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Pepperdine University Athletics

Number Project 8

General by Athletic Communications

The Greatest Waves at Every Number: #8

MALIBU, California – Who are the best Waves ever to wear a particular number on their jersey or cap? This series will aim to identify the most accomplished Pepperdine student-athletes, number by number.
 
Today, the greats who wore number eight are listed.
 
First, some caveats:
  • Student-athletes before a certain year may not be included, as complete numerical rosters only go back so far. For the eight sports that wear numbers, only women's soccer and women's beach volleyball have every roster available.
  • The complete numerical rosters for baseball (1971), men's basketball (1968-69), women's basketball (1979-80), men's volleyball (1975), women's indoor volleyball (1976) and men's water polo (1982) date back to the year shown here.
  • In some cases, additional standout student-athletes from prior to those years were identified.
  • Any student-athlete who received at least all-conference honors during this time, and others of note, were included based on current available information.
  • Pepperdine sponsored football between the years of 1946 and 1961. Fifteen football players have been inducted into the Pepperdine Athletics Hall of Fame and those former student-athletes have been included in this series.
BASEBALL 
  • Tom Soto (El Segundo, Calif./El Segundo HS) was all-conference first team in 1975 and 1977. The infielder hit .325 as a junior and had a .292 career average over his four seasons.
  • Keven Dell'Amico (Los Angeles, Calif./Loyola HS) was all-conference three times, including the first team in 1993. The outfielder batted .313 with 31 RBI that season and hit .307 combined over his four seasons.
  • Woody Cliffords (West Hills, Calif./El Camino Real HS) was twice all-conference, including the first team in 2001. The outfielder hit .330 or better all three of his seasons and had career numbers of a .338 batting average, 11 home runs, 106 RBI and 41 stolen bases.
  • Patrick Rooney (Anaheim, Calif./Esperanza HS) was all-conference honorable mention in 2003. He hit .312 that season with 26 RBI.
  • Chase d'Arnaud (Long Beach, Calif./Los Alamitos HS) was all-conference first team in 2006. He later switched to #3. He was a career .309 hitter over his three seasons. He went on to play seven years in MLB.
  • Bryce Mendonca (San Leandro, Calif./Bishop O'Dowd HS/Chabot College) was all-conference first team in 2008. The infielder hit .332 that season and stole 32 bases.
  • Colin Rooney (Anaheim, Calif./Esperanza HS) was all-conference first team in 2010. Over his two seasons, the infielder hit .310 with nine home runs and 66 RBI.
  • Kolten Yamaguchi (Kona, Hawai'i/Konawaena HS) was all-conference first team in 2013. The catcher batted .309 that season.
WOMEN'S SOCCER 
  • Jennifer Evans (Simi Valley, Calif./Royal HS) was All-WCC first team in 1995 and 1996. She is the program's all-time leading scorer with 54 goals. The forward also had 17 assists in 71 career games. She was inducted into the Pepperdine Athletics Hall of Fame in 2012.
  • Tracey Milburn (Moorpark, Calif./Moorpark HS) was All-WCC honorable mention in 1997. She had five goals and five assists in her only season at Pepperdine.
  • Daniella Bosio (Mission Viejo, Calif./Santa Margarita HS) was All-WCC second team in 2003 and honorable mention in 2004. The defender appeared in 69 career games.
  • Samantha Hire (El Cajon, Calif./Christian HS) picked up All-WCC honorable mention for the third time in 2008 after switching from #6. The midfielder appeared in 79 games in her career had had four goals and nine assists.
  • Michelle Spacciapolli (San Diego, Calif./Boston College) was All-WCC second team in 2009. She scored seven goals in her two seasons.
  • Isabel Nelson (Houston, Texas/The Kinkaid School) was All-WCC second team in 2018 and 2019, her first two seasons with the program. She was also the 2018 WCC Freshman of the Year.
MEN'S VOLLEYBALL 
  • Rod Wilde (Fort Dodge, Iowa) made the all-conference second team in 1976 before having most of his success wearing #3. He was inducted into the Pepperdine Athletics Hall of Fame in 2009.
  • Mike Fitzgerald (Goleta, Calif.) was an All-American honorable mention selection in 1984. He had 245 kills and 110 blocks that season.
  • Randy Bergstedt (Covina, Calif.) was all-conference third team in 1988 and honorable mention in 1989. The outside hitter had 1,352 career kills. He was a CoSIDA Academic All-American in 1989.
  • Kurt Nelson (Laguna Beach, Calif./UCLA) is fourth all-time in assists at Pepperdine with 3,938, which came between the 1997-2000 seasons.
WOMEN'S INDOOR VOLLEYBALL 
  • Linda Chisholm (Van Nuys, Calif.) finished her career wearing #8 in 1979. The middle blocker helped the Waves to three top-10 national finishes. She went on to win a silver medal with the U.S. at the 1984 Olympics. Chisholm was inducted into the Pepperdine Athletics Hall of Fame in 1996.  
  • Jaymee Jusko (Granada Hills, Calif./Kennedy HS) joined the volleyball team as an outside hitter for the 1983 season after four standout years in basketball.
  • Laura Fort (Westminster, Calif./Mater Dei HS) made the All-WCC first team in 1988 and second team in 1989. The setter averaged 11.14 assists per set as a junior.
  • Becci Roehl (Manhattan Beach, Calif./Bishop Montgomery HS) made the All-WCC first team in 1997 and second team in 1995 and 1996. The setter is the program's all-time leader in assists with 5,020. She averaged 13.14 assists per set over her four seasons.
  • Stacy Rouwenhorst (Bellflower, Calif./Valley Christian HS) earned four All-WCC honors, including the first team in 2000, 2001 and 2002. The middle blocker had career totals of 1,388 kills and 252 blocks.
  • Kayla Walker (Kaysville, Utah/Davis HS) was All-WCC honorable mention in 2007. The outside hitter averaged 2.24 kills per set that season.
  • Brittney Clark (San Jose, Calif./Presentation HS) was All-WCC honorable mention in 2010. The middle blocker averaged 1.77 kills and 1.23 blocks that season.
 MEN'S WATER POLO
  • Geoffrey Clark (Sydney, Australia) was the National Player of the Year in 1991 and a three-time All-American first teamer between 1989-91. He scored 250 career goals, third all-time at Pepperdine, and had 85 in 1991. He was a two-time Olympian for Australia. Clark was inducted into the Pepperdine Athletics Hall of Fame in 2009.
  • Larry Felix (Fullerton, Calif./Long Beach City College) was all-conference third team in 1995. He scored 87 goals in his three seasons.
  • Alex Rodriguez (La Verne, Calif./Citrus College) was an All-American third team pick in 1996. He scored 38 goals that season and had 57 in his two years.
  • Scott Harvey (El Cajon, Calif./Valhalla HS) was all-conference honorable mention in 2001 before switching to #5. He scored 18 goals that season.
 
 
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