Exciting fourth-quarter football victories, women's basketball's great start in the 2019-20 season, NCAA Men's and Women's Golf Championship appearances, conference champions in men's track and gymnastics, school records, national academic team and individual honors, and generous donations earmarked to the Spartan Athletics Center and its midyear groundbreaking ceremony were among the many 2019 San Jose State University Athletics highlights.
The 2019 Year In Review has six sections – Competitive Success, Academic Achievements, Special Events, Honors, Philanthropy & Sponsorships, and In Memoriam.
Click on the date and sport links for a full story and celebrate this year's accomplishments and highlights.
Competitive Success
February 24 (Cheerleading) – The cheerleading squad wins first place in the Small Co-Ed (less than four male members) 4-Year Division at the United Spirit Association (USA) Collegiate Championships in Anaheim, Calif.
March 8 (Baseball) – Pitcher Andrew Mitchel strikes out 18 batters, most in the nation in a single game until the end of the regular season, in a 4-1 conference victory over Air Force. Besides earning the win for the Spartans, the southpaw was named the Mountain West Player of the Week and was named to Collegiate Baseball's National Players of the Week list.
March 14 (Women's Swimming and Diving) – San Jose State women's swimming and diving head coach Sage Hopkins called it one of Brenna Bushey's greatest days as a Spartan on the opening day of the CSCAA National Invitational Championships. The senior from Littleton, Colo., set a school and meet record in 50-yard butterfly qualifying and finished third in the championship final. She would add a fourth place in the 50 backstroke and swim the second leg of the 200 yard freestyle relay that finished fifth on the same day. By the conclusion of the meet, Bushey would add a second in the 100 butterfly and swim on the Spartans' sixth-place 400 yard freestyle. As a team, the Spartans finished sixth out of 57.
March 23 (Gymnastics) – Junior Taylor Chan wins the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation women's gymnastics all-around championship with a 39.300 score and the Spartans finished second in the team competition with a season-best score of 195.450. Chan would go on to compete at the NCAA Regional Championships for the third consecutive year.
March 23 (Softball) - The Spartans set a school record with their 12th consecutive win, a 4-2 road win at Fresno State. San Jose State improved its record to 22-9, 2-0 in the Mountain West and would finish the season with a 37-16 win-loss record.
April 9 (Beach Volleyball) – The beach volleyball team set a single-season record with its 11th win of the season, 4-1 over Santa Clara, to raise its win-loss mark at the time to 11-7.
April 12 (Tennis) – Senior Miyo Kobayashi becomes the new school record holder for combined singles and doubles wins in women's tennis as San Jose State edges Fresno State, 4-3, for the Spartans' first win over the Bulldogs in 20 dual matches. Kobayashi and Laura Malsert combined for a win at #2-doubles in the match. Kobayashi would finish her career with 148 wins, six more than the previous record of 142 by Marie Klocker.
April 15-17 (Men's Golf) – The San Jose State University men's golf returns to national television on The Golf Channel as the host of the 73rd annual Western Intercollegiate at the Pasatiempo Golf Club in Santa Cruz. The Spartans played their best golf of the season and placed third at one-over par 1,051. Sean Yu finished second in pursuit of the Blue Jacket honoring the winner. Yu was at 11-under par 202 after 54 holes and lost a playoff to Stanford's Isaiah Salinda on the fifth playoff hole.
April 20 (Women's Track and Field) – Silvia Gutierrez, Jeanette Zambrano and Jennifer Sandoval set women's track and field school records at the Stanford Invitational. Gutierrez threw the hammer 170-feet-0, six feet longer than her previous school record. Zambrano won her heat of the 5,000 meters in 16:24.72, a personal best by over a minute. Less than 30 minutes later, Sandoval ran her 5,000 meters in 16:23.72, 0.5 better than Zambrano's short-lived school record and nearly 12 seconds faster than her previous best.
May 1 (Men's Golf, Women's Golf) - The Spartan men's golf team receives its first NCAA Championships invite since 2012. The women's golf team received its NCAA Championship invitation a week earlier. San Jose State is one of 48 schools to have both its men's and women's teams competing for a NCAA Golf Championship.
May 10 (Men's Track and Field) – Senior Craig Huff becomes the first San Jose State men's track and field athlete in 34 years to win a conference championship meet race. Huff won the Mountain West 3000-meter steeplechase and would go with Jose Pina, Jennifer Sandoval and Jeanette Zambrano to compete in the NCAA Championships Preliminary Round Meet in Sacramento.
May 20 (Women's Golf) – Freshman Natasha Andrea Oon becomes the first Spartan since 1997 to finish in the top-10 at a NCAA Division I Women's Golf Championship placing ninth at three-over par 222. Oon would earn second-team All-America honors for her spectacular first year of college competition.
September 3 (Cross Country) - Jose Pina picks up his second career first-place finish at the USF Invitational. The Spartans sweep first place with Jennifer Sandoval winning the women's 6K race.
September 25 (Softball) – Suzy Brookshire and Emma Entzminger are headed to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics after helping their national teams earn two of the six berths in softball. Brookshire, a utility player in her first season with the Spartans, will represent Mexico; Entzminger, an infielder who completed her Spartan career in 2018, will wear the colors of Canada.
October 8 (Men's Golf) – Sean Yu caps an incredible 10 days finishing second with a 15-under par 198 at the Alister MacKenzie Invitational in Fairfax, Calif. Yu set a school record with a 10-under par 61 in the first-round of the tournament. Prior to blistering his way around the Meadow Club course, he tied for 11th at the Nick Watney Invitational in Fresno, Calif., and tied for 25th place at the 72-hole Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship in Shanghai, China.
October 20 (Women's Soccer) – Coach Lauren Hanson becomes the winningest coach in San Jose State women's soccer history after the Spartans defeat Nevada, 2-0.
November 6 (Men's Basketball) – The Spartans open the season defeating Hofstra, 79-71, for their first road win since the end of the 2017 season. The Flying Dutchmen had won 19 consecutive home games since the middle of the 2018 season before losing to the Spartans.
November 23 (Women's Cross Country) – As the first San Jose State athlete to compete in a NCAA Division I Women's Cross Country Championship, senior Jennifer Sandoval finished in 82nd place out of 254 competitors. Sandoval was eighth at the Mountain West Championships and tenth at the NCAA West Regional meet.
November 30 (Football) – DeJon Packer's 10-yard touchdown run and Matt Mercurio's extra point with 2:11 to go in the fourth quarter and one last defensive stand led to San Jose State's 17-16 comeback win over Fresno State and taking possession of the Valley Trophy.
December 7 (Women's Basketball) – Sophomore Ayzhiana Basallo poured in 20 points as the Spartans raced to a 2-0 record in Mountain West action for the first time in four seasons with an 84-67 triumph over San Diego State. Basallo, then ranked fourth nationally in scoring at 22.6 points a game and assists at 6.0 per contest, posted her fourth consecutive game scoring 20 or more points and her eighth game of 20 or more in the team's first 10 games.
December 13 (Women's Basketball) – The women's basketball team improves its record to 8-3 and is five games over .500 for the first time in 15 seasons with a single-game school team scoring record in a 128-62 win over the University of La Verne.
Academic Achievements
February 17 (Men's Water Polo) – The Association of Collegiate Water Polo Coaches (ACWPC) honors San Jose State with one of its team awards for the 2018 season. The Spartans' team grade-point average at the end of the season was 3.21, 14th best among the 49 schools sponsoring men's water polo and tops in the Golden Coast Conference.
April 4 (Gymnastics, Women's Water Polo) – Seniors Stephanie Relova, a gymnast, and water polo player Michelle Taikeff were named national winners in their respective sports in the annual Arthur Ashe, Jr., Sports Scholars awards program for minority student-athletes sponsored by Diverse Issues in Higher Education.
May 1 (Beach Volleyball, Women's Golf, Gymnastics) – The San Jose State beach volleyball, women's golf, and women's gymnastics teams are honored by the NCAA for a perfect 1,000 Academic Progress Rate score covering the 2015 through 2018 academic years.
May 3 (General) – A record 86 Spartan student-athletes were honored as San Jose State University President's Scholars or Dean's Scholars at the University's annual Honors Convocation. A President's Scholar is a student who earned a 4.00 grade-point average and a Dean's Scholar is a student who earned a 3.65 grade point average in one of the two previous semesters prior to the Honors Convocation.
June 25 (Women's Swimming and Diving) – The women's swimming and diving team was honored for the 13th consecutive semester as a Scholar All-America team by the College Swimming Coaches Association of America.
July 10 (Women's Water Polo) – The women's water polo team makes it three years in a row being honored by the Association of Collegiate Water Polo Coaches for academic performance with its 3.21 team grade point average.
July 17 (Men's Golf) – The Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA) identifies San Jose State as one of its team academic award recipients for earning a team grade-point average above 3.00.
July 18 (Tennis) – For the eighth consecutive year, the Intercollegiate Tennis Association names San Jose State as a team academic award winner for a cumulative team grade-point average greater than 3.20 on a 4.00 scale.
Special Events
April 26 (Football) – Tight end Josh Oliver is drafted by the Jacksonville Jaguars as the 69th overall selection in the third round of the 2019 National Football League draft. He is the highest drafted San Jose State player since defensive lineman Jarron Gilbert was drafted as the 68th overall pick by the Chicago Bears in 2009
June 3 & 4 (Baseball) - Outfielder Kellen Strahm (fifth round, 145th overall pick), left-handed pitcher Andrew Mitchel (eighth round, 233rd overall pick), and right-handed pitcher Fineas Del Bonta-Smith (22nd round, 669th pick) were selected in the 2019 Major League Baseball Draft. Strahm, a first-team All-Mountain West honoree, became the ninth Spartan to be selected in the first five rounds of the MLB Draft.
June 5 (General) – A "groundbreaking" ceremony for the Spartan Athletics Center on the east side of CEFCU Stadium… The project with direct benefits to the football, women's soccer and men's soccer programs, and services to all of San Jose State's 22 NCAA teams and the university, is slated for completion in 2023… Removal of 8,900 seats occurred before the start of the football season.
June 27 (Beyond Football) – Through the Beyond Football program, more than 110 Spartan football players and coaches raised funds to participate in the Silicon Valley YWCA's annual "Walk a Mile In Her Shoes" event to raise awareness in the fight to end violence of all forms against women.
September 2 (Men's Water Polo, Women's Swimming & Diving, Women's Water Polo) – The men's water polo team hosts an "open house" at the SRAC, the new $130-million home for the San Jose State men's water polo, women's swimming and diving and women's water polo. Every home men's water polo match and women's swim meet the rest of the year attracted standing room only crowds.
Honors
January 29 (Women's Soccer) – The women's soccer team is honored by the San Jose City Council. Council member Dev Davis (District 6) sponsored the commendation presented by Mayor Sam Liccardo.
April 23 (Women's Golf) – It was a clean sweep of Mountain West major post-season individual awards for the San Jose State women's golf team. First-year head coach Dana Dormann was named the Coach of the Year; senior Abegail Arevalo, Player of the Year; and Natasha Andrea Oon, Freshman of the Year. The Spartan sweep was the only third time in Mountain West history one school swept the three awards in a year.
May 15 (Softball) – Freshman Jenessa Ullegue was named the Mountain West Pitcher of the Year and second baseman Cassidy Clark, the conference's Co-Defensive Player of the Year. Alyssa Graham, who played third base, joined Ullegue as a first-team all-conference selection.
May 30 (General) – University President Dr. Mary A. Papazian is appointed to a four-year term as the Mountain West representative on the NCAA Division I Board of Directors.
May 31 (Women's Water Polo) – First-year player Olga Descalzi Portell was named an honorable All-America. She was the top-scoring freshman in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) scoring 57 goals and earning second-team All-MPSF and All-Newcomer Team conference honors.
July 25 (Men's and Women's Track & Field) – Director of track and field Kendra Reimer-Gonzales is honored by the Silicon Valley Business Journal as one of the publication's 40-Under-40 award winners.
August 16 (Gymnastics) – Stephanie Relova is named the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) honoree for the NCAA Woman of the Year award.
September 21 (Football) – San Jose State earns the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) National Team of the Week honors presented by Reveal Suits for its 31-24 road win at Arkansas, the first time the Spartans defeated a Southeastern Conference opponent.
October 18 (Football) – Two-time All-America linebacker Dave Chaney is inducted into the CEFCU Stadium Ring of Honor.
October 24 (Football) – Former linebacker Frank Manumaleuga is named to the Polynesian Football Hall of Fame.
October 28 (Football) – Kicker Matt Mercurio picks up his second Lou Groza Collegiate Placekicking Award "Star of the Week" honor for tying the single-game school record of four field goals in the 34-29 win at Army West Point. He is the only Mountain West kicker and one of six nationally to be named to the "Star of the Week" list twice in 2019.
November 1 (Men's Track & Field) – Tommie Smith and John Carlos are inducted into the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Hall of Fame in Colorado Springs, Colo.
November 27 (Volleyball) – Outside hitter Haylee Nelson is named All-Mountain West. Nelson led the Spartans in kills per set and was second on the team in digs and total blocks.
December 2 (Women's Soccer) – Senior Kristen Amarikwa receives second-team All-Pacific Region honors from the United Soccer Coaches for the second consecutive season after being named the 2019 Mountain West Defensive Player of the Year and a first-team All-Mountain West defender.
December 4 (Football) – Quarterback Josh Love is named the Mountain West Offensive Player of the Year after passing for 3,923 yards and 22 TDs. He is the first Spartan to be named a conference Offensive Player of the Year and the first all-conference first-team quarterback since 1990. Tre Walker joined Love as a first-team All-Mountain West choice.
December 7 (Men's Track & Field) – Former world record holder and four-time Olympian in the discus John Powell is inducted into the USA Track & Field Hall of Fame.
December 11 (Women's Golf) - The Juli Inkster Award is created by the Women's Golf Coaches Association to honor the top NCAA Division I, Division II and Division III women's golfer in the final year of one's eligibility. It was another big year for Inkster who was inducted into the San Jose Sports Hall of Fame in November and captained the U.S. team for the third time in the Solheim Cup.
December 13 (Men's Soccer) – Midfielder Max Allen, a junior from Liverpool, England, receives third-team All-Far West Region honors from the United Soccer Coaches. Allen also was the Spartans' only first-team All-Western Athletic Conference player in 2019.
December 17 (Men's Water Polo) – The Association of Collegiate Water Polo Coaches (ACWPC) names San Jose State goalkeeper Yahav Fire and 2-meter specialist Finn Pardon as honorable mention All-America men's water polo players. The Spartans finished the season ranked 13th nationally and fifth in the Golden Coast Conference.
Philanthropy & Sponsorships
January 16 (General) – Kevin (Class of '87) and his wife Sandy Swanson pledge a $1,000,000 gift commitment to the Spartan Athletics Center.
March 12 (General) – Thomas Thompson (Class of '72) and his wife, Jane Bradley, pledge $500,000 to support the Spartan Athletics Center and an additional sum from their trust to establish the Thomas E. Thompson Athletics Scholarship.
March 28 (General) – Steve (Class of '65) and Cheryl (Class of '67) Caplan pledge a $1,000,000 gift commitment to the Spartan Athletics Center.
August 14 (Men's Basketball, Women's Basketball, Gymnastics) – A 20-year, $8.1-million partnership agreement between San Jose State University and the Provident Credit Union leads to renaming the home of the men's and women's basketball and women's gymnastics teams to the Provident Credit Union Event Center.
August 19 (General) – Stan (Class of '64) and Marilyn (Class of '60) Gadway pledge $1,000,000 through a charitable trust to support the Spartan Athletics Center and plan to create an endowment to support the Scott Gadway Academic Center.
October 15 (General) – Larry & Elaine Sparling's $500,000 gift commitment is the latest major gift to the Spartan Athletics Center.
In Memoriam
January 14 (General) – Dr. Richard "Dick" Post (1930 – 2019), San Jose State University NCAA Faculty Representative in the late 1970's and into the 1980's
February 13 (Football) – Rick Rasnick (1959 – 2019), 1980 football team captain, graduate assistant (1981), assistant coach (1982-90); part of four conference championship teams as a coach
May 10 (Football) – Dick Tomey (1938 – 2019), San Jose State football head coach… led the Spartans out of team academic purgatory to one of the best Academic Progress rate scores among the seven Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) schools in California… coached the Spartans to the 2006 New Mexico Bowl victory
July 23 (General) – William "Bill" Carter (1939 – 2019), a counselor through the school's Equal Opportunity Proogram (EOP) and confidant to many San Jose State many track and field athletes of the 1960's
August 14 (Men's Water Polo) – Bob Wake (1940 – 2019), a 1968 San Jose State men's water polo player and a longtime USA Water Polo member
September 14 (Football) – John Ralston (1927 – 2019), San Jose State football head coach (1993-96)… special assistant to the athletics director… helped San Jose State gain admittance into the Western Athletic Conference... CEFCU Stadium Ring of Honor
September 24 (Men's Track & Field) – Marion Anderson (1948 – 2019), San Jose State men's track and field record holder in the long jump with a 26-feet-2.5 leap in 1969… ranked by Track & Field News in the U.S. top-10 list in 1969 and 1970... San Jose State Sports Hall of Fame member
September 26 (Football) – Jason Schmid (1965 – 2019), quarterback on the 1988 Spartan football team who transferred to San Jose State from USC
October 22 (Women's Basketball) – Ray Townsend, Sr. (1936 – 2019), San Jose State assistant women's basketball coach in the 1980's for head coach Sharon Chatman
December 4 (Men's Basketball) – George Clark (1930 – 2019), San Jose State Sports Hall of Fame member... men's basketball center on the first San Jose State NCAA Tournament team in 1951… the Spartans' first player to average in double-figures for both points and rebounds in a three-year career.
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