Bronco athletics year in review

the Santa Clara

FALL

The 2003-2004 Santa Clara athletic season began with the Broncos setting the pace for the West Coast Conference. Santa Clara went on to enjoy one of its most successful fall seasons to date as four different teams found themselves ranked in their respective sport's national Top 25.

There was no shortage of memorable moments. Men's and women's soccer swept the WCC titles. Despite unfavorable draws in the NCAA tournament, both teams exceeded expectations.

The defending national champion women's squad struggled with injuries through their first nine games with a mark of 3-3-3 before heating up. Led by WCC Player of the Year and junior captain Leslie Osborne and All-WCC goalkeeper freshman Julie Ryder, the Broncos ran off a 14-game win streak (including a 6-0-1 WCC mark, their third-straight WCC title) until falling in the Elite Eight to eventual champion North Carolina.

On the men's side, under WCC Coach of the Year Cameron Rast, All-WCC players junior defender Ryan Cochrane and junior keeper Steve Cronin led the Broncos to their ninth WCC crown with a 5-1-0 conference mark, 16-4-4 overall. Despite being snubbed when it came to receiving a high seed and first-round bye, All-WCC senior forward Will Weatherly and senior forward Matt Upton led the Broncos to the College Cup in the absence of Cochrane and Cronin (who were with the under-20 national team). A 1-0 loss to eventual champion Indiana ended the Broncos' run in the NCAA tournament.

The Women's Volleyball team surged to a 20-11 record on the year and a second-place finish in the WCC. Although their season ended with a first-round NCAA Tournament loss to Utah, there were plenty of individual highlights throughout the season. Senior middle blocker Becky Potter led an assault on the Santa Clara record book, which saw her become the Broncos' all-time career kills leader with 1,812, surpassing the old mark of 1,751. Senior setter Kelli Sousa became the fourth player in WCC history to record 5,000 career assists, while, along with Potter and redshirt sophomore middle blocker Toni Muratore, being named All-WCC first team.

Men's Water Polo also enjoyed a stellar season with a final national ranking of No. 19. Co-MVPs senior utility Daniel Figoni and redshirt junior utility Kenny Flanagan-De La Hoz helped lead the Broncos to a 17-13 mark and back into the national rankings for the first time since 1999. Junior keeper Peter Moore minded the net for Santa Clara in all 30 contests, while freshman two-meter Kevin Starry established himself as a defensive presence for the Broncos, who lost only two players after the season.

Freshman Shannon Bell led the women's cross country to a 13th place finish in the NCAA West Regionals, the team's highest finish to date. Bell also placed 32nd individually, the highest finish ever for a Bronco runner. On the men's side, senior Ben Gauen paced men's cross country to a 22nd place finish by placing 89th in the individual race.

WINTER

This season was a roller-coaster ride for the Bronco men's basketball team. With a 16-16 overall record, the Broncos were far more successful at home, with a 12-6 record. Overall, they were 6-8 in the WCC Conference.

Santa Clara finished the regular season with five losses in its final six games, but the Broncos overwhelmed San Diego 82-48 in the WCC tournament opener at the Leavey Center. They continued to knock out San Francisco before facing No. 4 Gonzaga, who they lost to 80-64 in regular season match-up in Spokane.

Every seat was filled for the biggest heartbreaker of the year. Outplaying the Gonzaga Bulldogs for the entire game, Santa Clara lost in the remaining seconds 63-62 in the semifinals.

Junior Doron Perkins was named MVP honors and best defensive player at the Bronco banquet. He was the only Bronco to play in all 32 games.

The team is looking forward to hosting the WCC championship tournament again next year as well as adding four new players to their roster.

Women's hoops this past season was all about the "three." On Feb. 26 against Gonzaga, the Broncos reached three-point perfection. The Broncos made eleven three-point shots and broke the WCC season record for most attempts.

Junior guard Quinn Thomas made 161 career three-point shots, breaking the 13-year-old Santa Clara record of 157.

Senior Jennie Rondel received Most Outstanding Player, while Yasemin Kimyacioglu received Coaches and Best Defensive Player. Most improved went to Ashley Graham and Kasey Monteith.

Despite injuries, Santa Clara set three WCC tournament records: field goal accuracy in their game against San Francisco, 27-44 from field; went 13-31 from three-point range against Pepperdine; and they made the most three-point shots in a single game.

Men's tennis closed the season with an 11-14 record. After their first road victory of the season over Saint Mary's, men's tennis went into the WCC Championships with a No. 3 seed.

Despite the team's overall loss against nationally-ranked San Diego, Erich Chen's 62nd career doubles win put him at the top of Bronco records. The Broncos finished fourth in the conference.

Gernot Fischer earned first-team all WCC singles honors and Kevin McQuaid earned honorable mention. In doubles Fischer and Erich Chen received honorable mention All-WCC honors.

The women's tennis team scheduled tough opponents, including six ITA nationally-ranked squads, finishing the season 12-12, and fourth in theàWCC Championship.

Honorable mention All-WCC singles honors were awarded to Janalle Kaloi and Kelly Leathers. All-WCC doubles recognition was awarded to Kaloi and Catherine Cochrane, as well as Leathers and Erika Barnes.

Kaloi is currently sixth in all-time singles victories and seventh in combined doubles wins. àShe was named MVP of the season.

Rookie of the year Leathers and Barnes won 14 matches, tying for seventh best in the program's history.

The Broncos will lose one senior, co-captain Jenny Siegel.

SPRING

Head Coach Marcy Crouch repeated as Coach of the Year, leading the Broncos to their first PCSC title. The Broncos ended the year with a 16-4 PCSC record, posting their second-consecutive 30-win season.

Senior pitcher Jaime Forman-Lau had anther career season. She received the award for PCSC Pitcher of the Year and was apart of the 2004 All-Conference First Team along with sophomores Jenny Brown, Shannon Linerud, Jessica Clee and senior Rachel Sherman.

The Bronco men's baseball team concluded their season second in the West Division behind Pepperdine. They posted a 27-29 record on the season with a 16-14 record in the WCC.

Junior Nic Crosta won both National and Conference Player of the Week honors after batting .615 with 10 RBI and six runs scored against Saint Mary's. He was one of four players selected by Collegiate Baseball as Louisville Slugger National Players of the Week. He was also named the West Coast Conference Rawlings Player of the Week.

Head Coach Polly Schulze was named WCC Coach of the Year, and the women's golf team placed third in the WCC Championships. Freshman Samantha Trask, who was named to the All-WCC First Team, finished in sixth place to lead the squad. Junior Courtney Dimpel-Composti finished in a tie for eighth place and sophomore Meggie Fagundes finished tied for 10th place to earn WCC honorable mention.

The Broncos men's golf team scored last out of eight teams in the WCC Championships. Sophomore Michael Nicoletti finished in a tie for 21st place and junior Matt Klenz finished one shot behind in 23rd place. At the US Intercollegiate the Broncos finished 18th out of 19 teams.

In the WCC Championships, the women's crew took second overall. In the Western Intercollegiate Rowing Association Championships, the women's varsity eight took third and the men's varsity eight finished sixth.

At the Pacific Coast Rowing Championships and Pac-10 Championships, men's crew finished their season with every boat advancing to the grand final events for the first time in school history.

The Santa Clara women's water polo team completed its season 21-16, in only its fourth campaign at the Division I level. The Broncos capped the year by placing fifth at the Western Water Polo Association Championships. Junior Catherine Flynn was named to the All-Tournament Second Team at the WWWPA Championships and freshman Katie Radvanyi earned honorable mention.

àThe women's lacrosse team advanced to the US Lacrosse Intercollegiate Associates Championships in Saint Louis where they defeated No. 1 Navy to advance to the national title game. The women placed second after losing to three-time defending champions Cal Poly.

û Compiled by Aaron Juarez, Alison Fleck, Erin Hussey and Jenna Hudson.