BIG WEST CONFERENCE Big West Conference - 2 Corporate Park, Suite 206, Irvine, CA 92606 For more info - Phone: (949) 261-2525 Fax: (949) 261-2528 • Website: www.bigwest.org FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE March 4, 2014 Big West Announces 2013 Male and Female Scholar Athletes of the Year John Allen Guerrero, Cal Poly (Atwater, Calif.) A senior distance runner for the Mustangs, Guerrero was named the Cal Poly Scholar- Athlete of the Year in 2012-2013 and boasts a 3.73 GPA. He has been involved with the Civil and Environmental Honors Society and has made the Dean’s List seven quarters while being named to the President’s Honors List. Guerrero has posted Cal Poly’s top 800-meter times both as a junior (1:49.79) and sophomore (1:50.52) and hopes to compete in the 2016 Olympics before working for a private engineering firm. Austin Diemer, Cal State Fullerton (Rocklin, Calif.) A junior outfielder for the Fullerton baseball squad, Diemer compiled a .370 aver- age his freshman season, second-best on the team, and batted .311 on the season in his sophomore campaign. The Communica- tions/Broadcast Journalism major participates in the annual “Challenger Clinic”, working closely with individuals with special needs and volunteered at the Barnyard Wiffle Ball Invitational. Carrying a 3.77 GPA, Diemer has earned Dean’s List honors in each of his semesters as a Titan and was named a member of the Capital One Academic All-District Team. Yarden Azulay, Cal State Northridge (Jordan Valley, Israel) A junior midfielder for Northridge, Azulay became a Matador after serving as a member of the Israeli Defense Forces. With a 3.70 GPA, the Marketing major was named to the NSCAA Men’s Scholar All-West Region Second Team and the 2013 Fall All-Big West Academic Team. With six career goals, seven assists and 19 points, Azulay competed in 22 matches his junior season and notched a key goal against Memphis to come from behind and clinch the decision at the Ryan Rossi Memorial Tournament. Azulay actively volunteered in Israel so that students could attend school freely and will return after graduation. Michael Vaughan, Long Beach State (Rosamond, Calif.) As a senior, Vaughan advanced to the NCAA qualifying round as a triple jumper after scoring at the Big West Championships all four years as a 49er. The Biology/Physiology major ended his final campaign ranked 22nd in the nation and 12th in the West Region to finish his career ranked ninth in Long Beach outdoor history and fifth on the LBSU indoor charts. The 2013 49er Athletic Hall of Fame committee recognized the triple jumper as the Boll Bovee Determination Award recipient in addition to being a three-time Big West and MPSF All-Academic selection. Vaughan is a President’s Scholar and this is the second Scholar Athlete of the Year award for the aspiring orthopedic surgeon. Brian Ford, UC Davis (Newport Beach, Calif.) A junior defender for the Aggie soccer team, Ford helped his team to its first-ever Conference Championship game in 2012 and scored his first career goal in September of that same season. The anchor in the back- line also has two assists to his name. Ford has earned an A or an A+ in 10 different classes at UC Davis and is ranked in the top 18.5 percent of his class. Ford has volunteered with Just4Kicks as a soccer coach, AgAdemics, an elementary school outreach, and as a performer for Aggie Idol, a student-athlete charity variety show. The Exercise Biology major plans to volunteer with an overseas medical organization before applying to medical school in the fall to pursue neurology. Taylor Sparks, UC Irvine (Long Beach, Calif.) UCI’s starting third baseman was named first-team All-American by the National Col- legiate Baseball Writers Association after being named the Big West Co-Player of the Year in 2013. Sparks is an American Baseball Coaches Association Gold Glove winner and was named to the Collegiate Baseball “Louisville Slugger” All-American third-team. The junior Sociology major spent the summer playing with team USA and was voted the top American player in the Japan series. While carrying a 3.61 GPA, Sparks has been named to the Dean’s Honor List five times and hopes to play professionally and coach high school or college baseball in the future. Ted Hooper, UC Riverside (Arcadia, Calif.) A senior long jumper for the Highlanders, Hooper clinched his second conference title in the event in May 2013 and set the UC Riverside school record in the process (25’ 1.25”). That same season, the Business Aministration major and team captain finished 13th in the nation in the long jump at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships and 13th at the USA Outdoor Track and Field Championship. Hooper is a four-time member of Riverside’s Dean’s Honor List and boasts a 3.34 GPA. Kyle Boswell, UC Santa Barbara (Huntington Beach, Calif.) A two-time Scholar Athlete of the Year, Boswell carries a 3.81 GPA and has been a member of the Dean’s Honor Roll at UCSB all 10 quarters. The guard for the Gauchos’ basketball squad is currently second in scoring and assists and averaged 13.0 points per game as a junior and was named the Big West Conference’s Sixth Man of the Year as well as Honorable Mention All-Big West. Boswell is one of just three players in UCSB history to make 200 or more three- pointers in his career and has had a career-high seven in a single game, twice. The senior is a member of the Tau Beta Engineering Honor Society and is a two-time Santa Barbara Golden Eagle Award-recipient for academic excellence. The mechanical engineering major was one of 30 finalists for the NCAA Senior CLASS Award this fall and hopes to become a mechanical engineer. Kalei Hanawahine, Hawai‘i (Honolulu, Hawai‘i) The outfielder for the Rainbow Warriors finished his junior campaign with a .286 average, 25 runs scored, 10 RBI, six doubles and one triple. Hanawahine went three-for-three in stolen base attempts last season and hopes to one day play professionally or become a PE teacher and coach. The Political Science and Sociology double major is a four-time Dean’s Honor List honoree while always finding time to volunteer as an umpire and as a coach at youth baseball camps. - more - Cal Poly Cal State Fullerton Cal State Northridge Long Beach State UC Davis UC Irvine UC Riverside UC Santa Barbara Hawai’i Page 2 - 2013 Big West Scholar-Athletes of the Year Big West Announces 2013 Male and Female Scholar Athletes of the Year Mariah Cochiolo, Cal Poly (Santa Maria, Calif.) As the Mustangs’ starting catcher for the softball team, Mariah received Big West All-Conference Honorable Mention honors after batting a career-high .273 her senior year to lead Cal Poly with seven doubles while ranking second on her squad with 18 RBI. With a 3.7 GPA the senior has been named to the Dean’s List seven times and was named to the Big West Conference All-Academic team in both 2012 and 2013. Mariah has volunteered with the Special Olympics and assisted in the organization of a slow-pitch tournament in her hometown to help raise funds for a friend stricken with cancer. The Graphic Communication major hopes to pursue graphic design and marketing for a sports apparel manufacturer post gradua- tion. Samantha Galarza, Cal State Fullerton (Moreno Valley, Calif.) With a 3.95 GPA, the sophomore shortstop and second base- man hit .211 on the year while recording four runs scored and four RBI. The infielder logged a .944 fielding percentage and record- ed 59 putouts. The communications major has been named a Dean’s Scholar, a President’s Scholar and has earned Dean’s List honors every semester at Cal State Fullerton. Samantha received the CSF Big West Sportsmanship Award in 2013 and is currently a Titan SAAC Representative. The sophomore aspires to play softball professionally and hopes to pursue investigative journalism and missionary work. Casey Hinger, Cal State Northridge (Fullerton, Calif.) Junior middle blocker for the volleyball team, Casey Hinger carries a 3.88 GPA as a double major in Psychology and Child/Adolescent Development. While helping CSUN reach the second round of the 2013 NCAA Tournament for the first time in Matador history, Hinger earned AVCA Honorable Mention All-American honors for the second consecutive season and is a three-time first-team All-Big West honoree. The junior led her squad in kills (357), kills per set (2.90), blocks (124), blocks per set (1.01) and was third on the team in aces (18) and fourth in digs (159). Coriann Snyder, Long Beach State (Porterville, Calif.) Senior defender for the water polo team, Coriann’s 113 career goals rank 12th in Long Beach history entering the 2014 season. With a 3.87 GPA, the 49er has received President’s List or Dean’s List honors every semester in addition to receiving 2012 All-Big West Second Team honors and 2013 All-Big West Honorable Mention honors. The Liberal Studies major hopes to continue playing professionally overseas or on the US National Team and is working to pursue a career in teaching at the elementary level. Megan Heneghan, UC Davis (Tustin, Calif.) A senior on the tennis team, Megan ranked 90th in singles in NCAA DI by the Inter- collegiate Tennis Association in 2013 and in doing so became the first Aggie to attain a national ranking in the DI era.