La Verne Athletics Fall 2016 Review

Volleyball

The La Verne volleyball team finished the season with a 22-7 record, including a 13-3 mark in SCIAC play. The Leopards beat four top-10 teams in the regular season and earned an at-large bid to the NCAA National Championship, where they fell 3-2 to Southwestern (Texas) in the first round.

Kelsi robinson

Kelsi Robinson enjoyed the best season of her career and cemented herself one of the best middle blockers in the nation. She registered 3.2 kills per set on a staggering .360 hitting and averaged nearly one total block per set. Robinson accounted for over 23 percent of the Leopards' total points production, underscoring her impact on the team.

Robinson was named to AVCA Third Team All-America after a spectacular individual season.

Robinson was named to AVCA All-Region Team and Tiffany Mancuso was selected as Honorable Mention.

Robinson was even more efficient in SCIAC play, knocking down 3.24 kills per set on .374 hitting, en route to being named the SCIAC Volleyball Athlete of the Year.

Tiffany Mancuso was tabbed Honorable Mention All-West Region as one of the best setters in the nation. She handed out 10.93 assists per set, which was good for fourth individually in the country. Her passing helped the Leopards hit .254, which ranked eighth in the nation. She also tallied 53 service aces on the season and got in on 40 blocks..

Kelsi Robinson (top) was named the SCIAC Volleyball Athlete of Year and a total of six Leopards were named to the All-SCIAC Team. Robinson and Tiffany Mancuso (Second row left) were named First Team. Cassie Thompson (Second row right), Delaney Lynch (Bottom row left), Kristen Sanchez (Bottom row middle) and Marisa Rojo (Bottom row right) were named Second Team.

Head coach Jenna Panatier and assistants Jack Coberly, Jeff Hendershot and Mario Meza led the Leopards to four wins over AVCA Top-25 teams, including upsets over league rivals Cal Lutheran and Claremont-Mudd-Scripps. Despite losing several four-year stalwarts after last season, the Leopards reloaded without a hitch and finished the season ranked 19th in the country

Football

The La Verne football team dealt with a rash of injuries en route to a 2-7 season. But the Leopards garnered multiple national and individual recognitions throughout the season.

Dallas Parent

Dallas Parent finished the season with 1,237 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns. His total rushing yards ranks 19th in the nation with every player ahead of him having played at least one more game. On a per game basis, Parent is ranked 10th with 137.4 yards per game.

Parent was recognized nationally and was selected to the 2016 D3football.com Second Team All-West Region.

Parent, with teammate James Ferraro, was named to the D3football.com Team of the Week after rushing for 298 yards and four touchdowns in a 57-56 win over Occidental on Oct. 15.

Parent was voted D3 Football Offensive HERO of the Week on Sept. 23 after tallying 244 yards rushing and a touchdown against Whitworth.

Seven Leopards earned All-SCIAC football honors. Alex Arellano and Dallas Parent were named to First Team while Beau Kitson, Austin Brown, Josh Hardy, Josh Padilla and Russell Boucher garnered Second Team honors.

On Oct. 2 at Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, Alex Arellano became the program's all-time receptions leader, passing Rick Romeo. Arellano leaves La Verne with 139 career receptions.

Austin Brown's 12.5 tackles for loss were second-most in the SCIAC and he averaged 6.3 tackles per game, which ranked 15th in the league. He also notched four sacks.

Zachary Tomlinson stepped in for injured Josh Evans and threw for 941 yards and seven touchdowns.

Football play selected D3football.com Play of the Week

On Oct. 15, the La Verne football team edged Occidental 57-56 in a thrilling last-minute play and it caught the eyes of the nation. With just over a minute left in the game, the Leopards scored a touchdown to get within a point and didn’t hesitate to go for two and the win. Zak Tomlinson rolled out to his right and threw a perfect ball to the back pylon towards Alex Arellano, who made a spectacular jumping catch to give the Leopards the victory.

Men's Soccer

The La Verne men’s soccer team turned in another successful season, finishing second and reaching the SCIAC Postseason Tournament for the second year in a row. The Leopards posted a 14-5-1 record including 11-4-1 in the SCIAC.

Saul Uribe

After showing tantalizing flashes of brilliance in his first three years, Uribe finally broke through in a big way this season. Uribe, always known for his work rate, found his shooting touch this year and scored a career-high 12 goals—four of them game winners—in 18 matches this season.

Uribe's excellent season was recognized the coaches around the region and he was picked to NSCAA First Team All-West Region.

Uribe was also named the SCIAC Men's Soccer Athlete of the Year. He scored 10 goals and dished out one assist in SCIAC play.

In addition to Uribe, Nathan Gonzalez, Justin Funes, Anton Russell, Briley Venti and Ferdinand Estrada were all named All-SCIAC.

Head coach Trevor Persson, along with his assistants Samadhi Fisher, Erik LeVay and Ian Trantow, led the Leopards to a second place finish in the SCIAC and a berth to the SCIAC Postseason Tournament for the second year in a row. The Leopards hosted the first round of the tournament for the first time ever.

MEn's water Polo

Under interim head coach Mason Cox, the La Verne men's water polo team posted the best season in at least 10 years, posting five SCIAC wins on the season.

Rey Julian Castillo named newcomer of the year

Castillo earned his SCIAC Newcomer of the Year status as a force in the pool for the Leopards. The junior driver led La Verne with 80 goals on the season and 43 in SCIAC play. The Puerto Rico native also led the team with 39 drawn ejections while tallying 44 steals and 17 assists.

Castillo named honorable mention all-america

Castillo was also recognized by the coaches around the nation for his stellar season.

Ian hernandez named Second team all-sciac

Hernandez emerged as one of the best netminders in the league, tallying 277 saves on the season. The sophomore also gave out 13 assists and drew two ejections.

Cross Country

Sophomore Melissa Cerrillos emerged as a breakthrough star for the cross country teams. Cerrillos earned All-SCIAC honors and went on to claim All-West Region status.

Women's soccer

The youthful women's soccer team went through growing pains and dealt with untimely injuries en route to a 3-15 season. The Leopards will return most of the contributors from this year's squad and will look to use this season as a springboard in 2017.

Traci Ramirez receives SCIAC Award of Distinction

Traci Ramirez of the La Verne women’s soccer team was honored with the SCIAC Award of Distinction. The award recognizes a senior student-athlete for exemplary achievements through her higher education achievements.

Congratulations to the LEopards for another successful season!

Appreciate

Credits:

Joe Bergman, Joe Fusco, Kay Hurd, Chris Mora, Katie Pyne

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