Aggie athletics celebrated another impressive academic report from the NCAA last Tuesday (Nov. 15) and kept celebrating all week, honoring a coaching legend and defeating Sacramento State twice: in the Causeway Classic football game and in men’s basketball in the new Golden 1 Center — in the first college basketball game ever played there.
The men’s water polo team made a splash, too, capturing the Western Water Polo Association title and a play-in berth in the NCAA championship tournament.
Aggies tops again academics
led the Big West Conference for the fifth straight year and the eighth time in nine years at the Division I level.
“A quality education at the No. 6 public institution in the country is paramount to our mission in ٺƵ Athletics,” Director of Athletics Kevin Blue said in a news release. “It’s a tribute to our student-athletes who continue to show not only a commitment to achieving with their teams but in reaching their academic goals as well.”
A win for a legendary coach
The memory of coach Jim Sochor is forever present in Aggie Stadium (where the field is named after him), and now he has a place outside the stadium, too — in the form of a bronze statue. A dedication ceremony preceded the Causeway Classic on Saturday (Nov. 19).
The Sochor likeness gazes toward the field where the Aggies defeated the Hornets, 48-30, to keep the Causeway Classic trophy — a concrete boring (from the causeway) with a silver plaque — for the second year in a row.
Play-in game next for water polo
On Sunday (Nov. 20), , to give the Aggies their first conference title since 1997. With the win, the Aggies moved to 23-5 on the year — breaking the school record for single-season wins.
Next up for the Aggies: (time to be announced), for a spot in the semifinal round of the NCAA men’s water polo championship. Harvard and Bucknell have a play-in game of their own, this Saturday (Nov. 26).
B-ball wins in Stockton, Sacramento
On Monday (Nov. 21), the women’s basketball team headed to Spanos Center in Stockton, while the men’s team traveled to Sacramento’s new downtown arena.
, for a 3-0 start to the season. Next up: The Aggies host Montana at 7 p.m. Wednesday (Nov. 23) and Hofstra at 1 p.m. Sunday (Nov. 27).
The men’s team made history in the Golden 1 Center, not only by playing in the first college basketball game to be played there, but by . It was the Aggies’ fourth consecutive win, for a 4-1 record, going into the later this week. The Aggies open play at 8 p.m. Thursday (Nov. 24) in the tournament that runs through Saturday (Nov. 26).
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