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Show SPORTS VOLUME LH ISSUE 4 IN THE Z AUGUST 29, 201 WWW.UVUREVIEW.COM NE with MATT PETERSEN Big games form big opportunity Michigan. Syracuse. Penn State. Santa Clara. Arkansas. What school is this again? Surely not Utah Valley, the school not good enough to get into the WAC, the school without a football team. For the programs mentioned above, however, the Wolverines apparently make the cut. Volleyball, soccer, werstling and men's basketball all feature dates against programs commonly seen in BCS polls in November, bracketed in March, or still playing in the summer. Many of those national juggernauts are corning here, to Orem, to play. Somebody give the schedulers a raise. For all the perception of UVU being BYU's little brother, the Wolverines are bringing in some pretty hefty cousins, showing they are at least due consideration on the national stage, if not yet acclaim The latter will come with wins, and while these high-profile matchups will have zero impact on the conference standings, they will mean everything in terms of the long-term status of Wolverine sports. Beating the Michigans, Penns and `Cuses of the NCAA would greatly enhance UVU's self-proclaimed status as a program on the rise. Other conferences, ones with that elusive automatic qualifying (AQ) status, would take notice and advantage where the WAC was hesitant to do so. Wins on the court and an invite to a bigger conference would mean more money in the coffers. The fiscal rewards would get the cycle moving faster, allowing UVU to further expand their facilities, recruiting pools and NCAA member teams. The Wolverines, to their credit, have succeeded by largely snagging athletes who manage to slip between the cracks of the college recruiting process. If Utah Valley's goal is to achieve permanent prime-time status, however, they'll need primetime talent. UVU has a solid base of that already. Men's basketball boasts returning All-American Isiah Williams, while All-Americans in baseball and wrestling just graduated, paving the way for future honorees to come. It's been enough beat up on the Great West Conference, leading to attention and respect from programs holding a status UVU wants to attain for itself. Whether they will or not likely depends on the outcome against these high-profile peers. Starting this week. Matt Petersen can be reached at petersensports@gmail.com . You can also follow him on Twitter @ SportsWriter93 CONTACT: Photo courtesy of the MAWL The Mighty Athletic Wolverine League, consisting of student fans of UVU athletics, plans to hold events leading up to and during games, including tailgates, barbecues and fan section cheering. MAWL, Leavitt ready to kick off season By MATT PETERSEN Sports Editor Madison Leavitt was a freshman when she came to a UVU Jumpstart orientation three years ago. Looking around at the dozens of clubs displayed, she wasn't sure which, if any, she would get involved with. Her step-father was, however. "You need to join the MAWL," he said. Leavitt wasn't sure. The Mighty Athletic Wolverine League wasn't at the top of her list and after all, how many father figures try to get their kids involved in, or at least appreciate, sports? Influential motives aside, Leavitt took up his suggestion. It didn't take long to realize she bled green after all. "After joining the MAWL, I start- ed realizing the environment that college sports have," Leavitt said. "It's a lot of fun." Now a senior and the newly minted student president of the MAWL, Leavitt has every intention of sharing the college fan experience with hundreds, if not thousands, of other students. She is well qualified in school spirit, having been a cheerleader before coming to UVU. "Cheerleading in high school set me up to have spirit," Leavitt said. "I'm really passionate about getting the students involved, getting them into the game and supporting the team." Leavitt doesn't just like the games. She knows them. Her favorite sport? Baseball. "It's just a very complex sport," Leavitt said. "There's lots of different dynamics, positions. I've just VOLLEYBALL FROM Al Photo courtesy of OYU Athletics Senior Chelsey Heaps will be key to the Wolverines' chances against Michigan this week and for the rest of the season. This year's team is dominated by youth, featuring seven freshmen and four sophomores. The four returning seniors and lone junior will be looked to early and often to provide leadership for this team, according to UVU head coach Sam Atoa. With the scheduling quirk of having nine home matches in a row to begin the season, the Wolveirnes have an opportunity to get out to a fast start. "We have our first nine matches at home. That is an opportunity that not many teams have, ever," Atoa said. Last year's leading scorer Kayli Doxey is gone and leaves a large void to fill. Looking to fill it will be three seniors: Sarah Clement, Chelsey Heaps, and Jaicee Kuresa. grown up watching baseball." Through the MAWL, Leavitt hopes other students will witness NCAA athletics through a more personal experience than simply watching TV or reading the game recap the next day. "We're going to do a lot of tailgates and work on getting more students to come to those," Leavitt said. "We also want to get athletes more involved with not only the athletic type of events, but also regular student activities, having them come and be a part of it and interact with other students." Whether other UVU students have "grown up" with sports is irrelevant to Leavitt and the MAWL. The program plans on treating upcoming home games like events or concerts, complete with build-up events during the week. For $15, a student can attend every home game all year as well as get free food at tailgates and MAWL barbecues. Members also receive a shirt, lanyard, bumper sticker, and student section seating for home games. Leavitt doesn't want students to miss any of it. "A lot gets missed on this campus, for whatever reason," Leavitt said. "Part of the problem is the commuting students. They may not have time to come to the games and whatnot, or they might not hear about them. I really would just like to have more awareness for when things are going on." The MAWL will be holding a barbecue Wednesday, Aug. 30 in the campus courtyard, followed by a tailgate Friday before UVU volleyball hosts the University of Michigan. Heaps led the team last year in kills with 294, was fourth in assists and the second leading scorer overall. "As a senior you get the opportunity to step up and take a leadership role," Heaps said. "It's an opportunity to be a go-to player." Clement is the second-leading returner in scoring and kills. She and Jaicee Kuresa, the third-leading returning scorer and point-getter from last year, will look to fill the holes left by the departed upperclassmen from last year's team. Looking to assist in all of that scoring is setter Brookelyn Campbell, the teams leading assist woman a year ago. She returns looking to improve upon a solid freshman cam- paign after notching 102 kills and 1,074 assists. Atoa will also look to his large influx of freshmen to round out the rotation. "The freshmen are doing better than expected at this point," praised Coach Atoa. "It remains to be seen how they will handle the pressure that comes with playing major programs at home and on the road." SPORTS EDITOR ASST. SPORTS EDITOR SPORTS DESIGNER petersensports@gmail.com jonboldt@gmail.com gonzamatic@gmail.com MATT PETERSEN JONATHAN BOLDT ERIC GONZALEZ Next up... Against: Michigan When: 7:00 p.m. Friday Where: UVU Field House FOLLOW US ON TWITTER! @UVU_SPORTSDESK f//////M/MM/M/MACIMAI/A4 CLASS STARTS AT THE SAME TIME WITH OR WITHOUT 1-15 CORE CONSTRUCTION >>>>>>> UNIVERSITY PARKWAY INTERCHANGE IS UNDER CONSTRUCTION. )>>>>>>>>>> Sign up for updates at udot.utah.gov/i15core UTAH COUNTY COR E CORRIDOR EXPANSION Facebook.com/il5core Q Twitter.comfil5core A UDOT Project f///////MITZ//////////////////n |