OCR Text |
Show 6 Friday, March 14,2008 SPORTS www.dailyutahchronicle.com Baseball Softball Utah (6-8) § Fresno State (6-9) Utah (12-10) vs. Texas A&M (25-4) 7:05 p.m..PT, Fresno, Calif. 3:00 p.m., San Diego, Calif. Lacrosse beats Westminster Tim Haslam STAFF WRITER The No. 25 Utah men's lacrosse team proved that it's the best college team in the Salt Lake area by beating the Westminster Griffins 9-7 on Thursday. The game started off slow as both teams struggled to find their offensive forms. The first goal of the game came after 10 minutes had passed in the first quarter, when Danny Polityka scored from his knees after being pushed by a Westminster defenseman. Less than 30 seconds later, Utah scored again on a shot by junior attackman Ryan Watts to bring the score to 2-0. Westminster scored first in the second quarter, but Utah answered with two goals to extend its lead to 4-1. Overall, Westminster had trouble keeping possession of the ball and Utah was able to hold the ball and control the clock. With two minutes remaining in the half, the Utah defense See LACROSSE Page 8 Basketball Saturda Toda Gymnastics Softball Women's Tennis No. 2 Utah (10-0) @ No.3Florida(7-2) Utah (12-10) vs. Cal State Fullerton (13-10-1) No. 33 South Carolina (7-4) § No. 53 Utah (9-4) 7 p.m. El, Gainesville, Flo. 10 a.m., San Diego, Calif. 12 p.m., Salt Lake Gty, Utah Midnight stand Cody Brunner ASST. SPORTS EDITOR LAS VEGAS—When in doubt, give it to the tallest guy on the floor. Utah head coach Jim Boylen*followed that mentality down the stretch in No. 6 seed Utah's overtime upset win over the No. 3 seed New Mexico Lobos. The Utes gave the ball to center Luke Nevill on virtually every possession, and the Utes left the Thomas & Mack Center with an 82-80 overtime win early Friday morning. Utah nearly suffered another heartbreaking loss to the Lobos as it saw an eight-point lead disappear in the final four minutes of regulation. New Mexico's Chad Toppert tied the game with a pair of clutch free throws with just under 12 seconds remaining, but the Utes still had the last shot. But as has been the case multiple times this year, Utah couldn't get organized in time to win take a last-second lead. The end result was a Luka Drca turnover with one second left. New Mexico's last-second shot fell harmlessly short. In overtime, New Mexico's J.R. Giddens and Nevill provided plenty of entertainment as the two traded dunks. In the end, it was Nevill who had the last laugh. The Aussie blocked a crucial shot attempt with less than 10 seconds left and New Mexico was forced to foul Utah's Lawrence Borha with five ticks left on the clock. Borha made his second free throw to give the Utes a two-point lead and Giddens' driving scope shot attempt bounced off the rim to preserve Utah's victory. Nevill finished the game with a team-high 26 points and eight rebounds- Giddens ended up with 28 points and 17 rebounds. The Utes dug themselves into a hole early in the opening half. With most of the attention on Giddens, New Mexico's Dairese Gary hit a pair of 3-pointers and the Lobos jumped out to an early 12-3 lead. When the Utes adjusted to Gary, Giddens took advantage. The MWC Co-Player of the Year electrified the crowd with a pair of dunks, one on an alley-oop pass from Gary. The Utes eventually put the clamps on Giddens and piece together a few nice plays of their own. Down 32-25, Nevill keyed a 13-4 Utah run just before the half. The Aussie finished the opening half with 12 points and six rebounds, despite playing only 12 minutes. The Utes carried a 40-37 lead into the break. The Utes carried that momentum into the second half, opening it up with a 10-4 run to distance themselves from the Lobos. New Mexico battled back with a pair of Roman Martinez free throws to cut the Utah lead to three, but the Utes went on an 8-0 run to put them up 60-49 T Y L E R CO B B/Tbe Doily (ffoS Cftwwfe with just over 10 minutes left. The Lobos again trimmed the Utah lead to Ten minutes after midnight, No. 6 seed Utah celebrates its upset overtime ' three points with just under five minutes to play win against No. 3 seed New Mexico. Utah lost both regular seasons meetings with the Lobos, but sealed the MWC Tournament victory behind Luke Nevill's 26-point, eight-rebound performance. See UTES Page 7 Utes must be solid Jon Gilbert STAFF WRITER When the U gymnastics team had a week off before its meet with Oregon State, the team failed to look sharp and tied its lowest score of the season. Florida had a break before its meet this week and hopes for different results. No. 2 Utah visits No. 3 Florida tonight at the O'Connell Center in Gainesville, pa., in a clash between gymnastics powerhouses. Utah (10-0) went almost two weeks before competing again after an impressive defeat of UCLA on Feb. 24. When Oregon State visited the Huntsman Center on March 7, -Utah earned a 196.300. "It's kind of like a kick in the butt," junior Nina Kim said. Florida (7-2) hopes it doesn't need a similar red flag to keep up its momentum. The .Gators performed well while losing to No. 5 Alabama 197.225-197.125 on Feb. 29 and had a week off to prepare for Utah. "We felt it was nice for our athletes to get a little break, especially mentally," Florida head coach Rhonda Faehn said. She doesn't expect the break to work negatively for her team. Last season, a break between Florida's last meet and SEC Championships was just what the team needed to win the conference championship, she said. It worked so well that she scheduled a break between the meet with Utah and the SEC Championships again this year. With a healthy team, Florida is ready for what promises to be a tough and exciting meet with Utah. Likewise, Utah is gearing up for a meet that could go a long way toward telling the team where it stands with See RED ROCKS Page 7 Utah Utes Florida Gators March 14,2008 • 5 p.m. p.m. Gainsvllle,Fla. (10-0) (7-2) \ www.utahutes.com Katie Kavisto and the Utes prepare to take on the Florida Gators. In preparation for tonight's meet, head coach Greg Marsden made some changes to their practice routines to add more team focus. Red Rock notes: Gator notes: Utah had an uncharacteristically sloppy performance last week against Oregon State, but that doesn't have the team down. "When I watched the video, it doesn't look like the wheels are coming off," head coach Greg Marsden said. Senior and two-time national runner-up in the all-around Ashley Postell fell twice in Utah's win over the Beavers. She had completed 49 straight routines before falling on her bars routine and then her beam routine. Nina Kim said the whole team hopes to tighten things up this week. Head coach Rhonda Faehn said that her team Is not particularly deep this season. Because of that, Faehn only scheduled 10 regular season meets to help keep her team fresh. So far, the strategy has worked out. Florida is pretty much full strength, save for typical bumps and bruises. The Gators are 4-2 against teams currently ranked in the top 25, with the two losses coming to No. 1 Georgia and at No. S Alabama. Florida is 3-1 at home this season. Food for thought: Although Utah owns a 28-7 advantage all-time against Florida, the Gators have protected their home mats. Utah is 2-3 all-time in Gainesville.The last win came three tries ago in 2001. Softball to face tough foes Jason Peterson tational in Tempe, Ariz., when unranked UC Davis played No. 1 Arizona State. "UC Davis went up 5-0 against the No. 1 Softball is the name of the game in San Di- team in the country," Smuda said. "And even ego today as the Utes prepare to take on two though they eventually lost, that shows you nationally ranked clubs, a recently ranked anything can happen." squad and a previously ranked rival that's Smuda isn't sure whether she'll toss analready beaten them once this season. other no-hitter today when the Utes open Suffice to say, the 12-10 Utes have their up the San Diego Classic against No. 5 Texas work carved out for them. A&M (25-4). In fact, she hardly notices such But confidence is still high as the club "trivial" things. is riding a two-game winning streak after "I don't usually plan on having a no-hitholding the fort against Southern Utah in ter—I just go into the game and play my a doubleheader Tuesday afternoon. Utah best," Smuda said. "Whatever happens, haptook its first two home games of the season, pens." blanking the Thunderbirds 8-0 and 4-0. One thing Smuda is sure of is that Utah Such confidence is what prompted ace can hang with anybody, whether head coach pitcher Ashley Smuda to scoff when she Amy Hogue goes with her or freshman first heard about this weekend's competi- pitcher Brittany Parker on the mound. tion. "Brittany is playing unbelievable for us," "Bring them on," Smuda said shortly after Smuda said. "She had that game against (No. tossing a no-hitter against SUU. "In softball, 22) Texas, and she gets a one-hitter (Tuesanyone can beat anyone else on any given day against SUU)" day." What's more, Smuda has been impressed To prove her point, Smuda cited an exam- with the freshman's poise in big games. ple during last week's Diamond Devil Invi"I started off my career on the road at STAFF WRITER Arizona, so I freaked out, of course," the sophomore said. "But Brittany doesn't seem nervous at all." The Utes are hoping both of their star pitchers keep the ice in their veins against Aggie batters, led by All-American Amanda Scarborough and her .447 batting average. To thicken the plot, the game against Texas A&M holds personal significance for Hogue. "Their coach was my first base coach when I was playing here at the U," Hogue said with a smile. "It could get a little awkward, but I think it'll be fun." The Utes' other game today is a rematch against San Diego (9-15). The Toreros beat Utah last weekend, 8-4, in Arizona. On Saturday,.Utah will try its hand against previously ranked Cal State Fullerton (12-10) and No. 25 ranked Long Beach State (15-8). The Utes will wrap up the five-game weekend against 13-15 New Mexico State, which features Stephanie Herrera and her .528 batting average on 38 hits. j.peterson@ chronicle.utah.edu BRIEF •m. Each game the Swingin' Utes have played in the Johnny Quick Tournament, a different player has stepped up to lead the Utes to victory. Thursday's game against Indiana followed suit. Two new Utes took front and center and led the Utes to an 11-2 victory. Sophomore center fielder Cooper Blanc launched two homers and had 5 RBIs to go along with his 3-for-5 afternoon. But the star of the game was junior hurler Brian Budrow, who pitched a gem against-the Hoosiers. Budrow went eight strong innings, allow1 ing two earned runs on two hits, on his way to a stellar 12-strikeout performance. After Indiana took an early 1-0 lead, the Utes jumped all over Hoosier starter Joey O'Gara from the third inning on. O'Gara succumbed to the Utes' hitting arsenal in the fifth inning after giving up eight earned runs on n hits. The Utes had five players with at least two hits*. Utah's middle infielders—second baseman Corey Shimada and short stop Micheal Beltran—each chipped in two RBIs. ' -'; The Utes now prepare to take on host team Fresno State on Friday. The Bulldogs (6-8) are 3-2 in the tournament so far and are coming off a beating frtfm'the Hoosiers—an 11-1 loss on Wednesday. The Utes, who have won six of their past seven games, are now 3-1 in the tournament and look to improve on that against the Bulldogs. Fresno State offense is run through infielders Erik Wetzel and Danny Muno. The first pitch is scheduled for today at 8:05 p.m. Chris Kamrani ~ ' Tennis looks to extend streak After dominating Montana State at home, the Utah men's tennis team heads to San Diego to face Dartmouth in an attempt to continue its momentum. The Utes (6-5) are on a two-game winning streak and are looking to make a run into the postseason:": The Utes have not done well this season on the road as four of their five losses have come outside-the Eccles Tennis Center. However, the Utes did grab a win against Dartmouth in a late 2007 meeting and hopes to duplicate that feat. The play of Utes Zach Ganger and Miron Mann will be critical if the team hopes to achieve three in a row. The match is Sunday and is the first of a threegame road trip that runs until March 19. James Boehly Lady Utes to face tough challenge at home r ' The Utah women's tennis team is looking to-ex* tend its winning streak, as they will face No. 33 South Carolina in their last game against a non-conference opponent. The Lady Utes (9-4) have gone on an impressive streak in the last three competitions by not allowing the opposition to win a single match. The play of "duo Elizabeth Ferris and Emily Kwok will be a major fac* tor heading into the match as the pair have achieved a No. 41 ranking by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association. ' If the Utes hope to achieve the victory, they will need to shut down South Carolina's Gira Schofield, who has complied a 19-7 singles record and a 17-7 doubles record with her partner Ana Zubori. The match is set for wSaturday at the Eccles Tennis Center. James Boehly • K i ( |