Oct. 2, 2006

LOGAN, Utah - Golf player Preston Otte was named the Utah State Athlete of the Week for the period ending Oct. 1, it was announced on Monday. The weekly award is selected by a state media panel.

Otte, a senior from Burley Idaho, shot three straight rounds of one-under par 70 to tie for third individually in the Vandal Fall Golf Classic last week. He finished with a 210 total, which is the best finish by an Aggie golfer since the spring of 2004. The Aggies placed eighth in the 12-team event.

Otte leads the team with a 72.44 average. He has also been Utah State's top finisher in each of the last two tournaments.

The Aggies will travel to Cedar City Oct. 21 to compete in the Southern Utah Duel.

NOMINEES FROM OTHER SPORTS INCLUDED:

Men's Cross Country - Vance Twitchell... Finished 23rd in the highly competitive Bill Dellinger Invitational at Oregon. Covered the eight-kilometer course in 23:56.76 to lead USU to an 11th place finish among 13 teams

Women's Cross Country - Stacie Lifferth... Placed 40th individually at the Bill Dellinger Invitationat Oregon. Ran a time of 21:49.90 on the six kilometer course. USU placed 11th out of 11 teams.

Football - None

Soccer -- Ali Griffin - sophomore goalkeeper took over the top spot on the Aggies' career goals against average list with a 0.99 average. Between the pipes for every minute this season for the Aggies, Griffin has made 43 saves on the year, including a career-high eight in the loss to BYU on Sept. 16. Her 4.30 saves per game ranks Griffin tied for second in the WAC stats. Griffin has a 1.06 goals against average this season and a .796 save percentage, as well as posting three shutouts. Griffin became eligible for the top career spot Saturday after topping the required minimum of 1,000 minutes, and taking over the list's highest perch, previously held by Megan Mills' 1.18 gaa from 2001-04.

Volleyball -- Junior outside hitter Beth Hodge led Utah State to a 1-1 record last week with a three-game win against Louisiana Tech, and a three-game loss to 22nd-ranked New Mexico State. Against the Lady Techsters, Hodge recorded a season-high 20 kills and hit .400 (20-4-40) in the match. She also had three block assists and 10 digs to record her fifth double-double of the season. Against New Mexico State, Hodge had nine kills, four digs and two block assists, and hit .304 (9-2-23) in the match. For the week, Hodge hit .365 and averaged 5.25 points, 4.83 kills, 2.33 digs, and 0.83 blocks per game.

USU ATHLETE OF THE WEEK WINNERS Aug. 28 - Amanda Nielson, Volleyball Sept. 5 - Amanda Nielson, Volleyball Sept. 11 - Marcus Cross, Football Sept. 18 - Vance Twitchell, Cross Country Sept. 25 - Erin Salmon, Soccer Oct. 2 - Preston Otte, Golf