A number of alums got to see the end of the Cal Gold vs Davis match before getting on the court themselves. It was a good chance toview our roster this year. Gold took a breath at the wrong time at the end of Game 3, and the match slipped away in 5 close games.
I predict a win over Davis as payback at the Mini Tourney later this season!!
Alums in attendance:
1. Andrew Shapiro
2. Scott Bishop
3. Trevor Jones/former coach
4. Mark Stone
5. Don Jaimes
6. Chick Markley
7. Fred McLafferty
8. Mario Ruiz
9. Rod Porter
10. David Schmittdiel
11. John Selgrath
12. Greg Soulages
13. Eric Anderson
14. Jordan Lang
15. Bill Cole
16. Keith Lui
17. Neil Bell
18. John Westerlund
19. Matt Kluschevski
20. Arne Stokstad
21. Chris Birdwell
plus various spouses/signi others....kids: babies, rugrats, toddlers, various school ages..
A lot ofalums got out there and played. Some did not, but it is always great to haveeveryone here.
Lots of photos are up: tks for quick work Korte.
http://calmensvball.com/uploaded/Alumni2011/
Regrets received from:
a. Jay Solomon-Hall of Fame inductee, and Chief Foreign Affairs Correspondent with WallStreet Journalflew off to Beirut 36 hours before, to interview President of Syria as Alumni Match was going on. Major unrest in the Middle East provided the first English news interview in 7 years with this Head of State. We hope to honor Jay in California this summer. See notes at end of email.
1. Justin Cox - didn't dare miss a big time relatives event.
2. Patrick Aparicio - Sweden - Hall of Fame inductee, in Sweden with his pro team.....also to be honored this summer....see below.
3. Nathan Wang - in Asia/Cambodia
4. Sean Shoptaw - shout out from Mira Costa HS
5. Terry Holburton - regrets
6. Mark Greenbaum out of town business
7. Bob Conca stuck in LA
8. Dave Nichols..major setter recruit for FGCU on campus this weekend...Urban Meyer's dtr a fine setter.
9. Chris Vansell next yr. Son has applied to Cal for fall
10. Jared Levy - celebrating his bday and mom's bday same day
11. Lance Stewart -busy coachingboy's/girl's HS teams and girl's club
12. Albert Lee attending a family wedding.
13. Brian Smith stuck at UCLA works in Ath. Dept !!!!
14. Al Glitz says he hopes to visit soon/ Barcelona
15. Chris Jacobs out of town on business
16. Graham Bradley out of town No. Carolina on business.
17. Nima Farhadi - lawyer in socal... legal appts this weekend.
18. Nat Goodby - waylaid somewhere :)
19. Todd Roe - same
20. Baird Conner - late arriving flight.. .returning from business trip.
Hall of Fame inductees 2011
1. Mark Stone
Involved with all aspects of volleyball play and organization his whole adult life.
Graduated from Aragon High School in San Mateo.
Attended Cal and played vball 1971-75.
He has been in the insurance broker businessfor a job, but volleyball is his passion.
Joined Cal volleyball when Chris Stanley started the club in the early 70's. Before our club began, various floors of the dorms competed against each other... Ehrmann Hall had the best players.
Mark was a setter. Remembers that the best tourneys involved matches vs St Marys. The club team played USAV tourneys/teams all over the Bay area.
As Cal has always been a setter driven team, Mark's role was crucial.
He also played beach at Santa Cruz and... at Lake Tahoe.. which still has an annual major sand weekend tourney where players came up socal and norcal.
Many of Cal alums played at Tahoe.
At the same time, Markhas beengiving back to the sport of Volleyball.
Mark started refereeing at Cal. Club matches, Pac 10 women's matches, USAV adult matches.He has also served as Director for many NCVA and AVCA tourneys....anyone who has served as a tourney director knows how complicated THAT can be.
Mark also started a local rec coed league in the Eastbay beginning in 1981 and that has continued to this day....some 30 years. He runs coed open gyms/rec leagues at Oak Tech currently.
Mark coached HS girls in Clayton Valley area for 3 years around 1980; and then moved to boy's HS vb in Alameda at Alameda HS in recent years as Asst Coach. He has brought players to Cal mvb matches to encourage them in their goal of playing in college.
Mark has attended numerous Cal matches and has been at the Alumni Matches since it started. He has always written checks for the team to help with the budget.
Mark loves volleyball, and is a great Cal volleyball alum....playing, reffing, coaching, encouraging, donating, organizing...it goes on and on.
2. Hall of Fame Inductee - Don Jaimes - Middle Blocker
...presented by HOF 2010 inductee Rod Porter...
Attended Santa Barbara HS where he played with Peter Westwick, Lee Nelson, Drake Dvorak, etc. Also played football (tight end) and basketball (forward).
Played tons of beach vbat East Beach.
Attended Sta Barbara City College. All State honors. Turned down an offer from Univ of Hawaii to continue his education in Berkeley.
Played for Cal 89, 90, 91. Numerous All American Club awards and All League honors. Per coach Dave Nichols.."Whenever he got the ball, the whole bench would chime in..'Ka Ching' as Don was MONEY IN THE BANK. Stat line for 1990 Nationals...87 kills, 2 errors!a tough tough competitor, calm under pressure, and a great all around game."
Don has lived in Santa Barbara since graduation; in business with his cousin for years and now owns his own company. Wife Sarah, kids Madison and Austin in attendance atHOF.
3. Jay Solomon, setter
en absentia
Jay is from Pacific Palisades, attended Pali HS and then Cal 1986-90.
He was MVP of the National Title match vs BYU in 1989 as he brought the team back from a 14-8 deficit to win 16-14 in Game 3.
Per Head Coach Dave Nichols..."The most unlikely looking MVP you have ever seen!! But oh my goodness he could play- and had a knack for making huge plays on the biggest points…Jay was just a great all around player… could pass and dig and serve… really smart tough hitter- and asmart tough setter-great decisions!! Above all a consummate winner-and one of those guys who were really really fun to play with… A well deserved honor!!"
Following graduation from Cal with his degree in English, Jay signed on with the Wall Street Journal, spending years as a Foreign Correspondent in SE Asia, Cambodia/Thailand, India, Korea, Pakistan and Indonesia, settling in Lebanon from 1995-2005.
Since 2006 he has been based in Wash DC as the WSJ Chief Foreign Affairs Correspondent. This year alone he has interviewed Libya's Col Gadhafi, Jordan's King Abdullah II and the Head of Hamas.
Late Thurs,Jay flew over nite to Beirut for an interview with
the President of Syria.When he emailed me that he couldn't come he called it a tragedy. He was so looking forward to being here again. Family and relatives were coming up from LA.Jaywillhopefully be recognized in person later this year in socal.
4. Patrick Aparicio - Middle Blocker/Hitter
en absentia
Attended Loyola High School in LA. Played for Torrance vbc and his team earned JO's Gold 1993.
Played Middle Blocker for Cal 94-98. Awarded numerous All League, All American designations.
Went on to play 7 years of proball in Sweden, earning League MVP and Sweden's Player of the Year award.... several times.
Last year as Asst Coach for his Falkenberg team... who won the Swedish Championship for the first time.....and this year as Head Coach his team has just won the Grand Prix for Northern Europe ...4 matches this week. 6 weeks to go to end of season.
As a freshman, Patrick said Cal vb was an entirely new thing, he had never played in such an environment with such tension, pressure, necessity to avoid unforced errors and score.
Frosh year, 1994 Nationals Championship Match in Tempe. Patrick got a ton of setsscored a bunch of points; blocked like a maniac. Opponents expected to be able to hit it thru the freshman MB. They couldn't. Opponents expected sets to go solely to OH and RS....Patrick scored.
At the end, Cal's coach Dave Nichols was given the mike as he received the Championship trophy and specifically spoke ofPatrick's maturity and leadership and dependability and skills. Received by email the morning of the HOF...
"I consider myself blessed to have played at Cal. Time spent reflecting back on my CAL volleyball days is by no means mindless daydreaming but rather an important part of a productive work day. My career in volleyball is without a doubt a reflection of the passion for our sport that was shared by Cal teammates, coaches, fans.
I've learned that no matter where you go in the volleyball world, the best programs are those that succeed in collecting the most people who will dare to love the sport.
My love for volleyball was born during my CAL days and encouraged by those around me, and for that I'll be forever grateful...
Please express to the gang how much I WISH I could be there!!
Hope to see many of you this summer.
Patrick will be in California likely in June. We hope to have a socal event and present Patrick's plaque at that time.
5. Arlene Bishop - Special Recognition
After 20 years of volunteering and cheering for the team, I ampleased to be honored tonite. Whether it was ticket selling, making flyers, putting up displays, and emailing a ton to players, parents and recruits, the time has gone by quickly. Cal Volleyball is a special family....and those who take advantage of its opportunities and continue to support after they are done playing are definitely enriched....as the time with the team is a special part of one's college time at Cal.
------
Possible summer socal event. Patrick Aparicio will be in California in May/June and Jay Solomon hopes to be able to come as well, if we can schedule an event. As soon as details are worked out, all alums north and south will be advised.