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Show DAILY UTAH CHRONICLE E10 August 2009 GYMNASTICS throuph the next ew years tion for the season. "We know what works for continued from Page E2 training and preparing athletes for the season," Megan The coaching staff is also Marsden said. "But we are alhoping to get big-time perfor- ways dealing with new group mances out of younger stu- dynamics and the sooner you dents and incoming freshman. can figure out what works for Katelyn Mohr and Meg the group, the better you will Whitney will be expected to be prepared for the season." contribute from the get-go. Despite changes to the line"Katelyn is a former elite up and coaching staff, one athlete with a lot of experi- thing that won't be changence," Greg Marsden said. ing for the Red Rocks is their "Meg is someone who has challenging schedule, as once come on strong the past few again the team will be facing years, and she could just blos- top teams in the nation early som in college and those four in the season. years be the best of her career. The Utes open the season Both are capable of contribut- with a meet at powerhouse ing right away." UCLA, before returning home Getting new athletes to to take on Iowa State and nemmesh with the older members esis Georgia. . Throughout the season, Utah of the team to create a team atmosphere is something Utah will also face Arizona State, will be working on in prepara- Michigan, BYU, Nebraska and Florida, teams that are regulars at the national championships. "I always do this to us," Greg Marsden said. "We have one of the toughest schedules in the nation. We start off with a bang and I'm excited." Another thing the Utes are looking forward to is entertaining the large following of fans they have accumulated during the years. "We are preparing the girls to give our audience the show they deserve; they continue to come to our arena by the thousands and it is a thrill for them to see a new group come together and see new athletes emerge," Megan Marsden said. Having already sold 5,858 season tickets so far, the Red Rocks are on their way to another record-breaking season. p.fieldsted@ chronicle.utah.edu BASEBALL from last year will be huge," Cron said. "Throughout most of last year, we played with our backs to the wall, but throughout the tournament we just let it hang loose. I think we'll play like we did in the tournament throughout this year." Kuroczko also said the Utes' newly acquired attitude will play a large role this season. "We just got in a nice flow as a team," he said. "We need to continue that into this year along with confidence. We have a ton of senior leadership this year. The experience we gained from last year— we'll use that." Both Cron and Kuroczko see this team as having the potential to replicate what last year's team did. "Our goal is to try to get deeper (in the NCAA Tournament) than last year," Cron said If nothing else, this team has its sights set big. "We want to win the Mountain West Conference and get to a regional," Kuroczko said. "This team has what it takes to win a regional and make a run at Omaha." b.brown@chronicle.utah.edu continued from Page E4 salt lake park city 1640 w redstone center dr 435-575-0295 254 south 200 west 801-521-7446 www.reclrockbrewing.com • Art & Art History o <• • Ballet Great • Film • Modern Brian Budrow, who anchored the starting pitching staff last year, was selected in the Major League Baseball draft by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 28th round. "Whenever Brian pitched, we thought we were going to win," Kuroczko said. "We always felt good when he was out there." Also gone is Corey Shimada, who ended his Utah career holding the school records for runs, triples and walks. "Corey played all four years for us and he was an outstanding player," Kuroczko said. Power-hitting Austin Jones, and pitchers Greg Krause, Bennett Askew and Robert Chimpky round out the list of players Utah will miss this season, "They are going to be tough to replace," Cron said. "They obviously contributed a lot to our success. It's something we can overcome with this group of players, though." The Utes have several returning players who will be Dance • Music • Theatre charged with replacing the missing production of the graduating senior class. Heading the offense will be Cron and Kuroczko. Cron hit .337 last season and led the Utes with n home runs and 58 RBIs on his way to being selected as the Mountain West Conference Freshman of the Year and earning a spot on several freshman All-American teams. Kuroczko paced Ute batters with a .353 batting average in addition to six homers and 44 RBIs. He finished the season tied for second in the country with nine triples. Devin Walker, Tyler Yagi, Michael Beltran and Rick Cornu also posted solid 2009 campaigns and will be counted on to produce. Jordan Whatcott headlines a group of promising returning pitchers. He led the Utes with a 4.19 ERA and finished the season 5-3. Whatcott was drafted by the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in the MLB draft but opted to stay with Utah for his senior year. One of the biggest keys to the team's success in the upcoming season is attitude. "The confidence we gained • Kingsbury Hall • UMFA • PTC for everyone! '?iJ< Get the ARTS into your life and fulfill University . requirements a t the same time. Look for Course Listings under Art & Art History, Ballet, Dance, FA, Film, Music and Theatre. * • * . < ^ ^ *\ • Over 200 performances and exhibits this year on campus. Try something new, surprise yourself and shock your parents! C JL_ The ARTS are for everyone. www.finearts.utah.edu |