Dominguez Hills Pitcher Named to Academic Team

Cal State Dominguez Hills pitcher Anne Ibarra recently became the school’s first athlete to be named to the GTE Academic All-American national team.

Ibarra, 22, was one of only two players from the West Region to earn the honor. The 34-person team is selected from athletes attending NCAA Division II, Division III and National Assn. of Intercollegiate Athletics schools, as well as community colleges.

“I knew I was nominated, but I didn’t realize how unique the award was until I got the letter and plaque,” Ibarra said. “Balancing sports and studying is something I’ve done all my life. In high school I was always on the honor roll. It discourages the ‘dumb jock’ theory.”

An athletic training major, Ibarra earned a 3.52 grade-point average as a senior. She led the 1992 Toro pitching staff with a 17-11 record and a 0.65 earned-run average and was named to the NCAA Division II All-Region team.

As a junior in 1991, Ibarra became the first pitcher in Dominguez Hills history to win 20 games in a season and the first since 1985 to throw a no-hitter (against UC San Diego).

In her two-year career at Dominguez Hills, Ibarra set school records for most appearances (36), most starts (32), most complete games (32) and most innings pitched (228 1/3).

At Mary Star, Ibarra was a four-time All-Camino Real League selection and the league’s player of the year as a senior. She was also a two-time All-Southern Section pick. Ibarra, who also played basketball and volleyball at Mary Star, led the softball team to three consecutive league titles.

After high school, Ibarra was an All-Bay Valley Conference pitcher at Mendicino College. This summer she is pitching for a Montclair-based softball team that has qualified for the Amateur Softball Assn. nationals in St. Louis in August.

Ibarra says she will miss not playing softball next season, but plans to return to Dominguez Hills to be a student trainer for the baseball team. Last year, she worked with the men’s and women’s soccer teams.

“I could be a trainer for the softball team, but I don’t think I will,” she said. “It would be too hard for me to be there. I’ll probably be a baseball trainer and I’ll travel with the team. That will be nice because my brother (pitcher Rick Ibarra) will be a senior, and I won’t be too far from the softball field.”