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Show Moguls, lows of '03 p&isEn Mdlcats further in '04 New players, old records motivate teams during new fall season By B) BECKMAN sr. sports writer The Signpost Last fall's sports season was one of mixed feelings for WSU sports fans. The highs included second-place Big Sky finishes by the men's and women's cross country teams and an impressive 8-4 schedule by coach Jerry Graybeal, with the football team finishing fourth place in the conference, easily surpassing what most people were expecting of them. Some of the bitter low points included a rocky season for the volleyball team, which ended up with a 7-21 record and failed to make the conference tournament, and a stunning semi-final round defeat of the No. 1 seeded Wildcat soccer team in the conference tournament. This fall, all of the teams are looking to make progress on what they did in 2003. The task won't be easy for any of them, however, as youth, inexperience and team chemistry will be an issue for every team. The cross country teams both had excellent seasons last year, but will be faced with more challenges in 2004. While the men will welcome back most of last year's team, the women will feature eight new freshmen and only six returning team members. The youth of the team makes it very difficult to judge how good they will be, said head coach Jim Blaisdell. "We're going to have to have a lot of help from our freshmen," Blaisdell said. "It's going to depend on how well they come in." The Wildcats are glad to have Caroline Pebley and Lindsey Olsen, both All-Big Sky athletes last year, back with the team. Blaisdell will look to them to blaze the trail for the rest of the girls to follow. "They're going to have to be leaders and really get the rest of the group going," Blaisdell said. The men's team will look to standouts Ken Richardson and Riley Cook for leadership and exeat performances. i i'2-s a (Uii4 v'r;r V """'yrtrx. v f. t f v " z - I Players get ready for a pass while other team members rest on the sidelines at a summer practice. The football team began preseason training in August and ran through their plays to get in top shape for the start of the season. the season on Aug. 27 in Ogden against Southern Utah University. They will then play nine more games before beginning conference play on Oct. 7 when they take on Idaho State at home. Last but not least, Graybeal's football team enters the 2004 season picked fifth in the Big Sky coaches' poll, but like last season when they were expected to finish dead-last, Graybeal is shooting to outdo those predictions and be a strong competitor within the conference. Although last season's success brought Graybeal a three-year contract extension, he knows that last year is only a stepping stone to what they hope to accomplish this year. "There is something to be said for building upon the success that we had (last year)," Graybeal said. "I look at it like it was a good season, but not good enough." The 'Cats will have their work cut out for them. They open the Big Sky season on Oct. 2 with Montana, the team picked to finish first in the conference. Preseason begins on Sept. 4 at home versus Southern Utah. Both the men and the women will most likely be chasing defending champion Northern Arizona University for the conference title. Last season was a difficult one for the volleyball team. The Wildcats failed to win back-to-back matches and missed the conference tournament after losing in the championship game the year before. Despite the frustration that accompanied the team last season, head coach Al Givens said that lessons were learned and this year could be very different. "I thought we really underachieved," Givens said of his 2003 squad. "It was not a season that we were happy with, but it was mainly a learning experience." Much like the women's cross country team, the volleyball team will rely on newcomers to contribute quickly and the team to build good chemistry for them to have success. The 'Cats welcome back seven players, but bring in three transfers and four freshmen this year. Givens is not expecting them to be a great team right away, but hopes that by the time the conference schedule beeins, thev will be ready to compete. "Our goals are to improve upon what we did last year, show progress as we go through the season, and then make the conference tournament and be peaking (at that time) so that we can make a run," Givens said. The Wildcats will play one-third of their season before conference play begins on Sept. 24, and Givens hopes that this will allow the team to gain a lot of experience, chemistry and maturity very quickly before Big Sky play begins. "Nothing makes you better like experience and competition," Givens said. The women's soccer team looked like they would run away with the Big Sky title in 2003 as they stormed into the tournament as the number-one seed with a 4-2-1 conference record. The Wildcats were upset in their first game of the tournament, however, falling to Montana 1-0 in the semi-final game. The 2003 squad featured seven all-conference players, and five of them will be playing -this year, looking to defend their Big Sky regular-season championship, and hopefully making a better appearance in the tournament than thev did last vear. The 'Cats begin You can leave a message for reporter BJ Bpckman hv raUino Sporting opportunities flourish in Ogden area By KELLY MAW asst. sports editor The Signpost Most students will never play a professional sport. In fact, most students will probably never play a collegiate level sport, but that doesn't mean all can't be a part of athletics happening around Ogden. For many people, sports play a big role in their daily lives. Whether as a casual spectator or a professional athlete, students can find many different ways to participate in the world of sports. On the local level, sports fans can take in WSU sports this fall. Football, cross country, volleyball and women's sorcer will beirr fan" 3M VVWELCH 3 f I soil trs-P.?oo I A Traihvays ii! " love to play sports. It's a great outlet for me. Between school work and family, life can be pretty stressful." Drew Hill, WSU baseball club member A Raptors pitcher winds up during a home game last season. swing by the time fall semester almost always a game going begins. With 13 varsity sports on somewhere, in the Big Sky Conference and WSU sophomore Drew a hosfof chrtr teams there ' ttHh ' a 1 membfef of WSir? ' club baseball team, and participates in recreation softball and intramural basketball at WSU. "I love to play sports," Hill said. "It's a great outlet for me. Between school, work and family, life can be pretty stressful." Students can find several competitive sports to participate in locally. Some of them can be found on campus. WSU offers a variety of ways to stay active. Intramural activities include "baketball,"feHHafdss,,scrccer, flag football, volleyball, tennis and triathlon competition to name a few. Information about intramural sports is available at the Department of Campus Recreation and weber.edu. Branching out into the community students can find even more sports to participate in. Men's, women's, and coed recreation softball and basketball leagues are available most of the year and are played at various locations in the Ogden area. See Ogden page 36 |