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Show (7 F) ( WEDNESDAY JI 623 " " .. "' - . I,,,,,, IPI-I.I- . VJiVl . ,, - ... mum...,, in- - ...in . f ui. f J 7 ii I,. ii .i - r,- - J : 1 if An "T T") artist's rendition shows the predicted appearance of the . M Ui - -J; H u lw -- 7-V - .w-v- ! H j: , - c- - . if "'"m J3V-i i f i - new Utah practice facility. $6 million dollar project to be finished by November Asad Kudiya Sports Editor The momentum for U athletics is rolling strongly now that a new $6 million practice facility is being constructed in place of the bubble on Guardsman Way. Last year, the school received a donation from Larry H. Miller to construct a video wall at Rice-EcclStadium, and now the school will have a brand-ne- w 74,000-square-fo- facility that will contain football field complete with FieldTurf foota regulation-siz- e ing. FieldTurf is the same surface used on the field. Rice-Eccl- es The impetus behind the project was more of a challenge for Athletics Director Chris Hill. "An anonymous donor came to me on March 31 and made a challenge lead gift of $2 million," Hill said in a written statement. "The donor made the gift subject to a deadline of Memorial Day to raise the rest of the funding and the facility being completed by November in order to help keep up the winning momentum of the Urban Meyer football pro gram," he said. The football program was the primary reason for building the new facility, Inch will aid football coach ; r in many ways. "The addition of this new indoor practice facility makes our facilities comparable to any in the nation," Meyer said. "We now have everything we need to succeed on the football field and in the classroom." Meyer said. "Just as important, the new indoor practice facility shows the commitment the Salt Lake community has made to our football Meyer program," said. It will not only help the team, since it is a better facility, but will also be a recruiting aid for students who want to go to a school that has top- - Former Ute players walk the free agency path to the NFL after not being drafted Asad Kudiya Sports Editor The road to the NFL for players like former U football player Dave Revill is very tenuous, considering the stress of having and keeping a job in the league. After being named to the team, Revill, along with three other Ute players Ben Moa, Brandon Warfield and Arnold Parker were hoping to be among those selected in the 2004 NFL Draft. Yet none of them were picked. "Before the draft, we thought that I would get drafted, but by the seventh round I knew I would start having to think about free agency," Revill said. But free agency was not that bad of an option, since Revill could choose the team he would go to. In the draft, he would have to go and try to make it on the team that selected him. "After the draft, I got a few phone calls from teams like Miami, Pittsburgh and Baltimore," Revill said. The next step for Revill was to see where he would have the best chance to make a team and get some playing time. "We talked to a bunch of scouts who told me that I would have a good shot in Baltimore, and I chose to go to minicamp for the Ravens," Revill said. "They had spots at safety along with on the special teams, which swayed my decision." He signed a contract with the Ravens, which doesn't guarantee he will be on the team in the fall, but it was still a big step. "It was like a dream come true," Revill said. "I have dreamed of this since I was 5 years old, and it's finally happening." The final step for Revill is to make the actual team and be with the Ravens during the 2005 season and that starts with minicamp. Minicamp is not a tryout for people on the team; however, players do get released. Former Ute running back Brandon Warfield also signed with the Ravens but was released after the first week of minicamp. The other two Ute players, Parker and Moa, are signed on with the Seattle Seahawks and the Miami Dolphins, impossible The 104th U.S. Open is finally hours of thank God. Forty-plu- s and ESPN coverage by NBC, and I only missed about a half-hoof it. I'm not sure why. Other than the fact that I love championship golf and I honestly believed that Phil Mickelson might pull off another miracle Sunday, I really had no excuse for spending that much time watching a relatively boring war of attrition. It got good on Sunday, as many majors do, but only for about an hour. Then the inevitable happened. On the 71st hole, that ominous ghost of major's Sunday past came creeping into Mickelson's fragile psyche. This has been the norm for Mick's career prior to his unbelievable Masters victory. It should have been expected. A couple of months ago, Mickelson's career was defined by Sunday breakdowns during the majors. Mickelson used to break down better than my collapsible tent. His Sunday play used to be so bad, he made my old Mercury station wagon with plastic wood paneling look reliable. The key term is "used to." (I know, you thought it was "plastic wood paneling.") Most of us were duped into thinking that Sunday breakdowns were behind him after the miracle at Augusta. Unfortunately, they weren't. In all fairness, Shinnccock Hills was playing as hard as any course in the history of the US Open. The aver over re- spectively. "It's not a completely new experience or very difficult since we were just practicing with helmets," Revill said. "The only difficult thing is practicing in a place where you are alone without your family." wire-to-wi- re COPY two-putt- s, ts ot st akudiya (chronicle. utah.edu TES AT A Glance) Softball Ute shortstop Glennis Donnelly has been named to the Easton Third Team. Donnelly tied the Utah single-seaso- n record for doubles with 17. Donnelly's 19 home runs were good for fifth in the NCAA in home runs per game. The senior was an selection for the second straight year, leading the Utes with 50 RBI and a .760 slugging percentage. C Revill returned a few days ago from a month-lon- g stay in Baltimore. Not only was making the NFL a dream for Revill, but it will also provide a nice paycheck, which put pressure on Gymnastics gymnast Melissa Vituj has made the Academic list. Vituj's 3.45 GPA in health promotion and education was good enough for a spot on the third team. Vituj ended her career as one of the top Ute gymnasts in history. She was named 11 times while an or indiwinning 48 vidual event titles. The Ada, Mich., native holds eight of the top 10 spots on the Utah scoring list, and led the Utes to four straight Super Six national championship appearances. Co-SID- A SEE NFL PAGE 10 t .S. Open in regulation. age score was more than 80. To put that officials Course number in perspecwere quoted as saytive, it means that ing that they "acciof the best golfers dentally" rolled the in the world to make green of the sevthe cut, the average enth hole to make score was a whopit firmer on Friday ping night. The seventh, The greens were so a ridiculous par 3 hard to hit that many a green that with Tye Smith could hit, players would aim nobody Col umnist Sports at frreenside bun was already being kers just to make it safely around the called the shortest par 5 in the world green in a predictable position. Many by the players. I bet if we found out of the holes resembled the infamous who "accidentally" rolled the greens, "volcano hole" of every miniature golf we'd find out that he was "accidentalcourse. You know, the one that looks ly" given a raise the next day. Mickellike a volcano, forcing you to roll your son dealt a double-boge- y on the sevball up the sloped side and into the enth on Saturday, a surefire reason he middle to make it in the hole. I usutrailed by two going into Sunday. That left the unflappable South Afally had to take the maximum score on that one, and I'm sure some of the rican, Retief Goosen. Goosen had one players at the U.S. Open would have of the finest rounds of putting in U.S. liked to take a max on some of the Open history. On greens that weren't holes they played at Shinnecock. Goosen made 10 yielding one-putin his final round. He looked Many of the commentators called the course unfair. It was something like he was floating around the course like installing rims for the NBA on Valium, spiked with some kind of Finals, or letting a coach with the skill crazy putting steroid. Nothing bothof Urban Meyer oversee the Utcs in ered him. a conference as bad as the Mountain If Goosen was on Valium, MickelWest. OK, it's not really like that, but son was on Prozac. Mickelson's crazed the point is, the course was brutal. grin after an early three-pu- tt bogey on The fairways were almost impossible Sunday made me think he was borto hit, and even a fairway in reguladering on insanity, and his complete tion was rarely a guarantee for a green breakdown on the second-to-la- vember. J Mick els on can t pull off the 3.t notch facilities. The school has a quality strength and conditioning building with the Smith Center and now it has a new practice facility. The groundbreaking for the facility took place on June 14 and the plan calls for the building to be finished by No- It was something like rims installing for the NBA Finals, or letting a coach with the skill of Urban 12-fo- Meyer oversee the Utes in a conference as bad as the Moun- tain West. OK, it's not really like that, but the point is, the course was brutal. hole of the entire competition seemed to confirm it. Mickelson was on his k way to winning majors after a career of almosts. He was only two holes away from tying Goosen's score of and taking the playoff. championship to an All he had to do was make par on the 17th and the 18th holes. In all fairness, Mickelson is just the third person in four U.S. Opens played at Shinnecock to finish under par. The course is that tough. The mental fatigue after that kind of golf must be severe. The truth is, despite the lapse at the end, Mickelson played his heart out I just hope he didn't play his brains out. tsmith&chronicle. ulah. edu back-to-bac- Golf ot Ute golfers Carl Jensen and Luke Swilor received Cleveland Golf Scholar status for 2004. The award, given out by the Golf Coaches Association of America, rewards golfers for maintaining high standards on and off the links. Jensen, a senior with a 3.31 GPA in accounting, par- ticipated in all but one tour- nament. His best score for the season was 217 at the University of Wyoming Cowboy Classic in April. Swilor graduated in May with a 3.66 GPA in economics. This is the second time he has won the award, as he received it as a junior last season. Swilor 210 at the posted a season-bes- t Falcon Invitational, where he finished in second place. Women's Basketball Incoming freshmen Jessica Perry and Marie Warner have been invited to join the training camp for Canada's junior national team. The team will attempt to qualify for the Junior Women's World Championship Tournament in 2005. SEE UTES PAGE 10 |