Contact:             Doug Aiken
                           (714) 997-6900

Release Date:   January 29, 2004

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
 

Upcoming Events Calendar
 

Date	Day	Team	Opponent/Event	Site	Time (Pacific)
1/30	Fri.	Women's Basketball	U.C. Santa Cruz	Santa Cruz	6:00 pm
1/31	Sat.	Women's Tennis	Caltech	Home	11:00 am
		Women's Swimming	Pomona-Pitzer	Pomona	3:00 pm
		Men's Basketball	San Jose Christian	San Jose	7:30 pm
2/1	Sun.	Men's Tennis	Caltech	Home	2:00 pm
2/2	Mon.	Baseball	Cal State Los Angeles	Los Angeles	5:00 pm
2/3	Tue.	Women's Tennis	Cal State Fullerton	Fullerton	2:00 pm
		Baseball	Whittier	Home	2:30 pm
2/4	Wed.	Men's Basketball	La Sierra	Riverside	7:30 pm
2/5	Thu.	Women's Tennis	La Sierra	Home	2:00 pm
		Women's Basketball	La Sierra	Riverside	7:30 pm

Spring Previews:

Baseball

Coming back was a major theme of Chapman baseball’s 2003 national championship run. The Panthers began the season 0-3, but came back to earn the number one seed and the right to host the West Region playoffs. The Panthers had five comeback wins in games they trailed after six innings and won five games in their final at-bat. The Panthers faced elimination on the second day of the regional playoffs, but came back to win three straight and a trip to the World Series. The Panthers faced elimination on the third day of the World Series, but came back to win four straight and its first national title in 35 years.

So what are the chances the Panthers will come back in 2004 with a repeat of the Division III national championship? It won’t be easy.

Only two teams in Division III history have completed the back-to-back “two-for” – the last one accomplished in 1978-79 by Rowan (NJ) College. In fact, only four national champions have ever returned to the national title game the following year – the last time by Marietta (OH) College in 1983-84. And apparently the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) and Collegiate Baseball don’t think the chances of Chapman repeating are all that great, having ranked the Panthers fourth in the preseason poll despite the return of seven starting position players and one half of their top-four pitchers. But that’s all fine for this team, which prided itself last year in its ability to “own the late innings,” according to second year head coach Tom Tereschuk.

“We don’t get caught up in the speculation. I’m glad we’re ranked fourth,” says Tereschuk, who guided the Panthers to their first Division III national championship in his first year at the helm. “Championship teams have to learn to come together, play together and win together. Last year’s team did that and made things go their way. Every team has its own individual personality.”

The other major theme of Chapman’s championship run was a tribute to the old baseball adage that pitching and defense wins championships. The Panthers proved to be one of the best pitching staffs in Division III history, posting an NCAA-low (including Divisions I and II) 1.98 earned run average. Chapman also ranked ninth in Division III in team fielding percentage with a mark of .965 in 51 games.

The Panthers were all set to return three of those four pitchers that provided the most innings for the team, but lost senior right-hander Jairo Ochoa (Irvine/University High) to Tommy John surgery in the offseason. Junior right-hander Jeff Green (Santa Clarita/Valencia High), who won nine of ten decisions and earned All-West Region honors, will anchor the staff in 2004. Green recorded 95 strikeouts in 98 innings last year and completed four games. Junior right-hander Scott Akamine (Anaheim/Savannah High), who made just three starts in 2003 (including the championship game) and saved five games out of the bullpen, may move into the starting rotation to absorb some of the innings left by the loss of Ochoa and 17th round Oakland draft pick Ryan France. Tereschuk says, “how we use Akamine will depend on how the other pitchers develop.” Sophomore left-hander Billy Sulentor (Rancho Palos Verdes/Mary Star High), who gained valuable experience as a freshman with a 2.60 earned run average in 34.2 innings pitched, may be one of those pitchers who gets a lot more innings and is “really coming along.”

“We lost 210 innings in Jairo and France,” says Tereschuk, “so I can see why we were not ranked number one. But I’m not concerned with our pitching at all. I think we have a great staff. We have a lot that is still up in the air, but if you think of where we were at last year at this point, we knew that France was going to be a key guy for us, but beyond that we had no idea.”

Chapman suffered just one loss to the starting lineup that averaged over six and a half runs per game and batted .323 as a team. However, it was a key loss: four-year starter Alex Taylor, who batted .397, nearly 60 points higher than the next Chapman hitter. The Panthers do return six other regulars who all batted .330 or higher, led by senior captains Brian Sanders (Placentia/El Dorado High) and Matt Graves (Glendora/Glendora High). Sanders, a four-year starter and All-World Series team selection, should have a historic year ranking among Chapman’s top-five Division III career leaders in eight offensive categories. He is just five home runs and 11 RBI shy of the school’s Division III career records. Graves, who caught in all 51 of Chapman’s games in 2003 returns, having led the team in home runs (8) and runs batted in (55).

“Those guys know what it takes to win and will have a huge impact on this team,” says Tereschuk. “Matt’s position itself lends itself to leadership, plus he was our offensive leader. Brian has a tremendous amount of experience and is not tentative about speaking up.”

And, as is the case on most championship teams, Chapman had its share of role players in 2003. Nearly all of them return this season, along with a young crop of recruits who will undoubtedly make contributions to what Tereschuk calls “a deeper lineup, in many regards, than last year’s”.

As for the #4 preseason ranking, the Panthers will have their say when they host top-ranked Eastern Connecticut on March 24, a team they beat at home last year by (no surprise) shutout, 4-0.
 

Men’s & Women’s Tennis

With a new year comes optimism in the Chapman men’s and women’s tennis camps. This year, both teams are particularly hopeful, as they look to bounce back from disappointing 2003 campaigns that saw the men post a 3-13 record and the women a less than satisfying 3-12.

“Every year we have a very competitive schedule,” says head coach Will Marino, who is in his fifth year atop both the men’s and women’s programs. “I try to make the schedule as challenging as possible. I don’t believe in weak scheduling.”

For the men, that strong schedule means five nationally ranked Division III opponents, including third-ranked Middlebury (OH) and fourth-ranked U.C. Santa Cruz, as well as 12th-ranked Cal Lutheran twice. But Chapman returns its top player from the past two seasons, senior Ali Kermani (Irvine/Woodbridge High), as well as two newcomers who could solidify the top three spots in the lineup. Kermani, who was 8-9 in singles play last year, is the incumbent number one, but according to Marino, “all three of those guys are capable of playing number one.”

The additions at the top of the lineup should strengthen the bottom of the lineup tremendously, as both Scott Kim (Hacienda Heights/Los Altos High) and Bryan Bruno (Riverside/Alta Loma High), who won 12 matches between them from the second and third seeds in 2003, return.

“If the men get hot at the right time and win some matches against some of those tougher schools, we could surprise some teams,” says Marino. “Our goal is to get ranked in the top-five teams in the region and qualify for the playoffs.”

The women’s schedule is slightly less difficult, featuring just two nationally-ranked Division III rivals, but includes three other opponents ranked among the top-15 in the West Region, two highly-ranked NAIA teams, two Division II and one Division I opponent. The women, who are ranked 12th in the West Region entering the season, are young (six freshmen and sophomores). But youth and ignorance may prove blissful as Marino says they are an enthusiastic group, which is looking forward to gaining valuable experience.

The women will look to seniors Tiffany Lewis (Seattle, WA/Bush High) and Kelly Lange (Newport Beach/Calvary Chapel High) for leadership and experience in 2004. Lewis, who played as the second seed most of last year, may get the nod as the number one player opening the season this Saturday versus Caltech. And Lange, who was undefeated (2-0) from the second and third spots in the lineup, posted a 4-11 record overall and could anchor the middle of the lineup. The Panthers also return Liz Nesbit (Garden Grove/Pacifica High), Noelle Novoa (Mission Viejo/Mission Viejo High) and Crystal Summers (Orange/Rosary High), a trio that combined for 12 singles wins between them.
 

Last Week’s Results:

Men’s Basketball
 

Date	Opponent	Result	Record
1/22	West Coast Baptist	W, 73-61	10-7
1/24	@ Vanguard	L, 70-75	10-8

Chapman 73, West Coast Baptist 61 – Chapman led from start to finish, shooting over 60 percent from the field in the first half, then held on in the second for a 73-61 win over visiting West Coast Baptist College. The win marked the Panthers fifth straight victory, including three consecutive wins at home. Chapman got out to an early lead in the first half as a result of some tough play inside by sophomores Zach Wheatley (Fountain Valley/Fountain Valley High) and Richard Coombs (Pomona/Diamond Ranch High), and led by 15 at halftime. Freshman guard Patrick Carney (Lake Forest/El Toro High) scored 10 of his team-high 14 points in the opening period, as well. The Panthers shot 60.7 percent (17-for-28) from the field in the first half. In the second, the Panthers withstood a late Eagles rally that cut their once 21-point lead down to 12, led by junior guard Landon Lewis (Brea/Brea Olinda High), who made three of his four three-point shots in the second half. Lewis finished with 12 points.

Vanguard 75, Chapman 70 – An uncharacteristically poor shooting first half was too detrimental for the Panthers to overcome in the second half, as they lost their sixth game this season by a deficit of six points or less. Chapman countered its own 38 percent shooting and 15-point deficit in the first half with a 61.9 percent success rate from the floor in the second half. But it wasn’t enough as Vanguard held off the Panthers in the end. Four Panthers reached double digits in scoring led by junior guard Chad Bigler’s (Santa Ana/Foothill High) 19 points. Zach Wheatley finished with 11 points and a career-high seven assists.

NCAA Statistical Leaders
The Panthers finds themselves amidst the top-50 in NCAA Division III in six different statistical categories (through games of 1/18/04):
 

Scoring Offense	Chapman; 80.1 ppg	39th
Scoring Margin	Chapman; 9.8 ppg	44th
Field Goal Pct.	Chapman; 51.5%	3rd
Three-Point FG Pct.	Chapman; 41.0%	15th
Three-Point FG Per Game	Landon Lewis; 3.4	16th
Three-Point FG Pct.	Landon Lewis; 50.0%	3rd

Women’s Basketball
 

Date	Opponent	Result	Record
1/24	La Sierra	W, 94-55	14-3
127	Azusa Pacific	W, 90-82	15-3

Chapman 94, La Sierra 55 – Chapman scored the game’s first 12 points, then cruised to a 94-55 victory over visiting La Sierra University. The win was Chapman’s fifth in a row and the Panthers improved to 8-1 at home this season. Five players reached double-digits in points for Chapman led by freshman forward Tiffany Jensen (San Diego/University High), who led all scorers with 17 points – including three three-pointers – and earned her first career double-double with 10 rebounds. Junior point guard Gayle Sonoda (Brea/Rosary High) scored five points and added six assists.

Chapman 90, Azusa Pacific 82 – The Panthers kept pace with the run-and-gun offense from Azusa Pacific, built an 11-point lead in the second-half, then withstood a late rally by the Cougars to earn their sixth straight victory, 90-82. Chapman led by two at halftime, 46-44, after a tightly contested first half that saw eight lead changes and six ties. The Panthers went on a run to open up the second half, opening up a 13-point lead with 11 minutes to play – their largest lead of the game. Azusa Pacific rallied with a slew of three-pointers and cut the Chapman lead to three with 3:13 remaining. However, that was the closest the Cougars would come. The Panthers offense, which ranks among the top scoring and field goal percentage teams in Division III, didn’t disappoint, posting 90 points for the second consecutive game and shooting 53.7 (36-for-67) from the field. All five Chapman starters reached double-digits in scoring, led by senior forward Caroline Jensen’s (San Diego/University High) game-high 19 points and 14 rebounds – her seventh double-double of the season. Freshman forward Courtney Minifee (East Lansing, MI/East Lansing High) recorded her first career double-double with 16 points and 14 rebounds. Senior guard Mel Bongiorno (Stowe, VT/Rice Memorial High) moved closer to Chapman’s all-time scoring mark of 1,614 points with 18 points of her own. Bongiorno, who also had three steals, is just 29 points shy of the school mark.

NCAA Statistical Leaders
Chapman’s women’s basketball team ranks among the best in Division III in six different statistical categories (through games of 1/25/04):
 

Scoring Offense	Chapman; 77.6 ppg	13th
Scoring Margin	Chapman; 20.8 ppg	8th
Rebound Margin	Chapman; 10.1 rpg	11th
Field Goal Pct.	Chapman; 47.0%	3rd
Points Per Game	Mel Bongiorno; 22.6 ppg	5th
Field Goal Percentage	Caroline Jensen; 56.5%	22nd

Women’s Swimming
 

Date	Opponent/Event	Top Swimmers	Result
1/27	@ Caltech	Kati Wise
		500 Free	5:22.36 (sr)
		200 IM	2:12.75
		Laura Kellen
		50 Free	25.80

Senior swimmer and NCAA hopeful Kati Wise (Westlake, OH/Westlake High) added another school record to her resume in a dual meet versus Caltech, breaking the previous Chapman mark in the 500-meter freestyle by nearly two and a half seconds. The record was previously set by Danielle Dow and lasted over four years. For Wise, it is the sixth personal record she has broken at Chapman this year.