Vanguard University

When Kevin Doyle's daughter was 2 years old, she was spry and energetic, but in the space of a week, she went from jumping and skipping to not being able to roll over in her crib without help. Doctors believed it was a virus that would pass, Doyle said, but now at 7 years old, Mercy Doyle is struggling with the same symptoms. She suffers from tremors in her feet and deteriorated muscle coordination. She is unable to walk or crawl. "We've been through four different chemotherapy treatments and some other similar-style stuff that people use for very strong arthritis," Doyle said.

As a former all-conference catcher and 1997 team MVP at Vanguard University, first-year baseball coach Rob Pegg has already proved himself in a Lions uniform. And having spent seven seasons as a Vanguard assistant, his first season as head coach brings much more nostalgia than novelty. But when it comes to building and leading winning teams from the first seat in the dugout, Pegg has seven seasons of struggle he hopes to bury under a string of success at his alma mater. Pegg's tenure at Colorado Christian University, an NCAA Division II school in Lakewood, Colo., produced a 92-274 record.

COSTA MESA - The consensus in sports is that numbers don't lie. But they can occasionally deceive. The latter may have been the case Tuesday, as the Vanguard University women's basketball team needed less than 12 hours to refute the No. 1 national ranking bestowed upon it earlier Tuesday for the first time since 2007. The case against the Lions' unanimous ascension to the top of the NAIA Division I poll was presented by visiting No. 11-ranked Westmont, which earned a 66-56 Golden State Athletic Conference victory at Vanguard for the third straight season.

A Costa Mesa-based nonprofit that supports women in Uganda and Peru recently won $500,000 from the American Giving Awards. Krochet Kids International co-founders Kohl Crecelius and Stewart Ramsey accepted the cash prize and Community Builders award during the second annual AGA ceremony in Pasadena, which was presented by Chase bank and broadcast Saturday on NBC. The nonprofit received the AGA's second-highest award after receiving online votes...

COSTA MESA - An import from "Down Under," Australian native and Vanguard University senior Esther Timmermans said she sometimes needs a supreme challenge to rise above her comfort level on the court. But with Westminster College of Utah, ranked No. 4 in NAIA women's basketball, in town for a nonconference showdown with the No. 3-ranked Lions on Saturday, Timmermans and her teammates found sufficient motivation to put together their best performance of the year. Timmermans, a 6-foot-2 post player who earned All-Golden State Athletic Conference honors as a junior, had 22 points, 15 rebounds and three assists to help the Lions (5-0)

COSTA MESA - Competing against winless California Maritime Academy on Thursday, the unbeaten and No. 4-ranked Vanguard University women's basketball team didn't figure to have to worry about finding its sea legs. But when the visiting Keelhaulers hit five of their first seven three-point attempts, then added a sixth three ball to take a 22-15 lead midway through the opening half, Lions Coach Russ Davis wondered if his three-game winning streak was headed for an unexpected iceberg.

ORANGE BEACH, Ala. — The Vanguard University women's soccer team was eliminated on penalty kicks in the NAIA Tournament quarterfinals, after playing Spring Arbor of Michigan to a scoreless deadlock through 90 minutes of regulation and two 10-minute overtime periods Wednesday. The Lions were bested, 4-3, in the penalty-kick tiebreaker that was extended to six rounds after the two teams matched three goals apiece in the initial five rounds. The game is officially recorded as a tie, giving No. 2-ranked VU, in its second NAIA Tournament appearance and its first in the quarterfinals, an 18-2-1 record.

ORANGE BEACH, Ala. - Junior forward Lindsey Davidson had two goals and one assist to lead the Vanguard University women's soccer team to a 5-1 rout of Baker University of Kansas in the second round of the NAIA Tournament on Monday. Senior Lindsey Holman-Kelly added two goals and senior Amanda Couch had three assists to help the No. 2-ranked Lions (18-2), the No. 3 seed in the tournament, advance to Wednesday's quarterfinals. Vanguard, which has won its last 14 contests, will play the winner of Tuesday's second-round game between Kansas Wesleyan (21-1)

COSTA MESA - With another game fewer than 24 hours away, the Vanguard University men's basketball coaching staff could take little time to mull over Friday's 76-62 loss to streaking Warner Pacific in the opener of its Thanksgiving tournament. But while it wouldn't require much time or effort to identify the root of the Lions' struggles against the Portland-based Knights, any discussion about the contest would also be sure to include some positives. Vanguard starting forwards Ennis Whatley Jr. and Swing Chuang were both sidelined by injuries, while junior scoring leader Preston Wynne's performance was virtually eradicated due to a bout with the flu. However, Vanguard Coach Rhett Soliday was eager to praise the spark provided by reserve guards Noah Larkins and Myles Smith.

In many ways, their journey began at the destination. Now, four years later, Vanguard University seniors Rachel Rucireta, Amanda Couch, Lauren Evans and Charlotte Wisniewski will once again fly just more than 2,000 miles and play as many as four games in an attempt to retrieve their destiny. The four friends, teammates and roommates since arriving at the Costa Mesa Christian school as women's soccer recruits, have, in many ways come full circle as they prepare to compete in the round of 16 at the NAIA Championships in Orange Beach, Ala. They have also come of age, both on the field and off, forming roughly one-third of the lineup for the winningest team in the program's history.