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Show SPORTS Page 7 Tuesday, October 17,2006 COMING UP Tennis Swimming Utah@ ITA Central Regional Utah @ Beehive Relays OCU8-&2OO6 (XL 19.2006 Pfovo. Ulah 6 pjn. Sail U*e t ( t v Ulaii All Day Volleyball Soccer Swimming Soccer Volleyball Utah (4-3) (P New Mexico (3-4) San Diego State (8-12) @ Utah (17-2) TCU (5-7-3) 9 Utah (11-4-0) Denver @ Utah Utah (11-4-0) $ San Diego State (6-7-2) UNLV (14-6) @ Utah (17-2) Oct 20,2006 Oct 19.2006 A!Wiqu«que. HH 7 pm. Cimson Coutl ? p m DfL 31.2006 Ute HaUloilumfloon. Football Oct. 20. 2006 Die field 730pm QcLZZ.ZOM San OlEQO, Cafil. 1p.m. OCL 22.2006 CfJmwn Cowt 7p Webb catches opponents off-guard Cody Brunner Vie Daily Utah Chronicle Clutch. The word defines greatness and is often used to describe an athlete who performs extremely well in pressure situations. That usually translates into a game-winning shot or a last-second touchdown pass, but in the case of U outside-hitter Whitney Webb, it means a game-saving block or kill. "She's been a real go-to player for us offensively," head coach Beth Launiere said. "We have a lot of confidence in Whitney, and she has been getting a lot of timely kills for us. When we absolutely had to have a kill, she's the one that's been getting it done for us." Junior libero Connie Dangerfield echoes Launiere's statements. "She just brings such a competitive attitude to our team," she said. "You know if she's on the front row, she'll get a kill; and if she's on the back row, she'll get a dig. You can always count on her when it matters." Webb has not only been getting it done in pressure situations—the junior ranks third on the team in kills (2.84 per game) and blocks (1.39 per game) and ranks second on the team in points (3.66 per game). Her block-per-game average has also earned her conference recognition—she ranks fourth in the Mountain West. KIM PETERSON/ The Daily Utah Chronicle Webb is widely known as the team's defensive stalwart, often assigned to Whitney Webb sets up the Ute offense during U's 3-0 win over TCU at Crimson Court on Oct. 7. Webb the opposing team's best hitter, and has done an exceptional job thus far this season. "She prides herself in holding the other team's top outside-hitter to a low percentage. We match her up against their best hitter and she takes pride in that. She always does a good job on them," Launiere said. Webb's suffocating defense, both at the net and on the back row, is a major reason the Utes rank first in the conference in opponent hitting percentage, holding teams to a meager .095. "She's an all-around player," Launiere said. "Whitney led us in digs against Wyoming, and she's one of our best back-row players as well." Webb was a significant reason the Utes were able to rally back from a 2-0 deficit last weekend to score their 15th consecutive win. The junior scored 16 kills to go along with a career-high 26 digs, leading the U to a come-from-behind victory over conference foe Wyoming in Laramie. Webb also recorded an astounding nine blocks in the match, which left her just one block away from the coveted triple-double. _ Her efforts in the match, combined with a solid performance against UVSC earlier in the week, earned the junior her first Mountain West Conference Player of the Week award. "It's definitely a nice honor to have that, but it's never about one person; it's always about the team, and we needed SeeWEBBPa&8 finished Saturday's match in Wyoming with a career-high 26 digs. Twice bitten Utes look for answers tically nonexistent.-For instance, in the team's 31-15 loss to Wyoming over the weekend, Utah managed The U football team is beginning just 144 yards of total offense—the to see a pattern emerging as it hits program's lowest single-game total thefinalfiveweeks of the season— this decade. althoughfindingsuch a pattern and The story was much the same figuring out a way to solve the prob- against Boise State on Sept. 30, lems are two very different things. when the Utes totaled just 178 yards Head coach Kyle Whittingham and threw four interceptions, and expressed concern Monday over in the season opener against UCLA, a consistent problem with turn- when Ute quarterbacks completed overs—or, rather, an inconsistent just 14 of 34 passes and the offense problem: When the Utes take care combined for 287 yards to the Bruof the ball, they win; when they ins' 425. don!t, they lose. "It's not hard to fig- Certainly something else is amiss. ure out," Whittingham said. Perhaps not coincidentally, the U's Indeed, the Utes have turned three-week offensive performances the ball over n times in their three have come against a trio of swarmlosses and just four times in their ing defenses that have challenged four victories. But the inconsisten- Ute backs and receivers and made it cies don't end there—in all three losses, the U offense has been prac&w F O O T B A L L Page 8 v •» r . n < v G h r i s B e l l a m y ••--• •- Natalie Dicou Chronicle Sports Editor The Daily Utah Chronicle Convincing university authorities to restore the Utah hockey club was a tough task for the players who spearheaded the effort. But getting the team back may seem like a stroll in Liberty Park compared with the c u r r e n t challenge: taking the ice against tiffS highly skilled teams with V" established programs. "These guys are winners; they want to win," said head coach Bob Wilkinson about his players. "They're competitors. They hate losing—they hate it." Pigskin Picks But losing is something the Utes are becoming accustomed to in their first year back on the ice. This weekend was particularly brutal for the team, as it lost 10-3 to the Jr. Wildcats, an 18-and-under team, followed by a massacre by Utah State 20-0 on Saturday in Logan, dropping to 0-6.on the season. Friday's loss to the Jr. Wildcats, a team made up of some of the state's best youth players, was a humbling experience for the Utes. "We underestimated who they were," Wilkinson said. "They're a good little team." After falling to a 9-1 deficit withfiveminutes £ remaining See H O C K E Y Page 10 Last Week's Winner: Grafton Hull (12-4) Pick the winning teams and submit your contest form to Union 240 Friday by 5 p.m. Remember...just because you win Pigskin Picks doesn't mean you're not still a loser at life. Bellamy Brunner Natalie Tony Pizza Tom Danyelle Morgan Backshop Winners (69-43) (75-37) (68-44) (69-43) (73-39) (75-37) (61-51) (66-46) (97-15) Wyoming Wyoming Colorado St. Wyoming Colorado St. Wyoming Wyoming Wyoming Texas Texas Texas Texas Nebraska Texas Nebraska Texas Georgia Tech Clemson Clemson Georgia Tech Clemson Clemson Clemson Clemson Purdue WISCONSIN!!! Wisconsin Wisconsin Wisconsin Wisconsin Wisconsin Wisconsin Florida State Florida State Florida State B.C. B.C. B.C. Florida State B.C. OSU Texas ASM OSU Texas A&M Texas A&M Texas A&M Texas A&M Texas A&M Oregon Oregon Oregon Oregon Oregon Oregon Oregon Oregon Alma Alma Albion Alma Albion Alma Alma Alma Steelers @ Falcons Steelers Steelers Steelers Falcons Steelers Steelers Steelers Steelers Panthers @ Bengals Bengals Bengals Bengals Bengals Bengals Panthers Bengals Panthers Packers @ Dolphins Packers PACKERS!!! Packers Packers Dolphins Packers Packers Packers Broncos @ Browns Browns Broncos BRONCOS!!! Broncos Broncos BRONCOS!!! Broncos Broncos Chargers @ Chiefs Chargers Chargers Chiefs Chargers Chargers Chargers Chargers Chargers Cardinals @ Raiders Cardinals Raiders Raiders Cardinals Cardinals Cardinals Cardinals Cardinals Vikings® Seahawks Seahawks Seahawks Seahawks Seahawks Seahawks Seahawks Seahawks Seahawks COWBOYS!!! Cowboys Cowboys Cowboys Cowboys Cowboys Cowboys Cowboys' This Week's Games Colorado State @ Wyoming Texas @ Nebraska Georgia Tech @ Clemson Wisconsin @ Purdue Boston College @ Florida St. Texas ASM @ Oklahoma State Oregon @ Washington State Albion @ Alma Giants @ Cowboys .Name. Phone. Tiebreaker: Pick the score: Texas @ Nebraska. |