Issue Date: 5/11/09
POST-GAME
Comet sports wrap-up; Spring 2009
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Javier Tovar
The 2009 season for the Palomar College's softball team was a return to grace by recovering the 2009 Pacific Coast Conference championship on April 17 after losing it last year.
Coach Mark Eldridge said there weren't any low points this season. "It's a work in progress to steadily get better and clinch the championship."
Eldridge said he knew from the start that the team could reclaim the title they had kept for 22 years before last year's defeat. His goals this season were "win the conference, get to the state finals and get every sophomore placed at four-year schools."
Eldridge has accomplished all three. Catcher Andrea Nedden, third baseman Shawna Barrow, shortstop Andi Anti, pitchers Chelsea Blackman and Alex Hutchinson are recipients of scholarships and transferring to four-year universities.
This year's Alex Hutchinson and Mark Eldridge were named Pitcher of the Year and Coach of the Year by the Pacific Coast Conference.
The goal for next year is to try and top this year.
"To do better than we did this year, continue our standards and try to exceed them. Always trying to get better," Eldridge said.
Men's Golf
Robin Witt
After taking first place in the regular season, the Palomar College men's golf team won the Orange Empire Conference on April 27 at Los Serranos Golf Course in Chino Hills. The team scored 720, 10-under par, with a 20-stroke lead over the second-place team.
Palomar College men's golf coach Jonas Crawford said he had high expectations and was not disappointed.
"We had a goal to win the Orange Empire Conference and we did," Crawford said.
Another high point this season was when the Comets beat Cuyamaca at Cottonwood on March 30. Palomar broke a school record with a team score of 15-under par.
According to Crawford it is unusual to see that kind of scoring at the community college level where the teams generally draw from a smaller pool of experienced players and the programs are not as well funded as they are in four-year colleges.
The next competition for the Comets is the Southern California Community College Championship at Marshillia Ranch Golf Course near Vandenberg Air Force Base. The top four teams advance to the State Community College Championship on May 11 at Sierra View Country Club in Roseville, Calif.
Although Crawford cautioned that he cannot predict the future, he said the team has the confidence to succeed.
"Our final goal will be to win the state championship," Crawford said. "But of course we must not get ahead of ourselves. My athletes understand that."
Men's and Women's Tennis
Jarred Powell
This was a banner year for the tennis teams at Palomar. The men finished the year 10-4 (8-2 conference) and the women finished 14-3 (11-1 conference).
Both teams were the Pacific Coast Championships and coach Ronnie Mancao was named coach of the year.
The women won the Ojai Valley Tournament Championship.
They were led by freshman Arina Polovnikova, who was the Pacific Coast singles champion and player of the year. She was also the doubles champion with Shoko Hachiya.
They made the playoffs as the number four seed and won their first round game against Bakersfield 5-2 on April 14.
"This is the first playoff game we have had since I have been here," Mancao said during the playoff versus Bakersfield. The team went on to lose to No. 1-seed College of the Desert 5-3 on April 21.
Polovnikova would end up finishing second at the Southern California tournament and along with Hachiya would also finish second in doubles.
D.J Jaehnig would lead the men's team and win player of the year honors in the Pacific Coast Conference. Along with Louis Holladay, he would also be the doubles champion. The team didn't qualify for the playoffs, but would make the round of 16 at the Ojai Valley Invitational Tournament and the Southern California Regional Tournament.
Women's Basketball
Pat Cubel
Proud and wonderful are only two of the words that Palomar women's basketball coach Sheri Jennum used to describe her teams 2008-2009 season
Repeating as the Pacific Coast Conference Champions and going undefeated, 14-0 in conference play for the second straight year.
Even though the season ended early for the lady Comets with an opening round loss in the state playoffs, to San Bernardino, Jennum said she was happy with the squad's performance this year.
The score "26-4 is pretty darn good and going back-to-back undefeated champions in the PCC is remarkable," said Jennum. "Considering we lost two starters, I am extremely pleased with how well we stuck together and played hard."
With six sophomores on the 2008-09 team, five of Coach Jennum's players will be moving on to four year schools. "Katie Girten and Kristin Marquardt just signed with Chico State," said Jennum. "They were the only returners from last year's team."
Girten and Marquardt went 51-10 during their careers at Palomar College and 28-0 in conference. "I will miss them terribly," added Jennum "They are amazing talents."
Three players were named to the All Pacific Coast Conference team, Kiara Stinson, Kristin Marquardt and Katie Girten.
Girten was also was named to the All State team and named the PCC player of the year. JaDawn Holler and Lauren Matheney received All Conference honorable mention honors.
Feeling very optimistic for next season, Jennum has seven players returning to the team next year and a recruiting commitment from Escondido's outstanding guard Amanda Rawlings.
"I am excited," Jennum said. "Lots of pressure trying to three-peat, but I know this group can do it."
Men's Basketball
Jarred Powell
The Comets had higher expectations when the season started. Those expectations turned into disappointment.
The basketball team ended the year 15-14 and 9-7 in conference, ranking third. Theo Overstreet and Richard LaFleur were first team all conference. Kevin Deeb was an honorable mention all conference.
To be fair, Palomar had a young team. Overstreet and LaFleur were the only returning starters. Eric Johnson was the only returning player who played significant minutes the year before.
To top things off, three players who saw significant action left the team for various reasons in the middle of the season.
There were some bright spots on the team last season. They defeated two ranked teams this season, then state-ranked No. 8 Irvine Valley and then No. 7 Cuesta.
The Comets were competitive in every game this season and look to improve next season.
Kevin Deeb and Kristoff Thande will be the returning players that saw significant action this season and will be the leaders next year.
Track & Field
Jeremy Leal
The Palomar women's track and field team finished second in conference this season, and missed first place by 30 points. Southwestern took first. Although strong showings throughout the season led them to second place, the season is not yet over. The regional finals will take place this Saturday at Mt. San Antonio.
Overall this season was not a disappointment for Palomar. They have fewer girls than the average track team and still managed to finish in second place.
"Our goal was to beat Southwestern, but we only lost by 30 points," Paz said. "That is good since we had fewer girls than teams like San Diego and Southwestern."
Standouts this season for Palomar have been Kiara Sherman, Tenicia Taylor and Adriana Paz. Sherman takes part in the discus event, Taylor runs in the 100-meter hurdle and Paz runs the 400-meter hurdle.
Sherman, Taylor and Paz all qualified for the regionals and hope to qualify for state finals.
"We practice everyday at Cal State San Marcos and have meets on weekends," Paz said. "I have school in the morning, then practice, then work."
Coach Jennifer Williams agreed and said there were great performances at every meet.
Swimming
Casey Olaya
With multiple school records beat, and countless personal records shattered, the Palomar Swimming and Diving program have had one phenomenal season.
Both the men and women displayed their athleticism with four collective school records this season. Beyond that, nearly every swimmer on the team shaved off massive amounts of time off of their records.
At the state championships this year, freshman Ryan Krause took home a gold medal in the men's 100 butterfly at 49:19 seconds. Krause broke a school record at a Palomar home meet earlier this season.
Freshman Rachel Lutz also took home a gold at state, with 58:51 on the clock for the women's 100 IM.
Lutz was part of the record-breaking women's relay during the Pacific Coast Conference Swimming & Diving finals earlier in the season.
Overall, the swim team has had a great season ending with women are in ninth place days with 102 points at state finals and the men in 11th place with 86 points.
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