Breitbard Stars of the Month, May, 2005

May, 2005

Breitbard Stars of the Month

PROFESSIONAL

ADAM EATON (Baseball, Padres) – The Padres’ starter was 5-0 in six starts for the month, helping his team put together a 22-6 surge that lifted the San Diego into first place in the National League West. Eaton picked up three of his wins on the road at St. Louis, Arizona and San Francisco and won games at home against Florida and Atlanta. He finished the month with a 7-1 record for the year.

TREVOR HOFFMAN (Baseball, Padres) – The Padres’ closer was named the National League Pitcher of the Month after going 12-for-12 in save attempts and posting his 400th career save. Hoffman, whose ERA was 0.82 for the month, was named the National League Pitcher of the Month for the first time in his career. He also earned the Rolaids Relief Man of the Month for the sixth time in his career. He is only the third closer in Major League history to achieve 400 career saves.

AMATEUR

JUSTIN BAUM (Baseball, Pacific/Grossmont High) – The University of the Pacific freshman first baseman was named to the Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American team. Baum broke Pacific’s season record for home runs with 17 to lead the team and the Big West Conference. Baum finished the season with a .332 batting average and 45 RBI. He became Pacific’s first baseball player named a national player of the week when he received the honor for the week of May 9-15 from the National Collegiate Baseball Writer’s Association. Baum led the Tigers to a 3-1 record as he went 13-for-16 at the plate (.813) with four home runs and 11 RBI. His slugging percentage was 1.813 and his on-base percentage .850. Baum broke the UOP home run record set in 1994 by Vic Sanchez, a former Houston Astros minor-league prospect that is the uncle of Mission Bay High star Henry Sanchez, who is a Prep Star of the Month for May.

BRUCE BILLINGS (Baseball, San Diego State/Morse High) – The sophomore right-handed pitcher from Morse High was named the Mountain West Conference Pitcher of the Year. Billings, a 6-0, 195-pounder, held MWC opponents to a league-low .235 batting average in 11 appearances while posting a 4-3 record in conference play. Overall, is ERA of 3.88 led the MWC. He struck out 102 batters in 99.2 innings with 6-5 overall record.

BENNY CANNIS (Lacrosse, Sonoma State/La Costa Canyon High) – The Sonoma State junior from La Costa Canyon High was named the Defensive Player of the Year in the Western Collegiate Lacrosse League, and was named first team All-American by the United States Lacrosse Intercollegiate Associates. Sonoma State was the runner-up to UC Santa Barbara in both the WCLL and the USLIA National Championships, losing both final games by the same score of 8-7. Sonoma State defeated Utah, Colorado, and Florida State to make it to the National Championship game.

MERIDITH McCOLL (Women’s water polo, Stanford) – The Stanford sophomore goalie, a San Diego native, was named a second-team All-American pick by the American Water Polo Coaches Association. Stanford finished as the NCAA runner-up, losing to UCLA in the championship match at Ann Arbor, Mich. McColl finished the season second in the nation in fewest goals allowed with 123 while making 190 saves. She is the granddaughter of Bill McColl, a Breitbard Athletic Foundation Hall of Famer. She graduated from Capistrano Valley High in Mission Viejo.

KELLY RULON (Women’s water polo, UCLA/USDHS) – The UCLA junior, an Olympic bronze medalist for the U.S. women’s water polo team at the 2004 Games in Athens, added an NCAA championship to her collection of titles and medals as the Bruins finished an unbeaten season with a 33-0 record. UCLA defeated Stanford in the NCAA title game on May 15 in Ann Arbor, Mich. Rulon, who scored three goals in the semifinal win over Hawaii, was named first-team All-America by the American Water Polo Coaches Association. Rulon led the Bruins in scoring with 67 goals. UCLA finished with the longest winning streak in NCAA history and became only the second team to finish a season with an unbeaten record.

MORIAH VAN NORMAN (Women’s water polo, USC/USDHS) – The USC junior earned first-team All-American honors for the second straight year after leading the Trojans to a return trip to the NCAA Final Four for women’s water polo. The 2004 champions finished third in the 2005 tournament after losing to Stanford in the semifinal, 5-4, and beating Hawaii in the third-place match, 11-6. Van Norman scored two goals in both matches. She finished the season with 39 goals and moved into fifth place on USC’s career scoring list with 162. Van Norman was the national player of the year when she led USC to the NCAA title as a sophomore with a 29-0 record. USC finished 2005 with a 25-5 record. Van Norman was a Breitbard Star of the Year at the 2005 Salute to Champions dinner.

CITO WILLIAMS (Lacrosse, Sonoma State/Torrey Pines High) – The Sonoma State freshman, who was the two-time CIF Boys Lacrosse Player of the Year for 2003 and 2004, was named the Offensive MVP of the USLIA National Championships. Cito scored the sudden victory game-winning goal in triple overtime as Sonoma State defeated Colorado in the quarterfinal of the National Championship tournament. He scored 2 goals in the final game of the championships. Cito had 9 goals and 3 assists in leading the Seawolves to second place in the National Championship tournament.

PIERRICK YSERN (Men’s tennis, USD) – The junior All-America finished as the NCAA runner-up in singles, losing in the championship match to the tournament’s top seed. Baylor’s Benedikt Dorsch defeated Ysern 6-2, 7-6 (6) in College Station, TX. Ysern, from Paris, France, finished the season with a 26-7 record. He also was a quarterfinalist at the national indoor tournament.

PREPS

A.J. ACOSTA (Boys track, El Camino High) – The junior distance runner led El Camino to the CIF team title in boys track by sweeping the 1,600 meters and the 3,200 meters in the CIF finals at Mt. Carmel High. Acosta, one of the nation’s top distance runners, won the 1,600 in 4 minutes, 14.82 seconds and the 3,200 in 9:19.31. It was the second straight year Acosta won the 1,600 title.

CHASE BUDINGER (Boys volleyball, La Costa Canyon High) – The 6-foot-8 outside hitter is considered one of the nation’s top prospects in volleyball as well as basketball. He led the Mavericks to the CIF San Diego Section Division I title, recording 25 kills in a three-game sweep of Rancho Bernardo. Budinger earned Player of the Year honors for the second straight year. Chase was recognized as a Star of the Month in January, 2005.

JOSH DUPONT (Golf, USDHS) – The University of San Diego High School sophomore led the Dons to the CIF San Diego Section Division II title while also winning the individual championship. DuPont shot an even-par 144 in the two-day, 36-hole tournament at the Oak Glen Course of the Sycuan Resort at Singing Hills. He is the first USDHS golfer to win the CIF individual title since Phil Mickelson in 1988. Uni’s winning team score in Division II edged St. Augustine by one stroke and earned both a berth in the Southern California Regional since their scores were lower than the Division I teams.

STEVE FORMAN (Boys tennis, Torrey Pines High) – The sophomore won the CIF San Diego Section singles tournament, claiming the title with a 35-minute match in the finals. He won by the scores of 6-0, 6-2. Foreman recorded five aces and five service winners. Despite Torrey Pines success in team tennis, he is only the third Torrey Pines player to win the singles title.

NICK GENNUSO (Boys lacrosse, La Costa Canyon High) – The junior scored 17 goals in LCC's four playoff games as the Mavericks became the first undefeated team to win the CIF championship. Nick scored seven goals against Eastlake to set the school record for goals in a single game, six against USDHS in the quarterfinals that tied the previous school record, three against Poway in the semifinal game, and one against Rancho Bernardo in the CIF Championship. For the season, Nick scored 53 goals to break the LCC season record of 47. Nick was selected All-CIF First Team.

BLAKE HAYTER (Girls swimming, USDHS) – The junior set CIF San Diego Section records in winning two duels with Mt. Carmel’s Whitney Spence. The matches were a showdown between two national-caliber swimmers, with Hayter defeating Spence in the 200 freestyle with a time of 1 minute, 46.62 seconds and coming back to win the 500 free in 4:43.75. In both races, Hayter broke records set a year earlier by Spence.

DONNA KERR (Softball, Patrick Henry High) – The sophomore pitcher led the Patriots to the CIF San Diego Section Division II title with an 18-3 record, including nine shutouts. She posted a 0.22 ERA while striking out 326 batters in 159 innings. In win over Mount Miguel, she struck out 23 consecutive batters. She stretched the streak to 31 by striking out the first eight batters in the next game against Christian. Kerr was later named CalHiSports.com's State Sophomore of the Year for softball. Kerr was later named a first-team All-CIF pick and the State Sophomore of the Year by CalHiSports.com.

SEAN O’SULLIVAN (Baseball, Valhalla High) – The Valhalla senior led the Norsemen to their third straight league title when they shared the Grossmont South League championship with Granite Hills. Prior to O’Sullivan’s sophomore year, when the Norsemen won their first Grossmont South title, the school had never won a league title in baseball. O'Sullivan, a third baseman/pitcher, hit two home runs against Steele Canyon and two more against Mount Miguel in the final two regular-season games. O'Sullivan finished the regular season with 11 home runs and 33 for his career. He was also 7-1 on the mound.

CASEY RECTOR (Girls lacrosse, La Costa Canyon High) – The Oregon-bound senior led the Mavericks to the CIF San Diego Section title with her all-around play. The CIF Player of the Year scored three goals in the championship match, a 10-4 win over Coronado, to give La Costa Canyon its first girl’s lacrosse title. O'Sullivan was later named an All-CIF first-team pick for the second straight year and the State Medium School Player of the Year by CalHiSports.com. He was drafted in the third round by the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.

SPENCER RODMAN (Boys swimming, Carlsbad High) – The senior led the Lancers to the CIF San Diego Section Division I team title while winning for gold medals. Rodman won the 200- and 500-yard freestyles and swam legs on the 200- and 400-yard relay teams. In his individual races, he won the 200 free by more than three seconds and the 500 free by close to 10 seconds.

HENRY SANCHEZ (Baseball, Mission Bay High) – The senior first baseman finished his career by leading the Buccaneers to the Western League title while batting .482 with 13 home runs and 38 RBI. Sanchez started the season slowly following surgery to remove a floating hamate bone in his hand before rebounding in the final two months. Mission Bay coach Dennis Pugh calls Sanchez the best hitter he has ever coached in a career that includes 18 league titles in 27 seasons. He was drafted in the compensation phase of the first round with the 39th pick overall by the Minnesota Twins.