VIDEO: Highlights from the 2012-13 Hilltop Awards
In the fourth and final installment of USF's athletic season in review, we take a look at some of the top individual performances turned in over the course of this past year:
Baseball
Cecilio, Hinkle and Cimber Clamp Down on Beavers
Christian Cecilio, Haden Hinkle and Adam Cimber combined on a four-hitter as USF defeated third-ranked Oregon State, 5-1 in Corvallis to hand the Beavers their first loss of the season after 15 straight victories to open the season. The trio struck out 11 Beavers and walked just two in the victory.
Atkinson's Walk Off Caps Comeback Win Over San Diego
With one swing of the bat, sophomore Derek Atkinson provided one of the most dramatic wins in the history of USF's baseball program, as his three-run, game-ending home run lifted the Dons to a 10-8 victory over San Diego at the WCC Championships in Stockton. USF fell behind 6-0 but rallied to cut the Toreros lead to 8-7 with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning. Down to their last strike, Atkinson clubbed a Max McNabb fastball over the right field fence at Banner Island Ballpark to send the Dons to the championship game. Atkinson finished the game going 3-for-4 with four RBI.
Mott's Stellar Relief Performance Helps Dons to NCAA Regional Victory
At the end, it was a sacrifice fly by Bob Cruikshank that delivered the game-winning run in USF's 4-3, 13-inning win over South Dakota State in the NCAA Regional in Eugene, Ore. However, Bob Mott's stellar 3.2 innings of relief work, in which he stranded the potential game-winning run in the ninth, 10th and 11th innings, helped the Dons fend off elimination against the Jackrabbits.
Men's Basketball
Impressive Debut
With so many new faces on the Dons roster, there were bound to be some opening night jitters when USF opened its season against defending NIT champion Stanford at Oracle Arena. In his collegiate debut, freshman Avry Holmes came off the bench to pour in 17 points on 6-of-8 shooting from the floor, including 3-of-5 from 3-point range, en route to a 17-point performance against the Cardinal. Holmes earned a spot of the WCC's All-Freshmen team after he averaged 6.7 points and led the conference in 3-point field goal percentage at .471, which was the second-highest single-season mark in school history.
Dickerson's Doubles
Cole Dickerson had many impressive performances during a season in which he led the Dons in both scoring and rebounding. The junior forward recorded 13 double-doubles (points-rebounds) over the course of the season, which was the highest total in the West Coast Conference and tied for 24th nationally. To single out just one is no easy task. Here's a vote for his 27 point, 11-rebound effort in the Dons 86-78 victory at Pepperdine on Feb. 2. Dickerson nailed 4-of-6 of his 3-point attempts and scored 17 of his 27 points in the second half as USF overcame a seven-point deficit to snap a two-game losing streak.
Women's Basketball
Double Dose of Proctor
Freshman phenom Taylor Proctor messed with Texas in a 60-61 overtime win at Texas-San Antonio, tying the game from the free throw line to force the extra period and hitting her first collegiate buzzer beater as time expired. Finishing with a career-high 21 points and 14 rebounds, Proctor helped the team to its first road win of the season against the Roadrunners. Proctor was rewarded for her efforts throughout the season with a selection to the WCC All-Freshman team, along with fellow first-year Don Zhane Dikes. The selection of two USF freshmen for all-conference honors is just the second occurrence in program history.
Valentine's Day Sweet in Portland
Along with chocolate-covered confections from a local favorite, USF had another sweet treat in store for Valentines Day in Portland, Ore. Behind Mel Khlok's 23 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists, USF posted a 75-71 victory at the Chiles Center to complete the season sweep of the Pilots. Khlok narrowly missed becoming the 15th player in the nation to earn a triple-double during the 2012-13 season.
Men's Cross Country
Madera Becomes First USF Runner to Earn All-Region Honors
After earning a 15th place finish at the West Coast Conference championships, Jose Madera propelled himself to a personal best of 30:14.58 in the 10K to finish 24th in the NCAA West Regional. Madera, a junior from Anaheim, Calif., earned distinction as a USTFCCCA All-Region performer, becoming the first male in program history to do so. Throughout the 2012 season, Madera competed in five events, always finishing as a top 25 performer and placing a season-high fifth at Santa Clara's Bronco Invitational.
Women's Cross Country
Krchova Paces Dons to Fourth Straight WCC Title
Eva Krchova became the first USF female runner to win the West Coast Conference's individual title as her time of 20:31.56 paced the Dons to their fourth straight conference championship. Krchova was one of five USF runners to finish in the top-10 in the individual standings, along with Elena Burkard (2nd), Alice Baker (6th), Laura Suur (7th) and Chloe Trelevan (10th). Krchova joins USF alumni Cheyne Inman, 2007 men's champion, as the only two individual conference medalists in program history.
Men's Golf
Sebastian Crookall-Nixon Shoots School-Record 63
Playing in just his fifth collegiate event, freshman Sebastian Crookall-Nixon shot a school-record low round of 63 in the first round of the Alister MacKenzie Invitational, held at the Meadow Club in Fairfax. His final card featured six birdies and two eagles. Crookall-Nixon finished tied for seventh in the event after following with rounds of 73 and 69.
Women's Golf
Lundstrom's Birdie Barrage
Freshman Emelie Lundstrom was three-over on her first round at the Peg Barnard Invitational when she reeled off five straight birdies on holes 11 through 15 at Stanford Golf Course. She eventually carded a 74.
Men's Soccer
Mauricio's Magic Helps Dons to 2-1 Victory at Gonzaga
Junior Mauricio Diaz de Leon scored two goals to lead USF to a 2-1 road victory over Gonzaga on Sept. 30. He got the Dons on the board in the 35th minute after burying a shot from 12-feet out off a beautiful 40-yard pass from David Romney. With the score tied at 1-1, Diaz de Leon used his quickness and ball skills to beat Gonzaga keeper Chris Lowrimore for the game-winning goal in the 71st minute.
Women's Soccer
Krieser Scores Twice in 4-1 Victory Over Sacramento State
After spotting Cal State-Sacramento an early 1-0 lead, sophomore Mackenzie Krieser scored back-to-back goals to lift USF to a 4-1 victory over the visiting Hornets on Aug. 31, at Negoesco Stadium. Her first goal came from the top of the box courtesy of Kelsey Moe, who fought off several Hornets in the far corner before delivering a spot-on cross to Krieser, who gathered the ball with her back to the goal, turned in one smooth motion and fired a shot with her left foot into the upper left side of the goal. Krieser scored what proved to be the game-winning goal early in the second half off an assist from junior Christina Moberg.
Men's Tennis
Rising to the Occasion
After losing the doubles point to Santa Clara, Germain Bahri, William Schumacher, Thai Tu and Nils Skajaa won their respective singles matches to lead USF to a 4-2 victory over the Broncos in the quarterfinals of the WCC Championships in San Diego. The win was USF's first over Santa Clara since the 2009-10 season.
Women's Tennis
Signs of Things to Come
Though USF dropped a 4-3 decision to Santa Clara in its WCC opener at Golden Gate Park on March 3, freshman Andrea Ka served noticed that she would be a force to be reckoned with for years to come when she defeated Katie Le, the 30th-ranked player in the nation at the time, in straight sets. Ka was named WCC's Freshman of the Year after finishing her first collegiate season with a record of 22-7, including an 18-5 mark as the Dons' top singles player.
Ka also teamed with fellow freshman Sofia Holmberg to form the Dons' top doubles team. The freshmen duo combined for a 13-9 record atop the Dons' lineup, which included an impressive win over Tulsa's top tandem of Samantha Vickers and Isaura Enrique, which was ranked 22nd nationally in the ITA rankings.
Men's Track and Field
Going the Distance
Freshman Eric Causey's first steps on the track in collegiate competition resulted in a time for the record books. The Encinitas, Calif., native smashed the USF school record in the 5,000 meters by more than 15 seconds en route to a fourth place finish at the SF State Distance Carnival on March 29. His next time on the track, in the 10,000 meters at the Mt. SAC Invitational on April 18, Causey yet again went the distance in record-breaking fashion. His time of 29:38.44 was the first sub-30 minute performance in school history, knocking off nearly half a minute from the previous record best. Causey's performances in both the 5,000 and 10,000 meters earned qualifying marks for the NCAA Preliminary Championships, where he concentrated on the 10,000 meters in Austin, Texas.
Women's Track and Field
On a Whirl With Sophie Curl
Sophie Curl's season was chock full of personal and school bests for the junior from Bellingham, Wash. The Anne Dolan Award winner as USF's top female student-athlete raced to school record in the 1,500 meters at the Payton Jordan Invitational, and finished with the 24th best time in the NCAA this season. She also ran to collegiate bests in the mile, 3,000 meters, as well as setting an outdoor record mark in the 5,000 meters in her first collegiate competition at the distance. Curl competed in the NCAA Preliminary Championships in Austin, Texas, where she finished 15th.
New Year, New Country, New Records
Arriving in the United States at the start of 2013, it was short order before Jana Soethout, a junior from Cologne, Germany, began making a name for herself in a USF track uniform. In her first competition as a Don, the junior from Cologne, Germany, set a new school best in the 5,000 meters winning the race at the Husky Classic during the indoor season. At the Stanford Invitational, Soethout broke the USF record in the 10,000 meters, running a time of 34:07.61 to qualify for the NCAA Preliminary Championships. In just her second complete race suited up in Green and Gold, she finished fourth in the semifinals in the West Region to earn a place in the field at the NCAA Championships in Eugene, Ore.
Women's Volleyball
Dig Master
Redshirt sophomore libero Rebecca Kopilovitch notched the third-best single-season dig total with 522, a mark that twice ties her with Haley Carroll. The native of Israel now has two top 10 seasons and already owns ninth on the career standings list with two seasons yet to play. For her efforts she was selected as the West Coast Conference Co-Defensive Player of the Year, the second time a Doron-coached player has won the award (Carroll, 2007). Kopilovitch's accomplished season was highlighted by 28 digs in three sets against Saint Mary's, which was just one shy of the school best for a three-set match.
Sand Volleyball
Hitting on All Cylinders
Two women posted season attack percentages nearing .400 during the inaugural sand volleyball season. Playing in the No. 1 doubles pair, Valentina Zaloznik finished with an attack percentage of .366, including 95 kills and 20 service aces. She posted a season- and team-high .667 attack percentage with 14 kills, 10 digs and 6 aces in USF's first-ever win in program history at Sacramento State. But the season's high water mark came off the effective hitting of Inbar Vinarsky. Playing out of the No. 5 position, Vinarsky amassed 77 kills on 146 total attacks to finish with a team-high .397 attack percentage for the season. She added 24 aces, including three matches with six apiece. The Dons finished third in the Northern California Sand Volleyball Consortium with an overall record of 5-3.
