Top 10 sports stories of 2015: UCI madness tops list
The archaeology of athletics is often rooted in the record books. So, when an individual or team accomplishment sends observers into the archives, something meaningful has likely taken place.
The events chronicled in the Top 10 Newport-Mesa sports stories of 2015 — as selected by the Daily Pilot sports staff — often met or exceeded this standard.
Here’s a breakdown, as well as a list of some that just missed cracking the Top 10:
(1) UC Irvine dances – The Anteaters’ men’s basketball team won the Big West Conference Tournament for the first time to earn the school’s inaugural trip to the NCAA Tournament. It had been 38 years and 1,122 games since the program earned Division I status in July, 1977.
UCI, a No. 13 seed, flirted with an upset against No. 4-seeded Louisville, leading the Cardinals in the final minute before falling in the second-round game, 57-55, in Seattle on March 20. The game featured nine lead changes.
Coach Russell Turner’s ‘Eaters finished 21-13, led by first-team All-Big West senior Will Davis, who averaged 12.9 points per game. Davis, the first player to produce three double-doubles in the Big West Tournament, was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player.
Mamadou Ndiaye, a 7-foot-6 junior who missed 19 games due to injuries, averaged 10.5 points, as did sophomore guard Luke Nelson. Junior guard Alex Young averaged 9.4 points to help UCI win 14 of its final 19 games.
Davis is the school’s career leader with 208 blocked shots, ranks second in rebounds (852) and eighth in points (1,384).
UCI’s third straight 20-win season included a record for scoring defense (62.1 points allowed per game).
Turner, who completed his fifth season at the helm, was courted by George Mason and other schools immediately following the NCAA Tournament, but signed a new contract that included a raise to remain at UCI.
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(2) April Ross – The Costa Mesa resident and Newport Harbor High product earned MVP honors on the Assn. of Volleyball Professionals beach tour for the third straight season after becoming the first AVP women’s player to win tournaments with three different partners.
She won four AVP tournaments in 2015 and has won 11 of the 12 AVP events in which she has competed, dating back to 2014.
The 2012 Olympic silver medalist, who was also named the AVP’s top server for the second straight year, won the AVP event in New Orleans with Kerri Walsh Jennings.
She teamed with Costa Mesa resident Jennifer Fopma to earn AVP wins in Seattle and Manhattan Beach, then topped the field at the AVP tournament in Huntington Beach alongside Lauren Fendrick.
The 6-foot-1 Ross, 33, also finished second in the Federation Internationale de Volleyball event in Long Beach and earned FIVB bronze medals at the World Championships in the Netherlands, as well as events in China and Japan.
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(3) Coaching departures – Scott Meyer stepped down as Corona del Mar High football coach and legendary Newport Harbor High water polo coach Bill Barnett retired from coaching. Both events in February marked separate ends to diverse, yet uniquely notable tenures with Back Bay schools.
Barnett’s 49-year coaching career at Newport Harbor included 10 CIF Southern Section boys’ water polo championships, and five more at the helm of the girls’ program. His resume also included coaching the U.S. men’s team in the 1988 and 1992 Olympics and his impact on the sport, in the hotbed of the American water polo community, will continue to spill over for years to come.
Meyer left CdM after four seasons to take over the program at parochial power Servite. But what a four-year run it was.
Meyer compiled a glistening 50-6 record, and won three CIF Southern Section Southern Division titles (2011-13), and one CIF State Division III crown (2013) while guiding the Sea Kings.
Meyer’s run also included a 30-game winning streak, an unprecedented 16-0 campaign in 2013 and three undefeated Pacific Coast League championships. CdM lost just one of 20 league games with Meyer on the sideline.
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(4) Toshiba Classic – Duffy Waldorf dusted off his victory speech after producing a tournament-record score of 20 under par in the 21st edition of the event, completed Nov. 1 at the Newport Beach Country Club.
Waldorf, 53, set a tournament record with 26 birdies, which tied the Legends Tour mark, by shooting 67-60-66—190 to post a two-shot margin over runner-up Joe Durant. The most birdies previously in a Toshiba Classic were 21. Waldorf’s second-round 60 tied the Newport Beach Country Club course record.
It was Waldorf’s first win in 73 Champions Tour starts and the four-time PGA Tour winner’s first triumph since 2000, a span of 292 tournaments.
The UCLA alum pocketed $270,000, followed by Durant ($158,400), and Kevin Sutherland ($129,600).
Defending champion Fred Couples finished tied for fifth.
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(5) Orange Coast College baseball – The Pirates were unlikely repeat state champions after dropping six of their final eight regular-season games, finishing third in the Orange Empire Conference, and earning the No. 10 seed in the Southern California Regional playoffs.
Coach John Altobelli’s squad, however, swept Long Beach and rallied to win playoff series at Glendale and Santa Barbara — surviving four elimination games in the process — to earn a berth in the four-team state tournament. OCC then outscored opponents, 17-4, in three games in Fresno, including a pair of wins over San Joaquin Delta, ranked No. 1 in the nation at the time.
OCC also blanked Palomar, the top seed from Southern California, 3-0, to extend its state tournament scoreless innings streak that eventually came one out shy of 27 innings.
It was OCC’s third state crown in seven seasons, its sixth overall, and capped a combined 18-2 postseason record in 2014 and 2015.
OCC finished 30-17 and sophomore pitcher Dominic Purpura, as well as sophomore catcher Jack Kruger were named Co-MVPs of the state tournament.
Scott Serigstad, who left the team the day before to attend his sister’s wedding in Tustin, pitched six scoreless innings, allowing one hit and striking out eight to earn the win in a 9-4 title-game triumph over Delta.
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(6) Hayley Hodson shines – The former Corona del Mar High standout was named NCAA Freshman of the Year in women’s volleyball after helping Stanford reach the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
The 6-foot-3 opposite was also named second-team All-American, and added Freshman of the Year honors in the Pac-12 Conference and the American Volleyball Coaches Assn. Pacific North Region. She was also a first-team all-conference honoree.
Hodson led the Cardinal (23-7) in kills (405), kills per set (.3.82) points per set (4.52) and double-doubles (13). She hit .261 and ranked third on the team with 256 digs, fourth with 75 total blocks and third in the Pac-12 in aces per set (0.34).
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(7) Vanguard baseball – Coach Rob Pegg’s Lions limped into the postseason, losing five of their last seven regular-season games. They then went 0-2 in the Golden State Athletic Conference Tournament and earned the 45th and final spot in the NAIA Opening Round tournaments that sent seven winners to the NAIA World Series in Idaho.
Vanguard swept its four games to win the opening-round tournament at The Master’s College, and headed to Idaho for the second time in program history, 30 years after the 1985 team also qualified.
The Lions won their first game in Idaho, but lost the next two and were eliminated. They finished 39-22 and posted a school record for wins.
Senior shortstop Jose Rojas earned all-conference honors and was an NAIA Gold Glove winner after hitting .329 with 12 home runs and 57 runs batted in. He received honorable mention in All-American voting.
Senior outfielder Brandon Sandoval (.295 with 28 RBIs, 38 stolen bases and 52 runs), and senior pitcher Sean Isaac (10-5 with a 2.76 earned-run average) were also an all-conference honorees.
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(8) OCC football – The Pirates rebounded from an 0-2 start to win seven of their final eight regular-season games and earn the program’s first postseason bowl berth since 2006.
Coach Kevin Emerson’s second season included a victory over arch-rival Golden West, ranked No. 1 in the state at the time, and the Pirates’ 7-4 record, including a Beach Bowl loss at Ventura, marked only the second seven-win season in 22 years.
OCC, ranked No. 12 in the state after the regular season, was led by sophomore quarterback Mason Dossey, sophomore receiver Stefan Derrick and sophomore middle linebacker Mark Cushing. All three were first-team All-Southern Conference honorees.
Dossey set a school record with 202 completions and he threw for 2,457 yards and 21 touchdowns.
Derrick had 65 receptions for 1,161 yards and 16 touchdowns, while Cushing led the defense with 94 tackles.
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(9) UCI men’s volleyball – Coach David Kniffin’s Anteaters were ranked No. 1 much of the season and reached the NCAA semifinals, after claiming the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation regular-season and tournament titles.
Senior opposite Zach La Cavera was a first-team All-American, MPSF Player of the Year and MPSF Tournament MVP after leading the conference in kills, points and aces.
Senior libero Michael Brinkley was first-team All-American for the third straight season and finished ranked No. 2 in UCI annals in career digs (1,099).
Sophomore outside hitter Tamir Hershko was a first-team All-American and junior middle blocker Jason Agopian was a second-team All-American.
The 28-5 record marked the second-best victory total in program history and tied for the national lead with NCAA champion Loyola of Chicago, which swept UCI in the NCAA semifinals.
Kniffin was named MPSF Coach of the Year and signed a contract extension through the 2018 season.
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(10) Sea Kings finalists – Dual Newport-Mesa Dream Team performers Matt Ctvrtlik, Kevin Fults and Sam Kobrine helped Corona del Mar High reach the CIF Southern Section final in boys’ basketball and volleyball.
The volleyball team went on to repeat as Southern California Regional champions in Division II.
The basketball team went 25-8 and reached the Division III regional quarterfinals after falling to Beverly Hills in the section 3A title game.
Ctvrtlik, a junior guard, was Dream Team Player of the Year in basketball, for which Fults and Kobrine joined teammates Ryan Stone and Bo St. Geme as honorees.
Senior Ryan Moss, now at USC, was Dream Team Player of the Year in volleyball, after helping CdM go 31-7, including an upset of No. 2-seeded Loyola in the section Division 1 semifinals.
CdM lost to three-time champion Huntington Beach in the section final.
It was the first time since 1999 that CdM reached the section final in boys’ basketball and volleyball.
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Others: CdM’s Aylaa Abdulghany wins CIF state golf individual crown; CdM girls’ basketball advances to CIF Southern Section semifinals after winning league title for only second time in program history; Daily Pilot Cup soccer tournament rolls on as annual community highlight; Vanguard women’s volleyball wins program’s first conference title and reaches NAIA quarterfinals; Newport Harbor High product Cody Caldwell helps Loyola of Chicago win second straight NCAA men’s volleyball title; Newport-Mesa Seahawks win Junior All-American Midget Division Super Bowl for second straight year to cap consecutive 11-0 seasons.
