Olivia Sylvester (CMC FR) showed her strength as a multi-faceted midfielder.

After an undefeated SCIAC campaign, the women’s soccer team had high hopes for the NCAA tournament, where they had advanced to the round of 16 last year. The Athenas also faced the Banana Slugs but, as a higher seed than the men, had home-field advantage. Despite an early goal by the Slugs in the 6th minute, the Athenas showed composure as Julia Nishioka (CMC SO) tallied the equalizer off a Laura Hagen (CMC JR) pass just 8 minutes later. Camila Friedman-Gerlicz (CMC SR) was outstanding, stopping 11 shots on goal, and the defense held strong, continuing to give the Athenas chances on offense. Finally in the 63rd minute, SCIAC player of the year Laura Hagen (CMC JR) found the back of the net for the game-winner, as the defense clamped down to put the women into the round of 32 against Hardin-Simmons. Against the Hardin-Simmons Cowgirls, the Athenas again found themselves in a battle. The Athenas warded off the Cowgirl attack, including an 8-0 advantage in corner kicks in the first half, until the 44th minute, when Hardin-Simmons finally snuck one past Friedman-Gerlicz. The Athenas answered quickly in the second half, as Lizzie Van Buskirk (CMC JR) tied the game, but two goals within three minutes by the cowgirls was too much for CMS, and the Athenas’ season ended in a 3-1 defeat.

1. Mark Teixeira & Brian Hoffstein: The Yankees first baseman bares a striking resemblance to Stag infielder Brian Hoffstein (’12).

2. Alex Rodriguez & Jordan Rosenberg: Not only do A. Rod and J. Ros look alike, but they also both play third base.  Rosenberg (’12), however, has not been involved in a steroid scandal while playing for CMS baseball.

3. Johnny Damon & Moose Halpern: Damon was one of the top performers in this World Series with a .364 batting average.  And when he’s clean-shaven, he also happens to look a lot like Stag catcher Moose Halpern (’10).

Post your agreements, disagreements, and suggestions for more lookalikes in the comments.

Robbie Erani CM '12 clinching the ITA West Region title. Photo Credit: Jen Rosenthal

The Forum: What is the secret to winning the West Region?
Robbie Erani: It’s all about the luck of the draw and being mentally prepared.

The Forum: What is the deal with your lucky facial hair?
RE: A few of us on the tennis team decided that the left side of our face did not deserve facial hair, while the right side did and it seemed to treat the players who did it well.

The Forum: Best Stags tennis moment?
RE: Watching captain Larry Wang beat Conrad Olson in a third set tiebreaker to clinch the match vs. then No. 4 Middlebury last season.

The Forum: What are your goals for the spring season?
RE: Win the Division III team national championship.

The Forum: What would you say is your greatest training mechanism?
RE: Dominoes Pizza on Sunday nights.

The Forum: Why is it okay for fans to scream as a batter tries to hit a 100 mph fastball but when tennis players are in the middle of the point, fans have to be quiet?
RE: Tennis is more a mental sport than baseball, in that every shot, every play, every movement, counts toward the end result more than baseball.

The Forum: Favorite non-tennis Stag/Athena team and Athlete to cheer for?
RE: Women’s Rugby and Jason Toney CM ‘11.

The Forum: Favorite Male Tennis Player?
RE: Janko Tipsaravic.

The Forum: Favorite Female Tennis Player?
RE: Caroline Wozniaki.

The Forum: Favorite Video Game?
RE: Ken Griffey Baseball ‘96 on Nintendo 64.

The Forum: Biggest Fear?
RE: Sharks, I still refuse to swim in the ocean.

The Forum: Who is your Role Model?
Mike Sutton.

The Forum: If you weren’t a tennis player what would you be?
A bum.

Erani won the Wilson / ITA Division III West Region singles title two weeks ago on the Bizantz Family Tennis Courts, defeating top seeded Andrew Giuffrida of Cal Lutheran 7-5, 2-6, 6-3 in the final. Erani became the third Stag in four years to win the West region title, joining Mikey Lim CM ‘10 (2007) and Michael Starr HM ‘10 (2006).

The winner of the Division 3 event will compete in a playoff against the winners of the Division 2, Junior College, and NAIA tournaments for a wild card into the Division 1 equivalent of this event, the National Intercolligate Indoor Championships at Yale University, November 5-8.

The Men’s cross country team, ranked 30th in division 3, finished 7th of 30 teams at the UC Riverside invitational last weekend, the best finish of the division 3 teams at the competition. The Stags were able to race against BYU (ranked 12th in division 1), as well as other D1 competition. Kris Brown (JR, CMC) and Brian Sutter (FR, CMC) finished 40th and 47th respectively, leading the Stags. This weekend, the Stags faced off against stiff competition at the Stanford Invitational, featuring harriers from both Stanford and Cal, and finished 12th. Leading the Stags in the 8k were Kramer Straube (JR, HMC) and Brian Sutter.

The Athena harriers, ranked 29th in division 3, finished 14th of 27 teams at the UC Riverside Invitational, also competing against top division 1 competition last weekend. Jenifer Tavé (SO, SCR) finished 44th for the Athenas, with Julia Rigby (SO, SCR) just 5 seconds behind in 49th. This weekend, also facing stiff competition at the Stanford Invitational, the Athena runners finished 16th, led by Tavé and Rigby once more. Both the men and women will head to the West Region preview meet this weekend, which will be a good litmus test for where each team stands versus the best D3 teams in the west.

The Stag Football team came up big in their first home game of the season, beating the Puget Sound Loggers 14-6. QB Scott Yingling (JR, CMC) finished 5 for 14 for 47 yards, but where the Stags did their damage on offense was on the ground. Yingling had 134 rushing yards, including a 24-yard TD run. D.J. Lillard (SR, CMC) had 135 yards on 28 carries and a touchdown in the second quarter. After allowing a second quarter score, the defense clamped down, blocking the Logger PAT attempt, and shutting out UPS from then on. Dan Picciotto (SR, CMC) had a huge defensive game, with 13 tackles, while Landon Patoc (SR, CMC) had the biggest hit of the game, knocking out a Logger wide receiver. The Stags (2-0) had this weekend off, and then will host Occidental this Saturday.

The Stag soccer team (4-3, 3-1 SCIAC) started conference play in strong fashion, going 3-1. In their first conference game, they hosted Cal Lutheran, and two goals from David Taylor (FR, CMC) and Marshall Fisher (JR, CMC), within three minutes of each other in the 26th and 28th minutes got the Stags on the board. After Cal Lu scored in the second half, Harrison Doyle (FR, CMC) answered with his third goal of the season. A Cal Lu goal just before the game ended made the final score 3-2 Stags. Next, the men traveled to La Verne, and were outplayed by the Leopards. La Verne had 14 shots on goal to the Stags 5, and besides an Ian Anderson (JR, CMC) goal, it was all La Verne, which took the game 4-1. Following this performance, the Stags won two 1-0 games in succession at P-P, and then at home vs. Redlands on Saturday to move into a tie with P-P and La Verne for first in the conference. The Stags host Whittier on Wednesday at 4.

The Athena Soccer team has gotten started at an impressive pace. Last Wednesday, goals from Laura Hagen (JR, CMC) and Rachel Bunting (SO, CMC) propelled the team to a 2-0 win at Cal Lutheran. Next up was La Verne, and the Athenas attacked the Leopards with 30 shots and six goals, including two from Bunting. Against Pomona-Pitzer, a 2-1 win, with goals from Giselle Galanto (SR, CMC) and Julie Nishioka (SO, CMC), put the Athenas into a tie with Redlands for first place in the conference, setting up a showdown on Saturday. After being tied 1-1 and heading into overtime, Rachel Bunting’s team-leading fifth goal of the season was the game-winner, giving the team sole possession of first place in the conference. The first place Athenas head to Whittier on Wednesday.

After a 3-5 start, the Athena volleyball team rebounded at home with two dominant 3-0 wins vs. La Sierra and Dickinson, respectively. Their winning ways halted as they dropped their third 2-3 decision of the season to P-P at home, and fell to Redlands 3-1 just three days later. On Saturday at Whittier, the Athenas were firing on all cylinders, picking up their first conference win, led by Jenna Suttmeier (JR, SCR) with 10 kills, and Taylor Jones (FR, CMC) with 38 sets. The Athenas play Chapman at home on Wednesday.

The Men’s Water Polo team sits at an even 6-6 on the season, posting wins in the past two weeks vs. Fresno Pacific, Concordia, and Iona, while dropping two close games to Mt. San Antonio College and Cal Baptist, respectively. The Stags will co-host the Claremont Convergence tournament this weekend, starting Friday with matchups vs. Johns Hopkins and Santa Clara, and then on Saturday vs. Fordham and Fresno Pacific.

The Stag Football team started their season on the right foot, traveling to Oregon and knocking off the Pioneers 22-7. A 95 yard touchdown drive at the end of the first half, capped by a Scott Yingling (JR, CMC) rushing TD, put the Stags up 12-7 going into the break. The Pioneer offense stalled in the second half, while the Stags added a field goal and D.J. Lillard (SR, CMC) touchdown run in the fourth quarter. Andrew Segal (SO, CMC) had 125 yards on 14 carries, and Lillard added 82 yards on 17 carries. Yingling played well, completing 8 of 14 passes for 163 yards, his favorite target being Mike Hirokawa (SR, CMC) with four catches for 101 yards. The men will take on University of Puget Sound at 12 this Saturday at Zinda Field.

Photo credit: Carl Rossi (CMC '84)

The Men’s and Women’s Cross Country teams swept the Redlands Invitational this past weekend, giving Coach Goldhammer a reason to smile, as the Stag and Athena harriers did work on conference rivals Redlands and Occidental. On the men’s side, freshman Brian Sutter (FR, CMC) led the Stags with a third place finish, followed by Kramer Straube (JR, HMC) in fourth. For the women, Jennifer Tavé (SO, SCR) and Julia Rigby (SO, SCR) led the Athenas with second and third place finishes, respectively.

After a 3-0 loss at home vs. Cal St. San Marcos to begin the season, the Stag Soccer team traveled to Massachusetts to take a pair of D3 schools: MIT and Babson. Against MIT, freshman Harrison Doyle (FR, CMC) put CMS on the board first, giving them a 1-0 lead at halftime. An MIT goal in the 75^th minute sent the game into overtime, where Doyle tallied another, in the 106^th minute, giving the Stags their first win of the season. Two days later against Babson, the Stags could not find the back of the net, and Babson scored two second half goals, sending the team back to California with a split. Conference play starts tomorrow at home vs. Cal Lutheran.

The 21^st ranked Athena Soccer team, after demoralizing Pac Lutheran 5-1 to start their season, traveled to St. Louis this past weekend. Their first game was against the 20^th ranked Washington Bears, and things looked good as Nicole Sady-Kennedy (SR, CMC) gave the Athenas a 1-0 lead off a nice pass from Giselle Galanto (SR, CMC). Unfortuantely the Athena offense stalled after that point, while WashU scored three unanswered goals, taking the game 3-1. In their second game, vs. Webster college, the Athenas found themselves down 1-0. Not wanting to head back to Claremont without a win, CMS rallied for four straight goals, and the Athenas held on for a 4-2 win. The Athenas wil travel to Cal Lutheran tomorrow to begin their SCIAC title defense, and then host La Verne at 11am on Saturday.

The Athena volleyball team sits at 3-5 on the season, with a number of top 25 teams on their challenging schedule in front of them, including 6^th ranked La Verne, the nine-time defending SCIAC champions. However, the Athena team is hopeful, as they had two close five game losses which could have gone either way, including a 2-3 decision to Texas Lutheran, which knocked off La Verne the following day. Two newcomers are making big impacts for the team. Allie Macy (JR, CMC), a transfer from Concordia University, is leading the team in kills, with 75, while Taylor Jones (FR, CMC) leads the team in sets, averaging more than 8 a game. The women will host La Sierra and Dickinson this Friday at 4 and 7 respectively, before a big matchup against P-P next Tuesday.

The Men’s Water Polo team has had some encouraging results, as they prepare to take on their regional rivals. The Stags began their season at MIT for an invitational. Although holding a two goal lead in the fourth quarter, and then also taking a lead in overtime, the Stags dropped a triple overtime decision to Brown in their first game of the season. They rebounded later in the invitational to knock off Harvard and M.I.T., earning a split on the road trip. The Stags came back to California this past weekend, and dropped three contests to nationally ranked teams, including eighth ranked UC-Irvine, but also picked up a win against La Verne. The Stags will head to Cal Lutheran for a tournament with a number of top teams in the region

Follow a soccer ball through a series of feats and tricks with the CMS Men’s Soccer Team.  Wish we saw more of Hunter, but think that Mikey Nguyentat might be replacing him as the #1 hottest Stag everrrrrr.  Marshall Fisher as a close #2, but only if he also learns the cool trick where he takes his shirt off.

• Good luck to QB Matthew Stafford, who was drafted first overall by the Detroit Lions (who did not win a game last year). Stafford gets to throw to Calvin Johnson, a very talented receiver; that is, as long as he’s not running away from the defenders that his terrible offensive line let through. Let’s hope he has more success than Dan Orlovsky.
• The Jets made an aggressive play to nab USC QB Mark Sanchez at the number 5 spot. The Jets didn’t have to give much up to move up from 17 and I hear that Sanchez was working with USC Strength Coach Chuck Berry for the past year, so you have to feel confident about the pick.
• Oakland, which now has a stable of talented offensive weapons but no offensive line (or defensive for that matter) passed up the two “best” WRs in the draft to take Maryland’s Darrius Heyward-Bey. 49ers fans rejoiced as Texas Tech receiver Michael Crabtree fell to them at 10.
• My New England Patriots trade away many of their picks, but were able to snag CB Darius Butler of UConn in the second round. Most predicted that the Patriots were going to take Butler in the first round but the Pats were able to save some money by waiting 19 picks to draft him. The Celtics are apparently borrowing Butler for a week to fill in for the numerous injuries the Celts are struggling with.  
  
• Cincinnati drafted TE Chase Coffman in the third round to replace Kellen Winslow, but more importantly to help Chad Ochocinco. Now that TJ Housh”yomomma” is gone, and Kelley Washington left two years prior, Chad Ochocinco’s dance partners have dwindled to none. We’ll see if Coffman is up to the tough challenge and high standards left behind by the two.

If I was a gambling man…

I’d put my money on the Boston Bruins to win their next series, regardless of who they’re playing. They’re just that dominant right now… Cleveland can’t be stopped. Look for them to sweep their next opponent (the winner of the Atlanta-Miami series)…Take Seattle and Felix “The King” Hernandez over heavy-set Bartolo Colon and the erratic White Sox.

CMS Sports News

Larry Wang became the first Stag to win the Ojai Valley Division III Singles Title by beating John Watts of WashU (in St. Louis)…Stags Tennis take travel to UC Santa Cruz in a match that will determine Regional’s home court advantage…Athenas Softball dropped two games to Whittier but remain in third heading into the weekend’s SCIAC champions hosted by #1 seeded Redlands…Track & Field continues to dominate SCIACS with a flurry of athletes setting NCAA qualifying results…Women’s Water Polo ended the season with two consecutive wins but fell short of a SCIAC championship finishing 5^th in the conference.