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Show Page 5 Friday, November 17,2006 Sports The Signpost Freshman, team finish fall leg with fifth-place finish By Jeff Snider correspondent I The Signpost The Weber State University Women's Golf Team had its strongest showing of the season at Firestone Grill-Cal Poly Invitational Nov. 6-7. The Wildcats, led by freshman Natalie Weber and junior Aubree Nickle, finished fifth as a team. Weber and Nickle both had top-ten finishes, tied for fourth and seventh respectively. Senior Jessica Thomas ended up tied for 24th individually, with freshman Erika Baldwin tied for 53rd and sophomore Amanda Case tied for 56th to round out Weber State's lineup. Weber State Women's Head Coach Jeff Smith said he was happy with how the young team finished, not only in this tournament, but all season long. The University of California-Davis won the team title at the Firestone Grill Invitational, leading the field after each day of round play. UC-Davis beat out second-place Sacramento State University by an impressive nine strokes. The University of California-Riverside finished third, and The University of California-Polytechnic finished fourth. Weber State's fifth-place finish broke up the domination of the California teams in a California-based tournament. Smith said this finish really gave the team momentum toward the spring leg of the season. "We were really thrilled with our last finish," Smith said. Weber led the team with a fourth-place finish, continuing her low-score average, around 76.4, according to Coach Smith. She has finished well all season for Weber State, propelling the team to some strong finishes, impressing many along the way. Among the impressed were Big Sky Conference officials. Weber was named Big Sky Golfer of the Week along with Sophia Choi of the University of Northern Arizona, after they both finished fourth in the Firestone Grill Cal Poly Invitational. This is the first time Weber has been awarded by the Big Sky conference. Weber said the format at this tournament was different than the rest of the tournaments this year. The team played 18 holes on the first day, 18 on See Golf page 6 Cats beat last year's #1 Win over SJSU huge as Texas teams come to town By Jon McBride sports editor I The Signpost The Weber State University Division II Hockey Team won an important game last Saturday at the Ogden Ice Sheet, knocking off seventh-ranked San Jose State University. "Ranked 12th and beating a seventhranked team," said WSU Head Coach Sean Boyle, "the team is finally starting to come along, starting to come to what we should be. Beating a team like this is just going to give us more confidence for the rest of the season that we can do this." The Wildcats have suffered through some inconsistent play this year, losing a number of close games. Boyle said it feels good to be on the other side of a close game. Since the beginning of the season, the Wildcats have added a few key players who played on WSU's DI team last year. They recendy added Brandon Holmes, who was playing on the DI team this year, but has opted to play on the DII team for the remainder of the season. The speedy forward made an immediate impact, scoring two goals in the game against SJSU. Holmes joined former DI players Erik Milliron, Sean Baron, Miles Wirkus and Chris Wirkus on WSU's first powerplay unit, which proved to be potent. Two of the Wildcats' goals were scored on the powerplay, along with one other that was scored seconds after a SJSU penalty expired. Holmes' first goal came at 13:06 of the first period. Miles Wirkus started the play with a long breakout pass to Milliron. Milliron dangled around one SJSU defender, then made a perfectly placed pass to Holmes who was streaking to the net and one-timed the pass between the goalie's legs. Six minutes later, WSU forward Craig Lindgren put the Wildcats up 2-0 on another one-timer right in front of the SJSU goalie. SJSU battled back, scoring goals at 3:19 of the first period, and 6:07 of the second period. The Wildcats had been putting on the pressure up to that point, but the SJSU PHOTO BY TRIC1A CERRARD I THE SIGNPOST Weber State University forward Miles Wirkus (above) breaks out of the defensive zone in a game earlier this season. Wirkus is one of six former Division I players who are leading the DII Wildcats this season. WSU goaltender Jonathan Beck (right) makes a pad save. Beck made 36 saves in WSU's win over San Jose State University last weekend. goals created a huge momentum shift. The Spartans could have created a bigger gap had it not been for the stellar play ofWSU goaltender Jonathan Beck, who made a couple of key saves on SJSU breakaways. WSU forward Luke Dunlap scored on a powerplay at 3:52 of the second period to put the Wildcats back in the lead. Milliron picked up another assist as he pressured the SJSU defenseman into a giveaway. "I just ripped it at the net," Dunlap said, "our forecheck was the main thing." WSU came out flying in the third period. At 12:25, See Hockey page 6 PHOTO BY MATT CLASS | THE SIGNPOST Rugby team completes fall season Team wanting to bolster roster for Spring schedule What to watch at WSU Happening at WSU this weekend: Standing Out • Friday, 7 p.m.; WSU By Jon McBride Women's Basketball vs. sports editor | The Signpost Northern Iowa University; Dee Events Center. • Saturday, 8 p.m.; *WSU DII Hockey vs.Texas A&M University; Ogden Ice Sheet. By Brandon Zito correspondent I The Signpost What to catch up on after the weekend (See The signpost The Weber State University Rugby Team has ended its fall season and is geared up to hit it hard in the spring. The team attended a tournament in Logan Oct. 21, and came up short against Utah State University, losing 26 to 14. "For the first quarter of the game we didn't play real well," said WSU Rugby cocaptain Dan Gallagher, "but the last three quarters we played really well." Costly penalties set the team back considerably. "Being offside is probably the biggest penalty we had," said Chris Shoop, a first year Rugby player. "We probably had eighteen of them." Despite the loss, the returning players said they remain optimistic they will make an impact and have a productive next season. "We've come a long way as a team," said Nick Snoop, another first-year player for the team. The fall rugby season in Utah is shorter, as it allows teams to form and become comfortable as a unit. Once spring arrives, WSU's team will be very active in its schedule as it plays numerous games and travels to various tournaments. In February, the team will travel to Southern Utah and participate in the Red Rock Tournament, a tournament that hosts • Thursday to Saturday; WSU Volleyball at Big Sky Conference Tournament; Sacramento, Calif. • Thursday to Sunday; WSU Men's Basketball at Top of the World Classic; Fairbanks, Alaska. • Saturday, 3 p.m.; WSU Football at Idaho State University (final game of the season). • Saturday, 8 p.m.; WSU DI Hockey at Minot State University; Minot, N.D. next week for full coverage) What to keep on the radar: • Monday, Nov. 20; WSU Women's Cross Country at the NCAA Championships; Terre Haute, Ind. Pt IOTO LtY BRICE KELSCH I THE SIGNPOST A Weber State University rugby player reaches for the bail in a practice earlier this season. The rugby team has completed the fall portion of its season, but has roster spots available for the spring. numerous teams fromaround the country. Four of the six teams that competed last year were nationally ranked. Like any team, during the off-season players need to maintain their strength and endurance. "We'll continue to practice outside on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 4:30 to keep our conditioning up," Nick Shoop said, "and once the snow falls we'll move it inside. Whether it be lifting weights, playing basketball or watching some rugby videos, just to make sure we're staying in the rugby mode and keeping ourselves in shape." Currently, the team has enough players to field a team; but, they said they would like more students to get excited about the sport and try out for the team. "We need more bodies," Chris Shoop said. "Right now See Rugby page 6 *The Signpost Sports Editor Ion McBride's pick - The Wildcats looked really good last weekend against San Jose State University. If they can carry over the momentum from that very important victory, they should be moving to the top of the division. Texas A&M on the other hand, has something to prove as they haven't really faced any tough teams outside of Texas. This will be a huge game for them as they try and prove themselves to the rest of the division. WSU is playing with a much more balanced attack, throwing lots of different looks at opposing teams. They really have a lot of depth to play with and Head Coach Sean Boyle is finding some combinations that are clicking. WSU's powerplay is especially fun to watch. Last game the Wildcats put all former Division I players out for the man advantage and controlled the play really well. If you have a WSU-related sporting event worthy of alerting Wildcat fans about, call Jon McBride at 626-7983. |