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Show April 20, 2009 SPRING FOOTBALL SERIES: PARTS 5 OF 8 TouchBase Schedules Men's/Women 1 ! Tennis APRIL 23-26 WAC CHAMPIONSHIPS Honolulu, Hawaii Baseball Z I APRIL 24-26 USU at Montana St. Golf APRIL 25-25 USU at Ping Cougar Classic provo, Utah Softball FRIDAY APRIL 24 USU at Nevada, 1 & 3 p.m. Reno, Nevada. SATURDAY APRIL 25 USU at Nevada, 1:00 p.m. Reno, Nevada. PLACEKICKER CHRIS U L I N S K I , 16, attempts afield goal as holder Eric Moats, 81, holds the ball. Ulinski went two-for-two during the game with a 29yard field goal and a 32-yard field goal. PATRICK ODEN photo Kickin' itnew school Drastic changes in kicking gamefrom last year ByTIMOLSEN sports editor Special teams may not contain the most glamorous positions on the football field, but all too often this unit can decide a game. From game winning field goals to punt and kickoff returns, to blocked field goals and punts - special teams is more often than not a game changing unit. A closer look at this year's version of the Aggie special teams will reveal - like most of the units - some very distinct changes. One of the biggest changes has come on the punt team. \ "For punt, which is the most important special teams, they were traditional last year .and this next year we're going to be doing ilpmething different," said running back croach Ilaisa Tuiaki. "It will allow us to put ohr athletes on the field - speed kills, and that's what we want to do is kill people with sp^ed." Punter/kicker Peter Caldwell, who's been out all spring after having knee surgery, said this new formation will help the punt team a lot. "When you have the shield -> you know the three fat guys in front of you - that are going to close off and block for you," he said. "It really allows everybody else, the skill players up on the line to get releases." Not only will this allow the punt team to get down field faster, but it should allow Caldwell more time to kick as well. The punt team is not the only unit within the special teams group, however, and with Caldwell out this spring, his friend and coworker Chris Ulinksi has seen a lot of action. "As far as kicking goes, last spring I only kicked two live reps, and this spring I can't even tell you how many reps I did," Ulinski said. "We've done live snaps now every single practice this spring, so I think that's going to be a huge, huge help." Both Ulinski and Caldwell arrived on campus at the same time, and the two have been pushing each other at the kicking position ever since. Ulinski has a bigger leg and has established himself as the kickoff specialist as well as the Aggies deep threat (he connected on a 56-yarder last season), while Caldwell has been a little more accurate and had done the brunt of USU's field goal duties as well as punting. "It is competitive as it should be, but off the field we're friends," Caldwell said. "It's nice having someone there to push you, but in the same sense, you miss a field goal and Chris is the first one over there saying look, 'It's OK, we'll just get the next one.' It works both ways with us." Caldwell also said he and Ulinski differ in kicking styles, so it's impossible to compare the two but their different abilities compli- ment the team. Tuiaki, who also works with the kickoff team, is also excited about the new schemes implemented there. "The kickoff team we have is going to be really good, I don't want to get too much into the scheming of it, but the bottom line is we've got to have guys that can run and guys that can tackle, and we have that," he said. On the returning side of things, it looks like senior cornerback Kejon Murphy will end up with the majority of the return duties, while speedy tailback Josh Flores could see some time as well. Regardless of who lands what job by the time the season rolls around, the new coaching staff has the Aggies excited for the upcoming year. "Coaches have done an awesome job just getting the players morale up," Ulinski said. "You can just tell the intensity for every single practice. Everyone's out there trying to get better every day." It's that type of intensity and attitude that could lead USU's special teams to make some of those game changing plays that have been lacking in the past. "Special teams is a huge part of the game and coaches realize that and they're putting a lot of pressure on us," Caldwell said. "All in all it's an awesome change for everybody." ~t.olsen@aggiemaiLusu.edu V TRACK & FIELD 14 Aggies take first place By CONNOR JONES sports senior writer Utah State's first and last home meet before May's WAC Championships went well for the Aggies who took 14 events Saturday in the Mark Faldmo Invitational. Nine of the 14 event wins came from the men's side while five came from the USU women. The winning women were Brittany Chadwick, Chalese West, Kimiko Kamo and Maria Halton for the 4x400 relay, Spela Hus in the women's shot put, Alicia Holt from the 1,500m, Katie Thatcher in the 400m hurdles and Elaine Connolly in the 800m. For the men it was Blake Hadfield in the long jump, Dusty Ott in the javelin, Steve Strickland in the steeplechase, Nick Karren in the 400m hurdles, Bryce Hall in the shot put, James Allied in the 800m, Mike Bills in the 5,000m, John Strang in the 110 hurdles and the 4xl00m relay team. "A home meet is a chance for our athletes to really show their stuff to family and friends who don't get to see them when they travel and there is a lot of motivation in that," said long-time USU head coach Gregg Gensel. Three USU women finished with NCAA regional qualifying marks. Connolly in the 800m finished at 2:09.16, the second-fastest time in school history and a top time in the WAC, while Holt who finished the 1,500m in 4:44.06 and Krista Larson who got second in the hammer throw with a distance of 193-01. Hus had a distance of 46-08.25 for her winning throw in the shot put and Thatcher finished the 400m hurdles in 1:00.84. The 4x100 woman's relay team had a season-best finishing time of 46.60. Allred's time of 1:51.60 in the 800m is a personal best and a WAC-best time. Also finishing the day with a PR was freshman Hall who had a distance of 54-11.25 in the shot put. Bills finished first in the 5,000m in his first event of the year at 16:28.21. Ott also won his event in his first event attempt of the season by throwing the javelin 180-07. Adding to the day's season best finishes was Strang who won the 110m hurdles with a season best time of 14.48, and Hadfield, whose long jump distance of 22-11.75 is a season high. Nationally-ranked Strickland, No. 16 in the steeplechase, showed the home crowd his talent, clocking in at a time of 9:19.12, 31 seconds before the second place finisher. Karren, who is also nationally ranked, No. 20, in the 400 hurdles had a time of 50.02. John Johnson who was on the winning 4x100 relay team had a PR in the pole vault, clearing 1600.00. Casey Parker also set a PR and hit the regional qualifying mark in the high jump by clearing 6-10.75. "We had a lot of fun today," said Robin's Award Male Athlete of the Year John Strang after the meet. "It was a beautiful day, we had a good turn out and we performed well. With the WAC championship being here this year it was important for us to come out strong and get a feel for competition on our track. We're really excited to host the championship meet and want as many fans as we'can get to come give us support." The Aggies split up once again this week as the team travels to BYU for the Robinson Invitational and also to Berkeley for the Cal Berkeley Invitational. -c. h.j@aggiemail. usu. edu Lakers beat Jazz 113-110 LOS ANGELES (AP)Pardon Phil Jackson's lack of enthusiasm for how the Los Angeles Lakers played in the second half. They piled up 62 points on Utah in the first half, then got outscored over the final 24 minutes. "It wasn't a coach's delight, that's for sure," he said. But his players sure liked the outcome, a 113100 victory over the Jazz in the teams' playoff opener Sunday. Kobe Bryant scored 24 points, Trevor Ariza added 21 andPauGasol20as the Lakers pretty much had their way against the eighth-seeded Jazz. They led by 22 points at halftime and then answered resoundingly both times Utah got within nine in the second half. "They kept knocking on the door and we just never let them in," Bryant said. Allowing a Phil Jacksoncoached team to win Game 1 of any series doesn't bode well for the opposition. Jackson's teams have never lost a playoff series after winning Game 1, going 41-for-41 with Chicago and the Lakers. "We had a very difficult time," Utah coach Jerry Sloan said. "We gave up 62 points in the first half and it's virtually impossible to beat this team giving them an edge." Carlos Boozer led the Jazz with 27 points and Deron Williams added 16 points and a career playoff-high 17 assists. Both were in foul trouble, with Boozer getting his third just before halftime when Williams already had two. "I didn't shoot the ball too well," Williams said. "I did a good job getting in the lane and distributing the basketball, I just couldn't finish." The Jazz sorely missed Mehmet Okur, who sat out with a mild right hamstring strain. He averages 17 points and 7.5 rebounds and gives Utah a muchneeded inside presence against the Lakers' twin 7-footers, Andrew Bynum and Gasol. Bynum had seven points and three rebounds playing in foul trouble most of the game. "We were just a step slow," Sloan said. "They kicked our butt off the floor." |