Matadors’ Glaister Player of Week

Pitcher Tara Glaister of Cal State Northridge was named National Fastpitch Coaches Assn. softball player of the week after winning three games and notching a save last week.

Fueled by Glaister’s heroics, Northridge (26-14-2) crept back into the national rankings at No. 23, after a four-week absence.

In 23 innings, Glaister surrendered nine hits, allowed one run, struck out 33 and walked one.

The sophomore right-hander twice beat Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, previously ranked No. 9, in a doubleheader Saturday to help Northridge move into first place in the Big West Conference, percentage points ahead of Long Beach State.

Glaister (17-8), who has won nine consecutive decisions since a 1-0 loss to Arizona on March 22, also beat Santa Barbara and picked up a save against the Gauchos.

Double winner: Cheree Hicks of Cal State Northridge has been honored as the Big Sky Conference women’s track and field field-event athlete of the week for the second time this season.

Hicks, a freshman from Littlerock High, set a school record of 178 feet 1 inch in the discus and put the shot 48-4 3/4 to finish second and third in Saturday’s meet against Houston, UC Irvine and host UCLA.

Her discus mark broke her school record by six feet and exceeded the qualifying standard (175-6) for the NCAA championships.

Her shotput effort exceeded the provisional qualifying standard (47-9) for the NCAA meet.