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Show StatesmanSports Page 16 Ag tennis bounces back after Boise loss •jtyJACKSON OLSEN \ staffwriter ;~ jit its second week of action, . tHe Utah State men's tennis team '. picked up a win and a loss on .the road at a tournament hosted "by-Boise State. The Aggies lost - to the hosting Broncos, 1-6, on Friday before bouncing back -and beating a tough Montana "SUteteam, 4-3, improving their 'record to 1-2 on the season. Boise State, who is ranked ;22nd in the country and is in -sole possession of first place in the Western Athletic Conference and the Mountain Region (which '. includes the VVAC, Mountain West, and Big Sky conferences), came into the match and the tournament heavily favored. Bui Utah State sophomore Matt Searle saved the Aggies from a sweep as he was the lone victor for USU on Friday, winning his very first collegiate singles match. Searle won at the No. 6 spot, outplaying and outlasting Bronco Jamaal Hepburn. 6-3, 7-5. "(Searle) played awesome for us," said USD assistant coach Lukas Bouton, who played four years as an Aggie under current head coach Christian Wright. "He played tough the whole way through." At the No. 1 spot, freshman Jakob Asplund split sets but lost in a third-set tie-breaker to Boise States Steve Robertson, 3-6, 6-3, 9-11. Sophomore Oscar Ericsson nearly notched a win in second singles before falling to Brent Werbeck, 4-6, 6-7 (5). Elsewhere, things didn't look so good for the Aggies. Despite close matches, the experienced Broncos took it to the Aggies, sweeping all three doubles matches, 8-3, 8-3, 8-0, respectively. In singles, seniors Fernando Gallegos and Jonas Tyden and junior Mike Banks each lost in straight sets. "(Boise Slate is) one of the best teams in the country," Wright said. "The effort was there, they were just a tough team." As a result of the loss, the Aggies were down, but not out of the tournament. The next day the Aggies rebounded against another tough region opponent: Montana State. "We talked about how we had to come in with the belief that we could beat a high-caliber team like Montana State," Bouton said. "It was that belief that put us on top in the end." The Aggies started by winning two of the three doubles matches, securing the first point of the match. Tyden and Asplund ripped through their opponents at No. 1 doubles, winning 8-1. Ericsson and Gallegos sealed up the doubles victory with a narrow win at the No. 2 spot, besting MSU's Justin Hauk and Pawel Turzanski, 9-7. In singles action, the Aggies were once again led by Asplund and Ericsson, both of whom scored straight-set victories. Gallegos and Tyden would fall at the No. 3 and 4 spots, as did Searle at No. 6. But with Banks coming up big against in a three-set victory over Hauk at No. 5 singles, the Aggies were able to edge the Bobcats 4-3 for the win. "I was really proud of our guys," Bouton said. "We had every member of the team get at least one win. Everyone stood out this weekend." The Aggies will try to improve their record next week as they stay on the road, facing the University of Utah in Salt Lake. -jackson.ohcn(a}aggicmaiLusu. GEICO. A15-minutecall could save you 15% on car insurance. 1513 N. Hillfieid Rd., Suite 3 (8O1) 752-O485 Wednesday, Jan. 23, 2008 Solid season-opening U T A H STATE'S STACIE DORIUS competes in the women's mile last Friday in the Field House. Dorius won the mile race with a time of 5:13.70. She was one of USU's 12 individual winners Friday. The Aggies also did well in the Snake River Invitational Saturday. TYLER LARSON photo Hockey grabs split in Washington road trip By G. CHRISTOPHER TERRY staff writer Gonzaga 0, USU 9 Dan Cornelius shut Gonzaga out of the goal net and USU cruised to a 9-0 win in the first game of its Washington road trip. Brendan MacDonald and Kent Arsenault led USU in scoring, MacDonald with six points, Arsenault with five. Defenseman Jordan Francom had a goal and an assist and said he was happy to be playing hockey again. "It's a blast," Francom said. "I'm just excited to be-playing. I don't know how to explain it. It's amazing." An out-manned Gonzaga side presented little threat to the Aggies or their goalie, Cornelius, who only had to defend against 18 shots on goal all game. "Shutouts are always good," Francom said. "They might have gotten a few shots that challenged him a little bit, but he turned most of them away pretty easily." Also scoring for USU were Arsenault's new linemate Matt Geer, who had a goal and three assists, and Walter Voisard, who popped in one goal. "It went OK," Francom said. "We could have played a little better, but it's hard to get up for games that are against a lesser team. It's expected to walk all over them." E. Washington 5, USU 4 (OT) O Up to two years of non-deployment following completion of Initial Active Duty Training O Up to a $20,000 Enlistment Bonus When Utah State plays another top team from the ACHA's western division, as a rule, goalkeeper Greg Finatti has to be good for 50 saves or more. In Spokane, Finatti had 49 saves and the Aggies lost an overtime thriller, 5-4, to the No. 2-ranked Eastern Washington Eagles. How many shots did winning keeper Andy Pate face? Eighteen. Finatti said part of the reason the Eagles get so many shots on goal is their style of play. "They're just a team that pounds you once s they get the puck," Finatti said. "They put three guys in front of the net and shoot at the top corners. They never quit. They just attack the whole game. We played UVSC and beat them when they were No. 2, but (the Eagles are) a real No. 2." The Aggies run a more methodical offense and wait for quality shots, sometimes to a fault. Arsenault and Geer were the leading scorers for USU, with three points apiece. Eastern Washington did its damage to USU with five different shooters. Eleven Eagle skaters scored at least one point, demonstrating the home side's comfort level moving the puck on their NHL-sized ice rink. "They have an advantage on their ice because they know how to play bounces," Finatti said. Mackenzie York, a new recruit, had two assists from his defenseman spot, Jay McFadden had one assist, and MacDonald scored USU's fourth goal. Francom said reducing the number of shots the Eagles are able to take on Finatti will be a point of emphasis as the Aggies prepare for another clash with the No. 2-ranked Eagles on Saturday. "We'll have to tighten up our defense," Francom said. "Four goals for us in a hockey game should win it. Allowing 54 shots in a game is a little too many." Francom's other key to the game is greater physicality from the Utah State side, he said. "They play real physical. They finish all their i checks," Francom said. "We had a few guys be physical right back, but we need more of a team physical effort." Finatti is looking forward to getting another shot at Eastern Washington after the devastating overtime loss, this time on the larger international-size ice rink in the Eccles Ice Arena. "It's nice to get them on our rink," Finatti said. "1 think we have the team this semester that can give them their first loss." -grahaw.terry@aggiemail.usu.edu ''''-, o $20,000 Student Loan Repayment (must have pre-existing loans) O Basic Educational assistance of $317 per month • Montgomery G.I. 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