Monthly Archives: March 2015

When California Baptist University swept both cross country titles back in the fall, it showed its ability to dominate on both the men’s and women’s side of a sport. The Lancers continued that trend in the winter, most noticeably in basketball. CBU was one of 20 institutions to send both basketball teams to the NCAA Division II postseason, and the only one to advance both to the regional championship round.

In their first NCAA playoff appearance, the Lancer women punched their ticket into the Elite 8 in their first NCAA playoff run by winning its three West Regional games by an average of 19.3 points. On Tuesday, it advanced to the Final Four with a victory over New Haven. By virtue of its Final Four appearance alone, CBU has guaranteed itself the best-ever finish in Division II by any Lancer program.

In addition to being an All-West Region selection by Daktronics, Darsha Burnside was named the West Region Tournament MVP for CBU, which also had Cassidy Mihalko receive all-tournament honors. Burnside and Mihalko were joined on the All-PacWest teams by Kamille Diaz and Courtney Nelson. This well-rounded squad takes a 28-6 and 16-4 in conference record into its Division II semifinal game with 2nd-ranked Limestone on Wednesday in Sioux Falls, S.D.

For the second year in a row, CBU’s men’s basketball made the postseason and hit the Sweet 16 after a successful regular season campaign. The Lancers finished the season and conference with 26-7, 16-4 respective records. CBU exacted some revenge on Chico State in the first round of the West Regional and then defeated Seattle Pacific on a buzzer-beating putback from Trevone Williams.

Gelaun Wheelright and Taj Spencer were rewarded for their heroics on the court, with each garnering All-PacWest and All-West Region honors. Wheelwright was named the PacWest Newcomer of the Year and an All-West Region Tournament player.

After setting the standard for all other Lancer programs to follow with an institution-best ninth-place finish in Division II back in 2014, CBU women’s swim/dive one-upped itself in 2015. Behind 13 All-American performances (nine individual, four relay), the Lancers took eighth place in Division II this season. It came on the heels of another dominant Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference campaign, as it claimed its second conference title. The Lancers dominated the four-day event, finishing with a staggering 1,053 team points, almost 300 points more than their runner up. The women won event after event and set 11 new RMAC records, 10 Colorado Mesa pool records and seven CBU records. They won 16 of the 21 events with three relay gold medals and 13 individual titles. Mary Hanson and Alena Rumiantceva helped destroy a lot of those records and both were named Swimmer of the Meet. Hanson also added Swimmer of the Year to her accolades. On the diving board, Lauren Skinner swept the awards with both Diver of the Meet and Diver of the Year. Rick Rowland was also named Coach of the Year for the second straight year.

After entering the Division II Championships with a #16 ranking, CBU men’s swim/dive sealed a 10^th-place performance in Division II after finishing 10 spots back a year ago. The Lancers did so with the help of 18 All-American feats (14 individual, four relay).

CBU also took second in the RMAC after being expected to finish third, breaking records along the way. Josh Hanson was named Swimmer of the Meet after a stellar performance. Freshman Zach Parry picked up the Diver of the Meet honor after sweeping both the 1-meter and 3-meter events. Parry had to battle round-after-round on the one-meter platform to take the event.

For the second year in a row, CBU wrestling produced an NCAA Division II All-American. Jacob Waste gave the Lancers their fourth NCAA All-American in two seasons by taking fifth in the 184-pound bracket at the Division II Championships after winning a Super Region IV title. Nolan Kistler also qualified for the national tournament by taking fourth in his region.

Waste and Kistler’s individual achievements were the icing on the cake for another historic team season for CBU. After setting a program-best for wins in a season in 2014, California Baptist University one-upped itself this year by going 13-5, 6-2 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference. The Lancers defeated two NCAA Division I teams in Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and Grand Canyon and two top-20 ranked squads, while peaking at No. 12 in the D-II rankings themselves. Waste also became the first D2Wrestle.com Wrestler of the Week in program history for the Lancers, as well.

With the final stretch of 2014-15 well underway, California Baptist University is looking to add to its impressive list of accomplishments in NCAA Division II this spring. Both softball, baseball are aiming at qualifying for the NCAA playoffs for the second year in a row, along with men’s and women’s golf. Cheer is aiming at winning its third-consecutive NCA national title, and both distance track teams have individual NCAA glory on their minds.

CBU women’s golf resumed its season in the spring with a victory at the Super San Diego Championship, and followed it up with Tina Yang winning her first individual title of the season at the CBU Invitational where the Lancers took second. With top-10 finishes at all eight of its tournaments and five top-three marks, CBU has jumped to eighth in the NCAA Division II rankings, with top-10 finishes at all eight of its tournaments and five top-three marks this year.

On the softball diamond, the Lancers opened the season with a top-25 ranking and had three players earn preseason honors. Belinda Renne was named the PacWest Preseason Pitcher of the Year and was joined on the preseason all-conference team by Savannah Miller and Krista Mann. CBU has since jumped to No. 13 in the Division II rankings, and are 28-6, 17-3 in conference about halfway through the season. They opened PacWest action with series wins over Holy Names, Notre Dame de Namur, Chaminade and sweeps of BYU-Hawaii, Hawaii Hilo and Academy of Art. Ashley DeVaere has been a dangerous weapon for the Lancer offense, leading the conference in RBIs, doubles, home runs and walks.

The two-time National Cheerleaders Association championship CBU cheer team is ready to start another campaign for the coveted title. This year, the Lancers qualified a stunt group for nationals. Katarina McKnight, Briana Davee, Taylor Hendricksen, and Raven Rivera will compete at the USA College Championships on March 23 and then again at the NCA College Championship in April.

Distance track is off to a very promising start this season. Through three events, the Lancer men and women’s teams have combined to post 18 (11 men, seven women) top-10 performances. CBU showed it is starting to hit its stride at the Occidental Distance Carnival. Valentin Robert has stood out not only for CBU or in Division II, but in the nation at large. His time of eight minutes, 59.44 seconds in the steeplechase placed him second and was not only an NCAA Division II qualifying time but the fastest time for the event in Division II and the NCAA overall. Abel El-Hajjami also grabbed a B-cut and top-three time in Division II of 14:33.12 in the 5000 meter.

On the women’s end of things, Caroline Barkechir set a new school record in the 3000 (10:06.35) and 5000-meter (17:02.36) events. Her 5K mark also gave her a B-cut for the Division II Championships. Katie Deimling also grabbed the program’s first victory of the season, taking the steeplechase in 11:24.35.

There has been a hot streak brewing in the Lancer Aquatics Center, as CBU women’s water polo has won 10 of its past 11 matches, including seven straight to improve to 14-8 this season. Six of the Lancers’ wins have come over NCAA Division I squads — Siena, Bucknell, George Washington, Iona and St. Francis. CBU will look to continue to build a full head of steam heading into the Golden Coast Conference Championships April 23^rd to the 24^th.

After reaching the NCAA Division II West Region semifinals in its first year playoff eligibility, CBU baseball gave itself a challenge non-conference schedule with two four-game series with top-10 ranked opponents and took home a 17-3 shellacking of #3 Colorado Mesa and 3-2 win over #9 Cal Poly Pomona. The Lancers will have to battle through an equally daunting PacWest slate. After being picked to win the conference, with Andy Crowley also expected to repeat as the PacWest Player of the year in the preseason polls, four of the nine league squads are currently ranked in the NCBWA’s top-10 West Region teams. CBU carries a 10-12, 2-2 in conference record into its second conference series with Hawaii Pacific, the No. 8 team in the region, at James W. Totman Stadium Saturday and Monday. CBU has been picked to win the PacWest title for the third time in four years, with Andy Crowley being named the conference preseason player of the year in the poll of the league’s coaches.

With the spring season now in full swing, CBU men’s golf has turned a new leaf with its young group. With the addition of sophomore Fresno State transfer Christian Sanders, the Lancers have produced top-seven finishes at their three spring tournaments. It started with a seventh-place showing at the primarily Division I Folino Invitational, followed by a bronze finish at the Coyote Classic and sixth-place showing at the St. Edward’s Invitational. Phenomenal freshman Kavan Eubank has highlighted the Lancers’ success and won consecutive PacWest Golfer of the Week awards after winning medalist honors at the Coyote Classic and going top-10 at the Folino Invite.

Records have already been broken, with two single-season marks in jeopardy for a new-look Lancer men’s volleyball, which stands at 6-15, 2-13 in the MPSF more than halfway through its schedule in the toughest conference in the country. In a sweep of UC Merced on January 10^th, the Lancers attacked at a .627 percentage (36 kills, four errors in 51 attempts), which ranks second in CBU history and fourth in the MPSF since the rally-scoring era began in 2001. The Lancers also had 16 aces against the Bobcats, which tied a program high and is two off the MPSF’s all-time record. Enrique de Diego Garcia’s current 1.28 blocks-a-set average ranks him second on CBU’s single-season list, and tied a single-match record with 16 blocks in a sweep of UC San Diego, which stood as a new three-set record. He also ranks 10th in single-season hitting percentage with a .385 mark. Coming off a 17-dig performance, Kevin Kustura has put up 2.13 digs a set this year, which is the fifth best average in a season for CBU.

With the winter season nearing its conclusion, California Baptist University continued its impressive standing in the race for another PacWest Commissioner’s Cup. The Lancers are in a good spot, looking for its third Cup and second in a row after just four years as a member of the conference. 

The Lancers sit atop the 2014-15 standings with an average of 12.429 points, while rival Azusa Pacific is right on their heels with a 12.000 average. Last year, CBU grabbed its second Commissioner’s Cup in one of the closest races in conference history. The Lancers became just the second school in the conference, along with Hawai’i Pacific, to win the Commissioner’s Cup twice. CBU won it in its first year in the conference three years ago.

The PacWest Commissioner’s Cup Scoring System awards points to schools based on their finishes in conference-sponsored sports. Regular-season standings are used for baseball, basketball, soccer, softball and volleyball, while the results of the conference championships in the sports of cross country, golf and tennis. Tennis, golf, baseball and softball are still yet to be calculated into the mix.