Big Sky women have chance to bring home a trophy

The Sacramento State women’s athletic programs are currently in first place in the Big Sky Conference nine-team race for the conference’s all-sports trophy.

The Hornets lead the top five with 11.6 points from the fall and winter sports. Weber State is second with 10.9 points, followed by Portland with 10.6 points, then Montana with 9.3 points and Northern Arizona with 8 points.

The final three Big Sky sports are golf, tennis and outdoor track and field. Sac State has clinched 12 points, the maximum, for tennis, while the golf team is looking to land in the champions spot, and the track and field team tops first in the indoor championships.

The Hornets placed fourth last year and have a chance to win the trophy for the first time in the program’s history since joining the Big Sky in 1996-97.

McGhee earns another honor

Freshman Vinnie McGhee was selected as one of 10 to the CollegeHoops.net Mid-Major all-Freshman team. Five players were named to first team and five players to the second team, he was named to the second team.

McGhee was named Big Sky Conference Freshman of the Year and an honorable mention on the all-Big Sky Conference team in a season during which the point guard averaged 12.1 point, 5.1 assists and 1.4 steals per game.

Lyssenko and Rueff earn Player of the Week awards

Women’s tennis junior Anastassia Lyssenko and men’s tennis junior Sven-David Rueff each earned the Big Sky Conference Player of the Week awards for the final week in March. This is the first time either has won the award this season.

Lyssenko helped her team go 4-0 on the week, clinching the No. 1 seed for the Big Sky Tournament.

Rueff went 3-0 in singles and 2-1 for doubles as the men’s team beat Eastern Washington and Idaho State.

The women and men have combined to win 10 Big Sky Player of the Week awards the season – four for the women and six for the men.

Junior Jacobo named WAC Hitter of the Week

Baseball’s Gabe Jacobo was named Western Athletic Hitter of the Week. He’s hitting .421 (8-of-16) with five runs, eight hits, eight RBI and four home runs as the Hornets went 3-0 during the first week of April.

Three of the four home runs came during the 17-2 victory over Louisiana Tech on Thursday, which tied the school record for home runs in a single game, matching Chris Kinsey and Jesse Schmidt.

Karyn Gilbert can be reached at [email protected]