Yote Notes – June 4, 2007

Mike Safford Jr. – Sports Info. Director

msafford@collegeofidaho.edu

ATHLETIC NEWS: Roach signs with Royals, Howarth named to Gold Glove Team

JASON ROACH SIGNS WITH KANSAS CITY ROYALS: Albertson College of Idaho left-handed pitcher, Jason Roach, has signed a free agent contract with the Kansas City Royals. The native of Sacramento, Calif., will report to the Royals Spring Training site in Surprise, Ariz., on June 3rd for mini-camp, and is expected to begin his professional career as a member of the Idaho Falls Chukars, Kansas City's Advanced Rookie League club in the Pioneer League. "I am excited to take this to the next level," said Roach, who took advantage of the fifth-year senior clause allowed by Major League teams - as he did not have to participate in next week's First Year Players Draft.  "I look forward to playing baseball for a career - and the fact that I'll get to start the season in Idaho Falls, that's outstanding." It marks the tenth player who will play professional baseball in the seven years that Coyote skipper Shawn Humberger has been at the helm.  Two of the players - Branden Florence (2001 - San Francisco Giants) and Patrick Gonzalez (2002 - Baltimore Orioles) were senior signings, while Jason Stefani was drafted in the 30th Round of the 2001 Draft by the Los Angeles Dodgers. The 23-year-old was previously drafted during the 2004 season by the Baltimore Orioles, but did not sign and attended Sacramento City College.  He came to ACI in 2006 and had back-to-back stellar seasons - being named Cascade Conference Pitcher of the Year in 2006 and 2007, along with spots on the All-NAIA Region I and NAIA All-America teams as a junior and senior. During his Coyote career, Roach posted a 19-7 record with a 2.83 ERA.  His 187 strikeouts ranks fourth on the all-time list. Idaho Falls opens the Pioneer League season on July 19 at the Casper Rockies, with the Chukars playing their first home game at new Malaleuca Field July 22 against the Orem Owlz.

LUKE HOWARTH NAMED TO NAIA GOLD-GLOVE TEAM: Sophomore Luke Howarth was one of nine members in the NAIA to be named to the Rawlings NAIA Gold Glove Team, announced at the conclusion of the Avista NAIA World Series in Lewiston. Howarth, a native of Boise, was one of three outfielders on the team - comprised of the 218 schools that sponsor NAIA Baseball.  During the 2007 season, he fielded 117 chances without an error, including five outfield assists. He joins two other Coyotes who have had the honor bestowed upon them - Brandon Mattingly earning Gold Glove award in 1999 and Patrick Gonzalez earning the honor in 2002.

2006-07 YEAR IN REVIEW: Recap of the success of the Coyotes

The 2006-07 athletic season was filled with impressive achievements by ACI teams on and off the field. The following is an overall look at the Coyotes success, along with a team-by-team recap of the season.

43 All-Cascade Conference honors

38 Cascade Conference Player/Pitcher/Setter/Libero of the Week awards

32 NAIA Region I Player/Pitcher/Setter/Libero of the Week awards

28 Daktronics NAIA All-America Scholar-Athletes (highest total by the Coyotes in school history – previous mark was 25)

11 All-NAIA Region I honors

9 NAIA All-America honors

7 All-Northwest Collegiate Ski Conference honors

5 Cascade Conference Player/Pitcher of the Year honors

4 Cascade Conference Coach of the Year honors

3 NAIA Region I Player of the Year honors

2 USCSA All-Americans

2 NAIA Region I Coach of the Year honors

1 NAIA National Setter of the Week honor

1 USCSA All-Western Region honor

1 USCSA National Champion

9 Teams which qualified for respective national tournaments (volleyball, men’s swimming, women’s swimming, men’s basketball, men’s skiing, women’s skiing,

men’s indoor track, men’s outdoor track, women’s outdoor track)

8 Teams ranked in the NAIA/USCSA Top-25 (Volleyball, Men’s Cross Country, Men’s Basketball, Women’s Basketball, Men’s Skiing, Women’s Skiing, Baseball,

Softball)

4 Cascade Conference Championships (Volleyball, Men’s Soccer, Baseball, Softball)

2 Northwest Collegiate Ski Conference Championships (Men’s Skiing, Women’s Skiing)

1 NAIA Region I Championships (Volleyball)

Volleyball (35-4): Had the most successful season in school history – completing a perfect 18-0 record in Cascade Conference play, capturing the CCC and NAIA Region I championships, and placing ninth at the NAIA Championships. Went 18-0 at home during the season and currently have a string of 45-consecutive wins against teams not ranked in the Top-25. Senior Erin Cherrington was named CCC and NAIA Region I Player of the Year and earned Second-Team All-America honors, junior Katie Hogue was an All-CCC and All-Region selection, earning Third-Team All-America honors, with head coach Liz Mendiola earning CCC, NAIA Region I, and AVCA District 3 Coach of the Year honors. Cherrington shattered the school record for assists per game in a season and assists in a career, while libero Catherine Everist set a new school record for digs in a season and digs per game. ACI was ranked as No. 8 in the NAIA Top-25 poll and have been ranked in 11-consecutive polls.

Men’s Soccer (11-7-1): Coyotes captured their first Cascade Conference championship since 2001, finishing in a tie with Concordia atop the final league standings – but lost a dramatic 3-2 decision to Westminster in the NAIA Region I Tournament semifinals in Salt Lake City. Mitch White was named CCC and NAIA Region I Player of the Year, with teammates Scott Fuller and Jay Gentle named to the All-CCC and All-NAIA Region I teams, and along with White, named honorable mention NAIA All-Americans. Head coach Brian Smith was named CCC Coach of the Year. ACI led the CCC in goals scored, while recording the second-lowest goals against average in the league.

Women’s Soccer (6-10-2): The Lady Yotes finished in fifth-place in the ten-team Cascade Conference, qualifying for the CCC postseason tournament for just the second time – dropping a tough 2-1 decision at Evergreen State. ACI tied the school records for shutouts in a season with six and at one point of the season, won 5-of-6 games, including their first win over Corban College since the mid-1990s. Laura Fink was named to the All-CCC team, with Leah Roach and Jessie Harris named Second-Team selections.

Men’s Cross Country: The Coyotes placed third at the Cascade Conference Championships, but narrowly missed a return trip to the NAIA Championships. ACI was ranked in the NAIA Top-25 throughout the season, including No. 12 in the final regular-season poll – which vaulted the Yotes into the top-spot in the Region I standings, heading into the final meet. Tyler Hopper and Sam Hardy were named to the All-CCC Team.

Women’s Cross Country: A very young Lady Yote contingent placed fifth at the Cascade Conference Championships, as freshman Molli Lee-Painter placed 14th in the meet. ACI did record a first at the Lewis-Clark State Open in October, as three different runners finished the 5,000-meter race in less than 20-minutes.

Men’s Basketball (19-8): In what was expected to be a rebuilding year, including a brand new offensive and defensive scheme, the Coyotes tied the second-best start in program history and advanced to the NAIA Division II National Tournament for the fourth time in five years. Led by All-Cascade Conference guard Ike Stafford and CCC Defensive Player of the Year, Bryan Champ, the Coyotes opened the season with a 10-1 mark and climbed as high as No. 9 in the NAIA Top-25 poll. The Yotes defeated five nationally ranked teams (Carroll, Westminster, Oregon Tech, Eastern Oregon, Warner Pacific), scored 100-or-more points five times (including 129 points against Montana-Western), and defeated Northwest Nazarene, 88-80, before 5,000 fans in the Idaho Center. ACI, however, would lose their opening round game to national runner-up Northwestern (Iowa), at the NAIA Tournament.

Women’s Basketball (19-10): With a new offensive and defensive scheme, along with six underclassmen in their regular rotation – it was expected that the Lady Yotes were going to have a rebuilding year. However, ACI led the Cascade Conference standings most of the season, earned their first Top-25 ranking in five years, and were a game away from advancing to the National Tournament. Led by All-CCC players Whitney Clark and Jori Grady, ACI led the CCC in scoring average, while shattering the school record for steals in a season, and scoring 70-or-more points in a game 21 times.

Men’s Swimming: The Coyotes had their best finish ever at the NAIA Championships, placing tenth overall, as nine of the 17 events competed in by Coyotes this season had school records fall. ACI scored 44 points at the NAIA Championships, with the 200-freestyle relay team becoming the first Yote squad to qualify for the finals.

Women’s Swimming: The Lady Yotes had their best finish ever at the NAIA Championships, placing 15th overall. On the season 16 of the 17 events competed in by ACI saw school records broken – including five marks by Alphonsina Savell, who became the first Lady Yote to advance to the consolation final at the NAIA Championships, competing in both the 100 and 200 breaststroke.

Men’s Skiing: The Coyotes took home their fifth-consecutive Northwest Collegiate Ski Conference title and with a third-place finish at the USCSA Western Regional, advanced to the USCSA National Championships for the fifth-consecutive season, where they placed ninth overall. Four athletes – Will Moss, Tom Elias, Kevin Makinson, and Aaron Flynn were named All-NWCSC selections.

Women’s Skiing: The Lady Yotes took home their fifth-consecutive Northwest Collegiate Ski Conference title and with a second-place finish at the USCSA Western Regional, qualified for their ninth-straight USCSA National Championships, where they placed ninth. Molly Bullard was named NWCSC Skier of the Year and earned All-America honors in the alpine combined, while Nicki Maxwell and Jessica Wise were named All-NWCSC.

Indoor Track: The Coyotes sent one competitor to the NAIA National Championships in Johnson City, Tenn. – as Tyler Hopper placed ninth in the mile. It was a good all-around indoor season, however, and four men’s and nine women’s records were broken.

Men’s Golf: ACI rebounded from a tough regular-season to place eighth at the NAIA Region I Championships in Grand Forks, B.C. The Coyotes finished second among three Cascade Conference teams, defeating Corban College by three strokes at the regional.

Women’s Tennis (7-8): The Lady Yotes finished third out of four teams in the NAIA Region I standings. Keyed by play from freshmen Katie Leadbetter and Kim Clements, along with junior No. 1 Kyla Westerberg, ACI netted key wins against Alberta, George Fox, and Pacific, along with a pair of wins against NCAA Division II opponents, Chaminade and Dixie State.

Outdoor Track: ACI sent six competitors to the NAIA Outdoor Championships in Fresno, Calif. and advanced two runners to the finals. Jesse Chlebeck placed 12th in the men’s 5,000-meters, while Shannon Edwards, battling 100-degree temperatures on the track, finished 16th in the women’s 5,000-meters. Natalie Hatch became the Coyote to compete in a marathon, placing 19th at the NAIA Championships, while Jayne Saunders (400-hurdles), Jacob Haas (5,000-meters) and Tyler Hopper (800, 1,500-meters) competed in the championships. The Yotes had a pair of Cascade Conference champions (Haas in the 10,000-meters, Edwards in the 5,000-meters), as both teams finished fifth in the conference – tops among teams without full fields of sprinters or throwers. One men’s record, along with seven women’s records, were broken during the 2007 outdoor season.

Baseball (31-17): The Coyotes extended a pair of longstanding records in winning their third-consecutive Cascade Conference championship and advancing to the NAIA Region I Tournament title game. ACI has now won 25-or-more games for 21-straight seasons, while advancing to the postseason each of the 21 years. A total of nine players were named to the All-CCC team (Pat Burke, Casey Oliver, Bryan Champ, Kent Bradshaw, Luke Howarth, Jason Roach, Carson Taysom, Andrew Brock, Joey Zubizarreta), with Burke named CCC Player of the Year, Roach named CCC Pitcher of the Year, and skipper Shawn Humberger named Coach of the Year. Roach, Burke, and Oliver were also honored as All-Region I selections. ACI was ranked throughout the season, climbing to No. 12 in the Top-25 poll during March.

Softball (37-12): The Lady Yotes had their most successful season to date, nearly doubling the previous record for wins in a season – as ACI took home their first-ever Cascade Conference title and advanced to the NAIA Region I Tournament title game. As a team, the Coyotes set six single-game records (including scoring 17 runs in a inning in a 20-2 drubbing of Northwest Nazarene), while shattering 16 single-season marks – including most runs, hits, RBI, highest batting average, and lowest ERA in a season. Katie Zillner was named CCC Pitcher of the Year and NAIA Region I Player of the Year, with Haley Butcher, Stacy Smith, and Heather Kirtley each earning All-CCC and All-Region honors, while head coach Al Mendiola was named CCC and NAIA Region I Coach of the Year. ACI earned their first-ever national ranking during the season, climbing to No. 14 in the final NAIA poll.

Club Sports: Evan Williams captured his third USCSA snowboard national championship this winter, as the junior won the title in the SlopeStyle at the USCSA National Championships. Williams won the SlopeStyle title in 2005 and the Halfpipe title in 2006. The ACI men’s lacrosse team had their most successful season in 2007, going 3-5 – with attacker Cody Hart earning Pacific Northwest Collegiate Lacrosse League B Division Offensive MVP after scoring 37 goals in eight games.

RECRUITING: Released 2007-08 student-athletes, as of May 30

The following are a list of recruits that have been released to the media as of May 30, 2007. Although others have been signed by various ACI teams, only those released by ACI head coaches are on this list.

Women’s Soccer – Melissa Garrison (Borah HS), Jamie Reichel (Capital HS), Colleen Smith (Boise HS), Amanda Barrieau (Eagle HS), Kayla Williams (Boise HS), Jessica Heinrich (Caldwell HS)

Volleyball – Maddie Machurek (Eagle HS)

Men’s Basketball – James Malone (Chandler-Gilbert CC), Phil Matcham (Fresno City CC), Terriel Thomas (Borah HS), Andy Maxwell (Skyview HS), Jaron Tietsort (Caldwell HS), Daniel Vahradian (Harbor HS – Santa Cruz, Calif.), Kyle Redman (Declo HS)

Women’s Basketball – Tyra Rickman (Burns (Ore.) HS), Nicole Bruce (Bishop Kelly HS)

Men’s Swimming – James Rutter (Bakersfield, Calif.), Casey Walker (Caldwell)

Women’s Swimming – Andrea Younggren (La Grande (Ore.) HS)), Kayley Pitzele (Skyline (Wash.) HS), Auriana Clapp (Meridian HS), Amanda Smith (Bishop Kelly HS), Hayley Talboy (Bishop Kelly HS), Annie Kerrick (Lewiston HS), Erin Makela (Caldwell HS), Sara Rutter (Bakersfield, Calif.), Mariel Davis (Santa Fe, N.M.)

Men’s Skiing – Eric Ostrand (Gilford, N.H.), Jack Lewis (Buckley, Wash.), Dewey Moss (Oregon State), Sam Finch (Redding, Calif.), Jeff Bayley (Mercer Island, Wash.)

Women’s Skiing – Fern Miller (Placerville, Colo.), Lara Mann (New Hampton, N.H.), Maura Pickett (Lake Placid, N.Y.), Katie Kernan (Gorham, N.H.), Rachel Parsons (Capital HS)

Baseball – Gavin Gamboa (Bishop Kelly HS)

Softball – Kalie Kurdy (Bishop Kelly HS)