Nov. 3, 2009
PROVO, Utah - San Diego State junior Cat Walker was named Mountain West Conference Offensive Player of the Year at the league's annual banquet Tuesday night in Provo, Utah. Joining Walker on the awards stand was Mike Friesen, who was named MWC Coach of the Year, Niki Fernandes, Megan McQueeny and Aubree Southwick, all of whom were named to the all-conference team.
A junior from Folsom, Calif., Walker earned the league's highest honor after leading the conference in points (10), points per game (1.43), goals (4) and goals per game (0.57). Walker also ranked second in shots (24) and shots per game (3.43) and finished the year with the fourth most assists (2) and the fifth-highest assists-per-game average (0.29). Additionally, the three-time captain was named to the all-conference first team for the second straight season.
Fernandes and McQueeny joined Walker on the first team as they earned their first career all-MWC recognition. Only a freshman, Fernandes made a strong case for freshman-of-the-year and offensive-player-of-the-year honors after sharing the league lead with Walker in points and points per game. The Bountiful, Utah, native also shared the Mountain West lead in assists (4) and assists per game (0.57), while ranking sixth in shots (21) and seventh in shots per game (3.00).
McQueeny, meanwhile, was a key factor in the Aztecs shutting out three league opponents and holding six MWC teams to one goal or less. The 5-8 sophomore defender helped hold opponents to less than one goal per game (0.71) and routinely thwarted countless opponent opportunities with her strong, physical play. Offensively, the Rohnert Park, Calif., native contributed her only goal of the season in SDSU's 2-2 tie against BYU.
The last of the San Diego State players named to the all-league team was Southwick, who earned her way onto the second team. The goalkeeper from Danville, Calif., had a stellar Mountain West season as she posted three shutouts, had a goals against average of 0.67 and a save percentage of .848, while playing all 670 minutes. The junior ranked first in the MWC in save percentage, second in goals against average, third in shutouts and shutouts per game (0.43) and tied for fourth in saves (28) and saves per game (4.00). The all-conference recognition is her second of her career after being named to the first team as a freshman in 2007.
Friesen, in his third year, was voted by the league's coaches as the Mountain West Coach of the Year. Friesen and the Aztecs were picked to finish in fourth place in the preseason coaches' poll, but completed the conference season with the second-best record at 5-0-2. Friesen guided San Diego State to a six win improvement overall and a three-game MWC improvement in the win column.
The second-seeded the Aztecs return to action on Thursday when they play the winner of the Utah-TCU quarterfinal match, which is slated for Wednesday. Thursday's semifinal is scheduled for noon MT/11 a.m. PT and can be seen nationally on The Mtn.