The student news site of Sacramento State University

The State Hornet

Student news without fear or favor
The student news site of Sacramento State University

The State Hornet

The student news site of Sacramento State University

The State Hornet

Student news without fear or favor

Aj Taylor, Author

All content by Aj Taylor
Womens basketball loses third straight road game

Women’s basketball loses third straight road game

AJ Taylor
December 13, 2011

Sacramento State women’s basketball led UC Irvine by one point at halftime and generally outplayed the Anteaters, but still lost 81-75. Sac State’s Kylie Kuhns scored 18 points and grabbed...

Hornet Awards – Most improved male athlete: Todd Davis

AJ Taylor
December 7, 2011

Todd Davis of the Sacramento State football team totaled 21 tackles as a defensive end in 2010. This fall, the sophomore was converted to a linebacker, charged his way to a team-leading 96 tackles and...

Hornet Awards – Best freshman male athlete: Garrett Safron

AJ Taylor
December 7, 2011

Minutes before kickoff it was uncertain who would lead the Hornets’ offense during homecoming. Head coach Marshall Sperbeck had two options: Fleming, who had led the Hornets earlier in the season to...

Former teammates to clash in Causeway Classic

AJ Taylor
November 16, 2011

Sacramento State’s John Bloomfield will battle a familiar foe in his only Causeway Classic this Saturday. Bloomfield played his first football games in the parking lots of apartment complexes. This...

Volleyball beats Montana State, pads lead over Idaho State

AJ Taylor
November 11, 2011

The Sacramento State volleyball team beat Montana State on Thursday night securing its fourth place standing in the Big Sky Conference for at least one more game. The Hornets were led to their win over...

After redshirting last season, Freshman Magd Owayed will take
the court this season as a forward. Owayed is a native of Israel,
where he played for the under-18 national team before graduating
from high school.

Owayed brings foreign flair to Sacramento State basketball

AJ Taylor
November 9, 2011

Magd Owayed, a 6-foot-7-inch redshirt freshman on the Sacramento State basketball team, arrived in the United States less than two weeks before the 2010-11 school year began. In August of 2010 Owayed...

Junior running back Sam McCowan caught a 13-yard touchdown pass
in the second quarter.

Hornets drop second straight; lose 27-26 against NAU

AJ Taylor
October 29, 2011

The Sacramento State football team dropped its second straight contest, losing 27-26 to Northern Arizona University at Hornet Stadium Saturday night. The Hornets' kicking game continued to plague the team....

Junior running back Sam McCowan caught a 13-yard touchdown pass
in the second quarter.

Sac State football down by three at half against NAU

AJ Taylor
October 29, 2011

The Sacramento State Hornets are trailing the Northern Arizona University Lumberjacks 17-14 at half. The Hornets were threatening to take the lead with 12 seconds left in the half and the ball on the 2-yard...

 

The Sacramento Mountain Lions drew more fans than any other UFL
team this season.
 

Mountain Lions look to get new deal done with CSUS

AJ Taylor
October 26, 2011

Hornet Stadium is home to the Sacramento Mountain Lions, but the two-year, $300,000 contract the Mountain Lions signed with Sacramento State Athletics Department is in need of renewal. The second year...

Tennis team brings in new talent as No. 1 player leaves

AJ Taylor
October 26, 2011

The Sacramento State men’s tennis team will defend its third consecutive Big Sky Conference Tournament title and its fifth consecutive regular season title without seven players from last season’s...

Outside hitter Janelle Currey spikes the ball during Fridays
game against Seattle. The Hornets won the match 3-1.

Volleyball defeats Seattle University

AJ Taylor
October 22, 2011

The Sacramento State volleyball team won its final non-conference match of the season Friday night against Seattle University in four sets at Colberg Court. With the 3-1 victory (25-13, 20-25, 25-19, 26-24)...


Defensive end Brian Coutler attempts to strip the ball while
sacking Destroyers quarterback Mike McMahon.

Sac State alumni Bethel-Thompson, Amey, lead Molos to victory

AJ Taylor
October 19, 2011

Otis Amey and McLeod Bethel-Thompson stepped onto the turf at Hornet Stadium to find one statement holds true: once a Hornet, always a Hornet. Amey scored his first two touchdowns in the United Football...

Golf graphic

Rappleye leads men’s golf to victory at Wildcat Invitational

AJ Taylor
October 12, 2011

Sacramento State's men's golf team outlasted and outplayed a field of eleven teams to win the Wildcat Invitational for the second consecutive year Tuesday behind the performance of individual champion...

Team Ebony Lust pose after winning Sac States 4-on-4 flag
football tournament.

‘Ebony Lust’ dominates Sac State intramurals

AJ Taylor
October 12, 2011

One team has dominated the Sacramento State intramural scene the last three years. This “traditional team” as the term is known within intramural sports programs keeps the same core of students over...


Jacob Scandone, right, competes in a water pong tour- nament at The
Station Bistro and Lounge on Sept. 28.

Water pong club aims to offer all the fun without the hangover

AJ Taylor
October 5, 2011

Water pong is on campus. The Sacramento Area Pong Enthusiasts, led by club president Jacob Scandone, is the only college water pong club in existence and is looking for new members to enjoy this underground,...

Wide Receiver Kenny Moore puts six on the board for the Molos
late in the second quarter.

MoLos lose in final seconds to Nighthawks

AJ Taylor
October 5, 2011

Saturday’s game at Hornet Stadium was a matchup between two winless squads - the Sacramento Mountain Lions (0-1) and the Omaha Nighthawks (0-1). These teams’ tied rank in the UFL standings- for last...

Mens golf places fourth in Wolfpack Classic

Men’s golf places fourth in Wolfpack Classic

AJ Taylor
October 4, 2011

Jordan Weir of the men's golf team shot 75-69-73-217 at the University of Nevada, Reno's Wolfpack Classic Monday and Tuesday as the Hornets finished in fourth place. San Jose State took home the team title...

The Mountain Lions take the field Saturday night at the home
opener against the Las Vegas Locomotives.

Mountain Lions lose 23-17 to Locomotives in season opener

AJ Taylor
September 21, 2011

A sold-out Hornet Stadium erupted to the tune of more than 20,000 fans as pyrotechnics lit up the night sky and the Sacramento Mountain Lions came screaming onto the turf to kick off the 2011 United Football...


Sacramento State’s wrestling club takes picture after
practice at The Well. There are 18 members in the
club.

New wrestling club forms at Sac State

AJ Taylor
September 14, 2011

Twenty-eight years have passed since a squad donning the Sacramento State green and gold has competed in a wrestling tournament. But a couple students with a dream, along with an internationally renowned...


Senior Kelsey Elston slams the ball past the Bulldog
block during Friday night’s game. Despite winning the first set the
Hornets lost the match 3-1 against Fresno State. The Hornets are
now 3-3 on the season.

Volleyball takes third at invitational

AJ Taylor
September 7, 2011

The Sacramento State volleyball team finished in third place as it hosted the Sacramento State Invitational on Sept. 2 and 3.   The team went 1-2 ahead of Marist (0-3), and behind Fresno State (2-1)...


Senior Anna Schoener prepares to spike the ball in practice
on Aug. 24.

Fall sports preview: Volleyball

AJ Taylor
August 31, 2011

The Sacramento State Volleyball team is counting on veteran leadership to carry it through the season. In 2010, injuries plagued the Sac State volleyball team’s starting roster. The team went without...

Fall sports preview: Men’s and women’s golf

AJ Taylor
August 31, 2011

The men’s and women’s golf teams at Sacramento State will begin their seasons Sept. 12 and both teams will try to build on their strong finishes from the spring. The men finished in second place at...

The Hornet Hot Seat

AJ Taylor
May 9, 2011

AJ Taylor puts three baseball players on The Hornet Hot Seat to talk everything fromLeBronto Jersey Shore.

If you were a cast member from "Jersey Shore," who would you be?

Tanner Mendonca, pitcher:"Pauly D because I'm laid back. I don't get into the drama. I just have fun."

Dallas Chadwick, pitcher:"Ronnie because I'm jacked."

Ty Nichols, pitcher:"The Situation, because I coordinate and I'm the boss."

Best video game: "Madden NFL 11," "FIFA 11," or "MLB2K10"?

Mendonca:"'Madden,' I just dominate."

Chadwick:"'Madden 11' because I beatMendonca."

Nichols:"'FIFA 11' because I got into soccer after the World Cup."

Who's better: Michael Jordan or LeBron James?

Mendonca: "MJ. Six rings to none for LeBron."

Chadwick:"Jordan. Never saw MJ play but LeBron sucks."

Nichols:"Kobe Bryant, but MJ if I had to pick one. LeBron is a trophy chaser."

Which "Jersey Shore" cast member is head coach Reggie Christiansen?

Nichols:"Definitely The Situation. He calls the shots, he leads and we follow."

AJTaylor can be reached at ataylor@statehornet.

Hornets inspire young players

AJ Taylor
May 4, 2011

Aspiring college soccer players came to Sacramento State Saturday to watch the men’s soccer team beat Humboldt State 3-0 in the last soccer game of the season. The young boys, ages 9 and 10, took pictures...

Pitcher aids in no-hitter despite injury setback

AJ Taylor
May 4, 2011

Five days before the start of Pacific Coast Softball Conference competition, and 12 days before she combined for a no-hitter against Saint Mary’s, junior pitcher Shelby Voelz was struck by oncoming traffic...

Roller derby teams, the Capitol City Punishers go head to head against the Folsom Prison Bruisers for the Ultimate Derby Radness held in the University Union Ballroom on April 21.

Roller Derby takes over Sac State

AJ Taylor
April 27, 2011

The University Union Ballroom was taken over Thursday night by 26 aggressive women on roller skates. The Sac City Rollers, Sacramento’s first all-women’s flat track roller derby league, finally made...

CSUS loses Causeway competition

AJ Taylor
April 21, 2011

Sacramento State track and field won each of the five-point Causeway Cup meets against UC Davis on April 2, but it was the Aggies who took the trophy back to Davis this year.

Of the 18 NCAA teams that compete in the name of each school, three control 10 Causeway Cup points. Football, men's and women's basketball control three-tenths of all Causeway Cup points and UC Davis was victorious in all three.

But it was before any of these teams met when the Aggies went on what would turn out to be a 32.5 point run. It all started Sept. 26 when the women's golf team gave up 2.5 points to the Aggies when the Hornets and Aggies met for a three-day golf tournament.

After day one, Sac State was 17th in the tournament; Davis was first. The Aggies would eventually lose some ground and finish fourth, but not nearly enough to allow for the Hornets, who remained in 17th place, to catch up.

At that point the Hornets lost the tie for the Cup, the Aggies took the lead 17.5-15. But the Causeway Classic was up next and football was ready to win its third straight classic.

Head coach Marshall Sperbeck is 2-2 when fighting for the 10 cup points his team controls. But it would turn out that, among other games, a 17-16 loss would be what did the Hornets in for the race for the Cup.

In 2010, Jeff Fleming hooked up for 23 touchdowns and handed the ball off for touchdowns 12 times to his running back, homegrown talent Bryan Hilliard. Hilliard struggled through the 2010 season with an ankle injury that would eventually take him out of the classic.

Fleming was left without his right-hand man. The Hornets led early but gave up a 13-point lead in the second half. The Aggies eventually won their 40th Classic in 58 years.

"I'll be honest with you: I don't really think about the Causeway Cup, I think about the Causeway Classic," Sperbeck said. "That's the only thing I concern myself with. The rest of the teams they probably feel the same way, all they can do is win their game. It's like being on a team, you've got to take care of your job and the rest of the team takes care of theirs.

The men's soccer team was able to win its Causeway game for the Hornets for the first time since 2005.

The Hornets had just come back from an East Coast tour where they lost two games against North Carolina State and 11th-ranked Duke. The Hornets won the Causeway game 2-1, but head coach Michael Linenberger saw the game as an important stepping stone.

"We got on a nice little roll after that, Linenberger said. "It was a very important result for us and the season."

The men were 1-2 afterward with their only win at home. It was a team goal to remain undefeated at home and the men pulled it off, even beating UC Irvine at their home. The men went on to earn a NCAA Tournament berth. They defeated Santa Clara University, but the team's season came to an end in the second round against UCLA.

They were the first Hornet team to sting the Aggies in 2010.

"We hadn't beaten Davis in a couple years, so we emphasized to our guys all week long that that particular game had a lot of meaning to us," Linenberger said. "Not only did we win, we won in dominating fashion. Even though the score didn't show it, it was one-way traffic almost the entire game."

The Cup's final destination of 2010 was sealed Feb. 23 on Davis' softball diamond. The Aggies won a one-run game on two unearned runs. After that, the Hornet women dropped to 1-6 on the year. The softball team fell to UC Davis in every game this season.

The Hornet baseball team won the season series, winning three of four against UC Davis. Baseball's one loss excluded, the only spring sports to fall to the Aggies were softball and women's golf.

Men's and women's tennis handled the Aggies quickly. The men took the match 6-1; the women 6-0. Track and field dealt with the Aggies at UC Davis and the women won by a seven-point margin, with the men by a 15-point margin.

Gymnastics had a home meet against the Aggies, and pulled off a .901 point victory.

In the end it was UC Davis that edged out Sac State by 6.25 points. This is the third lowest margin of victory in the Cup's history.

"Our first goal is always to win our conference, but equally important is the goal of beating Davis in all of the events we compete against them," said Sac State Athletics Director Terry Wanless. "It's healthy, it's positive; it's not a hate mentality. It's a competitive mentality. I think that as our sports programs continue to grow you will see the student and the campus engagement take on a new level."

You can reach AJ Taylor [email protected]

Sacramento Mountain Lions schedule four open tryouts

AJ Taylor
April 12, 2011

The Sacramento Mountain Lions will hold open player tryouts in May, as they continue to work on filling out their roster for the 2011 UFL season. In 2010, the Mountain Lions were just one win away from...

Longest-tenured coach ends 30th season with Hornets

AJ Taylor
April 5, 2011

It was 34 years ago when Kim Hughes began coaching the Hornet women's gymnastics team. He broke into the Sacramento State coaching scene right out of college, but he had an in. As a freshman undergraduate...

Gymnastics finishes its season in fourth place

AJ Taylor
April 5, 2011

The Hornets gymnastics team finished fourth in the WAC Tournament this season. The team scored a 193.550 and sent freshman Kailey Hansen and senior Lissa Zamolo to the NCAA Regionals. The Hornets exceeded...

Senior relief pitcher acts as a role model for young players

AJ Taylor
March 8, 2011

Senior relief pitcher James Chamberlin has earned a particular reputation amongst his teammates. Commended for his positive energy, and model work ethic, Chamberlin, or Chambo as he is called, is acknowledged...

Hornets swept by UC Riverside

AJ Taylor
February 27, 2011

Sacramento State baseball dropped all three games in a weekend series against UC Riverside. Sunday's 4-3 loss dropped the Hornets to 2-5 and was their fourth straight defeat. "You're disappointed that...

baseballgpa1:The baseball team?s GPA for the fall semester did not impress Reggie Christiansen, head coach, so he has set mandatory study hours weekly. :File Photo

Baseball begins 2011 season

AJ Taylor
February 16, 2011

After 32 seasons head coach of Hornet baseball, John Smith has retired, making room for Reggie Christiansen to take over, marking the beginning of a new era of Sacramento State baseball. The program has...

Sac State gymnasts follow in footsteps of their mothers

AJ Taylor
February 2, 2011

During a season in which women's gymnastics coach Kim Hughes planned to rely on a core of senior gymnasts to lead his team, injuries have plagued the Hornet seniors, but still there remains a light shining...

?Ergathon? provides funds and awareness for men?s rowing

AJ Taylor
December 8, 2010

On Nov. 30 and Dec. 1, the Sacramento State men's Rowing club put on two 12-hour ergathons in order to raise both money and campus awareness of the rowing club and team. What the men's rowing club calls...

Women?s basketball rolls through Maritime in exhibition

AJ Taylor
November 5, 2010

The women's basketball team openedits season with a bang Thursday night rolling through the Cal State Maritime Keelhaulers 119-54 in its first and last exhibition game. Sac State's starting lineup featured...

Sacramento State baseball recuiting class ranked high

AJ Taylor
November 3, 2010

Collegiate Baseball Magazineranked Sacramento State baseball's recruiting class of 2014 50th in the nation, the first time Sac State has ever been ranked as such in any sport. Just after finishing the...

Sacramento State volleyball wins to remain in fourth place

AJ Taylor
October 23, 2010

Hornet Volleyball edged Northern Arizona University in five sets Friday night to keep pace with Idaho State (5-4) for fourth place in the Big Sky Conference. One game past the half-way point of Big Sky...

Morris League, Dream.Develop.Do. raise money for scholarships

AJ Taylor
October 20, 2010

Sacramento's own Morris League and non-profit organization Dream.Develop.Do. raised $6,000 for scholarships and league expansion at their home run derby fundraiser on Saturday. The event titled "A Night...

Sac State running back is rushing his way into history

AJ Taylor
October 19, 2010

Running back Bryan Hilliard is proving he knows what a comeback is. Hilliard was Sacramento State's secondary running back behind University of Washington transfer Curtis Shaw at the start of this season....

Volleyball extends home winning streak to six

AJ Taylor
October 9, 2010

The Sacramento State women's volleyball edged the Idaho State University Bengals in five sets Friday night as the team earned its third straight win and its sixth straight win at home. The Hornets led...

Defense leads Volleyball to first Big Sky win

AJ Taylor
October 2, 2010

The volleyball team rebounded from their four game losing streak Friday night, with a win in four sets over Big Sky Conference rival, the Eastern Washington Eagles. Originally the game was scheduled for...

Sacramento Mountain Lions find a home

AJ Taylor
September 29, 2010

After the fireworks had all been fired and the smoke had cleared, the 20,000 fans packing Hornet Stadium began screaming cheers of welcome to their new professional football team - the United Football...

Sacramento Mountain Lions win home debut 24-20

AJ Taylor
September 26, 2010

The Sacramento Mountain Lions played at Hornet Stadium for the first time Saturday night and battled back in the final seconds to defeat the Florida Tuskers 24-20. Mountain Lions' quarterback, Daunte Culpepper...

Athletes lead student body in GPA

AJ Taylor
September 22, 2010

It was only three years ago that Sacramento State had received the most penalties due to academics of any NCAA Division I school; thanks to a major overhaul of the entire athletic department, Sac State...

Men’s soccer beats UC Davis for first win of season

AJ Taylor
September 11, 2010

The men's soccer team (1-2-0) defeated its Causeway rival UC Davis 2-1 on Friday at Hornet Soccer Field. Before the fans even had time to blink, Davis had already lit up the scoreboard with a goal after...

Costly serving errors lead to Hornets’ defeat

AJ Taylor
September 2, 2010

The volleyball team's momentum came to a screeching halt Wednesday as the Hornet fell in three straight sets to the Santa Clara University Bronco on their home court. The Hornets could not have asked for...

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