Golden State Athletic Conference

Inaugural Volleyball Player of the Week

Tabitha Henken

Sep 6, 2010
Volleyball Player of the Week
Tabitha Henken ~ Point Loma Nazarene
Junior ~ 6-2 ~ Outside Hitter ~ Carlsbad, Calif.
Junior outside hitter Tabitha Henken recorded 82 kills (5.86 k/g) with a .441 hitting percentage, 36 digs (2.57 d/g), 7 assist blocks and 4 aces as Point Loma Nazarene won all 4 of its matches at the Asics/Crowne Plaza Labor Day Tournament. In a sweep of NCAA Division II Cal State Dominguez Hills, she had 15 kills without any errors and 11 digs. In a 3-0 win against Montana Tech, Henken averaged 7 kills per game without any errors and had 3 aces. In a 5-game win over No. 25-ranked Carroll, she had 24 kills and 10 digs. Henken was named the NAIA Volleyball Player of the Week.

Initial Men’s Soccer Players of the Week

Vinicius Dantas

Sep 6, 2010
Men’s Soccer Offensive Player of the Week
Vinicius Dantas ~ Azusa Pacific
Junior ~ 6-0 ~ Forward ~ Sao Paulo, Brazil
Junior forward Vinicius Dantas turned in consecutive 2-goal performances to record 8 points as Azusa Pacific won 6-1 against Holy Names and 4-0 against La Verne. Dantas hit the game-winners in both victories at the Westmont Heritage Club Classic.

Trevor Herrera

Sep 6, 2010
Men’s Soccer Defensive Player of the Week
Trevor Herrera ~ Vanguard
Sophomore ~ 5-10 ~ Goalkeeper ~ Lake Forest, Calif.
Senior goalkeeper Trevor Herrera made 4 saves and allowed only 1 goal in 2 games last week. He gave the Lions 45 minutes of scoreless work in goal during Vanguard’s 2-0 victory over Cal State San Marcos. Against NCAA Division II No. 6-ranked Cal State Dominguez Hills, Herrera worked all 110 minutes of the double overtime tie. He had 3 saves and gave up 1 goal as the teams ended with a 1-1 stalemate.

First Women’s Soccer Players of the Week

Fabiola da Silva

Sep 6, 2010
Women’s Soccer Offensive Player of the Week
Fabiola da Silva ~ California Baptist
Junior ~ 5-7 ~ Midfielder ~ Curitiba, Brazil
Junior Fabiola da Silva tallied 5 points with 2 goals and an assist as California Baptist split its games last week. She scored twice in a 5-0 win over UC Santa Cruz. Da Silva assisted on the game-tying goal in a 3-1 setback to NCAA Division II No. 14-ranked Cal State L.A.

Catherine Michaelis

Women’s Soccer Defensive Player of the Week
Catherine Michaelis ~ Fresno Pacific
Junior ~ 5-4 ~ Goalkeeper ~ Atwater, Calif.
Junior goalkeeper Catherine Michaelis made seven saves, only allowing 1 goal, to keep the game out of control in a 1-0 loss to NCAA Division II Cal State Stanislaus.

Fall Sports Underway

The fall sports of men’s & women’s cross country, men’s & women’s soccer and volleyball are underway. Several GSAC teams have competed in games and tournaments already. To see the master schedules and results for GSAC teams, use the sports links on the left and click Schedule. Once there, you may narrow down the list by team and/or by date by making selections in the pull-down menus and then clicking Change Dates.

GSAC has over 50 Scholar Teams for 2009-10

The GSAC had 52 total teams, representing all 13 conference sports, that qualified as NAIA Scholar Teams for the 2009-10 school year. To qualify for this honor, a team must have a 3.0 grade point average, which includes all varsity athletes that are eligible for that sport. For the complete story, go to www.naia.org. To see which GSAC teams qualified, go to Awards Search on the left OR click on the link for each sport on the left and then click Awards.

California Baptist Loses Coach in Accident

California Baptist cheerleading coach Wendy Rice died and several student athletes were injured in a 3-vehicle accident on Monday, August 9, near Bishop, CA. Rice was driving one of three vans carrying CBU cross country athletes to a high altitude training camp in Mammoth. For more information, go to www.cbulancers.com.

Another Banner Year for the GSAC

Coach Bryan Wilkins - Vanguard University

The 2009-10 season was another banner year for the Golden State Athletic Conference, as seen in the final standings of the Learfield Sports Directors’ Cup, which recognizes the best overall athletic programs in the NCAA and NAIA based on showings in national championship tournaments and meets. Azusa Pacific received the NAIA’s top award for a record-breaking sixth year in a row and was joined by Fresno Pacific, Concordia, and California Baptist in the top 7. The GSAC had 7 teams in the top 18 and a total of 9 conference teams made the rankings, all finishing in the top 100. The GSAC won 3 NAIA Championships during the year, bringing the total to 36 national titles since the conference began in 1986. National Coach of the Year and NAIA Player of the Year awards were given to 4 GSAC coaches and 4 GSAC athletes. Bryan Wilkins (right), the Vanguard cross country and track & field coach, was named the 2010 recipient of the NAIA Coach of Character Award. To see complete award lists for each sport, use the sports links on the left, and then click

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Baseball Slides Home with Awards

As the season closed, several GSAC baseball players received honors for their work on and off the field. NAIA All-America honors were given to Ryan Delgado, Azusa Pacific (1st team) and Sharif Othman, California Baptist (2nd team). Also, Garrett Rau, California Baptist short stop, and Westmont centerfielder Terrell Wong, were selected to the Rawlings-NAIA Gold Glove Team. Point Loma Nazarene players Chad Blauer, Tyler Kuehl and Rashad Taylor were named to the Avista-NAIA World Series All-Tournament Team. Several players were NAIA Scholar-Athletes. To see the list of honorees, go to GSAC Baseball Awards. In addition, 8 players (listed below) were selected in the Major League Baseball draft. For more information about NAIA players selected in the draft, go to www.naia.org.

12th round by Boston – Garrett Rau, California Baptist
24th round by Seattle – Bennett Whitmore, Concordia CA
25th round by New York Mets – Peter Birdwell, Vanguard
27th round by Chicago White Sox – Pete Gehle, Azusa Pacific
28th round by Chicago Cubs – Joseph Zeller, The Master’s
30th round by Kansas City – Chad Blauer, Point Loma
31st round by New York Mets – Steve Winnick, Point Loma
32nd round by Atlanta – Ryan Delgado, Azusa Pacific

GSAC Track & Field Earns Year-End Honors

GSAC track and field athletes earned many post-season awards. The top 6 finishers in each event qualified as All-Americans. A total of 4 GSAC athletes were NAIA individual champions in 5 different events, which are listed below. Several athletes earned Daktronics-NAIA Scholar-Athlete honors. To see the complete lists of honorees, go to GSAC Women’s Track & Field Awards and GSAC Men’s Track & Field Awards.

NAIA Track & Field Individual Champions

Natasha Miller, Biola – Heptathlon & High Jump
Jeff Jackson, The Master’s – Marathon
Nick Robinson, Concordia – Shot Put
Eugene Vollmer, Fresno Pacific – Triple Jump

APU Women Win Women’s Track & Field

The Azusa Pacific women’s team won the 2010 NAIA Outdoor Track & Field Championship which was hosted by Indiana Wesleyan in Marion, Indiana. The Cougars earned 1 more point than second-place Oklahoma Baptist to take the title. The eighth place finish by APU’s Emma Delira in the marathon for 1 point was the difference in the meet. Azusa Pacific Coach Mike Barnett was named the NAIA Women’s Outdoor Track & Field Coach of the Year. Natash Miller, from Biola, was the Women’s Most Valuable Performer scoring 22 points with wins in the heptathlon and high jump and a seventh place finish in the 100-meter hurdles. For the full story, go to naia.org. For complete meet results, go to GSAC Women’s Track & Field and GSAC Men’s Track & Field.