May 2009 Archives

It was quite a year for local colleges on the playing field as five teams finished as national runner-up. That is huge accomplishment but it's still a little disappointing that none were able to seal the deal. Of those five, four were literally a play away.

So here's the top 10. Yes, it's pretty hard to decide who gets the No. 1 and who gets No. 2 and on so on. I'll explain as I proceed.

1 - Cal Poly Pomona men's basketball - The Broncos (25-8) get the top spot for one main reason, their finish was the most unexpected of the five second-place finishers. The Broncos were not ranked and were only 5-5 through the first round of CCAA play. They had to run the table the last 10 games just to finish in a tie for first.

They had injuries. Three players were lost for the season before the first game was played. And they ended up traveling 10,000 miles with playoff games in three different time zones. The season ended with a 56-53 loss to No. 1 and undefeated Findlay in the nationally televised championship game. Give Larry Gordon much of the credit for putting this team on his back and carrying it!

2 - Cal State San Bernardino golf - Unfortunately the Coyotes go here because of how they lost. Yes it was the best finish for the school in 13 trips to the national championship. But they had an eight-stroke lead going into the final round and finally lost that lead on the 18th hole, the 72nd and last of the tournament when Gene Webster double bogeyed the last hole.

The Coyotes finished tied with Sonoma State, then lost in a one-hole playoff. That error also cost Webster medalist honors and he ended up third individually.

3 - Cal State San Bernardino volleyball - The Coyotes finish might have been No. 1 any other year. Cal State (30-4) won its sixth CCAA title in eight years and that is a significant accomplishment in a conference with so much talent in that sport.

The Coyotes lost to No. 1 Concordia-St. Paul 3-2, 15-13 in the fifth set on Concordia's home floor in what was likely the best title match in Division II history. Concordia's only loss of the season came to the Coyotes in a season opener.

4 - University of La Verne volleyball - The Leopards (27-3) steamrolled their competition in the SCIAC as usual. Their biggest win in the tournament run came when they upset No. 1 Juniata (Penn.) in the semifinal 3-2 but coach Don Flora's team ran out of gas and lost to No. 2 Emory 3-1 in the title tile.

La Verne went in ranked No. 3 so it slightly surpassed expectations, led by super senior Brianna Gonzales.

5 - University of La Verne golf - The Leopards finished second to Oglethorpe (Ga.) in the national tournament held at the PGA Club in Florida. The Leopards entered ranked No. 2 behind Methodist which placed third. Upland's Mitchell Fedorka tied for medalist honors but lost in a playoff.

It was La Verne's third straight top 10 finish following a second in 2007 and a ninth in 2008. The more ironic thing is that makes six straight national runner-up finishes for a SCIAC team as Redlands was the bridesmaid in 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2008.

6 - San Bernardino Valley College men's cross country - The Wolverines won their third straight state title at Woodward Park In Fresno which is pretty impressive at the community college level given the constant turnover.

The team was led by the third place individual finish of Carlos Perez who ran a 20:19.05, smashing the previous school record.

7 - Pomona-Pitzer baseball - The Sagehens (37-7) had their best season in school history, highlighted by win streaks of 15 and 17 games. They were ranked No. 1 much of the season, only to have the storybook run end with losses to George Fox and Chapman at the West regional in Oregon. Senior Drew Hedman, named Division III Player of the Year, ignited the run.

8 - San Bernardino Valley College men's basketball - The Wolverines made it all the way to the Elite Eight in Fresno but lost a three-overtime thriller to San Francisco 92-87. If they had made some free throws, who knows how far they would have gone. They team had a great run under first-year coach Quincy Brewer and it did so with just one sophomore on the team. The sky is the limit next year.

9 - Cal State San Bernardino men's basketball - The Coyotes (20-10) won a share of the CCAA title, making it eight in 10 years. If it weren't for Larry Gordon's desperation 3-pointer that sent the regional quarterfinal into overtime, it may have been Cal State in the national title game.

10 - Claremont-Mudd-Scripps hosts Division III national tennis - It is always nice to have a national championship in our own backyard and the Stags got hosting honors this year at their immaculate new complex. It was too bad the Stags lost out on a chance to win the team title after dropping the regional final at UC Santa Cruz. But senior Larry Wang capped a storied career with a couple of wins in the individual competition.

Coming soon - the top 10 athletes who made the headlines.

Five players with local ties were among those honored when the Big West announced its All-Conference baseball selections.

Cal State Fullerton junior outfielder Josh Fellhauer was named to the first team. The Rancho Cucamonga product hit an impressive .391 with 51 RBI in leading the Titans to a 42-14 mark.

UC Riverside standouts Paul Applebee and Carl Uhl were named to the second team. Applebee, a junior left-hander out of Upland, went 10-2 on the mound with a 3.74 ERA.

Uhl, a senior outfielder, hit .329 with 36 RBI. He was a prep standout at Serrano High school, leading both the football and baseball teams to CIF titles his senior year.

Honorable mention went to UC Irvine freshman Tommy Reyes (.348) as well as Cal State Fullerton sophomore Gary Brown (.329). Brown is out of Diamond Bar while Reyes is from Rancho Cucamonga but spent his prep career at Bishop Amat..

The UC Riverside Athletics Department hosted its 2008-09 Athletics Awards Ceremony on Tuesday evening at The Barn on UCR's campus, honoring the achievements of the 2008-09 Highlander student-athletes and staff.

This year, the UC Riverside Athletics Department handed out five awards to distinguished student-athletes for their accomplishments during the 2008-09 season. The first award went to Men's Golfer Scott Clayton, the recipient of the Harper Scholar-Athlete Award, presented annually to the UCR varsity athlete - a freshman, sophomore or junior - whose athletic and scholarly achievements are deemed most outstanding. The recipient must have a GPA of at least 3.20.

Clayton finished tied for third this season at the Big West Men's Golf Championship, which is the second highest finish ever at the championship by a UCR men's golfer. During his academic career at UC Riverside, the San Bernardino, CA native has all As except for one A-minus.

Women's Cross Country and Track & Field athlete Danielle Evans was the winner of the evening's second award, the Lindy Award, given annually to the student-athlete or service group member who has demonstrated exceptional dedication by participating in extracurricular activities in the community and at the university, during the current school year and who is in satisfactory academic standing.

Evans is the current president of SAAC, a captain on the track team, president of the track and running club at UCR, a mentor for her church group, secretary of the Black Graduation Committee, a member of African Americans in Humanities, and a frequent helping hand at basketball games and special development events. Not only is she an excellent student, but she was UCR's Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year in the Big West.

Men's Soccer player David Watson was the recipient of UCR's Best Teammate Award presented annually to the UCR student and varsity athlete whose actions both on and off the field exemplify the concepts and ideals of team and teamwork.

This past spring, the men's soccer program was hit with a number of injuries and barely had enough players to compete in matches. Watson, who finished his playing career in the fall, began coming to 8:30 am practices and traveling for matches so the team would have enough players and subs to be competitive. That kind of initiative and selflessness is the perfect embodiment of what a teammate should be.

The Male and Female Student-Athlete of the Year awards went respectively to Highlanders men's basketball player Kyle Austin and women's cross country and track & field athlete Brenda Martinez.

The men's basketball program this year set a number of Division I-era standards including overall wins, conference wins and highest finish in the Big West, and Kyle Austin was a big reason why. The sophomore transfer led the Highlanders in scoring and minutes played and was second in rebounding and free throw percentage, while earning First-Team All-Big West honors in the process. In doing so, he became the first UCR men's basketball player to earn First-Team accolades from the Big West.

Brenda Martinez was named an All-American in indoor track this year after finishing seventh in the mile at the NCAAs. She was recently named Big West Female Track Athlete of the Year after winning the 800m and 1500m at the conference championship, and her times in those events are both among the top 20 in the entire world. After competing in the US Olympic Trials last summer, she is set to compete in the USA Championships this June in Eugene, Oregon.

Throughout the evening, the Highlanders also celebrated their Big West All-Conference award winners, Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) members, graduating seniors, and Big West Scholar Athletes.

For four years at Cal State San Bernardino, Tanya Zeferjahn of Hesperia was called the best cross country runner in the history of the Coyotes program.

Now, she can be called national champion.

This past Friday, Zeferjahn - competing for Queens University in Charlotte, N.C., -- captured the NCAA Division II 10,000 meter championship with a time of 35:38.46, finishing four seconds ahead of her nearest competitor.

Sarah Waple, director of sports information for Queens, said Zeferjahn was the 10^th seed in the field of 18 runners.

"Zeferjahn ran an even pace with a pack of 12 through the first 5,000 meters. The pack then was paired down to five over the next 3000 meters. When Kimi Shank of Missouri-Southern pulled away with 800 meters to go, Zeferjahn responded to her move.

"It wasn't until the bell lap with 400 meters remaining that Zeferjahn took control of the race with a surge that saw her quickly open up a two-second gap on Shank. Zeferjahn was then able to solidly secure her first NCAA national title with a closing 35-second 200 meter kick to win..." Shank was timed in 35:42.93. Tori Tyler and Alia Gray of Chico State finished fourth and sixth in the event respectively.

Zeferjahn also qualified in the 5,000 meters but elected not to run after her big win in the 10,000.

Zeferjahn was an all-American for the Coyotes in 2004, finishing among the top 30 runners as the first woman to reach the NCAA Division II cross country national championship meet since cross country begat at CSUSB in 1984.

She is a graduate student at Queens, working toward her master's degree in business administration.

Last month at the Penn Relays in Philadelphia, PA., Zeferjahn finished eighth in the 10,000 meters in 35:36.23, but more importantly, she eclipsed the NCAA Division II automatic qualifying standard for the national championship meet by 14 seconds (35.50).

Earlier this year, Zeferjahn won the Carolinas Conference 10,000 meter run to earn all-conference honors. She  was also named the Southeast Region Women's Indoor Track Athlete of the Year by the U.S. Track & Field/Cross Country Coaches Association.

Zeferjahn graduated from CSUSB in 2006 after setting team records at 5,000 meters (18:28.1) and 6,000 meters (21:59). She earned all-CCAA conference honors three times, NCAA all-West Region honors four times and was an NCAA all-American in 2004, finishing 28^th in the national championship meet.

She was the CSUSB athletic department's co-Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year twice, maintaining a 3.89 grade point average in business administration with an emphasis in environmental management. She was twice an ESPN-The Magazine/CoSIDA District 8 academic all-region first team selection in track/cross country and was an NCAA Division II Track& Cross Country Coaches Assn. scholastic all-American.

Zeferjahn is a 2002 graduate of Hesperia High School. Her parents are Randy and Debbie Zeferjahn

Former UC Riverside Head Volleyball Coach Sue Gozansky, who retired last fall after nearly four decades as the face of Highlanders volleyball, was honored this week with the USA Volleyball All-Time Great Coach Award in the Donald S. Shondell Contemporary Division for 2009.

In the letter informing Gozansky of her selection, Cecile Reynaud, chair of the nominating committee, wrote:

 "Your coaching career has been nothing short of remarkable over the last 39 years . . . Your services as a long time FIVB instructor, your publications contributing to the knowledge of coaches at all levels, and your national championships at the University of California Riverside set you apart from many others in the coaching profession. Your qualities in leading young women and setting a great examples as a positive role model have truly been appreciated. You have dedicated a large part of your life giving back to our sport, and it has not gone unrecognized by your coaching peers or players."

The award was presented at the USA Volleyball meetings in Minneapolis at the 64th Annual Boyce Awards Banquet.

Long Beach State has won the 2008-09 Big West Conference Commissioner's Cup.  The Cup is the second for the 49er program in the 11-year history of the Cup.  The 49ers won four conference titles and averaged 110 points over the 14 conference sports in which they compete. The Cup is presented to the institution with the best overall results in the conference's 18 sponsored sports championships.

    Cal Poly placed second in the Cup standings, the highest finish in the program's history.  The Mustangs averaged the second-most points over the spring season which included a softball championship, a second place finish in women's track and field and third place finishes in women's tennis, baseball and men's track and field.

    UC Irvine placed third for the second consecutive year.  The Anteaters won titles in men's soccer and baseball and also won the inaugural women's water polo tournament title.  The Anteaters also had second place finishes in men's tennis, women's tennis, and men's golf.

    Despite four conference crowns, UC Santa Barbara placed fourth in the 2008-09 standings, its lowest finish in the history of the Cup.  UC Davis placed fifth, its highest finish and won a conference title in men's golf.  UC Riverside climbed out of the cellar spot from a year ago to finish in the sixth spot this season.  The Highlanders claimed their first women's cross country title in the fall to lead the way.

    To determine the champion for the Commissioner's Cup, total points are summed and divided by the number of championships in which each institution competes.  Each sport champion is also given a 20-point bonus.  The Commissioner's Cup is then awarded to the school with the highest average.

State University in North Dakota. 

 

State University is a member of the Dakota Athletic Conference. The Beavers won the Conference in 2005 and 2008.

st team Foothill Conference performer who led Chaffey College to a 27- 7 record and a place in the Southern California Regional Finals in 2009. Nick was one of our team captains and averaged 16.4 ppg/4.4 Rebs/ and a team leading 142 three pointers for the "CHP" in his career.

Senior Tiffany Turner and junior Jonathan Williams of Cal Poly Pomona each took home All-American honors to highlight Cal Poly Pomona's efforts Saturday at the NCAA Division II Track and Field Championships, held at Angelo State University.

"Jonathan's experience at the NCAA was crucial and he got the job done,'' Broncos head coach Troy Johnson said. "And Tiffany may be the most determined athlete that I've been around. Both of them came through today. They're among the elite in their events and deserve it.''

Turner (La Crescenta) finished eighth in the 3,000-meter steeplechase with a time of 11:00.55. She holds the school record in the event and became CPP's first Bronco All-American in that event.

"For me, when I heard my name among the 12 who made it to the finals the other night was big,'' Turner said. "I had the 16th best time coming in and knowing I was among the 12 in the finals was a big goal.

"Today, my coach (assistant Tony Reyes) told me don't count bodies, but to just run and that kept me focused on the moment. It was pretty neat to come off the track and see the smiles on my coaches' faces.''

"She did what she needed to do,'' Johnson said. "I sent her a text message earlier in the day that said fight to be in the top eight and she did. Tony did a great job of preparing her for the race.''

Williams, who was competing in his third NCAA event, earned his first All-American honor by finishing seventh in the 100 meters. The Temecula native earned his honor with a 10.48 effort.

He is the first Bronco to earn an All-American honor in his event since David Gillard in 1972.

"I got out of the blocks well, but I'm a little disappointed that I didn't finish higher,'' Williams said. "I didn't lift my knees high enough. But to be in my third NCAA and earn my first All-American honor means a lot to me. I'm looking forward to coming back again and going after the 100 and 200 and the relays.''

"Jonathan had as good of a start out of the blocks as he has had,'' Johnson said. "There's so little room for error when you're going against an elite field. Jonathan improved over a year ago, and he's determined to come back and win it. He's competitive and hungry and that's how you need to be.''

The college sports year came to an official end on Sunday. The last team in action happened to be the women's doubles team from Pomona-Pitzer which was wrapping up play at the Division III national tournament in Georgia.

The top-seeded duo of junior Siobhan Finicane and Olivia Muesse of
won their semifinal but dropped the championship match later in the day.

The duo started with a semifinal win over Kristin Cobb and Marta Drane of
Denison in straight sets, 6-1, 6-3 but ended with a loss to the University of Chicago duo of Chrissy Hu and Kendra Higgins 6-1, 6-3.

The Sagehens were defeated by Emory (Ga.) in the team quarterfinal
earlier in the week.

Later in the week we'll go back and look at some of the moments and the athletes that made the 2008-2009 school year an unforgetable one.

Claremont-Mudd-Scripps has a beautiful tennis facility and it has been host to the NCAA Division II Championships all week. while I hardly profess to be an expert on the topic, most coaches at the tournament agree it is one of the nicest facilities anywhere in the country, regardless of classification.

The event has been blessed with Chamber of Commerce weather as well.

Sunday will be the last day of competition so tennis enthusiasts might want to wander out there. There is no admission charge. The facility is right off Sixth Street which runs through the campus.

The singles final is scheduled for noon with the doubles semifinals and final following.

The Stags' own Larry Wang lost a tough three-setter to Michael Goodwin of Emory in Saturday's singles quarterfinal. It wraps up a nice career for a quality young man who is now headed to grad school.

Senior center Sam Greenawalt (Riverside, CA) of the University of Redlands women's water polo team and Bulldog women's lacrosse's senior midfielder Lauren Matta (Holyoke, MA) both earned a spot on the ESPN The Magazine/College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Academic All-District VIII At-Large Second Team for the College Division, according to an announcement made today by CoSIDA.

 

Greenawalt, who boasts a 3.53 GPA as a Communicative Disorders major, enters the ranks of the Academic All-District honorees for the first time in her collegiate career. An outstanding student, she earned the Redlands Scholar-Athlete honor this year, which is bestowed upon those that possess a GPA of at least a 3.5.

In the pool, Greenawalt has been a mainstay in the Bulldogs' offensive attack throughout her four years, finishing out her tenure ranked fourth all-time in career goals (255).

This past season, she helped lead the team to the Collegiate III Women's Water Polo National Championship title game. Greenawalt also garnered First-Team All-Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) honors and gained a selection to the Collegiate III Women's Water Polo National Championship All-Tournament First Team. She scored a team-high 74 goals this year while also adding team-highs in assists (29) and field blocks (15). Greenawalt also supplied 30 steals and 35 ejections drawn.

 

Matta owns a 3.70 GPA as an Accounting major, and her selection to the Academic All-District team marks the second time she has received this honor. A three-time Redlands Scholar-Athlete, she has continuously personified the ideals of a true student-athlete, boasting both academic and athletic excellence.

 Matta, who also earned an Academic All-District nod in 2008, has proven to be one of the most potent offensive threats in program history. She owns career program records in ground balls (198) and draw controls (169) and also ranks second all-time in goals (100). This past season, Matta produced the team's second-highest totals in goals (27), points (30) and draw controls (53) while also adding three assists, 30 ground balls and 13 caused turnovers.

 

Both Greenawalt and Matta were chosen through the At-Large program, which includes all student-athletes in varsity sports that do not have a designated CoSIDA nomination process. These sports include women's bowling, women's crew, men's and women's fencing, women's field hockey, men's and women's golf, men's and women's gymnastics, men's and women's ice hockey, men's and women's lacrosse, men's and women's skiing, men's and women's swimming, men's and women's tennis, men's volleyball, men's and women's water polo and men's wrestling.

 

CoSIDA's District VIII includes institutions located in Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Utah and Washington in addition to those located in the Canadian provinces of British Columbia and the Yukon. The College Division includes all non-NCAA Division I institutions in the district.

All nominees must have a cumulative GPA of at least 3.30 and participate in 50 percent of their team's games to be nominated. The CoSIDA Academic All-District teams, which are presented by ESPN The Magazine, are voted on by members of CoSIDA.

So near and yet so far.

The Cal State San Bernardino men's golf team had hoped to capture the school's first state championship in any sport. But the Coyotes squandered an eight-hole lead and lost a sudden-death playoff to CCAA rival Sonoma State at the Division II national championship at Loomis Trail Golf Club in Blaine, Wash.

The Coyotes, who came into the event ranked No. 5, started the day eight ahead of Barry (Fla.) and nine ahead of Sonoma State. The No. 6 Seawolves chipped away at that lead and finally drew even on the 18th hole of the day and 72nd of the tournament with the last group of the day on the course.

The Coyotes' team total of 300 was their worst of the four days while the 291 by Sonoma State was the low round from any team any day.

Sonoma State's Patrick Bauer and Cal State's Gene Webster were in that last group. Bauer finished with a bogey at the 416-yard par-4 hole but Webster double-bogeyed.

Not only did that cost the Coyotes a team title, it cost the Arroyo Valley High School product medalist honors. He went all three rounds either in first or tied for first and was even par through three rounds but ended up tied for third with a 77 on the day and a 6-over 290 for the tournament.

Webster was trying to become the school's first medalist at the event since Scott Householder in 1997 when the event was held in Scottsdale, Ariz.

Micah Burke, the lone senior in the Coyotes quartet, placed ninth at 9-over 293 after a 2-over 73 final round. Junior Joe Alldis tied for 14th with an 11-over 295 that included a final-round 75.

Junior Thomas Chu rounded out play with a 77 for a 304 while Kenny Pigman, normally the team's No. 2 player, tallied a 75 for a four-day total of 306.

The Coyotes' second-place finish was the team's best effort in 13 trips to the national championship tournament going back to 1986 when the program was in Division III. The Coyotes finished third in 1988, 1997 and 1998, fourth in 1987 and 1990 and fifth in 1991 giving the program seven top five finishes.

It was a great day for the CCAA, which had its two top golf teams finish 1-2 in the national tournament. It was the first D-2 national title for a CCAA golf team in 35 years dating back to 1974 when Cal State Northridge won the tournament. It was the first win by a California school since UC Davis won it in 1979.

Medalist honors were also decided on an extra hole as Kelbi Lee of Ferris State defeated Gavin Smith of Indiana-Pennsylvania on the first hole. Both finished at 5-over 289 for the tournament.

The golf team is the second team this school year to narrowly miss bringing home the school's first national title. In the fall the women's volleyball team lost in the championship match to Concordia-St. Paul.

About the only thing missing on the resume of Claremont-Mudd-Scripps senior Larry Wang is a win at the NCAA Division III Championships. He went a long way in remedying that with two victories on the first day of the singles draw Friday at the Biszantz Family Tennis Center.

It is Wang's fourth appearance in the national event and he failed to win a match the first three years. He entered this year's event seeded No. 2 with the added pressure of playing on his home court.

But Wang delivered, coming from behind to defeat Steven Sullivan of Bowdoin 7-5, 6-2 in the round of 32, then advancing to the quarterfinals with a 5-7, 6-2 6-3 win over John Pelton of Hope College (Mich.).

Wang is the last hope for a local winner as freshman teammate Robbie Erani lost a three-setter to Ben Stein of Bates College 6-1, 2-6, 6-2.

The University of Redlands duo of junior Mike Reading and sophomore Cameron Spearman fell to the No. 4 seeded team of Zack Lerner and Moritz Koenig of Amherst College 6-2, 3-6, 6-3.

"I was kind of nervous, playing on my home court and being our last hope," he said. "I just needed to settle in and start playing my game. I was really just focused on the first round and getting past that."

Wang trailed 5-3 in the opening set against Sullivan, but reeled off the next four to win the set. He cruised in the second.

His match later in the day was just the opposite. He surged out to a 4-1 lead in the opening set, then dropped five of the next six games with Pelton securing the set when Wang netted a forehand return.

Wang also got out to a 4-1 lead in the second set but didn't falter at that point again. Pelton held serve to make it 4-2 but Wang held the next game, then got a set-ending service break when Pelton netted an overhead.

"He did a good job of adjusting to my game," Wang said. "I just had to do a better job of executing my shots."

Wang dominated the third set, getting the key break to go up 5-3 when Pelton returned a serve out. Wang then won his serve at love, closing out the match with an overhead as Pelton was running in.

Wang squares off against No. 5 seed Michael Goodwin of Emory (Ga.) today at 9 a.m. The two have played twice this season, splitting matches. Earlier in the week, Wang was named West Region Player of the Year while Goodwin was the South Atlantic Player of the Year, then nabbed the overall National Player of the Year honor.

"I'm going to have to bring my 'A' game and I can't get off to a slow start," he said.

UC Santa Cruz won the team title, beating Amherst 5-0. It was the seventh championship for the Banana Slugs who defeated CMS in the West Region final, preventing it from playing for the team title on its home court.

CMS coach Paul Settles had mixed feeling about that. Santa Cruz and CMS have played in the past four regional finals, splitting those. Both are consistently in the top five in the country, but playing in the same region prevents both from advancing.

"It's frustrating because both of us deserve to be here. But that's the way it is," he said. "We all know the situation going in."

While Wang is a veteran at nationals, both Redlands players were making their debut. The team is a relatively new one with Spearman transferring in from Nevada-Reno this season.

They came back from a one-set deficit to force a third. With the pivotal set tied at 3, the Amherst duo reeled off three straight games, winning the last at love and all the points coming on return errors by the Bulldogs. They finished the season 15-7.

"It was a great experience to come and play in championship environment," Reading said. "It was nice to come back and make it a match. Both of us have big serves and we used that to get back in it." "It takes time to build a rapport and a relationship," Bulldogs coach Geoff Roche said. "This was a great showing for them to get this far in their first year playing together."

You can add the Cal State San Bernardino golf team to the long list of local teams that have had to settle for runner-up finishes.

The Coyotes squandered an eight-stroke lead and lost in a sudden death playoff to Sonoma State at the NCAA Division II Championships at Loomis Trail Golf Club in Washington.

It came down to the last hole and the last group on the course. Cal State's Gene Webster double-bogeyed while Sonoma's Patrick Bauer bogeyed. That one hole also costed Webster first place individually.

No one probably feels worse than he.

So that makes five national runners-up for the area . . .

- Cal State women's volleyball

- University of Laverne women's volleyball

- Cal Poly Pomona men's basketball

- University of La Verne men's golf

Your take on second place depends on the scenario. The run by the Cal Poly Pomona men was a true Cinderella story. They weren't supposed to get there. No one expected them to get there and they had multiple obstacles to overcome. They're probably disappointed, but OK with finishing second.

The Coyote volleyball team had a great national tournament, only to fall in five games to the No. 1 team in the country which was playing on its home floor. They played their best and the other team was a tad better on the last few plays. You can live with that.

The La Verne volleyball team also fared well to get that far and beat the No. 1 team in the semis, only to lose to No. 2 in the finale. Same deal.

The La Verne golfers . . . well they were in first place much of the way too. They were ranked No. 2 in the country all year. They failed to close the deal. So second is a letdown.
.
But this one has to be the most disappointing second place of all of the above. To watch it slip away hole by hole has to be tough.

Four of the five players will return next year. That might be the silver lining. But the Coyotes will have four months to think about it before the fall season tees off in September.

The Cal State San Bernardino men's golf team is 18 holes away from a national championship which would be the school's first team title in any sport.

The Coyotes went from third to first with a solid third round at the Loomis Trail Golf Club in Blaine, Wash. They take an eight-stroke lead into Friday's final round with Barry, Fla. sitting in second place. No. 1 ranked Columbus State and CCAA champion Sonoma State are tied for third, one shot behind Barry.

The local area has produced four runners-up for team championships this season. That is a great accomplishment. But it's about time we had a winner.

Gene Webster has a two-stroke lead for individual honors. The Arroyo Valley product is at even par through three rounds. The position the Coyotes are in is also impressive considering their No. 2 player Kenny Pigman is having a poor tournament with none of his first three rounds counting toward the team score.

University of Redlands sophomore midfielder Christy Smith (St. Louis Park, MN) landed on the Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA)/US Lacrosse All-West Region First Team.

During the 2009 campaign, Smith led the Bulldogs in every statistical category for field players.  In 13 games, she tallied 48 goals and 13 assists for 61 points.  She picked up 49 ground balls and captured 54 draw controls.  With her stellar defense, she forced opponents to make 22 turnovers.

Nationally, she landed 24^th in draw controls per game at 4.15 and ranked 36^th in ground balls per game at 3.77.  Smith also finished out the season among the top 100 in Division III for goals per game (52^nd) and caused turnovers (73^rd).

In addition, Smith played a crucial role in the Bulldogs' final ranking of eighth in the nation for draw controls at 15.93 per game.

Currently, Smith sits among various top-10 lists at the University of Redlands for single-season and career records.  In just two years, she owns the mark for career points per game (4.79) as well as career goals (116).

This is Smith's second All-Region award in as many years, following last season's spot on the First Team.

Smith is now eligible for inclusion on the IWLCA/US Lacrosse All-American teams, which will be announced on May 22.

UC Riverside men's golfer Scott Clayton fired a five-under-par 67 on Wednesday in the qualifying round of the California State Amateur Championship, finishing second in a field of 41 entrants. With his top four finish, Clayton becomes an automatic qualifier to participate in the 98th Cal State Amateur Championship, to be held at the Lake Merced Golf Club on June 22-27, 2009.

"Scott is playing really well right now," Head Coach Paul Hjulberg announced. "He's continuing where he left off at the end of our season."

The San Bernardino, CA native tallied eight birdies during his 18-hole qualifying round at Oak Valley Golf Club on Wednesday, the most of any golfer on the day. He finished one stroke back of Tyler Crawford, who fired a six-under-par 66.

The Championship is open to amateur golfers who have an established current index of 4.4 or less as of the time of registration and are members in good standing of the Southern California Golf Association, Northern California Golf Association, or the Public Links Golf Association of Southern California

After the 18-hole qualifying round to determine the championship participants, 156 players from different qualifying sites will advance to the championship. The championship field will play 36 holes of stroke play with the top 32 players advancing from stroke play to single elimination match play.

UCR men's golfer Kevin Fitzgerald also participated in the Oak Valley qualifying site, but finished just back of being an alternate, firing a one-over-par 71 to place eighth.

The Cal State San Bernardino golf team is closing in on their first national title in any sport.

 The team shot an 11-over 295 at the NCAA Division II Golf Championships Thursday at Loomis Trail Golf Club in Blaine, Wash., for a 54-hole total of 27-over 879. The Coyotes take an eight-stroke lead into today's final round. Barry (Fla.) is second at 887, while CCAA champion Sonoma State and No. 1-ranked Columbus State are another stroke back.

"We have some veteran players and they know they can't get too far ahead of themselves, especially in this sport," Coyotes coach Tom Mainez said. "We're in great position. Now we just have to go out and finish the job."

The Coyotes had the best round of the day for the second day in a row. They started play tied for second but junior Gene Webster helped propel the Coyotes into the lead.

Webster heads the 107-man field by two strokes over Wayne State's Steve Cuzzort, a transfer from Michigan State, and Indiana-Pennsylvania's Gavin Smith. Webster had a 1-over 72 to put him at even (213) par for the tournament. He had an adventurous second round on Wednesday, but he had a consistent third round that included 15 pars, two bogeys and one birdie.

Junior Joe Alldis and senior Micah Burke are part of a four-way tie for 10th at 7-over 220.

Alldis had his best round of the tournament with a 2-over 73. Rounding out the scoring for the Coyotes are Thomas Chu at 77-227 and Kenny Pigman, normally the team's No. 2 player, at 80-231.

"We have some guys that really have stepped up," Mainez said. "Pigman is capable of better and I have to think he is going to come out and shoot a great 18 holes tomorrow."

The Coyotes will start at the first tee with their first player at 12:50 p.m.

The Cal State San Bernardino golf team shot the best round of the day
and moved into second place at the NCAA Division Championships at the
Loomis Trail Golf Club in Blaine, Wash. Junior Gene Webster led the
effort as the Coyotes finished with a 2-over 286, pulling them within
one stroke of Barry (Fla.) which shot a 290 and has a two-day total
583.

There is a five-stroke gap to No. 1 ranked Columbus State and CCAA
champion Sonoma State who are tied for third at 589.

``We're right where we need to be,'' Coyotes coach Tom Mainez said.
``It's something we talked about all year and the guys did the job.
The good thing is we're in this position and we have guys that we
know can shoot better than they have so far.''

For Wednesday's second round the Coyotes were paired with Columbus
State which Mainez liked.

``It's good to see where you stand when you're playing with such a
quality team,'' he added. ``They're making shot after shot and you
want to go out and match them. For some teams it might be distracting
but our guys like it. They can take it the right way without losing
focus.''

Webster, making his third straight appearance at nationals, is tied
for first place individually with Wayne State (Mich.) senior Steve
Cuzzort. The two are the only players in the 107-man field under par
after 36 holes on the 6,955-yard par 71 course.

Webster finished on the front nine with a 34 and birdied the last two
holes to finish even for the day and 1-under (141) for the
tournament. His round consisted of seven birdies, five bogeys and a
double bogey on the par-4 No. 17.

``Last year I was going through a swing change and I still was not
feeling comfortable with it,'' he said. ``I am feeling pretty good
now, more like I was my freshman year.''

The Coyotes are in contention even though No. 2 player Kenny Pigman,
a sophomore out of Norco, has yet to match the scores he put up
during the regular season. He is 9-over for the tournament after a
4-over on Wednesday.

Junior Joe Alldis and senior Micah Burke are part of an eight-way tie
for 14th with each at 5-over 147. Burke had the best score of the day
for the Coyotes at 1-under 70 with four birdies and three bogeys.

Junior Thomas Chu improved from a 6-over the first day to a 2-over 74
the second and is at 150.

``It's reassuring to know we're right in the hunt and we haven't put
together our best round yet. This would be a good time to do it,''
Mainez said.

Third round play starts at 7:30 today. Chu will be the first off for
the Coyotes, teeing off at 1 p.m. The Coyote players will be going
off with those from Sonoma State and Ba

San Bernardino Valley College football standout Robert Anderson is headed to NAIA Bethany College in Lindsborg, Kan.

The Swedes were 2-7 last season and compete in the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference.

The 6-foot-2 wide receiver spent two years with the Wolverines. He recorded 64 receptions for 1,025 yards, an average of 15.5 yards per reception, with six touchdowns.

He is a resident of Rialto but attended Charter Oak High School in Covina where he was two-year starter in both football and basketball. He earned second-team all-conference honors and was named a scholar-athlete with a GPA of 3.33.

Three California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) teams will be among the 20 comprising the field at the 2009 Division II NCAA Men's Golf Championships that open Tuesday at the Loomis Trail Golf Course in Blaine, Wash.

The 72-hole tournament format calls for 18 holes to be played over four days with the final round scheduled for Friday. All four rounds can be followed live on the Internet at www.golfstat.com.

Representing the CCAA is conference champion Sonoma State, along with Cal State San Bernardino and Cal State Stanislaus.

Eight individuals from non-qualifying teams will also take part in the tournament.

West Florida is the reigning NCAA Champion after winning the title in a three-way playoff, the first in the history of the event, North Alabama and St. Edwards also tied for first at the end of regulation. None of those teams are back, but 2007 champion Barry returns.

The top individual back is Sonoma State's Jarin Todd (Sr., Redmond/Woodinville), the NCAA II Player of the Year in 2007 and 2008. Todd tied for third at nationals last spring and placed 20th in 2007.

Colorado-Colorado Springs' Tyler Bishop took medalist honors at the NCAA II National Preview Tournament on Sept. 29-30 at Loomis Trail, shooting a 54-hole total of 5-under 208. Washburn's Matt Ewald was second at 3-under 210.

Sophomore Mackenzie Smith (Hoquiam, WA) and junior Jake Baechle (Aurora, OH) of the University of Redlands track & field teams gained invitations to the 2009 NCAA Division III Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Marietta, OH, according to an official announcement made today by the NCAA.

 

Smith, who will compete in the Javelin Throw, enters the meet with the eighth-best mark in NCAA Division III at 139' 6". A two-time Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) Champion in the event, she placed sixth at the 2008 NCAA Championships in the Javelin Throw, earning All-American status. Trials and finals for the Javelin Throw are both on May 21.

 

For the second straight season, Baechle has graced the list of NCAA Championship invitees in the 800m Run. Also a two-time SCIAC Champion in the event, he competed in last year's national championship meet, clocking a 1:53.77 in the preliminary heats of the 800m Run. His entry time of 1:51.28 ranks sixth in NCAA Division III this season. Trials for the men's 800m Run are on May 22 while finals take place on May 23.

 

Hosted by Marietta College (OH), the NCAA Championships occur from May 21-23 at Don Drumm Stadium in Marietta, OH.

 

For an official list of those chosen for the 2009 NCAA Division III Outdoor Track & Field Championships, please visit http://www.raceberryjam.com/indexod.html.

 

 

Four women's basketball standouts from Chaffey College have made decisions on their next step.

Forward Zipporah Brown (Rancho Cucamonga HS) is headed to Cal State San Bernardino while frontcourt mate Aundria Anderson (Miller HS) is headed to the Coyotes CCAA rival Cal State Dominguez Hills.

The guard duo of Keisha Mackall (Miller HS) and Tamesha Jackson (Upland HS) is headed to NAIA Bacone College in Okla.

The quartet led the Panthers (22-10, 9-5) to a fifth-place finish in the tough Foothill Conference which advanced its top five teams to the playoffs.

The Pomona-Pitzer baseball team just didn't have another rally left.

The No. 1 Sagehens fell to Chapman 5-2 in an elimination game at the West Region tournament so the season is over. Chapman and George Fox will left to fight it out for a berth in the Division III World Series.

The Sagehens (37-7) had their chances. Down 5-1 in the seventh they loaded the bases with no outs and had the heart of the order up, yet came away with nothing.

In the ninth they had two on with one out, only to have the gane end on a double play.

Brandon Huerta had four hits but the second, third and fourth batters in the order combined to go 2-for-11. That isn't going to get it done.

The Sagehens went 3-0 against Chapman during the regular season but all three of those games were close. Many thought that Chapman didn't belong this year. The Panthers didn't look much like the traditional challenger they have become this season with 14 losses. But they lucked out because the pool of independent teams wasn't that strong this year.

It is a disappointing end to what was a great season. Before making the trip all in the Sagehen camp said anything short of a World Series berth was going to be a disappointment. One would have to think they are going to feel that way for a long time.

The University of La Verne golf team settled for national runner-up Saturday at the PGA Golf Club in Port St. Lucie, Fla.. It seems to be an old familiar tune where the SCIAC is concerned.

This now makes six straight years the SCIAC has had a golf team finish as the national runner-up. The Leopards were also second in 2007. Redlands was second in 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2008.

La Verne was ranked No. 2 nationally coming into the event. But the Leopards led after two rounds and started the final round in third six strokes out of the lead. Junior Mitchell Fedorka tied for medalist honors but then lost in a playoff. Rizal Amin, also of La Verne, was third.

The area was well represented as Redlands ended up ninth and freshman Tain Lee of Claremont-Mudd-Scripps tied for eighth individually.

This now makes four national runner-up finishes for local teams this school year. Remember back in the fall Cal State San Bernardino was the runner-up in Division II volleyball while La Verne was the bridesmaid in Division III.

Then in basketball the Cal Poly Pomona men finished a Cinderalla season, losing a heartbreaker in the nationally televised national championship game against Findlay.

Just a few more events left for the school year. Tennis is up next week and the Cal State golf team will be competing for a Division II title. Track nationals are coming up as well.

The Pomona-Pitzer baseball team bounced back from a disappointing loss Friday night and defeated SCIAC rival Cal Lutheran 16-4 in an elimination game at the Division III West Regional at Linfield College in Oregon.

Senior Zach Mandelblatt led the effort, pitching eight strong innings and giving upseven hits and four runs, three of those earned. He walked two and struck out four. Mandelblatt, playing just 45 minutes from his Lake Oswego home, also helped himself at the plate with three hits inluding a home run in teh eighth.

Drew Hedman slugged a grand slam in the Sagehens 10-run third inning.

It had to have been nice to eliminate the conference rival.

Now they have to regroup and get back on the field later tonight against Chapman, another foe with whom they are familiar. The Sagehens played Chapman three times this year, winning all of them. but all three of those games were close and sometimes odds catch up to you. So they will have to be on their game.

Pomona-Pitzer's storybook season could come to a crashing halt in a matter of hours.

The No. 1 ranked team in the country was upset by George Fox University 12-6 at the Division III West Region tournament in Oregon Friday.

The Sagehens (36-6) fall into the loser's bracket today and will play SCIAC pal Cal Lutheran at noon. The Sagehens took two of three against the Kingsmen this season with that series coming the last weekend of the regular season.

The core players on the team were in the regional in 2007. Been there - done that. The Sagehens aren't just happy to be there. They had loftier expectations this season so to be in the loser's bracket so early must be a disappointment.

They have to dig down deep and find a way.

Zach Mandelblatt will be on the mound. He did not pitch in any of the previous games against the Kingsmen.

The University of La Verne golf team has its work cut out for it.

The Leopards led for two rounds at the Division III national tournament at the PGA Club in Port St. Lucie, Fla. but now they need a good final round to emerge with a championship.

La Verne shot a 302 for a three-round total of 877. That's two strokes behind second-place Ogelthorpe and six back of leader Methodist University. The Leopards are talented enough to make up the ground but Methodist, currently ranked No. 1, would still likely have to stumble.

Redlands had a bad day and has fallen out of conention.

The good news is that La Verne's Mitchell Fedorka is still the individual leader, depsite a 2-over 74 that puts him at 213. Teammate Rizal Amin is next at 214 so medalist honors will likely go to the Leopards one way or another. Among those tied for ninth are Andrew Kramer of La Verne and Alex Hedlund of Redlands.

Another bit of irony . . . La Verne and Redlands both play in the same conference, the SCIAC. And between the two teams the SCIAC has boasted the national runner-up the last five years. The current standings make it very possible that could happen again.

While finishing second in the nation is never an accomplishment to look down upon, you would have to think it would be a disappointment for the Leopards because they were in such great position to win it.

A one-day rain delay didn't do anything to derail the Pomona-Pitzer baseball team's plan of winning a West Region title. The Sagehens opened the tournament at Linfield College (Ore.) with an 8-3 win over Hendrix.

James Kang had three hits, as did senior slugger Drew Hedman. Right-hander David Colvin improved to 8-0 on the mound.

The Sagehens improved to 36-5 on the season. They will play at 3:30 p.m. today.

The day delay did make it unlikely that the five seniors will make it back to Southern California in time for graduation on Saturday. But that's a good problem to have.

University of Redlands junior Paige Sumida (Hilo, HI) was honored with the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA)/Arthur Ashe Leadership and Sportsmanship Award for the West Region.  She is now in contention for the national award, which will be announced on May 21.  

According the ITA web site, this award recognizes men's and women's tennis players at the NCAA Division I, II, and III, NAIA, and Junior College levels who have exhibited outstanding sportsmanship and leadership as well as scholastic, extracurricular and tennis achievements.

 

During the 2009 campaign, Sumida bolstered the Redlands lineup at No. 2 singles and compiled a 15-7 record.  In doubles, she and junior Whitney Waters (Austin, TX) competed at the No. 1 slot, earning a 16-9 record.  

 

Sumida played an integral role in the Bulldogs' back-to-back Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) co-championships and ninth NCAA berth in ten years.  This three-time First Team All-SCIAC honoree also helped Redlands achieve one of its highest rankings during the 2009 season at No. 8. 

 

Currently, Sumida is one of three women's tennis players at Redlands who are looking forward to the NCAA Individual Championships, which begin on May 22 in Lawrenceville, GA.  She advances to the tournament as one of 32 singles competitors and joins Waters as one of 16 doubles duos.

 

In the classroom, Sumida boasts a 3.48 cumulative GPA as a Psychology major.  In her spare time, she serves the community by volunteering at Inland Temporary Homes, which offers 90 days of shelter for homeless families with children under the age of 17.

 

Last season, Sumida was named the ITA West Region Player to Watch.

 

The University of La Verne golf team moved into first place after two rounds of the Division III national tournament at the PGA Club in Port St. Lucie, Fla. on Thursday.

The Leopards (575) shot a team total of 5-under 283 over the par 72, 6,973-yards Ryder course to surge past first-round leader Methodist (NC) which ballooned to a 15-over 303 on the harder 7,123-yard Dye course for a two-day 582.

The University of Redlands, the national runner-up four of the last five years, remained in seventh place (695) in the 36-team field after a 10-over 298.

Leading the charge for La Verne were junior Mitchell Fedorka and senior Rizal Amin who are 1-2 on the individual leaderboard.

Fedorka added a 1-under 71 to his 5-under 67 the first day for a 138, which is three strokes better than Amin. He went 3-over on the seventh, eighth and ninth holes but followed that up by going 4-under over the next four holes highlighted by an eagle on the par 5 13th hole.

"He really doesn't get too rattled," La Verne coach Joe Skovron said of his top player, who entered the event ranked No. 1 individually. "That's the best thing about him. He has shown the last two days what kind of player he is."

Amin's 3-under 69 was the best round of any player on Thursday. He continued his steady play with a round that consisted of five birdies and two bogeys with a 35 on the front nine and a 34 on the back.

Rounding out the scoring for the Leopards were Andrew Kramer with a 2-under 70 (147) and Eric Bunge with a 1-over 73 (153). The non-scoring member on Thursday was Kevin Smith with a 3-over 75 (151).

Redlands is 20 strokes behind La Verne but just four strokes out fourth place. The Bulldogs were led by sophomore Alex Hedlund who is fourth individually after carding a 2-over 74 for a total of 144.

Junior Ross Canavan settled for an even-par 72 which puts him 26th in the field of 185 golfers at 148.

Also factoring in the scoring were freshman Todd Steller (75) and lone senior J.C. Riter (77), with Steller improving on an opening round of 84.

Scott Pena (82) was the discarded score of the day.

Freshman Tain Lee of Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, who qualified for the event as an individual, shot a 2-over 74 and is tied for 57th with a 151.

All the teams will compete on the Dye course Friday. The Leopards will be in the first group, teeing off the first hole at 10:30 a.m. The first player from Redlands will go off No. 10 at the same time.

Former Cal State San Bernardino all-American Sarah Reneker has been named interim head coach of the Coyotes' women's water polo team for the 2009-10 academic year, it was announced by Athletic Director Kevin L. Hatcher.

 

            Reneker, an assistant coach with the team in 2008-09, succeeds Lorenzo Maya, who served as acting head coach of the team this past season following the resignation of Tom Finwall, who left to be girls' water polo coach at Riverside Poly High School.

 

            Reneker played four years for Finwall after being recruited out of John W. North High School in Riverside where Finwall had previously been a water polo coach.

 

            "I'm ecstatic about this opportunity, especially given the fact I have worked with all these girls this past season and they are all coming back," said Reneker. "I am really pumped up."

 

            The Coyotes, with no seniors on the team and several freshmen and first-year NCAA Division II players on the team, posted a 12-23 record and finished 10^th in the Western Water Polo Association, a 12-team conference.

 

            "We had such a young team and we didn't have much time to recruit but the girls got a full year's experience of playing in our system and found out what it takes to play at this level. We will definitely be stronger next season," Reneker said.

 

            Reneker is looking at a few incoming freshmen and community college transfers to bolster the team's depth in 2010.

 

            "I think we have a good opportunity to do really well," she said.

 

            The Coyotes will return Kaitlin Hartman, a three-year veteran who set a new single-season Coyote scoring record with 120 goals in 2009 along with two-year starter Jennifer Goetz , freshmen Emily Hove and Danica Vera and junior Kelsey Morino. Seasoned goalkeeper Bryanna Burns will return for her third season in the cage.

 

            Reneker played for the Coyotes from 2002 to 2006, missing all of 2005 with an injury. She was an NCAA Div. II all-American in 2004 for scoring 117 goals for a team that went 23-16. She is No. 2 on the team's single-season scoring list and No. 2 on the career scoring list with 324 goals.

 

            She also ranks No.2 on the Coyotes career list for assists and steals and is No. 1 in career ejections drawn.

 

            Reneker is a 2006 graduate of CSUSB with a degree in communications. She is a 2001 graduate of North High School in Riverside where she was an all-CIF Southern Section first-team pick

           

Upon further review and after obtaining an important agreement involving off-campus facility usage, University of La Verne Interim Athletic Director Julie Kline announced that the women's tennis program will continue as an intercollegiate athletic sport.

Kline said that following an earlier decision to place both the La Verne women's and men's tennis programs on hiatus at the conclusion of the 2009 season, discussions were held on how to resolve the issues involved in an effort to reactivate the programs.

"We felt it was important to go back and reassess and reevaluate our decision after meeting with all the student-athletes from both programs and see if we could find ways to some how align these programs with the philosophical principles of our athletics department," said Kline. "As a result, we were only able to do so with one program. Given the number of returners on the women's team and the expected incoming recruiting class, we felt we should channel available resources into the women's program."

The university's men's tennis program remains on hiatus with no definitive timetable for its return.

One factor assisting in the revised decision on women's tennis was provided by The Claremont Club. President and CEO Mike Alpert came forward with an offer to provide the athletics department use of the club's facilities, leading to a scheduling agreement that will meet the tennis program's practice and match needs. La Verne, which removed its campus tennis courts in August 2007, has plans for a new facility included as part of a partnership between the university and the City of La Verne to establish a joint-use sports complex.

SCIAC coaches were elated at qualifying three teams for the Division III West region softball tournament at East Texas Baptist. But some of the luster of that accomplishment will be lost if those three can't beat anyone but themselves.

That is in danger of happening.

All three lost their first round games on Thursday with SCIAC champion Redlands being the first team in the seven-team field eliminated. The Bulldogs lost a tossup game to Texas-Tyler 2-1, then got beat by the No. 1 team in the country - Linfield (Ore,) 8-5.

Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, the SCIAC tournament runner-up, got walloped 9-0 by East Texas Baptist and La Verne lost a 4-3 nine-inning heart-breaker to Louisiana College.

CMS and La Verne will play a noon game on Friday with the loser going home and the winner playing another game later in the day.

Host East Texas Baptist put together a pair of big innings Thursday, and the Lady Tigers cruised to a 9-0 win over Claremont-Mudd-Scripps on the opening day of the 2009 NCAA Division III Softball Championship West Regional at Taylor Field.

The Lady Tigers (38-7), regular season champions of the American Southwest Conference East Division, advance to face rival Louisiana College at 2 p.m. Friday.

The Athenas (28-15) will face SCIAC rival La Verne in an elimination game Friday at noon.

ETBU exploded for four runs in the second inning without ever getting the ball out of the infield. Stacy Jordan started things with an infield single, and came around to score the game's first run on Dani Miller's groundout.

Kaleigh Mushinski walked to push across the second run, and Adrienne Meier delivered a rare two-run infield single latr in the inning.

ETBU added five more runs in the fourth inning, all coming with two outs. Back-to-back singles from Brooke Martin and Meier started the rally, and Jordan made it 5-0 with an infield single.

Jones followed with a two-run single to center for a 7-0 lead, and Miller capped the win with a two-run double to right-center for the run-rule victory.

ETBU's Ayrika Henderson (18-3) allowed just four hits and struck out five in getting the five-inning victory. Ericka Weingart (10-8) took the loss for the Athenas, allowed four earned runs on three hits and four walks in 1 2/3 innings.

The University of Redlands softball team made the trip to East Texas Baptist University for the First Round of the NCAA Championships and suffered an early exit from the tournament by losing both games on the opening day.

The No. 18 Bulldogs kicked of the double-elimination tournament in Marshall, TX, with a tough 1-2 loss to No. 4 University of Texas-Tyler.

The Patriots initiated the scoring in the first inning with back-to-back doubles.

Redlands responded in the second inning as senior left fielder Roxy Lambert (La Jolla, CA) drove a ball to left field, scoring junior designated player Amanda Doeppel (Monrovia, CA) to tie the game at one.

The game remained knotted until the top of the fifth inning when UT Tyler walked in what would become the winning run.

With the loss, the Bulldogs faced top-ranked Linfield College (OR) in the final game of the day.

The Wildcats jumped out to a three-run lead in the bottom of the first inning.

After 2 ½ innings without a hit, Linfield capitalized on an error and two hits in the fourth to score two more runs.

Down by five, Redlands battled back with four runs in the top of the fifth inning. Doeppel doubled to right center and then freshman right fielder Breanna Ruelas (Brawley, CA) walked. With two outs, freshman shortstop Kai Masutani (Honolulu, HI) singled to right field to load the bases. Junior catcher Nicky Neumann (Fremont, CA) stepped up to the plate and knocked in two runs with a double to left center. Junior center fielder Kayla Peterson (San Jose, CA) followed suit with a two-RBI single up the middle to move the Bulldogs within one.

However, Linfield steadily scored runs in each of the remaining innings while Redlands mustered only one, resulting in a 5-8 loss for the Maroon and Gray.

Neumann accounted for three of the team's seven hits, while Peterson provided three RBI.

Redlands finished out the 2009 campaign with a 30-12 record, boasting at least 30 wins for the fifth year in a row.

  Citrus College sophomore Shateah West became the first Lady Owl from the 08-09 sophomore class to sign a scholarship offer this past week. West will continue her career at NAIA member Missouri Valley College.

"I like Missouri Valley a lot. They have a lot of diversity on campus, and the coaching staff seems really nice," said West. "Coming out of high school I didn't really expect to get a scholarship to play basketball. The Citrus team and coaching staff did a good job of putting us out there, and putting us in a position to get recruited."

During her two year stint at Citrus, West helped lead the Lady Owls to a 42-23 record in two seasons and a Southern California playoff appearance in 2009. During the 08-09 season, West averaged 12.3 points and 8.2 rebounds per game.

"Shateah has been given a great opportunity to further her academic and athletic career. I am extremely happy for her and her Mom," said Citrus College Women's Basketball Head Coach Eric Anderson. "With an unwavering amount of dedication and hard work I believe that Shateah West will have great success."

West will bring some winning experience to a Missouri Valley team that struggled last season, going 5-27.

Sophomore Kenny Pigman shot an even-par 71 Wednesday and his teammates all shot 75 or lower as Cal State San Bernardino finished fourth in the 2009 NCAA Division II West-Central Super Regional golf tournament.

The Coyotes, along with Sonoma State, Cal State Stanislaus, Colorado-Colo. Springs, and Grand Canyon will advance to the NCAA National Championship tournament on May 19-22 at Loomis Trail Golf Club in Blaine, Wash.

It will be the Coyotes' fourth straight appearance in the championship event.

CSUSB shot its best collective round of the tournament, a four-over-par 288 to finish the tournament 23 over par at 875, 12 shots behind tournament winner Colorado-Colo. Springs. The champions shot even par to overtake first- and second-round leader Sonoma State as well as Cal State Stanislaus.

Colorado finished at 863 while Stanislaus and CCAA champion Sonoma State tied for second at 866. The Coyotes were nine shots back in fourth, 13 shots ahead of fifth place Grand Canyon as Chico State tumbled from fourth place on Tuesday to a non-qualifying sixth spot.

Pigman finished the 54-hole tournament with a total of 217 to tie for ninth place among the 108 individuals in the event. He was two-under-par after nine holes and after bogeying the 12th hole he carded pars on five straight holes before bogeying the 18th to finish at 71.

Junior Thomas Chu finished strong with a one-over-72 after shooting an 80 on Tuesday, recording four birdies in his round, the last one coming at the 15th hole while settling for bogey on five holes to tie for 31st spot at 226.

Junior Gene Webster was hanging around even par during most of his round and was at that point after a birdie at No. 14, a par-5, but he bogeyed the par-4 18th on the 7,016-yard Wilderness Ridge Golf Club course to finish at 72 and tied for 17th place at 219.

Joining Webster in 17th place at 219 was teammate Micah Burke who carded his third successive round of 73. He canned three birdies on the day at the par-4 first, par-4 seventh and par-3 15th holes but bogeyed five holes, including four in a row on No. 8 through No. 11.

Junior Joe Alldis had an up and down day before finishing with a four-over 75 to finish in a tie for 27th spot at 224. He struggled at the outset with a bogey at No. 1 and a double bogey at the par-3 second hole. He then birdied No. 4 and bogeyed No. 5, followed by a brilliant eagle 3 on the par-5 sixth hole. Another bogey at eight put him two over on the front nine at 38. On the back nine he got a birdie at the par-3 12th hole but finished with bogeys at 13, 17 and 18 for a 37.

2009 NCAA WEST-CENTRAL SUPER REGIONAL GOLF TOURNAMENT
@ Wilderness Ridge in Lincoln, Neb.

TEAM SCORES: 1. Colorado-Colorado Springs -- 863; 2. (tie) Cal State Stanislaus and Sonoma State -- 866; 4. CAL STATE SAN BERNARDINO -- 875; 5. Grand Canyon -- 888; 6. Chico State -- 889; 7. Cal State Monterey Bay -- 891; 8. Upper Iowa -- 903; 9. Western New Mexico -- 904; 10. Western Washington -- 907; 11. Fort Lewis College -- 909; 12. Saint Martin's -- 911; 13. Dixie State -- 915; 14. Hawaii Hilo -- 916; 15. (tie) Colorado Christian and St. Cloud State -- 917; 17. Colorado State-Pueblo -- 928; 18. Bemidji State -- 930; 19. Regis -- 932; 20. Minn. State-Mankato -- 960

CSUSB CARDS: 9. Kenny Pigman -- 73-73-71 -- 217; 17. (tie) Micah Burke -- 73-73-73 -- 219, and Gene Webster -- 75-72-72 -- 219; 27. Joe Alldis -- 74-75-75 -- 224; 31. Thomas Chu -- 74-80-72 -- 226.

INDIVIDUALS -- Medalist -- Jarin Todd (Sonoma State) 66-67-75 -- 208; 2. (tie) Tyler Bishop (Colo.-Colo. Springs) 70-71-70 -- 211; and Danny Hoff (CS Stanislaus) 66-71-74 -- 211; 4. (tie) Patrick Bauer (Sonoma State) 73-67-73 -- 212; and Brandon Harkins (Chico State) 65-73-74 -- 211.

The Cal State San Bernardino golf team is fifth after the opening round of the NCAA Division II West-Central Super Regional at Wilderness Ridge Golf Course in Lincoln, Neb.

Senior Micah Burke and sophomore Kenny Pigman were the low men for the Coyotes, each with a 2-over 73 on the 7,016-yard, par-71 layout. Juniors Thomas Chu and Joe Alldis shot 3-over 74s and junior Gene Webster came in with a 75.

The team's total of 294 left them 10 shots back of first-round leader Sonoma State, which came in at even par 284 thanks to a 5-under 66 turned in by all-American Jarin Todd.

Ahead of them were Colorado-Colorado Springs at 289, five shots back of Sonoma State, Cal State Stanislaus and Chico State, each at 290.

The teams will play 18 holes on Tuesday and finish the tournament on Wednesday. The top five teams, regardless of whether they represent the West or Central and the top two individuals from non-qualifying teams, will advance to the NCAA national championship on May 19-22.

Brandon Harkins of Chico State was the early first round leader in the field of 108 golfers with a 6-under 65.

The Coyotes team started the round on the back nine. Burke shot even par on the back side that included a birdie at the par-5, 576-yard 14th hole and a bogey at the 17th hole. He came home with a 38 on the front nine, birdying No. 4, a 164-yard par 3 and No. 9, a 575-yard par-5.

Unfortunately, Burke suffered a double bogey at the 557-yard par-5 sixth hole and also bogeyed No. 1 and No. 2 to finish at 73.

Alldis started fast with birdies at the 342-yard, par-4 13th hole and the 576-yard par-5 14th hole to go two under par through No. 15. However, he bogeyed 16, 17 and 18 to close out the back nine at one-over par 36. He shot 38 on the front nine, all pars except for bogeys at No. 2 and No. 3 in his round of 74.

Pigman birdied the par-4, 342-yard 13th, but suffered bogeys at 16 and 18 to go out in 36, then bogeyed No. 1 and the par-3, 186-yard second hole before collecting a birdie at the 557-yard, par-5 sixth hole in his round of 73.

 

In most sports the SCIAC does well to get two teams from the conference in the playoffs so it was a pleasant surprise that three have been selected to the double-elimination Division III West Regional to be hosted by East Texas Baptist starting Thursday.

The University of Redlands (30-10) got the automatic bid by winning the four-team conference tournament but the Bulldogs also won the regular season. They will be the No. 4 seed in the seven-team event.

Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (28-14), the SCIAC tournament runner-up), received the No. 6 seed while the University of La Verne (28-18) is the No. 7.

"I'm very excited that we got three teams in and all are deserving," Redlands coach Laurie Nevarez said. "I think we're going to surprise some people."

Athenas coach Betsy Hipple agrees.

"The object is to take the best teams in the West Region," she said. "I don't see how you can not take all three teams."

Joining host and No. 3 seed East Texas Baptist (37-7) are top-seed Linfield, Ore. (36-4), No. 2 Louisiana College (36-7) and No. 5 Texas-Tyler (34-8), which hosted the event in 2008.

As surprising as the fact that three SCIAC teams got in is that three got in and Redlands still was not awarded the right to host. The school did submit a bid and the NCAA typically gives that honor based on finanical concerns. The fewer teams that need to fly, the better.

Even though the three SCIAC teams are closer in proximity, four teams were going to have to fly in to either location.

"They were ranked higher than we were most of the season so I guess they didn't think they could take it away from them," Nevarez said.

La Verne was the second seed in the SCIAC tournament but lost a 13-inning game to CMS in the loser's bracket that resulted in their elimination.

What likely helped get the Leopards in was a 5-4 win over Linfield, the No. 1 ranked in the country. Five of the seven in the field are ranked with East Texas at No. 3, Louisiana at 11, Texas-Tyler at 14 and Redlands at No. 25.

The teams will leave today and practice at the venue on Wednesday.

Division II men's golf

The University of Redlands will join the University of La Verne at the Division III national tournament which starts May 13 at the PGA Club in Port St. Lucie, Fla.
La Verne, ranked second nationally, was the SCIAC's automatic qualifier. Redlands received one of just two at-large bids handed out.

The Bulldogs success on the national stage seems to warrant that as they have finished as the national runner-up four of the last five years. The year that Redlands didn't go, 2007, La Verne was the runner-up giving the conference a streak of five straight second-place finishers.

"We're glad to get the chance to go again," Redlands coach Art Salvesen said. "Winning the conference is nice but it isn't our main goal.

Redlands is ranked ninth nationally. Claremont-Mudd-Scripps is No. 12 and had a shot at earning an at-large bid as well but the Bulldogs likely secured a bid by finishing one spot ahead of the Stags at the SCIAC 36-hole tournament, the last event of the regular season.
Methodist (N.C.) is ranked No. 1 but Salvesen likes La Verne's chances.

"I think they're the team to beat, I really do," he said. "They're talented and have some veteran players that have been there before."

It will be the first time La Verne has made the trip without veteran coach Rex Huigens, Salvensen's close friend, who retired after last season. The Leopards are now coached by Joe Skovron, a former player at the school.

Chaffey baseball

The Panthers (29-13) drew the No. 18 seed and will travel to No. 15 Ventura (26-16) for a first round playoff game at 2 p.m. today. It will be the sixth straight playoff appearance for coach Jeff Harlow's team.

The Panthers finished third in the Foothill Conference behind Mt. San Jacinto (31-10) and Rio Hondo (24-16) which drew the No. 7 and No. 16 seeds respectively.

"It was pretty much what I expected," Harlow said. "We had the highest RPI of the teams in the Southern region so we deserved to get in. We had a good practice yesterday (Sunday) so the guys are ready and excited."

Freshman right-hander Colby Gurney (10-0), out of Alta Loma High School, will get the start for the Panthers.

CMS women's lacrosse

The Athenas (12-1) were selected for the 26-team NCAA field and will travel to Cortland State for a first-round game on Wednesday.

CMS has qualified for the NCAA Championships three straight years. The team is led by the scoring trio of sophomore Sarah Dick (41 goals), senior Courtney Cronin (41 goals) and junior Colbi Brawner (40 goals).

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By Michelle Gardner

Staff Writer

REDLANDS -- The young Claremont-Mudd-Scripps softball team knew it faced a formidable challenge in having to face traditional power University of Redlands in the championship game of the SCIAC tournament Saturday afternoon.

It didn't help that the Athenas had to fight through the loser's bracket, outlasting La Verne in 13 innings, only to play Redlands an hour later.

Experience paid off as the top-seeded Bulldogs posted a 5-1 win in the title tilt. Redlands (30-10) now awaits word on where it will head for the Division III West Region while CMS (28-14) is hoping the strong showing will result in an at-large berth. The SCIAC did get two teams in the regional last season.

"They have a championship culture and we're still trying to build one. We went a long way in doing that today," CMS coach Betsy Hipple said. "That game took a ton out of us but we still had to stay the course. We knew it was going to be an uphill battle."

The Bulldogs, ranked No. 25 by the NFSCA, had their ace in the circle as junior Olivia Ellis hurled every inning of all three of her team's games in the event. She set down the first 13 hitters she faced with the first hit being a single by Emily Lopez with one out in the fifth.

By then Redlands had already surged out to a 5-0 lead with senior second baseman Dory Baga knocking home four of those runs. She clubbed a three-run home run off an 0-2 pitch from Julia Cruz in the third that followed singles by Kayla Peterson and Lizett Casillas.

"I was looking for something inside," Baga said. "We have been focusing on swinging hard and it paid off. It was nice to have a lead but we respect the game and we know anything can still happen."

Redlands, the visiting team despite playing on its home field, added to that in the fifth with the same players doing the damage. Peterson and Casillas singled with Peterson scoring on Baga's second hit of the day. Lindsay Henry then drove home Casillas with a single and the Bulldogs were not threatened again.

Ellis surrendered just four hits and one run while striking out six.

CMS, which finished the game with four freshman and five sophomores on the field, prevented the shutout with a run in the seventh on a run-scoring single by sophomore Chelsea Baker.

Ellis was also backed by a defense that played error-free.

"Our first goal was winning the regular season and the second was the conference tournament," Redlands coach Laurie Nevarez said. "We're going to savor this today and tomorrow refocus on a regional championship."

Redlands will find out its destination for the regional on Monday. It has submitted a bid to host but everything depends on what teams qualify and how many will have to be flown in.

Hipple will be on the call as the conference rep.

"I hope we get a shot to keep playing but I'm proud no matter what happens," she said.

CMS 3, La Verne 2

Michelle Brody stroked a run-scoring single in the 13th inning to boost the Athenas past defending champion La Verne in loser's bracket play.

The game tookl more than three hours. CMS managed 13 hits and La Verne collected 12. Each team finished with 13 runners left on base with CMS loading the bases in the eighth and ninth with no outs but failing to score.

Brody and Jessica Vaughn had three hits each for the Athenas. La Verne got two each from Melissa Carlson, Diandra Burns and Daryn Schively.

The Chaffey Panthers streak of Foothill Conference baseball titles ends at three.

The Panthers had a chance to tie idle Mt. San Jacinto for first, adding another to that streak but they needed to sweep College of the Desert to do that and they managed just a split.

So first place will be shard by Mt. San Jacinto and Rio Hondo (with Rio earning a shre of the title by sweeping SBVC). Chaffey settles for third and must hope its overall record of 29-13 is good enough for an at-large bid.

The Foothill typically gets two teams in - three in a good year. And this has been a pretty good year with a lot of balance in the conference.

Much will depend on what happens in the other conferences.