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Show Monday, January 26, 2004 University Journal Page 10 tl ecML By MATT LUST each. SUU performed well in the two other events, tomlustsuujournal 48.825 on the uneven bars and 49.125 in the taling The Thunderbird gymnastics team competed in floor exercise. Denton, Texas, during the weekend at a quad meet In the competition, OUs competitors against the University of Oklahoma, the United comwhile the the two positions swept top UniStates Air Force Academy and Texas Womans petitors took third through fifth place. SUUs Carly versity, who played host to the event. Geronimo, a junior, finished third with a The Sooners won the meet with a tototal score of 38.800. Sophomore Sheena tal score of 197.300 and the Thunder-bird- s Shaw was fourth with a score of 38.750, finished second with a total score and sophomore Rachel Tanner finished of 193.025. Host TWU finished third at 192.200 while the Falcons finished fifth with a score of 38.425. fouith at 187.275. Junior Molly Bauer and Tanner turned in One factor in SUUs second place finish the highest score of the meet, each score in the vault and was the a 9.850 in the floor exercise. recording beam events. The Thunderbirds earned a GYMNASTICS The return to the Centrum Arena score of 47.225 in the vault and 47.850 on this weekend to play host to Western Gymthe balance beam. nastic Conference rival Cal However, the Thunderbirds scores for the vault During 2003, the Thunderbirds traveled to and balance beam are lower than SUUs 2003 avlost to CSUF 194.800 Fullerton where the were forced to erage. In both events, the to 192.975. event count falls, which are an automatic half-poicom State-Fullerto- n. I.H. Choosing coach factors After a los'ng streak of C. Ray Gregory, and a rew offensive power created by Gary Andersen which broke the loss track, coach Wes Meier faces the challenge of guiding the through the battles of the 2004 gridiron schedule DAVID PAYSTRUP eier Continued from Back Page next year. The tension was high, Rehrer said. A lot of kids really wanted someone from inside the staff so that we could keep going in the same direction like everyone was saying. So when they made the announcement, I think that a lot of that tension went away because now we can keep going in the direction we were going. Athletic Director Tom Douple said being able to maintain last years success was an important factor in Meiers hiring. We saw a lot of progress this year, and Wes and the other coaches have worked hard, and theyve earned the respect of their players and the administration and we want to stay the course, he said. Meier said he was thankful for the teams support and having player-suppohelped him get the position. I think that the player-support it Student Loan Blowout! All Shoes: Buy One Get One Free! TWO GREAT LOCATIONS! Cedar City: 603 South Main (Next to Smith's) Brian Head: 259 S Hwy 143 was absolutely pivotal in the Meier said. I know decision, that Tom is a very smart man. One of the things he assured me of was that his decision would be made with the universitys best interest in hand and the best interest of the players and base it on that and not base it on emotion. But I think that Tom also understood that the kids saw the difference between where they were two years ago and where they were this year, and I think that had a strong voice. Rehrer said in terms of strategy and game tempo he expects Meier to follow Andersens model. I like hell stick with the same offense and maintain the same balance in the rushing and passing games, Rehrer said. I rushed eight or nine times a game and hell stick with that, along with giving the ball to the running backs and passes to the wide receivers. The offense will probably look a lot a like last years. Meier said after the success under Andersen, there is pressure on him to continue the teams improvement. UNIVERSITY JOURNAL Yes, I dont question that at all, Meier said. I think that I welcome it. I truly welcome it. I think that we can repeat that we can be better and build on what we started, and I say that with the ground work (that) has been laid over the last year, the staff really laid the foundation, and now we just have to build on it and stay the course. Douple said he is convinced Meier is the best person for the job and will be able to continue the changes Andersen brought. They are two different personalities, but they do get to the same result, Douple said. That is something that you have to look at because different personalities will take different avenues to arrive at the same result. Rehrer said the team is looking forward to next season. I think everyone is happy with the decision and that we will have a successful year next year under Coach Meier, Rehrer I think that he will do a said. good job for us. For the latest SUU news, Thunderbird sports and entertainment information, visit www.suujoumal.com. |