“This is a night of celebration,” announced Westmont’s Ken Kihlstrom, professor of physics and Westmont’s faculty athletic representative, as he kicked off the Thirteenth Annual Golden Eagle Scholar-Athlete Awards Dinner on Thursday night. Kihlstrom introduced Athletic Director Dave Wolf who served as the Master of Ceremonies.

The event, sponsored by Pete and Gerd Jordano and the Pacific Beverage Company honors one scholar-athlete from each of Westmont’s twelve intercollegiate teams for their accomplishments athletically, academically, spiritually and socially.

Despite allowing only one run in the first six innings, Westmont Baseball (5-24, 3-20) couldn’t contain the Lions of Vanguard (15-11, 12-10) in the final three innings and suffered at 12-4 loss at Russ Carr Field on Wednesday.

Westmont starter Erik Gaustad pitched six and one-third innings allowing only three runs on seven hits, but the Warrior’s bull pen allowed nine runs to score, eight of which were earned, in the final two and two-thirds innings while giving up 12 hits.

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On a cold, wet and windy Tuesday afternoon at Westmont’s Abbott Tennis Courts, the Warriors’ women’s tennis team picked up a win with a 9-0 sweep over the Mustangs of The Master’s (3-11, 1-6). During doubles play, the match was suspended for about 30 minutes as a storm cell moved through dumping rain and even a bit of sleet.

On court number three, Jennie Dunn and Emily Hughes finished their match with an 8-2 win over Elizabeth Orlosky and Sophia Garcia just before the weather delay. Sarah Kamida and Gabriela Michel, playing at number two doubles against Mary Buck and Nickie Truong, nearly finished before the interruption, but found themselves on hold with a 7-4 lead and a score of 30 with Michel serving. When play resumed, Michel and Kamida finished out the game with a win to claim the Warriors’ second team point.

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The Warriors held third-inning 4-2 leads in both games of a doubleheader, but left San Diego without a victory on Wednesday. San Diego Christian (14-10, 11-9) posted four run innings in both contests to secure an 8-5 victory in the first game and a 7-4 win in the second.

Westmont (5-21, 3-17) took advantage of a couple of errors to score four runs of their own in the third inning of game one. With one away, junior shortstop Anthony Martinez reached first on an error by the Hawk’s right fielder, and then moved to third on a double to left field by junior pitcher Erik Gaustad. Junior second baseman Valle then ripped a two-RBI triple to center field to give the Warriors a 2-0 lead.

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Ali Mooty has been named a 2006-07 NAIA Women’s Basketball Division I All-American. The sophomore center from Edina, Minn. rewrote the Warrior record books, scoring 528 points and pulling down 260 rebounds – both Westmont single season records. For the second year in a row, Mooty recorded eleven double-doubles. She scored double-digit points in all but one game this season while posting a season (and career) high of 32 against Hope International.

“Ali is so deserving of this award,” said head coach Kirsten McKnight. “She never ceases to amaze me with what she does on the court. She has been our ‘go to’ player all year. At times she has put our team on her back and said, ‘I’m going to win this game.’

“When you watch Ali play, it makes you want to play basketball with her because her attitude is infectious,” continued McKnight. “She plays with such joy. She has grown into such a competitive player, but it is a positive competitiveness. It’s about the team - helping us collectively have success, not looking for individual success. It is fun to see someone win an award that has done the right things to get there.”

The Cougars of Cal State San Marcos (10-14) produced 18 runs on 18 hits as Westmont Baseball (5-19) suffered an 18-4 loss on Tuesday in San Diego. Starter John Evans was charged with the loss after surrendering six runs, four of which were earned on seven hits in two and two-thirds innings of play.

The win was awarded to Ian Thompson who pitched one and one-third innings without allowing a run. The Cougars used eight different pitchers in the game with none taking the mound for more than two innings of work.

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Santiago Aguirre has been named a 2006-07 NAIA Men’s Basketball Division I All-American. The 6’ 8” center from Santa Barbara scored 523 points and pulled down 226 rebounds in his senior season to lead the Warriors to their first NAIA National Tournament appearance since 2003.

“Santiago is most deserving,” said head coach John Moore. “If there was any doubt before, his performance at the national tournament removed it.”

Aguirre, who was named to the third team, dazzled the crowd while scoring 20 points, recording 13 rebounds and dishing out five assists in Westmont’s 81-68 first round loss to #1 Robert Morris (Ill.).

“Sant has given a great deal to the Westmont men’s basketball program in many different ways. He has fit in well to our Princeton style of play and that has enabled him to become an outstanding player. It has been a great marriage between Westmont basketball and Santiago.”

Sophomore Ali Mooty recorded a double-double of 20 points and 10 rebounds while freshman Jessica Case added 13 points, boards and three steals. But #25 Westmont women’s basketball (17-13) could not overcome a .333 shooting percentage and fell to ninth ranked Trevecca Nazarene (26-6) by a score of 67-53 in the first round of the NAIA Women’s Basketball National Championship.

The Warriors were able to build a 21-11 advantage in the first half as they dominated the first 15 minutes of the game. But the Trojans ended the half on a 16-6 run to produce a halftime score of 27-27. Westmont scored first after the intermission on a layup by Mooty but then went cold, allowing Trevecca Nazarene to go on a 13-0 run over the next five minutes and 45 seconds. Fifty percent shooting from the floor (15 of 30) by the Trojans in the second half, prevented the Warriors from making up the difference.

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