Titus and Thibault named IVC scholar athletes of the year
May 13, 2009
Freshman women's golfer Felicia Titus and sophomore baseball player Corey Thibault were honored as Irvine Valley's female and male scholar athletes, respectively, at a luncheon hosted by the Irvine Exchange Club on Tuesday at the Irvine Mariott.
In just one season, Titus became one of the most accomplished women's golfers in Irvine Valley College history.
As a freshman last fall, Titus was named Orange Empire Conference player of the year, helped Irvine Valley to a conference championship and finished eighth as an individual in the state tournament with a two-day score of 160 at Olivas Links in Ventura.
Titus was the medalist for the Orange Empire Conference finals tournament with a score of 162 at Los Serranos in Chino Hills and finished as the scoring average leader in the conference at 79.45 strokes per 18 holes.
She also tied for third place at the Southern California Regionals on her way to the state event. Titus was named first team all-Southern California.
Her low score for the year was 75 and she shot in the 70's six times during the regular season.
She also became the first ever signee for the recently reinstated women's golf program at Cal State Fullerton.
Titus will begin playing for the Titans next fall.
"I am happy for her," IVC Coach Ben Burnett said. "Felicia demonstrated a love for the game and a willingness to practice. Her experience in leading IVC to a 42-6 conference championship and playing steady golf to tie for the eighth best score as the State finals should help her succeed at the four-year level."
Titus also stood out in the classroom, earning a 3.41 grade point average and being named a member of the school's honor roll.
Thibault finished up his time at Irvine Valley as one of the best power hitters in the baseball team's history. He had nine home runs and 40 RBI in his two seasons.
But he was more than just a big bat for the Lasers.
"He was was a big part of us being very successful," IVC Coach Kent Madole said. "Corey was a mainstay in the lineup and played multiple positions. He was someone we could count on all the time. Corey was team oriented, never selfish, very coachable and always worked hard. He made our program better."
Thibault, who primarily played catcher for the Lasers, batted .267 with a .419 slugging percentage, four home runs and 18 RBI this season as Irvine Valley ended with an overall record of 21-21.
He batted .273 with five home runs and 22 RBI and a .438 slugging percentage as a freshman last season as a designated hitter and catcher.
Thibault was a member of the 2008 squad that finished with the best record (32-17) in program history and reached the Southern California Super Regional.
"He had some very defining moments for us in that special season," Madole said.
One of the biggest was when Thibault hit a solo home run off conference pitcher of the year Kyle Mertins in Irvine Valley's 5-2 victory over Santa Ana last year.
Thibault has been just as successful off the field, sporting a 3.82 grade point average and being a member of the honor roll. He is headed to Valparaiso University in Indiana on a baseball scholarship.
Irvine Valley Scholar Athletes of the Year
2009 - Felicia Titus, Corey Thibault
2008 - Chelsea Pavlik, Peter Johnson
2007 - Ailam Truong, Kirk Barnard
2006 - Tiffany Hess, Matt Johnson
2005 - Audrey Sipkovich, Manny Maceira
2004 - Erin Imhof, Matt Burson
2003 - Amanda Smith, Michael Lee
2002 - Amanda Smith, Bobby Pearce
2001 - Lyndis Johnson, Dawn Regan, Nima Farhardi, Myles Weinstein
2000 - Mika Kinoshita, Nicholas Navarro, Craig Rice, Christian Spaulding