Ballin’ at home
The Idaho men’s basketball team takes on regional-rival Lewis-Clark State College 7 p.m. Friday in the Memorial Gym. The Idaho women’s basketball team hosts its home-opener exhibition match against Multnomah 2 p.m. Saturday in the Memorial Gym.
The men’s team won 80-62 against Carroll College in an exhibition game Oct. 25. Junior guard Victor Sanders led Idaho with 17 points. Freshman guard Tyler Brimhall followed with 14 points and a .83 field goal percentage.
Rehkow makes the short list
Senior kicker Austin Rehkow is one of 20 semifinalists being reviewed for the Lou Groza Award.
Rehkow is Idaho’s career leader in field goals made, 66, and attempts, 87. He is tied for first in career percentage with .75.
The award honors the best national collegiate kicker every year. Finalists will be announced Nov. 22 and honored at a the 25th annual Lou Groze Collegiate Place-Kicker Awards Banquet Dec. 5 in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.
The winner is announced at the Home Depot College Football Awards Show Dec. 8. ESPN will be live from the show.
In addition, Rehkow is on the Ray Guy Award Watch List. He is the only player still on both lists. The Guy award names semifinalists next week.
Swim for the finish
The Idaho women’s swim and dive team competes against three WAC rivals, Seattle U, California-State Bakersfield and Northern Arizona, Friday and Saturday at the UI Swim Center.
The Vandals are 2-0 in WAC play after defeating Northern Colorado and New Mexico State Oct. 29 in Greeley, Colorado. Following the weekend’s events, Idaho will compete in nonconference meets until Feb. 4, when the Vandals take on Grand Canyon in Moscow.
A tropical end
The Idaho men’s golf team traveled to Princeville, Hawaii, to compete in the Warrior Princeville Makai Invitational Tuesday and Wednesday.
In the opening round, the Vandals finished Tuesday tied for 16th place with a 302. Senior Ryan Porch led Idaho with a 73.
Wind and rain cursed the Makai Golf Club days before the tournament, making the course even more challenging.
“We got off to a poor start, but the guys battled back,” Idaho head coach David Nuhn said in a news release. “As a team, we did not play great.”
During the second round, the Vandals played the course to their advantage.
“The guys, I felt, really hit the ball a lot better today,” Nuhn said. “They understood where to strategically place it.”
With a combined 603, Idaho tied for 18th.
With the help of four birdies, Porch fired a 2-under-par 70.
In the final round, Idaho finished 18th with a 907 and Porch shot another 70 to finish the tournament.
While the team may not have met Nuhn’s expectations, Porch’s 2-under-par helped him climb 10 spots in the ranking and tie for 14th.
Porch finished the 54-hole tournament 1-under-par 213.
“Ryan had another solid round of golf,” Nuhn said. “He played very solid — made a lot of great putts out there and made some good par saves.”
Nuhn said the team used this tournament as a learning experience.
“Overall, though, we gained a lot of experience this trip,” Nuhn said. “A lot of younger guys got some good reps in a good event. We have a lot of positives to build on, a lot of things to learn from.”
The Vandals start the spring season Feb. 12-14 in Rancho Santa Fe, California, at the Farms Collegiate Invitational.
Battle the Broncos
The Idaho women’s club soccer team plays the Boise State club soccer team 2:30 p.m. Saturday on the SprinTurf.