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Show I. III BY KIM BRENNEISEN/STAFF WRITER BY RYAN MILLER /ASST. SPORTS EDITOR PHOTO BY CHRIS AYERS A EN E yen after her season-ending injury, Red Rock senior Tory Wilson has made a point to still make her presence felt — even when she isn't actually present. Utah got off to a rough start on Saturday and went into its first bye of its NCAA Regional meet in true danger of not advancing to Nationals, but when the Utes went into their locker room, they found some messages. Wilson wasn't able to make the trip to Berkeley, Calif. for the meet, but she was watching from afar, and she wasn't too impressed by what she saw. But like she had all season, she gave the team a pep talk. Wilson sent text messages to the team, but instead of rebuking their performances, they were messages of inspiration. "They were messages like, 'You guys need to calm down, you got this, we've been doing this all year," said freshman Tiffani Lewis. "It was a cool thing, getting text messages from Tory while we were competing. We all just came together and took a breath, thinking we got these routines, and we trained for this, so let's just prove to be what we are — Utah." Lewis was one of the gymnasts who helped Utah do just that. Performing in place of Wilson on three events, the freshman posted two scores of 9.85 and a 9.825. Lewis knew more weight would be put on her shoulders after Wilson went down, and in the week leading up to the Regional meet, the pressure started to build. "You kind of have to step back, take a deep breath and realize you have been doing these routines, and just because you are going to go out and your score is going to be counted doesn't make the routine any different, you're not adding any new skills': Lewis said. "I've been training all year, so I just had to take a step back and breathe and realize I have been doing this for years." Lewis wasn't the only freshman to have a good performance in Berkeley. Maddy Stover took over Wilson's normal beam lead-off spot and had one of her best performances of the year. Utah had Wilson go first mainly because of her consistency on the beam. She simply didn't fall, and it got the Utes off to a good start. By moving Stover to the leadoff spot from her normal third spot in the lineup, the Utah coaches are showing the same kind of confidence in the young freshman. "It felt nice that they trusted me and thought that I would be good for that spot;' Stover said. "For me, personally, I didn't change a thing — going first or third isn't really that different. On beam the more pressure you put on yourself the worst you end up doing, so I just made sure my whole body and my mind were calm before I got up on the beam, because that's when I do the routine I know I can do." The confidence Utah put in Stover paid off as she posted a 9.875 on the event. Utah coaches have said the other seniors have filled the role of vocal leader now that Wilson is out. Georgia Dabritz said she and fellow senior Corrie Lothrop have tried to be more vocal, but she says Wilson is still doing her fair share. "Tory is still here, a couple times a week, and even though she isn't on the floor with us, she is still a leader for us',' she said. Wilson may have to send some text messages again come next weekend when the Red Rocks head to Fort Worth, Texas for the NCAA National meet, but she will at least be a little bit closer to the action — Wilson will be traveling with the Utes. "I think she has to stay in the stands — it's a little hard to push the wheelchair — which is sad, but we need her moral support," Lewis said. "Just having her around and seeing her makes it all better." r.miller@chronicle.utah.edu @millerjryan s practice ended Thursday afternoon, the Utah football team seemed relaxed and positive about what it is accomplishing on the field. "Good day, we did a lot of good work against each other, and guys are making plays': said head coach Kyle Whittingham."They're having fun, but if we're not focusing and concentrating at the same time, then we got an issue. But there's great focus, great concentration:' Wide receiver Kenneth Scott said he feels as though the players have more freedom with the offense, and he's enjoying getting to take part in more of the action. He definitely feels more comfortable so far. "They have me going downfield like I was before, which is pretty fun;' Scott said. Scott also said he sees an improved Travis Wilson out on the field. "He's confident in himself': Scott said. "He's confident in the play-making around him, so he's able to dish the ball out more:' Whittingham has continually said Wilson is the outright front-runner at quarterback, and the Utah head coach also sees a lot of confidence in his signal caller as of late. "[Wilson is] doing a great job with his reads': Whittingham said. "He's decisive back there. He's making good decisions, and I think he's playing his best football since he's been in Utah. He has really picked up where he left off in the bowl game:' While Wilson may have secured his position, he does not hesitate to ask the other potential quarterbacks for help. Chase Hansen in particular motivates him, and they discuss what is going on each play. "All the QBs are really competitive': Wilson said. "Chase got a lot of the second team reps today, so he's always pushing me, I'm always trying to teach him up. We're all super competitive, and we all love each other. We all just oiTTFIELD BlIGn SERI E51 "MUSTWIN" BY BROCK JENSEN/STAFF WRITER want to see each other be successful" Hansen took a majority of the snaps with the second team, and Whittingham said he continues to prove himself. However, it is hard to say if he is for sure the No. 2 guy with Kendal Thompson being limited to just throwing drills "Chase has established himself as that next guy beyond Travis and Kendal, and that's why he's getting all the reps': Whittingham said. Scott mentioned how all the wide receivers are stepping up each practice and will not name a standout amongst themselves for that reason. But he said Bubba Poole has been impressive. "Everybody's competing to have that [top] title': Scott said. "Right now we have a good group of guys. He [Poole] makes a lot of plays. Once he fine-tunes his details and route running and things like that and gets familiar with the receiver role, he's going to be really good:' Scott said he himself has a few things to work on, one big thing being blocking. During practice he has a tendency of turning his head when blocking, partly because this is how he has been injured in the past. "When you go to block somebody, you initially want to look back and you don't want nobody falling on your ankles': Scott said. "I had a problem with that because [it's how] my ankle blew our Overall, Scott thinks his group is aiming toward getting every single player the same amount of opportunity. "[We're] trying to build camaraderie with each other, getting everyone confident;' Scott said. "Trying to make everybody on the same level. Equality is a big thing — we want everybody to have the same chance to get better each day:' The team expects to get Gionni Paul back on Tuesday, and that is something Whittingham is very excited for. Whittingham thinks Paul's return will only add to what the defense has already accomplished this spring. "[He's] very important;' Whittingham said. "Not only a playmaker, but he's a leader. Got a lot of passion, emotion for the game, and that's infectious [and it] rubs off on the other players:' The Utes have a scrimmage Saturday morning at 10 a.m. at Rice-Eccles Stadium. k.brenneisen@chronicle.utah.edu @kbrenneisen w hile most of campus and Utah softball spectators may know her simply as Marissa, senior Marissa Mendenhall hardly ever hears the people close to her call her by that name. Instead, the name you'll hear on the field, in the locker rooms or at home is "Bug:' From her teammates to her family to her friends, the nickname "Bug" has stuck around for quite some time for Mendenhall. "It started when I was little;' Mendenhall said. "My parents were the ones who just started calling me 'Bug:" Bug started to become a household name in the Utah softball community, as creating nicknames for players is a common practice in sports. For the people who know Mendenhall well, calling her anything except Bug is almost too weird because that's all they've ever known her as. "We both came out to Utah on a recruiting trip, and the only thing I knew her as was just the name 'Bur said fellow senior and roommate Kate Dickman. "I didn't even know her real name:' Mendenhall said she has grown fond of the name and that it has given her a unique identity. Part of this identity dates all the way back to her high school days, where Mendenhall left a strong stamp on her high school softball program. After taking Tooele High School to four straight state championships (and winning two of them), Mendenhall became known as a winner, but she also values the lessons learned in defeat. "It was so much fun;' Mendenhall said of winning the state titles. "It's something you grow up dreaming about. You want to win it every year, but losing those games made me become a better player' Mendenhall played catcher and third base during the majority of her high school career, but upon coming to Utah, she found a new home playing right field for the Utes. "You always have to be ready and on your toes out there': Mendenhall said of the outfield. Mendenhall is in her senior year at the U and hopes to leave a similar stamp on the program as the one she left in high school. She has been doing everything in her power to help lead Utah to reach its team goals this season. Mendenhall is averaging a solid .313 batting average this season, but perhaps more impressive is how well she performs in critical moments in the game. Her batting average rises over 100 points when runners are in scoring position. Statistics also show she rarely is the one to end a Utah hitting rally, as her average is even higher, at .452, when she is at the plate with two outs. "I love those kinds of situations': Mendenhall said. "I like being the one that gets the opportunity to hit in those moments. The pressure of the situation has never really fazed me:' It's clear that Mendenhall, or "Bug;' depending on who you're talking to, has been an important contributor to Utah's success this season. Just know the next time you hear "Bug" at the softball field, the athletes aren't complaining about a pest in their helmet, but rather cheering on one of their senior leaders. bjensen@chronicle.utah.edu @brockjensen02 Donate plasma today and earn up to $300 a month! Who knew I could earn money, save lives, and get free wi - fi at the same time? 2978 South State St., Salt Lake City, UT 84115 801-485-5085 Scan for an insider look at the plasma donation process To scan and view content, you must download a QR code reader from your App store. .Applicable for eligible, qualified new donors. Fees vary by weight. New donors must bring photo ID, proof of address and Social Security number. 4410e8M- CSLPlasma.com CSL Plasma Good for Yom. Great for Lof, 11 |