help lead South Dakota to a runner-up finish at the 1998 indoor national championship.  She won 13 individual North Central Conference titles and holds four South Dakota school records.  She was named the 1997 Regional Athlete of the Year.  An educator for many years, Swan currently works as an Educational Consultant for San Bernardino County Superintendent of Schools.

Defensive tackle Gavril Gabriel of the University of Redlands landed on the Consensus Draft Services Division III Preseason All-American second team. Gabriel, who will be a junior in the fall, helped the Bulldogs win their 28th Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) Championship and advance to the NCAA playoffs for the fifth time in school history last season. He led the Bulldogs with 15 tackles for a loss of 69 yards, including nine sacks for a loss of 58 yards. Overall, Gabriel tallied 52 tackles to rank third on the team while recording eight quarterback hurries. Earlier this year, he earned first team All-SCIAC accolades and second team d3football.com honors. Claremont-Mudd-Scripps linebacker Ashton Clarke earned honorable mention. He was the leading tackler in the SCIAC last season.

 

Fresno City College topped all other junior college athletic programs and has been named winner of the National Alliance of Two-Year Colleges Athletic Administrator's Cup for the 2007-2008 school year.

Fresno totaled 164 points as the top four schools were within seven points. It was followed by Cerritos (160), Sierra (159) and Mt. SAC (157).

Riverside Community College was sixth (139.5).

Other local schools finished in the middle portion of the 103 school rankings.

Chaffey was 41st with 40 points, getting all its points in the pool. The Panthers got 15.5 points in women's water polo, 14.5 in men's swimming and 10 in women's swimming.

San Bernardino Valley College was 47th (28.5), with 20 coming for its state championship in men's cross country and the other 8.5 coming in women's soccer which finished as the Foothill Conference runner-up.

Cal State L.A.'s men's track and field team got an outstanding day from its sprinters and enjoyed a number of All-America performances Saturday at the NCAA Division II Outdoor Track and Field Championships at Mt. San Antonio College.

 

Rialto native Damein White finished second in the 200 meters and sixth in the 100 and the 4x100 relay team finished third in the country to lead the Golden Eagles to 29 points and a team finish of seventh in the country. Cal State L.A. had the best men's team finish in the California Collegiate Athletic Association and the West Region.

Lamar Taylor also picked up an All-America award in the 200 with an eighth-place finish. Desi Burt picked up two All-America honors on Friday after finishing third in the decathlon and fourth in the high jump.

White, who entered the meet with the No. 1 time in the country in the 200, was just edged out by St. Augustine's Dennis Boone, who won the event in 20.65. White was a close second in 20.71. Taylor also picked up a point for the Golden Eagles by finishing eighth in 21.37.

Earlier, White, a junior from Long Beach City College, finished sixth in a tightly-packed 100 meters. He recorded a season's best of 10.40. Boone won that event also in 10.21. Kawayne Fisher of Lincoln was second in 10.26, Brad Mueller of Slippery Rock was third in 10.29, Rodney Coley of Albany State was fourth in 10.34 and Kimour Bruce of Lincoln was sixth in 10.36.

The Golden Eagles' 4x100 relay team completed its spectacular run by finishing third in 40.00, earning All-America honors. The team of Francis Nunez, White, Taylor and Brandon Crawford entered the championships with a season's best of 40.63 and improved to 40.11 in the prelims on Thursday. Lincoln won the national title with a time of 39.65, while Albany State was second in 39.98.

Burt also competed in the javelin on Saturday and finished 16th with a mark of 172-6

The men's and women's track team finished well at the California Finals at Cerritos Community College ending another remarkable season.

Freshman Carlos Perez (Barstow H.S.) finished 4th in the 1500 meters, with a time of 3:57.95.

Sophomore Matt Prentice (Lake Arrowhead Rim of the World) finished 5th in the 10,000 meters, with a time of 33:25.95.

Sophomore Antoine Gibbs (Great Basin, Utah) finished 7th in the decathlon, with a point total of 5519.

The men's team finished 21st in total points with 11.

And the only woman to qualify for the Southern California Finals and the state finals from San Bernardino, Freshman Michelle Burley (Rialto Eisenhower), finished 9th in the 400 meters, with a time of 1:00.14.

First year University of Redlands coach Mike Schmidt has been named
the U.S. Track and Field Cross Country Coaches Association West
Region Women's Coach of the Year.

In his first year at the University of Redlands, Schmidt led the
women's team to its first SCIAC title since 1978 as the Bulldogs
edged rival Claremont-Mudd-Scripps 131-129. I

n addition, senior Natalie Calderon unanimously was named the SCIAC Track & Field
Athlete of the Year after winning five individual and one relay
during the conference championship meet. She later captured NCAA
Championships in the long jump and triple jump at the national meet
in Wisconsin.

Schmidt also produced a solid second-place finish in the men's
conference standings. Graduate student Fritz Nugent won a national
title in the long jump.

Schmidt joined the Redlands staff in the fall from Oneonta State in
New York, where he worked with the track and cross country programs.
During his four-year tenure there he had nine athletes turn in a
total of 17 All-American performances, with three conference team
championships, 49 individual titles and 14 relay championships.

Prior to Oneonta, Schmidt worked with the pole-vaulters and throwers
at Frostburg State University in Maryland.

University of La Verne baseball standout Scott Marcus has been named 2008 Second Team All-America by the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA).

A senior from San Dimas, Marcus was selected to the Second Team as a designated hitter.

Marcus led ULV in homers (14), RBI (68) and slugging percentage (.771) while boasting of a .371 average this season en route to earning Southern California Intercollegiate Atletic Conference (SCIAC) Player of the Year honors. Marcus also earned First Team All-West Region this season.

Marcus was the lone SCIAC representative among the First, Second or Third Team selections. He becomes the first Leopard baseball All-American since pitcher Scott Lindeen was selected ABCA Second Team All-America in 2005.

La Verne earned a trip to the NCAA Division III Baseball Tournament this season by winning the SCIAC Championship, its 19th conference baseball title in school history.

More than 7,000 athletes gathered at Hilmer Lodge Stadium at Mt. SAC on Thursday for day one of the NCAA Division II Track and Field championships. One would have never guessed that the national meet was taking place in Southern California.

You could read the minds of those athletes from places like Abilene Christian, Nebraska-Kearney and North Dakota. THIS is Southern California? It was anything but sunny. Most of the opening day events took place in a steady drizzle and lightning halted the action twice for a total of three hours.

Athletes running the 10,000 meters were running at midnight.

The weather conditions made it hard for athletes to deliver their top performances and there was little or no crowd to speak of, just the diehards that were related to the competitors.

It's too bad because the Broncos staff worked long and hard to put on the best show possible and it was raining on their parade.

Perhaps the most comical moment came when an idiot from Humboldt State leaped the fence during the rain delay and raced around the track carrying a giant green flag with the a gold letter H. Staff quickly ushered him off the track but he kept running around the perimeter of the fence, finally doing a faceplant rounding the corner.

The second best moment came when the track announcer, who for much of the event gave great informative background on the athletes, introduced an athlete from the Broncos as being from Cal State Pomona.

Tsai leads five Cal Poly Pomona on all-CCAA teams

 

POMONA - Senior Jenny Tsai capped her four-year career with Cal Poly Pomona in fine fashion by earning first-team all-California Collegiate Athletic Association honors, the conference announced Wednesday.

            Tsai, an Artesia native, played No. 1 singles for the second consecutive season. She finished her four-year career with three all-CCAA honors. She completed her career with 44-39 record in singles play and 45-33 in doubles.

            "Jenny has played standout tennis during her entire career at Cal Poly Pomona,'' coach Sandy Kriezel said. "She's been a leader for us and she has shown a quiet resolve in everything she does. We're going to miss her next season.''

            The Broncos placed four players on the all-CCAA second team - junior Jessica Winkler (Fullerton), sophomore Mallory Brady (Torrance) and freshmen Jennifer Chow (Diamond Bar) and Kaitlin Wooldridge (Fort Collins, Colo.).

            Winkler played No. 2 singles this past season and played No. 1 doubles (with Tsai) and finished the season at No. 3 doubles with Wooldridge. Winkler and Tsai were 3-4 overall and 4-5 overall with Wooldridge.

            Brady went 11-7 while playing at No. 3 singles. She was the winningest player for the Broncos this season.

            Chow came on strong late in the season. She went 5-4 overall (5-2 at No. 4 singles) and teamed with Tsai at No. 1 doubles (6-6).

            Wooldridge played No. 5 singles and went 6-8 at that spot and 10-10 overall. In addition to her doubles play with Winkler, she and Brady went 4-4 at No. 3 doubles.

            The Broncos finished the season 7-10 overall and earned their 21^st trip to the NCAA Division II postseason. That number is the most of any Bronco athletic program in school history.

 

Palm Desert High School graduate, was an at-large selection on the nine-member first team picked by the CCAA coaches. She also earned first-team honors in 2005, 2006 and 2007 and was the conference MVP in 2006 and its freshman of the year in 2005.

ALL-CCAA FIRST TEAM -- Iona Comsa, Fr., (CSULA); Krishana DeSilva, Sr., (CSULA); Kimmi Dao, Fr., (UCSD); Justine Fonte, Sr., (UCSD); Molly Sullens, Sr. (UCSD); Jennifer Avila, Sr., (CSULA); Jennifer Joy, Sr., (CSUSB); Jenny Tsai, Sr., (Cal Poly Pomona); Natalie Varnay, Fr., (UCSD).

SECOND TEAM -- Dalya Perelman, Fr., (UCSD); Mallory Brady, So., (Cal Poly Pomona); Jennifer Chow, Fr., (Cal Poly Pomona); Kaitlin Wooldridge, Fr., (Cal Poly Pomona); Casey O'Connor, So., (Sonoma St.); Jessica Winkler, Jr., (Cal Poly Pomona).

Gui Schils (JR, Shaker Heights, OH) and Larry Wang (JR, Orange) won the NCAA Division III Men's Doubles Championship on Sunday with a 6-3, 6-4 win over Andy Bryan/Charlie Paukert of Gustavus Adolphus.

This is the first title for both and CMS' fifth doubles championship. Schils and Wang reached the semifinals of the NCAA Championships in 2006 and the quarterfinals in 2007.

The pair had their most difficult match in the first round as they beat Dan Greenberg/Bret Thacher from Williams 6-3, 3-6, 6-4. They beat the #4 seed - Randy Loden/Kaz Murata of Mary Washington 6-2, 6-2 in the quarterfinals and the #1 seed - Jared Kamel/Marc Vartabedian of UC Santa Cruz 7-6 (4), 7-6 (2) in the semifinals.

Wang and Schils had played all four teams earlier this season. They lost to the Williams (March 29) and UC Santa Cruz (April 13) teams and beat the Mary Washington (March 5) and Gustavus Adolphus (March 26) teams earlier this season. In the team championships, they beat the UC Santa Cruz team in third round play and the Williams team in the quarterfinal round.

Earlier in the week, CMS finished third in the team competition, beating Middlebury in the consolation final, one day after losing in the championships semifinals.

  UC Riverside baseball alum Chris Smith was promoted to the Boston Red Sox big league squad on Sunday. Smith will be wearing #59 in the Boston bullpen as the Red Sox host a four-game series with the Kansas City Royals beginning tonight.

Smith spent three years at UCR before he was taken in the third round of the 2002 Major League Baseball Amature Draft by the Red Sox. His final season was his best at UCR. In 2002 he set the school record for strikeouts in a season with 127 in 136 innings pitched. Also that year, he held opposing batters to a .249 average and produced a 2.91 ERA.

Smith had a 1.45 ERA in 10 appearances for the Triple A Pawtucket Red Sox before getting called up. He was second on the team with four saves and had struckout 28 batters in 31.0 innings pitched.

He is the second former Highlander to currently be in the big leagues, joining Troy Percival who enters the week fifth in the American League in saves with 11 for the Tampa Bay Rays.

Director of Athletics Jeff Martinez announced yesterday that senior track & field standout Natalie Calderon (Pasadena, CA) and senior tennis player Eric Wagar (Yakima, WA) were named the 2008 Frank Serrao Student-Athletes of the Year. Given in honor of longtime football coach Frank Serrao, this award acknowledges the top male and top female student-athletes who best exemplify strong academic and athletic success at the University of Redlands.

Calderon boasts a 3.797 cumulative GPA while majoring in Communicative Disorders. This season, she helped the Bulldog women's track & field team win the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) Championship for the first time since 1978. This Dean's List member alone accounted for 68 of Redlands' 131 points by winning the Triple Jump, Long Jump, 100m Dash, 200m Dash, and 100m Hurdles, and contributing to the first-place showing of the 4x400m Relay and the second-place finish of the 4x100m Relay. This member of Omicron Delta Kappa National Leadership Honors Society was named the SCIAC Track & Field Female Athlete of the Year for the second-consecutive season.

 In addition, Calderon currently owns the Redlands records as well as the best Division III performances of the season in the Long Jump and Triple Jump, gaining NCAA Automatic Qualifying marks.

Last year, she won the NCAA Championship in the Long Jump while taking fourth in the Triple Jump. She heads to the University of Wisconsin, Oshkosh, on May 22 to defend her title. Finally, Calderon has been nominated for the prestigious NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship for spring sports.

With plans to attend dental school in the fall, Wagar offers a cumulative GPA of 3.874 as a Chemistry major and Biology minor. As a four-year member of the men's tennis team, he has helped the Bulldogs advance onto the NCAA Championships every year of his career.

During the 2008 season, Wagar provided a singles record of 25-4 at the #2 spot and advanced onto the NCAA Individual Championships, which begin Friday at Bates College (ME). In doubles, he competed at the #1 spot, garnering a mark of 17-13. A two-time recipient of the prestigious Jim Verdieck Coach's Award,

Wagar was honored with the 2008 ITA Arthur Ashe Award for Sportsmanship and Leadership for the West Region with possible national recognition still to come. In addition, this two-time All-SCIAC performer was a finalist for the highly-acclaimed Walter Byers Scholarship and has been nominated for the NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship. After landing on the Dean's List every semester of his career, Wagar's impressive academic accolades culminated in election to the Phi Beta Kappa honor society.

Calderon and Wagar will be presented with their awards at the University of Redlands Honors Convocation on Friday, May 23, at 10 a.m.

    

Vacaville (Sacramento City College), was picked for the utility position since she divided her playing time between third base and shortstop in 2008 after pitching and playing first base in 2007.

 

Second place in anything is pretty good. When it's a sporting event of national caliber, it's an even more noteworthy accomplishment.

But for the University of Redlands golf team it has to be getting a bit old.

The Bulldogs just returned from the Division III national tournament in Braselton, Ga., where they placed second, only three strokes behind champion St. John's (Minn.). Not bad for a team that needed an at-large bid just to get into the tournament.

But coach Art Salvesen's team has been there - done that.

Redlands qualified for the event in 2004 and it finished second.

It returned the following year - and finished second.

Then it went back again in 2006. Yup! It finished second.

The runner-up label was spared for a year as the Bulldogs did not qualify in 2007.

But of those finishes this second-place has to be hardest take. The first two times the Bulldogs were far enough back after the first day that second-place was all they could have hoped for.

This year they started the final round, only four shots behind then-leader St. John Fisher. Playing in the same group with that opponent, they made up those strokes early and led most of the final round, only to falter on the last three holes when it was within their grasp.

St. John's, playing in front of the Bulldogs, had a final round 291.

The Bulldogs will likely be back again next year since they didn't have a senior on their talented squad. Here's to hoping they can land that long-awaited title.

Another ironic twist is that last year, the one in which the Bulldogs sat out, local rival La Verne went to nationals and they too finished second. That gives the SCIAC five straight second-place finishes at the national event.

Cal State San Bernardino's men's golf team
shot a collective 17 over par Saturday to wind up 18th
in the 20-team field on the final day of the NCAA
Division II Golf Championship at Colonial Park Golf
Course.

Senior Dane Bagnell, playing the final round of golf
in his collegiate career, produced the team's low
score of the day, a two-over-par 72, to finish in a
tie for 70th spot in the field of 105 golfers with a
72-hole total of 294, 14 over par.

Sophomore Gene Webster, selected earlier this week as
a member of the PING/Golf Coaches Association all-West
Region team, was the highest finisher among the
Coyotes, shooting a four-over-par 74 to finish at 285,
five-over-par and tied for 20th spot.

Junior Micah Burke had a 75 to finish at 290, 10 over par and in a
tie for 45th place.  Sophomore Joe Alldis shot 78 for a four-day total of
303 and senior Bill Clayton closed out his collegiate
career with a 76 for a 72-hole total of 313. A double
bogey at the 18th hole cost Clayton a round of 74,
which would made for a more enjoyable finish.

Despite the disappointing finish, the Coyotes can
enjoy the fact they have competed in three straight
national championships and ranked among the top 20
teams in NCAA Division II in each of those years.

CSUSB finished the tournament with a total of 1170, 50
over par for the event.

Three teams tied for first place at the end of 72
holes - West Florida, the nation's No. 1 ranked team,
North Alabama and St. Edwards, all at 1129 - 41 shots
ahead of CSUSB - requiring a playoff to decide the
winner.

Jude Estaquio of Florida Southern and Jeff Goff of
South Carolina Aiken wound up tied for medalist honors
at 278 - two under par, requiring a playoff to decide
the winner. Jarin Todd of Sonoma State and Erick
Justesen of Cal State Stanislaus were among five
players tied for third at 279. Todd shot a 66 Saturday
to make a run at the top.

NCAA DIV. II NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP GOLF TOURNAMENT
@ Colonial Park Golf Course in Houston, Tex.

TEAMS: 1 (tie) West Florida, North Alabama and St.
Edwards - 1129; 4. George College & State Univ. -
1132; 5. Nova Southeastern - 1137; 6. Florida Southern
- 1142; 7. South Carolina-Aiken - 11423; 8. (tie)
Indianapolis and Western Washington - 1144; 10.
Clayton State - 1150; 11. Grand Canyon - 1151; 12.
(tie) Belmont Abbey and Colorado-Colo. Springs - 1152;
14. Grand Valley State - 1156; 15. Washburn - 1161;
16. Sonoma State - 1167; 17. Indiana (Pa.) - 1169; 18.
COYOTES - 1170; 19. Newberry College - 1186; 20.
Bryant - 1189.

INDIVIDUALS: 1. (tie) Jude Estaquio (Fla. Southern) -
63-74-73-68 - 278; Jeff Goff (South Carolina-Aiken) -
67-71-70-70 - 278; 3. (tie) Matt Galloway (West Fla.)
- 73-70-65-71 - 279; Erick Justesen (CS Stanislaus) -
73-68-69-69 - 279; Jarin Todd (Sonoma St.) -
69-72-72-66 - 279; and two others.

COYOTE CARDS - 20. Gene Webster - 69-69-73-74 - 285;
45. Micah Burke - 72-69-74-75 - 290; 70. Dane Bagnell
- 74-73-75-72 - 294; 95. Joe Alldis - 74-77-74-78 -
303; 102. Bill Clayton - 80-80-77-76 - 313.

BRONCOS QUALIFY SEVEN FOR NCAAs: When the NCAA Division II Track and Field Championships take place at Mt. San Antonio College on May 22-24, the Cal Poly Pomona men's and women's teams will be represented in fine fashion.

Seven Broncos have qualified for the meet that Cal Poly Pomona will play host to next week. The men's team will send three student-athletes - seniors Sofiane Meniri (800 meters, Villeurbanne, France) and Joaquin Ortiz (800 meters, Woodland), and sophomore Jonathan Williams (100 meters, Temecula).

The women's team will send four student-athletes - seniors Claudia Garcia (10,000 meters, Whittier) and Adrienne Schumm (10,000 meters, Chino Hills), junior Jasmine Winn (long jump, Pomona) and sophomore Tokunbo Adeniji (400 meters, Pomona).

"Reaching the NCAA Championships is a testament to their hard work,'' said first-year Bronco coach Troy Johnson. "Their belief in themselves and their hard work has gotten them to this point.

"To have seven represent our school is an honor for themselves and to our coaching staff. It's a great first year to start off the program.''

Meniri won the 800 meters in 1:52.22 at the California Collegiate Athletic Association meet held at Cal State Los Angeles on May 2-4. Ortiz arguably is the most improved runner on the men's team this season as he dropped his time more than six seconds from year ago at 1:52.27. Williams (10.53) competed in last year's event in Charlotte, N.C., and looks to earn his first all-America honor.

For the women, Schumm and Garcia both will race in the 10,000 meters. At last week's Occidental Relays, Schumm established a personal best 36 minutes and 23.54 seconds. She also won the CCAA 10,000. Garcia owns a qualifying time of 36:53.27 - also a personal best.

Winn, who competed in the long jump at last year's NCAA meet, owned the nation's top mark in the long jump for the early part of the season at 19 feet, 3 ½ inches.

Tokunbo improved nearly four seconds this season in her event and owns a personal-best 55.49.

About Occidental Relays: Junior Tiffany Turner (La Crescenta) established a school record in the 3,000-meter steeplechase and senior Joaquin Ortiz (Woodland) earned an NCAA Division II provisional mark in the 800 meters as Cal Poly Pomona finished its regular season track and field schedule at the Occidental Relays onMay 10.

Senior Adrienne Schumm (Chino Hills) also had a standout performance as she improved her time in the 10,000 meters in 36 minutes and 23.54 seconds.

Turner ran the steeplechase in 11:08.87 seconds, surpassing the mark of 11:18.88 set by Emma Hartel in 2007. Turner's time met NCAA Division II provisional status, but did not meet the standard set Monday.

That Turner established the record at Occidental is noteworthy. She competed in last season's event as an unattached runner in the 5000 while studying at Glendale College and it was her first-ever race in a track and field event.

Ortiz continued his assault on his event and established a personal-best mark of 1:52.27.

Schumm's time ranks as the 14th fastest in the country. Teammate Claudia Garcia (senior, Whittier) ran 36:35.27 at Mt. SAC in April and ranks 17th in the country.

Sophomore David Rhodes (Auburn) established a collegiate best 15-0 3/4 in the pole vault to round out the top Bronco competitors.

2008 NCAA Division II Track and Field Championships Advisory:
May 22-24, 2008 • Walnut, Calif.
Hilmer Lodge Stadium
Cal Poly Pomona University • Host institution
When: May 22-24, 2008. First-day events run from 10:30 a.m. to 9:05 p.m. Second-day events run from 10:00 a.m. to 9:25 p.m. Third-day events run from 11:30 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.
Where: Walnut, Calif., on the campus of Mt. San Antonio College
Participants: More than 800 participants (including student-athletes, coaches and administrators) from around the country are expected to visit the San Gabriel Valley for the event.
Meet History: The NCAA has been holding a men's championship since 1963 and a women's championship since 1982. This will mark the third time in the event's history that Cal Poly Pomona has played host to the event and the second time in the last five years (1980 and 2004). Both previous events were held at Mt. SAC.

  POMONA - Cal Poly Pomona baseball coach Mike Ashman has announced that 14 student-athletes have signed letters-of-intent to study and play baseball for the Broncos next season.

 

The group is headlined by Claremont High School RHP Kevin Bosson, who was 5-2 with a 1.99 ERA for the Wolfpack this past spring. His season included a no-hitter against Upland HS and a 15-strikeout performance against Los Osos HS.

 

"This is a sound group of newcomers who we look forward to having in our program,'' Ashman said. "Our staff worked exceptionally hard this offseason and in particular credit should be given to recruiting coordinator Ryan Heil, who since coming on board as a full-time assistant this year has been passionate in his recruiting efforts.''

 

Other Broncos signees include:

 

LHP Matt Dunbar (South Torrance HS)

 

RHP Casey McCarthy (Hart HS)

 

OF Jacob Bews (Del Oro HS)

 

RHP Graham Bills (Riverside Community College)

 

OF Cass Morrison (Carlsbad HS)

 

C Bryan Lucas (Hart HS)

 

OF Jamall Grimes (Long Beach Poly HS)

 

OF Jordan Hinshaw (Long Beach Poly HS)

 

SS Richie McDowell (Ohlone College)

 

SS Erik Reidel (Santa Rosa College)

 

3B Jenzen Torres (Hart HS

 

RHP Alex Bowen (Villa Park HS)

 

2B/RHP Chuck Andrews (Cochise, Ariz., Community College)

    

 

 

7793 Central Avenue, just north of Fifth Street, west of Alabama. For information, contact William Chapman at the Y, (909) 425-9622, ext. 200.

 

It was another case of so near and yet so far for the University of Redlands golf team as the Bulldogs finished second at the Division III national tournament at Chateau Elon Resort in Braselton, Ga. Friday.

The Bulldogs did not qualify for the event last year but posted three straight second-place showings in 2004, 2005 and 2006.

Redlands shot a 14-over 298 to finish with a 72-hole total of 1,195. St. John Fisher, which started the day with a four-stroke lead over Redlands, carded a 22-over 306 and was third at 1,199.

But it was St. John (Minn.), fourth at the start of the day, that came from eight strokes out with a 291 to finish at 1,192.

The recent finish was a bit more disappointing because the Bulldogs had the lead, only to falter on the final three holes. Redlands made up the deficit on St. John Fisher in the first six holes and led until the final three holes, losing seven strokes on the last three.

Ross Canavan was the top individual for the Bulldogs, shooting a 2-over 73 for a 9-over 293 total. E.J. Stenftenagel tied for 10th (75-297).

The player that made the big difference for a third straight day was Alex Hedlund. Normally the No. 5 player, he had a 2-over 73 and was 23rd overall (302).
Scott Pena and J.C. Riter had indentical 77s and both finished at 311.

The University of La Verne, which beat Redlands head-to-head eight times this season, settled for ninth (1,219) in the last match for retiring coach Rex Huigens.

The Leopards had most of its returners from last year's national runner-up team and led after the first round. But nothing went right the last three days.

"Golf can be a fickle game," Huigens said. "We had a good first day but after that we were terrible, no other way to put it."
 

Junior Rizal Amin (74-302) was the top finisher for the Leopards in 23rd. He was followed by Mitchell Fedorka (78-305), Chris Davis (83-309), Andrew Kramer (79-311) and Jordan Talah (76-314)

Huigens said he will miss the camaraderie of his players.

"Any time you do something for that long, it will be a little emotional when you stop doing it," he said. "But the relationships will go on."

Sahfiya Brown helped the Mt. SAC women's basketball team to its third
straight state title. Now the 5-foot-11 forward is on to bigger
things, signing with Division I Long Beach State, Mounties coach
Laura Beeman confirmed.

Brown, a graduate of Etiwanda High School, averaged 8.4 points and
6.8 rebounds in helping the Mounties to a 37-1 record the past
season, that lone loss coming in the season opener.

Her season high of 19 points came against Los Angeles City. She also
reached double figures in 13 other games and had a season best of 18
rebounds against Taft.

Brown, who earned first-team All-South Coast Conference honors, is
the third Mt. SAC player to declare for a Division I school following
Jazlyn Davis (Arizona State) and Kendra Calvin (Cal).

Beeman added that guard Zsa Zsa Lawson will attend Division II
Brigham Young-Hawaii.

Sophomore Gene Webster Jr. matched his
opening round of 69 Thursday to move within one shot
of the lead at the 2008 NCAA Division II National Golf
Championship on a warm, humid day at Memorial Park
Golf Course.

Webster's second straight 69 came while playing in
the same threesome with 36-hole co-leader Jude
Estaquio of Florida Southern who came back to earth
with a 74 Thursday after a sizzling 63 on Wednesday.

Estaquio and West Florida's Kyle Scott are tied at 137
- three under par for the tournament.

Meanwhile, the Coyotes improved their Wednesday score
by one shot on Thursday but lost ground in the team
standings, slipping from 14th to 15th spot with a
36-hole total of 577, 18 shots behind the second round
leader - Georgia College and State University.

CSUSB can make up some ground in a hurry on Friday if
the team performs well since they are only eight shots
out of seventh spot and 10 shots out of fourth place.

The 72-hole tournament over the 7,158-yard course
that hosted the PGA Tour's Houston Open for 12 years
from 1951 to 1963 ends on Saturday.

Webster, a graduate of Arroyo Valley High School in
San Bernardino, played the back nine first in the
morning hours on a day that was cloudy with
temperatures in the mid-70s to low-80s and humidity
around 80 percent.

He bogeyed No. 11, a 238-yard par-3, then got back to
even for the day with a birdie at the 473-yard par-4
12th hole and finished the inward nine with pars. On
the front side, he birdied the 388-yard, par-4 sixth
hole and parred the rest to finish at 69.

Not far behind is Coyotes junior Micah Burke who is
just four shots off the lead but tied for 19th spot in
a closely-contested tournament. Burke improved from
his 72 on opening day to a one-under-par 69 Thursday
to finish 36 holes at 141 - one over par.

Burke made all pars on the back nine and was even
through three holes on the front when he suffered a
bogey at the fourth hole. He got back to even with a
birdie two on the 223-yard, par-3 seventh hole and
closed out his round with a birdie at No. 9, a
409-yard, par 4.

Senior Dane Bagnell improved by one shot Thursday
with a 73 but is tied for 69th spot with a two-day
total of 147 - seven over par. Bagnell played steady
golf, parring all the holes on the back nine and the
first three holes on the front, but made a string of
three straight bogeys at the fourth, fifth and sixth
holes.

Sophomore Joe Alldis slipped from 74 to a 77 on
Thursday to place 94th at 151. Senior Bill Clayton
shot his second consecutive 80 for a non-scoring total
of 160. The fifth highest score is dropped in team
scoring in collegiate golf.

The weather in Houston calls for continued cloudiness
with possible thunderstorm activity on Friday and high
humidity.

2008 NCAA DIVISION II GOLF CHAMPIONSHIP
@ Memorial Park Golf Course in Houston, TX.
Team scores: 1. Georgia College & State
University - 559; 2. Indianapolis - 564; 3. Clayton
State - 566; 4. (tie) West Florida, Colorado-Colo.
Springs and Grand Canyon - 567; 7. St. Edwards - 569;
8. (tie) Grand Valley State, North Alabama, Nova
Southeastern and Western Washington - 571; 12. (tie)
Belmont Abbey and South Carolina-Aikin -- 572; 14.
Florida Southern - 573; 15. CSUSB COYOTES - 577; 16.
Sonoma State - 578; 17. Washburn - 579; 18. Newberry -
586; 19. Indiana (PA) - 586; 20. Bryant - 597.

Individual leaders: 1. (tie) Jude Estaquio (Fla.
Southern) 63-74--137; Kyle Scott (West Florida) 72-65 -
137; 3. (tie) Gene Webster (CSUSB) 69-69--138; Jeff
Goff (South Carolina-Aiken) 67-71 -138; Sean Packer
(West. Washington) 69-69 -138; Billy Shider (Georgia
College) 72-66--138; Will Wilcox (Clayton St.) 66-72 -
138.

CSUSB cards: 3. Gene Webster Jr. - 69-69-138; 19.
Micah Burke - 72-69 - 141; 69 - Dane Bagnell - 74-73 -
147; 94. Joe Alldis - 74-77--151; 104. Bill Clayton -
80-80 - 160.

Cal State San Bernardino baseball coach Don Parnell has begun to fill positions on his pitching staff for the 2008-09 season by signing four talented community college players from the San Diego area.

Parnell has also signed six high school seniors, five of them from Inland Empire schools.

The Coyotes have inked Dan Stenavich, a right-handed pitcher, and Jorge Dryjanski, a left-handed pitcher, both from Southwestern College, a team that produced a 22-3 regular season record and won the Pacific Coast Conference title.

Stenavich is 8-2 with a 1.88 earned run average in 16 appearances, 13 of them starts. He struck out 52 in 86 innings. He pitched a six-hitter in a 5-1 Southwestern win over El Camino in the state JC playoffs.

Dryjanski is 7-1 with a 3.27 ERA with 16 appearances, 11 of them starts. He has 57 strikeouts in 74 innings pitched.

Also joining the mound corps for CSUSB will be Kevin McLaughry, a lefty from Grossmont College who had a 2.27 earned run average and a 4-2 record for a team that went 20-20 on the regular season and finished third in the Pacific Coast Conference. Garret Jones, another lefthander from Grossmont, also signed.

Heading the list of prep players who have signed with the Coyotes is Aaron Brooks of Cajon High School in San Bernardino, the San Andreas League champions. At last report, Brooks was hitting .507 with nine homers and 40 runs batted in and posted a 7-1 record on the mound with a 1.07 ERA.

Also coming to CSUSB next year are:

• Terrance Buchanan, a shortstop from Mount Carmel High School in San Diego, who hit .380 this year.
• Andrew Harrison, a slugging first-baseman from Norte Vista HS in Riverside.
• Matt Winn, an outfielder from Canyon Springs HS in Moreno Valley.
• Darren Dworak, an infielder from Damien HS in LaVerne who batted. 494 with four home runs, 32 RBI, an .802 slugging percentage and a .560 on-base percentage with 28 runs scored.
• Ken Othman, a catcher from Martin Luther King HS in Riverside, who is batting .465 with two homers, 23 RBI, a .597 slugging percentage and a .460 on-base percentage.

2008 All-SCIAC Baseball Selections Announced
May 14, 2008

The 2008 All-SCIAC Baseball Selections have been announced.  University of La Verne Leopards claimed the SCIAC Conference title.  Scott Marcus, a senior from La Verne has been named Player of the Year.  The First and Second All-SCIAC Teams are listed below. 

Player of the Year:	Scott Marcus, SR	University of La Verne
First Team
Pitchers	Tim Jolly, SO	University of La Verne
	Michael McCarthy, SO	University of Redlands
	Nolan Nicholson, JR	University of Redlands
Catcher	Jefre Johnson, SO	University of Redlands
Infielders	Andrew Blomberg, JR	Claremont-Mudd-Scripps
	Anthony Cappelletti, JR	Whittier College
	Paul Hartmann, SO	California Lutheran University
	Drew Hedman, JR	Pomona-Pitzer Colleges
	Brandon Huerta, JR	Pomona-Pitzer Colleges
	Jack Mehl, SR	University of La Verne
Outfielders	Charles Acker, SR	Whittier College
	Kyle Rizzo	University of Redlands
	Alex Weber-Shapiro, SO	Claremont-Mudd-Scripps
Second Team
Pitchers	David Colvin, FR	Pomona-Pitzer Colleges
	Matt Jones, JR	Occidental College
	Jimmy Wilfong, SR	University of La Verne
Catcher	Adam Franks, SR	Occidental College
Infielders	Trevor Boucher, SR	University of La Verne
	David Iden, JR	California Lutheran University
	James Kang, SO	Pomona-Pitzer Colleges
	Mike Moretti, JR	University of La Verne
	Travis Nishioka, SO	Claremont-Mudd-Scripps
	Brian Schumaker, SR	University of Redlands
Outfielders	Glenn Gray, SO	Occidental College
	Michael Joannides, SR	Pomona-Pitzer Colleges
	Zachary Mandelblatt, JR	Pomona-Pitzer Colleges

 

With one round left to play in the NCAA Division III tournament at Chateau Elon, the University of Redlands golf team is in a familiar position - second.

The Bulldogs qualified for the event in 2004, 2005 and 2006 and finished as national runner-up on all three occasions.

The first two times the Bulldogs were far enough back they didn't have a chance to win. But now they're ready to shed the bridesmaid label.

"We're in it to win it," Redlands coach Art Salvesen said. "We are right where we need to be. It's all up to us on the final day."

St. John Fisher (893) remains in first place with Redlands (897) next. It had started the day eight strokes out but shot a 293, its best round of the tournament while St. John Fisher shot a 297.

The Bulldogs steady twosome of Ross Canavan and E.J. Stenftenagel led the way. Canavan (220) shot an even par-71 for the day and is tied for fourth place individually while Stenftenagel (222), the lone holdover from the runner-up team in 2006, managed a 2-over 73 and is tied for ninth.

The Bulldogs No. 5 man also came up with a clutch performance. Alex Hedlund bounced back back from an opening-day 83 to post the second-best score on his team the last two days, including a 72 Thursday.

"He (Hedlund) was the key for us," Salvesen said. "We know we have two guys that are going to right around par but he gave us a big lift today.

Also checking in for the Bulldogs were Scott Pena (80-234) and J.C. Riter (77-234).

The University of La Verne, which led by 10 strokes after the first day, is tied for seventh after a 298 for a 54-hole total of 911.

Rizal Amin, Chris Davis and Mitchell Fedorka (227) are part of a five-way tie for 27th with Fedorka boasting the Leos bestr round of the day - a 1-under 70. Rounding out the scoring are Andrew Kramer (79-232), Jordan Talah (78-238) and

The golf team from Cal State San Bernardino will compete in the NCAA Division II national golf tournament beginning today in Texas, but just getting there proved to be a challenge.

It's the third straight season the Coyotes have reached the national tournament, a 72-hole event played at Memorial Park Golf Course in Houston. The field will include 20 teams and 10 individuals from non-qualifying teams.

The 24th-ranked Coyotes finished 11th in the event last season and seventh in 2006 with many of the same contributors.

Cal State San Bernardino has yet to have all five players put together good rounds in the same tournament like it did a year ago in capturing the school's first regional title. But it is capable.

"We had to knock off one of the top teams in the country just to get here," Cal State coach Tom Mainez said. "So I don't think finishing in the top five is unrealistic."

Sophomore Gene Webster heads the effort. The San Bernardino native has not had quite the season he did in 2007 as a freshman but appears to be getting closer as evidenced by a second-place individual showing last week at the West Regional tourney.

Mainez said it is part mental and part physical.

"He put too much pressure on himself, being the defending everything. We had a talk about that last week," Mainez said. "He was also going through a change in his swing."

Rounding out the quintet representing the Coyotes are seniors Dane Bagnell and Bill Clayton, junior Micah Burke and sophomore Joe Alldis. Bagnell had a 68 and led after the first day of the regional and finished a still respectable 10th.

There was plenty of drama to get to this point.

Last week at the West Region Tournament the Coyotes had to beat Cal State Stanislaus, the No. 6 team in the country, on an extra hole after tying for fourth in the team standings with the Warriors.

The Coyotes had finished their round early and were in fifth but Cal State Monterey Bay, playing behind the Coyotes, faltered late.

"We thought we were going to just miss out and had already loaded stuff in the van," Mainez said. "Then we started watching the scoreboard and they (Monterey Bay) started slipping. So I told the guys get stuff out and start taking some swings just in case."

It's a good thing they did. The Coyotes ended up winning the one-hole playoff to claim the final spot out of the region.

CCAA member Sonoma State is among the leading contenders for a team title. The Seawolves are ranked second nationally led by conference Player of the year Jarin Todd and a local product, senior Kyle Hopkins out of Apple Valley Christian.

University of West Florida is ranked No. 1. Barry University (Miami, Fla.) is the defending champion.

It was a good first day for the local teams at the Division III national golf championship Tuesday at Chateau Elon Resort in Braselton, Ga.

The University of La Verne surged out to a 10-stroke lead with a 7-over 291 while SCIAC foe University of Redlands is tied for fourth in the 35-team field at 20-over 304.

Skidmore is a distant second (301) while St. John Fisher is third (302).
Leopards coach Rex Huigens is optimistic but guarded, citing the fact that the 72-hole tournament is being conducted over two courses.

"We'll have a lot better idea where we stand after the second round. We played the easier of thre two today," he said. "But we are hitting the ball well so we're off to a good start."

The Leos and the Bulldogs both played the par-71, 7,030-yard Chateau course. Seven of the top eight teams played that one. The other is the par-71 6,728-yard Woodlands course.
A cut will be made after today's round and all teams will play the final two rounds on the same course.

"The one is longer but its straighter," Huigens said. "The other one is shorter and tighter and there is a lot more potential to get into trouble."

La Verne had two players in the top five with Andrew Kramer shooting an even-par 71 and Chris Davis right behind him at 72.

Rounding out the scoring were Rizal Amin (74) and Jordan Talah (74) who were in a logjam of seven players tied for 16th place. Mitchell Fedorka (75) was the non-scoring member of the team.

The Bulldogs are led by Ross Canavan, one of just three players that broke par. He shot a 1-under 70, just two strokes behind leader Scott Harris of Pacific (68).
Also representing the Bulldogs are E.J. Stenftenagel (75), Scott Pena (77), J.C. Riter (81) and Alex Hedlund (83).

"You can't win a title on the first day but you can lose it," Redlands coach Art Salvesen said. "Today will be the difference. This one is real man's course."

It isn't where you start but where you finish that makes a difference. There is no better proof of that than the University of La Verne baseball team.

At no point during the regular season were the Leopards ever first in the SCIAC. They didn't move into the top spot until the final day of the regular season when they swept Pomona-Pitzer and University of Redlands lost twice to Claremont-Mudd-Scripps.

But it will be coach Scott Winterburn's team representing the SCIAC in the six-team Division III West Region Tournament that starts today at McMurry University in Abilene, Tex.

The Leopards (25-14-1) open play at 10 a.m. against Southern Califorinia rival Chapman (35-3), the nation's top-ranked team.

That will be one of three games on tap with the others pitting George Fox (28-12) against Trinity, Tex. (32-13) and Cal State East Bay (26-14) against host McMurray (29-17).

La Verne's finish this season was the opposite of last season when the Leopards were on top only to drop a spot after falling to Whittier in extra innings in the final game of the season.

"Last year we pretty much led it the entire way. This year we never led," Winterburn said. "Go figure. That's the thing I find most ironic."

Only a fantastic finish put the Leopards in position to have a chance. They won their last eight games and 13 of their last 14 conference games.

Winterburn said his team didn't get too wrapped up in where it was in the standings.

"We weren't worried about how far behind we were," he said. "We just wanted to play better baseball. Then the teams ahead of us starting losing and we had a chance again. "

Today's foe is not an unfamiliar one. The Leopards played the Panthers in a three-game non-conference series and lost all three - 4-0, 4-2 and 11-5.

It will be La Verne's first postseason appearance since 2005 when the Leopards were eliminated by Chapman which was hosting the tournament.

Pitchers Ryan Rose and Jimmy Wilfong and outfielder Brandon Mikkelson, all seniors, are the main holdovers from that team.

Winterburn said sophomore Tim Jolly (5-3, 4.36), a product of Damien High School, would be the likely starter. He went the first game against Chapman in April, giving up just two hits and three runs in a game that was scoreless until the fifth.

Rose (7-3, 6.38) and junior Jesse Sweet (5-3, 3.88) are the other starters. Wilfong (5-2, 2.05) has a team-high 20 appearances, 17 of those out of the bullpen.

The offense is led by senior designated hitter Scott Marcus who hit .375, led the conference in RBI (62) and total bases (125) and was second in runs scored (51) and home runs (13).
Among the other veterans are second baseman Trevor Boucher (.364, 31 RBI) and shortstop Jack Mehl (.369, 58 runs).

The Panthers, who are looking for their fourth straight regional title, have been ranked No. 1 the entire season. Their losses were to Pomona-Pitzer, Redlands and McMurry.
Chapman is hitting .357 as a team (14th nationally) and averaging 9.1 runs a game led by designated hitter Stuart Hyman (.400), third baseman Tristan Phillips (.426) and outfielder Mike Vass (.395, 43 runs, 42 RBI).

"Our guys have hung in there all year," Winterburn said. "We have some momentum and we have nothing to lose because no one expected us to get here.

CONFERENCE CHAMPION: UNIVERSITY OF REDLANDS

HEAD COACH: LAURIE NEVAREZ

PLAYER OF THE YEAR: NICKY NEUMANN, UNIVERSITY OF REDLANDS

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: MOLLY YRIARTE, WHITTIER COLLEGE

FIRST TEAM
Pitcher	Katie Brnca	University of Redlands
Pitcher	Julia Cruz	Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges
Catcher	Alyssa Corley	Pomona-Pitzer Colleges
1st Base	Melissa Munoz	Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges
2nd Base	Dory Baga	University of Redlands
Shortstop	Ashley Paul	University of La Verne
3rd Base	Lynsey Padilla	University of La Verne
Outfield	Michelle Harvey	Claremont-Mudd-Scripps
Outfield	Vicky Ovieda	Whittier College
Outfield	Remy Kawaguchi	University of Redlands
DP	Amanda Doeppel	University of Redlands
Utility	Billy McGrane	Pomona-Pitzer Colleges
At-Large	Melissa Carlson	University of La Verne
SECOND TEAM
Pitcher	Olivia Ellis	University of Redlands
Pitcher	Lizzy Chacon	California Lutheran University
Catcher	Emily Robertson	California Lutheran University
1st Base	Nicole Acevedo	Whittier College
2nd Base	Trish McCormick	University of La Verne
Shortstop	Melanie Hamlin	University of Redlands
3rd Base	Christine Calderon	Pomona-Pitzer Colleges
Outfield	MacKenzie Smith	Pomona-Pitzer Colleges
Outfield	Kari Granger	University of La Verne
Outfield	Mandy Brenner	University of La Verne
DP	Alexis Garcia	Pomona-Pitzer Colleges
Utility	Erika Weingart	Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges
At-Large	Gabriela Chavez	Occidental College

Ashley Paul has been named SCIAC Female Athlete of the Week on May 9 for her efforts during La Verne's SCIAC Tournament championship run in softball.

A freshman shortstop from Glendora and a First Team All-SCIAC selection, Paul batted .438 in four games to help lead La Verne to the first-ever SCIAC Tournament Championship. On May 2 Paul went 3-4 with two runs scored in a 10-0 win over CMS and followed with a two-run double in the Leopards' 4-1 triumph over Pomona-Pitzer.

Against top-seed and seventh-ranked Redlands on May 3, she went 2-3 in the opening-game loss, and closed with a single and a run scored as ULV prevailed 5-4 over the Bulldogs to capture the tournament crown and secure a berth in the NCAA West Regionals.

Paul, a starting guard on the Leopard basketball team, finished the regular season with a team-high .433 batting average including a .469 clip in conference play.

The Chaffey College baseball team waited a little too long to make its move Friday. By the time it did, it was a little too late.

The Panthers fell to host Riverside Community College 7-6 in the opening game of a best-of-three Southern California Regional at Chaffey. The teams will play again at 11 a.m. today, with the deciding game to follow if Chaffey wins.

"We didn't cash in early when we had some chances and that was the difference," Panthers coach Jeff Harlow said. "We always play well at home and we feel we can come back at any time, but we dug ourselves too big a hole."

The Tigers (28-17), the fifth place team out of the Orange Empire Conference, surged out to a 7-1 lead, scoring six of those runs with two outs.

Cody Madison was the main contributor to RCC's early rallies, stroking a two-run home run in the third off Chaffey starter Andrew Schile to give the visitors a 3-0 lead.

He added a three-run double off reliever Julian Ramirez in the sixth that extended the Tigers' lead to 7-1.

Foothill Conference champion Chaffey (30-10) began its comeback in the bottom of the inning, aided by the control touble of Riverside starter Erick Carrillo.

Jonathan Peters singled and James Koerner and Josh Manzano worked walks to load the bases with none out. Carrillo came close to working out of the jam, enticing strikeouts from Mychal Johnson and Jonathan Costantino, both of whom swung at pitches in the dirt.
Gerry Hernandez showed a little more patience by working the count to 3-2 before walking, forcing home a run to cut the deficit to 7-2.

It became a game again seconds later when Ryan Delgado blasted a first-pitch slider from Carrillo over the right-center fence, a grand slam that cut the deficit to 7-6.

The Panthers were just 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position before the blast and were just 2-for-14 in the game in that department.

"I was just looking for a pitch I could drive," said Delgado, who now has 11 home runs this season. "That felt could because it gave us some momentum."

Willie Holmes just missed tying the game seconds later, blasting an offering from reliever Sean Greer off the top of the center-field fence for a triple.

Anthony Delgado then walked and stole second, but the rally ended there when Madison chased down a deep fly ball off the bat of Peters.

The bullpens of the respective teams then restored order: Neither team had a 1-2-3 innings through the first seven, but both did in the eighth and ninth.

Schile (9-3), the conference pitcher of the year, took the loss. He gave up four runs and eight hits and struck out five while walking two, and exited with the Panthers down 4-1.

Ramirez pitched 4 and a third innings and held the Tigers scoreless over the  three, retiring the final nine hitters he faced.

Carrillo (3-1) earned the win. He scattered seven hits, five walks and six strikeouts.

Right-hander Kyle Morgan, a freshman out of Redlands East Valley, retired nine of the 10 hitters he faced over three innings to notch his second save for RCC.

"We're coming in here tomorrow with the thought of winning two," Harlow said. "This team battles and never gives up. We showed that today."

It was announced yesterday that one Bulldog softball and two baseball players landed on the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Academic All-District First Team for the College Division.

Sophomore outfielder Remy Kawaguchi (Sammamish, WA), junior pitcher Nolan Nicholson (Fullerton, CA) and junior outfielder Kyle Rizzo (Redlands, CA) represent the Bulldogs on their respective teams.

With a 3.86 cumulative GPA as a Liberal Studies major, Kawaguchi gains her inaugural CoSIDA award in her second season with the Bulldogs. This Dean's List member has started all 46 games this season, helping lead Redlands to its fourth consecutive Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) Championship and NCAA appearance.

On the season, Kawaguchi boasts a batting average of .338 with 46 hits, five doubles, and four home runs. In addition, this Redlands scholar-athlete has supplied 31 RBI and scored 19 runs. In the outfield, she has provided 36 putouts and seven assists for a fielding percentage of .956.

As the Bulldogs' pitching ace, Nicholson boasts a cumulative GPA of 3.72 as a Business major. In 16 appearances, this Dean's List member owns a 12-2 record with two complete games and two shutouts. As of May 4, Nicholson ranks first in Division III in victories. In 87.0 innings pitched, he has accumulated 56 strikeouts with an ERA of 3.93. This marks his first CoSIDA award of his career.

As a Biology and Creative Writing double major, Rizzo owns a cumulative GPA of 3.61. On the season, he has played in all 35 games, making 31 starts in the outfield. With a .411 batting average, Rizzo ranks second among the starters while tallying 53 hits, 11 doubles, five triples and three home runs. He has provided 34 RBI, 40 runs, and 14 stolen bases on 18 attempts. On defense, this Redlands Scholar-Athlete has supplied 55 putouts and two assists for a .983 fielding percentage.

The All-District First Team honorees now move onto the national ballot for Academic All-American consideration. The members of CoSIDA nominate and vote on the Academic All-District teams.

RANCHO CUCAMONGA -- One can forgive the Chaffey College baseball team for heading into the playoffs with a bit of a chip on its shoulder.

The Panthers (30-9) come out of a weaker conference. They haven't had great success in the playoffs lately and they usually face a tough draw. Maybe they don't get enough respect.
They have a chance to gain some as they square off against defending state champion Riverside (27-17) in the best of three Southern California Regional the first game getting under way at 3 p.m. Friday.

Game two is slated for 11 a.m. Saturday, with the deciding game following if necessary.

It will also be a chance to strike a blow against a team that they go head-to-head with in recruiting.

"We have guys that tried out over there and got cut. So yes I would hope there is a little bit of incentive," Chaffey coach Jeff Harlow said. "They're from that dominant conference so it is a chance for us to make a statement."

Sophomore right-hander Andrew Schile (8-2, 2.94), the pitcher of the year in the Foothill Conference, will be on the mound for the Panthers, seeded seventh in the 18-team draw.
He doesn't think there is any extra pressure because of the opponent or the situation.

"It's the playoffs so you always want to win. We don't want to win more because it's RCC," he said. "But it will make it more rewarding if we do beat them."

The No. 10 Tigers were the fifth-place team out of the Orange Empire Conference, regarded as the toughest in the state. Last year's state championship series featured two schools from the conference, with Riverside downing Cypress for the title.

None in the Panther camp are surprised with the first-round matchup.

"We thought all long we would get them," sophomore catcher Mike Surina said. "We have been looking at it all season so we're not surprised. It will be fun because we all have played with and against a lot of their players."

It has been four years since the Panthers advanced past the first round. They cruised through conference play this season which probably isn't a good thing. They won the conference by three games and were so dominant they swept runner-up Rio Hondo - 15-0, 11-6 and 11-1.

This was the third straight conference title for the Panthers. Harlow, whose teams have made the playoffs five straight years, admits that Orange Empire teams are better prepared for the postseason because of the competition they see year-round.

Of Chaffey's 24 conference games, only six were decided by less than three runs.

"There's not a lot we can do about it," Harlow said. "We try and play the toughest preseason schedule we can get but facing that much competition is an advantage for them."

The Panthers had nine players earn all-conference honors. Joining Schile on the first team are freshman Willie Holmes (.408, 42 RBI), sophomore outfielder Mychal Johnson (.336, 42 runs), sophomore catcher Anthony Delgado (.384, 26 runs), sophomore third baseman Ryan Delgado (.329, 43 RBI) and sophomore first baseman Josh Manzano (.349 26 runs).

Second-team selections included sophomore left-hander Andrew Steinmeyer (5-1, 3.86), who will likely start one of the other games, freshman outfielder Jonathan Costantino (.359, 44 runs) and sophomore shortstop James Koerner (.336, 44 RBI).

Steinmeyer and Schile both pitched gems in their last outings. Harlow has also been pleased with the emergence of his relief crew, particularly sophomores Tim Redmon and Bret wolf and freshman Erik Bastio.

Top players for the Tigers are freshman second baseman Daniel Duran, sophomore outfielder Michael Hur and freshman third baseman Billy Hamilton (Carter HS).

Kaiser High grad Erick Carrillo (2-1, 4.03) and sophomore Peter Birdwell (2-1, 4.67) have drawn the majority of the starts. Redlands East Valley product Kyle Morgan (6-2, 2.27) has a team-high 22 appearances, all out of the bullpen.

Staff Reports

Former Cal State San Bernardino pitcher Regina Farfan tossed five shutout innings and her Cal State Dominguez Hills teammates gave her a 4-0 cushion Thursday as the Toros beat the Coyotes 4-2 in second round play in the Division II West Region Tournament at Humboldt State.

The Coyotes (35-31-1), making their first appearance in the playoffs, will play an elimination game at 11:30 a.m. today against Seattle University which lost to Cal State Stanislaus 4-0 but beat eliminated Monterey Bay 4-2.

The Toros and Western Oregon, both 2-0, will face off at 2 p.m. today in the winner's bracket. If the Coyotes prevail over Seattle, they would return at 4:30 p.m. Friday to face an opponent in another elimination game.

Farfan (17-9) gave up five hits but no runs and struck out one in her five innings of work. She pitched for the Coyotes as a freshman in 2005 before transferring to San Jose State and later to Dominguez Hills.

Coyotes freshman Cassidy Lee was dominant early, retiring the first nine Toros she faced while Farfan was giving up a hit in each inning to the Coyotes but staying out of trouble.

In the fourth inning, the Toros got a run on three hits. With runners on second and third, Jackie Jacob replaced Lee and gave up a run-scoring single to Katie Garcia. Jacob then struck out two batters with the bases loaded to shut down the rally.

The Toros erupted for five hits and three runs off the normally stingy Tawni Baker to make it a 4-0 game. A Coyote error figured in the scoring as well.

CSUSB's Debbie Shisler finished up in the circle for the Coyotes pitching one and a third innings and giving up one hit.

Kristin Tanaka replaced Farfan in the sixth and the Coyotes finally got on the board in the top of the seventh when Tori Beaudette ripped a home run to left field, her second of the tournament and eighth of the season.

Jacquelyn Holtzclaw then singled to shortstop and advanced to second on a throwing error. Jordan Dahl followed with a sharp single inside the first base line to score Holtzclaw and make it 4-2 with two out.

But Jamie Lowe fouled out to end the game.

CSUSB scored 10 runs on 11 hits including three homers in a 10-1 win over Humboldt State in the tournament opener but mustered only eight hits against Farfan and Tanaka and only one went for extra bases.

USA Baseball announced today that Cal
State Fullerton sophomore outfielder Josh Fellhauer
and freshman shortstop Christian Colon have accepted
invitations to the 2008 National Team Trials to be
held June 11-23 throughout the northeast and southeast
United States.

Fellhauer (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif/Rancho Cucamonga
High School) and Colon (Corona, Calif/Canyon High
School) are two of 12 colligate player to have already
accepted invitations and will be part of 32 of the
nation's best collegiate athletes vying for 22
National Team roster spots.

"USA Baseball is excited about the return of the
trials period," National Team General Manager Eric
Campbell said. "Last year, we had to select the
National Team by June 11 and without the aid of a
trials period for the first time ever. This is a
strong initial group of invitees, and we will continue
to work with collegiate coaches to get the best 32
players available into this year's National Team
Trials."

USA Baseball's Nation Team schedule will eventually
include a six-game friendship series against Chinese
Taipei, and a month-long trip to Europe where the team
will compete in the Netherlands and the Czech
Republic. The National Team will be skippered by Oral
Roberts head coach Rob Walton who was an assistant for
USA Baseball back in 2005.

Cal State Fullerton has been one of USA Baseball's
major suppliers of talent over the years, having
produced five Olympians, while sending 17 players to
the U.S. National Team. The last two Cal State
Fullerton products to don the Red White and Blue were
Wes Roemer and Kurt Suzuki in 2006.

Fellhauer is currently hitting .359 with four homeruns
and 32 RBI and 13 stolen bases while leading the team
in hits with 70. Colon has had a solid rookie
campaign, hitting .331 with a pair of homers and 27
RBI while ranking among the nations leaders in
sacrifice bunts from the No. 2 hole in the Titan
lineup.

Included on the 2008 invitee lists is 2007 National
Team member Mike Minor, a sophomore (LHP, Vanderbilt)
who posted a 5-2 record and a 1.64 ERA with the
National Team last year. Other sophomores on the list
are Kyle Gibson (RHP, Missouri), A.J. Griffin (RHP,
San Diego), Mike Leake (RHP/UTL, Arizona State),
Andrew Oliver (LHP, Oklahoma State), Aaron Senne (OF,
Missouri) and Jason Stoffel (RHP, Arizona). The three
other freshmen invitees are Kentrail Davis (OF,
Tennessee), Bryan Morgado (LHP, Tennessee) and Hunter
Morris (1B, Auburn). Morgado is a redshirt freshman.

For more information on the National Team or USA
Baseball, visit usabaseball.com.

Titan U.S. National Team members include: Longo Garcia
(1987), Phil Nevin (1991), Dante Powell (1993), Ted
Silva (1994), Mark Kotsay and Brian Loyd (1995), Ryan
Owens (1998), Kirk Saarloos (2000), Shane Costa, Chad
Cordero and Wes Littleton (2002), Mike Lamb, Mike
Rouse and Ricky Romero (2004), Blake Davis (2005), and
Roemer and Suzuki (2006).

Titan U.S. Olympians include: Bob Caffrey (1984),
Phil Nevin and Jason Moler (1992), Mark Kotsay and
Brian Loyd (1996)

WALNUT CREEK -- Ian Bridges and Kris Haycock highlighted a group of 10 Sonoma State players that were honored as all-conference, it was announced by the California Collegiate Athletic Association on Tuesday. Bridges was tabbed the CCAA's Most Valuable Player while Haycock was selected Newcomer of the Year.

Additionally, John Goelz, in his 23rd season at Sonoma State, was named the conference's Coach of the Year after guiding the Seawolves to a 42-12 overall record and the CCAA regular-season title. Cal State Stanislaus senior Marquis Fleming was a unanimous choice as Most Valuable Pitcher of the Year and UC San Diego's Tim Shibuya earned Freshman of the Year accolades.

Bridges batted a conference-leading .412 with five home runs and 39 RBI. The Seawolves' junior first baseman also hit a CCAA-leading .410 in conference play with 27 runs scored, three home runs and 31 RBI.

Haycock, a junior shortstop who transferred to Sonoma State from Fresno City College, batted .346 with four home runs, 25 RBI and stole 16 bases in 17 attempts during CCAA play.  He has an overall batting average of .339 with a team-high 44 runs scored, 20 stolen bases, four home runs and 28 RBI.

Fleming went 11-3 with a 2.21 ERA and seven complete games while striking out 106 batters in 102.0 innings during the regular season. During CCAA play, he posted an 8-1 record, 3.00 ERA, struck out 62 batters in 63.0 innings and tossed four complete games in nine starts while limiting the opposition to a .202 average.

Shibuya turned in an impressive rookie campaign for UC San Diego as he went 7-0 with a 1.99 ERA while making 25 relief appearances. He logged 63.1 innings, struck out 50 and held opponents to a .228 average. In CCAA action, the freshman right-hander posted a 5-0 mark and 2.03 ERA in 19 appearances.

Goelz garnered Coach of the Year honors for the second consecutive season and seventh time in his career. During the 2008 campaign, Sonoma State was ranked as high as No. 2 in the country and produced a school-record 23-game winning streak.

2008 All-CCAA Baseball Team

FIRST TEAM
Name	School	POS	YR	Hometown
Konrad Thieme	SSU	C	Sr.	Thousand Oaks, Calif.
Ian Bridges	SSU	1B	Jr.	Valencia, Calif.
Garrett Imeson	UCSD	2B	Jr.	Stockton, Calif.
Bret Ringer	CSUC	3B	Jr.	Stockton, Calif.
Cody Puckett	CSUDH	SS	Jr.	Apple Valley, Calif.
Kyle Loretelli	CSUS	OF	Jr.	Modesto, Calif.
Dave Herman	SSU	INF	Sr.	San Francisco, Calif.
John Haas	CSUSB	OF	Jr.	Hesperia, Calif.
Evan Kehoe	UCSD	OF	Fr.	San Diego, Calif.
Tyler Warmerdam	CSULA	OF	Sr.	Lodi, Calif.
Josh Meagher	CSUC	DH	Jr.	Santa Maria, Calif.
Marquis Fleming	CSUS	SP	Sr.	Oakland, Calif.
Matt Means	SSU	SP	Sr.	Mountain View, Calif.
Bret Montgomery	CSUDH	SP	So.	Thousand Oaks, Calif.
Isaac Morales	CSULA	SP	Jr.	South Gate, Calif.
Keith Noe	UCSD	RP	Sr.	Vista, Calif.
SECOND TEAM
Name	School	POS	YR	Hometown
Cody Dee	CSUC	C	So.	Moorpark, Calif.
Jason Klug	CSUSB	1B	Sr.	Moreno Valley, Calif.
David Adler	SSU	2B	Sr.	Thousand Oaks, Calif.
Drew Valenzuela	CSUSB	3B	Sr.	Riverside, Calif.
Kris Haycock	SSU	SS	Jr.	Tehachapi, Calif.
Vance Albitz	UCSD	INF	So.	Torrance, Calif.
A.J. Cavaletto	CPP	OF	Sr.	Santa Barbara, Calif.
Nick Nosti	SSU	OF	Sr.	Marin, Calif.
Mark Pestorich	SSU	OF	Jr.	Easton, Calif.
Kevin Pillar	CSUDH	OF	Fr.	West Hills, Calif.
Matt Cantele	UCSD	DH	Jr.	Los Altos Hills, Calif.
Kevin Asselin	SSU	SP	Sr.	Redwood City, Calif.
Eric Federico	CSUS	SP	Jr.	Stockton, Calif.
Mike Robbins	CSUC	SP	Jr.	Sylmar, Calif.
Kirby St. John	UCSD	SP	So.	Santa Cruz, Calif.
Andrew DeMott	CSUS	RP	Sr.	Atwater, Calif.

          
HONORABLE MENTION: C: Matt Kavanaugh (Sr., SFSU); 1B: Jon Alia (Jr., CSUDH); 2B: Bobby Carini (Jr., SFSU); 3B: Jake Oketani (Jr., CSUC); SS: Darrick Hale (Sr., CSULA); INF: Brent Planck (So, CSUSB); OF: Jimmy Dodos (Jr., CSUC), Shane Farmer (Sr., CSUC), Kenny Shanahan (Fr., CSULA), Dennis Wolfe (Sr., CSUS); SP: Cheyene Hann (Sr., CSUSB), Pete Mickartz (Fr., CSUC), Gary Moran (Jr., SSU), Andrew Pluta (Jr., CSUC); RP: Tim Shibuya (Fr., UCSD).

Most Valuable Player: Ian Bridges (Sonoma State)

Most Valuable Pitcher of the Year: Marquis Fleming (Cal State Stanislaus)

Freshman of the Year: Tim Shibuya (UC San Diego)

Newcomer of the Year: Kris Haycock (Sonoma State)

Coach of the Year: John Goelz (Sonoma State)

 

The University of Redlands boasted two members on the All-Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) teams as decided by the head coaches at their end-of-season meeting.  Junior 2m-offensive player Sam Greenawalt (Riverside, CA) landed on the First Team while senior driver Alana Martinez (Riverside, CA) earned a spot on the Second Team.

 

In nine conference games, Greenawalt led the Bulldogs with 30 goals to go along with eight assists, six steals, 12 ejections drawn and one field block.  Overall, she supplied 87 goals to rank third all-time at Redlands for a single season.  She also tallied 10 assists, 17 steals, 42 ejections drawn and four field blocks.  This marks Greenawalt's second All-Conference accolade following her Second Team nod in 2006.

 

Martinez wrapped up a solid career at Redlands with 17 goals, 27 ejections drawn, 10 steals, three field blocks and two assists during nine conference games.  On the season, she led the team with 85 ejections drawn while adding 54 goals, 19 steals, and nine assists.  Her ejections drawn broke the school record for a single-season and move her into third all-time on the career list at Redlands with 156.  This is Martinez's first All-SCIAC honor.

 

ARCATA -- Nicole Camarena drove in six runs with a
home run, double and single Wednesday as Cal State San
Bernardino shocked top-seeded Humboldt State, 10-1, in
the first round of the NCAA Division II West Region
Softball Tournament.

The Coyotes, 35-30-1, advance to the second round
in the winner's bracket of the double elimination
tournament to face Cal State Dominguez Hills, a 6-4
winner over UC San Diego. The game will be played at
4:30 p.m.

The Coyotes jumped on Humboldt State ace pitcher
Lizzie Prescott (38-11) for seven of their 10 runs in
a game that ended in the sixth inning via the
eight-run mercy rule.

Debbie Shisler, who pitched three innings of
one-hit ball to start the game, earned her sixth win
of the season for CSUSB against six losses.

The Lumberjacks (47-18) will face UC San Diego in
an elimination game at 11:30 a.m. Thursday.
Ironically, it was the Coyotes who eliminated the
host Lumberjacks from the CCAA conference tournament
last weekend on this same field.

"This is No. 1," said a jubilant Camarena after
the game, comparing the win and her performance with
other softball highlights in her career. "I was really
nervous before the game. Inside my heart I was so
excited to play them because they are a tough team."

Camarena admitted she has been pressing in recent
weeks, particularly the plate.

"It all came together today. I just left it all
out there today."

Her homerun in the fourth broke open
a scoreless game and put CSUSB up 2-0, scoring Jordan
Dahl ahead of her. It also tied her with Krista
Hernandez for first place on the Coyotes all-time
single-season home run list with 14.

She came up in the fifth and delivered a two-run
single as CSUSB scored three times to lead 5-1.

The Coyotes broke it open in the sixth on a
leadoff home run by pinch-hitter Sara Bird and a solo
blast by Tori Beaudette that forced HSU to bring in
Hannah Jones in relief of Prescott.

Jamie Lowe drove in a run and Camarena brought in
two more with a double to right center. Five of the
team's 10 runs were unearned thanks to two costly
Humboldt errors.

Prescott was dominant early, striking out 10 and
walking only two before the Coyotes starting putting
the ball in play, finishing with 11 hits.

Beaudette and Tayler Wilson each had two hits
for CSUSB.

 The Coyotes also made some defensive plays
behind the combined pitching of Shisler, Cassidy Lee,
Jackie Jacob and Tawni Baker. Baker allowed just two
hits in working the fifth and sixth innings.

This was the first regional tournament win the
history of the Coyotes softball program in their first
appearance ever in the tournament.

The Chaffey baseball team has drawn a first-round playoff date with Riverside Community College.

Pairings for the best-of-three Southern California regionals were unveiled Sunday and the Foothill Conference champion Panthers (30-9) drew the No. 7 seed. Defending state champion Riverside (27-17) is No. 10, finishing fifth in the tough Orange Empire Conference.
Chaffey will host the series opener at 3 p.m. Friday with the second game at 11 a.m. on Saturday.

Coach Jeff Harlow wasn't surprised with that but was miffed that Cerritos (29-14) was one spot ahead of his team because his team beat the Falcons twice.

Swapping places with Cerritos would have meant getting Bakersfield (28-16), a more preferrable draw because it is a second-place team out of a considerably weaker conference.

"They didn't follow the criteria they should have," Harlow said. "We played that team and beat them twice. Why play them if it isn't going to matter? It's all political."

Tuesday's game's

Single-elimination games

No. 18 Santa Barbara at No. 15 Palomar
No. 17 Rio Hondo at No. 16 Ventura

Friday games

First game, best-of-three

Lowest remaining seed at No. 1 Santa Ana

No. 13 East Los Angeles at No. 4 Irvine Valley

No. 12 El Camino at No. 5 Southwestern

No. 11 Cypress at No. 8 College of the Canyons

No. 10 Riverside at No. 7 Chaffey

No. 11 Bakersfield at No. 6 Cerritos

No. 14 Long Beach City at No. 3 Orange Coast

Second-lowest seed at No. 2 Cuesta

 

By Michelle Gardner

 

Staff writer

The women's water polo team from Pomona-Pitzer got to square off against the top Division I teams in the country last year but was overwhelmed from the start.

The Sagehens are getting the same chance and hoping for a better showing in this year's national tournament which starts Friday at Stanford. The Sagehens (13-8), who got an automatic bid by finishing first in the SCIAC, open play against No 1. UCLA (30-0). That's the same opening-round foe they drew last year and lost 22-0.

"Last year we were just happy to be there," Sagehens coach Alex Rodriguez said. "We're looking forward to a more competitive showing this year. We're not saying we're going to win but we want to do a better job of representing our conference."

Water polo is one of the few sports where colleges don't compete in divisions because there are only 65 that have teams. The other six teams in the field this week are No. 2 seed Stanford, No. 3 USC, No. 4 San Diego State, No. 5 UC Davis, No. 6 Michigan and No. 7 Marist.

One reason Rodriguez is expecting a better showing is that this year's team has improved. It graduated just two players and has had some key additions.

The Sagehens are led by senior Laura Condon, senior keeper Elena Peifer and junior driver Janelle Gyorffy.

But there have also been some imprssive newcomers in freshman driver Tamara Perea (Upland HS) and junior Nicole Ruesch, a transfer from Chaffey College.

The coach also singles out the improvement of sophomore driver Danielle Joseph, who typically gets the job of defending the opposing team's best perimeter player.

"Last year we were basically practicing dummies for them," Rodriguez said. "They had things they wanted to work on and they weren't going to sit there and feel sorry for us. We want to make them have to work for it."

By Michelle gardner

Staff Writer

After a long day on the diamond, the University of La Verne softball team headed home to pack. SCIAC rival Redlands went to wait by the phone.

The Leopards gained the SCIAC's automatic bid beating the Bulldogs 5-4 Saturday in the title game of the first SCIAC tournament. Next up is the Division III West Regional which starts Thursday at University of Texas-Tyler.

The Leos (27-17), under first-year coach Julie Smith, have won 11 of their last 12 games. They were the No. 3 seed in the four-team tournament, but upended No. 2 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (10-0) and No. 4 Pomona-Pitzer (4-1) on Friday.

"We're peaking at the right time. I used the old marathon analogy," said Smith, a member of the United States' gold-medal Olympic team in 1996. "With about seven miles to go we were running sixth and I told them we still had time to make a move but we had to move together."

Smith chalked part of the team's slow start this season up to the late arrival of three players who came out after basketball. The Leos made the playoffs in that sport, so the trio of freshman shortstop Ashley Paul, senior outfielder Jenny Strycula and freshman reserve Mayra Duenas didn't join the team until the middle of March.

"We had more bodies, more depth and we were able to start practicing much more efficiently," she said. "Then we had to get used to playing together."

Top-seeded Redlands (34-10) had to come through the loser's bracket after dropping its opener to Pitzer 4-1 on Friday. It defeated CMS 6-0 later Friday, then avenged the loss to Pitzer, 6-5, Saturday morning.

Shortstop Melanie Hamlin led the effort, going 3-for-4 with a double, triple, home run and three RBI, with three RBI, falling a single short of the cycle.

Senior pitcher Katie Brnca logged 17 innings of the 21 the Bulldogs played Saturday. She pitched five in the opener, then went the distance in the first game against La Verne, surrendering just four hits. The Bulldogs' offense racked up 11 hits, led by Nicky Neumann's three.

But Redlands trailed from the start in the deciding game, committing two errors on the first three hitters and twice failing to handle bunts, allowing La Verne an early 2-0 lead.
A two-run single by junior Kari Granger in the third made it 4-0.

La Verne was up 5-1 before Redlands scored three in the fifth.
But that inning could have  produced more, as Redlands had two runners thrown out at the plate, the last with some controversy. Kayla Peterson tried to score from first after a hit by Hamlin, but catcher Melissa Carlson made the tag on a toss from pitcher Delaney Baylor-Dick.\

Redlands wanted, but didn't get, an obstruction call on Carlson for blocking the plate without the ball.

The two plays at the plate and four errors proved costly, but coach Laurie Nevarez refused to blame fatigue.

"I hate to blame any one thing or one person," Nevarez said. "For every thing someone didn't do right I can think of five things they did do right."

The Bulldogs, who won their fourth straight regular season title, are hoping for an at-large bid -- which is possible given their strength of schedule and No. 12 national ranking, despite the SCIAC's dubious history of advancing second-place teams.

"A lot of people have told me we have a good shot but you never know," Nevarez said. "I hope we get a shot because I think we're deserving but we didn't do what we needed to do here."

It was a good weekend if you're a Leopard, not a good one if you're a Bulldog.

The SCIAC titles were decided in baseball and softball on the same day and it was the University of La Verne prevailing in both, although in different fashion.

The drama was highest on the baseball diamond where the Leopards swept defending champion Pomona-Pitzer 7-4 and 13-3 on Saturday. But that alone didn't pave the way to a berth in the NCAA Division III West Regional. The Leos needed help and got it big-time from Claremont-Mudd-Scripps which knocked off Redlands, which started the day in first place - 23-16 in a slugfest and 7-6.

It was perhaps a fitting end for La Verne which controled its own destiny last year only to crash and burn against Whittier on the final day of the season, losing two and handing the title to the Sagehens.

In softball the SCIAC's automatic qualifier was determined, via tournament and the Leopards started the four-team event seeded third but wound up defeating favored Redlands 5-4 in the title tilt.

Redlands has a strong shot at an at-large bid however. The Bulldogs have been ranked in the top 10 nationally for much of the season and have some quality wins over top 10 teams.

Both regional tournaments will be held in Texas with the women headint to University of Texas-Tyler and the men headed to McMurray.

Hopefully the drama that has played out in the last two years won't be lost when baseball goes to a four-team tournament to determine the AQ as well.

By Michelle Gardner

Staff Writer

Akbar Nasution admits being a little in awe. There he was on the pool
deck at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Australia, an up-and-coming
swimmer from the little known county of Indonesia.

He posed for pictures and talked with Australian legends Ian Thorpe
and Grant Hackett, as well as Americans Tom Dolan, Lenny Krayzelburg
and Gary Hall Jr. - all gold medalists.

He went to the festive opening ceremonies but admits he skipped the
closing ceremonies to do some sightseeing. It was a memorable
experience for a 16-year-old whose competitive career was just taking
off.

Nasution has traveled the world in the eight years since then and now
represents Chaffey College which will compete in the California
Junior College State Meet that starts today and runs through Saturday
at Saddleback College in Mission Viego.

Nasution, now 24, will swim the 500-yard freestyle, the 400-yard
individual medley, the 200-yard breastroke and compete on four of the
Panthers five relays.

He won all those events at last week's South Coast Conference meet
and hopes to improve on his finish at last year's state meet in which
he earned All-American and state swimmer of the year honors with wins
in the 500 and 1,650 free and a second in the 200 breast.

"I feel like I am ready to go," he said. "Swimming is one of those
sports you can go out and do your best and if you have a great time
and someone beats you, then they deserve it."

His family's involvement in the sport and a pipeline from his native
country to the local college have enabled him to train in Southern
California.

Chaffey Coach Mike Dickson, the Panthers coach the last three
decades, says the connection started in 1985 when the Indonesian
national team had four swimmers it wanted to place in college in the
United States. The quartet started out at another school but that
partnership didn't last.

Dickson was asked to take them in. Officials in that country were so
pleased with their progress over the next two years, more followed.

The veteran coach estimates he has had between 12 and 15 Indonesian
athletes on the college team, including sophomore Benny Respati who
will also compete in the meet this week and shares an off-campus
apartment with Nasution.
Dickson also has worked with another 60-70 younger swimmers who have
trained with Hillside Aquatics, a club team he runs at Chaffey during
the summer months.

He added that it has gotten increasingly difficult to bring athletes
over from that country since the terrorists attack on Sept. 11, 2001
since Indonesia is a Muslem Country.

"The paper work now is unbelievable. It takes many months," he said.
"Sometimes as long a a year."

Among those who relocated for their college years were three of
Akbar's four older sisters - Elfina, Maya and Elsa, all of whom were
All-Americans. Dickson said Elsa still holds a national record and
two state records while Elfina was a state champion.

Their father Radja is a prominent coach in Indonesia.

"We hit it off from the first time we talked," Dickson said of the
siblings father. "We have a lot of the same ideas and philosophies
and we have developed a good trust over the years."

Nasution said one of things he has enjoyed most about the sport is
the opportunity he has had to travel. He competed in the Southeast
Asian Games in December in Thailand, winning a silver and a bronze
medal. He also has been to Russia, Germany, Japan, Korea, Hong Kong
and practically every Asian Country.

He lived and trained in Australia for two years with famed coach
Denis Cotterell before arriving at Chaffey. He admits his experience
in that country at the Olympics made him want to go back.

"When I was competing I didn't really get out so it was good to go
back," he said. "They have good facilities, the weather is good and
it's near the beach."

The Indonesian Federation already has asked him to represent the
country in the 2008 Olympics in Beijing in August. But he said it
would be tough to do that so soon after the collegiate season has
ended.

"We have been training hard for this meet," he said. "You really need
six months where you're doing nothing but working toward the Olympics
if that is what you're focused on."

As much as he loves the sport, Nasution admits he is looking forward
to developing his other interests. He isn't that interested in
transferring to a four-year school either.

Instead he is looking into going to a culinary arts school, either in
Pasadena or Orange County and will probably satisfy his craving for
athletic competition by participating in triathlons.

"I really like to focus on one thing at a time," he said. "I like
swimming but I want to do something else. I can always come back to
it."

By Michelle Gardner Staff Writer LAVERNE - The University of La Verne baseball team knew it didn't have a lot of room for error. Not with so few games left in the regular season and three teams in contention for the SCIAC title. But the Leopards stayed in the hunt with an 8-7 win over defending champion Pomona-Pitzer Friday at Ben Hines Field. It was an eventful game with the Sagehens scoring three in the ninth to tie the game at 7 and La Verne winning it on a walkoff RBI single by freshman Eddie Kalankiewicz in the bottom of the frame. It was the 10th win in the last 11 conference games for the Leos. The win keeps La Verne (23-14, 14-4) one half-game behind Redlands (27-11, 15-4) which beat Claremont-Mudd-Scripps 8-5. Both teams will play a doubleheader today with La Verne at Pitzer (27-11, 13-6) and Redlands across the street at CMS. Both twinbills start at noon. "We all know the situation. We pretty much have to keep winning," La Verne coach Scott Winterburn said. "This conference is tough year-in and year-out. It just so happens we came down to the wire this year with three teams. It doesn't get better than this." La Verne took a 7-4 lead into the final inning but faltered in the ninth as the Sagehens loaded the bases with no outs on an infield single by James Kang, a solid single up the middle by Drew Hedman and a walk to Zach Mandelblatt. Mike Silva grounded out to second, scoring Kang and closing the gap to 7-5 and forcing reliever Grant Wheatley from the game. Michael Joannides then lined an offering from Jimmy Wilfong to the right side of the infield where Trevor Boucher made a spectacular diving stop and leaped to his feet in time to get the runner. But Hedman raced home bringing the visitors within one. Boucher's stop momentarily prevented Mandelblatt from scoring too but he did so when the next batter, Andrew Nino, blooped a check swing single into shallow right field to tie the game. Pitzer then got a double by Eric Thompson that advanced Nino to third. Wilfong then made the defensive play of the game to keep the go-ahead runs from scoring. Edward Pickett hit a scorching line drive that took the glove of Wilfong's hand. He scrambled for the ball a few feet away and unleashed a strike to first baseman Jon-Michael Hattabaugh that just nipped the runner and ended the uprising. Had Wilfong not knocked the ball down, both runners would have scored. "You have to give them credit because they made a couple of great plays in the last inning," Sagehens coach Frank Pericolosi said. "We hit a lot of balls hard all day. It was just one of those when none of them found a hole." La Verne retaliated quickly, starting its rally when Boucher lined a triple to deep center field over the head of Pickett for a triple. James Brunswick, who entered in relief of starter David Colvin in the seventh, walked the next two hitters intentionally to set up a force and set the stage for Kalankiewicz, who entered as a defensive replacement the previous inning. He then stroked a fastball away for a solid single through the left side over the drawn-in infield. "I was just trying to put the ball in play, execute, nice easy swing," he said. "It feels good to be able to come through in such a big game. Now we have to keep the momentum." La Verne won the game on the base paths with some daring moves paying off. Jack Mehl went first to third on a sacrifice bunt by Dimitre Mondette, then scored on a single by Scott Marcus in the sixth. It also pulled off a double steal in the fifth with Hattabaugh racing home when Jason Munoz took off for second. Meanwhile the Sagehens went just 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position before the ninth inning and the top four hitters in their normally potent lineup were 0-for-12 to that point. Pitzer, which was ranked as high as 15 nationally, now needs to win both games today and hope Redlands loses twice. It has lost six of its last seven games and came back to the pack after getting swept by Cal Lutheran last week. But Pericolosi said he won't be worrying too much about the other pivotal game nearby. "If we're worried about what someone else is doing we're not focused on ourselves," he said. "We need to go out and win two games tomorrow before that even matters." The other factor could be a game that La Verne has not finished with Cal Lutheran. That game, postponed from Feb. 22, was tied at 12 in the 11th inning. Redlands won the series with La Verne so it has the tiebreaker over the Leos. Athletic director Chris Ragsdale said it wouldn't be finished by Winterburn thought it would be if Redlands was a half game out and could pull even with a La Verne loss.

 

WADSWORTH, Ohio -- The 2007-08 men's basketball season ended in mid-March for his teammates but Cal State San Bernardino senior guard Marlon Pierce has been racking up the frequent flyer miles while playing in two all-star events in the East and Midwest in the past month.

    Pierce finished his cross-country journeys with a 13-point, three-steals performance in the third place game of the Collegiate Basketball Invitational Tournament in this Ohio city 40 miles south of Cleveland. His team -- Premier Pontiac -- won the game 102-95, last Friday night.

    It was the 6-2 guard's best showing in the tournament. He hit five of nine field goals, lincluding three of five shots from three-point range and collected one assist in 28 minutes as a starter.

    The teams in the tournament were made up of graduating seniors from NCAA Div. II, Div. III and NAIA universities and colleges throughout the country. 

    In late March, Pierce had the privilege of playing in the NCAA Div. II All-Star Basketball Game at the James Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Mass., during the Div. II national championship tournament, the same place Pierce and the Coyotes visited a year ago when they reached the Final Four.

    In his other games with the Premier Pontiac team, Pierce scored four points, grabbed four rebounds and made two steals in 25 minutes in a 102-90 win over Renacci-Doraty Chevrolet on Thursday, April 24. Pierce scored eight points and grabbed two rebounds in 22 minutes in his team's 108-81 loss to First Merit. He sank two of four shots from three-point range.

    Pierce was the only player from the California Collegiate Athletic Association to participate in the tournament. The championship game was telecast live on ESPNU.