Press Releases

For immediate release
Monday, March 25, 2002
Contact: Paul Helms

Schedule of upcoming events:

BASEBALL:
at Dominguez Hills on Thursday, March 28 at 12:30 p.m.
at Dominguez Hills on Friday, March 29 at 12:30 p.m.
vs. Dominguez Hills (DH) on Saturday, March 30 at 11 a.m.

M/W TRACK AND FIELD:
at Ca./Nev. Championships in Fresno, on Fri-Sat, March 29-30

FOLLOW THE BRONCOS ON THE WORLD WIDE WEB
HTTP://WWW.CSUPOMONA.EDU/~ATHLETIC

WOMEN'S BASKETBALL: BRONCOS GO BACK-TO-BACK
2001-02 Overall Record: 28-4, CCAA Record: 19-3.
2001-02 National Ranking: 1 (National Champions)

CAL POLY POMONA WINS SECOND STRAIGHT NATIONAL CROWN: Cal Poly Pomona's women's basketball team became the first team in NCAA Division II history to win back-to-back national titles twice when the Broncos successfully defended their crown last week in Rochester, Minn. The Broncos defeated Southeastern Oklahoma State, 74-62, in the championship game. Earlier in the tournament, Cal Poly Pomona defeated Glenville State, 74-62, in the semis and Mars Hill, 88-69 in the quarterfinals. By winning its fifth straight national title, the Broncos have tied North Dakota State for the most titles in NCAA Division II. The Broncos also now have 46 NCAA Tournament victories, which is the most of any school in Division II. Lauri McIntosh (Sr., Diamond Bar, Diamond Bar HS) concluded her remarkable collegiate career at Cal Poly Pomona with a sensational performance during the Elite Eight tournament. McIntosh averaged 25.7 points in the championship tourney and was unstoppable in the title game. McIntosh scored 31 points and grabbed 11 rebounds in 33 minutes of action while also holding Southeastern Oklahoma State's star player to just six points. McIntosh, who was named the Elite Eight's Most Outstanding Player, was joined on the All-Tournament team by last year's Elite Eight Most Outstanding Player, Aprile Powell (So., Santa Ana, Century HS). Powell had 20 points and nine rebounds in 36 minutes in the title game. McIntosh and Powell combined for 51 of the Broncos' 74 points. Leah Whatley (Sr., Suisun, Tartleton State) tied a season-high with eight assists. Cal Poly Pomona took control of the game in the opening half with two big runs. The first one, an 11-1 spurt, erased a quick 3-0 deficit and gave the Broncos an 11-4 advantage. Cal Poly Pomona would lead the rest of the way. The most devastating run was a 12-1 string that ended the first half and gave the Broncos a 30-18 halftime lead. McIntosh scored the last eight points of the half to fuel. The Broncos then opened the second half with a 12-5 spurt that put them up by 19 points, 42-23. A 3-pointer by Powell finished the run and stopped a streak of seven consecutive Cal Poly Pomona field goals by McIntosh. Cal Poly Pomona had its biggest lead of the game, 46-26, with 14 minutes left. Southeastern Oklahoma State sliced the lead to 11, 61-50, with 6:20 to go, but an 8-1 run accomplished on free throws by Powell, McIntosh and Burgundie Porter (Sr., San Dimas, San Dimas HS) put the game out of reach. The Broncos got a big charge out of the return of Anna James (Jr., Orangevale, Casa Roble HS), who had been out since Feb. 2 with a torn ACL in her knee. James, who will undergo surgery this week, was inserted into the game in the final minute and responded by making two free throws. To get to the championship game, the Broncos dropped a feisty Glenville State College team, also by a 74-62 count. Cal Poly Pomona suffered through a miserable first half and trailed at halftime, 29-28. The Broncos shot just 29.7 percent in the first half. Cal Poly Pomona came out on fire in the second half and took the lead for good, 36-35, on a jumper by McIntosh. The lead steadily grew to 15 points, 56-41, with 10 minutes to go and the Broncos eventually led by as many as 19 points. Glenville State was unable to get any closer than 10 points down the stretch. McIntosh had 27 points and 13 points to lead the way, while Porter had 12 points and Marisa Lattin (So., Oceanside, El Camino HS) had 11 points and six rebounds. The Broncos opened the tourney with an 88-69 win over Mars Hill College. Six Cal Poly Pomona players scored in double figures, led by McIntosh, who had 19 points and seven rebounds. Heather Reeder (Jr., Wenatchee, WA, University of Portland) had one of her best games of the season with 12 points and five rebounds, while Whatley, Porter, Lattin and Powell all scored 10 points each. Cal Poly Pomona took control of the game early, leading by as many as 17 points in the first half before settling for a 44-32 halftime lead. The Broncos led by as many as 25 points in the second half and were ahead by 10 or more points the rest of the way.

BRONCOS HAVE SOME ELITE NUMBERS: A look at the numbers show just how dominating Cal Poly Pomona was during its stay in Rochester, Minn. The Broncos won each game by at least 12 points and never trailed by more than five points in any game. Lauri McIntosh (Sr., Diamond Bar, Diamond Bar HS) averaged 25.7 points per game at the Elite Elight and also averaged 10.3 rebounds per game. Cal Poly Pomona averaged 78.7 points per game while holding its opposition to just 64.3 points per game. The Broncos had a 131-113 edge in rebounding and also held their opponents to just 35.7 percent shooting. Aprile Powell (So., Santa Ana, Century HS) averaged 13.0 points and 8.3 rebounds per game.

WHAT A RUN: Lauri McIntosh (Sr., Diamond Bar, Diamond Bar HS), Burgundie Porter (Sr., San Dimas, San Dimas HS) and Kim Kennedy (Sr., Walnut Creek, Carondelet HS) concluded their four-year careers at Cal Poly Pomona with some incredible numbers. In the past four seasons, the Broncos were 104-16 (.867 winning percentage), won three CCAA titles and two national championships.
MCINTOSH, THOMAS SWEEP NATIONAL HONORS: Cal Poly Pomona's Lauri McIntosh (Sr., Diamond Bar, Diamond Bar HS) became the fifth player in the program's history to be named NCAA Division II Player of the Year and head coach Paul Thomas was named the NCAA Division II Coach of the Year in announcements at the Elite Eight banquet in Rochester, Minn., last week. McIntosh set a new Cal Poly Pomona single-season record by averaging 23.2 points per game and wound up second on the Broncos' all-time scoring list with 2,176 points. Thomas, in his eighth season as head coach, now has a 168-63 record at Cal Poly Pomona.

BRONCOS' EXPLOITS WERE ON THE WEB: Cal Poly Pomona's Elite Eight games were carried live on the Cal Poly Pomona athletic web site with Rod Leveque and Maryann Tolano calling the action. Helping to make the broadcast possible were the contributions of Cal Poly Pomona's ITAC/MediaVision department, which provided audio streaming of the games. Also, in addition to the coverage on the Broncos' athletic site, you can check out additional coverage on Polycentric thanks to the efforts of Charles Bentley and Jennifer Olds.

BASEBALL: BRONCOS GET WELL IN A HURRY
2002 Overall Record: 14-13-1; 2002 CCAA Record: 7-11

BRONCOS SPLIT FIRST TWO GAMES WITH SONOMA STATE: Cal Poly Pomona's baseball team split a Sunday doubleheader at Sonoma State and was in the midst of another doubleheader with the Cossacks on Monday afternoon. The Broncos dropped the opening game to Sonoma State in a series that was postponed for a day by rain. Cal Poly Pomona fell, 2-1, despite an outstanding start by Tony Ortiz (Sr., Rancho Cucamonga, Mt. SAC), who didn't allow an earned run in eight strong innings of work. A pair of Cal Poly Pomona errors led to two unearned runs in the third inning and the Broncos couldn't recover. Jason Welch (Sr., Diamond Bar, Santa Ana JC) had a pair of hits for the Broncos, including a solo home run in the seventh inning that brought the Broncos to within 2-1. Ortiz allowed only four hits in his stint. The Broncos rallied for single runs in the sixth and seventh innings to pull out a 3-2 win in the nightcap. Tim Thurman (Jr., Lake Forest, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo) got the Broncos even with a solo home run in the sixth inning and a sacrifice fly by Welch in the seventh inning. Cal Poly Pomona received another terrific start from Andrew Perkins (Sr., Diamond Bar, Diamond Bar HS), who gave up allowed only two hits in six innings and earned his second win of the season. Kevin Waldinger (Sr., Yorba Linda, Fullerton JC) pitched a scoreless seventh inning to record his first save. Waldinger struck out two in the inning.

BRONCOS HAVE BIG SERIES COMING UP: Cal Poly Pomona's baseball team will face Cal State Dominguez Hills in a big four-game series beginning Thursday in Carson. The Broncos and Toros, who are in fourth place in the CCAA, will play a single game Friday in Carson and then meet in a doubleheader Saturday at Scolinos Field beginning at 11:30 a.m.

MEN'S AND WOMEN'S TENNIS: BRONCOS ROLL INTO SPRING BREAK

Men's Overall Record: 12-1
Men's Ranking: No. 21 in the nation; 3rd in the West Region (ITA)
Women's Overall Record: 15-2, CCAA Record: 6-2
Women's Ranking: No. 16 in the nation; 4th in the West Region (ITA)

BRONCO MEN WIN PAIR OF MATCHES: Cal Poly Pomona's men's tennis team won a pair of matches last week in dominating fashion. First, the Broncos whipped Western New Mexico, 9-0, on Saturday. Singles players JR Villaroman (Sr., Anaheim, Troy HS), Ryan Terry (Jr., Diamond Bar, Diamond Bar HS), Andy Roland (Hollywood, Glendale CC), Seamus Sullivan (Jr., Palos Verdes, Peninsula HS), Nguyen Than (Jr., Garden Grove, Loara HS) and David Nguyen (So., Los Angeles, Beverly Hills HS) won their matches in straight sets. Villaroman/Sullivan won at No. 1 doubles, 8-3, Roland/Terry won at No. 2 doubles, 8-2, while Than/Nguyen won at No. 3 doubles, 8-3. Cal Poly Pomona then came back on Sunday and rolled past Seattle University, 9-0. Villaroman, Roland, Sullivan, Nguyen, A.J. Feliz (Sr., San Gabriel, New Mexico Military Institute) and Steve Beerfeldt (So., Whittier, La Habra HS) won singles matches, while Villaroman/Sullivan, Nguyen/Than and Roland/Feliz won doubles matches.

BRONCO WOMEN SWEEP THROUGH BUSY STRETCH: Cal Poly Pomona's women's tennis team won three matches in three days, including a 9-0 CCAA triumph over San Francisco State on Monday. The Broncos concluded their CCAA schedule with a 6-2 record, which is the best for Cal Poly Pomona since 1998. Anne Claire Ortiz-Luis (Fr., Rancho Cucamonga, Rancho Cucamonga HS), Dehlia Feliz (Fr., San Gabriel, San Gabriel HS), Michelle Hammond (Jr., Tulare, College of the Sequoias), Lisa Jones (Sr., Visalia, College of the Sequoias), Priscilla De Vera (So., Walnut, St. Lucy's HS) and Jennie Burggraf (So., Chino Hills, Ayala HS) all won singles matches, while Ortiz-Luis/Hammond won at No. 1 doubles, 8-0, Feliz/Jones won at No. 2 doubles, 8-1 and De Vera/Julie Manning (Sr., Capistrano Beach, San Clemente HS) won at No. 3 doubles, 8-1. On Sunday, the Broncos rolled past Seattle University, 9-0. Feliz won at No. 1 singles, 6-0, 6-0, to lead the way. Hammond, Jones, De Vera, Burggraf and Manning also won singles matches, while Ortiz-Luis/Hammond, Feliz/Jones and De Vera/Manning won in doubles. The Broncos started the weekend with an 8-0 win over Western New Mexico on Saturday. Ortiz-Luis, Feliz, Hammond, De Vera and Burggraf won singles matches, while Ortiz-Luis/Hammond, Feliz/Jones and De Vera/Manning won doubles sets. The final single match was called before it was completed.

M/W TRACK & FIELD: BRONCOS DO WELL AT LA VERNE

CAL POLY POMONA TO RUN AT LA VERNE: Cal Poly Pomona's men's and women's track field teams had some outstanding individual efforts at the La Verne Invitational on Saturday. Robert Braun (Fr., Mission Viejo, Santa Margarita HS) clocked the fastest 800-meter time of the year for the Broncos with a time of 1:59.57. Matt Rainwater (Jr., Brea, Brea-Olinda HS) and Lutz Braun (Sr., La Habra Heights, Brea-Olinda HS) had times of 3:54.98 and 3:57.8 in the 1,500, Sean Zeitler (Fr., Rancho Santa Margarita, Santa Margarita HS) ran a 54.98 in the 400 hurdles, James Chambless (Fr., Covina, South Hills HS) had a time of 15.46 in the 110 high hurdles and the 4x100 relay team had a season's best time of 42.97. Jeff Holder (Jr., Diamond Bar, Citrus College) had his best marks of the season in the shot put (49-2), hammer throw (142-0) and discus (135-5). Christy Buehler (Jr., Hesperia, Mt. SAC) had her best marks of the season in the shot put (38-4) and discus (143-1).

BRONCOS SET FOR CALIFORNIA/NEVADA CHAMPIONSHIPS: Some of Cal Poly Pomona's top track and field athletes will be heading to Fresno this week for the California/Nevada Championships. The two-day event begins on Friday.