Earning all-conference honors capped Jen Tsurumoto's fine two-year run with the UC Irvine women's basketball team.
The point guard with the sure shot from Analy High and Santa Rosa Junior College was named Big West All-Conference Honorable Mention after helping lead Irvine to the program's best record in more than a decade.
The former Santa Rosa Junior College All-California and Empire Player of the Year at Analy was among the top Big West playmakers. Tsurumoto scored more than 13 points and dished 4-plus assists a game. Both averages improved on Tsurumoto's strong numbers as a junior.
A big reason for Irvine's surprising season was Tsurumoto's improved scoring and steady leadership. Picked to finish eighth in the Big West, the Anteaters took fourth and reached the conference tournament semifinals.
Always a confident player, Tsurumoto knew she could compete in NCAA Division I college basketball after playing with the best in California's junior college ranks. Tsurumoto was a starter and captain since arriving from SRJC, where she helped lead the Bear Cubs to a California Community College Athletic Association title.
Tsurumoto is graduating this spring with a bachelor's degree in sociology.
MCKENZIE WINDS UP AT AIR FORCE
One of the Air Force Academy's best hockey players ever, Adam McKenzie earned another honor in leading the Falcons among the best in the major college game.
The standout defenseman from St. Vincent High was named to the Atlantic Hockey Association all-conference second team. Air Force finished the regular season tied for third and finished the season with a conference quarterfinal playoff appearance.
McKenzie, from Petulama, ranked sixth in the AHA with 16 points and was the team's top scoring defenseman. McKenzie was strong down the stretch, helping Air Force gain a first-round bye in the AHA playoffs.
An Air Force mainstay from his first season, McKenzie made the AHA all-rookie team and helped Air Force win the league. The Falcons fell to Yale in the NCAA tournament. Air Force won another AHA title the next season before losing in the tournament to Boston College, which went on to take the NCAA title. As a junior, McKenzie was selected AHA Defenseman of the Year.
A two-time All-Empire small schools baseball player, McKenzie at catcher helped lead St. Vincent to the North Coast Section title as a senior.
Hockey was McKenzie's first spport since age 5, when he first played in a Redwood Empire Ice Arena league. Later, he would make the San Jose Jr. Sharks club. Before enrolling at Air Force, he played two seasons with the Wenatchee (Wash.) Wild in the North American Hockey League, the oldest USA Hockey-sanctioned junior league.
McKenzie is set to graduate in May and will leave academy with the rank of Second Lieutenant. From there, he expects to enter graduate school.
FIELD ALL-CONFERENCE AT WICHITA STATE
Add first-team all-conference to Elizabeth Field's honors playing volleyball for Wichita State.
The former Santa Rosa High great made Missouri Valley Conference first team as a senior after earning a pair of second-team selections.
Field helped Wichita State to a seventh straight NCAA Division I tournament appearance, where the Shockers fell to Kansas. A year earlier, Field again was a top power hitter as Wichita State enjoyed the program's greatest season, reaching the NCAA Sweet 16.
On the season in the Missouri Valley she was third in percentage of kills for points and among the conference leaders in blocks.
Starting since her freshman season, Field steadily moved up the career records ladder. After finishing third in kills this season, Field is sixth in the Wichita State career attacks ranking. Second in blocks this season, Field is seventh all-time for the Shockers. Field also has played the third most sets ever for Wichita State.
Once raw and reserved, Field blossomed into a polished college player with a competitive streak.
Staying in the game was her goal. Field has been selected to play for the Heart of America Havoc, a member of the Premier Volleyball League, a professional indoor women's league sanctioned by USA Volleyball.
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