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Show SPORTS Page 7 Wednesday, February 14, 2007 COMING UP Men's Hoops Women's Tennis Women's Hoops Gymnastics Baseball Men's Hoops Softball Women's Hoops Utah (9-14) @ Air Force (21-4) WeberState @ Utah UNLV(1O-13)@ Utah (15-9) Utah (7-0) @ Georgia (8-0-1) Utah (2-4) @ San Jose St. (3-4) UNLV(21-5)@ Utah (9-14) Utah (2-2-1) @ UNLVTournament Utah (15-9) @> TCU (10-13) Feb. 14. 2007 8 p.m. (? Colorado Springs. Co. Feb. 1-1,2007 3 p.m. ^ EccleiTcnniv Center Feb. 1S. 2007 7 p.m. £> Huntsman Center Feb. 16,2007 5 p.m. ii) Athcn',. Ga. Feb. 16,J007 3p.m. GSiin Jose. Colif. Feb. 17, 2007 4:30 p.m. ip Huntiiian Center Feb. t7,2OO7TBA (SLaiVegai, Nev. Feb. 18,2007 1 p.m. OFoit Worth, Texas Lacrosse primed for new season Taking off Runnin' Utes try to keep momentum going at Air Force Cody Brunner But that was hi the friendly confines of the Huntsman Center. Now the Utes have to travel into hostile territory and try to do something that has not been done since Feb. 19, 2005: Who was that last team to beat Air Force on its home court? That would be Utah. While few of the players from that team remain, the upsetminded attitude of the team has not gone away. "We've got to stay within ourselves and just use our advantages," said Utah forward Shaun Green. "If we go in there and play tough defense and take care of the ball, we could come out with another win." There is one distinct advantage that the Utes will surely exploit in tonight's game—height. The Falcons' tallest active player is Nick Welch, who stands at merely 6 foot 8. Meanwhile, the Utes have seven athletes who are 6 foot 8 or taller. Utah center Luke Nevill, who averages 17.1 points and 7.9 rebounds per game this season, holds a five- The Daily Utah Chronicle There aren't too many things in college basketball as difficult as going into Clune Arena and earning a win over Air Force. But that's the task the Runnin' Utes face when they travel to Colorado Springs to take on the No. 17 Falcons tonight. The Falcons currently boast one of the longest home winning streaks in the nation at 28 games and have been extremely tough there recently, beating Wyoming and TCU by an average of 39 points. "They shoot the ball with extreme confidence at home," Utah coach Ray Giacoletti.said. "You can add another 10 points to their score just with how comfortable they are in that building." The Runnin' Utes used a sharp-shooting attack of their own to beat the Falcons earlier this year, combining to shoot 70 percent from the field in an 85-79 win. The victory was the Utes' first win in conference play and snapped a 13-game Falcon winning streak. See UTES Page 10 Clone An?m Colorado Springs, Colo.-Spjri Utah _ Utes W (9-16,4-6) Ute notes: Air Force Falcons (21-4,8-3) Falcon notes: The Utes have started the second half of MWC The stingy Air Force defense allows the play 2-0 after going 2-6during the first half. second fewest points per game (S5.1) in The (Jttt are shooting 42.3 percent from the the nation. Although Air Force is three-point line, which ranks them fourth in the nation. The Uies are 1 -7 on their opponents' home floor this season. Utah is 2-0 this season against teams amenity ranked in the lop 25. currently the only ranked MWC team, it is still only tied for second in the conference. Air Force trails in the series 43-11, including a 85-79 loss in Salt Lake City on Jan. 16. LENNIE MAHLER/ 77ic Au/v Utah Ownick Food for thought Air Force Is 13-0 at home this year.The Falcons are on a current 28-game home winning streak that is tied with BYU for the longest in the NCAA. Luca Drca takes flight on his way to the basket during a drive in the Utes'victory over Colorado State last Wednesday. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Softball Utes have ups and downs, but topple powerhouse Longhorns Tom Quinn The Daily Utah Chronicle LENNIE MAHLER/Tkt Daily Utah Chmntilc Brandle Allen and the rest of the U softball team kicked off the 2007 season on the road this weekend, going 2-2-1. 5-4 win over Texas. They started fast, kept the Longhorn sluggers in-check and seemed to be at their best whenever the pressure was on. "We definitely came into today's game with energy and focus," U head coach Angie Jacobs said. "We felt we had unfinished business with Texas, and it took a total team effort for us to beat them. We couldn't be more proud of how this team performed when the odds were stacked against it." Unfortunately for the fans who made the trip, not all of the Utes' games were quite as memorable as their win over the Longhorns. At times, the team's energy and focus weren't readily apparent, and the individual heroics that put Texas away were nowhere to be found. In Saturday's 10-3 loss to Texas A&M, for example, the Utes' eight errors led to nine Aggie runs. Utah trailed from the get-go and found itself down 5-0 before the average fan could even finish a hot dog. Any number of tired sports cliches could be used to describe the Utah softball team's up-and-down, but ultimately successful, performance at the Kajikawa Classic in Tempe, Ariz., last weekend. Considering the Utes' slow start and phenomenal finish, some fans might be tempted to assume that all's well that ends well. The team's stunning upset of archrival Texas, the team that eliminated , the Utes from last spring's NCAAs, lends itself well to the adage that revenge is a dish best served cold. Although the Utes may have had the last laugh last weekend, their performance over the course of the tournament ran the entire gamut from dynamite to dismal. From the opening pitch in Friday's game against Stanford to the strike that finally put away the No. 17 Longhorns, fans saw both the best and worst of Utah softball. The Utes, for example, showed just how good they can be in Sunday's 10-inning, See SOFTBALL Page 8 The U lacrosse club continued its preparation for the regular season on Friday when it hosted UVSC in a scrimmage. The score was not officially kept, but the Utes came out on top 12-6, head coach Rich Levi said. Two senior attackmen were unavailable to play, but Levi was pleased that his younger players played strongly in their absence. "We've really been stressing this whole spring (for everyone to) play under the same game plan," Levi said. "We're moving in the right direction." The Utes, who are ranked No. 13 nationally at the club level, will face their first true tests of the year this weekend when they hit the road to take on No. 19 Arizona State and No. 7 Arizona. "The guys are ready to have everything count as opposed to scrimmages and practices," Levi said. Captains were voted in following the fall season. Senior attackman Tom Fernandez is the team's sole returning captain. Fellow senior attackman Stefan Turkula was voted in as a captain last year but injured his knee and wasn't able to play. Turkula was re-voted to a captainship this year, Levi said. Junior defenseman Clint English will serve as a captain for the first time. "They're just great leaders on the field...and they also do a lot to support the club off the field," Levi said of his captains. Levi expects this weekend's games to "highlight some of the things (the Utes) have to work on." Since players are still fighting for starting spots, Levi is anxious to "see what guys are ready for the pressure" so he can establish a regular lineup. Natalie Dicou Leading by example Nicolle Ford continues to be blueprint of success for Red Rocks Tony Pizza Chronicle Asst. Sports Editor Friday night, Nicolle Ford proved yet again why she was a unanimous choice for captain in this year's U gymnastics team—and it had nothing to do with her 39.625 Ail-Around score. While the Utes were warming up for vault, a group of rowdy and shirtless Utah State fans stood within a whisper's length from the vault runway and patiently waited.. As Ford sprinted past, the group erupted into an obnoxious roar of "boos," which distracted Ford from completing a warm-up on her most stressful event. "Vault is vault for (Ford). She does it so she can do Ail-Around," U head coach Greg Marsden said. "If there's anyone not to bug on vault, it's Queenie." Ford stopped short of propelling herself through the air, and luckily for the USU faithful, the glare she issued the group of prepubescent college students on the way back to the starting line did not turn the entire section into stone. Ford then proceeded to nail her vault for a 9.825, proving yet again why she is the leader of the team. With the extra helping of freshman youth that this year's version of the U gymnastic team garners, the team has needed much more than senior leadership. The Red Rocks have needed someone to set an example, and they couldn't have,asked for a better person to fill that role than Ford. Over the last two meets, Marsden has tried everything short of super-gluing the soles of his gymnasts' feet to the beam in hopes of getting better results out of his team. All he had to do to get Ford to take her performance to another level was to offer a. personal brand of public criticism that the 32-year coach has become famous for. Now that it has become clear that the balance beam is the team's weakness this year, Ford has given her teammates two prime examples of how to properly approach the troublesome event. "Last weekend and this •See FORD Page 8 |
