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Show ' AH, V-- Spent ron Men' of Wildcat golf head for regionals 3y Gary Hinds Signpost staff writer The Weber State University men's golf team will play in the NCAA West Regional Tournament in Tucson, Ariz, beginning Thursday. Coach Mac Madsen has given his squad free reign. "We haven't been able to relax and really play our game all spring," Madsen said. "We've been worrying about finishing ahead of this school or that school, but this time we get to just relax and attack the course." The tournament will be played at the par-72 Tucson National Golf Club. Golfers will play 18 holes each day Thursday through Saturday.Each team may bring five golfers, and the top four scores each day will combine for the team score. Madsen's five-man squad will include seniors Roger Cox and Wade Olsen, juniors Chris Dyson and Andrew Smeeth, and sophomore Rich DeRond. Cox, the only local player among the five, is coming off a strong performance last week in a non-collegiate tournament. He finished third in the Rosepark Championship with a final round of 69. , ' "I think my game is coming together," Cox said. "I played well last week, and my confidence level is really high." Cox, who is ma rried to Wildcat trackster Shawna Cox, said during the spring it is sometimes hard to see each other. "It seems like we alternate weekend road trips. One Wildcats are ready for Big By Steve Limon Signpost staff writer With the Big Sky Conference Outdoor Championships going on this weekend in Missoula, Mont., the Weber State University men's and women's track teams will be running wild and healthy. Boise State University is the favorite in both the men's and women's divisions, but WSU women's coach Jim Blaisclell said that he feels good about his team's chances. "This is the tournament we have trained for all year," Blaisdeil said. WSU will train a little different for this tournament. The coaches said they plan to let their athletes rest a little more than usual to allow them to go into the tournament fresh and ready to go. The rest will be well needed as a number of athletes will compete in more than one event. week I'll be in California, and the next week she'll be in Montana," Cox said. "There's a lot of hi' and 'goodbye' sometimes." Olsen is from Manti, Utah and played one year at Southern Utah State before serving an LDS mission.He returned and played one year at Snow Junior College before coming to WSU. Olsen also finished among the top seven amateurs in last summer's Utah Open. Dyson, from Yorkshire, England, thinks the team is ready for Tucson. "I think we're as prepared for this tournament as any tournament this spring," he said. Dyson said he is personally looking forward to playing in Tucson. "I'm playing the most consistent golf I have for a long time." Madsen agrees. "Chris has been our most consistent player all spring," he said. Smeeth, from Maple Ridge, British Columbia, led the team in average strokes per round last season at just over 75. Madsen hopes for a strong performance from Smeeth. "If Andrew plays like the potential Ail-American that he is, he could make a good showing in the individual competition," he said. Another Canadian, Rich DeRond, said he has been hitting well off the tee lately. "My drives have been over 300 yards. I just hope I can pick up the rest of my game," DeRond said. From London, Ontario, DeRond was a three-time cham- healthy, Sky meet The Wildcats are expected to finish second in both the men's and women's divisions, but both coaches feel if they can stay close to BSU in the early going, they will be ready to take over if the Broncos slip. The Lady 'Cats have qualified 21 athletes for the meet, while the men's team has qualified 22. Taunya Olsen, who will compete in the 800-meters for WSU, said that she is optimistic about her team's chances. "This season has gone really well for us, and 1 feel that we will do well this weekend," Olsen said. "Our team seems to be peaking at the right time, and I feel I will have a pretty good race this weekend." freshman Jen Johnslun will compete in both the high jump and the 800-meters at the conference meet. "This is an unfa Track 12 -J From left: Wade Olsen, Chris Dyson, Roger Cox, Rich DeRond and Andrew Smeeth will represent WSU at the NCAA West Regional Tournament in Tucson, Ariz., beginning Thursday. pion of the Western Ontario Secondary School Association. WSU will have to finish in the top nine of the 18-team field to advance to the NCAA Division I Championship in McKinney, Texas, June 1-4. Madsen said the Wildcats are certainly not the favorites in Tuc Arslanian heads mission By Chris Wirick Signpost staff writer Put away the mothballs and dust off the helmets. Coining a classic quote, rumors of the demise of Weber State University football have been greatly exaggerated. Coach Dave Arslanian and the WSU football team are on a mission of salvation. Let us refresh those with a short memory. The WSU athletic program faced a daunting challenge last fall. Because of budget cuts demanded by the State Board of Regents, over $500,000 had to be raised in order to avoid losing WSU athletic programs, primarily football. A press conference was held Tuesday to update the media on the current financial status of the football program. "We wanted to clear up some misconceptions about the football situation," Arslanian said. A five-point plan was developed last December bv the athletic department to generate money needed to save the program. The plan focused on several aspects, including increasing i 1 son. "We're going in as probably the 18th seed out of 18 teams, but there are seven or eight teams in the field that we've beaten at least once this year," he said. "If we play well as a team it could get really interesting." The Wildcats will be facing most of the top teams in the West student involvement, developing an effective marketing and promotional campaign, soliciting private donations from the community and increasing sales of Wildcat football season tickets. The financial picture looks bright so far. To date, the football program has generated over $200,000, including $152,000 in private donations and $75,000 in guarantees. Pledges were received for 2,158 season tickets last fall, and the money for those pledges is starting to roll in. The football program expects to sell three times the number of season tickets sold last season. The Northern Utah Car Dealers Association is pitching in with a weekend promotional to be held Thursday through Saturday. Over a thousand new cars from 14 dealerships will be at the Dee Event Center for the sale. Every new carsold will include a season ticket for Wildcat football. "We expect to generate between 500 and 1,000 season ticket sales from the promotion," Arslanian said. I lome games were proposed a new noon starting time in order to make Wildcat football mote at I it-" X t W "'' ' - ft- '' RYAN SHUPE THE SIGNPOST ern U.S., including Arizona, Arizona State, Boise State, Brigham Young University, UCLA, UC-Santa Barbara, Fresno State, University of Nevada-Las Vegas, New Mexico, Oregon State, Pacific, Pepperdine, San Jose State, University of Southern California, Stanford and UTEP. of salvation - 3-1 k i 3 1 tractive to television coverage. Uproar from home fans necessitated a quick adjustment. Consequently, 6 p.m. starting times will remain through September, and t-games in October and November will start at noon. The change in starting times resulted in two televised games this season, creating badly-needed exposure as well as additional revenues. Viewing the current financial i ' progress of the football program, Arslanian made the following analogy: "It's as though we started on our own goal line last December (with the $500,000 goal). We've driven the ball to our own 40-yard line so far through our fund raising efforts. By next fall we will drive it down to the goal line and punch it in for the score." Money alone cannot save Wildcat football. Arslanian and staff realize that what is needed is not simply a "quick fix." "Number one, we want to have the very best football team we possibly can," he said. "Community support and fan support will ultimately determine at what level Weber Stale plays and wh.it the future holds lor Wildcat football." |