Emi Shimamoto named SCIAC Athlete of the Week

WHITTIER, Calif. - Whittier College softball utility player Emi Shimamoto was honored this morning as the SCIAC Female Athlete of the Week in the thirtieth week of voting making her the seventh Poet to win this honor this year and the second freshman to do so as well.

Shimamoto enters her first season with the Poets and has been a catalyst in both the field and at the plate.  She is a versatile player from Santa Clarita, Calif. who can play both outfield and infield positions. 

Whittier who entered this past weekend only needing one win over Occidental College to secure their third straight post season berth got help from Shimamoto who finished the series 6-7 with a homerun, three doubles, two runs, and five RBI's. In game one of the doubleheader she finished 4-4 with a run and three RBI's, and followed that up with a 2-3 effort in game two to go with a run and two RBI's.  For the season she is now batting .336 with 8 doubles, 3 homeruns, and 39 hits. She also has a .402 OB % and has 27 runs and 21 RBI's.

On the men's side, Derek Zachman a junior golfer from the University of La Verne helped lead La Verne to their sixth straight SCIAC team title with a two-round total of 141 (69-72) at the SCIAC 36 Hole Championships, earning medalist honors after winning the first hole of a sudden-death playoff.  Coupled with his victory in the SCIAC #5, Zachman has earned medalist honors in the last two conference tournaments and entered the SCIAC 36 ranked No. 1 in the West Region and No. 6 nationally in Division III.

Emi looks to lead a young Poet squad to their first ever SCIAC Championship Title as they travel to Riverside, Calif. for the SCIAC Post Season Tournament to take on the No. 1 seeded Bulldogs of the University of Redlands this Friday, April 27 beginning at 9am.