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Sizzling winter sports heat up campus

MEN’S BASKETBALL
After posting the best overall record in its Division I history (1991-2006) and setting numerous program records last year, the Sacramento State men’s basketball program enters the 2006-07 season with one goal in mind – winning its first-ever Big Sky Conference championship.

One of just three teams to reach the Big Sky Tournament each of the last four years, Sacramento State will enter the season with seven returners, including three starters, one returning redshirt and six newcomers. Despite six new faces, the Hornets still return six of their top eight scorers from last season, including all-conference selections Alex Bausley and Loren Leath. Bausley, one of three seniors on the team, averaged 13.6 points, 5.2 rebounds and 2.1 steals per game while Leath, a sophomore shooting guard, finished with an average of 11.6 points per game.

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
The Sacramento State women’s basketball team is working to improve its record for the third consecutive season under head coach Dan Muscatell. Entering his fourth season at the helm of the program, Muscatell welcomes the largest incoming class during his tenure, while also returning six letter winners from a year ago, including all-conference guards Kim Sheehy and Stephanie Cherry.

The Hornets will prepare for their run at a conference championship with a difficult preseason, including games at Gonzaga, Washington State, Louisville and Kansas as well as local rivals UC Davis and Pacific. The team’s season will be highlighted by its participation at the Hawaiian Airlines Rainbow Wahine Classic on Nov. 24-26, where the Hornets will play North Carolina, ranked second in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches’ poll.

GYMNASTICS
After winning six league championships in the last seven seasons, expectations will, once again, be high for the Hornet gymnastics team. Last season, Sacramento State claimed the Western Athletic Conference title and advanced to the NCAA Championships for the second time in school history. Juniors Melissa Genovese, Nicole Giao and Alexis Tsurumoto as well as sophomore Marina Borisova will lead the team and attempt to fill in for the seven seniors who graduated last year.