Arboleda takes a big step in leading Bruins golf
The following are updates on local athletes at the collegiate level.
Anton Arboleda (La Cañada High, 2010) UCLA golf junior: After leading the Spartans for a spell, Arboleda has moved his way into a similar role with the Bruins.
It showed in the Pac-12 Championship and NCAA Championship-qualifying Tempe Regional when Arboleda finished tied for third and fourth overall.
The La Cañada High graduate posted a team-best, four-round score of 278, which was two shots under par, at the conference tournament at the Los Angeles Country Club May 1. He opened the tournament with a pair of one-under 69 rounds and closed with even-par 70s in the final two days. He was later named an honorable mention to the Pac-12 All-Academic team.
Arboleda recorded a seven-under 203 in the Tempe Regional, as he dazzled with a three-under 67 on the final day, May 18.
The Bruins (1,415) took second in the Pac-12 and were only outdone by California, the No. 1-ranked team in the country at the time, which posted a 1,406. UCLA went on to win the Tempe Regional with a 30-under 810 over three rounds to advance to the NCAA Championship for the 11th year in a row.
UCLA and Arboleda suffered a setback in the NCAA Championship with a disappointing 26th-place team finish with a three-round score of 858 that was 18-over par. Arboleda tied for 128th in the event with a 10-over 220.
The former All-Area Boys’ Golfer of the Year still took a bigger step into the spotlight with UCLA in 2013 with five top-20 finishes and three of those coming in the top 10. He also had 10 rounds under par and seven more under 70 strokes.
Jay Lim (La Cañada High, 2011) sophomore, UC San Diego golf: After getting voted the Tritons MVP by his teammates as a freshman, Lim posted the team’s top 18-hole scoring average (75.2) and led UC San Diego to the NCAAs for the second year in a row.
The former Spartan and 2011 All-Area Boys’ Golfer of the Year had three top-10 finishes as a sophomore. His top finishes were a pair of sixth-place marks in the Wildcat Classic October 9, 2012, and the GCU Thunderbirds Invitational March 26. Lim shot an even 216 in the classic and two-over 218 in the invitational.
The season didn’t end as Lim may have hoped. He placed in a tie for 18th at the California Collegiate Athletic Assn. Men’s Golf Championship April 23 with a five-over 221 and shot 11-over 227 to tie for 82nd at the NCAA Division II South Central/West Regional May 8.
Lim’s lone under-par performance came at the Sonoma State Invitational October 16, 2012, with a one-under 215 that was good for a 12th-place tie.
AJ Kim (La Cañada High, 2009) senior catcher, Vassar College baseball: The former Spartan may not have put up impressive offensive numbers in his final collegiate season, but he remained a key for the Brewers. The backstop played in 32 of 39 games and started in all but one.
Kim batted .212 (18 for 85) this season with nine runs, three runs batted in and two doubles. As a catcher, he committed five errors in 178 chances for a .972 fielding percentage. He caught 17 of 37 would-be base stealers on the base paths.
The greatest stretch of his season came during a five-game hitting streak from April 20-27. He started the streak with a two-hit game in the second half of a doubleheader with Skidmore College and capped it with another two-hit game in the second half of a doubleheader with RIT.
In that span, he was seven for 15 to boost his batting average from .182 to .254.
Vassar College came in fourth place in the Liberty League with a 18-20-1, 12-14 in league record.