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Show 6 Thursday, March 18, 2010 SPORTS 29° 9 a.m 31° / 3 p.m. . conditions & weather from utahskiweathercom Packed powder, bumps and crud TODAY'S SKI REPORT Alta www.dailyutahchronicle.corn Brighton UPCOMING SPORTS EVENTS TODAY: Softball Utah vs. Oklahoma 1:30 p.m. PT Fullerton, Calif 29° / 9 a.m. 31° / 3 p.m. Canyons 34° / 9 a.m. 37 0 / 3 p.m. 34° / a.m. Deer Valley 37 0 / 39 p.m. Snowbird 29° / 9 a.m. 31° I 3 p.m. Paige Fieldsted Utah vs. Purdue SPORTS EDITOR 8:15 p.m. PT Fullerton, Calif Men's Golf University of Denver Desert Shootout All Day Goodyear, Ariz. Swimming & Diving NCAA Women's Championships All Day West Lafayette, Ind. FRIDAY: Baseball Utah @ New Mexico 6 p.m. Alburquerque, N.M. Softball Utah vs. Michigan 11:15 a.m. PT Fullerton, Calif Women's Gymnastics Utah @ Florida 7 p.m. ET Gainesville, Fla. Track Willie Williams Classic All Day Tucson, Ariz. SPORTS WORLD GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP)—With a whistle around his neck and a smile on his face, Florida coach Urban Meyer returned to practice Wednesday following a leave of absence that turned out to be shorter than everyone expected. His stay could be longer than anticipated, too. Although Meyer declined to divulge any details about his health, he said his return was permanent. "I feel fine and I feel good," Meyer said following a rain-soaked practice that lasted nearly three hours. His brief break came as a result of chest pains, a hospital stay and brief resignation. He had planned to step away after Florida's bowl game in early January, but he stuck around to hire four assistant coaches and lock up the nation's No.1 recruiting class. He was supposed to return for spring practice, which began Wednesday, but his first day back actually came two weeks ago. Nonetheless, he eased into things Wednesday and was considerably less involved in several aspects of team drills. Meyer was head coach at Utah from 2003 to 2004. In 2004 he led the Utes to an undefeated season and Fiesta Bowl victory. 30° / 9 a.m. 32° / 3 p.m. Lifetime of passion makes DiLuzio 'second to none' Softball Meyer returns from leave of absence for Florida Solitude MIKE MANGUM/The Daily Utah Chronicle Annie Diluzio has been involved with gymnastics since she was a toddler and started competing when she was 7 years old. It's clear when you talk to Annie DiLuzio that her life has revolved around one thing: gymnastics. Unlike many college athletes who have been dual- or even triple-sport athletes in high school, DiLuzio's focus has been all flipping and tumbling. DiLuzio has been involved with gymnastics since she was just a toddler, picking up the sport at age 2—something her parents hoped would burn off some of DiLuzio's never-ending energy. "I think I was just a really hyper kid and my mom needed to find something to put me in to channel all my energy so I didn't get hurt trying to do flips off the couch," DiLuzio said. Five years later, DiLuzio started doing gymnastics competitively and has been at it ever since. "They couldn't keep me out of the gym," DiLuzio said. "I started competing when I was 7, and I love everything about gymnastics, so I just kept going. I just didn't know it would take me this far, but looking back it's been really cool." DiLuzio said gymnastics has been such a big part of her life that it feels strange when she isn't competing. "It's something I've always wanted to do and if I go a while without it, I don't feel like myself," she said. "I feel weird not being in the gym and flipping around." DiLuzio, like most of her teammates, gave up having a normal childhood to participate in gymnastics instead, something DiLuzio said has been well worth it. Despite missing her junior prom and other high school activities, DiLuzio said she wouldn't change a thing. "In a sense, I gave up stuff, but for me it was worth it," she said. "It's just the little stuff like some football games in high school. I missed prom because I was competing in Belgium, and that was OK with me because that is what I had been working for. There is always time to do fun stuff later." For DiLuzio those sacrifices have paid off, as she has become an integral part of the Red Rocks' lineup, boasting some of the stronger performances in the country on the vault and floor. Utah co-head coach Megan Marsden said despite DiLuzio's skills, she is sometimes still shy about her talent and abilities in the gym. "Her technique and twisting is second to none, and the average fan doesn't recognize that but we as coaches appreciate that," Marsden said. "In spite of the fact that she is so accomplished, she acts afraid a lot of times when she does a big skill, but I think for Annie that is just a little bit of a cover. She See DILUZIO Page 7 SOFTBALL Pitching, defense drills to prep Utah for tough schedule Corbin Godfrey STAFF WRITER The Utes have had no trouble scoring runs so far in the preseason, averaging four and a half runs per game. Utah's early struggles have been in pitching and defense, both of which will be the team's focus heading to the Judi Garman Classic, where Utah will face some stiff competition. Head coach Amy Hogue ran drill after drill for pitching and defense this week in hopes that the team can find a way to step it up in both areas and mesh with the hot bats of the Utes. "We continue to do one of the toughest things really well, and that is score runs on good pitching," Hogue said. "And we got better each game, and it's time for our defense and pitching to step up and help us win a ball game. That's what we need to step up and do better because we won't win if we don't fix that." Utah will have its hands full in Fullerton, Calif., where the team will play five games, three of which will be against teams ranked in the top ii. It will start with a rematch today against No. 12-ranked Oklahoma, which the Utes fell to twice last weekend 129-5. After the Oklahoma game, the Utes will take on Purdue in the back end of a doubleheader. The Utes' next two games will be against No. 4-ranked Michigan tomorrow, followed by Washington on Saturday, which is the topranked team in the country. Despite the tough schedule for Utah, senior center fielder Kara Foster said the Utes will still bring their hot bats no matter who they are playing or how their opponent is ranked. "Our hitting is really our strength," Foster said. "And just going out there and looking at a competitor and saying, 'You don't know what I can do' and just having that confidence is what we are best at. We don't care what they are ranked—we are just going to go out there and do what we do, which is hit." Despite the slight struggles on defense, Foster said the team is focusing on communicating better and constant improvement. "We are working on moving ahead and just keep playing forward," Foster said. "That's our motto this year, to 'keep playing forward' and that we will get the job done and pick each other up, and that's basically what we are doing." Following the matchup with See SOFTBALL Page 8 GOLF MEN'S SOCCER Utes hope to tune up on Arizona course Tryouts to battle low retention rate Bryan Chouinard ASST. SPORTS EDITOR The U's golf team will be back in action today when it kicks off its spring schedule by participating in the University of Denver Desert Shootout. The shootout will be the Utes' first tournament since late October when they finished fifth in the Kauai Invitational. Despite the tournament being hosted by Denver, play will take place at the 7,051-yard, par-71 Palm Valley Golf Course in Arizona. "It's a good golf course, but it's not an overly difficult golf course," said coach Randall McCracken. "You should be able to get around it pretty easily. There's not a lot of trouble, and you should be able to make a lot of birdies on it, so it's a good golf course to get us tuned up. I'm going to expect the guys to play well on it cause it's really not that difficult." Juniors Mike Branca, Chase Hite and Derek Adams and sophomores Kaleb Mahanes and Joe Webber will be competing this week with Jeff Kitches and Manuel Ortega competing as individuals. With qualifiers in the books, the Utes' sophomore duo of Mahanes and Webber have impressed early on in the spring season, despite the long winter. "Kaleb (Mahanes) and Joe (Webber) played really well in the qualifier," McCracken said. "So it's exciting to have your sophomores being the ones that are playing the best. But I'll be honest, it's a little early to tell who will really shine this spring." McCracken will learn a lot about his team during the next ro days. Not only will the Utes be in action today through Saturday, but after the conclusion of the Denver Shootout, they will head directly to San Diego to take part in the San Diego State Barona Cup, which will be held March 25 and 26. By going directly to San Diego, the Utes will not only cut down on travel, but also get more practice time. The Utes have already gotten more time on See GOLF Page 7 Kelsey Price STAFF WRITER The U's men's soccer club held two open tryouts during the past week in search of new players who could contribute to the squad next fall. "Our base team is still intact," said head coach Gilbert Gaertner Jr. "But we saw and found some players that could be great assets to our team." Of the 25 players on last year's roster, at least seven will not be returning for the 2010 fall season because of graduation or other commitments. Because soccer is a club sport, the team traditionally struggles with player retention. Unlike other sports, it does not offer scholarships or any similar programs to help athletes stay in school. On March 6, the team held its first day of open tryouts, attracting more than 75 players, nearly twice as many as tryouts last fall. Returning players and the coaches split those, hoping to make the team into small groups to better watch each individual's skills, especially with footwork and overall aware- ness of the field during play. Coaches observed the players for consistency, speed and accuracy. After the tryouts, coaches selected 4o players to return to the second day of tryouts scheduled for the following Saturday. However, because of inclement weather, the tryouts were rescheduled to Tuesday at Sunnyside Park, the team's home field. The players who were selected to attend the second tryout played several scrimmages so the coaches could assess the players not only as individuals, but also how they worked with others and where weaknesses could potentially be on the field. During the scrimmages, coaches switched players' positions and teams so they could watch the chemistry between the new and returning players. The possessions during the scrimmages were relatively even, but they did expose the potential weakness of the team up at the top, with few scoring opportunities ever being successfully converted. Selections for new players will be announced Thursday night. Immediately afterward, players will be assigned their jersey numbers. Then the team will begin training after Spring Break and begin to sort out the lineup for fall. Of the 4o who were invited to try out, only seven are expected to make the final cut. "We're in good shape, but always looking to get better," Gaertner said. "That's why we have to actively try to draw players to our team. We're going to be bringing some changes to how we run the defense, and my guess is some of the new players will be really instrumental in reinforcing the back line." Beginning in April, the team will begin to arrange exhibition matches with other college club teams and competitive clubs in preparation for their regular fall season. The team hopes to arrange matches with schools that, like the U, also field a women's side as part of its efforts to bridge the gap between club and varsity sports. The schedule, when available, will be online at uofusoccer.com. k.price@chronicle.utah.edu |