2011-12 C of I YEAR in REVIEW

BY THE NUMBERS

68        Bank of the Cascades Cascade Conference All-Academic Team Selections

60        All-Cascade Conference Selections

55        Red Lion Cascade Conference Player of the Week Awards

32        Daktronics-NAIA Scholar-Athletes

13        NAIA All-Americans (first-team selections – Whitney Brigham (volleyball), Hillary Holt (cross country/outdoor track), Greg Montgomery (cross country, indoor track, outdoor track), Sora Klopfenstein (cross country, outdoor track))

 

10        Teams qualifying for their respective National Championships (M/W Cross Country, M/W Track & Field, M/W

            Swimming, Volleyball,  Women’s Basketball, Women’s Golf, Baseball)

8          Teams Ranked in the Top-25 (M/W Cross Country, M/W Basketball, Volleyball, Baseball, Softball, Women’s Golf)

8          Capital One/CoSIDA Academic All-District 7 selections

5          Capital One/CoSIDA Academic All-Americans

3          Player of the Year Awards (Whitney Brigham – Volleyball, Greg Montgomery – Men’s Cross Country, Izaac Garsez –

            Baseball)

3          Conference Championships (Women’s Cross Country, Volleyball, Women’s Basketball – tournament title)

3          Coach of the Year Awards (Pat McCurry – Women’s Cross Country, Pat McCurry – Women’s Track, Garry Matlock –

            Women’s Golf)

2          All-Northwest Collegiate Ski Conference honors

1          NAIA National Player of the Week award (Nickayla Skinner – Softball)

SPORT BY SPORT RECAPS 

MEN’S SOCCER (7-9-2): The Coyotes finished fourth in the CCC standings with a 6-6-2 record, playing a school record seven overtime games during the season.  The highlight of the season was a 1-1 draw against No. 12 ranked Concordia, with keeper Aaron Reynolds scoring the tying goal with five seconds left in regulation – a highlight that was featured on ESPN.  Reynolds, along with midfielder Brad Byers, were honored as All-CCC selections, while Emilio Yomaha led the team with five goals scored.

WOMEN’S SOCCER (7-9-1): The Lady Yotes finished fourth in the CCC standings, recording a 5-3-1 league record, advancing to the postseason for a sixth-straight year – losing to perennial power, Concordia, 2-1 in overtime.  The C of I posted a stellar 6-1-1 record at home in 2011, with the lone loss against Division II stalwart, Cal Baptist.  Chelsea Heffner earned All-CCC honors for a fourth-straight season, while Taylor Culver and Brittney Lacey shared the team lead with five goals.  Following the season, head coach Niki Taylor resigned to take a coaching position in Washington, with Brian Smith assuming the role for the 2012 season.

VOLLEYBALL (27-5): The Lady Yotes had a record-setting season, winning their sixth-straight CCC regular-season title and advancing to their fourth-straight NAIA National Tournament.  The C of I advanced out of pool play, winning their first-round match against Rocky Mountain, before losing in four sets to Columbia (Mo.) – finishing in a tie for fifth.  Whitney Brigham was named CCC Player of the Year, AVCA Northwest Region Player of the Year, and became the Lady Yotes’ first first-team All-American.  Both Kylee Nawahine and Torrey Hulsey were honored as honorable mention All-Americans, with Kelsey Soos earning a record nine CCC Setter of the Week awards.

CROSS COUNTRY: For the fourth-straight year, both the Coyote men and women qualified for the NAIA National Championships – as the Lady Yotes won their third CCC crown in the past four years.  Hillary Holt and Sora Klopfenstein earned All-America honors, as the ladies finished seventh at Nationals, while Greg Montgomery became the Yotes first-ever CCC champion, earning his third-straight All-America honor by placing seventh at the National Championships, helping the men to a 22nd place finish.  The Lady Yotes also set a new record by climbing to No. 3 in the NAIA Top-25 poll.

MEN’S BASKETBALL (10-20): The Coyotes opened the 2011-12 season ranked No. 25 in the NAIA Division II, but that was the high point of the year, as The C of I suffered their third-straight losing season and their fourth losing season in five years – including four losses at home by three-points or less.  Matt Ballenger was the Yotes lone All-CCC pick, as an honorable mention selection, averaging 16 points per game.

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL (22-9): The Lady Yotes expected the 2011-12 season to be a rebuilding year, returning just four players from the previous season, but rolled to a 14-4 record in CCC play, then sweeping a trio of games to win the CCC Tournament title.  The C of I advanced to their fourth-straight NAIA Division II National Tournament, dropping a tough game against Friends (Kan.).  Felicity Jones was named CCC Newcomer of the Year after averaging 13 points and five rebounds per game.

SWIMMING: Both C of I teams qualified for the NAIA National Championships for the sixth-straight season, with the men’s team finishing in 15th-place and the women placing 17th.  Lucas Hill and Jeremy Erbsen each had an outstanding meet, Hill qualifying for the consolation finals in the 200-butterfly, while Erbsen qualified in both the 100 and 200-backstroke.  The season also saw the Yotes hire a new coach, as midseason, Christine Mabile replaced Mary Parsons as head coach.

SKIING: Led by Nina Hirner, the Lady Yotes finished second in the Northwest Collegiate Ski Conference standings, while the men’s team, led by Zach Shenk, finished third.  Both teams, however, failed to qualify for the USCSA National Championships after a tough USCSA Western Regionals in Steamboat, Colo.

TENNIS: Both the Coyote men and women were improved during the 2012 season – both teams picking up key victories against NCAA competition.  The men finished with an overall record of 5-9, including a road victory at Linfield College – their first win against a Northwest Conference team since the program was reinstated in 2009.  The women finished with a 2-7 record, including a shutout victory against Notre Dame de Namur, their first win since 2007 against a NCAA Division II school.

GOLF: It was a record-setting year for the Lady Yotes, who were ranked in every NAIA Top-25 poll of the season.  The squad won the season opening Warner Pacific Invite, while recording six of the eight best rounds in program history during the 2011-12 campaign – including a 314 and 315 at the NAIA Fall Preview in Tennessee, where the team placed fifth.  The C of I finished second in the CCC, qualifying for their first-ever NAIA Championships, where they placed 23rd.  Trish Gibbens, Baylee Borchers, and Jocie Cracroft all earned All-CCC honors.  The men’s team finished third in the CCC standings – thanks to the play of three All-CCC competitors – Austen Giesie, Tyler Thurston, and Kyle DeLorey.

SOFTBALL (29-15): The Lady Yotes recorded their best start in program history, winning 17 of their first 20 games, including a record 12-game win streak, but the increasingly difficult CCC kept The C of I out of the postseason for the third-straight year.  Nickayla Skinner had a banner All-CCC season, going 17-7 in the circle with a 1.45 ERA, including seven shutouts and 223 strikeouts, while leading the team with six home runs.  Molly Mills broke the school record for batting average (.421) and hits in a season (56), earning both All-CCC and All-NFCA West Region honors.

BASEBALL (41-21): The Coyotes had an outstanding season – qualifying for their second NAIA National Tournament in the last three seasons, while advancing to the AVISTA-NAIA World Series for the first time since 2002.  The Yotes recorded a 24-6 record at home – including key series wins against rivals British Columbia and Menlo, securing the No. 1 seed in the NAIA West Tournament for the first time since 2002.  Despite losing a 5-4 decision to Menlo in the NAIA West title game, the Yotes advanced to the NAIA Tournament Opening Round, upsetting No. 1 seed Azusa Pacific in the final, 7-6, to head to the World Series.  Izaac Garsez earned first-team All-America honors after hitting .391 with eight home runs, 20 doubles, 12 triples, 52 RBI, and 29 stolen bases – the first Coyote to earn the award since 1998, while being named NAIA West Player of the Year.  Jarel Lewis was named an honorable mention All-American after leading the league with 24 doubles.  Both Tanner Hodges and Taylor Nicholson were honored as All-NAIA West picks.

TRACK AND FIELD: A record-setting season for both track and field teams – both indoors and outdoors.  Indoors, Hillary Holt recorded the second-fastest time in the women’s mile, but had to miss the NAIA Championships due to injury.  At Indoor Nationals, Greg Montgomery finished third in the men’s mile, while Austin Basterrechea finished fifth in the heptathlon – both setting school records.  Outdoors, the Lady Yotes – keyed by titles from Holt (1,500), Audrey Youren (high jump), Jasmine Sibert (100-hurdles), placed second at the CCC Championships, while a title by Montgomery (5,000) helped the men to a third-place finish.  A total of 21 competitors advanced to Outdoor Nationals, where the Lady Yotes recorded a tenth-place finish, led by Holt, who became The C of I’s first track national champion, winning the 1,500-meter final.  Holt also placed fourth in the 800-meters, with Sora Klopfenstein taking second in the 3,000-meter steeplechase.  Montgomery placed third in the men’s 5,000-meters – earning his third All-America award this season and his seventh of his collegiate career.