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Show StatesmanSports Page 6 Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2009 Aggies top three players returning By MATT SONNENBERG staff writer JUNIOR ALEX THATCHER makes a return near the net during practice. Thatcher played in the No. 5 singles spot last year for the Aggies, amassing a 8-12 record. CODY GOCHNOUR photo The USU men’s tennis team is in preparation for their fall season. Optimism is running high for head coach Christian Wright and an Aggie team that returns a handful of experience from last year’s squad that finished with an 8-12 record in the spring season. Leading the way for USU is the return of the team’s top three singles players from last season in Jakob Asplund, Bryan Marchant and Amit Maharaj. “Jake obviously played No. 1 last season and he’ll be right up there at the top, I believe,” Wright said of the junior. Asplund posted a 7-11 record in the No. 1 singles slot during his sophomore campaign. Just like his teammate, Marchant returns this season after also putting up a 7-11 record as a sophomore a year ago. Marchant began last season as the Aggies’ No. 3 singles player where he started strong with a 5-2 record before getting bumped up to compete in the No. 2 singles slot where he logged a 2-9 record to finish the season. “He did a good job,” Wright said. “He had a really good early part of the season and had a couple of big wins.” Rounding out the top three returners is Maharaj, who returns for his senior season after going 5-15 in singles play as a junior. Outside of the top three, the Aggies return one more player, junior Alex Thatcher, who competed a year ago in No. 5 singles. Thatcher was 8-12 last season despite playing through some injuries. “He really had a strong finish to his year last year,” Wright said of Thatcher. Wright also said Thatcher looks to be 100 percent healthy at the start of team practices. Missing from last year’s version of the Aggies will be the recently graduated Mike Banks, who went 8-11 in the No. 4 singles slot a year ago, as well as Jordan Barlow and Brandon Neilsen who have both departed on LDS church missions. Those two combined for a record of 810 in the No. 6 singles slot a year ago as freshmen. Among the newcomers for the Aggies this year will be two freshmen, Jose Limon and Sven Poslusny, and a junior transfer from division-II Southeastern Oklahoma State, Nikita Ryashchenko. Wright said all three of the newcomers will bring in talent and depth, while Ryashchenko should be able to step right in and compete for one of the top four singles spots on the team. Aside from returning plenty of experience, as well as some potential major contributions from newcomers, Wright is optimistic that he will see positive things from his team this fall because of the team’s physical condition to start off fall practices. “Everybody looked like they came back in pretty good shape,” Wright said. “I look for that to help us. Last year we came in okay. We weren’t really fit and then we played a lot of tournaments early and it just banged us up.” The team will continue practicing and conditioning for the next week as they prepare to start the season at home with the Utah State Open tournament beginning Sept. 24 and carrying on throughout that weekend. It will be the first of three fall tournaments that Utah State will participate in to get a feel for where the team will be in preparation for the winter season, and Wright believes his team is capable of reaching their potential. “Hopefully we can stay healthy and keep getting fitter,” Wright said. “I expect good things from this team, I think they’re going to be very strong. The depth is there and it’s just a matter of us going out there, having a gameplan and sticking with it.” –matt.sonn@aggiemail.usu.edu USU rugby clubs hoping to improve on success By DAN FAWSON staff writer Women’s Team: The late Henry Blaha said, “Rugby is a beastly game played by gentlemen.” Not at USU. Led by first year head coach Dennis Kohler and club president and player Vanessa Avila-Esparza, the USU Women’s Rugby Club may still be unknown to some, but not for long. “Girls always say, ‘There is a women’s rugby team?’,” Avila-Esparza said. “And then they always say, ‘That’s awesome.’” “I can’t really put my finger on one thing,” Kohler said, when asked why some girls on campus are drawn to a physical sport typically associated with only the manliest of men. Kohler said rugby converts have ranged from soccer veterans craving another competitive sport to girls with no experience playing team sports, however, he thinks the sports overriding appeal may have something to do with the its emphasis on team play. “Rugby, unlike other sports, allows everybody a chance at glory,” Kohler said. “Any player can score, any player can shine. In a sense, the game of rugby is somewhat of a drug – once you play it, you have to have more.” The Aggies, a Division II club in the Women’s Collegiate Division of the United States of America Rugby Football Union, are hoping a successful fall season will earn them the opportunity to play for something greater in the spring. The teacher in Kohler said he hopes the fall season will help the players improve overall fitness, game knowledge and individual skills, but acknowledged the ultimate goal, saying, “Of course we want to play well enough to qualify for the national championships.” Avila-Esparza leads 11 returning players and a talented cast of newcomers who are hoping increased commitment to the team will yield greater results than in years past. “In recent years there has been a lack of commitment from some players,” Avila-Esparza said. “This year we want everyone to put rugby at the top of their list, besides school of course.” Juniors Avila-Esparza and Hannah Turner, the club’s vice president, along with sophomore Lyndsey Jackman, the club’s secretary, are a few of the players who will be counted on to provide leadership on and off the field this season, but Kohler and his players stressed the importance of the team over individual recognition. “Right now, we all need to work on building a better team,” Kohler said. “In the end, good rugby teams win and lose based on how well they play together as a team.” Avila-Esparza agreed, noting many of the girls have administrative responsibilities associated with the club to go along with their roles on the field. “There are many ways to be a leader in our club,” she said. “Everyone has a responsibility and we all work together.” The Aggies opened the season this past Saturday against the Salt Lake City Slugs, a very experienced community team. The Aggies were unable to come away with a victory, but Kohler was pleased with the team’s performance. “I was impressed with all of our players,” she said. “The new people fit in well, and the whole team meshed better, honestly, than I expected us to this early in the season.” Avila-Esparza echoed the coach’s praise of the Aggie - See RUGBY, page 7 GET LOST! (Bring a date, but no nibbling on the ears) • • • • The largest corn maze in cache valley The best deal around unique maze design located next to eccles ice arena OPEN NOW Mon-Thurs 5-11, Fri 5-12, Sat 2-12 Adults $6 Students with ID $5 Children $4 Call 435-755-5755 Check out our website at www.greencanyonfarms.com 2850 N 100 E 435-770-7547 Next to Eccles Ice Arena off Main Street Turn by Nate’s & Andy’s A USU RUGBY PLAYER fights for yards during the Aggies first game of the season. The Aggies lost the game but played well. CODY GOCHNOUR photo |