SMC Basketball, Soccer Join Forces For Exhibitions

In what has become an annual rite of Spring, the Saint Mary’s basketball and soccer programs are teaming up to raise awareness for a good cause and engage in a bit of good-natured competition.

The festivities begin Friday at 5:30 p.m. in McKeon Pavilion when the women’s basketball team hosts the men’s soccer team in a basketball exhibition. Admission is free for both events.

The action moves to the pitch at 7:30, when the women’s soccer team hosts the men’s basketball team in an exhibition on the SMC Recreation Field (turf field behind McKeon).

At both games, the Saint Mary’s College Women’s Resource Center will have a table set up to spread awareness against sexual assault. Fans will have the opportunity to donate to the Women’s Resource Center at both games.

Join the Gaels for an evening of cross-sport fun!

McClung advances to US Open Sectional qualifying

Saint Mary’s senior Mac McClung was among five players to advance out of US Open local qualifying and advance for sectionals Monday at Ruby Hill Golf Club in Pleasanton.

McClung was one of four players tied for fourth at even-par 71, with two players earning qualifying spots and two earning alternate spots after a sudden-death playoff. The two players to survive the playoff were both amateurs from Fremont -  McClung and Hayden Shieh, who beat out professionals Cameron Rappleye and Jake Sarnoff. McClung, who is a part of the Gaels 2-time WCC championship golf team, had three birdies, a bogey and double bogey in his round, with all three birdies on his second nine.

Teammate Nick Sako finished just one shot off qualifying with a 1-over 72, while Ben Geyer shot 73 and Alex Bungert finished with a 77.

The five players moving on will make their next stop at a U.S. Open Sectional Qualifying site on June 3. The California site for U.S. Open Sectional Qualifying is at Big Canyon CC in Newport Beach.

Pair of Gaels selected to Aussie national hoops squad

Mitchell Young and Clint Steindl are among 17 players named to an Australian national team training camp that will select a team for the upcoming Sino-Australia Challenge, scheduled for early June.  11 of the invitees currently play in the National Basketball League (NBL), while four are U.S.-based college players.

“I look forward to working with this group as we build the program for the future,” said head coach Andrej Lemanis.  “It is an exciting time for the coaching staff to get involved with the next generation of Boomers as we align both the Emerging Boomer and Boomer programs.  The better our talent pool and the more competition there is for positions on the team moving forward, obviously the healthier the program.”

The camp begins on Sunday, June 2 with the team reduced to 12 players before the start of the four-game event.

2013 Sino-Australia Challenge

 

 

Herrick to serve as Sounders FC backup this weekend

Former Saint Mary’s goalkeeper Doug Herrick will serve as the backup to starter Michael Gspurning for Seattle Sounders FC this weekend when the Major League Soccer side hosts the San Jose Earthquakes.

Herrick, a MLS pool player, – which means he has signed a contract with the league and can be picked-up by any team for emergency duty – spent time as a member of the Sounders’ U23 team after his career at Saint Mary’s concluded after the 2011 WCC championship season.

He will replace veteran Marcus Hahnemann, who is serving an unusual one-game suspension after cursing an official from the bench in Seattle’s 1-0 win at Sporting Kansas City on Wednesday.

Saturday’s game will kickoff at 1 p.m. and will be televise live on Comcast SportsNet California.

Samhan’s German team set for 2nd round playoff game today

Omar Samhan’s ratiopharm Ulm team in the German BBL enters game two of today’s playoff quarterfinals with a 1-o series lead over Artland Dragons.  The two teams meet this morning at 10 a.m. (Pacific time) then will play game three on Saturday at 6 a.m. (Pacific).  It appears Saturday’s game will be streamed live at this website.

Samhan has played 12 games with Ulm since moving to Germany and is averaging 5.4 points and 4.7 rebounds per game, while shooting 57 percent from the field.

The winner of the quarterfinal series will face the winner of the series between EWE Baskets Oldenberg and Telekom Baskets Bonn.

You can follow Omar’s European exploits on his Facebook page.

SMC golfers find out NCAA tournament assignment tonight

The two-time West Coast Conference champion Saint Mary’s golf team find out where it will be headed for NCAA regional championships tonight at 6 p.m. when the sport selection show takes place on NCAA.com.

The Gaels are ranked 23rd in the most recent golfstat.com rankings and are tied for 24th in the Golf World/Nike Division I coaches poll.

As the WCC team champion, the Gaels automatically qualified for the program’s fourth NCAA regional appearance and will be competing for a spot in the NCAA Championships – scheduled for May 28-June 2 in Atlanta, Ga.

NCAA Regionals are scheduled for May 16-18 at six sites around the country, including:

• University Club, Baton Rouge, La.; Host: LSU
• Golden Eagle Country Club, Tallahassee, Fla.; Host: Florida State
• The Scarlet Course, Columbus, Ohio; Host: Ohio State
• The Blessings Golf Club, Fayetteville, Ark.; Host: Arkansas
• Karsten Golf Course, Tempe, Ariz.; Host: Arizona State
• Palouse Ridge Golf Club, Pullman, Wash.; Host: Washington State

Mills provides interesting dilemma for Gael fans

With Golden State’s‘ 92-88 game 6 victory over the Denver Nuggets last night in the NBA playoffs, the Warriors now face second-seeded San Antonio and former Saint Mary’s star Patty Mills in the Western Conference semifinals.

The Warriors, which also feature an Aussie in center Andrew Bogut, are into the second round of the playoffs for the first time in six years after a 4-2 series win over Denver.  San Antonio defeated the Los Angeles Laker 4-0 to advance.

The first two games of the series are Monday and Wednesday, both with 6:30 p.m. (Pacific) tipoffs and both games will be televised on TNT.

Mills, who paired with Matthew Dellavedova as the starting backcourt for the Australian National Team at the 2012 London Olympics, averaged 5.1 points and 1.1 assists in 58 appearances this season for the Spurs.

So…  Root for Patty?  Or, cheer on the home team?  Gael fans win either way!