San José State baseball player Ruben Ibarra and the Spartan women's tennis teams are the Student-Athletes of the Month for April, presented by Pacific Office Automation.
Ibarra, a junior infielder from Watsonville, Calif., led the Spartans with nine RBI in 11 games played in April. He finished the month with five home runs and ranked second nationally in slugging percentage (.841).
The women's tennis team went 7-1 in the month of April and clinched the second Mountain West Championship in school history with a 4-1 win over San Diego State. The seven wins were a team effort. One of the most dramatic wins of the month came in a 4½ hour match against Fresno State that came down to the #2 singles match. Rozalina Youseva won in straight sets in a match that took almost three hours. Savannah Sendar recorded the winning point in matches at Utah State, against New Mexico and at Air Force. Jovana Babic recorded the clinching point in the 4-1 win over the Aztecs to win the championship. The Spartans finished the season with a 15-2 overall record, 8-1 MW mark, and the program's third appearance in the NCAA Tournament.
The Spartans also picked up hardware from the Mountain West as Irena Muradyan was named the Co-MW Freshman of the Year, Chad Skorupka was the MW Coach of the Year, Muradyan and Alba Pedrero Galindo were All-MW in singles, while Sendar and Lara Marco Mas were All-MW doubles. Muradyan won 12 of her first 13 singles matches on the season, while Galindo had an 8-1 record in MW matches. Sendar and Marco Mas combined for a 3-2 record at #1 doubles during MW play.
2020-21 San José State Student-Athletes of the Month
October (presented by Hukilau San Jose) – Nick Starkel, football
November (presented by CEFCU) – Tyra Whitehead, women's basketball & Bailey Gaither, football
December (presented by BLR Sign Systems) – Tyra Whitehead, women's basketball & Cade Hall, football
January (presented by Pacific Office Automation) – Rebecca Petoe, women's swimming and diving & Richard Washington, men's basketball
February (presented by The Grad San Jose) – Irena Muradyan (women's tennis) & Nicolas Brenes, men's soccer
March (presented by BLS Sign Systems) – Haylee Nelson, volleyball; Kajsa Arwefjäll, women's golf & Willy Miranda, men's soccer
April (presented by Pacific Office Automation) – Women's Tennis team & Ruben Ibarra, baseball
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