November 2011 Archives

Junior Annie Lydens was named the SCIAC Female Athlete of the Week for the third time this season while sophomore forward Jake Klewer of the men's basketball team earned the SCIAC Male Athlete of the Week honor for the first time in his career.

Lydens earned this week's honor after recording the best finish for a Pomona-Pitzer Cross Country athlete (male or female) in the history of the Division III Championships. Lydens finished third overall at nationals, breaking the previous best of fifth-place set by Crosby Freeman at the 2004 Men's National Championships and her own high mark of ninth-place on the women's side, which she set last year.

In addition, Lydens also broke the program record in the 6K, crossing the line with a time of 21.02, which was 25 seconds faster than she ran last year on her way to a ninth-place finish. She easily earned All-America honors with her performance (the top 35 finishers earn All-America distinction) and has now been named an All-American three times, including once in Outdoor Track and Field after finishing second at the nationals in the 5000 meters last spring.

Lydens did not start competing competitively in distance events until her sophomore year, and has responded with three top-10 finishes in her first three seasons. As a freshman, she only competed in one cross country race due to a foot injury, and then competed in the middle-distance (800 meters) during track season.

Lydens, who also carries a 4.0 grade point average at Pomona, plans to compete in both the 1500 and the 5000 meters this spring, and is expected to be in the hunt for national championships in both events.

Klewer, meanwhile, had an exceptional performance in a double-overtime loss to defending national champion St. Thomas (Minn.) on Saturday. He finished with game-highs of 23 points and nine rebounds, while shooting 10-14 from the floor as the Sagehens nearly pulled off the upset, leading by five with 30 seconds to go in regulation. The 23 points established a new career high as well, surpassing the 21 he had last year in a home win over Caltech.

Klewer had 14 of his points in the second half, including eight straight for the Sagehens during one stretch when he helped his team pull rally from a nine-point deficit to pull even at 49-49 with 6:30 to go. He also had a key baseline spin move for a lay-up to put Pomona-Pitzer ahead by three in overtime, before the Tommies tied it on a three-point shot with just over a minute to play.

Cal Poly Pomona senior guard Sarah Semenero was named the California Collegiate Athletic Association's (CCAA) women's basketball Player of the Week for the week of Nov. 14-20.

Semenero,led the 19th-ranked Broncos to a pair of wins over West Regional opponents at the CCAA/GNAC Classic in Monmouth, Ore. last weekend. Semenero averaged 16.5 points, 8.0 rebounds, 3.0 steals and 1.0 rebounds as Cal Poly Pomona defeated Northwest Nazarene and Western Oregon.

Semenero finished with a career-high 20 points on 7-of-14 shooting, while also tallying nine boards, three steals and an assist in the Broncos' 62-55 win over Northwest Nazarene on Friday. She followed that effort with 13 points, seven rebounds and three steals in a 69-53 victory over host Western Oregon on Saturday.

Cal Poly Pomona opens CCAA play on Wednesday when it travels to the Bay Area to take on San Francisco State at 3 p.m.

CCAA Women's Basketball Players of the Week:

Nov. 7-13: Chelsea Carlisle (UC San Diego)

Nov. 14-20: Sarah Semenero (Cal Poly Pomona).

UC Riverside's Chad Hall competed in the NCAA Cross Country National Championship on Monday morning, finishing the 10k course in 30:17.8 to place 44th out of 252 runners.

Hall was competing as an indvidual after earning an at-large bid after placing 8th at the NCAA West Regional on November 12.

Last season, the Big Bear native finished in 142nd place at the National Championship.
 
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Cal State San Bernardino has been chosen to host the NCAA Division II Volleyball Elite Eight.

It was pretty much a no-brainer, although the NCAA hasn't seemed real thrilled to put the event out West in the past, preferring to defer to states more centrally located. This is the first time a West team has hosted since Cal State did so eight years ago.

Why was it such an easy decision?

Well the Coyotes are ranked No. 1 and they're the only undefeated team in the country.

If you're the NCAA you probably want the host team to at least make it to the championship match and the Coyotes should do so, barring something totally unexpected.

The draw is set up in advance on a rotating basis. This year the Coyotes face the Southeast Region winner in the quarterfinal. That's Flagler College from St. Augustine, Fla. That is traditionally one of the weakest regions in the country - the others being  the Atlantic and East.

And all thosre region reps are on the Coyotes' side of the draw.

Tampa, Fla. and Concordia St. Paul, the team that has betaen the Coyotes at the national tournament the last three years, are both in the other half. So Cal State will have to play one of those - not both. And it wouldn't be until the championship match.

The area is easily accessible and there are plenty of choice in airports. It's going to be a heck of a lot easier getting in and out of California in December, than say, Minnesota!

The event will be held Dec. 1-3. It will be a great weekend of action. The community should come out and support the event. It's not often you have an a national championship being decided in you're own backyard.

Here's the schedule so mark your calendars . .

Coussoulis Arena - hosted by Cal State San Bernardino
First Round - Dec. 1
12:00 p.m. - Tampa (32-1) vs. Bridgeport (21-7)
2:30 p.m. - Concordia-St. Paul (31-2) vs. Central Missouri (30-4)
5:00 p.m. - Wheeling Jesuit (36-3) vs. Hillsdale (30-2)
7:30 p.m. - Cal State San Bernardino (30-0) vs. Flagler (31-6)

Semifinals - Dec. 2
5:00 p.m. - Semifinal One
7:30 p.m. - Semifinal Two

Finals - Dec. 3
7:00 p.m.

The Cal State San Bernardino volleyball team will host the NCAA Division II West Region Tournament, beginning on Thursday. There will be eight teams competing and one berth in the Elite Eight up for grabs.

Let's hope the community shows up to support the event. First off, it's great entertainment. The West Region boasts top notch teams and THE best is the local team. High school players and coaches shouldn't waste the opportunity to see that level of play.

The school has a first-class venue and it's easy to get to.

Next Sunday the NCAA will announce where the Elite Eight will be held. Cal State is among the schools who have put in bids to host the event. The Coyotes have trekked all over the country the last three years and they have put in bid to host, only to be denied.

The NCAA looks at a lot of things when it comes to picking a site - one is attendance. Poor attendance figures at this week's event won't help the Coyotes cause. The NCAA hasn't given the event to a West Coast team since 2003 and they're looking for any reason to short-change the area yet again.

Here is the rundown for quarterfinal play on Thursday . . .

Noon - No. 3 Sonoma State (21-6) vs. No. 6 Hawaii Hilo (15-6)

2:30 p.m. - No. 2 UC San Diego (21-5) vs. No. 7 Grand Canyon (22-6)

5 p.m. - No. 4 Brigham Young-Hawaii (18-3) vs. No. 5 Seattle Pacific (21-6)

7:30 p.m. - No. 1 Cal State San Bernardino (27-0) vs. No. 8. Alaska-Anchorage (18-8).

The folks at the CCAA office should just hand over the Player of the Year award for women's volleyball to Cal State San Bernardino's Samantha Middleborn. Right now! No need to vote. She is the best player in the conference  - by far.

On Monday she was named Molten/California Collegiate Athletic Association Women's Volleyball Player of the Week for the week for the fifth time.

Her numbers were sop impressive it would hard to make a case for anyone else. In helping the Coyotes close out CCAA play with three wins and conclude the first undefeated regular season in program history, Middleborn totaled 51 kills in 75 attempts, registered a .600 hitting percentage and tallied 28 total blocks. During a three-set win against UC San Diego, the 2010 National Player of the Year collected 15 kills, six digs and recorded a .462 hitting percentage.

On Friday against Cal State Monterey Bay, Middleborn had 24 kills and 14 digs while posting a .600 hitting percentage in four sets. She closed out the weekend with 12 kills, eight blocks and an .857 attack percentage in a three-set win over Cal State East Bay.

Middleborn improved her NCAA Division II-leading hitting percentage to .504 and tops the country with a 1.62 blocks per set.

The top-ranked Coyotes are next in action on Thursday when they host Alaska Anchorage in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

The University of Redlands has been chosen to host the NCAA Division III men's soccer sectional (round of 16) which will be held Friday and Saturday at Farquhar Field.

Joining Redlands in the field are Calvin (Mich.), Randolph College (Va.) and Texas-Tyler.
Bulldogs coach Ralph Perez said some upsets around the country paved the way for his team to be playing at home.

"I was a little surprised, then I started looking at some of the other results," Perez said. "We're just happy to still be playing. We also know that if we slip up once it could be over just as fast."

The No. 13 Bulldogs (20-3-1) will play Calvin College (17-5-1) at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. The 5 p.m. game will pit Randolph (18-5) against No. 22 Texas-Tyler (17-2-1).

The Bulldogs enter with a 19-game unbeaten streak, highlighted by impressive playoff wins over Pacific Lutheran (4-1) and Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (3-0) in which the defense allowed just a combined 10 shots on goal.

Redlands is second in NCAA Division III in scoring with 86 goals and 76 assists. Freshman forward Charles Izydorek, out of Arrowhead Christian Academy, leads the team in points (36) and goals (15).

Tickets can be purchased at Farquhar Field up to one hour prior to kickoff. General admission is $6. Students with school I.D. and senior citizens cost $3, while children ages 2-12  are $2.

The University of Redlands football team has become the first SCIAC runner-up in history to earn an at-large playoff berth. The Bulldogs (8-1) made the 32-team field for the first time since 2007 when it shared the conference title but got the automatic bid.

The Bulldogs will not be heading to Cal Lutheran as most thought they would if they made the field. Instead they will get on a plane for a Saturday matchup against American Southwest Conference champion Mary Hardin-Baylor (10-0), which is making its eighth straight playoff appearance and 10th in 11 years.

Early in the week coach Mike Maynard said the only scenario in which his team would likely make the field was if the NCAA sent it back to Thousand Oaks because it has always limited the first-round field to one plane flight. Not only will Redlands be getting on a plane, so will Cal Lutheran which is being sent to Linfield (Ore.).

The Bulldogs making the field is good, not just for the school but the conference as well. Now there is a precedent for a runner-up making the field. A big part of Redlands qualifying, no doubt, was its nonconference win over then No. 6-North Central (Ill.). Maynard thought his team deserved a shot last year at 8-1, but strength of schedule was singled out as an issue.

So if Redlands didn't get in, then strength of schedule really didn't matter at all. That would have been sending a bad message that no matter what you do, you're not getting in if you're not first.

No Redlands wasn't overly impressive in some of its SCIAC games, but margin of factor is not supposed to be a factor. A win is a win.

The next step is for the both Redlands and Cal Lu to put in good showings so the SCIAC is deemed worthy for a second spot in future years as well.

Senior guard James Lambert was named to the Capital One/CoSIDA Academic All-District 8 first team in a vote of the district's sports information directors.

Lambert, who carries a 3.93 grade point average as an economics major, is now eligible for Academic All-America honors, which will be announced in December.

As one of the team co-captains, Lambert has had a key role in this season in blocking for junior running back Luke Sweeney who leads the nation (Division III) in rushing by over 20 yards with 182.4 yards per game. Lambert and his line-mates have paved the way for Sweeney to set both single-game (265) and single-season (1,277) rushing records in the 119-year history of Sagehen Football.

In fact, over his career, Lambert has blocked for Pomona-Pitzer's all-time leading passer (Jake Caron) and receiver (R.J. Maki), in addition to Sweeney's records this season.

Lambert and the Pomona-Pitzer offensive line have been equally effective this season with their pass protection as in opening holes for Sweeney. The Sagehens have allowed only 11 sacks all year in 263 total passing plays.

Lambert and the Sagehens finish their 2011 season when they travel across Sixth Street to take on neighboring rival Claremont-Mudd-Scripps on Saturday at 1 p.m. in the annual Peace Pipe game.
 
 

Cal State San Bernardino Samantha Middleborn has been named Molten/California Collegiate Athletic Association Women's Volleyball Player of the Week for the week of Oct. 31 - Nov. 6. It marks the fourth time this season she has been honored.

Middleborn, a senior from Rialto, had another dominating performance in helping the Coyotes to a weekend sweep, their sixth straight CCAA title and ninth in the last 11 years.

In six sets against Humboldt State and No. 23 Sonoma State, Middleborn totaled 19 kills (3.17 per set), 15 total blocks and recorded a .333 attack percentage while registering 26.5 points.

Middleborn recorded a .526 attack percentage against Humboldt State, and tied a career-high with 10 block assists in a straight set win over Sonoma State.

Cal State San Bernardino will attempt to close out an undefeated regular season when it hosts UC San Diego, Cal State Monterey Bay and Cal State East Bay beginning on Wednesday.

Molten CCAA Women's Volleyball Player of the Week:

Aug. 29 - Sept. 4: Samantha Middleborn (Cal State San Bernardino)

Sept. 5-11: Keala Peterson (Sonoma State)

Sept. 12-18: Taylor Krenwinkel (Sonoma State)

Sept. 19-25: Samantha Middleborn (Cal State San Bernardino)

Sept. 26 - Oct. 2: Jessica Leek (Chico State)

Oct. 3-9: Samantha Middleborn (Cal State San Bernardino)

Oct. 10-16: Marquis Mora (Cal State L.A.)

Oct. 17-23: Halimah Oswald (San Francisco State)

Oct. 24-30: Katie Condon (UC San Diego)

Oct. 31 - Nov. 6: Samantha Middleborn (Cal State San Bernardino)

The Cal State San Bernardino volleyball team garnered 28 of 31 first-place votes and moved up to No. 1 in the American Volleyball Coaches Association poll released on Monday.

The Coyotes (24-0, 19-0) spent much of the season at No. 3 and were No. 2 last week. The top spot became up for grabs when No. 1 Minnesota-Duluth lost to reigning national champion Concordia-St. Paul.

The Coyotes posted 3-0 wins last week over Humboldt State and Sonoma State, with the win over the Seawolves securing them a sixth straight CCAA title and ninth in 11 years.

The Coyotes have three matches left, all at Coussoulis Arena. They host nemesis UC San Diego at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Cal State Monterey Bay at 5 p.m. on Friday and close out the regular season on Saturday at 7 p.m. against Cal State Monterey Bay.

Here's the top 25 rundown:

1. Cal State San Bernardino 24-0

2. Minnesota-Duluth 27-1

3. Concordia-St. Paul (26-2)

4. Washburn (28-1)

5. Tampa, Fla. (28-1)

6. Nebraska_kearney (26-1)

7. Central Missouri (24-4)

8. Hillsdale (26-2)

9. Southwest Minnesota State (21-6)

10. Wayne State (Neb) (22-7)

11.Metro State (22-5)

12. Ferris State (25-2)

13.West Texas A&M (31-2)

14. Wingate, N.C. (27-0)

15. UC San Diego  (19-4)

16. Northern Kentucky (24-4)

17. Lewis (23-5)

18. Angelo State (28-4)

19. Armstrong Atlantic (33-1)

20. Minnesota State (18-8)

21. Indianapolis (19-7)

22. Eckerd (22-4)

23. Sonoma State (19-6)

24. Flagler (25-6)

25. Regis (21-8)

      Seattle Pacific (20-6)

     Wheeling Jesuit (30-3)

The Cal State San Bernardino basketball team gave the UCLA Bruins all they wanted before falling 80-72 Sunday at Citizens Bank Arena. The Coyote even led 70-68 with 7:23 left but then came three straight turnovers and they were never in front again.

Coach Jeff Oliver should be pleased. His team hustled and played hard. It had too. The Coyotes are big by Division II standards but the Bruins are just plain big. At 6-10, 305 pounds, sophomore Joshua Smith is a small house.

He scored 26 points with seven rebounds and three blocks. Reeves Nelson had a double-double with 16 points and 10 boards.

Of course the little Division II team wasn't going to get any calls. The Bruins went to the free-throw line 41 times (making 33) while the Coyotes had 21 tries (making 15).  So the Coyotes outshot UCLA from the field.

Two calls were highly suspect. With UCLA up 67-61with 4:47 left Cal State's Tre Brewer connected on a runner in the lane.

Then down 76-70 with 1:20 left Hakeem Washington got called for a charge.

Oh well, it was a good try.

Oliver's big men loomed large. Theron Laudermill tallied 16 points and six boards while D.J. Shumpert added 14 points , seven rebounds and five blocks. His game has really progressed from last year which ended with him sidelined with academic issues.

Brewer and Kwame Alexander each had nine before fouling out. Alexander's fifth foul came while defending Smith with 5:11 left while Brewer departed after that charging call.

So it looks like the Coyotes should be right in the mix for a CCAA title.

The regular season tips off on Friday with Cal State squaring off Westmont at 7 p.m. It will be a night of quality competition with the Cal State volleyball team starting things off with a 5 p.m. match against Cal State Monterey Bay.

The No. 2 Cal State San Bernardino volleyball team (24-0, 19-0) wrapped up its sixth straight CCAA championship and the ninth in 11 years by beating Sonoma State 3-0 (25-19, 25-22, 28-26) at Coussoulis Arena.

Their dominance in recent years has been impressive. Last year the Coyotes won the conference by a whopping six matches which is pretty much unheard of. It looks like they're going to win it by nearly that many again this season.

Part of that is the Coyotes talent and the fact that they have a veteran team with nine seniors, many of whom have played their whole careers together. But the conference as a whole has also been a bit down the last two years.

The Coyotes should be No. 1 in the next national poll due to come out on Monday. Minnesota-Duluth, who was No. 1 last week, lost a match earlier this week to reigning national champion Concordia St. Paul.

The Coyotes moving up to No. 1 and being undefeated can't do anything but help their chances at securing hosting rights to this year's Ellite Eight. The biggest factor not in Cal State's favor is that the NCAA seems to go out of its way to not give the tournament to the West. The last time a West team hosted was in 2003 when the Coyotes did so.

Another factor in Cal State's favor is the draw. One would think the NCAA wants to give it to a school that has a decent shot at reaching the final and this year the draw is set up for the Coyotes to do so. The Coyotes wouldn't play the Central Region winner - be it Duluth or Concordia - until the championship match.

It has been an emotional week for the Chaffey College football team.

The Panthers were dealt a blow earlier in the week when popular assistant coach and former player Stevon Thomas, 23, died suddenly of an unknown cause.

Chaffey (4-5, 1-3) took the field for the first time since then against Long Beach City and lost 45-21 in a game that really wasn't even that close..Truth be told, the Panthers probably wouldn't have beaten the Vikings on a good day without the emotion of the week.

Thomas' parents, other family members and friends were in attendance. Many wore black T-shirts with Stevon's picture. Some wore T-shirts with a No. 4, Thomas' number at both Chaffey and later at Northern Arizona.

The family was presented a framed photo of their son signed by the entire team and coaching staff.

Players had the No. 4 emblazoned on the back of their helmets and wore black wristbands with a red No. 4. Many had his name and number scrawled on tape,. Defensive lineman Kevin Gannuscio had "RIP Coach Thomas written in large block letters on the cast covering his wrist and forearm.

The seat Thomas occupied in the pressbox alongside fellow assistant Dave Portz was empty. Portz is quite vocal and animated and Thomas would often chuckle when he was going off in a tirade. I know because it is just a few seats from where I'm sitting.Thomas was always plesant and mild-mannered, something not quite typical of the ferocious defensive player he was.

He will be missed.

The Chaffey College community has been rocked by the sudden passing of well-respected assistant football coach Stevon Thomas who was just 23.

Thomas, a product of Norco High School who also played at Chaffey and Northern Arizona, University was found dead some time between Sunday night and Monday morning. A cause of death is is not yet known.

Thomas was in his first year coaching the Chaffey linebackers. He was working toward a master's degree and wanted to make teaching and coaching his profession, according to Chaffey head coach Carl Beach.

Work trickled through the Chaffey campus Monday. Beach said he had planned on telling his team before Monday's practice but most of the players and members of the staff had already heard.

Beach said the school would remember Thomas at Saturday's 1 p.m. against Long Beach City but formal plans had not yet been set.

Junior Annie Lydens was named the SCIAC Female Athlete of the Week (all sports) for the second time this fall, it was announced today by the conference office.

Lydens earned the honor after winning the SCIAC Women's Cross Country Championship on Saturday at Prado Park in Chino, finishing with a time of 23:11, which was 25 seconds faster than the second-place finisher.

After winning the race, Lydens also received the 2011 SCIAC Women's Cross Country Athlete of the Year honor for the second straight season, as a result of her combined performances in the SCIAC Mutli-Duals on Oct. 15 and the conference championship on Saturday. At the Multi-Duals, Lydens finished nearly 30 seconds ahead of the second-place finisher.

In fact, Lydens competed in three races in the month of October and won all three handily, including a personal-best time of 21:03 at the Pomona-Pitzer Invitational on Oct. 1 (pictured).

An All-American in both cross country and outdoor track last season, Lydens will try to defend her NCAA Division III West Region championship when she returns to action on Nov. 12 in a race that will be held on her home course.

The NCAA Division III nationals will be Nov. 19 in Wisconsin, where she will try to improve on her ninth-place finish last fall. She also finished second in the 5000 meters at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field championships in May.

The University of Redlands football team has moved up one spot to No. 15 in the D3Football.com poll released on Monday.

Redlands also moved up a spot to 16th in the American Football Coaches Association poll.

The Bulldogs (6-1, 4-1) are coming off a 38-28 win over the University of La Verne and will host Whittier at 7 p.m. on Saturday.

SCIAC front-runner Cal Lutheran (6-1, 5-0) also moved up a spot to No. 9 in one poll and 14th in the other.

The Cal State San Bernardino volleyball team (22-0) is one of just two unbeatens left in NCAA Division II and moved from third to second in the American Volleyball Coaches Association poll released Monday.

No. 1 and previously unbeaten Tampa (Fla.), now 25-1, was upset by unranked Eckerd and fell to fifth. Minnesota-Duluth (25-0) is the new No. 1 as seven places in the top 10 changed.

The Coyotes could work their way up to No. 1 before it's all over because Minnesota-Duluth still has a match left against Concordia-St. Paul which is trying for its fifth straight national title and is currently No. 6. If you're the Coyotes you probably want Concordia to win that one. Being the only unbeaten and No. 1 would probably further their cause when it comes to hosting the event.

The only problem is the NCAA seems to not want a West Region to host since one hasn't done so since 2003 when the Coyotes did so.

The Coyotes look like they have a good chance at running the table with their last five matches all at Coussoulis Arena where they have won 56 straight matches dating back to the end of the 2008 season.

The Coyotes also are ranked first in the West Region which actually carries more weight because the No. 1 team typically hosts the eight-team regional which determines the Elite Eight representative.