College Update: La Cañada High’s Shurie turns in All-American season
The following are updates on local athletes at the collegiate level.
Kirstie Shurie (La Cañada High, 2012) Clarkson volleyball junior: Shurie played a major part in a successful season for Clarkson and a decorated season for herself.
Shurie’s cavalcade of honors culminated with her earning the program’s second-ever second-team American Volleyball Coaches Assn. All-American accolade on Nov. 19.
Clarkson’s season concluded two days later when it was swept by Hope, 25-16, 25-21, 25-20, in the NCAA Division III quarterfinals. Shurie had 27 assists and seven digs in the match.
Shurie’s season saw her tally 1,181 assists in 108 sets and 33 matches. She added 234 digs, 38 aces and 35 kills.
Shurie’s 10.94 assists ranked her in the top 10 in the country and led the Liberty League by greater than three per set.
In addition to her All-American nod, Shurie was an AVCA All-Region first-team selection and a Liberty League First-Team All-Star as a unanimous choice.
Clarkson went 37-4 en route to the quarterfinals, with Shurie earning the most outstanding player honor in the Hoboken Regional. She had 11 matches in which she dished out 40 or more assists and twice had better than 50. She was also the Liberty League Player of the Week four times and an all-academic all-league player.
Peter Chodas (Flintridge Prep, 2011) Cornell soccer senior: Chodas finished off perhaps the greatest season during his Cornell tenure in dramatic fashion.
On Nov. 15, Cornell ended its season with a 1-0 double-overtime win over Columbia in which Conor Goepel scored off a corner kick sequence that started with Chodas, who took the corner.
Cornell finished the year at 10-6-1, 3-4 in the Ivy League and Chodas concluded his career as the most active player in program history, having tallied a team-record 6,057 minutes played and having tied the team record of 65 starts.
The defender tallied a career-high five assists and earned All-Ivy League first-team recognition. It came during a season in which Chodas led a defense that recorded a program record 11 shutouts and matched a record set a season prior with Chodas also on board of with 11 total goals allowed.
Chodas, who had three assists in the Big Red’s 5-0 victory against Buffalo on Sept. 27, was also one of five Cornell male athletes to earn All-Ivy Academic honors.
Ethan Vandeventer (Flintridge Prep, 2014) Fordham water polo freshman: An All-Area selection at this time last year, Vandeventer made a seamless transition to the collegiate level.
The Rams concluded their season with a 9-8 win over MIT in the ninth-place match of the Collegiate Water Polo Assn. Championship on Nov. 23. Fordham finished 16-18.
Vandeventer had a goal and an assist in the finale.
Overall, he played in all 34 games with 26 goals, 30 assists and 39 steals.
Ian Hamilton (St. Francis High, 2011) University of Texas El Paso football senior: With UTEP having assured its first winning season in nine years and advancing to a bowl game for the first time in four years, Hamilton left a lasting impression even though the Miners’ turnaround campaign ended with a 21-6 loss to Utah State in the Gildan New Mexico Bowl.
In the run-heavy game — the teams combined for 86 carries — Hamilton turned in a game-high four catches for a game-best 79 yards.
Hamilton hauled in a 53-yard reception on third and 10 in the first quarter that led to a 3-0 lead for the Miners. But UTEP’s offense was largely held in check.
The 6-foot-5 Hamilton was the Miners’ most consistent big-play threat at receiver, hauling in 27 catches for a team-high 579 yards with two touchdowns.
Hamilton started all 13 games for the Miners (7-6).
Jared Lebowitz (St. Francis High, 2013) UNLV football sophomore: When the opportunity came calling, Lebowitz leap-frogged from the third-string slot onto the field, getting his first NCAA action with the Rebels.
Lebowitz saw playing time in three games for UNLV, filling in due to injury.
The former All-Area Football Player of the Year had his ups and downs, completing 26 of 62 passes for 344 yards, a touchdown and an interception. His first NCAA touchdown pass was a 40-yard strike on Nov. 15 in a 42-23 loss to BYU.
Lebowitz also had an 18-yard touchdown run Nov. 22 against Hawaii in a 37-35 defeat. The Hawaii game was Lebowitz’ first NCAA start.
UNLV struggled to a 2-11 mark and a 1-7 showing in the Mountain West Conference in what was Bobby Hauck’s final season as coach. Hauck resigned following the season.
Eric Verso (St. Francis High, 2011) Stanford soccer junior: The former All-Area Boys’ Soccer Player of the Year made the most of his opportunities with the Cardinal this past season.
Verso made seven starts during the Cardinal’s 13-3-3 season, playing in 16 of 19 games, but led the team with 15 points (five goals and five assists). His 46% shot-on-goal percentage was also tops of the team.
Top-seeded Stanford was upset in the second round of the NCAA Tournament by UC Irvine, 1-0, in overtime. It was the Cardinal’s only home loss of the season. Verso came off the bench in the defeat.
Verso, a Pacific 12 Conference All-Academic second-team selection, also had two game-winning goals on the season.
His younger brother Mark, also a former All-Area selection, played in seven games for Stanford, the Pac-12 champion.
Mary Schroeder (Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy, 2010) Regis volleyball senior: A 6-foot-3 outside hitter who transferred from UC Davis for her senior season, Schroeder made a large impact for Regis, tallying 297 kills, which was third highest on the team.
Schroeder played in all 29 of Regis’ matches and 103 of 106 sets, as the Rangers went 19-4, The team concluded its season with a 25-19, 25-18, 22-25, 17-25, 16-14 loss to West Texas A&M on Nov. 21 in the first round of the NCAA Division II Tournament. Schroeder had 10 kills and five digs.
She ended the season with four consecutive matches with double-digit kills.
A five-game win over Colorado Mesa on Sept. 12 saw Schroeder notch a season-high 19 kills.
Former All-Area honoree Alessandra Orlandini, a junior defensive specialist out of Flintridge Sacred Heart, had eight digs in the team’s season-ending loss to West Texas A&M. She averaged 2.76 digs per set and had 293 (tied for second most on the team) for the season along with 39 assists in 29 matches and 106 sets.
Laura Schroeder, a junior right side/outside hitter out of La Cañada High, played in seven matches and nine sets for Regis with a kill and two digs in her last match of the season on Sept. 27 in a sweep of Western State.
Ryan McAleenan (St. Francis High, 2012) UNLV football sophomore: In his first season with the Rebels, McAleenan became a starter at linebacker.
He played in all 13 games and tallied 70 tackles, which was fourth highest on the team.
UNLV struggled to a 2-11 season and went 1-7 in the Mountain West Conference, its season finale coming with a 49-27 loss to Nevada, Reno on Nov. 30. McAleenan had six tackles.