Women’s basketball team falls at Pacific in overtime
Out of all of Jennifer Fath’s 31 points Thursday night, her final two hurt the Cal Poly women’s basketball team the most.
The freshman guard hit a game-winning jumper with eight seconds left in overtime to carry Pacific (8-11, 3-3 Big West) to an 89-88 Big West Conference victory in Stockton.
Senior guard Kyla Howell scored a team-high 16 points for the Mustangs (7-12, 4-2 Big West), who dropped their second conference game in a row.
Heyward heads northward to alma mater
Cal Poly inside linebackers coach Keith Heyward is returning to his alma mater, Oregon State, to become a cornerbacks coach, Beavers head coach Mike Riley announced Tuesday.
“It was a great break for him, to be able to go home and get a full-time position at his alma mater and make three or four times as much (money),” said Cal Poly head coach Rich Ellerson. “We’re really proud of what he and (former offensive coordinator) Joe (DuPaix) were able to do.”
Heyward, who spent just the 2007 season with the Mustangs after being a graduate assistant at Oregon State from 2005-06, is the second Cal Poly assistant to be hired by a Football Bowl Subdivision team this offseason, joining DuPaix, who accepted in December a position coaching slot backs at Navy.
The 28-year-old Heyward was a four-year letterman at cornerback for Oregon State before playing professionally in NFL Europe, the Canadian Football League and the Arena Football League.
A “couple of guys” are being considered as replacements, Ellerson said, although the hiring may take a little longer than usual because the coaching staff is focusing most heavily on recruiting.
Meanwhile, Cal Poly’s schedule is still being finalized, athletics director Alison Cone said Thursday.
“We’re still trying to identify the final games and are in a discussion with a number of folks,” Cone said.
She added that nine games have been officially contracted so far, including five at home.
Indoor track squad readies to head to Washington
The Cal Poly indoor track team leapt to victory Monday with wins over Fresno State, Hawaii and Cal State Stanislaus at the Second Annual Run for the Dream at Fresno State’s newly renovated track.
The Mustangs defeated Fresno State 71-62, Hawaii 68-64 and Cal State Stanislaus 87-40, led by 3-kilometer runner Bridie McCarey and long-and- triple-jumper Jessica Eggleston.
McCarey crossed the finish line well ahead of her fellow runners, in 10 minutes, 21 seconds.
Eggleston won the long jump with a 17-foot, 3 «-inch bound and made her mark in the triple jump with a best of 38-11 «, just edging out teammates Jasmine Pickett (17-2) in the long jump and Caitlin Shields (38-11) in the triple.
This is Eggleston’s first time competing in the winter track season after playing for Cal Poly’s women’s basketball team for the past four years.
In the 55-meter dash, Erinne Benny came in second after clocking a 7.38-seconds time in her preliminary heat and a 7.37 in the finals.
The Mustangs also ran well in the half-mile, where Kristen Sanzari came through the line in second place at 2:21.37, followed closely by Cassie Atkinson, who finished in third, at 2:22.40.
After nearly two weeks of practice time, the Mustangs will compete at 5 p.m. Feb. 2 at the University of Washington All-Comers meet.
The Banana Slugs finished the fall season ranked No. 1 in Division III.
Men’s tennis team takes on some Waves
Going up against Fresno State this past Sunday with a 7-0 victory against Westmont under the belt, the Cal Poly men’s tennis team faltered, losing 5-2 to the 69th-ranked Bulldogs to fall to 1-1 early in the spring season.
Junior Darryn Young was picked as the Cal Poly Athlete of the Week after posting a 6-1, 6-2 victory in No. 4 singles, and the Mustangs’ only doubles win of the day with partner Robert Foy.
Freshman Drew Jacobs also scored a victory for Cal Poly, winning 6-2, 6-2 at No. 5 singles.
The Mustangs’ competition will only get tougher, as they visit to No. 17 Pepperdine at 9:30 a.m. Saturday.
The Waves feature four players ranked in the top 100 in the nation by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association.
On Sunday, Cal Poly will host UC Santa Cruz at 1 p.m.