Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Its a busy month in WAC Athletics

It’s a busy time in the Western Athletic Conference. It seems like each week we have a different championship! Below are some highlights from WACSports.com on some of our student athletes accomplishments.

New Mexico State Leads after Day One of the 2009 Club Glove WAC Men's Golf Championship. Follow along

After winning the Western Athletic Conference Championship last week and earning an automatic bid to the 2009 NCAA Women’s Golf Championships, the San Jose State women’s golf team learned they would compete in the NCAA Regionals May 7-9 at the Arizona State Karsten Golf Course in Tempe, AZ.
Hawai`i men’s tennis earned its second-consecutive tournament crown after a 4-2 victory over No. 1 seed Boise State, Sunday. On the women's side, Top-seeded Fresno State defeated No. 2-seed Boise State to capture their eighth-straight WAC Championship crown.

New Mexico State outfielder Nate Shaver has been named Western Athletic Conference Baseball Hitter of the Week and Fresno State right-handed pitcher Matt Morse, along with San Jose State right-handed pitcher Ryan Shopshire have been named the WAC’s Co-Pitchers of the Week

WAC Baseball Tournament Tickets on Sale Now!

A total of 10 former WAC football players were selected in this year's NFL Draft. Click here for the WAC Draft Picks

Fresno State’s Brooke Phipps and Louisiana Tech’s Meghan Krieg have been named the Western Athletic Conference Hitter and Pitcher of the Week, respectively.

The Western Athletic Conference, in conjunction with its Web site partner JumpTV Sports, has announced it will stream the 2009 WAC Softball Tournament live from Fresno, Calif.. Viewers can sign up HERE

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

WAC Happenings


Since not everyone has time to read each article on WACSports.com I have perused the website and have listed the most recent achievements and information on WAC Championships and conference information.

Fresno State defeated first-place Nevada 1-0 in nine innings Friday night, Morgan Melloh (pictured left) notched her 800th career strikeout, while head coach Margie Wright earned her 300th WAC win.

Louisiana Tech’s Amberly Waits and Fresno State’s Morgan Melloh have been named the Western Athletic Conference Hitter and Pitcher of the Week, respectively

Tickets for the 2009 Western Athletic Conference Softball Tournament, hosted by Fresno State at Bulldog Diamond May 6-9, are on sale now. Fans can purchase tickets for the tournament by logging on to http://www.gobulldogs.com/, calling (559) 278-DOGS

Louisiana Tech outfielder Devon Dageford and left-handed pitcher Mike Jefferson have been named the Western Athletic Conference Baseball Hitter and Pitcher of the Week, respectively.

Southern Utah's Elise Wheeler will not only be bringing home All-American first-team honors on bars and beam and second-team All-American honors on floor, but the junior will also be bringing home NCAA hardware after a sixth-place finish on the balance beam at the NCAA National Championships on Saturday night.

The WACSports Twitter page is available at http://twitter.com/WACSports?DB_OEM_ID=10100

The 2009 WAC Football Spring Preview is available. The preview contains information on the upcoming WAC football season with notes and conference information.
2009 WAC Spring Football Preview

San Jose State took a 13-stroke lead over Idaho after the first round of the Club Glove Western Athletic Conference women's golf championship. The Spartans shot a total of 285 in the first round at the 6,133-yard, par-72 Wolf Run Golf Club in Reno, Nev. LIVE SCORING

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

FIND THE WAC ON FACEBOOK AND TWITTER

In an effort to connect with more WAC fans, the Western Athletic Conference now has a presence on the Facebook and Twitter social networking sites.
The Western Athletic Conference facebook and twitter accounts will feature up-to-date posts on WAC Championships, weekly releases, promotions and conference information.

The WACSports twitter page is available at http://twitter.com/WACSports

Locate us on facebook at http://www.facebook.com/business/dashboard/#/pages/Western-Athletic-Conference/75100205217

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

WAC ACTION

With the Spring season well underway here are this weeks Top Ten in WAC Action...ENJOY!

10. New Mexico State junior Sophia Marks has been named the WAC Women’s Tennis Player of the Week. This is the first player of the week honor for Marks, who was a second team all-WAC performer last year for the Aggies in both singles and doubles. Marks led the Aggie women’s tennis team to a 2-1 record last weekend with wins over Utah State and Louisiana Tech. She went 2-1 in her singles matches and 2-1 in her doubles matches.

9. SJSU’s Erica Moston (pictured left) is ranked in the top-10 nationally among collegiate women's golfers and will be the live in-studio guest during the April 14 KRON TV (Channel 4, San Francisco) evening sports report. Heading into the WAC Championship Moston is ranked ninth nationally and has a season stroke average of 71.41. She has recent back-to-back tournament wins at the Ryder Canes & Carinal Classic in Miami Lakes, Fla., and the Mountain View Collegiate in Tucson, Ariz.

8. Utah State women's track and field athlete Sonia Grabowska has been named both the WAC and America First Credit Union Utah State Student-Athlete of the Week. The WAC honor is selected by the conference office while the USU award is chosen by a statewide media panel. Grabowska, a sophomore set a new USU school record, taking second-place in the pole vault on Saturday at the UCLA Rafer Johnson/Jackie Joyner-Kersee Invitational clearing 13-09.75 (4.21m). Grabowska's record setting height is also a new personal-best, a new Western Athletic Conference-best and an NCAA regional qualifying mark. She now holds both of the Aggies' indoor and outdoor record in this event.

7. Boise State football player Tommy Gallarda has been selected to attend the 2009 NCAA National Student-Athlete Development Conference. Gallarda is one of 233 Division I student-athletes who will participate in the annual conference. The conference is to provide a forum for student-athletes to discuss campus and community issues. It will also give them the opportunity to develop leadership, communication, decision-making and problem-solving skills.

6. The UH cheerleaders placed first and fifth respectively in the Partner Stunt Division at the National Cheerleaders Association's Collegiate Cheer Championship held in Daytona Beach, Fla. on Saturday. Partners Kristin Kowalkowski and Kelvin Lam won the prestigious event and Amanda Lucero and George McGuire captured fifth place.

5. The Nevada softball team had a strong performance in their Saturday sweep of Boise State. In game one of the doubleheader, freshman pitcher Mallary Darby tossed the third no-hitter in school history. Senior outfielder Brittany Puzey (pictured right) extended her hitting streak to 20 straight games, the longest in school history and the longest on record in the WAC. The Wolf Pack belted eight home runs on the day and broke the school record (43) for home runs in a season.

4. University of Idaho athletes Mac Hopson and Allix Lee-Painter garnered Athlete of the Year awards at the North Idaho Sports Banquet over the weekend. Hopson, a junior point guard with the Idaho men’s basketball team, was named the top men’s college athlete in Northern Idaho while senior Lee-Painter earned the same award for women as a member of the Vandal cross country and track and field teams.

3. Fresno State Junior Tom Mendonca (pictured above) hit two home runs in his first two at bats of the night at the FSU / NM State baseball game on April 13. The home runs tied the third baseman for all-time home run leader.

2. The Louisiana Tech Track and Field Team captured ten top five finishes and three regional qualifying marks at the Ole Miss Invitational.

· Sophomore Larry Jones placed second in the discus throw with a regional qualifying
throw of 177' 07".
· Senior Nadia Alexander recorded two top five finishes in the woman's discus and shot put.
Alexander finished third in the shot put with a regional qualifying throw of 51' 0" and fifth in
the discus with a throw of 146' 11".
· Sophomore sprinter Chasidee Lewis-Baker who finished third in the 100m with a regional
qualifying time of 11.50 which is top in the conference.


1. For only the second time in school history, San Jose State will be represented at the NCAA Women’s Gymnastics Championships. Veronica Porte and Thomasina Wallace will compete in the all-around on Thursday, April 16. They are just the second and third Spartan gymnasts to compete in the all-around at the championships.

Monday, April 13, 2009

PLAY BALL!

This past Friday was opening day for the Colorado Rockies. For some reason I started to think about music in baseball and ‘at bat’ songs. I wonder how long it takes an athlete to select their ‘at bat’ song. This is a big decision…this song will be played multiple times each game and hundreds of times during the season. The song selected serves multiple purposes. The song selection helps to shed some light on the individual’s personality; it’s used to pump up the athlete and is an entertaining element for the crowd.

I’ve searched the internet and it is unclear when and where ‘at bat’ songs originated, one thing is evident, it is a tradition you can hear at MLB and college stadiums across the US.

I stated to think of the song I would use for my at bat song and thought it would be fun to include songs my co-workers would select. Just click on the name to hear the song selected…

Karl Benson
Jeff Hurd
Dave Chaffin
Anthony Archbald
Steve Borland
Kathy Schild
Hope Shuler
Michelle Smith
Mollie Lehman
Elizabeth Kampfe
Megan Allen

“At bat: songs in MLB:
Boston Red Sox
Tampa Bay Devil Rays

While doing research on ‘at bat’ songs I stumbled upon some interesting information about music in baseball, in particular the origins of the seventh inning stretch.

The reason for the seventh inning stretch is unclear. Some historians believe that President Taft started the time honored tradition while attending the Washington Senators and the Philadelphia Athletics game in 1910. Apparently Taft became restless during the game and decided to stand and stretch his limbs. When Taft stood up, the entire stadium rose – as you know if the President stands those in his presence are to stand as well. Fans expected Taft to depart the stadium, instead he returned to his seat to watch the conclusion of the game. Others believe the tradition began in 1869 when Harry Wright of the Cincinnati Red Stockings noted that "The spectators all arise between halves of the seventh inning, extend their legs and arms and sometimes walk about. In so doing they enjoy the relief afforded by relaxation from a long posture upon hard benches."

To this date ballparks still honor this tradition and play “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” in the middle of the seventh inning. Some franchises have even started their own traditions:

The Yankees play “New York, New York” after each home game.
Boston Red Sox play “Sweet Caroline” during the eight inning of each contest.
After the passing of Harry Carry the Chicago Cubs organization welcomes various guest to attend the game and lead the crowd in the singing of “Take Me Out to the Ball Game”

To read about more MLB ball park traditions click here

Thursday, April 2, 2009

WAC BASEBALL HEADING INTO CONFERENCE PLAY THIS WEEKEND

The baseball season is in full swing as we head into conference play this weekend. Our baseball programs have made some notable accomplishments during the non-conference portion of their schedules. Here’s a classic baseball tune for your enjoyment while catching up on WAC Baseball highlights….

Fresno State third baseman Tommy Mendonca (pictured left)and Sacramento State junior outfielder Tim Wheeler have been named to the preseason All-American team by Baseball America.

As of March 29, New Mexico State ranks fifth or better in 13 team statistical categories. The Aggies lead the nation in scoring, runs, doubles, Home Runs, slugging percentage, base on balls and win-loss percentage. NMSU also ranks second in the nation in hits and home runs per game.

Nevada head coach Gary Powers (pictured on the right) recorded his 800th career victory when the Wolf Pack defeated Oregon 6-5 on March 12. Powers the longest tenured coach in the history of Nevada athletics is in his 27th year as skipper of the Pack.

San Jose State’s victory over Dartmouth College on March 19, marked win No. 700 for 22nd-year Spartan head coach Sam Piraro. Piraro is the winningest coach in program history with a record of 704-525-6.

The NMSU Aggies broke into the Collegiate Baseball Newspaper NCAA Division I baseball poll last week and stayed at No. 24 after picking five consecutive road wins.

Fresno State’s Tom Mendonca continues to front the WAC as the league’s active career leader in home runs with 40.

San Jose State entered Collegiate Baseball Newspaper’s NCAA Division I baseball poll at the No. 25 spot on March 9. It was San Jose State’s first in-season national ranking since the 2002 campaign.

NMSU’s Richard Stout(pictured left) leads the nation in four categories. Stout fronts the country in runs per game, runs, base on ball per game and base on balls.

Louisiana Tech senior Chris Kersten was named National Hitter of the Week by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) on Feb. 24.

The New Mexico State baseball team set the school record for most home runs in a game when it hit 10 home runs against Chicago State, Friday, Feb. 27. The old record was nine, when the Aggies accomplished that feat against Pacific, May 3, 1997.

CURRENT WAC STANDINGS
New Mexico State (25-3)
San Jose State (19-5)
Hawai`i (16-9)
Sacramento State (16-9)
Louisiana Tech (12-9)
Fresno State (13-11)
Nevada (11-15)

Wednesday, April 1, 2009

WAC Softball Update

So far the WAC Softball teams are off to a great start this season. I thought I would highlight some of their accomplishments thus far…

Both Fresno State and Nevada are ranked, No. 23 and No. 25 respectively in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Poll.

Fresno State’s Haley Perkins and Morgan Melloh, and Nevada’s Noelle Micka (photo on the righ)were named to the Amateur Softball Association of America (ASA) Watch List for the eighth Annual USA Softball National Collegiate Player of the Year Award. The 2009 Preseason Watch List is comprised of 50 players representing 32 schools and 13 different NCAA Division I Conferences.

Fresno State’s Morgan Melloh was named a first team Easton All-American. Melloh was one of just 14 student-athletes from across the country to be named to the first team and the only representative from the WAC.

Nevada catcher Noelle Micka (photo below) and Fresno State pitcher Morgan Melloh earned second team All-America honors by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association.

Fresno State’s Morgan Melloh (photo on the left) became just the third freshman in school history to be named the WAC Freshman and Pitcher of the Year in the same season.

New Mexico State has earned three WAC Hitters of the Week accolades while Boise State, Fresno State, Hawai`i, Louisiana Tech and Nevada have each received the honor once.

Nevada has received the WAC Pitcher of the Week honors four times this season while Louisiana Tech has notched two weekly accolades and Fresno State and Hawai`i have each received the honor once.
WAC teams combined to hit 32 home runs last week(March 23), including seven each by Fresno State and Louisiana Tech. Hawai‘i’s Amanda Tauali‘i hit three homers in one game, tying the WAC single-game record

In their inaugural year Boise State swept its first WAC series on the road at Utah State, winning 2-0, 12-6 and 7-3.

Brittany Puzey’s (photo on the right) seventh-inning home run against Oregon State on Feb. 28 at the DeMarini Invitational moved her into first place on Nevada’s all-time home run list.

San Jose State senior Brittany McConnell set the SJSU career mark for RBI (119) and tied the career home run mark of 27 on a three-run homer in the Spartans’ 7-4 loss to Cal State Northridge at the UTEP Invitational Feb. 20.

Current WAC Standings:
Fresno State Bulldogs (22-13, 5-1 WAC)
Nevada Wolf Pack (24-10, 4-1 WAC)
Boise State Broncos (17-13, 3-2 WAC)
Louisiana Tech Techsters (18-14, 3-2 WAC)
Hawai‘i Rainbow Wahine (15-19, 3-3 WAC)
San Jose State Spartans (15-23, 2-4 WAC)
New Mexico State Aggies (21-14, 1-4 WAC)
Utah State Aggies (8-22, 1-5 WAC)