Schultz named Preseason Player of the Year
Idaho junior middle blocker Alyssa Schultz was named the WAC Preseason Volleyball Player of the Year Wednesday. Schultz was a first-team all-WAC pick in 2012 when she averaged 2.19 kills, 1.42 blocks and 0.54 digs per set while hitting .340.
Joining Schultz on the Preseason team are senior middle blocker Taylor Wilkinson and sophomore outside hitter Katelyn Peterson.
The Vandals were picked to finish second in the WAC.
Lozano falls in mixed doubles at US Open Playoffs
Vicky Lozano, a junior for the Idaho women’s tennis team, fell in the first round of the US Open Mixed Doubles National Playoffs Thursday at New Haven, Conn. Lozano and partner Patrick Smith of University of Missouri-Kansas City lost 6-4, 6-4 to Stephanie Wetmore and Matt Brooklyn, former collegiate players from UCLA. The winner of the tournament earns a spot in the main draw of the 2013 US Open mixed doubles bracket.
Women’s basketball Coach Newlee rounds out roster
Idaho coach Jon Newlee has finalized his roster for the 2013-14 season with the addition of Agueda Trujillo Fernandez, a 6-foot freshman guard who will be yet another 3-point shooting threat for the Vandals.
Trujillo Fernandez averaged 21 points and 6.3 rebounds per game in high school, and was ranked as the No. 2 player on the Baleric Islands.
“She certainly brings us added depth,” Newlee said. “I always love adding a shooter with her length. We were top 10 in the country in 3-pointers made last season, so adding another really good 3-point shooter can just make us that much more dangerous. She’s just one more weapon in the backcourt for us.”
The Vandals shattered the program record and ranked 10th in NCAA Division I with 275 3-pointers made and an average of 8.1 made per game in 2012-13.
Trujillo Fernandez joins freshmen Brooke Reilly (Spokane, Wash.), Karlee Wilson (Lewiston, Idaho) and Nejra Solo (Bosnia) as Idaho’s incoming class this fall.
New voice to broadcast men’s basketball for 2013-2014 season
Idaho Vandals Sports Properties, the multimedia rights holder for University of Idaho Athletics and property of Learfield Sports, announced today that Chris King has been named the Vandals’ new voice for men’s basketball beginning with the upcoming 2013-14 season.
“I’m thrilled for this opportunity and can’t wait to be courtside calling the action this season,” King said. “It’s incredibly exciting to return to the Palouse, and I’m honored to be a part of Vandal athletics.”
King comes to Moscow by way of Boise, where he served two years as the voice of Boise State’s women’s basketball on KTIK-AM 1350. For the last two seasons, he also has been play-by-play announcer on 870 AM for all 76 games of the Tri-City Dust Devils, Colorado Rockies’ Short-Season Single-A affiliate in Pasco, Wash. Additionally, he has served as radio announcer for the Wenatchee AppleSox collegiate summer baseball team and as lead broadcaster for the 2011 West Coast League All-Star Game.
Volleyball, swim and dive earn academic honors
The Idaho volleyball team is making a habit of excelling in the classroom as well as on the court. And for that, the Vandals were recognized recently as a recipient of the American Volleyball Coaches Association’s Team Academic Award for the third consecutive year.
The award recognizes teams that maintained at least a 3.30 cumulative grade-point average on a 4.0 scale during the 2012-13 academic year.
“It’s awesome and it’s a pat on the back for everything that these girls do,” Idaho coach Debbie Buchanan said. “We ask them to be great in the classroom, we ask them to be great on the court, we ask them to do community service, and it just shows that you can juggle it.”
Idaho is one of just two teams from the 2012-13 Western Athletic Conference to receive the honor, along with Denver. In all, 130 of the 330 NCAA Division I teams earned the recognition.
In addition to volleyball, the Idaho swim and dive team was recognized for academic achievement.
The College Swim Coaches of America recognized the Vandals for excellence in the classroom after the team finished with a grade-point average of 3.19.
New coaches join Vandals
The Vandal soccer, swimming and diving teams each added coaches to their squads over the summer.
Laura Jackson, a former soccer player at Iona College and Syracuse University, joins Idaho soccer coach Pete Showler’s staff as an assistant coach for the 2013 season. She will primarily work with goalkeepers.
“Her experience of working with the goalkeepers last year at Iona will prepare her well for working with a young and hungry group of keepers,” Showler said.
In the pool, Kelly Gufford joins Idaho as the new diving coach for swimming and diving coach Mark Sowa. Gufford recently worked at the American School for Diving where she worked under several U.S. Olympic level coaches.
“I am honored and elated to be a Vandal,” Gufford said. “My biggest dream always has been to lead a Division I diving team and that dream is now a reality.