March 5, 2005
Basketball Player of the Month Release in PDF Format
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Baseball Player of the Month Release in PDF Format
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Golf and Tennis Player of the Month Release in PDF Format
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Men's Basketball Player of the Month - Brandon Gay, USD
San Diego senior forward Brandon Gay turned in a spectacular month, averaging a WCC-best 21.4 ppg to go along with 8.3 rpg, the third best rebounding clip in the conference. Led by the Missouri City, TX native, USD rallied in the second half of conference play to post a 5-2 record, finishing in a third place tie with Santa Clara in the regular season standings and locking up the No. 4 seed in the WCC Tournament. The 7-7 conference finish is a stark contrast from last season's disappointing 1-13 WCC record. Gay's strong month boasted his overall conference scoring average to 19.9 ppg, which tied USF's John Cox for the WCC scoring title. Gay's highlights for the month included a career-high 31 points and 10 rebounds in a win over Santa Clara and a 26-point, 13-board effort in a setback versus Gonzaga.
Women's Basketball Player of the Month - Ashley Burke, GON
The senior from North Vancouver, B.C. played a huge part in her team's 7-0 record during the month of February. Burke averaged 17.9 points and 7.6 rebounds per contest during the month. The forward moved into fourth place on both the Gonzaga career scoring and rebounding lists and climbed up to 12th on the WCC career scoring chart. Burke shot 63 percent from the floor during February on 47-for-74 shooting. During the month, Gonzaga received its first national ranking at No. 25 in the Associated Press poll. GU extended its winning streak to 21 games and won the WCC regular season title. Burke posted 20-point scoring games against Santa Clara (23 pts.) on Feb. 5 and against Pepperdine (21 pts.) on Feb. 10. The Bulldogs will enter this week's WCC Tournament as the No. 1 seed and attempt to win their first tournament championship.
Baseball Player of the Month - Steve Kleen, PEP
The senior utility player led the Waves both at the plate and on the mound during the month of February. In 12 games, Kleen led Pepperdine with a .388 average, three homeruns, 15 RBI, a .633 slugging percentage, and a .456 on-base percentage. He also tied for the team lead with 19 hits and was second on the club with 11 runs scored. The Menifee, Calif. native hit safely in 11 of 12 games and reached base in all 12 games in the month. Kleen tied a Pepperdine single-game record with five hits in the series finale at Houston after going 5-for-6 with four runs scored and three RBI. Kleen also played a major role on the mound for the Waves pitching in relief. Kleen posted a 1-1 mark with a 3.38 ERA and recorded two saves in four appearances, including a save in the upset of then-No. 1 Tulane. In 10.2 innings pitched, the right-hander allowed nine hits, four earned runs, walked four, and struck out six, while limiting opposing batters to a .231 average.
Baseball Pitcher of the Month - Nate Boman, USD
The sophomore left-hander was dominant on the mound for the Toreros in the month of February. Boman led San Diego with a 3-1 record, while recording 28 strikeouts in 25.2 innings of work. The San Diego native posted an impressive 1.75 ERA in the month, allowing just five earned runs on 17 hits, while limiting opposing batters to a .185 average. Boman was named WCC/Rawlings Pitcher of the Week, was named to the 2005 Aggies Baseball Classic all-tournament team, and was honored as one of the nation's top players, appearing on the College Baseball Foundation's national honor roll, after an outstanding pitching performance against then-No. 11 Texas A&M. Boman hurled a one-hit complete-game shutout leading San Diego to a 3-0 victory over the Aggies. Boman also posted a pair of career-firsts in February as his 10 strikeouts during San Diego's 6-2 victory over UC Davis were a career-high and his complete-game shutout against No. 11 Texas A&M was a career-first.
Women's Golfer of the Month - Eileen Vargas, PEP
Sophomore Eileen Vargas registered a pair of top 15 finishes, including tying for sixth place at the prestigious Northrop Grumman Regional Challenge on February 7-9 in Palos Verdes, California. Vargas led the Waves to the team title in a field that included 13 teams ranked in Golfweek's Top 30, which is arguably the strongest field outside of the NCAA Championships. In six total rounds, Vargas had a 73.67 stroke average. Her low round was 2-under par 69 in the final round of the Arizona Wildcat Invitational where she tied for 13th and helped Pepperdine to a fifth-place showing.
Men's Golfer of the Month - Michael Putnam, PEP
Putnam registered two top 15 finishes. He placed 15th at the Taylor Made / Waikoloa Intercollegiate and finished fifth at the USC Ashworth Invitational. In six rounds, Putnam posted a 69.3 stroke average, had five rounds under par and was a total of 13-under par for the two tournaments.
Men's Tennis Player of the Month - Scott Doerner, PEP
Doerner posted a 4-1 record during the month, including a key straight sets win over then-No. 9 Alex Slovic of Washington. His lone setback came versus then-No. 44 Benjamin Becker of top ranked Baylor.
Women's Tennis Player of the Month - Bianca Dulgheru, PEP
Dulgheru finished the month with a five match winning streak. Dulgheru is currently ranked No. 68 in the ITA rankings . All her wins were by straight sets.
Men's Doubles Team of the Month - Scott Doerner/Pedro Rico, PEP
The duo posted a 4-1 record playing at the No. 1 singles spot. Ranked No. 21 in the ITA rankings. Defeated then-No. 18 Matalonga/O'Grady of Arizona.
Women's Doubles Team of the Month - Erin Ivey/Kimi Kaloi, LMU
Racked up a 3-1 doubles record during February, playing mainly at the No. 2 spot for the Lions.The duo's biggest win came against 39th-ranked Arizona in Tucson, when they defeated Rochefort/Todorova 8-4. The two also defeated #74 Cal Poly's Lee/Thompson 9-7 and Cal State Fullerton's Le/Arias 10-8.