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Show Sports Openings The Summer Weekly Chronicle - S23 SWIM continued from page 18 standing swimmer of last year on the men's side. He probably had his best season ever." Of Johnson, Tesch exudes, "I just look for him to get better and better." As for Nystrom, he broke all of Utah's freshman records in the sprint freestyles. The women' "will be led-b- y Molly Lauber, Annika Lundmark, Heike Kutz and Hawaii transfer Heidi Duckworth. "Lauber was the first female swimmer at Utah ever to qualify for NCAAs. I see her competing to win conference and be top 16 at nationals next year," says Tesch. Duckworth also competed at nationals while at Hawaii and will join the Utes this upcoming season after sitting out a year due to transfer regulations. With respect to the diving team, Kristy Mayo, Dustin Jones and Nick Smith are the people to -- watch. "Kristy is going to have another incredible year; she's our best diver," said Tesch. The latter two both competed in last year's national championships and, according to Tesch, have the potential to dominate the conference over the next several years. Commenting on his teams' talent level and capabilities, Tesch claims, "I see about four to eight others on the team who could possibly go to nationals." While the Utes. have plenty of talent available, they will have immensely tough competition. With 16 teams in the WAC, Tesch notes that "it adds depth to the conference and makes the WAC one of the fastest swimming conferences in the nation." The top teams on the men's side are SMU, BYU, UNLV and TCU. The top women's teams are SMU, Rice, BYU, Air Force, Colorado State and Fresno State. But the prospect of facing intense competition is the best means he sees to getting the Utes back on top. The Ute men's team saw their streak of nine consecutive conference championships come to a halt with a third-plac- e finish in 1995-9When the WAC later expanded to a format, the men declined further in the conference. Recent seasons have been labelled as poor for a squad with 22 conference titles. Meanwhile, the women's program remains somewhat beleaguered in its attempt to gain respectabili6. 16-tea- m ty. Nevertheless, Utah will find several factors working in its favor this upcoming season. "With the semester conversion we get a whole new month of training," beams Tesch. Much of that additional time will likely be devoted to attempting to increase the team's unity, which suffered last year when the men and women were brought together for the first time. In addition to an added month of preparation time, the Utes will be bolstered by the return of four team members from LDS missions, while losing only two seniors from the men's team. The women, however, will have to find a replacement for the departed Lindsey Ripken and five other seniors. Ultimately, it will be the swimmers' ability and capacity to come together that will determine the success of the 1999 sea- 'V'-- m. v 11 V, m .. , son. If they manage to overlook and overcome their differences, achieving that unity Tesch considers so absolutely imperative, they will definitely be a team on the rise. - 'A 3k . Nevertheless, it is important not to expect too much too soon. While Tesch is cautiously optimistic, and while the team pos- Stacey Holmes and the Utes look to be on a collision course with Fresno State to sesses some great individual tal- see who is the best team in the West. ent, it still is likely several years away from being where it wants bases this year. " SOFTBALL to be. continued from page 22 selectee in the history of the pro- gram. 4 Three of the benefactors from Green's knowledge will be Jenny and Monson, Lisa Hashimoto Amberly Johnson a trio that covers more ground than 30,000 stoned hippies at Lollapalooza. As the centerficldcr, Monson will be instrumental, serving as the anchor of the outfield and a creator on the base paths. "She continues to improve every year she comes in," said Monson. "She has a big arm and great speed. We're going to try and up her stolen With the change to semesters, the Utes will be able to unleash their new team a couple weeks earlier than in years past. The team's first test will come on with a tournament at September Colorado State. The CSU weekend will be followed by a bus trip to Nebraska, where Utah takes on Nebraska and Washington September Last year the two teams were both in the top five nationally. There should be no bubbles to be on or no fences to get off this year tor the Utes. 1 his version or the ute Softball team has its sights set much higher than qualification. It wants to watch somebody else's bubble burst this time. 25-2- 7. ChronySports Winn, Martinez, Clifford and Wally: Routinely The Utes will be trying to become more unified as a team in hopes of improving their performance in the ' WAC kicking tail for about two months now. " 677 SUth 200 WeSt I wJmd SLC Movie3lnfo3355-550- x 0 www.brewvies.com |
