Women’s basketball starts practice
The University of Idaho women’s basketball team began practice Monday in preparation for the 2012 fall season.
“It’s like Christmas morning,” Idaho coach Jon Newlee said of the first practice. “You’ve seen all these presents wrapped up, now you get to unwrap them and see what you’ve got. It’s the most exciting day of the year.”
Eight Vandals could see action for the first time in 2012 when Idaho opens the regular season at Wyoming on Nov. 9. The home opener for Idaho is Nov. 16 against Portland in Memorial Gym.
Akbar Honored by WAC
Idaho senior Abid Akbar was named the Western Athletic Conference Tennis Player of the Month for September.
Akbar, from Islamabad, Pakistan, made it to Round of 16 at the esteemed Baylor Invitational with wins over players from Louisiana-Lafayette and Baylor before losing to Hunter Reese of Tennessee in a close match. Reese was the tournament’s No. 2 overall seed.
Akbar teamed up with fellow senior Marius Cirstea to advance to the quarterfinals in doubles play before narrowly being held out of the semifinals. The Baylor Invitational annually selects a handful of the best collegiate tennis players in the nation.
Baker receives honor
Idaho junior Allison (Walker) Baker was named the WAC Volleyball Player of the Week for the fifth time in her career after strong matches against Texas-San Antonio and Texas State last week. Baker set a new career-high for kills in a game with 29 in Idaho’s 3-1 win over UTSA. It was her sixth 20-plus kill match of the season and 63rd double-digit kill match of her career. Baker also had 10 digs and four blocks against the Roadrunners. Earlier in the week, she had 19 kills and 12 digs in a 3-2 win against Texas State.
Journ***sts earn historic victory
Against the odds, the Journ***sts in Paris softball team was victorious Saturday, beating FarmHouse 10-8 at Ghormley Park. Consisting of student journalists from The Argonaut, the Journ***sts had competed in fall football, men’s basketball, co-rec soccer and spring football leagues last academic year, having only won one contest, a fall football forfeit. On Saturday, FarmHouse kept the Journ***sts close for 50 minutes before the game was called due to a time limit. With the win, the team advanced to the semifinals, where they suffered a 19-0 loss to the Replacement Players.