Four Aztecs Named Mountain West Players Of The Week

April 5, 2001

SAN DIEGO - San Diego State received Mountain West Conference Player of the Week honors in four sports for the the week of April 2nd. The honorees include John Skinner for baseball, Sandra Durazo for softball, Oliver Miaberger for men's tennis, and Lars Johansson for men's golf.

John Skinner - Baseball
San Diego State senior right-handed pitcher John Skinner has been named the Mountain West Conference Pitcher of the Week, the second time he has been so honored this season.

Skinner, from Dublin, Calif., pitched 7 2/3 strong innings in the Aztecs' 6-3 victory against Utah on Saturday. Skinner faced 29 batters and allowed seven hits, struck out 11, walked two, and allowed three earned runs. The 7 2/3 innings of work and 11 strikeouts were both career highs for Skinner, who also earned pitcher-of-the-week honors on March 20th for his performance at UNLV.

Sandra Durazo - Softball
San Diego State pitcher Sandra Durazo was named the Mountain West Conference Softball Pitcher of the Week for the period ending April 1. Durazo, who earned the award three times last season, is the first conference player to be a three-time recipient of the honor this year.

The senior from Granda Hills, Calif., posted a 4-1 record with a 1.14 ERA as the Aztecs went 5-1 last week. Durazo completed all three games in which she started, pitching a shutout against Cal Poly and registering complete-game victories over UNLV and Santa Clara. She also pitched two shutout innings in relief in the Aztecs' 3-2, eight-inning victory over Cal Poly. Durazo struck out 13 batters in 24.2 innings of work last week.

Durazo is 13-7 on the season with a 1.54 earned run average. She currently ranks among the top four in the Mountain West Conference in victories, earned run average, innings pitched and strikeouts. Durazo has 70 career wins and is the all-time leader in that category.

Oliver Maiberger - Men's Tennis
San Diego State men's tennis player sophomore Oliver Maiberger has earned MWC Player of the Week honors for the third time this season. Maiberger won all four singles matches this past week to improve to 13-0 in singles play on the year in the No. 1 position

The Lorsch, Germany, native, who is currently ranked No. 22 in the country, defeated Middle Tennessee State's Robert Gustafsson, 7-5, 6-1, BYU's Carlos Lozano, 6-1, 4-5, 6-2, Utah's Kevin Zenger, 6-0, 6-1, and UNLV's No. 62-ranked Nenad Zivkovic, 6-2, 6-3, to complete a perfect singles weekend in the No. 1 spot. In doubles play, he and partner Adam Webster went 2-2 this past weekend in the No. 1 spot to improve to 6-2 on the year. The doubles wins included defeating Middle Tennessee State's pair of Gustafsson and Klemetz, 8-3 and upsetting duo Carlos Lozano and Gert Vilms of No. 23-ranked BYU, 8-4. The pair fell to duos from Utah, 8-6, and UNLV, 8-2.

Maiberger is 15-1 in dual matches this season and 13-0 at the No. 1 singles position. His victories include wins over two the nation's top players. He defeated defending national champion Alex Kim, 4-6, 6-3, 6-1, Feb. 10. Maiberger also recorded a win over No. 11 Alexander Hartman of Mississippi, 2-6, 6-3, 6-4.

Lars Johansson - Men's Golf
Sophomore golfer Lars Johansson was named the Mountain West Conference Men's Golfer of the Week after winning the Western Intercollegiate in a playoff round this week at the Pasatiempo Golf Course in Santa Cruz. Johansson is the first Aztec men's golfer to receive the honor this season.

Johansson, of Karlskrona, Sweden, shot a career-best 65 in the opening round en route to a 206 total (65-67-74) and managed to par the playoff hole despite a tee shot into the trees to defeat Pacific's Jason Higton. Johansson ranks fifth on the MWC leader board with a 72.3 average this season.

The last Aztec to win the Western Intercollegiate was Ron O'Connor in 1960. Golf professionals Dusty Waldorf, Scott Simpson, Tom Watson, Peter Jacobson and Bobby Clampett are a few others who have won the Western Intercollegiate.