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Show orts Rugby progressing as a program Matt Beaudin Utah Valley's rugby club has slow!) c a n e d themselves a niche as a respectable program in this slate of rugby powerhouses. With two of the nations best rughy teams sharing the same area, BYU and Utah, it's hard for the Wolverines 10 gain an_\ respect. Nevertheless, oul of (he shadows of its counterparts the Wolverines have established themselves as contenders for the division 11 championship crown. After a fall season in which the \Vol\crines posted a 3-2 record with wins over divisional foes Utah Slate and Idaho Stale anything but an extended run in the post-season tournament will satisfy. With their two losses coming to national I \ ranked teams like HYU and Utah a 3-2 record appears much belter than it sounds. Last season the Wolverines look a major step forward as the\ made a run to • I ho final lf> in post-season play and were ranked as high as number I 2 nationally. Utah Valley do teal ed Santa Rosa, the 7th ranked team, before losing to Humbolt State in the tournament. As expectations for this sear's squad appear to be high, coach Ciary Brown is only concerned w ith taking another step forward. "Our primary goal is to continue to progress as a team." said Brown. "We want to go further in the playoffs each year." As the Woherines prepare The College Times MONDAY, January 14, 2008 Inconsistent play and schedule doing damage team's second leading scorer with 10.3 points Ben Webster per game, but he has Spons editor had his ups and downs. Brady has shown he can Things seemed to be make a difference with going their way after games like Boise State in the first road trip to start the season opener when the season. Granted, the he scored 17 and had 15 men's basketball team rebounds, against Arkanwas I -2, but the two losssas State when he had 14 es came in overtime at points and nine rebounds Boise State and at Marand against Furman when q ue tie. he had 14 points. On the road against Brady hasn't been the Lamar last week, Utah team's only inconsistent Valley controlled the player. Richard Troyer game late into the sechas been a key in games, ond half, but they let a then nowhere to be found I4-point lead slip away. at times and so on for After shooting 66 percent Josh Olsen, Joe Walker, in the first half, the Woland others. verines shot 46 percent in "I tell the players it's the second half. The road tough to be a basketball trips have been kind this star. You have to play season. every night," Hunsaker The team plays 14 of said. its lirst 20 games on the The road trip to start road, it's been a rough the season seems further road at that. and further away. The "It's been trementwo losses to Boise State dous wear and tear on and Marquette came prithe team." coach Dick or to a win at Arkansas Hunsakcr said. "It's been State. Of course a win at hard mentally, physically Boise State would have and emotionally." made the road trip more Ryan Toolson con- successful but two home tinues to |)lay well and wins later Utah Valbroke a school record ley was 3-2 and playing he previously held with well. eight 3-pointers; but his Then the problems hit. 32 points came in a 74-69 with a road Beginning loss. Like he has done all loss to San Francisco the season, Toolson carried team lost five straight, inthe offense and no other cluding an overtime loss Wolverine scored double to Portland State where figures. Utah Valley gave up 19 However, Utah Val- points to a 5-foot-6 guard. ley has failed to have a Portland State's Jeremiah consistent second option Dominguez scored nine on offense. Senior forward Jordan Brady is the SEMEN'S BASKETBALL • B8 Ken Hoglund / College Times Utah Valley's Joe Walker (right) looking for space to score against Boise State at home earlier this season. S e e RUGBY • BB A quality road win will have to wait Road wins tough to come by Matt Beaudin Ben Webster Without question the women's basketball team is having its best season since playing at the Division I level. But there is still something missing and the team might have to wail until next year to get it. Robyn Fairbanks. Sandy Marvin and Julie MciVlurray have been impressive this season. leading Utah Valley to a great start, and the team is almost sure to get over 20 wins this year. But last week's loss to New Mexico State was the team's last chance to gel a quality road win. The remaining road schedule wouldn't scare a junior high girl's basketball team, let alone Cathy Nixon's Wolverines. Games against Cal State Bakersfield. New Jersey Institute of Technology and against Chicago State make Utah Valley look like Tennessee in comparison. A 3-5 record on the road doesn't look very good when compared to the undefeated record the team has at home. And it isn't. Utah Valley beat Seton Hall, Gonzaga, Nevada and Portland State at home but wins against Southern Utah, Utah State and Air Force on the road aren't impressive as a win against BYU or New Mexico State would have been. Big wins at home have been consistent and frequent, but the team has been shaky when it travels away from Orem. The schedule wasn't easy, but a win against a BYU team would have been nice or against New Mexico State; Utah Valley could have made the top 25 this year after getting a vote in the AP Poll early in the season. Instead, Utah Valley suffered its first loss of the year on the road against Montana State and followed it up with a loss to BYU three days later, a BYU team which is 6-6 so far this season. A BYU team Utah Valley would likely beat at home. Nobody could have expected them to win al No. 14 Duke, but then again, nobody would have expected the team to give away 39 turnovers. A team can't win like that even playing Independents. In the team's four road losses turnovers were major problems with 25 or more except in the New Mexico State loss last week. Utah Valley even dropped a game last week to Denver (5-9) on the road but the Pioneers were 4-9. With that loss the team hasn't See COLUMN* B3 Assistani sports editor Ken Hoqlund/College Times Sophomore Julie McMurray going up for a basket. McMurray is the team's third leading scorer with 14.7 points per game. Just as the Utah Valley women's team has been flawless at home this season, the road has been another story for the team. The lady Wolverines have lost their last five road games including loses to BYU and Duke. Their latest blunder came at the Hands of the University of Denver in a 101-75 loss last Tuesday. In the loss Robyn Fairbanks scored a team high 27 points to go along with her five rebounds and two blocks. Despite the outstanding play of Fairbanks, nothing could deter the hot shooting of the Denver squad. The Wolverines trailed by as much as 30 in the second half thanks to Denver's 70 percent shooting from behind the arc. Denver had their night," said coach Nixon. "We just have to write that one off and move forward." With a record of 13-5, including 9-0 at home it appears the road losses are the one thing holding this team back. However, optimism flows freely as the Wolverines have just two seniors on the team this year. Nixon's team will be returning a large portion of their offense including Fairbanks, guard Sandy Marvin and Julie McMurray. While the outlook on next season appears bright, the Wolverines have 10 games remaining this season against other Independent league teams, and an opportunity to turn in the best season in their Division I history. While a loss is a loss, it's tough to fault the Wolverines for having such a tough road schedule this season. With games against perpetual NCAA Tournament teams in BYU and Duke the competition is prime to give Utah Valley the experience necessary to compete at an even higher level next year. "With the string of games we had," said Nixon. "I knew it would be a struggle." |