Broadus is now the fourth player under Pepperdine head coach Per Nilsson to qualify at least three times

Pepperdine Waves women’s tennis player Savannah Broadus will take her racket to the NCAA Singles and Doubles Championships next month. 

Broadus, a senior, qualified for the singles championships by being one of eight singles players to advance through two rounds of matches at the Sept. 21-29 Intercollegiate Tennis Association All-American Championships in North Carolina. The singles championships are Nov. 19-24 in Texas.

Broadus, the eighth-ranked singles player in the nation, defeated Old Dominion’s Sofia Johnson, ranked 37th, 6-1, 4-6, 7-5 in the round of 16 to gain her championships berth.

Broadus went up a break early and proceeded to win the first five games of the first set. In the second set, won all four points in the opening game, but Johnson rallied to tie the game 2-2. Johnson, with a 5-4 advantage, broke Broadus to score the win.

Broadus broke Johnson with two backhands in the ad-corner that Johnson struggled to return. However, Johnson broke back on deuce point to  take a 5-3 lead. 

Broadus, an ITA All-American, responded by breaking Johnson with a number of backhands that put the ball near the baseline, which led to Johnson smacking a return too long in the 10th game.

Broadus tied the score and then took the lead when Johnson failed to return a ball Broadus had lobbed. Broadus won the first three points in the final game. She then won a rally on match point.

Broadus beat 44th-ranked Maria Sholokova of Wisconsin 7-6 (1), 6-1 in the quarterfinals. 

Broadus bet Vanderbilt’s Bridget Stammel. Ranked 34th, 6-2, 6-3 in the second round. The Pepperdine player downed 57th-ranked Ava Hrastar of Auburn 6-2, 6-3 in the first round.

Broadus is now the fourth player under Pepperdine head coach Per Nilsson to qualify for the singles championships at least three times.

Coach gained milestone 300th victory Sept. 1 over then third-ranked UCLA

Redshirt junior Tabitha LaParl was one of 10 Pepperdine Waves women’s soccer players recognized before their senior day victory over Cornell University at Pepperdine’s Tari Frahm Rokus Field on Sept. 22.

LaParl, a midfielder and forward, got a bit more than the flowers she and the other Waves’ fourth-season players received before their 3-0 win. 

LaParl booted in her first goal of the season. 

“It was super exciting,” she said. “I was hoping for it, obviously, but you never know. I was happy to be out there and play with everyone.”

LaParl’s score came from a corner kick in the 22nd minute of the first half. The ball dropped into goal after Cornell’sgoalkeeper bobbled it. 

She wasn’t the lone Wave recognized during the Senior Day festivities to score. In the contest’s opening minute, graduate student Megan Edelman, a defender and forward, kicked the ball from the right side of the field to the left side of the goal to score Pepperdine’s first point of the match. 

Redshirt sophomore Kyra Murphy kicked the Waves’ third goal in the contest’s 63rd minute.

Defender and forward Victoria Romero, a graduate student, who played 82 of 90 minutes in the contest, said notching a win on senior day in front of Waves’ supporters was great.

“Having family and friends come out and having that support is always nice,” she said. “We played really well as a team.”

Romero, LaParl, and Edelman, along with graduate student Tori Waldeck, redshirt junior Taylor Rath, junior  Karina Gonzalez, and seniors Sophia Prudholme, Ashlyn Siriani, Caroline Coleman, and Kelsey Adams were the players honored.

Romero said the group wants not only help Waves soccer have a successful present, but also future.

“We have talked a lot about our legacy and how we want to plant seeds that we won’t necessarily see grow,” she said.“We passing down what we learn and making sure everyone has the field they need to grow — making sure it’s an environment that is welcoming and supportive.”

Pepperdine head coach Tim Ward called the honored group amazing women.

“Every single one of them is extraordinary,” he said. “They are world-class on so many different levels. I feel privileged and honored to coach them.”

The Waves had 18 scoring attempts compared to Cornell’s eight. The Waves kicked eight shots on goal — four more than the visiting team. 

Waves freshman goalkeeper Jillian Medvecky had three saves, while Rath registered one.

The win gave Pepperdine a 6-2-2 record heading into their Oct. 2 home match against Washington State. 

The Waves defeated Fresno State 5-0 two days before downing Cornell. Coleman, Murphy, junior defender Erin Zeile, sophomore defender Peyton Leonard, and sophomore forward Julia Quinonez scored in the victory. 

The five goals was the most the team registered in a contest this season, but perhaps not their biggest win. That was three games earlier when the Waves, currently ranked 19th in national polls, beat then third-ranked UCLA 1-0. The Sept. 1 victory was the 300th win of Ward’s coaching career. 

After claiming his 303rd win, Ward joked that garnering the milestone coaching victory made him feel old but was honored to have garnered each win at Pepperdine.

“This is an amazing place,” he said. “Its not about me. It is about all the women and men who have poured into this program over the last 32 years from athletic directors, to trainers, to coaches, to strength coaches, to players and alumniwho helped build this program up. I’m proud to be a part of it.” 

Ward has been a Pepperdine coach for 31 of the program’s 32 seasons. This is his 27th season as the head coach. Recently, Pepperdine honored his 300th win by giving him a ball from the contest autographed by all the Waves’players.

Ward listed several standout wins that he will always treasure, including the Waves’ victory over a top-ranked Stanford team that featured some of the best players in women’s soccer. He also recalled wins from the early aughts.

“There have been some historic wins along the way,” Ward said.

LaParl said being part of this historic win for Ward was fun.

“We went into the game with nothing to lose,” she said. “We showed up to play. Getting that outcome and being able to celebrate with him was amazing.” 

Romero said Ward didn’t mention that defeating UCLA would give him his 300th victory until the day of the game. She called Ward unique.

“He is very caring,” Romero explained. “He pushes you, which is good. He not only wants to develop you as a player,but as a person.” 

The match against Washington State is Pepperdine’s first of nine against West Coast Conference opponents this season. The squad fell one game short of winning the WCC title in 2023. 

Romero said that is a motivating factor for their 2024 campaign. 

“We have a fire in our belly,” she said. “Ever since spring, we have been working toward getting better.”

Their conference schedule also includes games against Gonzaga, Santa Clara, Pacific, LMU, Portland, Oregon State, San Diego, Saint Mary’s, and San Francisco. 

LaParl said the best is yet to come for she and her teammates this season.

“We are always looking to grow,” she said. “We are slowly breaking through and that is one of our themes — reaching that big breakthrough and redemption. We are getting to that level where we are going to explode even more.”

Ward said Pepperdine wants to be successful in the WCC and go deep into the NCAA Tournament. 

“We feel like we are well prepared,” he said. “We are staying humble and hungry and getting after it.”

Season begins on Oct. 19 at Malibu High School field

Flag football is coming to Malibu.

The Malibu Greatness Flag Football League, a member of the National Football League’s official Youth Flag Football Association, will kick off its season on Oct. 19 at the Malibu High School football field. 

Jerrel Hamilton, a Malibu Greatness administrator, said Malibu Greatness is a great opportunity to play flag football for Malibu youth.

“It can be amazing,” said Hamilton, also a Malibu High Sharks football coach. “Kids will learn about teamwork and create a lot of good memories.” 

The league is open to boys and girls ages 8 to 15 with up to 15 players on each team. The cost to register is $300 a child. That fee includes jerseys, flags, shorts, and a mouthguard.

Flag football, a sport different from traditional football in a few ways aside from football helmets and pads being eschewed, is gaining popularity around the nation. 

There are already several leagues near Malibu in areas such as Calabasas, Camarillo, Santa Monica, Simi Valley, Ventura County, and Woodland Hills.

Hamilton coached flag football last fall in Santa Monica before embarking on establishing a league in Malibu. 

Malibu Greatness’s eight-game fall season will run until Dec. 14. The league will kick off again for another slate of games from January to February and also have games in the spring. All the games will be played at Malibu High. 

Hamilton aims for the new non-contact league to hold a skills clinic for potential participants to practice a variety offootball skills, including passing and catching a football, speed and agility, and of course, flag football’s version of tackling — pulling an opponent’s flag.

Hamilton said flag footballers he coached Santa Monica had a great time playing the game, and he desires Malibu youths to have a similar experience. 

For more information, visit www.malibunflflag.com or email jerrelhamilton007@gmail.com.

Kids run, surf, kick, throw, spike, and gallop at the Tiny Tot Olympics

Despite having a cloudy and gloomy morning, parents cheered and applauded their children as they completed the 2024 Tiny Tot Olympic Games at Malibu Bluffs Park.

The event began at 10 a.m. on Sunday morning, Sept. 22, and kids aged 2-6 were able to participate. After registering, each child was given a passport, a headband, and a gold star squeeze toy. 

Activities that kids could practice or learn the basic skills of included discus throwing, putting, surfing, kicking a soccer ball, a home-run derby, karate, weight-lifting, shooting a basketball, hitting a tennis ball, and spiking a volleyball.

“It’s a nice way to bring kids and their parents together to celebrate the joy of sport and teach the kids all of the different sports available to them in the community,” City of Malibu Recreation Assistant Alexandra Elizondo said. 

After each activity was completed, participants received a star sticker to put in their passport. Once each sport was completed, the kids received a ribbon and got to stand on the podium with the Pepperdine University cheerleaders as their name was announced over a loudspeaker.

Instructors included Aspects Surf Academy, Champ Camp, John Rom, the Malibu Marlins Swim Club, Pepperdine athletes, TGA Sports, Train Goat Gainz, and Malibu Moves.

Malibu Moves Ambassador Tommy Evans said his favorite part of the games was the race they had set up. A 30-meter tarp was laid out with a makeshift finish line of little American flags and showed the kids how it felt to finish running a marathon.

“Malibu Moves is here today to be a staple in the community,” Evans said. “It’s an inaugural race this year in Malibu, but we have a kids run on Saturday, Oct. 26. It’s a 1K for the kids to help keep them active with a sound mind and sound body.” 

Participant Michelle Ryan brought her two young sons to have a nice day in the park. 

“It’s a nice day to be in Malibu,” Ryan said. “My sons loved everything. We don’t usually see this many activities often and I loved seeing them have so much fun.”

Aside from the main activities, participants were also able to have a bit of fun in a bounce castle and get shaved ice to cool down.

Elizondo said she hopes the games help the kids discover a new passion or hobby. 

“I hope they have a ton of fun,” Elizondo said. “I hope that they get to enjoy other sports that they’ve never experienced before and widen their knowledge of all of the different things that they are capable of.”

Elizondo said she hopes to see the community at Boo Bash, hosted by the City of Malibu, on Friday, Oct. 25.

“It’s our Halloween carnival,” Elizondo said. “We’ll have games and the Malibu Library will be doing storytime and art and crafts. And then we’ll also have a trick-or-treat street. We’re also encouraging a community pumpkin display. So anyone can bring in a decorated or a carved pumpkin and then we will display it on a table.”

Keegan Gibbs also instrumental in initiating Community Brigade to help fight fires

Nearly six years ago, Keegan Gibbs took action at the spur of the moment, as part of the Point Dume Bombers, a loosely knit group of residents who battled the Woolsey Fire on their own. It was a life-altering event that unfortunately claimed his family home but also ignited a new purpose in him — one that has guided his professional and personal journey ever since. The nearly 40-year-old has immersed himself in the study of firefighting, resiliency, prevention, and preparedness, determined to understand more about the nature of fire and its impact on communities. As a filmmaker and storyteller, he saw an opportunity to explain the complex relationship between humanity and wildfire.

“I realized how little I knew about fire and what the ‘wildfire problem’ really is,” said the Malibu Safety Commissioner of five years. Gibbs’ loss became the impetus for a deeper exploration of this topic. “For 20,000 years, humans lived cohesively with fire. They used it for hunting, landscaping, and even as a tool in tribal warfare. It was a mutually beneficial relationship. But over the last 150 years of colonization, humans have come to fear fire.”

This change in perspective, Gibbs believes, is a core reason why wildfires have become more destructive in modern times.

Gibbs is now in the process of filming a documentary titled “Our Fear of Fire,” which delves into the evolving relationship between humans and fire. His goal is to present this complex issue in a way that is both “poetic and emotional, allowing the audience to draw their own conclusions about how we’ve ended up in this precarious situation,” he explained. “We need to get back to a way that’s in better balance with the environment. The landscape is going to burn whether we like it or not. We need to burn it on our terms, or it’s going to burn on its own terms. If it burns on its own terms, it’s typically not a great outcome for our communities that aren’t resilient.”

Gibbs was filming, under precarious conditions, in the San Bernardino and Angeles National Forests earlier this month,while covering the out-of-control Bridge and Line Fires, even sleeping in his truck in order to see again first-hand how firefighters are battling and resident are dealing with this latest emergency. He’s been researching fire for nearly six years, deeply engrossed in understanding both the science and human history of it. His work as a filmmaker is also fueled by a desire to show audiences how our communities can better coexist with fire.

In addition to his filmmaking efforts, Gibbs has played a pivotal role in organizing a local initiative called the Community Brigade program. Since the Woolsey Fire, he has worked tirelessly with local agencies to establish this volunteer program, which is designed to train residents to help fight fires in their own communities. It’s a partnership between the Los Angeles Emergency Preparedness Foundation and the Los Angeles County Fire Department, aimed at bridging the gap between the resources available to firefighting agencies and the overwhelming needs of communities during major incidents.

“The Community Brigade is a little like CERT (Community Emergency Response Team), but more focused on fires,” Gibbs explained. “That’s the primary threat here in the Santa Monica Mountains.” The program’s goal is to educate and train community members to be prepared for, and capable of responding to, fires. The initial cohort of just over 40 volunteers started training on Sept. 14, with members from seven local Community Brigades participating. These groups are spread across various neighborhoods in the Santa Monica Mountains, including Malibu West, Point Dume, Corral Canyon, Big Rock, Topanga, Ventura County Line, and Hidden Hills.

Training for the Community Brigade is rigorous, requiring 60 hours of coursework and field exercises, culminating in a“pack test,” which involves a two-mile hike with a weighted backpack to assess physical fitness. “The Call Firefighter program that Matt Haines and the Corral Canyon guys did essentially blazed the path for the Community Brigade,” Gibbs noted. Volunteers who successfully complete the program are equipped to help fight fires in their owncommunities. And if they choose, they can be dispatched to support firefighting efforts in other areas when needed.

Interest in the Community Brigade has surged since an article on the program was published in The Malibu Times in April. According to Gibbs, over 200 people have inquired about joining, and more than 100 individuals have already been interviewed at local fire stations. Out of those, around 45 have qualified to begin training. Another group is scheduled to start training this winter, and Gibbs is hopeful that the program will be operationally ready by the first week of October.

Reflecting on the work he’s done and the mission he’s undertaken, Gibbs is clear about his goals. 

“My overall mission personally is to get people to accept that their choice to live in a high-risk area — whether that’sMalibu, Idaho, or Northern California — comes with a responsibility,” he said. “What I’m trying to do with the Community Brigade and the film is to show people a path to accepting that risk, so they can make better choices and learn to live cohesively in a landscape of fire.”

To learn more about volunteering to support firefighting efforts in your community visit Communitybrigade.org.

Known as one of the most expensive mobile home parks in the country, Point Dume Mobile Home Park has been sold. The enclave in Point Dume is home to more than 300 families, making it one of Malibu’s largest neighborhoods. Tenants were notified of the change of ownership Sept. 12. 

A distributed memo indicated the property was sold by Point Dume, Ltd., owned by the Adamson family of Malibu, to Point Dume MHC, L.L.C., a Delaware limited liability company. There is no word yet from the new owners on whether they plan to make changes to the management of the park, although two residents told The Malibu Times that a longtime maintenance employee was laid off. Although homes in the Point Dume Club can sell for millions of dollars, homeowners do not own the land. Spaces in the park are rented with some monthly space fees topping $4,000. Under new ownership it is possible for rental fees to rise. The Point Dume Club was originally built in Malibu to comply with affordable housing rules.