Yote Notes – Oct. 9,
2007
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Mike Safford Jr. – Sports
Info. Director
msafford@collegeofidaho.edu
ATHLETIC NEWS: Basketball Season Tickets,
BASKETBALL SEASON
TICKET MAILER GOING OUT: Later this week, a mailing will be going out regarding the upcoming
2007-08 ACI men’s and women’s basketball season. Included in the mailer are forms to
order/renew season tickets, order tickets for the ACI-NNU game on Nov. 13,
order tickets for the Wendy’s Classic on Dec. 7-8, and information to join the
Coyote Athletic Association and the Little Yotes Club. If you are currently not on the mailing list
and would like to receive this information, contact Dave Hahn at 459-5835 or dhahn@collegeofidaho.edu.
GOLFERS READY FOR
ROUND TWO: The ACI
men’s and women’s golf team will head out on their second tournament of the
fall season, competing in the second Cascade Conference qualifier. The 54-hole event is hosted by
VOLLEYBALL (12-6, 10-0 CCC): No. 10 Lady Yotes complete perfect
first half of CCC season, set to host Cascade and Warner Pacific
LAST WEEK: at Concordia (W 3-0), at Corban (W 3-0)
COMING UP: vs. Cascade, Friday, 7 p.m.; vs.
Warner Pacific, Saturday, 7 p.m.
THE STREAKS ROLL ON: ACI extended a pair of long streaks
stopped Concordia and Corban on the road. The Lady Yotes ran their Cascade Conference
win streak to 28 matches in a row and their win streak against teams not
receiving votes in the NAIA poll to 54 in a row. ACI has not lost a CCC match since the 2005
season, and has not lost a match to a non-receiving votes
team since August of 2005. The Lady
Yotes have also won 29 games in a row in the
GAME WINS IN CCC PLAY: Over the last two seasons, the Lady Yotes
have dominated their CCC rivals – going beyond three games only twice. ACI has won their last 21 games played in a
row since losing Game 1 at Warner Pacific on Sept. 14. During their current win streak, the Coyotes
have won 84 of the 87 individual CCC games played.
BACK AT HOME: The Lady Yotes have enjoyed much
success in the
ELY JOINS THE RANKS OF THE 1,000
CLUB: Part of an
eight-kill night on Friday, Kathryn Ely (La
NEXT MARK IS ELY’S, LOOKING FOR
1,000 KILLS: The
next record to fall will be that of outside hitter, Kathryn Ely (La
HOGUE EARNS PLAYER OF THE WEEK
HONORS: For her
efforts during the week of Sept. 24-30, Katie Hogue was named Cascade Conference
and NAIA Region I Player of the Week.
Hogue averaged 3.3 kills and 2.0 blocks per game in the Yotes wins over
ZILLNER HAS UNBLEMISHED NIGHT: In the win at Corban
on Saturday, outside hitter Katie Zillner (Emmett,
Idaho / Chicago State U.) had her best hitting night of her career. The senior recorded ten kills without a
hitting error on 14 swings, good enough for a .714
attack percentage – the highest mark by a Coyote this season.
YOTES WIN AT CONCORDIA: The Yotes remained unbeaten in CCC
play with a 30-26, 30-27, 30-11 victory at
ACI GOES TO 10-0 WITH WIN AT CORBAN:
Paced by three
players with double-digit kills, the Yotes won their tenth match in a row,
completing a perfect first half of the CCC season, defeating
NAIA POLL: The Yotes jumped two spots in the
NAIA Top-25 Coaches Poll, released last Wednesday, moving to No. 10 – the first
time since the preseason poll that the squad was in the Top-10. ACI, who has won ten matches in a row, has
now been ranked in the Top-25 in each of the last 18 rankings. Eight teams ACI faced this season are in the Top-25 - No. 1
Fresno Pacific, No. 4 Biola, No. 5 National American, No. 8 Point Loma
Nazarene, No. 11 Westminster, No. 18 Vanguard, No. 24 Southern Oregon and No.
25 Savannah A&D. The NAIA poll is
released each Wednesday afternoon by the national office in
PREVIOUS NATIONAL POLLS: The Coyotes have been
ranked in the Top-25 on 23 occasions in program history – the second (No. 24)
and third (No. 19) polls of the 1997 season, the preseason (No. 15) and first
poll (No. 19) of the 2001 season, the final poll during the 2005 season (No.
24), the preseason poll and all 11 rankings during the 2006 season, the 2007
preseason poll., and the five regular-season polls this season. ACI has been ranked as high as No. 6 in the
poll.
REGIONAL POLL: The sixth NAIA Region I Top-10
ranking was released on Monday, with the Yotes remaining in a tie for
first-place in the rankings. For the
third-straight week, ACI is in a tie for the top spot with
RECORD BOOK: Five Coyotes continued their climb
up the career record book. Katie Hogue ranks first all-time in blocks (491),
fourth in kills (1,199), and sixth in aces (162). Anne
Parker (
CONFERENCE / NATIONAL STATISTICS: As a team, the Yotes lead the CCC in
aces per game (2.45) and blocks per game (2.79), are second in hitting
percentage (.223) and kills per game (14.06), and are third in assists per game
(12.83) and digs per game (17.82) – while leading the loop in attack percentage,
kills, blocks, and aces in league-only counters. Individually, Katie Hogue ranks in the Top-10
in three categories – third in blocks (1.23), fourth in hitting percentage
(.301), and fifth in aces (0.45). Other
Yotes in the Top-10 are Catherine Everist, who is No.
3 in digs (5.62) and No. 9 in aces (0.41), Sarah
Buhler (Middleton, Idaho / Middleton
HS) is No. 5 in blocks (1.11), Ashley
Galeai (Nampa,
Idaho / Skyview HS) is No. 4 in aces (0.47) and No. 5 in assists
(7.47), and Kathryn Ely is No. 8 in kills (3.14). In league-only games, Hogue leads the
league in blocks and Everist leads the league in
aces. This season, the NAIA is compiling
a weekly national statistical report, thanks to DakStats. To read the national
report, head to http://www.dakstats.com/WebSync/Pages/Team/TeamPage.aspx?association=10&sg=WVB&sea=NAIWVB_2007&team=1900.
YOTES BACK HOME THIS WEEKEND: ACI starts the second half of the
CCC schedule at home, beginning Friday night against Cascade. The Thunderbirds
(3-12, 1-9 CCC) are much improved from last season in which they went 1-25 and
did not win a CCC match – thanks in part to the play of Vanessa Fleetwood (2.3
k/g, 1.9 d/g) and Meagan Stanley (2.3 k/g, 0.9 b/g). Cascade will be looking to end a six-match
losing streak overall and a 21-match losing streak to ACI, who leads the
all-time series, 27-5. Saturday, Warner Pacific makes their annual trek
to
ABOUT THE COACH: Liz Mendiola is in her seventh season as
the ACI head volleyball coach. During her first six seasons at the helm,
the Coyotes have advanced to six consecutive Cascade Conference tournaments,
four NAIA regional tournaments, and back-to-back trips to the NAIA National
Championships, amassing a record of 148-62, the most wins in school
history. Last season, she led the Lady
Yotes to their best season in program history, compiling a 35-4 record -
earning CCC and NAIA Region I Coach of the Year honors. ACI won their first
Cascade Conference championship in 24 years, becoming just the second school to
complete the league schedule without a loss. The Coyotes also captured
their second-straight CCC Tournament title, along with their second-straight
NAIA Region I Tournament title, before placing ninth at the NAIA Championships.
Her team set a school-record with 22 straight wins and heads into the 2007
season with a 25-game home win streak and a 45-game win streak against
non-ranked opponents, dating back to 2005.
Mendiola was an assistant for the Coyotes on
two separate occasions – from 1995-96 and from 1999-2000, before elevating to
head coach. She has also coached club
volleyball at Emmett High, for the Treasure Valley Volleyball Club, the Boise
River Volleyball Club, and various camps in the Northwest. A native of Jerome, Mendiola graduated from ACI in 1996 with a degree in
elementary education, and taught kindergarten in
FOR MORE INFORMATION: For more information on the ACI
volleyball program, head to the official homepage of the Lady Yotes, www.collegeofidaho.edu/athlete/vball.htm.
WOMEN’S SOCCER (7-4-3, 4-1-2 CCC): Yotes off on biggest road trip in
program history as the travel to No. 5 Concordia & Cascade
LAST WEEK: vs. Northwest Christian (W 2-1), vs.
No. 19 Simon Fraser (T 0-0)
COMING UP: at No. 5 Concordia, Friday, 3 p.m.
(PDT); at Cascade, Saturday, 3 p.m. (PDT)
PLAYOFF PUSH BEGINS: With a week and a half remaining in
the regular season and less than two weeks before the opening round of the
Cascade Conference Tournament, not much has been settled as to who will be the
six teams moving on to the postseason from the CCC. Only one team – Concordia, has secured a spot
in the CCC Tournament, while nine of the other ten teams in the loop (only
Northwest Christian has been eliminated) are battling for five spots. In fact only six points separate second-place
Corban (with 15 points) and seventh place Oregon Tech
and
ABOUT THE CCC PLAYOFF SYSTEM: The top-six teams in the final
standings will move on to the CCC Tournament, with quarterfinal games beginning
Oct. 20. The No. 3 and No. 4 seeded
teams will host quarterfinal games against the No. 5 and No. 6 teams (No. 6 at
No. 3, No. 5 at No. 4), while the No. 1 and No. 2 teams will receive a
bye. The No. 1 seed will then host the
lowest remaining seed on Oct. 24, with the No. 2 seed hosting the next highest
remaining seed. The championship game is
set for Oct. 27. The regular-season
champ and the tourney champ earn the CCC’s two berths
to the NAIA Region I Tournament (if they are the same team, the tourney
runner-up receives the second bid).
ACI IN THE PLAYOFFS: The Lady Yotes have never hosted a
playoff game in program history – and have never won a postseason game. ACI has made four trips to the postseason –
losing District II semifinal matches to Willamette in 1991 and Pacific in 1993,
and losing CCC Tournament matches to Concordia in 2002 and
YOTES NOTCH HISTORIC DRAW: For the first time ever, the ACI
women’s soccer team recorded a positive decision against a team ranked in the
Top-25, as the Lady Yotes played No. 19 ranked Simon Fraser to a scoreless draw
on Saturday in La Grande, Ore. Despite a
22-5 edge in shots, the two-time NAIA National Champions from
TIES GALORE: With three draws this season, the
Lady Yotes equaled the 1990 team for the second-most ties in a season. Only the 1995 season, in which ACI played
even on four occasions, saw the Coyotes record more draws. That season was also the last time the Yotes
had a winning overall record, as ACI went 3-1-4.
SHUTOUT RECORD TIED FOR
SECOND-STRAIGHT YEAR: With the shutout of Simon Fraser, ACI has now recorded six shutouts this
season, tying the mark set by the 1993 and 2006 teams.
KEY WIN OVER NORTHWEST CHRISTIAN: The Yotes scored a pair of first
half goals and withstood a late flurry from Northwest Christian to post a key
2-1 CCC victory Friday at Symms Field. Using a 16-1 edge in shots in the opening
period, the ACI got on the board in the 29th minute as Leah Roach (Boise, Idaho /
Timberline HS) knocked home a one-time shot into the right corner of the
net off a Martine Troy (Ogden, Utah / Judge Memorial HS) corner
kick. ACI would get the eventual game-winning goal ten minutes later, as Courtney Mitchell (
ROACH MOVES UP ON ALL-TIME LIST: With her goal against NW Christian,
Leah Roach moved into a tie for fourth on the all-time goals scored list. The senior has now scored 16 goals in her ACI
career, drawing even with Alyssa Latham on the list. Kristine Jones (Halter) has the school record
with 30 goals from 1990-93.
COYOTES BACK IN THE REGIONAL TOP-5:
After only three teams were ranked in the NAIA Region I Top-5 poll last
week, the latest tabulation had five teams, with the Lady Yotes rated No.
4. Concordia holds the top spot,
followed by Carroll, Simon Fraser, ACI, and Corban. The regional ranking is released each Monday,
with the national poll released each Wednesday.
CONFERENCE STATS: In the latest CCC statistical
report, the Lady Yotes as a team rank second in the league in shutouts (6),
third in goals allowed (14), goals against average (0.94), fouls (10.07), and
corner kicks (3.79), seventh in assists per game (0.71), and eighth in goals
scored per game (0.93). Individually, Amy Rhoades (Eagle,
ACI GETS CRACK AT FIFTH-RANKED
CONCORDIA: The Lady
Yotes will play back-to-back nationally ranked opponents, as ACI returns to
league play on Friday, traveling to Concordia. The Cavaliers (12-2, 7-0 CCC) are ranked No.
5 in the NAIA poll and are coming off a trip to the national semifinals. CU is the top offensive and defensive team in
the league, as the Cavs have scored 44 goals this
season, while allowing just seven – and have not allowed a score in 810 minutes
(with no goals against in CCC play).
Longtime head coach, Grant Landy, has a pair
of potent goal scorers in Jessica Ramback (15 goals,
3 assists) and Justine Pronovost (10 goals, 1
assist), along with the top keeper in the loop in Leah Flores (0.27 GAA, 8 ShO). ACI looks to
end a 17-match losing streak to CU, as the Cavaliers hold a commanding 19-2-4
series edge.
CRUCIAL MATCH-UP AT CASCADE: The possible positioning for the CCC
playoffs could hinge on Saturday’s game between the Lady Yotes and Cascade in
ABOUT THE COACH: Niki Taylor is in her second season has head coach of the ACI women's
program and has an overall record of 13-14-5. In her first season with the
Coyotes, she helped to their fourth-ever postseason berth, losing the
FOR MORE INFORMATION: For more information on the ACI
women’s soccer program, head to the official homepage of the Lady Yotes, www.collegeofidaho.edu/athlete/wmenssoccer.htm.
MEN’S SOCCER (7-4-1, 4-3-1 CCC): Yotes close out three-game homestand with key matches against Northwest and
LAST WEEK: vs.
Cascade (W 4-2)
COMING UP: vs. Northwest, Friday, 3 p.m.; vs.
YOTES NOTCH BIG WIN OVER CASCADE: Antonio Bautista (Homedale, Idaho / Homedale HS) recorded
the first Albertson College of Idaho hat trick in over a year, as the Coyotes
notched a crucial Cascade Conference victory, topping Cascade College, 4-2,
Wednesday at Symms Field. The win for the Yotes moved ACI ahead of both
Cascade third-place in the league standings with six
games remaining - with the top-two finishers earning automatic berths to the
postseason. ACI got on the board early,
as Alex Penrod
(Las Vegas, Nev. / Cimarron-Memorial HS) headed
home a ball in the eighth minute - ending a great combination play from Kazuki Murata (Tokyo, Japan / Ichiritu HS) and Michael Delgado (Caldwell, Idaho / Vallivue HS).
Murata controlled the ball at the top of the 18 and floated a ball to the right
corner of the box, Delgado then played a crossing ball over the mouth of the
goal, where Penrod knocked the ball in. The Thunderbirds drew even in the 20th
minute, as they were awarded a penalty kick after a foul in the box.
Mario Vivanco slammed the PK into the left side of
the net to make it 1-1. From there, Bautistia took over, heading home a Penrod
cross just before halftime to give ACI the lead. He then scored two goals
13-seconds apart in the second half - flicking home a Jesus Lopez (Nampa, Idaho / Skyview HS) touch in the 61st minute, then after the
restart, got a quick feed from Murata to find the lower right corner of the net
to make it 4-1. Cascade would get a Juan
Manzanarez score off a free kick to cap the scoring -
but despite a strong push in the final 15 minutes, could not get closer. ACI had a 14-11 edge in shots, along with a
4-1 edge in corner kicks.
FIRST HAT TRICK IN OVER A YEAR: The
three-goal game by Antonio Bautista was the first hat trick since September of
2006, when Mitch White scored three goals in a 5-2 win
at home over Northwest. They are the
only two hat tricks recorded by the Yotes in the last four seasons.
GOALS SCORED UNDER SMITTY: ACI
is on pace to score their most goals in a season under head coach Brian Smith. Through 12 games, the Yotes have scored 32
goals, just four goals behind the 36 they scored last season in 19
matches. The most goals ACI has tallied
under “Smitty” is 41, back
in 2004. The school record for goals
scored in a season is 73, set back in 2003.
CASCADE CONFERENCE UP FOR GRABS: The
race for the two automatic berths to the NAIA Region I Tournament is a battle
between seven of the eight teams in the loop with three weekends left in the
regular-season. Currently, Concordia has
a two-game lead on the field, but only two games separate second-place Warner
Pacific and seventh-place Northwest.
FIRST OR SECOND PLACE THE ONLY WAY: It
was announced last week that this season will be the final year of qualification
for the NAIA Championships through the region process. This year, the top two teams in the Cascade
Conference round-robin, along with the next two teams (including Simon Fraser,
ACI BACK IN THE REGIONAL RANKINGS: After a one-week hiatus, ACI
returned to the NAIA Region I Top-5 regional ranking this week, slipping in at
No. 5. Simon Fraser, ranked No. 9
nationally, is No. 1, followed by Concordia,
CONFERENCE STAT REPORT: As a team, the Coyotes rank No. 2 in
the CCC in goals per game (2.67), shutouts (3), and corner kicks per game
(6.08), while ranking third in the loop in shots per game (17.42), assists per
game (2.0), and goals against average (1.61).
Individually, Kazuki Murata is second in the
league in assists (6), is third in total points (16), and is fourth in assists
per game (0.5), while keeper Jay Gentle (Boise, Idaho / Walla Walla
CC) is second in shutouts (3), and is fourth in both goals against average (1.61)
and save percentage (.726). Two other
Yotes are in the Top-5 – Michael Delgado, who is second in assists (6) and
fourth in assists per game (0.5), and Jesus Lopez, who is second in the league
in game-winning goals (3).
BIG HOMESTAND ENDS WITH EAGLES AND
GEODUCKS: ACI
completes its current homestand this weekend, hosting
matches on Friday and Saturday. Up first
is Northwest, whom the Yotes handled
with a 3-1 win on Sept. 22. The Eagles (4-7, 3-5 CCC) have struggled of late, losing six of their last seven matches and are looking
to end a 16-match losing streak to the Coyotes.
NU is led offensively by Micah Williams (3 goals, 1 assist) and Amos Freiheit (1 goal, 4 assists), and in goal by Kyle Wall
(2.07 GAA). It is the 26th all-time
meeting between the teams, with the Yotes holding a 23-2 series edge. Up next is
AROUND THE CONFERENCE: The lone non-conference match-up
this week had
ABOUT THE COACH: Brian Smith is in his fourth season
as head coach of the ACI men's soccer team and has compiled a 37-24-3 overall
mark. In his first season two seasons, the Coyotes narrowly missed a spot
in the NAIA Region I Tournament, despite a second and third-place finish in the
Cascade Conference standings. Last season, however, the Yotes claimed
their first CCC title since 2001 and advanced to the regional semifinals.
For his efforts, the Coyote skipper was named CCC Coach of the Year. Smith, who helped the Coyotes to a 35-21-1
record as a player for longtime coach, John Calpin,
from 1990-93, returned to his alma mater in 2004 after a successful high school
coaching career in the Treasure Valley.
He coached the
FOR MORE INFORMATION: For more information on the ACI
men’s soccer program, head to the official homepage of the Coyotes, www.collegeofidaho.edu/athlete/menssoccer.htm.
CROSS COUNTRY: Yotes earn second-place finishes in
snowy meet at
LAST WEEK: at
COMING UP: Idle until October 20 – host Cascade
Conference Championships, presented by Bandanna Running,
SNOW, SNOW, AND MORE SNOW IN
OCTOBER: Average
temperatures in
WOMEN NEARLY TOP ISU: In the women’s race, ISU and ACI
traded spots over the first eight scoring positions, and even though the Lady
Yotes had all seven scoring runners in before the Bengals
had their fifth scorer across, the NCAA Division I squad earned a 28-29
victory. Stephanie Helm (Challis,
MEN RACE WELL AGAINST BENGALS: The Coyote men had their best
performance ever against ISU, as ACI lost a 23-38 decision to the Bengals – but dominated
BOTH TEAMS RANKED IN THE NAIA
TOP-25: Both the
ACI men's and women's teams remained in the NAIA Top-25 Coaches Poll for the
fourth-straight week, as the national polls were released last week by the
national office in Kansas City, Mo. The
men's team remained at No. 21 for the second week in a row. Joining ACI in the Top-25 were
REGIONAL RANKINGS: Both the ACI men and women were in
the Top-5 of their respective NAIA Region I Top-10 polls, released Monday. The men’s team remained No. 4 with
HOSTING THE REGIONAL: For the first time, ACI will play
host to a major cross country meet, as the Coyotes are the host institution for
the Cascade Conference Championships. The event will be
Oct. 20 at
MORE ON THE REGIONAL: Each of the 11 teams in the CCC will
participate in the championships, each allowed a
maximum of 12 runners. Concordia is the
defending men’s champion, while Corban took the 2006
women’s title.
FOR MORE INFORMATION: For more information on the ACI
cross country program, head to the official homepage of the Yotes, www.collegeofidaho.edu/athlete/xc.htm.
SWIMMING: Season Preview
COMING
UP: at Whitworth,
Saturday, 1 p.m. (PDT)
RECAP OF
LAST SEASON: The
Albertson College of Idaho swim teams are coming off their most successful
season ever, as both teams recorded outstanding finishes at the NAIA
Championships. The Coyote Men finished tenth overall, while the Lady
Yotes finished in 15th-place. Overall, the men's team broke nine of the
previous 17 school records, while the women's team rewrote the record book in
16 of 17 events.
SWIMMERS
RETURNING, SWIMMERS LOST: The men's team will be deeper this season, as all four swimmers that
comprised the NAIA Championships relay teams return - while only losing one
swimmer overall - Jared Tate. The women's team returns eight swimmers -
including two who competed in individual events at the NAIA
Championships. They will, however, have to replace a pair of solid
swimmers - Elizabeth Peters, who decided to run cross country and track, and
Christine Mabile, who transferred. Currently,
there are 24 student-athletes on the Coyotes roster - seven men and 17 women.
MEN'S
PREVIEW: Experience
is the key for the Coyotes during the 2007-08 season,
as ACI returns the key components of last season's Top-10 team. All four
of the athletes - John Green (
WOMEN'S
PREVIEW: The
women's team will be anchored this season by junior Alphonsina
Savell (
SCHEDULE
AHEAD: The Coyotes
will compete as a team in a pair of invitational meets during the regular
season, with the men's team swimming in four dual meets and the women's team
competing in six dual meets. ACI opens the season this weekend at Whitworth,
where the Pirate men's team is coming off a Northwest Conference
championship. During the season, the Yotes will also compete on the road
against Lewis & Clark and
ABOUT
THE COACH: Mary Parsons is in her first season as ACI swim coach. Parsons replaced Mike Shines, who coached the
Coyotes for the past three seasons - leading ACI to back-to-back Top-15
finishes at the NAIA Championships. A native of Caldwell, Parsons had a
decorated collegiate career at
FOR MORE
INFORMATION: For
more information on the ACI swimming teams, head to the homepage of the
Coyotes, www.collegeofidaho.edu/athlete/swim.htm.