Younker, Cal Lu head to playoffs
The following are updates on area athletes at the collegiate level.
Rian Younker (St. Francis High, 2009) junior, Cal Lutheran football: The Kingsmen closed out a dominating regular season with wins over Chapman and Occidental for a 8-1 and undefeated, 6-0, Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference record.
Younker, a defensive lineman, has been a force for Cal Lutheran this year, raking up a fourth-most 37 tackles (20 solo, 17 assisted) for his team this year. He also has 11 ½ tackles for a loss, six of which were sacks – both of which are team highs. He’s also credited for hurrying opposing quarterbacks a team-high four times.
Younker had three tackles in a 61-31 victory over Chapman on Nov. 5 and two tackles, one for a loss, in a 70-20 win against Occidental on Saturday.
The win puts No. 8 Cal Lutheran in a NCAA Tournament game against fifth-ranked Linfield (9-0) at noon at Maxwell Field in McMinnville, Ore. on Saturday. Linfield beat the Kingsmen, 24-14, in the first game of the season on Sept. 10 and have been the only team to do so this year.
There is plenty of history between the two squads, who have met five times in the last three years. Linfield has defeated Cal Lutheran in the first round of the playoffs in 2009 and 2010.
“I knew that we would eventually go through McMinnville, Oregon at some point,” Kingsmen Coach Ben McEnroe told the university’s website. “It’s become like our home away from home. They are a great program and we are very familiar with each other. I think this is the best team we’ve had with the best chance to compete up there.”
Arash Mahboubi (La Cañada High, 2010) freshman, Pomona-Pitzer men’s soccer: In one year, Mahboubi went from leading the Spartans’ midfield to the Sagehens and earned second-team All-Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference honors in the process.
The freshman emerged as a leader for Pomona-Pitzer right away, filling in as the team’s primary center midfielder and finishing with three goals and two assists. Mahboubi proved to have a flair for the dramatic, as all three of his goals were game-winners.
The Sagehens finished the season with a 10-9, 9-5 in conference, record and fell to the University of Redlands, 3-0, in the semifinals of the conference tournament on Nov. 2.
Jenna Orlandini (Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy, 2009) sophomore, University of Washington volleyball: The Huskies pulled out what was perhaps their biggest win of the season, a five-game victory, 25-18, 25-27, 19-25, 25-22, 15-10, over No. 3 Stanford on Friday.
Orlandini came up big defensively for Washington, racking up a match-high 29 digs – a career high for the sophomore – and contributing six assists. On the season, the former Tolog has a team-high 359 digs, 19 aces and 68 assists
Washington has continued to take a dive in the national rankings, dropping three of its last four matches, and falling to No. 11 after checking in as high as No. 3 earlier in the year.
The Huskies fell at top-ranked UCLA (28-26, 25-13, 28-26) and No. 4 USC (25-15, 25-16, 25-21) on Nov. 4 and 5, respectively, before the victory over Stanford. Washington ended up falling to the fifth-ranked California Bears (25-21, 25-23, 22-25, 25-23) the next day, though.
The Huskies (19-7, 11-7 in conference) have four matches left in the season to build up some momentum heading into the NCAA Championship tournament, which begins on Dec. 1.
Chris Tosello (La Cañada High, 2008) junior, Menlo College football: Tosello was named the Beyond Sports Network NAIA Defensive Player of the Week on Oct. 31 after he picked up a game-high three sacks and four total tackles in a 23-6 loss to Linfield College on Oct. 29.
The junior became the first Oak to capture the honor this season and was only one of six defensive players in the nation to take home the award. The season did not end as hoped for Menlo College, who dropped its last four games after starting the season on a four-game winning streak.
Tosello was his dominant self in the Oaks final game of the season, a 25-19 loss at Southern Oregon, as he recorded six tackles and three sacks. He finished the season with 35 tackles (25 solo, 10 assisted) and a team-high 11 sacks and 13 tackles for loss.
Anton Arboleda (La Cañada High, 2009) sophomore, UCLA men’s golf: Arboleda has set himself up for a big sophomore season with the No. 8 ranked Bruins, emerging as one of the team’s top golfers.
The former Spartan has posted a top-10 and top-20 finish and recorded one under-par performance six tournaments into the season. Most recently, Arboleda helped UCLA take second place in the Gifford Collegiate Championship, which concluded Nov. 2, by shooting a three-over-par 74 at the CordeValle Golf Club in San Martin.
Arboleda’s best finish so far this season came at the Jack Nicklaus Invite at Muirfield Village on Oct. 11 and 12. The sophomore shot a 74 on the par-72 course and tied for ninth in the tournament. Arboleda tied for 12th in the next tournament, the Windon Memorial Classic, which was held on Oct. 16 and 17 at Evanston Golf Course. He shot a one-under-par 69.
The Bruins will take a few months off before heading to Hawaii for the two-day Amer Ani Invitational, which begins Feb. 1.