NAU Athletics

HUNTSVILE, Texas – The Northern Arizona men’s basketball fell to Sam Houston State Tuesday night 73-49 in the final game before the holiday break for the Lumberjacks. The loss snapped the two-game winning streak for NAU since Interim Head Coach Dave Brown took over on Dec. 9.

DENVER, Colo. – NAU junior diver Kristy Ardavanis and sophomore swimmer Emma Lowther have been named Verizon WAC Diver and Swimmer of the Week, respectively, the conference announced Tuesday. The award is the fourth already this season for Ardavanis and the first for Lowther, as the two helped NAU finish second in the UNLV Winter Invitational over the weekend.

HUNTSVILLE, Texas - Junior guard Gabe Rogers entered the game at the 11:13 mark of the first half against Arizona State. He was expected to be out up to four months after dislocating his shoulder and having surgery on Oct. 9. His return was a big boost to the Lumberjacks and he would have a big impact before the final buzzer.

LAS VEGAS, Nev. – Junior Fi Connell won the 200 backstroke with an NCAA ‘B’ standard time of 1 minute, 58.11 seconds and sophomores Jordan Burnes, Emma Lowther, and Rachel Palmer also won events as NAU dominated the final day of the UNLV Winter Invitational to finish the three-day meet in second place. NAU also had two second place finishes in surpassing New Mexico State to finish behind only host UNLV among the 10 schools competing.

LOGAN, Utah – Sophomore Khyra Conerly scored a season-high 16 points, but Utah State got 21 points and 10 rebounds from senior Ashlee Brown and made 24 of 31 free throws as a team in a 70-51 victory on Monday in Logan, Utah. NAU will enter Big Sky play with a 5-7 record while Utah State defeated the Lumberjacks for the second consecutive season and improved to 6-5.

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. - Junior Stallon Saldivar was named the Big Sky Player of the Week for his game-winning performance against Arizona State Monday. He also was also named National Mid-Major Men’s Basketball Player of the Week and Big Sky Player of the Week by College Sports Madness and as a candidate for the 2012 Bob Cousy Award.

LAS VEGAS, Nev. – Junior Kristy Ardavanis won the 1-meter diving competition and junior Fi Connell placed second in the 100 backstroke to lead NAU on the second day of the UNLV Winter Invitational. NAU also placed second in the 800 free relay and got a pair of top-four finishes from sophomore Rachel Palmer and stands in third place behind host UNLV and New Mexico State through two days of competition.

TEMPE, Ariz. – Junior Stallon Saldivar hit a three-pointer with 0.6 left to lead Northern Arizona to the 69-68 upset of Arizona State Saturday at Wells Fargo. He finished with a career-best 24 points with nine assists and five rebounds.

OREM, Utah – Utah Valley shot 57% in the first half in building a 16-point halftime lead, and NAU shot just 36% and went 1-13 from three-point range for the game to drop a 73-56 decision at Utah Valley on Saturday in Orem, Utah. The Lumberjacks, who defeated Utah Valley 73-59 in Flagstaff on Nov. 23, dropped to 0-5 on the road and 5-6 overall while the Wolverines improved to 5-4 on the season.

LAS VEGAS, Nev. – Sophomore Emma Lowther finished ahead of more than 40 swimmers to take first place in the 500 freestyle in 4 minutes, 56.55 seconds to lead NAU on the first day of the UNLV Winter Invitational. Senior Kristin Jones finished third in the 500 free and sophomore Rachel Palmer took fourth in the 200 IM for the Lumberjacks on the first of three days of competition in Las Vegas.

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. - Football will be holding the semester Walk On Meeting for the Spring 2012 Semester at the Franke College of Business (Building #81 on the campus map) on January 17th, 2012, at 5:00 PM, inside Gardner Auditorium (Room 101). All students who are interested in possibly walking on the NAU Football Team for the 2012 Spring & Fall Semesters are encouraged to attend.

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. – With finals and the fall semester behind them, the Northern Arizona University men’s basketball team begins play in its second week under the direction of Interim Head Coach Dave Brown with their first road test at Arizona State on Saturday. Tipoff is scheduled for 4:05 p.m.

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. - Senior wide receiver Khalil Paden will play in the FCS Senior Scout Bowl this Saturday in Myrtle Beach, S.C. The game will be broadcast online starting at 10:45 Arizona time with kickoff at 11 a.m.

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. – The NAU swimming & diving team will end the fall semester in Las Vegas, competing at the UNLV Winter Invitational in the Buchanan Natatorium on the UNLV campus Saturday through Monday. The Lumberjacks will be facing Division-I competition in host UNLV, WAC foe New Mexico State, and Northern Colorado as well as athletes from Azusa Pacific, Caltech, Chapman, Colorado Mesa, Concordia (Irvine), Fresno Pacific, and Whittier College.

TOWSON, Md. – NAU volleyball junior outside hitter Lauren Campbell has been named to the 2011 Capital One Academic All-America® Division I Volleyball third team, as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). She is the first NAU volleyball player in program history to earn All-America honors and the 27th all-time NAU student athlete to receive the prestigious academic honor.

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. – Lopez Lomong carries with him every day the red holder he used to carry the American flag into the Beijing Olympics Opening Ceremonies as a constant reminder of the privilege and thrill of his leading the USA Olympic team. He plans to use it again on Friday.

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. – The NAU women’s basketball team (5-5) opens a season-long four game road trip this weekend, closing non-conference play with games at Utah Valley (4-4) on Saturday at 3 p.m. and Utah State (5-4) on Monday at noon. The Lumberjacks are 5-1 at home this season but 0-4 on the road, looking to build some momentum away from Flagstaff before starting Big Sky play at Sacramento State on Dec. 29.

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. – Senior long snapper Ben Bachelier was named to the Capital One Academic All-America® Division I football team as selected by COSIDA, earning a spot on the 22-player second-team along with Heisman Trophy winner Robert Griffin III.

OGDEN, Utah – NAU sophomore guard Amanda Frost, who scored a career-high 24 points to help the Lumberjacks push Nebraska to double overtime on Saturday, has been named Big Sky Player of the Week, the conference announced Tuesday. The award is the first for Frost and the first weekly honor for the Lumberjacks since January 2010.

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. - A new edition of the Lumberjacks Weekly podcast is now available! This week, we hear from head coaches Laurie Kelly, Dave Brown, and Andy Johns as well as NAU basketball players Amanda Frost and Stallon Saldivar. We also review the past week in men's and women's basketball, preview both basketball teams and swimming & diving competing on the road this weekend, and reflect on the best of NAU Athletics in 2011. Click to listen and/or subscribe!