|
HORNET WOMEN WIN BIG SKY ALL-SPORTS TROPHY BY A LANDSLIDE
5/21/2008
 SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Catapulted by conference championships from the volleyball, soccer, indoor and outdoor track & field, and tennis teams, the Sacramento State women easily won the Big Sky Conference’s All-Sports Trophy, it was announced by the league today.
The women’s Big Sky all-sports championship is the first for Sacramento State since the program joined the Big Sky Conference in 1996-97. In the men’s all-sports race, Sacramento State finished fourth among the league’s nine teams. Overall, counting men’s and women’s athletic points, Sacramento State finished second, narrowly trailing first-place Northern Arizona.
All three finishes (first on the women’s side, fourth on the men’s side, second overall) are program bests or matched program highs since joining the Big Sky. The men also finished fourth last season.
The Hornet women accumulated 91 points, or 11.4 points per sport, easily finishing ahead of second-place Northern Arizona (71 points, 8.88 per sport). Rounding out the rest of the women’s field are Portland State (8.75), Weber State (8.2), Montana (7.8), Eastern Washington (6.38), Montana State (6.36), Idaho State (6.25) and Northern Colorado (5.7).
Of the eight women’s sports offered in the Big Sky, Sacramento State won five titles. No other Big Sky team won more than one conference championship.
On the men’s side, Northern Arizona finished first with an average of 13.3 points per sports, followed by Weber State (11.6), Montana (9.17), Sacramento State (8.75), Montana State (8.1), Eastern Washington (7.8), Portland State (6.4), Idaho State (6.1) and Northern Colorado (2.4).
Overall, counting both the men’s and women’s sports, Northern Arizona was first with 10.79 points, followed by Sacramento State (10.25), Weber State (9.6), Montana (8.39) and Portland State (7.775) to round out the top five.
Points for the All-Sports Trophy are awarded based on finish in regular-season standings for soccer, volleyball, basketball, tennis, and football. In cross country, indoor and outdoor track and field, and golf, points are awarded based on finish in the Big Sky Championship. The All-Sports Trophy standings are based on average points per sport. The Big Sky has awarded a men’s all-sports trophy since 1963-64, and a women’s all-sports trophy since 1988-89.
This summer, the conference will announce the winner of the 2007-08 Sterling Savings Bank Presidents’ Cup, which recognizes a combination of academic and athletic achievement.
For the second straight year, Sacramento State’s athletics department has won eight conference championships (volleyball, women’s soccer, men’s indoor track, women’s indoor track, softball, women’s tennis, men’s tennis and women’s outdoor track). Sacramento State sponsors 20 intercollegiate athletic programs, meaning the school has won conference championships in 40 percent of its sports two years running. Sacramento State’s baseball team will be the last athletic team to compete for a conference championship when they play at the Western Athletic Conference Tournament this week in Louisiana.
|
