Season highlights from 2007-08 Bronco sports
By Margo Consul, Matthew Cucuzza and Meghan Skarzynski
Fall sports
Women's volleyball
With an overall record of 19-2 and a West Coast Conference record of 11-3, the Broncos finished their season tied with San Diego for a share of the WCC title. This is Santa Clara's fifth title overall and third title under Head Coach Jon Wallace. The Broncos fell 3-0 to Stanford in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Senior Caroline Walters finished her career as a Bronco with a school-record 1,932 digs. Senior Crystal Matich received All-American honors by the American Volleyball Coaches Association.
Cross country
The men's team ended their season in third place in the WCC, while the women placed fourth. The teams' biggest victories were at the University of San Francisco Invitational, where Santa Clara took first place. Senior Mike Delaurenti finished in first place with a time of 25 minutes, 41.3 seconds. Senior Adriane Puetz won the women's USF Invitational by 15 seconds.
Men's crew
The team ended some of the program's longest losing streaks this season. The Broncos defeated UC Davis at the Davis Invitational in the Port of Sacramento for the first time in 10 years. The Varsity Eight squad also ended their two-year losing streak at the Head of Charles race in Boston versus Sacramento State. Six of the team's boats qualified for the Grand Finals at the Western Intercollegiate Rowing Association Championship.
Men's water polo
The team finished the season in fourth place in the Western Water Polo Association after falling to the Air Force Academy in the tournament's third-place match. Santa Clara went 17-13 overall and won 11 of 15 matches against WWPA opponents. Senior captain Tommy Kelly received All-American honors and was named to the first All-WWPA team this year. Senior Josh Early netted 50 goals in his final year as a Bronco.
Men's soccer
The team captured its second straight WCC title after finishing their season 16-2-4 and going undefeated in conference play. Before falling 2-0 to Notre Dame in the quarterfinals of the NCAA tournament, Santa Clara had an 18-game unbeaten streak, their second longest in team history.
Women's soccer
The Broncos ended their season in third place with an overall record of 12-6-3 and 4-3 in the WCC. The Broncos failed to advance past the first round in the NCAA tournament for the second straight year when they lost 2-0 to Cal Berkeley. Santa Clara started the season 7-0-1, including a 7-1 victory over soccer powerhouse Notre Dame. Senior Brittany Klein finished her Bronco career with a team-leading seven goals.
Winter sports
Men's basketball
The Broncos finished their first season under Head Coach Kerry Keating with a 15-16 overall record and a 6-8 record in the WCC. Santa Clara ended the season in fourth place in the WCC after falling to Gonzaga 52-48 in the semi-finals of the WCC tournament. Senior guard Brody Angley and junior center John Bryant each scored their 1,000th career points this season.
Women's basketball
Santa Clara finished with a 20-11 record overall and an 8-6 conference record. The Broncos went into the WCC tournament as the No. 2 seed before losing the semi-final game to the University of San Diego 72-66. Senior forward Jen Gottschalk received her first WCC All-Tournament team honor, and junior guard Elizabeth Doran was named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District VIII First Team.
Women's water polo
The team finished with an overall record of 19-13 and 12-5 in the WWPA. The Broncos finished fourth in the conference after UC San Diego scored a goal with .05 seconds left in the third-place match of the WWPA tournament. Senior Liz Perry was named to the All-WWPA Second Team. Seniors Randahl Capurro and Christie Miller, and junior Amy Lamb received All-WWPA Honorable Mention.
Softball
The Broncos finished their season with a record of 9-51 and were 5-15 in conference play for fifth place in the Pacific Coast Softball Conference. Junior Noelani Ho'opi'i and freshman Amanda Edmonson received All-PCSC Honorable Mention.
Spring sports
Baseball
Santa Clara finished the season with a 33-22 overall record and a 13-8 conference record for third place in the WCC. The Broncos had their best season under head coach Mark O'Brien. Santa Clara is ranked among the top offensive teams in the nation. They are No. 17 with 604 hits and No. 21 in doubles. Sophomore Tommy Medica ended the regular season with a career-high and team-best 29-game hitting streak.
Men's tennis
The Broncos finished their first season under Head Coach Derek Mills with a 2-15 record, earning eighth place in the WCC. The Broncos fell in three straight rounds at the WCC Championships. Sophomore Jay Wong was named to the All-WCC Second Team for the second consecutive season. He also compiled Santa Clara's best singles record at 10-7.
Women's tennis
Santa Clara finished fifth in the WCC with a 5-18 record. The Broncos fell to Loyola Marymount in the fifth-place match of the WCC Championships. Seniors Myra Davoudi and Lindsey McBride received honorable mentions for the All-WCC doubles and singles teams, while freshman Carmen Pham earned singles honors. The Davoudi and McBride pairing finished the season with a team-best record of 11-8.
Men's golf
The Broncos finished in sixth place at the WCC Championships, five strokes behind fifth-place Portland. Senior Scott Travers shot seven-over-par and finished the tournament ninth overall. Travers earned First Team All-WCC honors, while junior Jonathan Keane earned an All-WCC honorable mention.
Women's golf
Senior Corey Utsurogi finished her college career with a 10th-place finish at the WCC Championships, leading the Broncos to a third-place tie with Portland. The senior earned All-WCC First Team honors, while senior Hilaire Fouts and freshman Miki Ueoka took All-WCC Honorable Mention.
Track and field
Senior Michael Delaurenti's time of 9 minutes and 6.84 seconds in the 3,000-meter steeplechase at the Brutus Invitational earned him entry into the NCAA Western Regionals. This is Santa Clara's first ever appearance in the NCAA Regionals. The program also hosted its first ever track meet, the USF Dual Meet at West Valley College.
Women's crew
Santa Clara earned third place in the Lightweight Varsity Eight category at the Pacific Coast Rowing Championships. The Broncos' Lightweight Varsity Eight and Lightweight Junior Varsity Eight squads made the semifinals of the Dad Vails Regatta in Philadelphia, the largest regatta in the nation. The Broncos' Lightweight Varsity Eight and Lightweight Varsity Four squads both placed fifth at the WCC Championships. The Lightweight JV Eight took fourth at the WCC Championships.
Contact the sports staff at (408) 551-1918 or sports@thesantaclara.com.