CSU Monterey Bay Athletics

Change is difficult and this year’s volleyball team discovered early on that what they knew to be CSUMB Volleyball would be quite different in 2007. Add a new head coach to undoubtedly the toughest non-conference schedule for the program to date and you get a team trying to sprint out of the blocks without really knowing how to walk in head coach Jody Garry’s new system. Though early in the season the team struggled to a 0-10 start, progress was seen in how they were approaching and playing the game more than in the final score. Positive results soon followed as the Otters won 8 of the next 10 matches. CSUMB’s overall record of 12-19 signified great progress for a team that rotated two true freshmen at setter in the tough CCAA conference.

The senior laden Otters took to Garry’s style and system as the season unfolded and evolved into a team to be reckoned with through the remainder of the season. CSUMB’s 8-10 record in the CCAA included season splits with nationally ranked Cal State L.A. and Chico State as well as Humboldt State and Sonoma State. The Otters managed season sweeps of both Cal State Dominguez Hills and Cal State Stanislaus.

“I am very proud of what we were able to accomplish in such a short time,” said Garry. “ We learned to play with and for each other. I sincerely appreciate the senior’s effort this fall and I hope they take something positive from our experience together.”

Seniors Brittany Etchings and Courtney Taubert were both named to the All-CCAA Second Team for their efforts in 2007. Etchings, considered the top player in the history of CSUMB, received All CCAA First Team honors in 2006 and finishes her CSUMB career as the school’s all time kills leader with 1,343 and all time digs leader with 1,361. Etchings ranks second all time with 125 career aces. Taubert’s 335 kills led the team in 2007 and ranks as the fourth high- est season total in CSUMB history. Taubert finishes her career ranked fourth in career kills with 837 and third in career digs with 846.

MORE 2007-08 VOLLEYBALL INFORMATION - Roster, Schedule, Statistics, Photo Gallery

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A young and inexperienced women’s soccer team showed signs of progress all through the fall and hope to build off the successes of 2007.

“We had key contributions from freshmen and sophomores all season,” said head coach Erin Roberts. “And that should pay off as we continue to build our program within the very competitive CCAA conference.”

The Otters posted wins over NCAA Division II regional opponents BYU-Hawaii, University of Hawaii-Hilo, Saint Martins (WA), Notre Dame de Namur and Humboldt State. The record also included ties with traditional CCAA power Sonoma State and local rival UC Santa Cruz. “Our improvement through the course of the season is encouraging,” said Roberts. “We played with more composure through the pressures of a match, which is something that really develops through with experience.”

Sarah Alderson led the Otters offensively with 4 goals and 2 assists on the season. Alderson was named to the All-CCAA honorable mention team for her efforts. Loren Schofield and Eva Arzola each finished the season with 3 goals. Schofield also contributed 3 assists. Stacey Senkle posted 68 saves while playing the majority of the minutes in goal for the Otters.

“We had some outstanding individual performances throughout the year, “ stated Roberts. “ We also had our share of adversity, but the team pulled together and we are stronger having gone through it together.”

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The 2007 men’s soccer season will be remembered in CSUMB Athletics’ history as the first program to qualify for a California Collegiate Athletic Association post-season tournament. In doing so they nearly pulled off what would have been considered one of the largest upsets in CCAA tournament history, challenging traditional CCAA power Cal State Dominguez Hills through two overtimes before falling in the overtime shootout. This year’s team opened the season with a big 3-point CCAA weekend series on the road with shut outs over both Chico State and Cal State Stanislaus. The Otters then closed the regular season going 6-2-1 with a dramatic Senior Day overtime victory over San Francisco State at home followed by a tie on the road at Cal State LA to clinch their trip to the CCAA Championships.

The Otters finished the 2007 season 9-8-3 overall and 6-5-3 in CCAA play. CSUMB also broke into the NCAA Far West Region top ten rankings in 2007, the first year of full NCAA Division II eligibility for any CSUMB program.

None of the accomplishments of the season surprised head coach Artie Cairel. “This group of seniors has set the standard for the future of our program,” said Cairel. “They prepared themselves like champions in the off-season and it paid off at critical moments throughout the fall season.”

As with most team success, individual accolades usually follow and for CSUMB senior midfielder Kyle Satow the post season honors were well deserved. Satow was named to the Daktronics All Far West Region second team and the All CCAA first team for his efforts in 2007. Satow, a two-year team captain and 2006 All CCAA selection, finished his collegiate career at or near the top of every statistical category in the CSUMB men’s soccer record books. Satow closes the book on his collegiate playing days as the all time CSUMB goal scorer with 27 career goals including a school record nine game winning goals. Other individual honors included junior Andrew Burkhammer being named to the All CCAA second team while senior Jake True and junior Nate Torricelli were named All CCAA honorable mention. The results are in the books and the 2007 men’s soccer season was one that put the Otters in the mix with the CCAA elite and set the bar high for future teams and their fellow CSUMB sport programs.

“Our coaches and players are very proud to have been a part of CSUMB history,” stated Cairel. “No one can take away what our players accomplished this year and that history is not lost on our student-athletes. They are proud to have represented their school at a level that broke new ground for our athletics program.”

MORE 2007-08 MEN'S SOCCER INFORMATION - Roster, Schedule, Statistics, Photo Gallery

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Many of the men’s and women’s cross country student-athletes were racing for the first time this fall, which led to a season of measured improvement and valuable experience. The men’s team was without top runners Omar Mendoza and Eder Tostada. Mendoza is completing a year of study abroad and Tostada is redshirting. Their absence allowed freshman Manuel Ventura to gain valuable experience as the team’s top runner. Ventura’s top time of the year was at the CCAA Championships with an 8K time of 28:12. Ventura, similar to Mendoza last year, trained with Coach Yi Mao and participated in this year's Big Sur Marathon. Mendoza finished eighth overall in the race a year ago under the guidance of Mao.

“Getting back those two student-athletes will improve our team dramatically,“ said Yi Mao. “The potential of our men’s team is high with Manuel’s improvement added to the veteran experience of both Omar and Eder.”

On the women’s side, Leann Morales was the top runner this season for Coach Mao. Morales personal best of the season was 24:46 over the 6K course at the CCAA Championships.

In preparation for the 2008-09 season CSU Monterey Bay announced in spring 2008 that it has hired renowned running coach Robert Sevene as its new cross country coach. For the past quarter century, Sevene has been one of the top marathon and track coaches in the world. Sevene’s coaching career began in 1974 when he became the coach of the Greater Boston Track Club. In ’78 he became the head cross country coach and assistant track coach at Boston University. In ’82 he was named head coach and administrator of Nike’s Athletic West and he coached more than 75 pro athletes. Sevene said his goal at CSUMB will be building the program, creating team chemistry and turning CSUMB into a top-notch Division II program.

MORE 2007-08 CROSS COUNTRY INFORMATION - Photo Gallery
    • WOMEN'S - Roster, Schedule
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The women finished their basketball season on February 28 with a 3-24 overall record and a 2-18 mark in the CCAA.

Two CSUMB basketball players were given All-Conference honors in the CCAA, with Dana Andrews being named to the first team while Alma Lopez made the second team. Andrews, a junior, averaged 18.8 points per game, second in the CCAA, while shooting 38 percent from the field and 38 percent from the three-point line. She set the career scoring mark at CSUMB this season by reaching 978 point and set the school’s single-season scoring record with 488 points. Her 18.8 points per game was also the highest average in school history. She scored 41 points against CSU Dominguez Hills, the most in a conference game this season. Lopez, a senior, was second in the CCAA with 4.15 assists per game and led the conference in steals with 2.11 per game. She averaged 11.7 points a game.

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The Cal State Monterey Bay men’s basketball team finished an amazing season as they hosted a California Collegiate Athletic Assocation play-off game for the first time in school history. While the Otters lost 56-53 to CSU Dominguez Hills, they played before a packed house and put on another great effort. Juston Willis led the Otters’ effort with 16 points and eight rebounds while Augie Johnston scored 10. CSUMB had started the season 1-9 overall and 1-7 in the CCAA before reeling off six straight victories and winning 10 of their last 13 to finish the regular season 12-14 overall and 11-9 in the CCAA. That earned the Otters a fourth seed and a home game in the post-season.

Five CSUMB basketball players were given All-Conference honors in the CCAA, with D'Shon Cannon named to the first team. Joe Mitchell and Johnston also made the men’s second team. Cannon, a senior, averaged 15.6 points per game and compiled 110 assists on the season, while shooting 49.5 percent from the field. He was the team’s top scorer and he finished his career at CSUMB with 935 points, third on the all-time list. His 368 assists is tops all-time in school history. Cannon finished fifth in scoring in the CCAA and fifth in assists. Joe Mitchell averaged 12.9 points per game and 9.9 rebounds, which was tops in the conference. Johnston, a junior, averaged 15.2 points during CCAA play and led the conference in three-point shooting percentage at 50 percent.

The men’s team created a lot of excitement locally, both at the school and in the community. Tickets for the home playoff game starting selling on Monday morning before the game which led to hundreds of students attending a rally held on campus Tuesday afternoon as the school gave away 350 tickets in about an hour and a half.

“This season has been probably the most special I’ve been involved with,” said CSUMB head basketball coach Pat Kosta. “This was a very special group of guys.”

With an 18-14 overall record, the Cal State Monterey Bay women’s water polo team had an impressive season in 2008 and the young program is making a name for itself. In 2007 the team finished at .500 with an 18-18 record. Not only did the Otters improve on that, they did it against some of the toughest competition in NCAA women’s water polo. CSUMB played several Division I programs, including Brown University, Hartwick College and No. 2 nationally-ranked Stanford. All three were losses, but CSUMB came within a goal of tying Brown, losing 14-13.

“It was a great season,” said head coach Gary Figueroa. “The women improved throughout the season and were great to work with. This is a special group we have here.”

Two-time All-American Chelsea Laning is the leading scorer with 95 goals on the season, sixth in the NCAA, despite not playing entire halves when the Otters had a big lead. Laning, a senior, was selected to the All-WWPA Second Team and is the NCAA’s all-time leading career scorer. Goalie Jenna Beer finished the season with 361 saves, fourth in the NCAA. Freshman Nikki Smart scored 46 goals on the year and was selected to the All-WWPA Freshmen Team.

Recognition of the program continues to grow. Laning was named Monterey Bay’s Best Female Athlete by the Monterey County Weekly in its annual Best Of edition released in March.

Picked to finish last in a preseason poll by the coaches in the California Collegiate Athletic Association, CSU Monterey Bay finished fourth in the CCAA and ranked No. 3 in the West Region, at one point becoming the highest regionally ranked team at CSUMB with a No. 2 positon. The team arguably had the best season of any sport in CSUMB history. The Otters earned a spot in the CCAA Championship and the West Regional. The Otters beat Humboldt State, 5-0 in the first round of the CCAA tourney before being eliminated. They then moved on to the NCAA DII West Regionals, losing their first two games, but coach Andrea Kenney has made believers out of the competition. It is unlikely her team will be underestimated again. In the last week of the NFCA coaches poll the Otters received 10 votes, just shy of getting them into the top 25 Division II teams in the nation.

“We’re competing with the best teams in the nation now,” said coach Kenney after defeating HSU in regular conference play. “I’m really proud of the team. They played really well against HSU. To play that many close games with Humboldt is a tribute to the team.”

Pitching was probably the biggest factor for the team’s success. The team’s ERA in conference games was 2.42. Juniors Angela Cabral (19-10) and Jessica Boyle (7-9), and freshman Noemi Torres(9-6) provided a triple threat on the mound.

The offense was led by Homa Shafii, who batted .333 with 6 homers, 61 hits and 32 RBIs. Shafii was also named CCAA Player of the Week for Feb. 4-10 and was also selected to the All-CCAA Second Team along with Megan Luna (.298, 25 RBIs). Infielders Ashlee Trotter and Alixis Villarin, both from Salinas, also provided pop at the plate. Trotter hit .316 with 5 homers and 25 RBIs; Villarin hit .273 with 21 RBIs. Aside from Luna and Shafii being awarded with conference honors, Trotter was named CCAA Player of the Week for March 3-9. Shae Olds and Boyle swept the honor for the week of April 14-20; Olds was Player of the Week and Boyle was pitcher of the week. The individual success of the team helped to place the Otters on many leader charts in the conference. The team ended at number five in batting average (.262) and four in ERA (2.51). Shafii is at the number eight spot with hits (61) and RBIs (32), while Casey Kaufman is second in stolen bases (22).

Kenney said the team, after its third year, has really come together. The women are pulling for each other and want to be a credit to their school and community. “This really is a special group,” said Kenney.

The CSU Monterey Bay baseball team just started to get rolling as the season wound down. The team won six of its last 11 games, including the final two against UC San Diego, ranked No. 8 nationally. Coach Rich Aldrete’s team finished 15-39 and 9-27 in the CCAA and played best at home on its new field, where the Otters went 7-12.

Led by offensive standout Matt DeJesus, who hit .354 with 7 Homers and 43 RBIs, the Otters were explosive at the plate. DeJesus was one of six regular players that hit .300 or higher. Outfielder Matt Ralls led the team with a .386 average while scoring 24 runs. Andrew Marquardt hit .349, Ray Guttereiz .333, Cody Guarnera .346 and Nolan Labrucherie .367. But despite the big numbers, victories proved difficult. On April 4, 5 and 6, CSUMB hosted CSU San Bernardino and went 1-3 in the series to break a 13-game losing streak. The following week the Otters traveled to face Cal Poly Pomona and went 1-3. It was the most successful back-to-back series the team had all season in the CCAA, which boasted four nationally-ranked teams.

“It’s not just a ‘pretty good’ league that we are in,” said head coach Rich Aldrete. “We are in the premier league of Division II. Our program has gone from scratch to competing with the best teams in Division II.”

To improve on their record in 2009, the Otters will need to improve on the mound. The team’s ERA in conference games was 9.57. Just two starters, Daniel Bifano and Brian Callen, recorded more than one win in conference play. "Our starting pitching is young and this is a league where you have to have experience,” said Aldrete. “However, on the scouting chart, we have three guys who throw in the upper 80s. There is a lot to look forward to, but a lot to work on.”

Aldrete continues to work on showing improvement. “We are getting better players. More players are choosing to come here. I still think that we had a much better team than last year. But in this league, it’s so tough, every weekend you face a top team.”

The CSU Monterey Bay women’s golf team finished the season ranked No. 21 nationally and No. 7 in the West Region, a great year that concluded by sending top golfer Cicilia Chudivan to the NCAA Division II West Region Championship as an individual where she placed 14th.

“The team really played well this season,” said co-head coach Teri Greene. “They kept showing improvement, kept getting better each week.”

However, early in the year things looked dire. On March 24, after the first day of the Grand Canyon University Invitational in Phoenix, CSUMB trailed both West Texas A&M and Chico State by more than five strokes. Fortunately, the Otters shot a combined 305 the next day, set a school record, and leapt ahead of their rivals. It was the continuation of a climb up the rankings that started a month before. CSUMB finished third at its own Lady Otter Spring Invitational held March 17 and 18 at Bayonet Golf Course, 32 strokes ahead of fifth-place Chico State. Chudivan was the Otters’ best golfer in the tourney, finishing fourth at +10. Other CSUMB golfers competing were Jessica Yee and Lauren Grounds both at +14 (seventh), Darcy Lake at +23 (22nd), Caroline Clements at +27 (30th), and Ashley Dickman at +28 (32nd).

Chudivan had several impressive outings during the season. She won the first Notre Dame De Namur Women’s Golf Invitational on March 11, while CSUMB finished second in the four-team tourney. That strong showing followed another great outing on Feb. 26 when Cal State Monterey Bay finished second in the Lady Rattler Roundup at the Pecan Valley Golf Club in San Antonio, Texas. Chudivan finished in a tie for fourth at 162. The women wrapped up the regular season at the Mesa State College Invitational on April 14 and 15 at Redlands Mesa Golf Course in Grand Junction, Colorado. The team played well, placing second, while Chudivan took first.

The CSU Monterey Bay men’s golf team had its best season ever, earning a spot in the NCAA DII West Region Championship where it shot 19 over par, two strokes behind Cal State Stanislaus and CSU San Bernardino to narrowly miss the national championships. The best player of the invitational was Ricky Stockton who shot a +4 to tie for 10th.

The Otters were ranked in the top 25 in the national poll most of the season and finished ranked No. 8 in the West Region. CSUMB finished fourth in the CCAA tournament in Paso Robles where CSUMB’s John Jackson placed third as an individual and made the All-CCAA team.

The team placed third at its own Otter Invitational at Bayonet Golf Course on April 7 and 8. CSUMB, which entered the final day in fifth, shot a 301 in the final round, finishing with a 918 and 10 strokes ahead of fourth-place CSU San Bernardino. Oskar Nystrom finished with a 228, in a tie for ninth, to lead CSUMB. Scott Yeakel hit 229, Jackson a 231 and Martin Hardenberger a 233. Yeakel shot a 71 on the final round, one of just three competitors to break par during the tourney.

The highlight of the season may be when the men’s golf team drew to a 4-4 tie with the United States Naval Academy in a match play format at the Corral de Tierra Country Club on March 14 - but as both coaches explained, everyone was really a winner. For the Navy team, the match wrapped up a week of golf on the Monterey Peninsula’s best courses. The Otters were happy to host Navy, and to tie a Division I program is good when you’re in Division II. Billy Moon, David Staszko, Yeakel and Stockton all won their matches for CSUMB. Two Navy players from California won, Ben Hayes of Carmichael and Josh Ziska of Camarillo.

“It was a great day,” said head coach Bill Paulson. “It was a real honor to host Navy - a special day.”

The CSUMB Otter sailing team had another successful season, once again qualifying for the Pacific Coast Championship Regatta, where they finished 11th. Over the regular season the Otters finished fourth in the Northern Division of the Pacific Coast Collegiate Sailing Conference ahead of Cal Berkeley, UC Santa Cruz, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and San Jose State.

Though looking forward to the fall 2009 season, the team will feel the loss of seniors Greg Cannon, Brandon Wehman and Beth Wehman. The Wehmans are the only married couple to compete on a CSUMB team. Fortunately, in addition to the return of several experienced sailors, head coach Frank Degnan looks forward to a strong recruiting class.