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Show Sports Openings The Summer Weekly Chronicle - Sll ROSE continued from page Sio if is : - "There are times when my confidence is low and I'm not doing - Much of the Ute scoring punch will be put on ward Lindsay Sodja. Zr well," says Rose. "But I'll never give fW 1 up." ) Regardless of the reasons for the Utes' weakness inside, where Rose admits she didn't play up to even her own expectations, other teams in the WAC aren't blind to the problem. As the 1998 season progressed, Utah's opponents went to the inside more and more and are sure to do that again this year. Rose says she is ready for it. "This summer I've been working on my post play with my coach back at home and I'm totally in the weight room," Rose said. "So I won't be getting pushed around like I did last year." The weight room is a place Elliott believes Rose needs to be. "Kristi has a challenge in front of her," said Elliott. "That is to become a more physical presence, to do something to her body, to become a little bit bigger, a little bit stronger." Rose's challenge may be more than gaining strength. It may be a challenge for her to stay in her starting role this year. The Utes have recruited center Lauren Beckman and forwardcenter Katherine McColl specifically to ,FL'.A-..i-l the shoulders of sophomore for- provide power to the post positions. WOMEN continued from page Sio afraid to." Sodja's spring workouts were devoted to the defensive aspects of her game and much of fall practices will concentrate on that as well. But with Sodja in the Utah line-uyou can look for much of p, the offense revolved around the those expectations of themselves." In each of the last four years, Utah has won either a WAC regular season title or a tournament title, and that is certainly the goal this year. But with all the uncertainty surrounding the squad, and all the youth, one can't help but think one thing: Thank goodness for preseason. The Utes will need the extra work. Elliott, speaking about Lauren Beckman, said, "Beckman is our best bet for someone we know is strong, extremejust a ly physical kid." With the challenges clearly laid out for her, Rose says she is ready, not only to hold her starting job, but to take an expanded role on the hard-nose- d, team. Whether she can meet this year's expectations or not remains to be seen. forwards. ' Kristi Rose, at center, is the only Bigger centers, like BYU's Angela Burgess, pushed Rose around This year, Rose will be counted on to generate offense. returning starter, but questions remain about how she will perform in the coming season. Rose, a junior, was criticized last season for playing soft against bigger centers and didn't have the offensive production that many people expected from her (see reamed I went darning m my side). It creates a dilemma on a team to have only one returning starter, but perhaps a greater problem for the Utes is having no seniors coming back. Leadership, according to Elliott, is one of the keys to building a championship team. There is no doubt that the key roles on last year's team fell with Bills and Krommenhoek. On a team that had such seniors running the offense m furJcy they look great wtth whatever I wear . TT 1 'r- high-profi- le season? "Absolutely," said Elliott. "It's a key issue with the development of our team." Given the age and inexperience of the team, development may be the catchword around the Huntsman Center. It would not be inaccurate to call Utah potential-ladebut youth and talent can be a n, I X I I and providing the sparks, will there be a leadership void in this Dallas X-- f I TV Bi Cirb Only Sixes Brad l0O C" ' 1553 I JL Ladles I R 5 to 10 Sixes Wft Ben Safety lb 9ia, 10, 1 1206 Safety Tot Ladles Sixes S, Swt, 9, m , - I R S to 10 W 5 to 10 , f lyrfC -- vV4 JTTr dan- gerous combination without the added element of experience. Especially when there is so much pressure on a young team to do well. Elliott is expecting the pressure. "Everybody, since I've been here, wants to beat Utah because this program has always been the model program," she said. And the players are aware of it. "That pressure and that expectation for the kids that are in the program has already been there." But what about the freshmen on the team? "That's a part of what our presentation to kids we recruit is," said Elliott. "We make sure that we mold these kids into players who have Max Luke 140 Ladles Sixes I I led Safety R 4 to tlim fhn fc 1 of footwttf y 1X2 AC VgSf 1X01 Safety Too I R f to 10 I W S to 10 Ladles Sixes Big Girls I S, Sia, , tva, 10, Oaly Sixes 1 Ova, 11, llvi, IS W4 too W lOto ftjrtws Tom 23009 Safety Too 13008 Safety Too PERFORMAIrV 6 Nautilus Co. JVtfBoL, H8 South State afreet . Salt Lake City, Utah - 4844812 2 484-537- i J ALL AMERICAN FOOTWEAR M-- r 7:00 Sot. 9:30 AM AM tU 6:00 TH tU 1:00 TH last season. |
