Tuesday, Sept. 7

Woman of the Year: Coon, Pixler In Final 30 For Award

Coon	Pixler

Former Western Washington University rower Audrey Coon and Seattle Pacific cross country and track and field athlete Jessica Pixler are both among 30 finalists for the 2010 NCAA Woman of the Year award.

The award, established in 1991, honors senior student-athletes who have distinguished themselves throughout their collegiate careers in the areas of academic achievement, athletics excellence, service and leadership.

Coon and Pixler were originally among 117 student-athletes representing multiple sports in all three divisions selected from a record 452 nominees for the 20th annual NCAA Woman of the Year award.

The nominations came from conferences and independent institutions. Pixler was one of two GNAC nominees, while Coon was an at-large nominee because Western is considered an independent in women's rowing.

As one of the 30 finalists, 10 from each of the NCAA's three divisions, the two will now attend the awards dinner Oct. 17 in Indianapolis. Prior to that event, the list will be paired to nine, three each from Divisions I, II and III.

Women's Soccer: UBC Edges Clan In Challenge Cup

The University of British Columbia utilized a goal only one minute and two seconds into the contest to defeat Simon Fraser 1-0 and win the 2010 Challenge Cup Tuesday afternoon at Thunderbird Park in Vancouver, B.C.

UBC now leads the all-time Challenge Cup series 10-3-1. Simon Fraser fell to 1-1 on the season with the loss.

“We need to be able to create sustained pressure on the attack and that just didn't happen today,” said SFU head coach Shelley Howieson .

“It's one of those issues where it's very early in the season and we are still learning the intricacies of our system. Off the opening whistle we had a defensive player out of position that allowed for a scoring opportunity and they capitalized.”

Rachel Sawer opened the scoring for UBC only one minute into the game, taking a cross from Janine Frazao at the lower right side of the box, turning and beating Simon Fraser keeper Amelia Ng to the high short side.

Simon Fraser's Caitlyn Young and Aly Benes generated two counter attacks in the opening 15 minutes, however SFU was unable to create a scoring chance out of the opportunities.

The evenly matched squads played the majority of the first half in the middle-third of the field, and the score remained 1-0 at halftime.

The Thunderbirds applied the pressure early in the second half; however Ng broke up a cross off the opening whistle, and subsequently stoned Natalie Hirayama inside the six-yard box to keep the Clan within a goal.

Ten minutes later, April Coffin generated a run up the left side of the pitch, but again Simon Fraser was unable to generate a shot on the play.

The teams traded scoring opportunities midway through the half; the Thunderbirds created back-to-back corner kicks, while at the other end Jessica Hadden was robbed point blank by UBC keeper Meghan Best.

In the 66th minute, Hirayama was handed her second yellow card of the match and was sent off, handing SFU a player advantage.

Accordingly, the Thunderbirds tightened up their defense, and Simon Fraser was unable to produce the equalizer. Best earned the victory in goal for the T-Birds, making three saves for the shutout, while Ng made four saves in the loss. UBC outshot the Clan 9-6.

Volleyball: Seawolves, Saints Lose On Road

Alaska Anchorage, playing its sixth match in five days, could not fend off a quality opponent Tuesday losing 25-16, 18-25, 25-19, 25-17 at San Francisco State.

UAA (5-3) was led by eight kills and 12 digs from outside hitter Jackie Matthisen but was held to a season-low .042 attack percentage, seeing its three-match winning streak come to an end.

SFSU (3-2), an NCAA tournament qualifier last year, was led by 12 kills on .455 hitting from Halimah Oswald. Laren Walsh also boosted the hosts with a 10-kill, 14-dig double-double.

After hitting minus .179 in their first-set loss, the Seawolves seemed to turn the tide in the second frame, hitting .269 and running away to tie the match. But the momentum would not last in the last two sets as the Gators led virtually wire-to-wire the rest of the way.

In addition to Matthisen, right-side hitter Marie Borowikow tallied UAA's best all-around stats with seven kills on .375 hitting and five block assists. Middle blocker Robyn Burton had six block assists and Siobhan Johansen led UAA with 18 assists.

The loss snapped a 15-match winning streak against unranked opponents for the Seawolves, dating back to Oct. 1 of last season.

In Tuesday's only other match, Evergreen State defeated Saint Martin's, 25-21, 27-25, 18-25, 31-29.

The Saints (0-5) fell despite outhitting the Geoducks .116 to .060 and producing eight more blocks (13-5). Malia Ibarra and Katy Ferguson led SMU with 12 kills each. Ferguson also had eight blocks.

Jazzmin Garcia had 18 kills for Evergreen (1-4). She was also charged with 17 errors finishing with a .014 percentage.

Golf: MSUB Third In Yellowjacket Invitational

Travis Gates and Jake Letman shot six-over-par 78s and are tied for fifth after the first round of the Montana State Billings Fall Yellowjacket Invitational on the par 72, 7,004-yard Briarwood Golf Course in Billings.

MSUB is in third place with a team score of 317, 10 shots back of Rocky Mountain and nine behind Carroll College.

“We hit the ball very well on some holes and got into some trouble on some others,” MSUB coach Shawn O'Brien said.  “We are a very young team.  We had some great shots and had some holes in which we struggled. 

"Time and experience will be a great asset to us as the year goes on.  I expect us to come out and play better tomorrow (Wednesday).”

Rocky's Connor Rakowski and Carroll's Ben McIsaac led the 32-player field with two-over 74s. 

Stanhope, MSUB Women Grab First Day Lead

Kalli Stanhope of Montana State Billings shot a four-over-par 78 to take the first-day lead in the MSUB Yellowjacket Invitational.

Two other MSUB players - Lindsay Erickson and Elizabeth Tikriti - are tied for second with 82s.

The Yellowjackets posted a team score of 331 and have a three-stroke lead over Rocky Mountain after the opening round of the two-day tournament.