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Show DAILY THE CHRONICLE UTAH Gymnasts Take It Easy Before egionals LOOKS 10 RORY BRUNNER Chronicle Asst. Sports Editor ' or the No. 4 Utah gymnastics team, the best preparation for its NCAA Rcgionals competition April ( in Ore., is to take it easy. Coming off the school's first 198 score and the second highest mark in collegiate gymnastics history, coach Greg Marsden isn't eager to change anything in search of the school's 11 national championship. "If our last regular season meet was any indication, it appears that we may be coming together just in time for the postseason, which would be ideal," Marsden said. "At this point, it's a matter of staying healthy and sharp." That means cutting back the number of routines, preventing injury. Marsden gave the Utes Monday off, and practice time has shrunk from the normal four hour sessions to two and half hours. It also means giving rest to senior Deidra Graham, who has been sidelined due to bulging disks in her back. Graham successfully returned to the last week, tying a career high with a 39.725. Marsden is following the same plan he has had with Graham. The senior only does one set of routines per week. Marsden said if the NCAA Regional were to begin today, Graham would line-u- p again likely be in the LANCE GAMERO Chronicle Sports Writer Cor-valli- s, gymnastics, page 9 For Fan Support in Two Home Games a 10-2- aA , ! I I ? 1 ! u; r - j- J ""5 A I 22-15- -1 v t V '4 1 Melissa Vituj and the rest of the U gymnasts have the weekend off to prepare for next week's Multicultural Education and Foreign Specifically, that's a team that has run its record to 0 thus far this year, thanks largely to a coaching staff headed by former Air Force cadet Mason Goodhand, who is also involved with the Utah Lacrosse Association and has made the Utes his latest project. He's joined by offensive coordinator Brett Bartlett, who made the trek from Vermont to Alta, Utah, just to hit the slopes, and assistant coach Daniel Schmidt. Together, the three volunteers have turned Utah into a quality program in a short amount of time. "After having no coach for the last two years, it's made such a difference having a good one now," Harrington-Hous- e said. "We have no problems motivated anymore." getting And the Utes will have no trouble getting motivated for their two upcoming matchups. In the next four days alone, the U will be waging war varsity sport counterparts, but that isn't stopping them from clamoring for attention. "It's not like the football team, where people arc showing up to cover us," said junior midfielder Mike Harrin"It's mainly popular on gton-House. the East coast, so a lot of people out here have never seen it before. But they don't know what they're miss- - I with a pair of Top-1- 0 teams, hosting No. 8 Stanford on Saturday at 3:30 p.m., and No. Sonoma State on day at noon. Both contests take place at the HPER North Field. And though they might lack a prestigious reputation right now, the 30 U players on the team recognize this as an opportunity to quickly make a name for themselves. "If we win both games, we'd proba- - 1 The undefeated Utah club team has a coach for the first time in two years. 1 MEN'S TENNIS at Utah (10-7- Weber State 329 at p.m. (2-6- 1 Ogden, Utah ) ) WOMEN'S TENNIS vs New Mexico (7-- 7) Utah (7-- 329 at Zl x 4T v 1 r 1 "tv .J The No. 23 Utes host No. 1 Sonoma State and No. 8 Stanford bly be ranked in the Top 10. We'd definitely get some instant respect," Harrinsaid. "We played Sonogton-House in a close ma tournament in Las Vegas last fall, and Stanford has lost a couple games to teams we've done well against. So we definitely stand a chance. Both games should be highly contested." Of course, the Utes are not only in search of victories and the corresponding respect that comes with them; they're hoping that facing two of the top teams of the country provides casual Utah sports fans all the motivation they need to stroll to the HPER and check out the action. "It's really physical, it's really fas- t- SOFTBALL 329 at 12 Eccles Tennis Center r 1 this week. it's going to be pretty lively," Harrington-House said. Following the contests against the Cardinal and the Cossacks, The Utes have four games left on the schedule, including the last three versus ranked opponents (No. 2 Colorado State, No. 12 Colorado and No. 3 BYU). "Staying in the Top-2- 5 is a long-tergoal, and moving up is the goal this Harrington-Hous- e said. season," m "We're a program that's definitely building, but we're looking to become a permanent fixture as a lacrosse powerhouse." For more information, visit their Web site at: www.utelacrosse.com. ewaldenchronicle.utah.edu rmT'"'i,"w?.u",w' SDSU 2 p.m. CHRONICLE SPORTS EDITOR 1 Tues- 1 at Utah 9) see SOFTBALL, page 10 Regionals. 6-- The members of the U lacrosse Guys who play a sport that is a hybrid of football and hockey arc bound to be a little quirky to begin with. Put them under the direction of a Boeing 737 pilot instructor, a guy who moved across the country just to ski and an employee of the Salt Lake City School District in the Department of NCAA ng.' Language and they become downright eccentric. But ignore their undefeated record and No. 23 national ranking, and they're just plain angry. team may be relegated to the club ranks and live in the shadow of their ERIC WALDEN Chronicle Sports Editor The U softball team hasn't played game since March 16. Its members are currently ridirrg a seven-gam- e losing streak, and they have a much poorer than expected 6 record. But all that is irrelevant as conference play begins today in San Diego for the Utes. The Utes have a doubleheader with San Diego State beginning at 2 p.m. After that, the Utes immediately travel to Las Vegas for another doubleheader with the Rebels of UNLV on Saturday. When all is said and done, the Utes will have played four games in two days. U coach Mona Stevens and the rest of the team are very excited to get conference play started, as they haven't had the best of luck with the top teams in the nation. The battle with the Aztecs and Rebels will be no easy task. The and have a .231 Aztecs are team batting average. Tiffany Goudy leads the Aztecs with a .345 batting average with 39 hits, 18 runs, 7 doubles, 1 triple and home run. 1 Lacrosse Team Seeks Respect Players Looking uei Back to Winning l see Softball Team U (10-2- BASEBALL 6) (23-15- p.m. PT San Diego, Calif. ERIC "WALLY" WALDEN vs ) SDSU Utah 329-3- TRACK (21-9- ) (16-1- 2) at Utah Stanford Invitational 330 All Day 1 Palo Alto, Calif. Franklin Covey Field EWALDENCHRONICLE.UTAH.EDU 581-704- 1 |