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Show DAILY UTAH CHRONICLE 8 Wednesday, October 27, 2010 WOMEN'S BASKETBALL CHOUINARD Strong leaders guide young team continued from Page 6 the postseason has gone on, capped off by a 4-5 performance with two doubles and two RBI's in game four of the National League Championship Series. Along with Posey, center fielder Cody Ross has been on fire this postseason, recording a batting average of .324 on his way to eight RBIs, four home runs and four doubles. Perhaps the scariest thing about this San Francisco Giants team is that most struggle to name four players on the roster. So how the hell were they able to take down the all-star studded roster of the Phillies? Critics say the Giants don't have the offense to hang with the Rangers, so how were they able to get the best of a pitching staff that includes Roy Halladay and Roy Oswalt? Whether you like it or not, the Giants are for real. I didn't think they were at the beginning of the season, the beginning of the playoffs, or even at the beginning of the NLCS, but I have learned my lesson. b.chouinard@ chronicle.utah.edu Bubba Brown STAFF WRITER Women's basketball interim head coach Anthony Levrets closed his opening statement at the Utah basketball press conference with an interesting remark: "We're new and young and talented," he said. "And I have no idea about our team." With II freshmen and sophomores, this season will be about finding out exactly what Levrets has in this group of players. Thanks to new NCAA legislation that allows women's basketball teams to begin practice 4o days before their first games instead of 3o, Levrets has a better idea of the composition of his team than he normally would because the team has been able to get in extra work. The Utes began working Oct. 3, and already have 16 practices under their belts with the first game just a week and a half away. With so much youth, it has allowed the players time to get used to both the system and playing with each other. "We've gotten a lot of stuff in already," said center Taryn Wicijowksi. "We still have lots of stuff we need to put in, but it's been good, especially with our team being so young." The extra practice time has also allowed the Utes to get more prepared for a nonconference schedule that Levrets described as "brutal." "I did the schedule, so there's nobody to blame but myself," Levrets said. "But the Mountain West Conference is a very good conference in women's basketball. That's our focus. How do we get good enough to win that league. I think playing the preseason schedule that we play will prepare us for that." One of the biggest challenges of the preseason has been getting so many young players ready to step in and contribute. "For a lot of the freshmen, this is something they've never seen before, our system," Wicijowski said. "So it can get frustrating at times, but we've all kind of worked through it. There's definitely been a huge improvement from the first practice to now." In the early part of the season, Levrets BROWN continued from Page 6 a three-man rotation and mask any weaknesses in the back of the rotation. That's exactly what the Rangers have done, and it's made them a team without a glaring soft spot. Like their pitching, the Rangers' offense is led by a bona fide superstar in center fielder Josh Hamilton. The slugging lefty will probably take home American League MVP honors after amassing a league-leading 1.044 on base plus slugging percentage, and he's continued his torrid play into October. Around him, Hamilton has underrated star Nelson Cruz, who quietly put up .95o OPS in the regular season, and Vladimir Guerrero, whose OPS was .841 and appears rejuvenated in his first year with the Rangers. To put it mildly, the Giants can't stack up with that offensively. Apart from Rookie of the Year candidate Buster Posey, the Giants don't have a difference maker in their lineup. When it's all said and done, the Rangers will have to clear a spot in the trophy case. bubba@ chronicle.utah.edu LENNIE MAHLER/The Daily Utah Chronicle Taryn Wicijowski goes up for a Iayup in a game against New Mexico during last season's Mountain West Conference Tournament. The Utes hope to improve on last season's finish. plans to use a 10- or II-player rotation until he has enough information to whittle it down. "Obviously, we won't play that many as the year goes on," Levrets said. "But with so many young people, and them all being so close, we've got to give them all opportunity to see who can play in games and who can't." The one thing Levrets said his young team has not lacked is strong leadership. Returning starters point guard Janita Badon and SOCCER BASKETBALL UTAH VS. BYU continued from Page 6 Year scored the game-winning goal. Utah defeated the Cougars twice again in 2003, winning in overtime 1-0 during conference play then later clinching the conference tournament championship after a 2-0 victory over BYU. Since 2004, the series has been split 2-2-1. "We have a lot of tradition with BYU," said head coach Rich Manning. "We had a while where both of us where battling it out for the conference title and then going to the NCAA tournament. It's an important game." The annual soccer match between the teams is also a key factor in calculating the winner of the Deseret First Duel. After football, the winner of the soccer game receives the most points of a singular matchup between the two schools (six). Established in 2007, the Duel awards a certain number of points to the winner of each game, match or meet Utah and BYU play each other in. BYU has won the Duel twice and the Utes once. Each individual sport receives a trophy as well, and Utah soccer has won the trophy twice since the establishment of the Duel. For members of the women's soccer team, the rivalry remains one of the most vivid 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2002 (NCAA Tournament) 2003 2003 (MK Tournament) 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 continued from Page Score Result 1-2 0-2 2-3 1-2 0-1 2-5 0-3 1-2 3-2 (ot) 1-0 (0t) 2-0 1-2 1-1 (ot) 1-0 1-0 0-5 W W T memories of their college athletic careers. "My freshman year, we won at Provo," said senior defender Christine Quinn, whose first season for the Utes was in 2007. "(Melissa Crespo) scored off a diving header. It was super exciting. When I think of moments that define the rivalry and soccer, I always picture that image." Kick off for the BYU match is slated for Saturday at 7 p.m. at Ute Field. k.price@ chronicle.utah.edu 771111free ,'"90111k Wicijowski have been quick to take on the role. "I don't think I've thought too much about it," Wicijowski said. "I know we've lost Kalee (Whipple) and Halie (Sawyer), who were our leaders last year, but I think I still had a pretty big role on the team last year, so it's been an easy transition." bubba@ chronicle.utah.edu Boylen did not give a preliminary starting rotation, but it appears the extra runnin' will be sparked by Josh Watkins. A true point guard, he has the potential to fill one of Utah's glaring holes from last season. "I'm excited for people to see (Josh), and I'm excited to get the ball in his hands," Boylen said. Utah might be increasing offensive speed, but attention is still being paid to the low post game. "Coach Boylen has done such a good job making sure this is a big-man program," said center David Foster. "Scrimmaging in practice... gets (us) those post touches and the experience we need come game time." Just as the added strength and height are expected to help the offense, Utah's defense might also see a benefit from the new players. Led by Foster, the reigning Mountain West Defensive Player of the Year, the Utah defense has shown signs of improvement, Boylen said. "I expect this program to be good defensively," Boylen said. "I expect us to improve on our rebounding from last year. Late-game rebounding was a problem last year, and we're getting better as the season goes on." With all the new players, it has been easy to forget that Utah returns a solid core group. Headlined by Foster and Jay Watkins, who is Utah's retuning leader in scoring and rebounding, the six returning players have also undergone a transformation. "I've seen the most improvement out of our six core guys, maybe, that I've ever seen in my time here," Boylen said. The six returners—Foster, Jay Watkins, Jason Washburn, Jace Tavita, Shawn Glover and Chris Hines—have had much more than just basket- ball to focus on. The slew of new players has forced them to help ease teammates into the Utah system. Player adjustments have gone smoothly to this point, according to several Utes. "They (the returning players) accepted us like we've been here, and we've accepted them so it's like we're all a family," Josh Watkins said. Optimism was the predominant attitude of the press conference, but there are still issues that need to be addressed. Boylen said there is competition for each starting spot. He acknowledged the addition of offensive weapons, but said definitive player roles have yet to be molded. "I feel like we have some experience," Boylen said. "Where we need to grow is leadership. Who will lead this team, and who will score for us...I'd like to be able to tell you, but I don't know yet." j.bullinger@ chronicle.utah.edu lettersgchronicle.utah.edu Even hamsters write letters to the editor. 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