June 1, 2007

Weekly College Notebook: Honors abound for area's stars
As the school year winds to a close, it's time to recognize the best of the best among hometown athletes participating for their NCAA programs.
By Chris Jackson
Staff writer

The South Bay may not be as prolific as the San Fernando Valley or Orange County in producing Division I college athletes, but in a few sports it holds its own.

Take softball, which had no less than seven players who were all worthy of being named the season's best.

To make things a little easier, pitchers and hitters will be honored separately, though a player of the year can be someone who does both.

Pitching honors this season go to Boston University freshman Megan Currier (Torrance High), who was also the America East Conference Pitcher of the Year.

Currier went 18-6 with a 2.20 ERA for the Terriers.

The final tiebreaker for the softball player of the year honor was postseason performance.

Only one South Bay athlete helped her team advance into an NCAA super regional, Cal State Fullerton junior Jessica Doucette (El Segundo). For the season, she hit .278 with 11 home runs and 39 RBIs, while also going 8-5 with a 2.58 ERA on the mound.

Honorable mention goes out to Lehigh senior Lauren Haney (Mira Costa), Minnesota senior Mandy Valadez (Redondo), Penn State junior Ashley Esparza (San Pedro), Cal Poly San Luis Obispo junior Sarah Iwata (Torrance) and California freshman Christina Schallig (Carson).

Here are the rest of the South Bay's best in Division I spring sports.

Baseball: Mike Zuanich (Bishop Montgomery) and Chris Fox (Bishop Montgomery) transferred from El Camino College to UC Santa Barbara together. Then they both starred in the outfield and at the plate together for the Gauchos. Playing left, Zuanich hit .295 with a five homers and 38 RBIs, while center fielder Fox hit .328 with 30 RBIs and 14 stolen bases. Loyola Marymount senior Daniel Macias (Banning) earns pitcher of the year honors after going 5-6 with a 4.63 ERA.

Men's golf: Loyola Marymount sophomore Brian Locke (St. Bernard) claimed his second straight individual West Coast Conference title and Player of the Year honor. He was named LMU's Male Athlete of the Year and competed at the NCAA West Regional as an individual.

Women's golf: Portland sophomore Taryn Kuida (South Torrance) emerged as the Pilots' best player, finishing ninth at the WCC Championship and earning all-conference honors. She recently qualified for this summer's U.S. Women's Amateur Public Links Tournament.

Women's hockey: OK, so this was an easy one, since only one South Bay player competes at the Division I level. But Harvard sophomore goalie Brittany Martin (South Torrance) still deserves recognition after going 15-5-1 with a 1.37 goals-against average in leading her team to the NCAA quarterfinals.

Women's swimming: UCLA senior Katie Nelson (Peninsula) claims the honor for the third straight year. Nelson won her second straight Pacific-10 Conference title in the 1,650-yard freestyle and finished fifth at the NCAA Championships to earn All-America honors. USC junior Kim Popp (Peninsula) was the area's top diver once again. Popp finished 13th in the platform at NCAAs.

Men's swimming: Cal State Northridge junior Jeff Hart (San Pedro) and Washington junior Ivan Perhat (San Pedro) led their teams in the sprint freestyles, as Hart topped the Matadors in the 100 and 200, while Perhat led the Huskies in the 50 and 100.

Men's tennis: Cal Poly sophomore Nick Berger (Redondo) was the best of a small group this season, going 12-8 in dual matches and 13-9 in doubles competition with partner Fred Dewitte.

Women's tennis: USC's senior tandem of Judy DeVera (Carson) and Dianne Matias (Carson) capped their careers with solid seasons. DeVera went 20-7 in singles and teamed with Amanda Fink to form the No. 47-ranked doubles team in the country. Matias went 21-11 in singles and was ranked No. 85.

Men's track and field: Long Beach State junior Brent Gray (Banning) swept the 100 and 200 meters at the Big West Championships, and then followed with the 200 title and a runner-up finish in the 100 at the NCAA West Regional, earning him a spot in the field at the upcoming NCAA Championships.

Women's track and field: No single athlete overwhelmed the rest, but Arizona State redshirt freshman Ali Kielty (West Torrance) earned the honor after finishing fourth in the 5,000 meters at the Pac-10 meet and fifth at the West Regional.

Men's volleyball: UC San Diego sophomore libero Eric Leserman (Mira Costa) set a school single-season record with 267 digs and earned a spot on the All-MPSF second team.

Women's water polo: UC Davis senior goalkeeper Amber Korner (El Segundo) led the Aggies to the regular-season WWPA title, racking up 235 saves with a .593 save percentage.

Men's basketball: It's a three-way tie between a trio of superb seniors, Cal State Fullerton's Bobby Brown (Westchester), San Diego State's Brandon Heath (Westchester) and UNLV's Wendell White (Redondo). All three led their teams to 20-win (or more) seasons and all three led their teams in scoring.

Women's basketball: UCLA senior Noelle Quinn (Bishop Montgomery) capped her brilliant career with a spot on the All-Pac-10 first team for the third time. She was the No. 4 overall pick in the WNBA draft by the Minnesota Lynx.

And finally: This is the final college notebook until the fall. Please feel free to send along any information over the summer to the e-mail below. The minor league notebook will return on June 10.