History
Since 1990, Irvine Valley College has been committed to maintaining a strong athletic and academic tradition. Competing as a member of the nation's toughest college conference, the Orange Empire Conference (OEC), Irvine Valley teams have collected 25 state championships and 60 conference titles from 1990 through the spring of 2022. IVC currently competes in nine intercollegiate sports: baseball, women's beach volleyball, men's tennis, and men's and women's basketball, soccer and volleyball. The success of the IVC teams can be attributed largely to an outstanding coaching staff that demands excellence from students, not only on the courts and fields but also in the classroom. All head coaches for the men's and women's teams hold at least a master's degree.
The last few years have included some of the best athletics campaigns in school history.
Irvine Valley's women's beach volleyball team came back to defeat Cabrillo to win its pool and then out-lasted Feather River in a final match that went down to the wire to claim the CCCAA State Championship on the Laser beach courts at IVC in May of 2022. IVC was the first state champion in the sport in 2015.
Also in beach, Irvine Valley won an Orange Empire Conference title and reached the CCCAA State Championship in both 2018 and 2019. Individually, the 2018 pairs team of Megan Ramseyer and Taira Ka'awaloa won seven of eight matches over two days, including five in a row on the final day, to capture the state title at West Valley College in May. And in 2019, the team of Lea Kruse and Renata Bath finished third at the state event.
Irvine Valley's women's volleyball team went 27-0, captured an Orange Empire Conference title and won the school's second CCCAA State Championship in school history in 2017. Olivia Aguilar was named the state tournament MVP and Megan Ramseyer and Aguilar were each named All-American, All-State and All-Region. Tom Pestolesi was also picked as the Southern California Regional Coach of the Year. Five players signed with four-year schools.
Irvine Valley's women's basketball team won its fourth straight Orange Empire Conference title during the 2021-22 season, had a record of 26-3 overall and reached the CCCAA State Tournament for the third time before falling in the semifinals. Morgan Higgins was named the conference's MVP and also an all-state pick. Sarah Matossian was also named all-state for the Lasers. Six players signed with four-year schools. In 2017-18, the Lasers made the state tournament and finished with a record of 26-5 overall. Kasey Smit, who set several school records, was named the conference's MVP and also an all-state pick. And five players ended up signing with four-year colleges. IVC followed that up with another conference title in the 2018-19 season.
IVC's women's badminton team won a Pacific Coast Athletic Conference title in 2021 and ended up as the runner-up at the CCCAA State Championship. In 2018, Michelle Chen ended up reaching the individual singles final of the CCCAA State Championship.
The 2015-16 school year featured the men's tennis team winning its second straight state title, freshman Javier Callejo taking the men's state singles tennis title and sophomores Bruno Figlia and Scott Paz earning the men's doubles state title in Ojai.
The beach volleyball sophomore duo of Emily Reinking and Hailee Earnest captured the individual pairs state title at Grossmont College. The Irvine Valley women's beach volleyball team placed second in the state.
The Irvine Valley men's soccer team, paced by Orange Empire Conference MVP and all-state player Toby Waterman, won the program's fourth ever conference title. The Lasers also made run to the Southern California Regional Playoff title and ended up being ranked ninth in the nation and fifth in the state. Coach Martin McGrogan was also named the CCCSCA Southern California men's coach of the year.
Long-time Irvine Valley volleyball coach Tom Pestolesi won his 300th women's volleyball match during the regular season in the fall of 2015 and then Pestolesi was inducted into the California Community College Men's Volleyball Coaches Association Hall of Fame in the spring of 2016 during the state championship event at Pierce College.
The Irvine Valley women's volleyball team won its third Orange Empire Conference title in a row in the fall of 2015. The team finished with a record of 16-6 overall and was 12-2 in the Orange Empire Conference. IVC also won a match in the Southern California Regional Playoffs. Sophomore outside hitter Kayla Scheevel was named the conference player of the year and five other Laser players made all-conference squads.
Other highlights included the women's basketball team making its second straight Southern California Regional Final and having guard Jordan Coleman named honorable mention All-American for the second year in a row and guard Tara Casey eing picked to the South Region third team all-state squad, women's golfer Hyerin Kim taking sixth at the state tournament, the women's badminton team winning the Pacific Coast Conference and have Cora Tanuwidjaja finish second in the state in singles and scholar athlete honors being earned by the women's beach volleyball team.
The 2014-15 school year was a special one for Irvine Valley. IVC won three team state championships and recorded another five individual state titles.
The men's tennis team captured its first ever State Championship, after claiming Orange Empire Conference and Southern California Regional titles. The doubles team of Maxime Rumeau and Valentin Baize also claimed the state doubles championship.
Sophomore men's tennis player Guillermo Ucelay was named the conference player of the year for the second year in a row.
Irvine Valley's women's volleyball team had the best season in school history. The Lasers won the Orange Empire Conference title for the fifth time ever, and then followed that up with their first state title. IVC went 27-0 in the process.
Sophomore women's volleyball player Annie Mitchem was named the American Volleyball Coaches Association two-year college player of the year for the second year in a row. Mitchem had already been named the MVP of the Orange Empire Conference, all-state and All-American.
Pestolesi was honored as the AVCA two-year California region coach of the year for the second year in a row. He was also named the conference's coach of the year. And Mitchem, Marisa Doran, Hailey Jones, Kobi Pekich, Shaelyn Perez, Carleigh Petersen and Samantha Holdredge each moved on to play at four-year schools.
The Laser women's sand volleyball team, featuring many of the volleyball players above, swept through the inaugural CCCAA State Championship. The Lasers won the team state title on Friday and then had all three of their teams in the individual competition claim state titles on Saturday. Doran and Pekich won the No. 1 team title, Mitchem and freshman Emily Reinking took the No. 2 team championship and Holdredge and freshman Hailee Earnest captured the No. 3 team title.
Sophomore women's golfer Leleaga Meredith won a California Community College Athletic Association State Championship at Morro Bay Golf Course in the fall of 2014. She did so after finishing third as an individual a year before as a freshman. She shot 75 the first day and then followed that up with a round of 72 with three birdies and 12 pars on the second day for a total of 147.
Irvine Valley's women's basketball team also won a conference title and finished with 27 wins. The 27 wins was the second most in program history. The Lasers also made the Southern California Regional Final, rolled through the Orange Empire Conference, going 12-0 to win a title and racked up several impressive individual awards, including Breanna Turner and Coleman being named honorable mention All-Americans, Turner being picked all-state and the conference MVP and Julie Hanks earning coach of the year awards. Four players, Turner, Conerie Brennan, Karli Kato and Erika Pagkalinawan also signed to play at four-year schools.
Irvine Valley's baseball team won four of its final six games to end the regular season, make the Southern California Regional Playoffs and ultimately advance to the Super Regionals. IVC, seeded 17th, won a single elimination playoff play-in game at LA Mission, 16-6. It was one of the biggest wins in the history of the program. IVC trailed, 6-0, heading into the top of the seventh inning, but scored two runs in the seventh inning and an amazing 10 runs in the eighth inning to rally for the victory. IVC finished with 20 hits in the contest. Pitcher Justin Zielinski was named all-Southern California after finishing with a record of 9-3 overall and set several program records.
Irvine Valley won two state titles during the 2012-13 school year, capturing championships in women's golf and women's sand volleyball.
And in 2010-11, IVC won three state team championships and earned its highest ranking ever in the standings for the NATYCAA Cup. Irvine Valley placed in the top 10 for the first time ever in the National Alliance of Two-Year College Athletic Administrators (NATYCAA) Cup, finishing ninth in the state standings. It was the highest ranking for a non-football college on the list, which was made up of 105 community colleges in California.
Conference Play
Irvine Valley College is a member of the Orange Empire Conference (OEC) and the California Community College Athletic Association (CCCAA) of the Community College League of California's Commission on Athletics (COA). Members of the OEC are Cypress, Fullerton, Golden West, Orange Coast, Riverside, Saddleback, Santa Ana and Santiago Canyon colleges.
Eligibility
As mandated by CCCAA rules, IVC advises student-athletes to check with coaching staffs and the CCCAA rulebook for data on initial and continuing eligibility. Please note that these rules are also helpful in establishing eligibility for transfer and competition at the four-year level, but students are advised to speak with coaches well in advance of enrollment to ensure proper course schedules and degree programs.
Generally:
A student-athlete must be enrolled and actively attending a minimum of 12 semester units at their community college during the season of sport. Of the 12 units, at least 9 must be attempted in courses in any of the following areas: remediation, career technical education/certificate courses, associate degree requirements, transfer/general education and/or lower-division theoretical major preparation courses as defined by the college catalog and/or articulation agreements and consistent with a student's Individual Education Plan (IEP).
To be eligible for a second season of sport, the student-athlete shall maintain a cumulative 2.0 grade point average in accredited post-secondary coursework computed since the start of the semester/ quarter of the first participation in any sport, regardless of the college attended.
To be eligible for a second season of a sport, the student-athlete must pass a minimum of 24 semester units before the semester of the second season of competition. Of the 24 units, at least 18 shall be in any of the following areas: remediation, career technical education/certificate courses, associate degree requirements, transfer/general education and/or lower-division theoretical major preparation courses as defined by the college catalog and/or articulation agreements and consistent with a student's Individual Education Plan (IEP).
Transfers
Per CCCAA bylaws, a student who is transferring to IVC for athletic participation, and who has previously participated in intercollegiate athletics (and whose most recent participation was at another California community college) must complete 12 units at IVC prior to the beginning of the semester of competition for that sport. A maximum of 8 units can be applied from summer enrollment.
Late Registration
Per CCCAA bylaws, a student-athlete who registers in a community college later than four weeks after the first day of class instruction (as listed in that community college calendar) for that season of sport shall not represent that community college in athletic competition in that semester.
Important:
These requirements are very exacting. Athletes are advised to become thoroughly familiar with CCCAA bylaws in order to avoid loss of eligibility. All interested students are urged to review the bylaws at www.cccasports.org and to contact the head coach for their sport immediately to learn the requirements for eligibility at 949-451-5398.
Counseling for Student-Athletes
A specific counselor has been designated to counsel student-athletes. The athletic counselor works closely with team coaches and is familiar with athletic eligibility requirements for California Community College Athletic Association (CCCAA), National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), and National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). Student-Athletes must have an academic plan in order to compete, and meeting with the athletic counselor is necessary to the completion of this plan. Student-athletes are encouraged to see the athletic counselor on a regular basis for career, personal, academic and athletic counseling.
Athletics
PE 225 • 949-451-5398