Aird Named USU Athlete of the Week In Split Vote

Aird Named USU Athlete of the Week In Split Vote

Women's basketball player averaged a double-double last week

Women's basketball player Ali Aird has been named the Utah State Athlete of the Week for the period ending Feb. 29 it was announced Monday (March 1). Aird won the award in split vote by the media against women's tennis player Carolyn Stephens.

Aird won the award for the third time this season. She trails only men's basketball player Cardell Butler, who has won the honor four times, for most AOW awards this year. Five other Aggie athletes have been named twice.

Aird, a 6-3, sophomore center from Bountiful, Utah, recorded her team-leading fifth and sixth double-doubles of the season in Utah State's home games last week. She tallied 15 points, 10 rebounds and a career-high five steals in USU's 64-57 loss to Long Beach State on Thursday.

She then scored 14 points to go along with 10 rebounds and three additional steals in Utah State's 61-46 win against UC Irvine. For the week, Aird averaged 14.5 points on 60 percent shooting, 10.0 rebounds and 4.0 steals.

On the year Aird leads the Big West Conference in field goal percentage at 59.7 percent, while ranking fourth in rebounding at 7.6 and 10th in scoring at 12.6 points per game.

The Aggies will close the regular season with a home game against Idaho on Friday, March 5, at 7 p.m.

Aird edged Stephens in the vote. Stephens won both her singles matches and both her doubles matches in Utah State's two victories against Montana State and Gonzaga.

Nominees From Other Sports Included:

Basketball - Cardell Butler... In two Utah State wins at Long Beach State and UC Irvine, Butler averaged 15.5 points and 5.0 rebounds while shooting 52.9 percent from the field, 44.4 percent from three-point range and 90.9 percent from the free throw line. Against Long Beach State he had 23 points and a season-high six rebounds. Against UC Irvine he had eight points, four rebounds and two steals.

Gymnastics - Gretchen Goerlitz... The freshman from Neenah, Wis., set two personal bests against Utah last Friday scoring a 9.925 on the floor and a 9.850 on vault.

Men's Tennis - Hannes Schenk... Swept his weekend singles matches as Utah State split with Montana State and Gonzaga. Schenk was the only Aggie to record a singles match victory against Montana State Friday as Utah State fell to the Bobcats 6-1. Schenk then improved his number four singles record to 3-1 with a straight-set win against Gonzaga's Adam Stutts in the Aggies' 6-1 triumph.

Women's Tennis - Carolyn Stephens... Went undefeated as the women's tennis team swept Montana State and defeated Gonzaga 4-3 this weekend. Stephens went 2-0 in singles play and doubles play with partner Lindsey Bennion. Stephens won in straight sets over Montana States Remy Clark 6-2, 6-2 and Gonzaga's Katie Sanders 6-1, 6-2.

Men's Track - Justin Wickard... Finished fourth in the 60-meter hurdles at the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Championships.

Women's Track - Carol Cabanillas... Finished third in the 5,000-meters with a time of 17:40.70 at the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Championships.

Previous Winners

Sept. 1 - Zuzana Cernianska, Volleyball
Sept. 8 - Chris Cooley, Football
Sept. 15 - Ally Clegg, Soccer
Sept. 22 - Erin Cartwright-Davis, Volleyball
Sept. 29 - Nicole Feuz, Soccer
Oct. 6 - Amber Tracy, Soccer
Oct. 13 - Charlsie Harris, Soccer
Oct. 20 - Erin Cartwright-Davis, Volleyball
Oct. 27 - Travis Cox, Football
Nov. 3 - Travis Cox, Football
Nov. 10 - Chris Cooley, Football
Nov. 17 - Mike Nielson, Cross Country
Nov. 24 - Zuzana Cernianska, Volleyball
Dec. 1 - Mark Brown, Basketball
Dec. 8 - Ali Aird, Women's Basketball
Dec. 15 - Cardell Butler, Basketball
Dec. 22 - Cardell Butler, Basketball
Dec. 29 - No Award
Jan. 5 - Cardell Butler, Basketball
Jan. 12 - Christina Zdenek, Women's Basketball
Jan. 19 - Ali Aird, Women's Basketball
Jan. 26 - Nate Harris, Basketball
Feb. 2 - Nate Harris, Basketball
Feb. 9 - Alex Martin, Gymnastics
Feb. 16 - Jonah Nelson, Tennis
Feb. 23 - Cardell Butler, Basketball
Mar. 1 - Ali Aird, Women's Basketball