Nevada’s two-sport standout
Nevada goalkeeper Sarah Hunt goes to kick a ball in the Wolf Pack’s first game of the season against UC Santa Barbara. Hunt has started the first three games of the season for Nevada. Amy Beck /Nevada Sagebrush
Sarah Hunt proved last year that it’s possible to balance a full-time school load with fastballs and aggressive forwards.
“I thought it would be really hard,” said Hunt, who will not only have to deal with two sports this school year, but also two new head coaches. “I took 19 credits both semesters (last year), but once the semester gets going and your schedule is set, it gets pretty easy. As long as you stay on schedule everything works, but things get pretty hectic if the schedule gets off.”
Hunt, who was a utility player on Nevada’s softball team last year, is also competing for a starting spot as Nevada’s goalkeeper this soccer season. Hunt only started two games last season as a backup goalkeeper behind Marie Cove, but this season Hunt started the first three games for the Wolf Pack.
“It’s a game-by-game thing,” soccer coach Jaime Frias said. “You earn your starts in practice and (Hunt) has earned her starts.”
Frias was named Nevada women’s soccer coach earlier this year, while Nevada named Matt Muechel the new softball coach this summer.
Hunt isn’t new to being a multi-sport athlete, though. She played basketball and softball in high school, but she gained most of her success in soccer.
“We made it to state my junior year, not many people can claim that,” she said.
Hunt began playing soccer for Nevada last year as a junior, after playing on the softball team the previous two years. This year, she’s aiming for the starting goalkeeper spot.
“I’ve been working as hard as I can, but ultimately, it’s up to the school,” she said. “I’d love to start every game.”
Hunt, who will compete against Cove for the starting position, says there are no hard feelings between the two goalkeepers.
“I love the soccer team,” said Hunt, who is a criminal justice major. “We’re one giant family.”
Hunt ended last fall with 10 saves in four games and a .714 save average, which earned her the team’s Most Improved Player Award. She followed the soccer season with a strong softball campaign this spring, which ended with a .234 batting average and six runs batted in. She had only one fielding error out of 18 possible chances and a .944 fielding average. The team won the regular-season Western Athletic Conference championship and earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament.
“(Playing in the WAC Championship) was absolutely amazing,” she said. “It was the best sports moment. We weren’t supposed to win, but we came together to win.”
Hunt earned second-team All WAC honors two years in a row and has had the opportunity to play in two NCAA tournaments.
“Freshmen year we didn’t really know what to expect,” Hunt said, of the NCAA softball tournament. “The event was really organized and we played against some really competitive teams. Junior year we thought we’d go further. We proved we could hold our own against big schools like UCLA. We said ‘Here’s Nevada’ and worked to prove we’re not such a small team.”
Hunt said she looks forward to not only playing two sports this season, but also learning the teaching methods of two different coaches.
“It’s interesting (having Frias as a coach), because he has a new philosophy,” Hunt said. “It’s difficult to learn something new again after learning a new way of playing last year. I knew Matt from helping my freshman year and he’s definitely going to bring something to the table this year.”
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