Recently in Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Category

Three local college soccer teams are in the hunt for national titles.

Pairings for the NCAA Division II and II men's and women's field were announced today. Cal State San Bernardino made the men's field for just the second time in school history and the first since 1991.

The Coyotes (15-5-1) will play tournament host and top seed Cal State Los Angeles (17-3-1) at 7 p.m. on Friday. They lost to the Eagles twice - 3-1 and 3-2. But the second of those was in overtime after LA tied it at 2-all with a penalty kick in the closing seconds of regulation.

The Coyotes have nothing to lose and sometimes those are the most dangerous teams to play.

In Division III Claremont-Mudd-Scripps will host UC Santa Cruz in an 11 a.m. match on Saturday. The Athenas were by far the best team in the SCIAC. They were the regular season champion and they won the SCIAC Tournament.

The CMS will hit the road to play UC Santa Cruz on Saturday. The Stags are the reason many like the idea of a conference tournament. They were fourth but finished with a flurry, upsetting regular season champion Pomona-Pitzer and perennial title contender Redlands to earn the berth.

POMONA-PITZER 20, PUGET SOUND 14 (OT)

Tight end Robert McNitt caught a 23-yard scoring pass from receiver R.J. Maki in overtime to give the Sagehens a victory in their season opener in Tacoma, Wash., in their season opener.

The Sagehens tallied 397 yards offense with quarterback Jacob Caron throwing for 293. Colin Regan caught 13 passes for 11 yards while Maki hauled in eight for 105 highlighted by a 6-yard toss from Caron that gave Pitzer a 14-7 lead. Russell Oka led the ground game with 64 yards.

CLAREMONT-MUDD-SCRIPPS 22, LEWIS & CLARK 7

Andrew Segal rushed for 125 yards and quarterback Scott Yingling threw for 163 as the Stags turned back the Pioneers in their season opener.

Chet Corcos had field goals of 31 and 35 yards. Yingling had a 1-yard touchdown run and D.J. Lillard scored on a 2-yarder.

CMS rolled up 405 yards offense while limiting the host team to 55.

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."

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.

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

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

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

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

Athenas coach Betsy Hipple agrees.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Division II men's golf

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

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

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

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

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

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

Chaffey baseball

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

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

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

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

CMS women's lacrosse

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

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

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By Michelle Gardner

Staff Writer

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Hipple will be on the call as the conference rep.

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

CMS 3, La Verne 2

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Senior tennis standout Tori Damiani (Sacramento, CA) was named the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) Female Athlete of the Week for her solid performance during the 2009 SCIAC Championship Tournament.

Damiani went undefeated during the two-day event, competing at No. 3 singles and No. 3 doubles.  She played a pivotal role in the Bulldogs' share of the conference championship and upset of No. 7 Pomona-Pitzer Colleges in the tournament final.

Damiani joined forces with teammate junior Rachael Miller and posted doubles wins over Whittier (8-1), Cal Lutheran (8-2), and Pomona-Pitzer (8-5).

In singles, Damiani captured a 6-1, 6-3 victory over her opponent from Cal Lutheran during the semifinal round and then clinched the match win, conference championship, and NCAA automatic bid for the Bulldogs with her come-from-behind 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 showing against the Sagehens.

For her contributions during the season, Damiani earned First Team All-Conference honors.

The male athlete of the week was Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges' tennis player Larry Wang.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The No. 19 University of Redlands baseball team rebounded from its loss against Rutgers University-Newark (NJ) from earlier in the afternoon, defeating Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges, 11-4, in non-conference action at The Yard on Sunday.

 

With the win, Head Coach Scott Laverty earned his 200th victory at the helm of the Bulldog baseball program and became just the third coach in the team's history to accomplish that feat. Laverty won his first game on Feb. 11, 2000 by a 13-1 score against Whittier College. Jeff Tape '00 earned the winning decision on the mound in Laverty's first triumph as head coach.

 

Both teams scored early as Claremont-Mudd-Scripps posted one run on no hits and two errors in the first while Redlands responded with an RBI single by senior infielder Tony Stutevoss (Portland, OR) in the bottom of the inning.

 

Redlands took a 2-1 lead due to sloppy play by the Stag infield. Stutevoss singled through the right side to start out the inning, but he ended up advancing to second on an error by the pitcher on a failed pickoff attempt and went home on an erroneous throw by the first baseman.

 

Claremont-Mudd-Scripps equaled the score in the sixth, but the Bulldogs emerged victorious in the end due in large part to a productive offense in the bottom in the inning.

 

Senior utility player Will Wetmore (Santa Cruz, CA) doubled to right field with one out, and senior catcher Brett Sandford (Santa Barbara, CA) walked, giving the Bulldogs two men on board. Senior pitcher/infielder Evan Dunn (Portland, OR) grounded out and advanced the two runners, giving Redlands what looked like a dreary situation with two outs. The scoring started when junior shortstop Zack Braband (Alameda, CA) plated Sandford and Dunn with a double to right center, and Braband advanced to third on a passed ball in the ensuing at bat. Senior outfielder/catcher Kyle Rizzo (Redlands, CA) brought in Braband with a single through the right side and then stole second while Stutevoss was at bat. Stutevoss singled to third, which moved Rizzo over, and he lucked out with a botched catch in a steal attempt. Junior catcher Jefre Johnson (Canby, OR) cleared the bases with a single to centerfield, and senior outfielder Cory Vane (Simi Valley, CA) continued the offensive outburst with a single to third. Finally, senior outfielder Matt Goldstein (Lincoln, CA) closed out the fireworks with an RBI triple that scored Johnson and Vane.

 

The Stags scored once more in the top of the seventh, but the Bulldogs one-upped their opponent with two runs in the bottom of the inning. Dunn reached on an error by the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps shortstop and eventually stole second and third before scoring on a passed ball. Rizzo, who walked after Dunn stole second, came home via Stutevoss in the following at bat.

 

Rizzo scored an impressive three runs on one hit and two walks and notched one RBI. Batting a solid 4-for-5, Stutevoss fortified the offense with two runs and two RBI. Vane stretched his hitting streak to 12 consecutive games with a  2-for-5 showing while Braband also recorded a multi-hit game.

 

Junior pitcher/infielder Michael Lessig (Fountain Hills, AZ) pitched solidly for seven full innings, allowing just one earned run while striking out seven. Senior pitcher Kevin Bissell (Orange, CA) and sophomore pitcher Derek Johnson (Canby, OR) held the lead in relief, combining for one strikeout and one surrendered earned run. The Stags' Kyle Shipley shouldered the loss.

 

Redlands (15-6) continues on with Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) play on Friday when it hosts red-hot Pomona-Pitzer Colleges at 3 p.m.

 

The University of Redlands swimming & diving teams finished as runners-up to Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges in both the men's and women's competition following the third and final day of competition at the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) Championships.

 

Freshman Tyler Harp (San Bernardino, CA) received the conference's Athlete of the Year honor following a meet where he set three program records and one conference record individually and four program marks and one conference standard as a relay member. With "A" qualifying standards in the 50 and 100 freestyle events, he receives an automatic bid to the NCAA Championship meet, which takes place in Minneapolis, MN, from March 18-21.

 

The Redlands record book got torched throughout the three-day meet as the men set a total of eight program records while three program marks fell on the women's side.

 

Saturday's finals session featured a timed-final heat of the women's 1650 freestyle, and three Bulldogs managed top-eight finishes in the event. Sophomore Michelle Camburn (Sunnyvale, CA) stopped the clock at 18:16.25, taking sixth. Camburn's swim bested the program's former record of 18:16.60 in the event, which Cathleen Penney '07 set in 2006. Sophomore Kayla Desai (Lakewood, CO) and junior Danielle Caver (Highland, CA) finished seventh and eighth with times of 18:54.20 and 18:58.71, respectively.

 

Sophomore Alec Alders (Los Angeles, CA) completed the trifecta, winning his third event of the meet with a decisive 16:05.58 victory in the men's 1650 freestyle. Alders flirted with the program record in the event (16:04.99) but earned an NCAA provisional qualifying time with the performance nonetheless. Senior Marc Hicks (Granada Hills, CA) caught Occidental Colleges' Michael Wade at the 800 mark of the race and earned a fifth-place finish (16:47.88) while junior Ned Voytovich (Salt Lake City, UT) powered through the back half of his race to gain a seventh-place time of 17:01.21.

 

Utilizing her endurance, senior Hillary Nicholson (Santa Cruz, CA) maintained a solid spot in the middle of the pack in the women's 200 backstroke throughout the entirety of the race and took fourth with a time of 2:11.16.

 

Backstroke depth again helped the men earn points as the Bulldogs placed sixth through eighth in the men's 200 backstroke. Junior Ian Starkie (Arroyo Grande, CA) took sixth with a 2:01.41 time, sophomore Mike Reilly (Coral Gables, FL) finished seventh with a 2:02.78 mark and junior Chad Kyffin (San Jose, CA) stopped the clock eighth with a 2:02.95 standard.

 

Two young sprint talents allowed the Bulldogs to make a strong presence in the women's 100 freestyle. Freshman Casey Sripramong (Glendale, CA) took advantage of a surge in the second half of her race to gain a fifth-place finish (54.91) while freshman Jaime Nippert (Gresham, OR) had a competitive showing as well, taking eighth with a 56.00 time.

 

Harp became the first-ever SCIAC swimmer to crack the elusive 45-second barrier in the men's 100 freestyle as he lowered Greg Milton '96's program and conference record of 45.07, which he set back in 1993 when he won the event at the NCAA Championship meet. Harp's swim also cleared the NCAA automatic qualifying time by .01. His teammate, sophomore Miran Terzic (Mostar, Bosna i Hercegovina), finished right behind him with an NCAA provisional cut time of 45.44. Two additional Redlands swimmers placed in the top eight as well. Senior Buddy Olds (Murrieta, CA) touched the wall at 47.07 for fourth place while junior John Floersch (San Jose, CA) captured seventh (47.50).

 

Three Redlands student-athletes swam in the championship final of the women's 200 breaststroke, and freshman McKenzie Nakamura (Kenmore, WA) led the way with an NCAA provisional qualifying mark and a program record of 2:23.85 in her second-place showing in the event. Cathleen Penney '07 clocked the former gold standard of 2:25.70 back in 2006. Sophomore Jo Navarro (Chandler, AZ) tapped in at 2:33.30 for sixth while sophomore Kelley Cooper (San Antonio, TX) finished eighth with a time of 2:34.70.

 

Freshman Mike Grant (Weston, MA) took out his first 100 in a 1:03.30 and pushed through the final half of the race to give the Maroon and Gray a fifth-place finish in the men's 200 breaststroke (2:17.60). Rounding out the top eight finishers was Hicks who clocked an eighth-place 2:20.31.

 

Despite having just two Bulldog representatives in finals, Redlands took advantage of its depth as it accounted for six of the eight consolation finalists in the men's 200 butterfly. Freshman Jesse Lieberman (Princeton, NJ) clocked a lifetime-best 1:57.82 for sixth in the championship final while sophomore Sonny Morin (Seattle, WA) managed a time of 2:02.43, which earned him eighth.

 

The Redlands women closed out the weekend with a fifth-place finish in the 400 freestyle relay. Sripramong led off the relay with a 54.90 split, setting the pace for the quartet. Freshman K.C. Hughes (Gig Harbor, WA), Cooper and Nakamura followed suit and registered a final time of 3:41.52.

 

Perhaps none of the broken records of the weekend resonated as much as the Bulldogs' victory in the men's 400 freestyle relay. With the bleachers on the starting end of the pool packed with swimmers cheering on their teammates in the final event of the meet, a loud atmosphere ensued, setting the stage for a final curtain call by the Redlands sprinters.

 

Olds led off the relay with a time that was nearly a full second faster than that of his 100 freestyle in the championship final an hour prior, clocking a 46.26. Terzic extended the lead over Claremont-Mudd-Scripps on the second leg with a 45.25 and handed a two-second lead off to Floersch. With a strong first lap to set the tempo, Floersch muscled his way through the 100 in 46.03 and gave the large lead off to the individual champion in the 100 freestyle, Harp. With the race already in hand, Harp battled the clock and turned in a remarkable anchor split of 44.92 to give the team a total time of 3:02.46.

 

Their collective efforts earned a quality NCAA "B" cut while erasing a 26-year-old SCIAC record (3:03.10) and a 16-year-old program record (3:05.31).

 

The Athenas won the women's meet with relative ease, raking in a whopping 1004.5 points throughout the meet. Redlands finished second with 621 points while Pomona-Pitzer Colleges settled for third (547).

 

For the second consecutive year, Claremont-Mudd-Scripps won the men's meet. Despite elite performances from both sides, the Stags edged the Bulldogs in the end by a 932.5-871 score. Pomona-Pitzer emerged in a three-team battle for third with 402.5 points.

 

Both Harp and Terzic possess NCAA "A" cuts and earn an automatic invitation to the NCAA Championship meet, which is held in Minneapolis, MN, from March 18-21. Those who possess "B" qualifying times are placed in an at-large pool but are not guaranteed a spot at the meet.

The NCAA will announce a psych sheet for the NCAA Championship meet after the conference championship season is completed. Further information on additional invitees to the national championship meet will be posted on www.goredlands.com.

 

Last year Occidental and Cal Lutheran were the premier men's basketball teams in the SCIAC during the regular season but neither even made it to the conference tournament final. It was Pomona-Pitzer taking the tournament and automatic playoff bid.

It was that kind of topsy-turvy season.

The 2009 race begins with all eight teams taking the court for their conference openers Saturday. CMS will be at Redlands while La Verne treks to Whittier. Pomona-Pitzer will host Caltech.

Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (8-3) has emerged as the frontrunner. The Stags served notice by winning the Lee Fulmer Tournament at Redlands in December. Their most noteworthy win in that event came over No. 15 Whitworth (Wash.) which is 11-1 and hasn't lost to anyone else.

"We have played some teams out of that Northwest Conference which is a pretty decent barometer of where you stand," said CMS coach Ken Scalmanini, in his 11th season. "I like my team. The guys play hard and we're pretty deep. I think we have a little more offense than we have had in the past and we can score both inside and outside."

CMS currently has four players averaing double figures led by sophomore forward Chris Blees (12.7 ppg, 6.4 rpg), the MVP at the Fullmer Tournament.

Joining him are junior guard Conner Faught (11 ppg), senior guard senior guard Austin Soldner (10.5 ppg) and junior guard Jason Toney (10.3 ppg). Senior center Tejas Gala (5.5 ppg) rounds out the starting lineup.

Cal Lutheran (8-3) also looks like a formidable foe led by returning first-team All-SCIAC selection Andy Meier (18.4 ppg, 11.4 rpg). The Kingsmen recently dropped a close game to No. 8 Buena Vista (Iowa) 68-65.

Much-improved Whittier (6-5) and Pomona-Pitzer (3-8) should also contend.

"I think those are the four top teams right now," second-year La Verne coach Richard Reed said. "That doesn't discount the others because anything can happen in this conference. There is a lot of balance."

The Sagehens upended CMS in the SCIAC tournament finale a year ago, then lost a first-round playoff game Occidental. Pitzer's record is a bit deceiving. The Sagehens had four players, three of whom are starters, go abroad for the fall semester and they just rejoined the team in December.

"Anyone overlooking them is making a big mistake," Scalmanini said of his cross-street rival. "They just got their whole team together and they're going to be as tough as ever."

Most coaches like having a conference tournament, pointing out the atmospehere it creates. The Sagehens downed the Stags in last year's final.

"It's always crazy when we play," Scalmanini said. "Now throw in that a playoff spot is on the line. It was one of the greatest atmospheres I've seen for a game at this level."

The Leopards were a good example of a team that benefited from it, although they didn't make the four-team field.

"We were 2-5 in the first round of conference so we would have been mathematically eliminated," Reed said. "Because we had a tournament, we had something to play for right up until the last game. It gave a lot of kids a chance to compete in a playoff environment."
"I also think it's good because then the conference is being represented by the team playing the best at the end of the season."

Defending regular season champion: Occidental

Tournament champion: Pomona-Pitzer

Current records: Cal Lutheran 8-3; Claremont-Mudd-Scripps 8-3; Whittier 6-5; Occidental 4-7; La Verne 4-7; Redlands 4-7; Pomona-Pitzer 3-8; Caltech 1-10.

New coach: Oliver Eslinger (Caltech).

10 players to watch: Cal Lutheran - Andy Meier (18.4 ppg, 11.4; rpg); Caltech - Matthew Dellatorre (15.2 ppg); CMS - Chris Blees; (12.7 ppg, 6.4 rpg), Austin Soldner (10.5 ppg, 4.5 rpg); La Verne - Kyle Luhnow (14.5 ppg, 6.3 rpg); ; Occidental - Henry Meier (12.1); ppg, 8.6 rpg); Pomona-Pitzer - Adam Chaimowitz (Sr., G, 6-1, 21 ppg, 6.2 rpg), David Liss (Sr., G, 6-0, 14.7 ppg, 3 rpg); Redlands - Matt Dietrich (17.2 ppg, 3.9 rpg); Whittier - Michael Archuletta (15.4 ppg, 6.9 rpg)

Comment: Last year CMS and Pitzer met in the SCIAC tournament final, upsetting the No. 1 and 2 seeds respectively. The Sagehens picked up the win and advanced to the playoffs, only to lose a first-rounder to Occidental which had gotten an at-large playoff bid.

Saturday's games: Claremont-Mudd-Scripps at Redlands; Caltech at Pomona-Pitzer; La Verne at Whittier; Cal Lutheran at Occidental (All games 7:30 p.m.)

 

By Michelle Gardner

Staff Writer

Before last season University of La Verne women's basketball coach
Julie Kline wasn't sure she liked the idea of a conference tournament
to decide the postseason representative.

But because the SCIAC had one last season, her team advanced to the
playoffs and Occidental stayed home.

The race for the 2009 regular season title gets under way again
Thursday as all eight schools will play their SCIAC openers.

Occidental, La Verne and University of Redlands, the three teams that
battled to the finish line last year, are again the top contenders.

``It's one of those things. If it helps you, you like it. If not
you don't like it,'' Kline said. ``It worked to our advantage last year.
But it does keep things interesting for more teams longer. Almost
everyone still has something to play for late in the season.''

Occidental, which won the regular season title for the first time
since 1980, returns most of its key players, the most notable being
reigning SCIAC and West Region Player of the Year Brianna Brown. The
senior averaged 15.4 points and 8.0 rebounds per game and also led
the team with 76 steals, 26 blocks and 70 assists.

The Tigers are one of three schools who changed coaches during the
offseason. Heidi VanDerVeer has taken over for Jaime Hoffman who
assumed the athletic director role. VanDerVeer is a former head coach
of the WNBA's Minnesota Lynx and assistant with the Seattle Storm.

La Verne got off to a 6-0 start before dropping a pair of games in
Arizona in December. The Leopards are led by senior Trenecca Jones, a
Chaffey High product. Jones is a three-time All-SCIAC selection and
was Player of the Year as a sophomore.

Kline's other offensive weapons are junior Emily Carrillo and
sophomore Ashley Paul. La Verne does boast a a talented starting
lineup but lacks some firepower coming off the bench and will rely on
a rotation of six players.

Redlands finished second a year ago at 17-9, just missing out on a
possible first-place finish after a double-overtime loss to
Occidental late in the season. That strong showing came even though new coach
Rich Murphy got hired too late to recruit. He comes in with a full year
under his belt and a roster full of promising newcomers, seven of
them freshman.

``You'd have to look at Oxy and La Verne as the frontrunners. We're
young but I think we'll be in the mix,'' Murphy said. ``A lot of
teams have improved so it should make for some better games.''

Most agree the SCIAC competition should be improved this season,
siting the improvement of teams that struggled last season.
Claremont-Mudd-Scripps went just 4-20 last season thanks in part to
injuries. It has already won more games than it did last year,
picking up its seventh win in a nonconference game at Southwestern (Ariz.)
Monday.

Pomona-Pitzer has also already equaled its win total of a year ago.

``CMS and Pomona-Pitzer have both really improved,'' Kline said.
``I
am most concerned about Pomona because I have them first. They're
athletic and big and they will be tough.''


SCIAC WOMEN'S PREVIEW

Defending regular season champion: Occidental

Tournament champion: University of La Verne

Current records: La Verne 8-2; Occidental 7-3; Redlands 7-3; Whittier 7-3; Claremont-Mudd-Scripps 7-4; Pomona-Pitzer 4-6; Caltech 3-8; Cal Lutheran 1-9.

Coaches poll with 20070-8 record: 1. Occidental (21-6, 12-2); 2. University of Redlands (17-9, 10-4); 3. University of La Verne (20-8, 11-3); 4. Whittier (12-13, 7-7); 5. Cal Lutheran (13-12, 8-6); 6. Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges (4-20, 3-11); 7. Pomona-Pitzer (4-21, 3-11); 8. Caltech (4-21, 2-12)

New coaches: Heidi VanDerVeer (Occidental), Brad Durchslag (Whittier), Roy Dow (Cal Lutheran).

10 players to watch: Cal Lutheran - Kourtney Jones (So., G, 5-5, 13.6 ppg); Caltech - Lisa Yee (Jr., F, 5-7, 11.2 ppg, 10.2 rpg); CMS - Aria Krumwiede (Fr., G, 5-3, 9.2 ppg); La Verne - Trenecca Jones (Sr., F, 5-9, 15.3 ppg, 7.9 rpg), Ashley Paul (So., G, 5-8, 13.3 ppg); Occidental- Brianne Brown (Sr., G, 5-8, 10.4 ppg, 2.5 spg); Pomona-Pitzer - Diedre Chew (Jr., G, 5-6, 20.7 ppg, 5.8 rpg); Redlands - Courtney Carroll (Fr., F, 6-0, 12.8 ppg, 5.3 rpg), Meghan Yetman (Jr., F, 5-10, 9.5 ppg, 4.6 rpg); Whittier - Kourtney Zilbert (So., F, 5-9, 12.9 ppg, 7.9 rpg, 3.4 spg)


Comment: Occidental lost the SCIAC tournament final to La Verne, giving the Leopards the playoff berth . . . Oxy's Brown is the reigning conference and West Region Player of the Year but has started just three of 10 games . . . Dow has taken over the reigns at Cal Lutheran
after having previously served as head coach of the Caltech men's team  the last six years

Thursday's games: Occidental at Redlands; Pomona-Pitzer at La Verne; Caltech at Claremont-Mudd-Scripps; Whittier at Cal Lutheran (All games 7:30 p.m.)

Claremont-Mudd-Scripps basketball player Chris Blees has been named SCIAC Male Athlete of the Week.

The sophomore forward from Carmichael was named MVP of the Lee Fulmer Memorial Tournament after he led the Stags to a 3-0 record and the title.  In the three games, he scored 61 points, had 20 rebounds, seven assists and three steals while shooting 26-34 (.765) from the floor. 

 He had 10 points and four rebounds in the team's opening round 75-48 win over Southwestern College.  He had 16 points and seven rebounds in the team's 73-68 semifinal win over #15 Whitworth University.  He was a force in the championship game, scoring 35 points on 15 of 19 (.789) shooting with nine rebounds and six assists, as CMS beat Whitman College 79-78. 

 

 Blees currently leads the Stags in both scoring (15.0/g) and rebounding (6.7) and is shooting 68.7% (46-67) from the field.  CMS is 6-1 overall.

 

CAL LUTHERAN (6-2, 4-1) at REDLANDS (7-1, 4-1)

 

Kickoff: 1 p.m.

 

Radio: KMET (1490-AM)

 

About Redlands: The Bulldogs are ranked No. 25 by D3football and No. 21 by the AFCA and need to win to still have a shot at an at-large playoff berth. The Bulldogs rank No. 2 nationally in total defense and No. 1 in sacks for a loss and net punting. Senior DE Brock Arndt, LB Ian Sluss and DB Mike Nicolini head the effort on that side of the ball. Junior QB Steve Smith has progressed each week since taking over for Dan Selway. Zack Schafer is the top rusher in the SCIAC.

 

About Cal Lutheran: The Kingsmen also rely on defense and rank fourth nationally led by DE Jacob Calderon, last year's player of the year. Cal Lu ranks first nationally defending the pass and has not yielded a touchdown pass through the air in conference play. Elusive QB Jericho Tolilolo is the catalyst of the offense and is good at making things happen on the run. The Kingsmen also boast a reliable place-kicker in Jackson Damron.

 

LA VERNE (2-6) at CHAPMAN (4-4)

 

Kickoff: 7 p.m.

 

About La Verne:  The Leopards have already surpassed their win total of 2007 so another win would be an added bonus. The passing game has been the most consistent part of the offensive attack with junior Anthony Andre at the helm, averaging 163.6 ypg. The defense has been spearheaded by senior LB Jason Carpenter and junior DB Taylor Hart. According to D3football.com the Leos have played the 14^th toughest schedule out of 228 Division III schools.

 

About Chapman: The Panthers, a Division III independent, are coming off a 21-7 loss at Redlands. They tend to play up to the competition and down as well. They are 3-3 against teams from the SCIAC. The Panthers are averaging 322 yards a game on offense and are giving up 306 per game. They prefer to throw the ball with senior QB Eric Marty directing the offense. Daniel Hartigan and Chino product Garrett Earls lead the defense.

 

POMONA-PITZER (2-6, 1-4) at CLAREMONT-MUDD-SCRIPPS (3-5, 2-3)

 

Kickoff: 1 p.m.

 

About Pitzer: The Sagehens have been totally reliant on a passing game that averages 294 yards a game. Sophomore Jacob Caron threw for 507 yards last week with Kevin Kelley, last week's SCIAC Athlete of the Week, catching 16 for 272 yards in a 62-33 loss at Occidental. R.J. Maki has been a steady performer on both sides of the ball and on special teams. Success here depends on whether or not the rushing game can contribute.

.

About CMS: The Stags snapped a three-game losing streak with a 31-6 win over Whittier last week. D.J. Lillard ranks third in the conference in rushing and is coming off a 113-yard effort against the Poets. Senior DB Brock Olson leads the SCIAC in interceptions (6) and senior LB Ashton Clarke ranks second in tackles. CMS has 15 interceptions as a team, tied for first with Redlands.

 

 

CHAFFEY (5-4, 2-3) at MT. SAC (8-1, 4-1)

 

Kickoff: 6 p.m.

 

About Chaffey: The Panthers are coming off a 27-14 loss to College of the Desert that spelled the end of any postseason Bowl hopes. A number of Panthers are playing through nagging injuries including leading rusher Mark Chase (96 yards) who missed some practice time this week with a sprained ankle. Edward Heath is the team's leading tackler.

 

About Mt. SAC: The Mounties fell from No. 1 to 3 in Southern California after losing to Cerritos last week 44-38. They can clinch the Central Conference with a win. Freshman Nick Lamaison (2,631 yards, 29 TDs)  is the catalyst of an offense that averages 428.7 yards a game.  Other key players are WRs Jesse Canada and Matt Austin and RB Iosefa Burton. Sophomore DB Dominique Gaisie, of San Beranrdino, and sophomore LB Alfred Rowe lead the defense.

 

VICTOR VALLEY (3-6, 3-3) at MT. SAN JACINTO (2-7, 1-5)

 

Kickoff: 1 p.m.

 

About Victor: The Rams snapped a three-game losing streak with a 39-17 win over Compton. They have gotten solid play out of freshman QB O'Ryan Bradley who averages 236 yards a game passing. The Rams are down to five healthy linemen however. Victor Valley's biggest struggle has come in the secondary and it will be facing a team that averages 212 yards a game through the air.

 

About MSJ: The Eagles have played better of late, winning two of their last three games with one of those wins coming over a team the Rams lost to. They have used four quarterbacks but freshman Carmen Boyer worked the entire game last week. Other key players on offense are RB Butch Tuvale (562, 6 TDs) and WR Daniel Chamberlain (673 yards, 6 TDs). Freshman DB Clarence Laster is the leading tackler.

 

SAN BERNARDINO VALLEY (0-9, 0-7) at L.A. HARBOR (2-7, 1-5)

 

Kickoff: 6 p.m.

 

About SBVC:  This is the last chance for the Wolverines to chalk up a win and snap a 14-game losing streak that dates back to last season. The bright spot for coach Pat Meech's team has been the improvement of freshman QB Danny Laugen. Meech also singled out the play of WR Robert Anderson, LBs Cordell Nugent and Shawn Borden and DB John Lewis.

 

About Harbor: The Seahawks rank first in the South in passing (329.4 ypg) with QB Andrew Trudnowski but don't do much of anything else. They average 148 on the ground. Chris Mathews is his favorite target. Harbor has lost three in a row and six of its last seven.

 

 

By Michelle Gardner

 

Staff Writer

 

 CLAREMONT - Pomona-Pitzer sophomore Jacob Caron is looking forward to a chance to redeem himself. Last year he threw an interception after driving his team 80 yards to the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps 10 with time running out. The Sagehens lost 27-22.

 

It wasn't just any old loss. It was CMS, the cross-street rival. So when the teams meet Saturday at 1 p.m. at Pomona-Pitzer to play for the Peace Pipe, the sophomore standout will be looking for a little poetic justice.

 

``There were a couple throws in that game he'd like to have back and that was one of them,'' said Pitzer coach Roger Caron, also Jacob's father. ``He definitely has some added incentive.''

 

Neither team is going anywhere in the standings with Pitzer at 2-6 overall and 1-4 in conference play and CMS slightly better at 3-5 and 2-3. But that doesn't lessen the intensity of the rival which started in 1959. CMS holds a slight 27-23 edge overall, although there is some debate as to when the teams actually started playing for a prize.

 

  ``There is always a buzz around here when it comes to that game,'' Caron added. ``There were good teams here that were expected to win that game and lost and vice versa. As coaches we don't have to say much about it because the kids are already talking about it.''

 

Stags coach Rick Candaele agrees.

 

``There are very few rivalries where the other team is 20 yards up the street,'' he said. ``It may be Division III but it would be like Ohio State being able to go 20 yards to play Michigan. It's a big deal for us.''

 

The Sagehens look to have the advantage because of the emergence of Caron. He threw for 1,659 yards with seven touchdowns and 15 interceptions as a true freshman but has improved to the tune of 2,359 yards with 14 touchdowns and 10 interceptions this season. He threw for 507 last week in a loss to unbeaten Occidental.

 

The CMS secondary has been solid led by SCIAC interceptions leader Brock Olson. He will be tested as will teammates Landon Patoc, David Spiller and Blake Kos.

 

``He (Caron) presents a problem,'' Candaele said. ``He's tall and got good vision downfield and he gets rid of the ball pretty fast. We're going to have to put some pressure on him and limit the damage.''

 

CMS will be led by senior quarterback Ryan Larsen, who has struggled with a shoulder but appears healthier now.

 

Elsewhere La Verne rounds out the season with a nonconference game at Chapman at 7 p.m. The big clash will be at Redlands where the Bulldogs and Cal Lutheran will square off, with the winner having an outside shot at an at-large playoff spot.

 

In the community college ranks Chaffey will be at Mt. SAC at 6 p.m. and San Bernardino Valley will be at L.A. Harbor, also at 6 p.m.

 

 

 

University of La Verne volleyball standout Brianna Gonzales has been named the 2008 SCIAC Player of the Year after helping lead the Leopards to their ninth straight conference championship and second consecutive undefeated league mark.

Gonzales was joined by four other Leopards in the All-Conference awards as Crista Jones and Anna Calmer were First Team All-SCIAC selections while Yesenia Lopez and Ashley Morgado each earned Second Team nods.

Voting for the all-conference teams was conducted among the league's coaches.

Gonzales paced La Verne She tallied a team-high 310 kills (3.92 per game) while also collecting 274 digs which ranked second-most on the Leopard squad. She had a .268 overall hitting percentage on the season while hitting .304 in conference matches from her outside
hitter position. Gonzales also reached double figures in both kills and digs in 14 matches this season.

A senior from Whittier, Gonzales repeats as SCIAC Player of the Year from last season and becomes La Verne's first two-time Player of the Year since Amy Kratochvil (2002, 2004). Her selection marks the 16th time a La Verne student-athlete has earned SCIAC Player of the Year honors in volleyball.

Jones led La Verne in hitting percentage at .353 in all matches while hitting .397 in conference play. The junior middle blocker also tallied 225 kills (2.85 per game) in addition to leading the team in blocks with 72. Jones makes her third appearance on the All-SCIAC squad after a First Team selection in 2006 and a Second Team nod in 2007.

A sophomore from La Habra, Calmer earns her first selection to the All-SCIAC team after making a successful transition from setter to rightside hitter for the Leopards. Calmer finished the regular season with 157 kills, an average of 2.01 per game.

 

A junior from Hacienda Heights, Morgado makes her first All-SCIAC selection after collecting 123 kills. The middle blocker also registered 58 total blocks this season.

Lopez dished out a team-high 721 assists. The junior setter from West Covina helped La Verne record the highest team hitting percentage in the conference (.250) while averaging 8.90 assists per game which ranked second in SCIAC play.

La Verne finished the regular season with a 23-2 overall record including a 14-0 mark in the SCIAC to earn an automatic berth into the NCAA Division III Tournament. The Leopards are currently ranked #3 in the latest American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA)
Division III Top 25 Poll.

 

The team includes:

Anna Calmer OH  ULV SO

Emily Hudson  OH CMS  FR
Summer Plante-Newman  OH CLU JR
Crista Jones M ULV JR
Allison Kerr  M CLU SO
Linsdey Benson  S CLU SR
Ruchi Patel L  PP SR


Second Team

Corri Hayes OH CLU JR
Helena Bottemiller  M CMS SR
Ashley Morgado  M ULV JR
Alex Harrison  S  CMS SR
Yesenia Lopez  S ULV JR
Chelsea Arcaris  L  UR SO

Erin Exline  M CLU SO

By Michelle Gardner

 

Staff Writer

 

REDLANDS - The first two times the women's soccer teams from Claremont-Mudd-Scripps and the University of Redlands squared off, one goal made the difference. Each team won on its home field. So no one could be surprised that was the difference in the rubber match.

 

It was Athenas sophomore Laura Hagen chipping a shot in from 20 yards out 20 minutes into the second half to give the third-seeded CMS squad a 1-0 win over the top-seeded Bulldogs in the SCIAC Championship at Farquhar Field Saturday night. The win sends CMS (11-8-1) into the playoffs as the conference representative.

 

Redlands (14-5-1), which topped the conference in the regular season, will have to wait and see if it gets an at-large bid.

 

The Bulldogs had a 21-10 edge in shots, many of those coming in the last 10 minutes in which they dominated play but nothing got past keeper Camila Friedman-Gerlicz.

 

``I think I've aged 10 years in the last 10 minutes,'' CMS coach Keri Sanchez said. ``They're a great team and we knew it was going to be a hard-fought battle. It was a relief to score the first goal but we knew they were going to battle.''

 

The Bulldogs had not allowed a goal since a 1-0 double overtime loss to Pomona-Pitzer on Oct. 11. They came in with a streak of seven straight shutouts that included a 3-0 win over the University of La Verne in Wednesday's tournament semifinal.

 

CMS lost four of its last five regular season games and needed a penalty kick shootout to get past Cal Lutheran 3-2 in the semifinal.

 

``We definitely felt like the underdog coming in,'' Hagen said. ``They had been playing very well and we kind of backed in. It feels good to get one when it really matters.''

 

Twelve minutes after the Athenas made it 1-0, the Bulldogs had a great chance. A shot by Becky Willis was knocked away by a diving Friedman-Gerlicz. The ball deflected back to Emily van den Bosch but her shot was just over the crossbar.

 

The Bulldogs had even better chances in the second half. A shot by Kelsey Kimmel from 25 yards out with 5:03 was wide left. A minute later Kaily Benanti dribbled toward the net but the ball she never got a good swing at the ball and it slipped off the left corner of the net.

 

Then in the last minute and Redlands in desperation mode a direct kick by Chelsea Hafley  went right of the goal and out of bounds before a teammate could catch up to it. That proved to be the Bulldogs last chance.

 

Friedman-Gelicz made nine saves while Redlands counterpart Tenley Rawlings made seven.

 

The Division III playoff draw will be announced Monday. It will be another wait-and-see for the Bulldogs who have won the regular season two of the last three years, only to lose in the tournament.

 

``The SCIAC hasn't been very lucky when it comes to getting a second team in,'' Redlands coach Suzette Soboti said. ``This is disappointing because we had so many good chances. We were just a little unlucky.''

 

 

 

 

For the seventh consecutive match, the No. 20 University of Redlands women's soccer team shut out its opponent, taking out the University of La Verne by a 3-0 score in the semifinal round of the 2008 Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) Postseason Tournament on Wednesday at Farquhar Field.

 

After a scoreless first half, sophomore midfielder Jessi Hoyt (Boise, ID) took a pass from freshman midfielder Jaimie Morton (Boise, ID) and chipped a shot over Leopard keeper Tatiana Gutierrez's head for the first goal of the match.

 

Freshman midfielder Fionna Connolly (Salem, OR) tacked on the second score of the contest with a goal off of a through ball from senior forward Erica Jahn (Davis, CA) while sophomore defender Chelsea Hafley (Redlands, CA) secured the victory at the 85-minute mark from a shot driven well outside of the box, marking the third time she has found the back of the net this season.

 

The Bulldogs outshot the visiting Leopards by a 26-9 margin and received seven corner kicks to La Verne's three.

 

With Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges advancing on penalty kicks (3-2) after a 0-0 tie against Cal Lutheran University in the first semifinal round game, Redlands (14-4-1, 9-3 SCIAC) will host the Athenas on Saturday, Nov. 8 at a time to be determined. The winner of the match on Saturday will get the SCIAC's automatic bid to the NCAA playoffs.

The 23rd-ranked University of Redlands men's soccer team used its potent offense to lift itself over conference rival Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges by a 3-2 final on Saturday in Claremont.

 

With the win, the Bulldogs ensured a third meeting between the two teams in the first round of the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) Postseason Tournament on Thursday. Redlands has had the upper hand in the series thus far this year as the maroon and gray has won both matches by scores of 2-0 and 3-2.

 

The Stags struck first when Tomislav Zbozinek netted a goal in the 43rd minute, giving the home team a 1-0 lead heading into halftime.

 

Momentum returned to Redlands' favor in the 47th minute as senior midfielder Bryan Fakkema (Oak Harbor, WA) scored the equalizing goal on a penalty kick.

 

Mitchell Nguyentat fired a Kevin Festini pass to the back of the net just two minutes later, and Claremont-Mudd-Scripps regained the lead 2-1.

 

Amidst brief periods of rain, both teams were unable to make a move offensively for nearly 20 minutes until junior midfielder Nick Gundersen (Park City, UT) headed in a goal off of a touch from senior forward Ross Schunk (Portland, OR).

 

With less than five minutes left to play, Gundersen tallied his second goal of the match when he pounded a cross by senior midfielder Steve Chenes (Las Vegas, NV) home for the game-winning score.

 

Redlands (14-4-2, 12-0-2 SCIAC) hosts the semifinal round of the SCIAC Postseason Tournament on Thursday and squares off against Claremont-Mudd-Scripps at 7:30 p.m. on Farquhar Field. The winner of the SCIAC Postseason Tournament receives an automatic bid to the NCAA playoffs.

 

The University of Redlands women's soccer team paid tribute to its four seniors in the grandest way possible, winning the 2008 Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) Championship with a 1-0 victory over Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges.

 

Prior to the start of the match, the team recognized senior forward Erica Jahn (Davis, CA), senior midfielder Steffany Becker (Las Vegas, NV), senior midfielder Becky Willis (Escondido, CA) and senior midfielder Lauren Matta (Holyoke, MA) for their years of service to the Bulldog women's soccer team.

 

Two seniors combined to generate the match's lone goal as Willis scored in the 23rd minute off of a long pass by Jahn. That score was enough to lift Redlands to its fourth-ever SCIAC title and its second in three years.

 

Junior goalkeeper Tenley Rawlings (Salt Lake City, UT) kept a clean sheet between the pipes, stopping all four shots on frame.

 

The Bulldogs held the shot advantage 18-11 and outchanced the Athenas on corner kicks as well (3-2).

 

Coming into the match, the team needed at least a tie to claim the title outright. A loss would have resulted in a shared title with Claremont-Mudd-Scripps.

 

Head Coach Suzette Soboti, who is now in her 11th year at the helm of the squad, has coached all four SCIAC-champion Bulldog teams.

 

Redlands (13-4-1, 9-3 SCIAC) hosts the semifinal games of the SCIAC Postseason Tournament on Wednesday, and the maroon and gray will play in the second of two games against the No. 4 seed,  the University of La Verne. Kickoff is slated for 7:30 p.m. at Farquhar Field. The winner of the SCIAC Postseason Tournament receives the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA playoffs.

 

When the University of Redlands lost to Occidental three weeks ago, hopes of a playoff bid appeared bleak. It might be natural to suffer a letdown, but the Bulldogs (5-1, 3-1) have lived up to their billing, beating two foes by a combined 101-14. Next up is a 1 p.m. contest Saturday at Pomona-Pitzer (2-4, 1-2).

"I have been proud of this team because that does show a lot of character," Bulldogs Coach Mike Maynard said. "That was a huge, disappointing loss but it shows nothing can keep us down."

Pitzer coach Roger Caron has been impressed with the way the Bulldogs regrouped after their loss.

"They're going out and playing to the bitter end and letting things play out," he said. "That's a tribute to their kids and coaching staff that they have played that well after such a big letdown."

This is yet another game that looks like a mismatch. The Bulldogs got back in the American Football Coaches Association poll at No. 25. More importantly they are ranked seventh in the West Region.

Redlands is ranked second in the country in total defense. Senior end Brock Arndt is tied for second nationally in both sacks and tackles for loss.

While the Sagehens have not fared well overall, they do boast a passing attack that ranks first in the SCIAC and 26th nationally.

Sophomore quarterback Jacob Caron, the coach's son, is the catalyst. He has the two top receivers in the conference in senior Kevin Kelly and sophomore R.J. Maki.
Maynard said he plans to mix up his defenses to try and keep Caron off balance.

"He's a very good quarterback and his receivers are solid," Maynard said. "He's very savy. He's a coach's son so they talk about coverages over the dinner table."

Caron knows that they key to that passing will whether or not the smaller offensive line can withstand a bigger, more physical defensive front.

Redlands will dress 100 while Pitzer, which also has smaller players physically, will dress 40.

"We're going to have to go out and play way over our heads," Caron said.
In SCIAC play elsewhere La Verne (1-5, 1-3) will be at Whittier (1-5, 1-2) and Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (2-4) will play nonconference foe Chapman (3-3).

On the community college front, Chaffey (4-3, 1-2) will host Riverside (2-6, 0-4) at 1 p.m. and San Bernardino Valley (0-7, 0-4) hosts first-place Southwestern (5-2, 4-0).

RIVERSIDE (2-6, 0-4) at CHAFFEY (4-3, 1-2)

Kickoff: 1 p.m.

About Chaffey: The Panthers need a win to keep even a remote shot at
a bowl bid alive. The Panthers have damaged their own cause with
penalties. They had 185 yards called against them in last week's
costly 27-20 loss to Citrus. Chaffey continues to use two
quarterbacks buy Greg Sprowls will get the start this week. DT David
Williams is the latest injury casualty. The Panthers have some depth
there with Garrett Haro and Chris Ramos, both out of Claremont,
likely to see more action. RB Mark Chase and WR-KR Aaron Mays
continue to be the bright spots for coach Carl Beach.

About Riverside: The Tigers have found the going tough in the
National Division Central Conference. They have lost six straight
games, the last four all conference games. Cedric Foster (366 yards,
5 TDs) is the team's leading rusher. Redlands High product Coy Glass
(1,246 yards, 11 TDs) directs an offense that averages 312 yards per
game. Miller grad Jacob Slouka is the top receiver. RCC has big-play
potential on special teams with James Calhoun on punt returns and
Corey Ham on kick returns. Sophomore SS Jamell Murry and Anthony
Caruthers (Redlands East Valley) lead the defense.

SOUTHWESTERN (5-2, 4-0) at SAN BERNARDINO VALLEY (0-7, 0-4)

Kickoff: 6 p.m.

About Southwestern: The Jaguars had traditionally been a bottom tier
team in the old Foothill Conference but have emerged as the
frontrunner in the new American Division Mountain Conference. They
have won five straight games, the eye-opening one a 14-10 win over
nonconference foe Grossmont. The rushing game revolves around Kenslow
Smith (694 yards, 9 TDs) with QB Ryan Nelson (1,820 yards, 16 TDs)
directing the aerial game. His favorite target is George Bell (847
yards, 8 TDs). David Ferris (51 tackles) is the team's top defender.

About SBVC: The Wolverines came up just short last week, falling to
Mt. San Jacinto 34-28. Freshman QB Danny Laugen(434 yards, 5 TDs)
has made great strides since taking over for injured Mike Stadler
three weeks ago. Other key offensive players arew RB Devon Libran and
WR Eric Charles. Freshman SS Dexter Reed had 12 tackles and two
interceptions to earn conference defensive player of the week honors.
Freshman SS Ricky Pesquera and freshman LB Shawn Borden are the
team's leading tacklers.

VICTOR VALLEY (2-5, 2-2) at SAN DIEGO MESA (3-4, 3-1)


Kickoff: 1 p.m.

Radio: 910-AM

About Victor: The Rams are looking to bounce back from a 41-19 loss
to conference leader Southwestern. Starting QB O'Ryan Bradley has
been sidelined with a hip flexor but is expected back this week. The
Rams rely on balance with Deandre Glasper (234 yards, 3 TDs) and Mel
Carmichael (204 yards, 4 TDs) sharing the workload out of the
backfield. Kenyatta Smith (383 yards, 2 TDs) is the top threat in
the passing game. Joshua Hudson (70 tackles) is the top defender. The
kicking game has been a bit inconsistent as well.

About Mesa: The Olympians have won three of their last four. Included
in that streak is a 31-27 win over L.A. Harbor, a team the Rams lost
to. Mesa averages 194 yards through the air with Philip Staback
directing the attack. Other prominent players in the offense are WR
Michael Medina (36 catches, 570 yards, 9 TDs) and RB Braxton Welford
(450 yards, 2 TDs). Sophomore LB Michael Johnson and ophomore DB Matt
Collins lead the defense. Mesa is in contention for a playoff berth
in the Mountain Conference (American Division).

REDLANDS (5-1, 3-1) at POMONA-PITZER (2-4, 1-2)

Kickoff: 1 p.m.

Radio: KMET (1490-AM)

About Redlands: The Bulldogs boast a balanced attack, led by junior
QB Steve Smith who is coming off his best game as a starter. Zack
Schafer (602 yards, 9 TDs) is second in the SCIAC in rushing while
Jeff Stewart (403 yards, 4 TDs) is fifth. The Bulldogs rank second in
the country in total defense led by senior DE Brock Arndt, freshman
LB Ian Sluss and sophomore DB Mike Nicolini. The teaqm had six sacks
last week with Arndt getting three of those. Special teams are also
solid with punter Wes Norris and kicker Joe MacMillan.

About Pitzer: The Sagehens are all about the pass as QB Jacob Caron
(1,637 yards, 10 TDs) leads the conference and wide receivers Kevin
Kelley (51 catches, 729 yards, 5 TDs) and R.J. Maki (43 catches, 572
yards, 3 TDs) are 1-2 in receiving. Pitzer ranks sixth of seven teams
in rushing although Russell Oka is coming off a good showing in last
week's win over Whittier. Senior TE Robert McNitt (ankle) is out for
the second week. Senior DB Taylor Barbour is second in the
conference in interceptions (4).

LA VERNE (1-5, 1-3) at WHITTIER (1-5, 0-3)

Kickoff: 7 p.m.

About La Verne: La Verne's losses are to teams with a combined record
of 25-8. The Leopards are coming off a 40-27 loss to unbeaten
Occidental. Despite that loss coach Andy Ankeny was pleased with his
team responded down 34-0. Backup QB Christian Winnewisser played well
in relief of starter Anthony Andre. Seniors WRs Charles Lacy and Phi
Van Le have come up big in the passing game which has helped since
the Leos rank last in the conference running the ball. Senior LB
Jason Carpenter has been the steady leader on defense.

About Whittier: The Poets boast the leading rusher the conference in
Anthony Pomponio (686 yards, 8 TDs) but they have been erratic with
the passing game. It has a true freshman at the controls in Chino
product Taylor Fallon. Senior Shawn Briggs (24 catches, 347 yards, 4
TDs) is ninth in the SCIAC in receiving. Leading defenders are senior
LB Sean MacNeil, senior LB Steffen Santos and junior LB Brandon Boehm
(Serrano HS).

CHAPMAN (3-3) at CLAREMONT-MUDD-SCRIPPS (2-4)

Kickoff: 1 p.m.

About Chapman: The Panthers are an independent but play all of the
SCIAC schools and are 2-2 against them thus far. They average 346
yards per game offense, 197 of that through the air. Senior Eric
Marty (1,183 yards, 9 TDs) runs the offense. Other key players in the
offense are RB Mike Christensen (648 yards, 8 TDs) and WR Kaleo Perez
(24 catches, 299 yards). Daniel Hartigan (46 tackles) is the top
tackler. Chino product Garrett Earls (40 tackles) is also a key
contributor.

About CMS: The Stags are coming off a 48-0 loss to Redlands.
Quarterback has been issue. Coach Rick Candaele said he plans to
start Scott Yingling, who is returning from a shoulder injury. Ryan
Larsen is the backup but will see action. The best performance last
week was turned in by Landon Patoc who had two interceptions, Brock
Olson is the SCIAC leader in interceptions (6).

The Stags traveled to Thousand Oaks on Saturday and shutout the California Lutheran University Kingsmen 2-0. CMS tallied two first-half goals and held onto the lead for the full 90 despite a very determined Kingsmen squad.  This was the second time this season CMS shutout Cal Lu.

The game started with multiple chances for the Stags to put one in the net and grab the lead and finally did so with help from Stefan Gonzalez (JR, San Gabriel in the 17th minute. Kevin Festini (SR, Fremont) sent in a dangerous cross that deflected off the CLU keeper Braden Hoyt to Gonzalez who expertly headed the ball into the goal.

The Stags doubled their lead in the 40th minute as Chris Lowen (FR, Cherry Hill, NJ) stayed onside and found himself one-on-one with the keeper after Ryan Weaver (SO, Monument, CO) played a beautiful ball over the Kingsmen defense. Lowen recorded his first collegiate goal as he ripped a shot from the edge of the box that found the side netting and left Hoyt helpless.

CMS took 11 total shot attempts on the day and forced three saves out of Hoyt. Center backs Tomislav Zbozinek (JR, Paradise Valley, AZ) and Nick Sparks (JR, La Cañada) kept the Stags defense strong with outstanding play. Goalkeeper Ryan Fahey (JR, Bellevue, WA) earned the shutout for the Stags with three saves.

With just two games left in SCIAC play, the Stags (6-3-3) are in a good position to reach the SCIAC tournament, but still need good showings against Occidental and Redlands this week to ensure a good seed. CMS will travel to Occidental College on Wednesday afternoon in its final regular season road contest to take on the Tigers (6-5-1).

The Claremont-Mudd-Scripps women and Occidental men came out on top at the SCIAC Multi-Dual Meet Saturday at La Mirada Park.

The Athenas (7-0) were led by individual winner Evelyn Ross (22:15.86) and second-place finsiher Julia Rigby (22:20.42). Sophomore Ashley Scott (23:23.35) and senior Kathleen Harris (23:23.81) finished sixth and seventh.

The Sagehens claimed fourth through sixth places with Anna Scharfen (22:47.93), Maddy Kieselhorst (23:11.99) and Rose Haag (23:17.31).

Pitzer was without its top runner Alicia Freese who has been sidelined with a stress fracture the last three weeks. Coach Kirk Reynolds isn't sure when she will be able to run.

On the men's side Eric Kleinasser (26:11.26) of Occidental took individual honors.

Pitzer (6-1) was second and CMS third (5-2) in the team competition. Senior Torrey Olson of Pitzer was second (26:16.14) with junior teammate Brian Gillis fourth (26:36.38). The best finish for CMS was the sixth by junor Florian Scheulen (26:52.75)

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The Claremont-Mudd-Scripps volleyball team went into last weekend's Leopard Invitiational with nothing to lose and everything to gain and gain they did.

The Athenas upset No. 1 ranked Juniata, Penn. 3-2 (27-25, 17-25, 27-25, 18-25, 15-6) on Saturday. That was part of a weekend that saw them play the top three teams in the country. They lost to No. 2 Emory (Ga.) 3-1 (25-23, 25-23, 17-25 25-23) and No. 3 La Verne 3-0 (25-23, 25-12, 25-21).

"We looked at it as a great opportunity to showcase our skills," said CMS coach Dianna Graves, in her 10th year heading the program. "How often do you get a chance to play the top three teams in the country? It was great competition and we rose to the occasion."

Graves didn't think her team's win was a case of the more highly touted opponent not respecting her team.

"I don't think it was a matter of them looking past us," she said. "They had played the two really emotional matches against La Verne and Emory. It's hard to come back a third time so soon."

Graves credited senior setter Alex Harrison and senior middle blocker Helena Bottemiller for being the steadying influences the younger players rallied around.

Senior libero Greer Donley and freshman outside hitter Emily Hudson represented the Athenas (14-9, 5-2) on the all-tournament team. Senior Brianna Gonzales and junior Crista Jones of La Verne (14-2, 7-0) were also selected.

The University of La Verne volleyball team has a big weekend coming up. The No. 3 Leopards (12-0) will host a four-team tournament Friday and Saturday that will feature local foe Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (12-7), as well as No. 1 Juniata, Penn. (17-1) and No. 2 Emory, Ga. (19-3).

"I can't wait," Leopards coach Don Flora said. "It's not often you get to play the top two teams in the country on the same weekend."

On Friday the Athenas will play Emory at 4 p.m. while La Verne playes Juniata at 7 p.m.

Then on Saturday La Verne and CMS will play at 11 a.m. The rest of the schedule will pit Juniata against Emory at 1:30 p.m., CMS against Juniata at 4 p.m. and La Verne against Emory at 6 p.m.

There is no admission charge for spectatots.

 

Starting quarterback or no starting quarterback, the University of Redlands is still a formidable foe. That seems to be the prevailing thought among coaches in the SCIAC.

Conference play begins today and the Bulldogs (2-0) will trek to Ortmayer Stadium for a 1 p.m. showdown against the University of La Verne (0-2).

The Bulldogs will be without junior quarterback Dan Selway who earned SCIAC Offensive Player of the Year honors in 2007 but sustained a broken foot in a win over Whitworth (Wash.) two weeks ago.

He threw for 489 yards and five touchdowns in the first two games. His spot now goes to junior Steve Smith with freshman Dylan Barrera elevated to backup status. Smith did see some mop-up duty in the first two games. He also played the entire second half of Redlands' playoff game last year at St. Johns (Minn.).

"They're a good program and they're deep at every position," second-year Leopards coach Andy Ankeny said of the Bulldogs. "We don't shy away from tough competition. We want to play them at their best because there's no better way to find out where your progam is. We wish he (Selway) was in there but don't expect less of a game because he isn't."

The Bulldogs were idle last week, giving Smith an extra week to prepare. Redlands coach Mike Maynard said his team won't alter its game plan even though it has the luxury of a three-pronged rushing attack ignited by seniors - Tom Romaine, Zack Schafer and Jeff Stewart.

"We do what we do. We're not going to change anything, he said. "He has been here so he knows the offense. He has had a good week of practice and we have all the confidence in the world in him."

Selway was also the Bulldogs' punter. Maynard said freshman Wes Norris and senior Kraig Kraning are battling for that job.

The biggest factor in the game will likely be how the La Verne running game fares against a Redlands defense that ranks first nationally against the run.

The Leopards have managed just 101 yards total in two games on 75 tries with their leading rusher being freshman Curtis Puli with 61 yards.

The Bulldogs, led by senior defensive end Brock Arndt and freshman linebacker Ian Skuss, have held their first two opponents to minus-24 yards.

"We can't let our quarterback sit back there and get tattoed," Ankeny said. "Our young pups are going to have to hold up. That's obviously a big factor. If we can do that we have a chance."

Redlands is averaging 452 yards offense. The La Verne defense, led by senior linebacker Jason Carpenter, is giving up and average 453.

While the game looks one-sided on paper, Maynard is leary of the Leopards.

"They're a hungry team and it's the conference opener so they're going to be ready," said Maynard, who was at La Verne's game last week against Willamette (Ore.). "They have made a lot of progress even though it may not show in th win column. We're expecting a battle."

The other SCIAC teams will also be in action. Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (1-1) will be at Occidental (2-0) to play a team it nearly upset a year ago. Pomona-Pitzer (1-1) will be at Chapman (1-1) for its final nonconference tuneup. Both the Stags and Sagehens are coming off byes.

Area community colleges will also be in action. Chaffey (3-1) will host Cerritos (3-1) in its National Division Central Conference opener at 6 p.m.

In American Division Mountain Conference play San Bernardino Valley (0-4) will be at San Diego Mesa (1-3) at 6 p.m. and Victor Valley (1-3) will host Golden West (2-2) at 1 p.m.

The University of Redlands men's water polo team received its second ranking in a week's time with a sixth-place ranking in the Western Water Polo Association (WWPA) preseason coaches' poll with a point total of 109, according to a release yesterday by the WWPA. No Division III institution received a better 2008 preseason ranking in the WWPA.

 

Loyola Marymount University earned the top spot with 168 points, including 11 first-place votes. UC San Diego trailed closely behind with the second-highest point total of 150.

 

Other Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) schools in the WWPA, all of which were represented on the preseason poll, include Pomona-Pitzer Colleges (seventh), Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges (eighth), Cal Lutheran University (ninth), Occidental College (11^th), Whittier College (12^th) and the University of La Verne (14^th).

 

Last week, Redlands received the No. 1 national ranking among Division III men's water polo programs, according to the Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA).

 

Compiling a 2007 overall record of 22-14 and a 9-1 SCIAC tally, the Bulldogs finished No. 1 in the nation among Division III institutions. Redlands finished sixth in the WWPA tournament, defeating Pomona-Pitzer Colleges but falling at the hands of eventual champion Loyola Marymount University and UC San Diego.

 

The Bulldogs travel to San Diego in September to start the 2008 season where they will compete in the UC San Diego Triton Invitational. Redlands squares off against Long Beach State at 10:30 a.m. and UC San Diego at 1:30 p.m. to open the invitational on Sept. 6.

 

The University of Redlands finished 30th out of 430 Division III colleges in the National Association of Collegiate Directors of America (NACDA) U.S. Sports Academy Directors' Cup.

 

This honor is presented annually by NACDA and USA Today to the nation's best
overall collegiate athletics programs in each division as well as the NAIA.

Williams College (Mass.) was the winner in Division III. Redlands chalked up 438.5 points to finish 30th in the standings. It was the highest finish of any Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) school.

The University of La Verne came in 73rd, Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges took 81st and Pomona-Pitzer Colleges 98th. In addition, the Bulldogs surpassed various schools from the West Coast, including Whitworth University (41st), the University of Puget Sound (59th),
Linfield College (68th), and UC Santa Cruz (75th).


"We earn points and remain competitive because of the quality of our programs across the board," Director of Athletics Jeff Martinez said. "This is a great tribute to our student-athletes, coaches, and support staff, who work diligently to help make us the best we can be
every day."

This is the fifth straight season Redlands has been in the top 30. The Bulldogs' best finish came in 2004-05, when they earned 458.5 points for 16th place.

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

 

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

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

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

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

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

2008 All-SCIAC Baseball Selections Announced
May 14, 2008

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

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

 

CONFERENCE CHAMPION: UNIVERSITY OF REDLANDS

HEAD COACH: LAURIE NEVAREZ

PLAYER OF THE YEAR: NICKY NEUMANN, UNIVERSITY OF REDLANDS

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: MOLLY YRIARTE, WHITTIER COLLEGE

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

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

 

By winning the 2008 Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) Championship, the Bulldog softball team earned the right to host the first-ever conference postseason tournament. The inaugural double-elimination event takes place on Friday, May 2, and Saturday, May 3, at the Softball Field of Dreams at the University of Redlands. 

 

As the top seed, Redlands faces #4-seed Pomona-Pitzer Colleges at 11:30 a.m. on Friday.  The complete tournament schedule is listed below.

 

The winner of the postseason tournament earns the SCIAC's automatic qualification to the NCAA Championships, which begin Thursday, May 8, at the University of Texas, Tyler.

 

Friday, May 2:

Game 1 9 a.m.                    #2 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps vs. #3 La Verne

Game 2 11:30 a.m.            #1 Redlands vs. #4 Pomona-Pitzer

Game 3 2 p.m.                    Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2

Game 4 4:30 p.m.              Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2

 

Saturday, May 3:

Game 5 9 a.m.                    Loser Game 4 vs. Winner Game 3               

Game 6 11:30 a.m.            Winner Game 4 vs. Winner Game 5

Game 7 2 p.m.                    Only if necessary (first loss)

 

 

By Michelle Gardner

 

Staff Writer

The University of Redlands women and Claremont-Mudd-Scripps men will take to the tennis courts this weekend looking to keep their perfect SCIAC records in tact. On the line will be a automatic bids to the upcoming Division III West Regionals.

“The way it used to be it didn’t matter if you lost early. You really wanted to peak at the right time,” Bulldogs coach Jim Ducey said. “Now you still want to peak at the right time but those matches early are also important because of the automatic bids.”

The two schools will be hosting the eight-team tournament beginning today. The women’s competition will be hosted by Redlands with some matches aslo played at Redlands East Valley High School.
The Stags will host the men’s draw with matches also played at neighboring Pomona-Pitzer as well as the Upland and Claremont Tennis Clubs.

The automatic bids will be awarded for a combined finish in the regular season and the tournament. Both host teams head in with 7-0 marks but that is just a coincidence since hosting rights are rotated alphabetically.

On the men’s side the Stags (20-7, 7-0) are currently ranked eighth nationally and third in the West but that was before they upset No. 1 UC Santa Cruz last Sunday.

CMS is led by junior Larry Wang, who holds down the No. 1 spot. Claremont native Drew Sabater has pulled out some clutch wins in the No. 5 hole.

“We’re playing pretty well right now and we’re coming off a couple of big wins,” CMS coach Paul Settles said. “We’re hoping to keep that momentum in this tournament.”

Redlands (18-6, 6-1), led by No. 1 Matt Liebman and No. 2 Eric Wagar, is seeded second and lost a hard-fought battle to CMS 5-4 a week ago in the regular-season conference finale for both teams.

No. 2 seed Pomona-Pitzer (11-7, 6-1) is the defending champion on the women’s side and boasts the reigning player of the year in sophomore Siobhan Finicane.
Redlands (13-4, 7-0) is currently ranked third in the West Region and has five of its six singles players returning. The new addition is sophomore Rachael Miller, whose father played for the Bulldogs in 1976 with Ducey.

“You like to think if you’re ranked high enough you can get an at-large bid if you don’t win,” Ducey said. “But you can’t take any chances.”

There is no admission charge for spectators at any of the sites.

MEN’S SCHEDULE

Friday’s matches (All at 9 a.m.) - No. 1 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps vs. No. 8 Caltech at CMS; No. 2 Redlands vs. No. 7 Whittier (at Pomona-Pitzer); No. 3 Cal Lutheran vs. No. 6 La Verne (at Upland Tennis Club); No. 4 Occidental vs. No. 5 Pomona-Pitzer (at Claremont Tennis Club).

Next round (All at 1 p.m.) - CMS-Caltech loser vs. Occidental-Pitzer loser (at Claremont TC); Redlands-Whittier loser vs. Cal Lutheran-La Verne loser (at Upland TC); CMS-Caltech winner vs. Occidental-Pitzer winner (at CMS); Redlands-Whittier winner vs. Cal Lutheran-La Verne winner (at Pitzer).

Saturday’s matches (All at 9 a.m.) - Seventh place match (at Claremont TC); Fifth place (at Upland TC); Third place (at Pitzer); Championship - (at CMS).

WOMEN’S SCHEDULE

Friday’s matches (All at 8:30 a.m.) - No. 1 Redlands vs. No. 8 Caltech (at Redlands); No. 2 Pomona-Pitzer vs. No. 7 Whittier (at Redlands); No. 3 CMS vs. No. 6 Cal Lutheran (at Redlands East Valley HS); No. 4 Occidental vs. No. 5 La Verne (at REV).

Next round (All at 1:30 p.m.) - Redlands-Caltech winnner vs. Occidental-La Verne winner (at Redlands); Pitzer-Whittier winner vs. CMS-Cal Lutheran winner (at Redlands); Caltech-Redlands loser vs. Occidental-La Verne loser (at REV); Pitzer-Whittier loser vs. CMS-Cal Lutheran loser (at REV).

Saturday’s matches (All at 10 a.m.) - Championship and third-place matches (at Redlands); Fifth and seventh place matches (at REV).

Andrew Bogrand (JR, Portland, OR) of Claremont-Mudd-Scripps was selected SCIAC Athlete of the Week for the week of March 24-30.

He finished second at the California/Nevada Championships in the javelin throw on Saturday with a throw of 192-0.

The meet is open to schools from all three NCAA Divisions as well as NAIA teams and there were five Division I (including the winner) and five Division II competitors in the final. His qualifying mark in Friday's prelims was a personal best of 202-4. This mark qualifies him for the NCAA Championships, is third best in CMS history and 10th best in SCIAC history and is currently ranked second in the nation.

In Saturday's finals he led the competition until the second to last throw in the final round. All six of his throws would have taken second place and five of them were better than the NCAA-qualifying mark.

The Pomona-Pitzer baseball team remained in first place in SCIAC with a 13-8 and 9-8 sweep of local rival Claremont-Mudd-Scripps.

The Sagehens (23-5, 10-2), ranked 18th nationally have a one-game lead over La Verne which swept lowly Caltech.

Shortstop Brandon Huerta supplied the power in the opener, stroking two grand slam home runs, opne ion the fourth and one an inning later.

Zach Mandelblatt, returning to leftfield after missing three weeks with a wrist injury, had two hits, as did Mike Silva and Michael Joannides.

CMS was led by Travis Nishioka with four hits and Andrew Blomberg with two home runs and four RBI.

The second game was closer with CMS taking an 8-7 lead into the seventh when the Sagehens got the tying and go-ahead runs. Drew Hedman walked and Mandelblatt doubled. After an intentional walk to load the bases and set up a double play, Nick Frederick knocked in two with a single to left.

James Brunswick (3-1) got the win in relief of starter Joannides.

The University of La Verne golf team earned yet another victory in SCIAC competition by taking top honors at the SCIAC #3 Tournament Monday at the friendly confines of Sierra La Verne Country Club.

The Leopards finished with a four-player team total of 294 to prevail over Redlands (297) by three strokes. Claremont-Mudd-Scripps finished third at 300 followed by Cal Lutheran (308), Pomona-Pitzer (309), Occidental (317) and Whittier (350).

Chris Davis earned medalist honors with the top individual finish of the day with a round of 72 (37-35). Teammates Mitchell Fedorka and Ryan Waring were among five players who tied for second one stroke back with respective rounds of 73, while Rizal Amin contributed with a 76.

The Leopards break from conference play to compete at the West Region Invitational held April 8 at Berry Creek Country Club in Texas.

CMS scored 70 points to finish 14th at the NCAA Division III Championships in Oxford, OH over the weekend. This is the third straight year and fifth time in the last seven years CMS has finished in the top 15.

The Athenas were led by the double All-American performance of Annie Perizzolo (FR, Aurora, CO). She finished second in the 200 breaststroke with a SCIAC record time of 2:18.31 and finished fifth in the 100 breaststroke with the second fastest time in SCIAC history (1:04.85).

In the 200, she broke her own SCIAC record in the prelims by 2.39 seconds to qualify third and then went 0.46 seconds faster in the final. In the 100, she swam a personal best of 1:05.18 in the prelims and then swam a lifetime best in the final.

Perizzolo also swam the breaststroke leg on both of CMS' medley relays. The 400 medley relay team of Jenni Rinker (FR, Eagle River, AK)-Perizzolo-Kevyn Klein (SR, Northridge)-Monica Brazelton (SO, Santa Clara) won the consolation final with a SCIAC record time of 3:56.01. The same four made up the 200 medley relay team that finished 11th.

The 800 free relay of Rinker-Brazelton-Perizzolo-Carliann Brashier (FR, Highlands Ranch, CO) finished 14th. All three of these relays earned Honorable Mention All-American honors for finishing ninth to 16th. Rinker also earned individual HM All-American honors by finishing 13th in the 200 backstroke. Rinker set the CMS and SCIAC record of 2:06.25 in prelims and swam just 0.01 seconds slower in the final.

Rinker also set the CMS record of 58.89 in the 100 backstroke while finishing 18th. The 200 free relay team of Brazelton-Rinker-Perizzolo-Klein finished 17th, the 400 free relay team of Brazelton-Rinker-Brashier-Klein finished 19th and Brashier finished 20th in the 1650 free and 38th in the 200 and 500 frees.

By Michelle Gardner

Staff Writer

It wasn’t a moment in the pool but one out of it that showed Claremont-Mudd-Scripps swimming coach Charlie Griffiths what freshman Nick Ostreim was made of.

Ostreim, 19, had just finished his best individual event at the SCIAC championships and hadn’t even had time to catch his breath when Griffiths asked him to swim the anchor leg in the 800 free relay which was coming up next.
Ostreim said he was ready to go.

“That’s a lot to ask,” Griffiths said. “Most guys would have tried to talk their way out of it or tell me to think about using someone else, especially on the anchor leg where there’s more pressure. He didn’t hesitate.”

Minutes later Ostreim was back in the pool, swimming that anchor leg and touching out a Redlands swimmer for first place in one of the more dramatic events of the meet. The win helped the Stags to a team title that ended the Bulldogs’ seven-year run.
“I’m really competitive. I hate to lose,” Ostreim said. “With swimming you really have to have that inner drive and personal motivation to keep you going.”

Griffiths thinks his standout also will be prepared when the stakes are higher this week. Ostreim will compete in the Division III national meet which starts Thursday at the University of Miami (Ohio).

He is the area’s lone representative and one of only three men from the SCIAC to qualify, the others being senior backstroker Dickson Fai of Occidental and senior fly specialist Manny Sanchez of Whittier.

Ostreim will swim the 200-yard individual medley Thursday, the 100-backstroke Friday and his speciality, the 200-backstroke on Saturday. He is seeded sixth in the 200 with a season-best time of 1:51.81. First place is nearly three seconds faster but second place is within reach.

The meet sets up perfectly for him with two events to get used to the venue and the championship atmosphere before he goes out for his best race.

Griffiths admits the freshman has done better than he expected. He has cut nearly six seconds off his times in the 200-backstroke and the 200-individual medley and a full second off his time in the 100-backstroke - all significant improvements.

What makes those drops more impressive is that Ostreim missed the first two months of the season with mononucleosis. It wasn’t until after Christmas that he was able to train.

“He worked out the first two weeks and looked very good. He was leading the team through everything,” Griffiths said. “Then, the next week he didn’t look quite the same. Then he missed a few days. When he came back from fall break we sent him to be checked out.”

Despite the slow start Ostreim won the 200-backstroke at last month’s SCIAC meet, placed second in the 100-ackstroke to Fai and was third in the 200 IM. His goals for this week’s meet are more about his time than a placement.

“I’d like to swim my best times and maybe break the school records,” he said. “I can’t control what someone else does so if I can go my best I’ll be happy, very happy.”

No matter what happens though, Ostreim has had a strong rookie season. He attended swimming power Brophy Prep in his native Phoenix, Ariz., and chose CMS over Lehigh (Penn.) because the weather is better and it is closer to home.

He first became familiar with the school through current teammate Alex Hill, who came out of Brophy Prep three years earlier.

Ostreim dabbled in other sports growing up including soccer and baseball. Swimming appealed to him because there is both an individual and team aspect to the sport.

“It is individual but it is also a team because you’re swimming relays and your there to cheer for you teammates,” he said. “It’s the best of both worlds.”

 

2007-08 Women's Basketball All-SCIAC Awards
March 4, 2008 

The 2007-2008 All-SCIAC Women's Basketball Honors have been named.  The Occidental Tigers and Head Coach Jaime Hoffman claimed the title of Conference Champions finishing 12-2 in conference.  Head Coach Julie Kline and the Leopards of La Verne (11-3, SCIAC) were crowned champions of the inagural SCIAC Tournament and will represent the SCIAC in NCAA post-season competition as they go on the road to face Puget Sound Friday night.

Player of the Year:  Brianne Brown, Junior, Occidental College

Ed Baldwin Award Recipient: Lindsay King, Senior, California Institute of Technology                                               

First Team
Stephanie Babij	FR	Occidental College		Ontario, OR
Stacie Roshon	SR	Occidental College		Saratoga, CA
Trenecca Jones	SR	University of La Verne		Ontario, CA
Marissa Raya	SR	University of La Verne		Pasadena, CA
Valerie Katayama	SR	University of Redlands		Huntington Beach, CA
Kourtney Zilbert	FR	Whittier College		Burbank, CA
Second Team
Lindsey Shiomi	SR	University of La Verne		Cerritos, CA
Mary Placido	SR	California Lutheran University		Chandler, AZ
Rosario Rios-Aguilar	SR	Whittier College		El Rancho, CA
Jennifer Osgood	SO	Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges		Vashon, WA
Deirdre Chew	SO	Pomona-Pitzer Colleges		Pacifica, CA
Meghan Yetman	SO	University of Redlands		Danville, CA

The 2007-2008 All-SCIAC Men's Basketball Honors have been named.  The Conference Co-Champions and recipients of the Dave Jacobs Trophy were the Occidental College Tigers and California Lutheran University Kingsmen.  Pomona-Pitzer Sagehens were crowned the SCIAC Tournament Champions.   

David Wells Player of the Year:  Connor Whitman, Senior, Occidental College, 6'1"
Ted Ducey Award Recipients: Jabarri Reynolds, Senior, Pomona-Pitzer, 6'4"
                                                 Matt Loretz, Senior, University of Redlands, 6'5"

First Team
Justin Sexton	SO	Pomona-Pitzer	6'8"	Watertown, MA
Jabarri Reynolds	SR	Pomona-Pitzer	6'4"	Chicago, IL
Dave Thomas	SR	University of Redlands	6'3"	Santa Cruz, CA
Dan Winterbottom	SR	Claremont-Mudd-Scripps	6'3"	Tempe, AZ
Andy Meier	SO	California Lutheran University	6'7"	Parker, CO
Michael Archuletta	JR	Whittier College	6'6"	Manhattan Beach, CA
Second Team
Bryan Hires	SR	California Institute of Technology	6'6"	Columbus, IN
Deshion Inniss	SR	California Lutheran University	5'10"	Oxnard, CA
Juan Canas	SR	University of La Verne	6'1"	Commerce, CA
Huston Conti	JR	Occidental College	6'2"	Seattle, WA
Jeff McLean	JR	Whittier College	6'6"	Hingham, MA
Mychal Owens	SO	California Lutheran University	6'5"	Oregon City, OR

 

The men's swimming and diving team won the 2008 SCIAC Championship on Saturday in dominating fashion. They scored 1012 points, 252.5 points better than second-place Redlands which had won the last seven in a row.

This was the team's 28th title overall (most of any team in CMS history) and their first since 2000.

The Stags crowned three more champions on Saturday. They completed the sweep of all five relays at the meet by winning the 400 freestyle relay with a team of Andrew Cosentino (FR, Greenwich, CT), Andrew Kishino (FR, Riverside), John Sloat (JR, Lafayette) and Ryan Kristensen (FR, Saugus). Cosentino completed a sweep of his own by adding the 100 freestyle title (46.42) to his wins in the 50 and 200 frees. Nick Ostreim (FR, Phoenix, AZ) swam the second fastest 200 backstroke time in CMS history (1:51.81) in the prelims and won the event in the evening final. Both Cosentino and Ostreim's times were NCAA-qualifying marks.

SCIAC Runner-ups on Saturday included Ian McGinnity (FR, Mesa, AZ) in the 1650 freestyle and Xavier Ramos (FR, Alta Loma) in the 200 butterfly.

CMS had 11 champions in the meet along with seven seconds and eight thirds in the 20 events at the Championships.

The women's swimming and diving team won their sixth straight and tenth overall SCIAC Championship on Saturday. They scored 938 points, 308 points better than second place. 

Annie Perizzolo (FR, Aurora, CO) was named SCIAC Athlete of the Year at the conclusion of the meet.  She won both the 100 and 200 breaststrokes and had NCAA automatic-qualifying times in both events (she was the only swimmer, male or female, to hit an NCAA "A" mark in the meet).  The 200 breast time was a SCIAC record and the 100 breast time was a SCIAC meet record.  She was also on the 200 and 400 medley relay teams which both set SCIAC records.

CMS crowned two additional champions besides Perizzolo (200 breast) on Saturday.  The 400 freestyle relay team of Quirina Mitchell (SO, Kingsburg), Monica Brazelton (SO, Santa Clara), Danielle Peebles (JR, La Mesa) and Jenni Rinker (FR, Eagle River, AK) swam an NCAA-qualifying time of 3:35.16 as did Carliann Brashier (FR, Highlands Ranch, CO) in winning the 1650 freestyle (17:29.52).

SCIAC Runner-Ups on Saturday included Rinker in the 200 backstroke.  She also had an NCAA-qualifying time (2:08.28) as did both Chrysanthia Cheung Lau (FR, Ontario, 17:45.23) and Peebles (17:47.21) in the 1650 free.

CMS had nine champions in the meet in addition to seven seconds and seven thirds in the 20 events at the Championships. 

The University of La Verne boasted the top four individual finishers and cruised to a a first-place team showing at the first SCIAC tournament of the season at the 6,628-yard par 72 Empire Lakes.

The Leopards, the national Division III runner-up a year ago, tallied 284 while Claremont-Mudd Scripps was second (305) and Redlands third (306). Pomona-Pitzer tied Cal Lutheran for fourth (319).

The Leos Mitchell Fedorka took medalist honors with a 70. Teammates Rizal Amin and Andrew Kramer were one stroke back while Chris Davis was two back. Also representing the school were Jordan Talah (75) and Kevin Smith (78).

John Morris had the best finish for the Stags (74) . His teammates included Luke Redfern (75), Kurt Scheline (76) and Kyle Cassella (80).

Ross Canavao was the top player for Redlands (75).  Other finishers for the Bulldogs were Nick Giordano (76), Scott Pena (77), E.J. Stenftenagel (78) and Ryan Williams (79).l

Aex Nakao led the Sagehens (77).

GWEN KREMER

Claremont-Mudd-Scripps

Swimming

The lowdown: The senior backstroke specialist got off to a slow start because of sickness but has been a key to the Athenas success in the last four years. Won the 200 individual medley (2:19.55) in a recent dual meet against Whittier. Took third in the 200 back (2:17.01) in a dual meet with Division I Loyola Marymount. Is in her fourth year in the program, her best season being a sophomore year in which she earned all-conference honors in the 200 back and as part of the 200 medley relay.

Age: 21

Hometown: San Diego

High school: Rancho Bernardo High School, 2004

Major: Economics

Most memorable moment: Breaking a minute in the 100 backstroke.

Most embarrassing sports moment: My goggles fell off in a 200 backstroke race in college.

Role model: Jesus Christ

Person most influential in your athletic success: Steve Marksbury (cub swimming coach)

Last good book you read: Perelandra

Favorite movie: Remember the Titans

Can’t miss television shows: Law and Order: CI

Favorite vacation spot: Hawaii

Favorite food: Sweet potatoes

Best advice anyone has given you: Speed  in the butterfly is distance over the water.

Pre-game ritual or superstition: A long warm-up

What’s in your CD player/iPOD? Jars of Clay

Other hobbies: Sewing

What do you want to be doing in five years?: Working on public policy research in Washington.

 

Offensive Player of the Year - Dan Selway, QB, Redlands

Defensive Player of the Year - Josh Richards, DL, Cal Lutheran

Newcomer of the Year - Jacob Caron, QB, Pomona-Pitzer

John Zinda Award - Zach Landman, LB, Pomona-Pitzer; William Wagner, Claremont-Mudd Scripps

 

First team offense

QB Josh Scurlock, Whittier

RB Zach Shafer, Redlands

RB Jason Haller, Occidental

TE Jake Lacey, Redlands

WR Kyle Godfrey, Redlands

WR Rocky Ciasulli, Occidental

WR Jesse Matlock, Cal Lutheran

OL Matt Rosen, Cal Lutheran

OL D.J. Tano, Redlands

OL Chris Kyles, Occidental

OL Max Hodge, Claremont-Mudd-Scripps

OL Jared Schwass, Redlands

K Connor Pearce, Cal Lutheran

SPT Kyle Godfrey, Redlands

First-team defense

DL James Sabo, Occidental

DL Gavril Gabriel, Redlands

DL Brock Arndt, Redlands

DL Daniel Lopez, Whittier

LB Arlo Castelo, Whittier

LB Kris Richardson, Redlands

LB Ashton Clarke, Claremont-Mudd-Scripps

LB Zach Landman, Pomona-Pitzer  

DB Conor Drake, Redlands

DB Garett Redd, Cal Lutheran

DB Eddie Pickett, Pomona-Pitzer

DB Jerel Garcia, Redlands

P Alex Groh, Occidental

 Second-team offense

QB Jericho Toillolo, Cal Lutheran

RB D.J. Lillard, Claremont-Mudd-Scripps

RB Tom Romaine, Redlands

TE Anthony DeJager, La Verne

WR Shawn Briggs, Whittier

WR Colin Regan, Pomona-Pitzer

WR Danny Hernandez, Cal Lutheran

OL Chris Anderson, Whittier

OL Jeff Briscoe, Cal Lutheran

OL Joe Manfre, La Verne

OL Tom Gonzalez, Occidental

OL Brett Henderson, Occidental

K Neil Martin, Occidental

SPT Grady Thomas, La Verne

Second-team defense

DL Jacob Calderon, Cal Lutheran

DL Tim Creamer, Occidental

DL Victor Lopez, Occidental

DL Mitch Crocco, Redlands

LB Jared Izidoro, Whittier

LB Branamier Courtney, La Verne

LB Jason Carpenter, La Verne

LB Eddie Stamm, Redlands

DB Dan Picciotto, Claremont-Mudd-Scripps

DB Sean MacNeil, Whittier

DB Daniel Tromello, Occidental

DB Chris Denton, Cal Lutheran

P Bryan Downs, Claremont-Mudd-Scripps