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Show DAILY UTAH CHRONICLE 8 RUNNIN' UTES continued from Page 6 Wednesday. In total, Utah has lost five straight and eight of its last II games. While assists and turnovers have been among Utah's numerous problems over the last few games, a larger issue that needs to be addressed is starting games with more aggression. The Utes have fallen behind in each Pac-12 game and have not had enough firepower to come back. "It's kind of hard when you get down like that," said guard Justin Seymour on the ESPN 700 postgame show after Utah lost to WSU. "It takes a lot out of you just to get back in games like that and try to win ... You can't do that because in this league, if you get down ... it's hard to come out of." The game begins at 9 p.m. and will be aired on Pac-12 Networks. r.mcdonald@ chronicle.utah.edu Twitter: @ryanwmcdonald TENNIS continued from Page 7 did a great job over the summer working out. They did a really good job in the fall — they improved a lot. I think everybody is pretty eager to get started and is looking forward to the season. I think it is very important to get a good start to set the tone and the tempo for the season." Brateanu said this year's team is better than last year's, but the competition the team will be facing is much tougher as well. The Pac-12 is by far the most talented conference in tennis, and the past four NCAA team championships have been won by USC. Utah's schedule will increase in difficulty as the season progresses. The team will play USC, UCLA, Cal and Stanford, all of whom are ranked in the top 15 nationally. However, this does not seem to worry Mamedov. In fact, he relishes the step up in competition. "Joining the Pac-12 is a great opportu- Friday, January 18, 2013 nity for everybody on the team," Mamedov said. "There is virtually a chance for everybody to get a singles ranking and as a cumulative team ranking too. It's a chance to play people who are really highly ranked. Last year, I got a chance to play Steve Johnson in doubles, and you kind of get a feel of top competition. In the case of Steve Johnson, he ended up in professional tennis, so you get a chance to measure up against the best." The team has a winning record of 12-0 against Weber State since 2001, and a 15-0 record against Idaho State since 1998. Despite Utah's success against the two teams, Brateanu said the team isn't looking past this weekend. "You have to look at each match separately and individually and play it match by match, look at it day by day," Brateanu said. "Right now, our focus is on Weber State and Idaho State." c.wallace@ chronicle.utah.edu Twitter: @connorrwallace COURTESY UTAH ATHLETICS Sophomore Slim Hamza and senior Dmytro Mamedov head into the spring season both ranked in the top-100 singles players in the country. mow CHAD ZAVALA/The Daily Utah Chronicle Freshman Jeremy Olsen is smothered by three defenders in the Utes' 76-59 loss Saturday. The Utes have struggled to find any offensive weapons this season and remain winless in conference play. Is YOUR WRITING AS UP TO PAIt ql AS YOUR GAME or more information contact j.bullinger@ch nide.utah.edu I |