Hornets, Eagles tops in Big Sky
Sacramento State has been selected as the preseason favorite to win the Big Sky Conference volleyball championship for the second straight year, according to a poll of league coaches released Monday.
Eastern Washington, a three-time regular-season champion, finished second in the voting with 43 points, including one first-place vote.
The Eagles went 12-2 in conference play last season and posted their fourth straight 20-win season.
Sacramento State received seven first-place votes and totaled 49 points.
The Hornets finished second last year behind Eastern during the regular conference season with an 11-3, but upset the Eagles in the conference tournament title game.
Montana State (36 points) was picked to finish third, followed by Portland State (29).
Montana and Northern Arizona tied for fifth with 22 points, followed by Weber State (12) and Idaho State (11).
Voting is calculated by each team receiving seven points for a first-place vote, six points for second, etc. Coaches are not allowed to vote for their own team.
•Pepperdine and San Diego were selected co-favorites to win the West Coast Conference regular-season title as selected by the conference coaches.
Both schools totaled 57 points with San Diego getting four first-place votes and Pepperdine netting three.
Santa Clara was picked to finish third with 52 points and one first-place vote.
Loyola Marymount (37) was fourth, followed by San Francisco (30), Saint Mary’s (29), Portland (16) and Gonzaga (10).
San Diego enjoyed its best season in school history in 2004, posting a 24-5 record. Including a 14-0 mark in WCC play.
The Toreros, who advanced to the NCAA Tournament’s Sweet 16, joined Loyola Marymount and Pepperdine as the only schools to go unbeaten in conference play.
Pepperdine, which boasts the No. 10 recruiting class according to Volleyball Magazine, missed the postseason for the first time since the 1997 season, thanks to a slew of injuries.
Santa Clara and LMU are both looking for return trips to the NCAA Tournament.
Saint Mary’s is coming off a school-record 25 wins and a Sweet 16 appearance last year.
Golf
Former Washington State Cougars standout Kim Welch and Washington Huskies senior Paige Mackenzie are tied for 16th place after the first round of the U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship at the Settingdown Creek course at Ansley Golf Club in Roswell, Ga.
Welch and Mackenzie both carded even-par 72s and trail first-round leader In-Kyung Kim of South Korea by four strokes.
Huskies junior Amber Prange is another stroke back after opening with a 73.
Idaho Vandals sophomore Renee Skidmore shot a 3-over 75 and is tied for 46th place.
Washington State senior Anastasia Kostina is tied for 79th after a 5-over 77.
Mead High School graduate and Washington State freshman Amy Eneroth carded an 8-over 80 and is tied for 101st.
Washington sophomore Kim Shin is tied for 130th after opening with an 83.
The second round of stroke play takes place today before the field is cut for the match play portion of the tournament, which runs through Sunday.