Pociejewski right at home in UIC's softball lineup
Kayla Pociejewski, one of the all-time leading home run hitters in Maine West softball history, is coming back home.
After studying her freshman year of college at Arizona State, Pociejewski has joined the Illinois-Chicago softball team, where she will play for coach Lynn Curylo.
As a senior shortstop in 2016, Pociejewski led Maine West with 9 homers, 34 RBI and a .506 batting average. As a junior, she hit .471 with 10 homers, 40 RBI and 40 runs.
"I've been saying it for two years," said former Warriors coach Mike McGovern after Pociejewski's senior campaign. "Kayla is a five-tool player. She's played catcher, shortstop and center fielder for us. She can probably play every position on the field except pitch - and play them well."
Pociejewski had a standout career playing at Maine West High School, where she served as a multifaceted player, rotating across the infield, behind the plate and in the outfield.
Pociejewski was a three time all-area selection and MVP for the Warriors.
Women's golf
Before heading back to Normal this fall for her senior year at Illinois State, Kiley Walsh will have a much longer road trip in early August.
The Prospect graduate shot a 71 on June 30 at the Bridges of Poplar Creek golf course to qualify for the USGA Women's Amateur Championship Aug. 7-13 at the San Diego Country Club, in Chula Vista, Calif.
"The USGA is very happy to return to the San Diego Country Club," said Thomas J. O'Toole Jr., USGA vice president and chairman of the Championship Committee in a news release.
"Southern California has consistently provided a vibrant backdrop for our national championships, and we are confident that the San Diego Country Club will again provide an outstanding test and gracious hospitality to the competitors."
This will be the 77th USGA championship conducted in the state of California and the third held at the San Diego Country Club.
Walsh birdied her 18th hole and finished in a tie for 3rd place in her qualifying round.
Men's basketball
Cornell College first-year head men's basketball coach Dave Schlabaugh has named John Androus (Lakes) as his lead assistant for the 2017-18 season.
Androus graduated from Lakes as its all time leading scorer and then was a four-year player at Luther College (2010-14).
He has been a graduate assistant the past two seasons at NAIA's Mount Mercy University.
The Lindenhurst native fills Cornell's full-time assistant position that was held by Schlabaugh in 2016-17.
"We are very excited to have John join our coaching staff," said Schlabaugh in a school's news release. "John emerged from a large pool of candidates and is a perfect fit for our program.
"I've had great feedback on what John can bring to our program from a lot of people I trust in basketball. He had a great career at Luther playing for Coach (Mark) Franzen. John does an amazing job relating to players and will be a valuable recruiter."
Androus was part of Mount Mercy's 2016-17 squad that finished 21-12, tied for second in the Heart of America Conference and earned a berth in the NAIA Division I National Tournament.
The previous season, the Mustangs went 26-8 and advanced to the Sweet 16 of the NAIA Division II National Tournament under Androus' guidance.
Androus served as Mount Mercy's top assistant and head JV coach during his two seasons in Cedar Rapids. He was head freshmen coach at Antioch High School in 2014-15.
Androus earned a bachelor's degree in political science with a minor in classical studies from Luther in May 2014.
A three-year team captain at Luther, Androus finished in the program's career top-10 in points, rebounds, assists, steals and field goal percentage. A two-time all-Iowa Conference selection, Androus earned first team honors as a senior and was tabbed to the D3hoops.com All-West Region Second Team. In 2012-13, he was voted IIAC Defensive Player of the Year.
Androus helped lead the Norse to 71 victories during his playing career in Decorah, IA.
Luther claimed two IIAC regular-season championships (2012-13, 2010-11) and took second in the IIAC Tournament his senior season. As a freshman, Luther won IIAC regular-season and tournament titles and advanced to the Round of 32 at the NCAA Division III Tournament.
Androus was invited to play on the USA Division III Select Team in July 2014. The team played against professional clubs in Brazil.
Cornell returns the nucleus of last season's 12-12 squad that finished third in the Midwest Conference and made its first postseason appearance since 2009-10.
Men's golf
Former Hersey golfer and tennis player Jason Dean was awarded a Hersey scholarship with the Tom Pitchford award for the teamwork he displayed on the Hersey boys tennis team this past spring.
Although he loves tennis, Dean will try out for the Hope College men's golf team this August in Holland, Mich. Both sports have fall and spring calendars, so he decided to give golf a try this fall.
Women's track and field
North Central junior Tori Capozziello (Schaumburg) earned Jack Swartz Academic All-College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin honors for the fourth straight season.
Women's tennis
Augustana seniors Lauren Goggin (Buffalo Grove) and Dana Goggin (Buffalo Grove) finished their careers prominently in the Vikings' record book.
Lauren finished with a school-record 196 career combined victories and Dana leaves as the school's all-time leader in doubles wins with 102.
Lauren also set a school record for singles wins in a season (33-6) and finished second on the school's career list with 100 singles wins. She went 24-12 at second doubles in 2016-17, giving her 96 doubles wins for her career - second in school history. With a record of 25-7, coach Jon Miedema's Vikings set a school record for dual meet wins and won their second straight CCIW championship.
This year's player of the year in the CCIW, Lauren finished her career with records of 100-40 in singles and 96-42 in doubles and on June 6, was named an Academic all-American by CoSIDA.
Dana (26-7 this year competing mostly at No. 2 singles) tied a school-record with 30 wins (30-8) at first doubles. She finished her career second all-time at Augustana with 193 combined wins and third all-time in singles wins with a 91-34 record. Her school-record 102 doubles victories came against just 39 losses.
Men's golf
Augustana senior Eric Swanson (Vernon Hills) turned in eighth-place finishes at the Tim Kopka Memorial (68-79-147) and Midwest region Classic (76-73-49) as the Vikings posted a 113-82-2 head-to-head record in 24 rounds over 12 events in the 2016-17 season.
Augustana finished the season ranked 114th in the nation by GolfStat.com as coach Paul Del Vecchio's squad finished sixth at the CCIW Championship at Red Tail Run in Decatur.
Men's tennis
Augustana junior Eric Pohl (Fremd), playing No. 2 singles and No. 1 doubles, surpassed the 100-win mark for his career.
With 55 career doubles wins with partner Samuel Trotten (Normal), the pair is currently just 7 away from the school record of 62, held by John Jevitz and Steve Miller from 1979-82.
Women's lacrosse
Lake Zurich senior Courtney Veitch has committed to Augustana to play for coach C.J. Durham's program.
Veitch was a four-year letter winner and all-conference performer at goalie for coach Megan Pender at Lake Zurich.
After earning second team All-North Suburban Conference honors as a freshman, she was a first-team selection the last three seasons. She was also the Bears' defensive MVP as a junior and senior.
As a senior, Veitch led the state with 216 saves and ranked sixth with a save percentage of .600.
She recorded a .587 save percentage with a 6.53 goals-against average as a junior and had marks of .581 and 7.33, respectively, as a sophomore. She finished her career with 749 saves, a GAA of 8.22 and a save percentage of .573.
Veitch plans to major in computer science.
She joins a Vikings program that has gone 99-20 during its first six years of play. Augustana has won five consecutive undefeated league titles, including the first three College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin championships.
In her first season at Augustana in 2017, Durham guided the Vikings to an 11-7 record and a CCIW crown.
Oakton Community College
The Illinois Skyway Collegiate Conference recognized 38 Oakton Community College student-athletes with academic honors during the 2016-17 academic year.
The list includes 21 Owls earning Freshman Academic Awards and 17 earning the Skyway Conference Academic Gold Medallion.
Oakton honorees include Christopher Broccolino (Schaumburg, baseball), Daniel Schneberger (Palatine, baseball), Julian Zavala (Maine West, men's cross country), Stephen Bukielski (Schaumburg, men's golf), Hugo Rabier (men's soccer, Des Plaines, GED), Nicole Bertucci (Hersey, volleyball), Margaret Stangel (Willows Academy, girls volleyball).
To qualify for a Skyway Conference Academic Medallion, second-year student-athletes must earn at least 48 credit hours with a 3.0 GPA or better. Oakton honorees include Austin Sublett (men's basketball, Des Plaines, GED), Brenda Valdez (Leyden, women's soccer).