2006 - A Memorable Year

2006 was quite a year in Spartan Athletics. >From a record setting swimmer to the first Bowl Win in 16 years, there was a little bit of everything for every fan out there. Following is a list of some of the most memorabe moments in the year that was for Sparta.!

Happy 2007!

2006 In Review - Chronology

January 21 – The men’s basketball team picks up its first conference road victory in three years with a 57-53 triumph at Idaho.

February 25 – Brie Marhenke wins her second title at the WAC Swimming Championships setting a school record in the 100 freestyle. Marhenke would go on to compete in the 50 and 100 freestyle at the NCAA Championships.

March 12 – Sam Piraro picks up his 600th coach win for San Jose State in a 9-3 win over Miami (Ohio).

April 5 – Lamisha Augustine becomes the first San Jose State player selected in a WNBA draft when Sacramento selects the 6-foot-1 forward in the third round as the 41st overall pick.

April 7 – Rachel Rhodes passes the 30-goal mark for the women’s water polo team in a 17-5 rout of Pacific. The Spartans moved into eighth in the national rankings, the team’s highest ranking of the season.

April 8 – The women’s gymnastics team finishes fourth, the team’s highest placing ever, at the NCAA Regional Championships hosted by Stanford.

April 23 – The softball team wins its eighth game in a row with a 7-4 road win at Utah. The Spartans move to two games over .500 in its longest winning streak since 1993.

April 26 – The women’s golf team takes top honors at the WAC Championship, the first time in six years a San Jose State team wins a WAC title. Jenelle Gomez is the individual champion and Sirapa Kasemsamran is named the WAC “Freshman of the Year.”

May 3 – The men’s golf team finishes third at the WAC Championships - its best finish ever at the tournament since joining the conference.

May 5 – The softball and baseball teams won extra-inning WAC home games on walk-off home runs. The softball team defeated #20 Fresno State, 2-1, on a walk-off home run by Jessica Guillen in the bottom of the eighth inning. A few hours later, across the street from SJSU Field at Municipal Stadium, the baseball team got a walk-off home run from Ryan Angel as he swung at the first pitch in the bottom of the 10th inning for the victory. Guillen’s home run went over the centerfield fence, while Angel’s home run cleared the left field fence.

June 1 – San Jose State announces that the 2007 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball San Jose Regional is a sellout. The San Jose regional is the first of the 12 post-season sites to announce a sellout.

July 6 – The NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Committee awards a 2010 First & Second Sub-Regional to San Jose with San Jose State serving as the host institution.

September 9 – A memorable football season begins on a winning note as the Spartans overcome two 20-point second-quarter deficits and go on to overtake Stanford, 35-34. San Jose State would go on to win three more games in a come-from-behind manner in 2006.

September 15 – Aaron Conrad wins a five-hole playoff to capture individual honors at the Del Walker Intercollegiate in Long Beach. Conrad shot a final-round 69 and had to birdie the last two playoff holes for the win.

September 29 – The men’s and women’s cross country teams are the first San Jose State teams to compete at the University of Notre Dame. Tiffany Hall, a first-team All-WAC runner, finishes second in the field of 188 runners.

October 22 – Nicole Irwin, who would be named the WAC “Offensive Player of the Year,” scores a second-half three-goal “hat trick” as San Jose State stays on top of the WAC standings in a 4-2 victory over Hawai’i.

October 25 – The women’s tennis team is recognized as the top academic-performing team for 2005-06 at the annual “Scholar-Athlete” Awards ceremony.

November 9 – Jessie Shull of the women’s volleyball team establishes new single-season school and conference records for digs by a player in a win over Boise State. She concluded her career with 2,260 digs – one of the top-10 figures in NCAA history.

November 30 – Cornerback Dwight Lowery becomes the first San Jose State football player in 35 years to be named a first-team All-America when he is first recognized by the American football Coaches Association. A week later, the Football Writers Association of America honors him in the same manner.

December 2 – The football team ends a 16-year drought against Fresno State with a 24-14 victory over the Bulldogs.

December 23 – San Jose State caps its memorable football season and the calendar year in a 20-12 win over New Mexico in the inaugural New Mexico Bowl. The Spartans’ 9-4 win-loss record is six more wins than the previous season and exceeded the program’s win total in 2003 through 2005.

Alums in the News

January 1 – Dick Vermeil announces his retirement from coaching after the Kansas City Chiefs concluded its 2005 season. Vermeil would return to broadcasting as a member of the NFL Network’s stable of broadcasters.

February 12 – Arron Oberholser wins his first PGA Tour event – the 2006 AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am.

February 12 – Peter Ueberroth, President of the United States Olympic Committee, announces in a world-wide press conference that five-time world champion figure skater Michelle Kwan will not compete in the 2006 Winter Olympics due to an injury.

March 19 – Juli Inkster wins the Safeway International in Arizona with a 15-under par 273 for her 31st victory on the LPGA Tour.

April 28 – Kevin Frandsen is the latest Spartan to put on a Major League Baseball uniform as an infielder for the San Francisco Giants. The second baseman goes 3-for-4 and scores three runs in his debut.

July 10 – Bill Walsh concludes his tenure as the interim director of athletics at Stanford University. During his tenure, Walsh agreed to move the 2006 San Jose State-Stanford football game from Stanford Stadium to Spartan Stadium.

August 20 – As part of her best season on the LPGA Tour, Pat Hurst won the Safeway Classic in Portland, Oregon. Hurst had eight top-10 finishes in 2006.

September 24 – Rashied Davis, who played on the 2000 and 2001 Spartan football teams, caught the game-winning touchdown pass in the Chicago Bears’ 19-16 win over the Minnesota Vikings. The Bears improved to 3-0 and went on to an 13-3 regular-season record.

December 25 – Jeff Garcia leads the Philadelphia Eagles into the NFL playoffs throwing for 238 yards and a touchdown in a 23-7 victory over the Dallas Cowboys. Garcia started the Eagles’ last six regular-season games – all victories.

December 31 – Joe Nedney kicks a 39-yard game-winning field goal against the Denver Broncos to conclude the San Francisco 49ers’ seven-win season. Nedney has scored 785 points for six different teams in his 11-year NFL career.