Anderson Haigler

Anderson Haigler

former: freelance sports journalist. current: communications @ USD Athletics

Bylines: East Village Times, SBLive California, The San Diego Union-Tribune, TC Sports, USD Athletics, USD Magazine.

The USD Vista & USDtv alum.

My work

Here's a look at all of my print articles, beginning with my most recent work. To sort by sport, or type of article, click "Print articles" in the toolbar above.

University of San Diego Athletics •

Bright Future an Understatement for Award-Winning Elena Elie

"I was working hard and I was pursuing goals, but I was also just hanging out with my friends," she recalls with a touch of nostalgia, now several weeks removed from graduation. "Sitting in the sun and playing in the water…like what's better than that?" To hear it from Elie, her last four years were challenging, but no more so than anybody else's at the small Catholic school on the hill. Classes came and went. She studied, worked hard, carved out time to have fun, and went about her business,
University of San Diego Athletics •

"Sky's The Limit" for San Diego Baseball in 2023

As a chilly spring rain fell last June outside of Oregon State's Omaha Room, where College World Series trophies greet visitors before they perform their postgame media obligations at historic Goss Stadium, San Diego baseball head coach Brock Ungricht wasted no time in summarizing the impact of the Toreros' most successful season in more than a decade. "It was huge to show people what we're about….we're not going away, we're gonna be here," Ungricht said that evening after a whirlwind week that saw his team take down perennial power Vanderbilt at the oldest ballpark in college baseball. "I think it definitely puts the brand back on the map."
University of San Diego Athletics •

A Volleyball Duo For The Ages

Thirty-one matches was enough for a lot of things to happen in 2018. It was enough for San Diego volleyball to notch 18 wins — three against ranked teams — and reach the NCAA Tournament's Sweet 16 in one of USD's most accomplished seasons to date. A timeframe substantial enough for then-freshmen Annie Benbow and Katie Lukes to combine for nearly 200 digs and 230 kills as they got their college careers underway in impressive fashion, setting parallel paths of success into motion. Nearly five years later, however, Benbow is quick to point out what didn't immediately crystallize during those 31 contests.
University of San Diego Athletics •

Upcoming Season For Volleyball "As Real As It Gets"

As her players arrange themselves for the photo, Jennifer Petrie can't help but laugh. In full uniform, with the Pacific Ocean at their backs on a picture-perfect San Diego afternoon ahead of their annual beach photoshoot, her Torero volleyball team is jockeying for position atop a park bench overlooking Sunset Cliffs, and time is running out. Sophomore defensive specialist Anna Jaworowski has two minutes and counting to get a picture for the popular app "BeReal," which prompts users at random each day to take a picture of what they're doing to…well, be more real, and the veteran head coach has been entrusted to get one that has the entire team in it. As the clock winds down, Petrie snaps the photo, delighting her 18 scholar-athletes when her smiling face fills the selfie camera's section of the digital keepsake. These days, there's a lot to smile about for San Diego volleyball.
University of San Diego Athletics •

Steve Lavin Ready to Lead Toreros Forward

SAN DIEGO — Moments before he spoke for nearly a hour straight, Steve Lavin paused. Before he detailed his upbringing with a pair of teachers for parents, before he discussed the eight NCAA Tournaments, the five Sweet 16 appearances, the Elite Eight, before he described a unique decade spent on the other side of the court as a broadcaster, the 57-year-old took a deep breath to compose himself. "I want to begin with gratitude," Lavin said on Friday afternoon before a packed crowd in USD's KIPJ Theatre. "Bec
University of San Diego Athletics •

A Dream Come True for Ungricht, A New Era for the Toreros

The conversation slows as the final topic is considered, then the group decides that a profile of the team's new head coach is in order. Ungricht pauses for perhaps the first time all morning as the topic is broached, then speaks quietly, a different, more serious tone than the one he took in the first hour and a half of the meeting. "The story shouldn't just be about me," he politely suggests as he motions toward the rest of the suite and the field below, where his players are getting loose
University of San Diego Athletics •

Steady As Ever, Jefferis Ready to Make a Splash in Junior Season

SAN DIEGO — Walk by Fowler Park at any given hour when there's not a game or a practice, and you'll likely hear it. It comes from the first-base side of the field, just past the visitor's dugout, and it doesn't matter whether it's day, night, or something in between — odds are, you'll hear it. "Fowler Park works," he texts the night before to confirm the meeting's location before adding a helpful hint. "I'll probably be hitting." "That guy will show up, he's not going to say a word, but
University of San Diego Athletics •

"If You Don't Grind, You Don't Shine" — Looking Back at USD's 12 PFL Titles

Last Saturday, that hard work and resilience culminated in a historic achievement as San Diego captured its 12th PFL Championship to tie Dayton for the most titles in conference history. Against all odds, USD grinded, and now it — along with the PFL championship trophy — shines, a feat that serves both as a testament to the Toreros' resilience and a reminder. A reminder that even amidst the most challenging of circumstances, the road to the Pioneer Football League championship runs through S
University of San Diego Athletics •

Unfinished Business

Good news like this was too sweet to get through the grapevine. "It was kind of funny, actually," Bird recalled. "We had known, and all of our teammates had pretty much known that we were gonna come back. In our post-season meeting with Coach Fisher, she was like, 'So what are your plans for next year? Are you gonna come back?'" Several months later, there's an ease in Bird's voice as she describes the moment and relays how the group answered their coach's query with a question of their
University of San Diego Athletics •

Toreros Together

As all ten players reached the suburban summit, Scholl snapped a picture before his team embraced him, the workout and a summer full of preparation concluded. Fall practices and an important 2021-2022 season awaited USD, but for the time being the third-year coach was satisfied. In a quiet moment minutes later, mere months removed from a season in which circumstances out of his and his players' control forced the team apart, he tweeted the photo along with a simple dispatch. "Finishing an Ou
University of San Diego Athletics •

Expectations, Excitement High for Golf

"It was exhilarating, our team exploded and got all excited," said Riley, who has plenty of golf moments to compare it to after competing in 330 PGA Tour events and playing in the 2004 Ryder Cup for Team USA. "Overall it was a tremendous season…really a great accomplishment for the program." Xu's clutch putt punctuated what shaped up to be a resurgent, impressive campaign for San Diego, one that saw them persist through COVID-19 challenges to put together one of the most successful seasons i
University of San Diego Athletics •

The Road to Redemption

offers the statement without hesitation, without any pretense of sugarcoating what the last year has held for San Diego football."I don't think we played very well," Kamaka says following a midweek practice when asked to describe the Toreros' tumultuous, shortened Spring 2021 campaign. "There were a lot of things going on…but it's not an excuse for how we played."A few days later, head coachis even more direct in his assessment."I think it was awful," Lindsey quipped in a recent phone interview.
University of San Diego Athletics •

Toreros Ready to Return

Normalcy returned in bits and pieces for San Diego women's soccer, marked by the type of events and milestones that scholar-athletes cherish.The reappearance of the beloved "Gear Day," for example, when Toreros receive a heap of team swag and uniforms in the spring. Being able to once again hold the player-led, sans-coaches "Captain's Camp" in July, preparing USD for their rigorous late-summer official practices and eventual set of games. And once the fall roster was assembled, the first in-pers
University of San Diego Athletics •

Tight-Knit Toreros Ready to Take On 2021

You won't find it sifting through last year's box scores, won't be able to see it as you scroll though the schedule tabbed "2020 (Spring 2021)" on San Diego men's soccer's website, one that chronicles a season that was as unconventional as it was a testament to the Toreros' resilience. But it was there — is there — senioremphasizes."One big thing we got from (last season) was new camaraderie and friendships within the team," the 2021 All-WCC Preseason Team selection and team captain described. "
University of San Diego Athletics •

We Are San Diego: Volleyball Ready to Run It Back

Like most things in life, conceptualizing the last year and a half for San Diego women's volleyball takes a healthy dose of perspective. View the span from one angle, one that considers the team's dominant run through West Coast Conference play and postseason success, and it might seem as if it's been business as usual in Alcala Park for the Toreros."I think at the time, looking back on it now we were just so grateful to be competing and playing at all that it didn't matter what the length (of t
TC NATIONALS •

14U TC Nationals championship a dream come true for Firecrackers Weil

RIVERSIDE, CALIF. — Brianne Weiss had dreamed of this moment, of a chance to pitch her team to a national championship, of an opportunity to compete against the best and make good on her team’s lofty ambitions. So when a nagging back injury flared up — one that had forced her out of her last game — the left-handed pitcher did what she had to do to stay in the circle, helping to pitch the Firecrackers Weil to a 5-2 win over the Orange County Batbusters Stith in the 14U cham
TC NATIONALS •

Likely suspect Tovar secures big hit for 18u Firecrackers Brashear

LAKE ELSINORE, CALIF. — Those close to Arissa Tovar, those that have seen the catcher play before, aren’t surprised when she shows poise in big situations and rises to the occasion when her team needs her most. So on an afternoon that saw the Firecrackers Brashshear 18U backstop guide her pitching staff through seven innings of one-run ball in the sweltering desert heat, provide plus-defense behind the dish, and deliver a game-winning RBI single to lift the Firecrackers
TC NATIONALS •

Patience pays for NW Bullets 16U in win over Suncats Jimenez

CHINO HILLS, CA — As the saying goes, patience is a virtue. But for the Northwest Bullets 16U, patience proved to be more than that on Wednesday — it was a key to victory. Heading into the bottom of the second inning at Chino Hills Community Park, the Bullets were deadlocked in what looked to be a potentially back-and-forth affair with the 16U Suncats Jimenez. Then outfielder Jing Gardner drew a walk. As did catcher Karen Spadafora. As did Portland State commit Trinity
TC NATIONALS •

Athletics Mercado 16u wins two, makes most of chances at TC Nationals

CHINO HILLS, CA. — As the bottom of the first inning unfolded Wednesday and Athletics Mercado 16U came to bat for the first time, head coach Greg Borzilleri implored his team to capitalize on each opportunity they were presented with at the plate and take advantage of their opponent’s mistakes. Eight runs, seven innings and a resounding win at the Chino Hills Community Park later, it appeared his athletes had heeded his advice, taking down the Corona Angels by a score o
SBLive California •

Ray Cebulski, Marcelo Mayer lead Eastlake to CIF San Diego Section Open Division baseball title

POWAY, Calif. — Championship aspirations at Eastlake began as early as middle school for Ray Cebulski and Marcelo Mayer. “Me and Marcelo became friends, and we knew we wanted to win a championship every time we played,” Cebulski said. On a warm summer night at Poway High School, both players were key. And when the dust settled, both were 2021 CIF San Diego Section Open Division Baseball champions, taking down Grossmont by a score of 8-3 to make good on a sense of ambition that had spanned seve
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