Bronco SportsBronco athletes of the yearPeter Lowry '08 of the men’s soccer team and Crystal Matich '08 of volleyball were named the 2008 Santa Clara Athletes of the Year. Lowry was named the MVP of the West Coast Conference after scoring a career-high eight goals and recording seven assists this season. He finished his career with 22 goals, seventh all-time at Santa Clara. He was drafted 26th in the 2008 MLS SuperDraft by the Chicago Fire. Matich was also named WCC Player of the Year, the fourth setter ever to receive such honors. Considered the “quarterback” of the volleyball team, Matich helped lead the Broncos to their fifth WCC title and their 10th straight trip to the NCAA Tournament.
Shining on the diamond
Simon made nine mound appearances in WCC play, posting a 2-2 record and recording a pair of saves, while brandishing a 2.85 ERA in league play. Simon tied for second in the conference with a 9-2 record. He was also named to the All-WCC and All-Freshman teams. This summer Simon, who was born in Toronto, joined the Canadian team for the fourth annual university world championship, where eight teams squared off in a series hosted in the cities of Brno and Ostrava in the Czech Republic.
Making the grades
Through the 2007-08 academic year, Santa Clara had 15 student athletes earn WCC All-Academic honors. Five members of the women’s golf team were named to the National Golf Coaches Association All-Scholar-Athlete team. A dozen men’s water polo players received WWPA All-Academic honors. Mitch Henke '08 and Elizabeth Doran '08 of Bronco basketball received ESPN the Magazine Academic All-District VIII honors as well as Division I-AAA Athletics Directors Association Scholar-Athlete accolades, and Matt Hatzke '08 of the men’s soccer team earned ESPN the Magazine Academic All-America honors. For the second straight year, two SCU athletic programs were recognized by the NCAA for their Academic Progress Rate scores: women’s soccer and women’s water polo. Five Santa Clara student-athletes won places on the WCC All-Academic teams this spring: Hilaire Fouts '08 and Corey Utsurogi '08 of women’s golf; junior Alex Bon of men’s golf; senior Heather Lynch of women’s crew; and junior designated hitter and catcher Geoff Klein of baseball.
Meet MountainSanta Clara's new women's basketball head coach, Jennifer Mountain, gives the scoop on coaching, playing, and volcanoes.Interview conducted, edited, and condensed by Lisa Taggart
Lessons and basketball go hand in hand. You have ups and downs, like there are every day in life. Overall, what you learn is teamwork—that’s huge. In basketball and life, you’ve got to be able to work with others, and adapt. When you’re out recruiting, what do you say about Santa Clara? You were a stand-out player at Gonzaga, scoring 1,422 points overall, including 465 your senior year before graduating in 1991; how has the game changed since then? Since you were a Gonzaga player, earned two degrees there, and worked as the top assistant basketball coach for the Bulldogs, how do you expect you’ll feel facing the team as SCU head coach? What are your greatest priorities going into the 2008-09 season? You’ve coached men’s and women’s basketball and volleyball. How is coaching women different from coaching men? What's the most common mistake players make? You have an interesting last name for a basketball player; has it generated any nicknames?
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