OCR Text |
Show !THURSDAYr FEBRUAR; 15, 2001 PAGE 13 UNIVERSITY JOURNAL SPORTS I SUU gyn,nasts lose to BYU at home Lady 'Birds get BYU also had its best rotation of the meet on the floor The Southern Utah University gymnastics team recorded exercise with a score of 49.325. Parkinson had the best its best score of the season Monday night in a 194.150-196.225 loss to Brigham Young University in the score of the night in any event, on the floor, with a 9.925. Centrum Arena. The beam proved to be disappointing for the The loss drops the Thunderbirds' record to 3-6 on the Thunderbirds, scoring just 48.125. Erica Burk and Harmony Greene e-ach had a fall from the season. Four of the losses have come against nationally ranked beam during the rotation . competition ; the Cougars were The 'Birds hoped that they ranked No. ,18 coming in to the would score well on the beam and meet. put some pressure on BYU , but Kelly Parkinson of BYU won the were unable to do so because of all-around title with a score of the falls, said SUU coach Scott 39.550. Bauman. Heather Slack finished second BYU outscored SUU in each of behind Parkinson with a score of .J. the four events of the meet. The 38.900, with Suzi Clark and Jayme ~ Cougars barely outscored the Morgan finishing third and fourth . It !IJIJlIWWf_...e•-.iQ Thunderbirds on the uneven bars, was Morgan's first time competing I ft: scoring 48.825 to SUU'S'48.725. in the all-around . ihe crowd was the largest in The best rotation of the ·night for & SUU's two home meets this SUU came on the floor where it · ~ season with1 ,829 fans in recorded a score of 49.175. It was attendance. SUU's Jessiann Andrus balances the beam. the team's best floor score of the SUU will get another opportunity SUU lost to BYU Monday night at the Centrum. season. to compete against BYU, Mar. 10 Freshman Sandi Crosby bettered her personal best score in Provo in a meet that will also feature Stanford University. with a 9.875 on her floor routine. Slack tied her personal The next meet for SUU will be Mar. 2 at 7 p.m. in the best with 9.850. Centrum Arena when the team hosts Denver. '! Ford having suCcess \Nith $hot put BY MARK JONES JOURNAL STAFF WRITER weeks during his senior year. The shot put is not the only event Ford -will participate in. "I will be participating in the discus and hammer throws in Troy Ford is only in his second year as a member of the the outdoor events, in addition to the shot: Ford said . ·1 will Southern Utah University's track and field team, but his also be throwing the weight throw in the indoor." future is bright. He has the ultimate goal of every college track and field In his second meet of the season , Ford broke a school athlete. " I want to become an All-American in the indoor and record with a toss of 55-02 1/4 feet in the shot put event at the Northern Arizona Tri-Meet on Saturday. outdoor,· he said. He was happy about his record breaking Ford has a formula for success, which he performance, but still not satisfied . hopes leads to his goal. "I'm going to break the record again : Ford "Just keeping my mind straight and sa id. having determination and consistency," Ford is a sophomore physical education Ford said. major from Magna, Utah, who has shown Ford says one of the best parts about tremendous dedication to the sport he has being himself is that it is easy to make grown to love. · friends because of his size. ·1 have thrown the shot put every day for "People have different views of my size," the last two years ," he said. _. said Ford. "They make snap judgments What Is amazing about Ford is that he 1 about my size. but when they get to know didn't pick up the sport until his senior year me they change their opinions .• in high school. ;;'i Before coming to SUU , Ford attended "It was a fluke," Ford said. · 1 had nothing ~ Salt Lake Community College and· else to do, so I started throwing the shot put i3 says he likes it here at SUU much better. and kept practicing by myself.· "I like it here because there is a better The benefits of practicing paid off almost !!/ mix in athletics," Ford said . immediately for Ford , who went from being Ford will be in action Feb. 23 at the MidSUU's Troy Ford broke the ranked 40th in the state in the shot put Continent Conference Championship in school record in the shot put event to second in the in a span of three Fayetteville , Ark. with a toss of 55-02 1/4 feet. a i victory at Valpo Four T-Birds scored in double figures to lead a balanced scoring attack as Southern Utah's women's basketball team recorded its first-ever win at Mid-Con foe Valparaiso, 68-56 ,.Monday night in Valparaiso, Ind. Junior Megan Woolston and senior Sarah Mortensen eached scored 14 points to lead the way for the T-Birds, who finished their season with a 5-8 road mark. The duo also reached two career milestones, with Woolston becoming just the sixth player in SUU history to reach the 1,000-point plateau (1 ,007 points) for a career with a jumper with 7: 13 remaining in the first half. Woolston also moved up to 24th on the Mid-Con's all-time scoring list. Mortensen recorded her fifth double-double of the season with 11 boards and moved past former T-Bird Chris Tea into third place on SUU's career rebounding list with 689 career rebounds. Valpo fed nearly the entire first half until two Julie Bellamy free throws gave SUU a 30-29 lead with 2:16 remaining , starting a 7-2 run to close the half and SUU went into the locker room with a 35-31 halftime advantage. Valpo opened the second half with a 6-0 spurt to regain the lead at 37-35. SUU guard Sally Johnson then nailed a three-pointer with 16:5~ left to give the lead back to the 'Birds at 39-38 . SUU then went on to outscore the Crusaders 15-6 over the next seven minutes to take its biggest lead of the game at 53-43. Valpo fought back, cutting the lead to five at 59-54 with under five minutes left, but Johnson again answered with a trey to push the lead back to eight and the T-Birds coasted to the victory. The Thunderbirds shot an even 50 percent from the field (24-of-48) and was 13-of-15 (.867) from the line. Johnson finished with 12 points and five assists and Erin Kelly added fo points on 4-of-4 shooting with two treys. SUU won the battle of the boards, 35-27 , and held Valpo to 36.8 shooting (21-of-57), including 3-of-12 (.250) from beyond the arc. ·we really played good defense and we rebounded tonight, which were two of the keys for us going in ," Head Coach Joe Hillock said. ·we shot the ball well tonight and we got great play off our bench.· The Thunderbirds improve to 13-11 overall , 8-5 in the Mid-Con in fourth place behind coleaders Oakland and Oral Roberts (9-3) and Western Illinois (9-4). Valpo falls to 6-18 , 3-9 in league play . SUU will begin a three-game homestand to close out the 2000-01 regular season this weekend against Oakland on Feb. 17. Thunderbird · baseball team goal: Mid-Con crown BY LYLE GOULDING JOURNAL STAFF WRITER pitcher, and Russ Schmitt, a senior right fielder, will all be "a pleasant surprise," and will be a real asset to the team , Palmer said. this year's captains. "They aren't the most vocal guys on the team , but·they · Assisting Palmer on the coaching staff this season will The 2001 baseball season is under way and Southern go onto the field and lead by example.· Palmer said. be Jarod Ingersoll and Jason Jacobsen. Two starting pitchers return to the Thunderbird's lineup Utah University team looks to improve upon last year's Increased fan support this season is one of1he things performance with its best season in school history. from last year's team. The pitching staff is expected to be that the team would like to see happen. The Mid-Continent Conference coaches picked SUU to the key to SUU'sdefense. "I want people to come out and support us," Palmer finish second in the conference this season, but the Overall the team is strong defensively and should be said · Thunderbirds don't want to settle for just that. able to limit the number of runs scored by their Along with support from the community, increased ·1 think we are good enough to win the league this opponents. student support would also be appreciated by the year," SUU Coach Kurt Palmer said, "I think the other The team is very deep offensively. Hitting the ball well baseball program. , teams in the Mid-Con know we can win.· has been one of the strengths of the 'Birds in the past "We ran into a group of hecklers at Arizona State: Last season the Thunderbirds finished third in league few seasons, and this season should be no different. Palmer said. "I would love to have a group of hecklers at play and lost to Oral Roberts in the championship game Palmer is expecting good hitting from the team. our home games.· of the Mid-Con tournament. "Our guys are scrappy; they will find ways to win,• SUU's next game will be Jan. 27 against UNLV in Las Experience is one of the strengths of this year's team. Palmer said. Vegas. There are 10 seniors on the roster this season and seven Newcomers to SUU's baseball team this season The first home game for the Thunderbirds will be a starters returning from last year's squad. include Chris Nelson, a junior transfer from Dixie College, doubleheader Mar. 6 against Nebraska, who is currently James Anderson, a junior shortstop and pitcher, Curtis will be the starting catcher. Wes Matthews, a junior ranked No. 5 in nation according to the ESPN/USA Japw,er1,,4 ~~Qrrtlr~ ~stlf'tlant Jus~oJ<ittrell,,a senior:. .fit~]~~~~~:~ S~_ 9oUege bas been .. Toda ~ : pq11. , ,, \. .. . .._'"' ___ ., ___ _ 1 .. - - - - - - - · · - - - . .. .. ... _ . - - - - - - - ------~--~- - - .... ----f- ---~---- ___ .......... _ .... --- ~ - · '~ ... >....a.....:t .., .....> --1 ..,.1, • • • .> ) ,, ..... l, \ • |