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Show B5 MONDAY'NOVEMBER 7*2005 Women's basketball sesason begins Phillip Morgan From B BALL • B8 Sports Writer lot of expectation as a freshman, but now that it's there, we'll see how she adapts." Lynn will most likely replace her sister Courtney as the Wolverines point guard this year. Courtney Lynn averaged over three assists a game last year and has been UVSC's floor general for the past three seasons. Along with Scabby and Cornejo in the backcourt, Meredith should have helped at the point from incoming freshman Sandy Marvin and Hollie Beaman. who both enter their first season in green and gold with impressive resumes. Marvin averaged 21 points, nine assists and over four rebounds a game for Payson high school last year, while Beaman was ranked among the top 25 best female high school basketball players in the state of Texas. She comes in averaging nearly 17 points a game for Kingwood High School in the Houston area. 5'2 Veva Whitear is a transfer from Eastern Utah and topped the Scenic West Conference last year tallying nearly four steals a game. In 2003, she led Morgan High School to an undefeated 23-0 record and should see time at both guard positions. The freshman trio of Lauren Smith, Robyn Fairbanks and Ashley Grimm will fill the voids left by Wilson and Allred in the frontcourt. Smith averaged a double-double for Paso Robles High School in California. Her 6'5 frame will be desperately needed for a team that lacks anybody else over 6 1 1. Fairbanks was an offensive machine at Raymond High School in Alberta, Canada. She averaged 25 points and 12 rebounds a game, and even dropped 42 during a state championship game. "I think we brought in kids that over time will help to bring our program to the next level," Nixon said. "They have a division one mentality and a division one work ethic, and I think overtime you're going to see a big transition in our program." But perhaps the sweetest thing of all this year for the Wolverines is that they have a schedule laden with home games. Air Force, Fresno State, Portland. Gonzaga and Pac-10 Oregon State are among those scheduled to visit the McKay Center. Unlike a season ago, UVSC leaves the state of Utah only once before the first of the year, and only a few times after that. "You have to start to establish some sort of presence at home because that's the place it's going to start," Nixon said. "It's not going to start on the road and we have more of an opportunity to do that this year." Four of the five in-state schools are also on this year's schedule. UVSC visits Utah State, BYU and Southern Utah between the week of December 10-20, and Weber State visits Orem a couple weeks later on January 7. Though the team remains optimistic, those who experienced the four win season can't help but remember it. Nixon admits the importance of wins and losses in the grand scheme, but also realizes that's not all she should be considering when coaching such a young team. "Last year was well below what I wanted and expected . . . to be successful. But you got to be realistic with the circumstances. I think there are other factors that can be very indicative of where your program is and whether it's making progress," she said. Still, there's no doubt that expectation is there to build on last year. "We're changing some things that we're doing." concluded Nixon. "We're a little bit more diverse, we're more athletic with incoming kids, and we're hoping that element allows us to be a little more creative offensively and defensively." Hulk Hogan, 'The Macho Man" Randy Savage, and Stone Cold Steve Austin are wrestlers, right? Not exactly. Ask any one of the 19 wrestlers at Utah Valley State, and they'll be able to tell you what wrestlers really are. With a good mixture of both experience and youth, the third year program looks to make a name for itself. Head coach Cody Sanderson appears optimistic about that fact. "I'm really excited with the guys we have on our team," Sanderson said. "We have good leadership from Erkin Tadzhimetov and other returning players such as Talon Vickers who did excellent for us at the end of last season." Tadzhimetov agrees, "We're all excited to start the season. Coach Sanderson has got us ready for some of the top-notch competition in the country." Both Tadzhimetov and Vickers highlighted UVSC fan's first glimpse of this year's squad. Nov. 2 was the annual Wrestle-Off, where the team battled each other in the inter-squad green & black match. "This sort of competition is the best way for us to prepare for our upcoming matches," Sanderson said. "It will simulate an actual dual meet experience as much as possible." While the match was just teammate against teammate, some of them were fighting for starting positions. It showed with some intense battles. "There were some good, close matches at 157 and 165," said Sanderson. "We'll still have to make some decisions. We have some places we need to work on still. Theres definitely room for improvement." The 157 lb. match pitted Tanner Cowan and Devin Siddoway. Cowan barely squeaked by with a 6-to-5 win. At 165 lbs. Mark South scored four late points to top D.J. Meis ll-to-7. . One of the highlights of the night was when Tadzhimetov and Vickers went headto-head in a back and forth battle that Tadzhimetov won by the count of 7-3. "Erkin and Talon are just tough, "Sanderson said. "They wrestle each other everyday in practice and know GET A LIFE! GET A HAIRCUT! Learn the facts about the life of a top hairstylist They love their careers and many own their own business. Find out more about your one-year full or part time training. PRUL MITCHELL. the school 801.374.5m PROVO-UTAH 48O north 9OO east, provo, utah 84606 www.PaulMitchellTheSchool.com COLLEGE TIMES each other's moves down to the inches. It was a spare back and forth, but Erkin is doing things that he wasn't able to do two years ago, so I'm really happy. I think he's going to be great." Tadzhimetov returns to the mat after red shirting in 200405. He finished the 2003-04 season with an 18-8 record. the best win-loss total on the team, winning two matches by fall, two by technical fall and two by major decision. He also won seven straight matches during the month of December, 2003. "The whole team has had a surge of confidence having him back." said Sanderson. "I think it's going to bring up the performance of everybody." The lone fall in the intersquad match came at the heavyweight position when freshman Dallin Norton showed fans why he was so highly touted out of Wasatch High School. He pinned Cory Bastian with only 10 seconds left in the first period. "I was looking forward to wrestling tonight," Norton said. "I don't know what to expect out of this year. I'm just a freshman and I'm not sure what I'm able to do at this level." "It's one of my goals to have this program compete in the NCAA Tournament," Sanderson said. "I'm recruiting new, young talent in the state of Utah to come to UVSC and stay close to home. Dallin was a top recruit in the country and wanted to come here." As the success of the wrestling program grows, the ability of bringing in more worthy opponents to Orem will also increase. "When we're available to compete in the NCAA Tournament, these guys will be ready because we're facing some of the best wrestlers in the country," said Sanderson. The Wolverines begin the regular season with a tough one in Iowa on Nov. 11 when they take on Iowa State where Sanderson and his brother. Olympic gold medalist Cael Sanderson both wrestled during their colligate careers . The Wolverines then compete in the Cyclone Open in Fort Dodge, Iowa on Nov. 12. Their first home match is Dec. 10 when Utah Valley State hosts Western State at 7 p.m. in the Activities Center. Experience a Very Unique Banquet thnt May Forever Change Your Perspective on World Hunger ENTERTAINMENT BY UVSC'S « LEGACY. DANCE GRQH: Tuesday, November 8th 6:30 pm, Grande Ballroom ALL PROCEEDS WILL GO TO THE FOOD & CARK COALITION Ticktia avdibhle Jt Cutiipim Connection. $5 in advance. $9 at (lie door. nrrf In I t M-f.rasl Lif Wotr * Is Your "Local" Insurance Office Student Discount • Motorcycle Insurance GEICO. A 15 minute call could save you 15% on car insurance FREE No obligation Rate Quotes • Money Saving Discounts • Monthly Payment Plan Contact our "Local" Office 801-226-2404 1513 North Hill Field Road, Suite #3 FREE PRUL MITCHELL. • anipoo : We also offer night classes. CALL NOW! 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