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Show Daily Utah Chronicle 11 Surf the Wave of the Future In game three, another embattled Ute starter, freshman Enc Schaler, will take the mound for the Utes. With an ERA of 16.62 and only 8.2 innings of work in four starts, Schaler hasn't lived up to expectations, but Esmay hasn't lost faith yet. "Schaler is a freshman, and right now, he's struggling with from high the adjustment school to Division 1," Esmay said. "At times he's looked brilliant, and at times he's looked like a freshman, but he's got great stuff, so he'll be fine once he gets adjusted." Schaler will have an opportunity to rebound from his poor start against an offense that isn't as good as the ones he's seen recently. He will have to pitch well to beat Pacific starter M;ke Mathews, whose ERA is 12 points lower than Schaler's. BASEBALL continued from pae 11 Advantage: Pacific. In game two. Pacific sends its acc, Alex Graham, to the hill against Ute junior Doug Mackay. Graham has a 1.97 ERA and 28 strikeouts in 32 innings of work. Mackay has a comparable strikeout total (24), but his ERA is almost nine full points higher (10.31). Esmay feels that these stats are misleading, however, and that Mackay is due for a solid outing. "Doug has gotten better and better in his last two outings," Esmay said. "His stats don't indicate how good he has looked at certain points during his last two starts. Against SUU he lost control of his fastball early, but he got it back and really took that game over. 1 expect he'll have success against 12, 2004 vi f . a i mouel!ette-- chronicle.utah.edu Pacific." THE GSKS HAVE GREAT COLUMNS, BUT THE CHRrSNY HAS BETTSS. .i .i .v.'Juil Friday, March I 7 vOt x : , : 'jilkly.C'jm Student Health Insurance - i 7! ft,' at a price you can afford! f ' .m : 1 1 I , ; a s Smith helped the Utes roll past San Diego State Wednesday night in Denver the second round where they will play UNLV. Kim 68-5- 1 . Ji to advance Utah to UNLV next in line for Utah women's team in MWC Tourney Tye Smith Sports Writer d After a victory in the Mountain West Conference Tournament on Wednesday night, the No. 2 seed U women's basketball team (23-faces the No. 3 seed UNLV Rebels (22-Friday afternoon at 2:30 p.m. The game is significant not only for its implications on the MWC Tourney, but also because the last loss suffered by the Utes was to the Rebels just more than a week ago. In that game, UNLV came into the Huntsman Center and took away with them, in an overtime w7in, the Utes' three home winning year, streak. The devastating loss also prevented the U from winning conferthe regular-seaso- n ence title outright, forcing it instead to share the title with first-roun- Renewable Individual Health Coverage for College Students of All Ages 6) 6) Choice of deductibles to meet your needs and budget D Extensive benefits to give you peace of mind Year-roun- 11 d coverage stays with if you change or leave school you-eve- n Choose the doctors and hospitals you want 27-ga- Satisfaction Guaranteed Can your current health care protection offer you all this... at a price you can afford? 1111 Contact State Farm Agents: Huie Kryon (SOI ) 5X2-520- I mini: Hi uiii.liuiicr5J 1 timM WbmiM i Festival of Animation With this Coupon to Brewvies Coming March (801)487-544- 6 Email: Chuiiciw.hm.hloii' shacfarm.com stalcfarm.coin Operation Dr. SiKE 1332 East 3300 South Salt Lake City, Ut 0 mfism ,; -- Charlene Long, CLU, LUTCF 1355 S. foothill Blvd. Salt Lake City, Ut New Mexico. The implications of that game didn't end there, however, as the U also gave up its claim to the No. 1 seed in the conference tourney by losing that fateful game. U head coach Elaine Elliott said after the loss that it was disappointing to be forced into sharing the regular-seaso- n title. According to Elliott, if the Utes are going to win, they will need a solid defensive output, but she also added that they wouldn't be making any major changes in their overall game plan. "It has to start with the defense," Elliott said. "Our discussions have started there we have to play better defensively, and then we have to execute better." "If we are solid and play our game, we should be able to keep them from getting too hot," Elliott continued. "Last time, they had a really good 19-2- 5! f f" Li Tran! game, and I think if we stick to our game plan and play our game, we should be able to get the job done." The game features three of the top players, not only in the conference, but in the entire region as well. Forwards Sherry McCracklin and Ran-de- e Henry of UNLV joined the U's Kim Smith recently as three of the five Region 8 Kodak Finalists. Among the three, they dominate almost every statistical category in the MWC. Along with UNLV guard Sheena Moore, the group makes up four of the top five scorers in the conference. UNLV is the highest-scorin- g team in the MWC, and with three of the top five shooters in the conference sporting Rebel jerseys, the need for solid Ute defense will be at a premium. More importantly, the Utes will need everything they can get from Smith, this year's MWC Player of the Year. She stepped up big in the Utes' first-rougame against SDSU, scoring 28 points to go with her 11 rebounds. Smith has been recovering from a mild shoulder injury, which until Thursday's game had been limiting her mobility and affecting her shooting. Smith demonstrated clearly in the first round that her shoulder is alright, and opponents should take note. "The San Diego State game was the first game in about three weeks that Kim's shoulder wasn't bothering her, and it showed in her shooting," Elliott said. "She really stepped up for us, and we're going to need her to play if we want to keep winning." tsmith (chronicle, utah. edu FT got beauty. Btmg this coupon iv, for 20fo off your purchase 2100 S SLC Ltfiti pot beauty.com 1 C I L j VJ.11 " 'Lm c i i . . V m - - . , 0 POOH |