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Show Statesman Sports Page 10 Off the court with tennis player Akx Thatcher A local product out of Mountain Crest High School, senior Alex Thatcher is back on the tennis courts for USU this season, a year after being academic all-WAC. The Statesman caught up with Alex recently, getting the scoop on a number of topics from how he got into tennis to what his favorite cereal. My older siblings played and got me into it. I started when I was about 10. What is the most challenging aspect of being a student-athlete? Balancing academics and athletics in a way that you don't get exhausted or burnt out. What is your favorite conference travel destination? Probably Tulsa, Okla. — where we went last week. It was a really competitive tournament with a lot of good teams from all over the country. What is your practice routine like? We run and stretch for five minutes, then warm up our shots — ground strokes and volleys and serves — for about 20 minutes. Then we'll do drills and point-play for about an hour and a half. The one game to keep an eye on for week five will be the Minnesota Vikings visiting the New York Jets. Brett Favre will be visiting one of his former teams. The air attack of the Vikings just has not been there this year and now they go up against a good Jets defense and maybe the best cornerback tandem in the league if Darrelle I didn't watch many cartoons, does that count as an answer? My favorite TV show is the Andy Griffin show. What is the best dollar menu fast food item and why? The Spicy Chicken at Carl's Jr. because it's big and it's good. What is the best sugary kids cereal? Probably Lucky Charms because it has a good texture with the marshmallows. What is your favorite class at USU and why? SENIOR TENNIS PLAYER ALEX THATCHER was an academic all-WAC selection in 2009.When he is not playing tennis, Alex enjoys the Andy Griffin show,The Spicy Chicken Sandwich at Carl's Jr., and Lucky Charms. USU athletics photo continued from page 8 back at you." Along with the rush, prized saddles, and numerous experiences that come with riding, Hall said the biggest priority for the club is education. Among other four-year college rodeo teams nationwide, USU ranked near the top in overall GPA as a team, something Hall said he is very proud of. "The kids know education is number one here, and rodeo is something on the side," said Hall, who himself has two doctorate degrees and works with USU as an associate agriculture professor and head professor of toxicology. "When most people think of rodeo they think of nobrain rednecks. I'm a double doctorate professor who rides bulls, working with top-caliber educated students. More than anything I'm proud of them for that." Overall, the club is very excited for the spring season. The club will compete for the first time in the spring during the first weekend of March at Weber State. The club also competes in Logan, Southern Idaho and other venues. Morgan said she is excited for a great upcoming season. "We're going to kick butt," she said. "We expect a lot of people going to nationals — possibly the whole men's PACK H EAT WITH CACHE FIREARMS' CACHE VALLEYS ONLY DEDICATED FIREARMS STORE Concealed Firearm Permit Classes *Ammunition • Holsters Night Sights Installed *Yes, We Do Trades) • Gun Cleaning Reloading Supplies • Bench made Knives • Scopes* Pellet Guns (435) 753-2606 42 E. 2200 N., STE. U. N. LOGAN WWW.CAUIIEFIRFARMS.CWI Don't miss out on this year's USU Employee Flu Shot Clinic Thursday, Oct. 7, 2010 TSC Ballroom 8:30 am-4:00 pm Free Flu Shots for benefited employees & eligible dependents or $25 for non-benefit eligible employees. Co-sponsored USU Wellness & University Inn & Conference Center university inn Ve conferenCe center For more information caroline.shugart@usu.edu 435-797-0735 Must Pre Register, Save Time! Credit Cards Accepted at flushots.usu.edu USU/BCBS now covers vaccines/preventative services Revis returns this week. As much as Brett Favre likes to be the center of attention, the key matchup for the Vikings will be Adrian Peterson power-running against this strong Jets defense. Peterson can help take some of the pressure off Favre and the Viking receivers. The Vikings are no slouch on defense, either. When the Jets are on offense, Sanchez has improved quite a bit this season but will need to be careful and not turn the ball over. At the same time, they need to take advantage of their new wide receiver duo of Santonio Holmes and Braylon Edwards. Jets running back LaDainian Tomlinson has found a time machine, running like he is 20 again. With all those weapons on the field, it should be interesting to see how the Vikings will defend the Jets. The key for the Vikings will be getting to Sanchez and trying to throw off his timing and rhythm while trying to contain the Jets ground attack. If anything, it should be fun to watch the Jets with all that star power on one team. — jake.ipson@aggiemaiLusu. com Wagon: back in Logan after win Rodeo: Aggie wranglers loving the sport addiction to find the perfect run." Morgan's said it takes more than just the adrenaline rush to compete in rodeos. She is a full-time student at Utah State, and said between classes she'll let her horse out in the pasture to romp around while she's in school. After classes get out —and she isn't swamped with homework —she'll head back to the pasture and ride the horse for around an hour, then she'll rope a dummy on her horse for another hour. When she's finished practicing, she cleans out the horse's stall, feeds him and heads back to studies, ready to do it again at least a few times a week. At least once a week she'll practice with a partner, and said she squeezes in additional practice time any chance she gets. "It's just like anything in life, the more you practice the better you get," she said. "We're always roping. I know guys on the team who get out and rope everyday. You don't want to risk losing it." Garrett Thurston, a USU junior, said over time the hard work and dedication usually pays off. "It's a natural high," he said. "Once you win your first check or saddle you get addicted to it. I've won two horse trailers, and both times were way fun. When you put the time and effort into it, it comes continued from page 8 Game to keep an eye on What was your favorite childhood cartoon and why? — adamnettina@aggiemaiLusu.edu NFL: week four drama profile players serving fourgame suspensions will be back in action for week five, most notably, Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger. But Roethlisberger will have to wait yet another week to start his season since the Steelers have their bye week this week - although he is eligible to practice with the team again. Other notable returns will be former Super Bowl MVP and new wide receiver for the New York Jets. Santonio Holmes. NFL defensive rookie of the year Brian Cushing will help the surging Houston Texans team with his return. There are still four teams still looking for that first win in week five; the Buffalo Bills, San Francisco 49ers, Detroit Lions and the Carolina Panthers. How long have you been playing tennis? How did you start? "Mental Aspects of Sports", because it teaches life lessons. The teacher (profesor Rich Gordon) is really cool and really good. Wednesday, Oct. 6, 2010 team. The potential is definitely there." Hall said he expects a great performance from both men's and women's teams. Apart from Thurston and Morgan, Hall said to expect to see great performances from Thurston's team-roping partner Trevor Merrill, as well as Colton Packer and freshman Jace Austina along with others who have the potential to place in their events. On the women's side, Hall said to watch for Lacey Larson in breakaway roping along with Kate Cliffold and Michelle Hatch. Thurston said USU students should support the club come spring. "You'll definitely be missing out," Thurston said. "There's going to be a lot of potential and a lot of cool people to get out and see. Come on out." Hall said students who come out to support the USU rodeo club are sure to take in an experience unlike anything they've ever seen. "This is like no other sport you'll ever experience. A lot of these kids can hang with any of the pros. It's a rush." continued from page 8 gible thing? It is so great, and you can look at it everyday and have those feelings that you had during the game and what you've got to continue to do to get more wins," Koskan said. Following the trophy presentation, both Andersen and Koskan spoke about the early season success at Romney Stadium, praising the efforts of Utah State's students and fans in helping the team defeat the Cougars before a nation television audience. Particularly important, Andersen said, were the efforts of Utah State's student spirit club, the HURD. "They were absolutely unbelievable with the amount of support that they give us," Andersen said. "The organization they have, the pride they have in their school, I cannot say enough about what that means to the kids and the environment of the stadium. The HURD is unbelievable and the students are unbelievable." Koskan said that the environment created by the fans was "the best ever" he has played in, and said that the team fed off the energy and enthusiasm created by their peers as the game went on. "(The students') energy would transfer over to us and it was amazing," Koskan said. "You can't put a price tag on that twelfth-man atmosphere." The junior said the fan support has made him want to play less for himself and more for the students and the community. While the Aggies will have to guard against a letdown in the coming weeks, the team and the community won't soon be forgetting Friday night's historic win. Saying that the win was for "all Aggies past and present," Andersen thanked the Cache Valley community and the university's students on Tuesday. "Myself and the team — and everyone associated with this football program — would just like to say that from the bottom of our hearts 'thank you.' The fan support all season has been tremendous, and in that last game it was absolutely unbelievable." — adamnettina@aggiemail.usu.edu — steve.schwartzman@aggiemaiLusu.edu Big win in the book, but plenty left to do Just like that, Gary Andersen and the Aggies The View stepped up in the biggest of ways, in what was from Andersen's biggest game Section F to-date as Utah State's head football coach. Under the national spotlight, with his team decimated by injuries, against USU's biggest competitor for in-state football recruits, Andersen and his Utah State team came out and simply demolished BYU Friday. Those who have followed Utah State football for the past five years can clearly see the difference between Andersen's 2010 team and the likes of those that notched just a single victory under former head coach Brent Guy in 2006. For much of the rest of the college football world, though, wins and losses are the sole determining factor for the perception of a program. For Utah State to go out and lay a beatdown on a program viewed as highly as BYU on national TV will do plenty of convincing to the rest of the country. For those that look a little bit deeper than just wins and losses, Friday night's game was another huge one for Utah State in showcasing everything about the program and the school. The Aggies had big plays from superstar players that the nation should know about, such as Diondre Borel, Bobby Wagner and Chris Randle. The game day atmosphere around Utah State and the majestic setting of Romney Stadium were shown prominently to the entire nation. And don't forget the epic turnout from USU fans, especially the student body, in looking and acting like our crowd most definitely belonged on national TV. In a nutshell, everything about Utah State University last Friday was big time. It wasn't just one or two aspects of the university, it was everybody, and everybody deserves credit for making it as big time as it was. As great as the victory over BYU was though, there is still a lot of football left to be played. Up next is Louisiana Tech, which is a game that is almost monumentally important in Utah State's goal to make it to a bowl game this year. The Bulldogs are off to a 1-4 start to the season, with their lone victory coming in the season-opener against Grambling State. Since then it's been all downhill for Louisiana Tech, most recently with a 41-21 loss on the road to Hawaii to open up their Western Athletic Conference schedule. As things stand though, Utah State is in a very promising spot, despite however unfavorable a 2-3 record may appear. The Aggies' 2-2 record in non-conference play is the first time since 1982 that Utah State has emerged from the non-conference portion its schedule without a losing record. While USU opened WAC play with a loss to Fresno State, five of the Aggies' seven remaining WAC games are ones that USU could, and maybe even should win. Winning four out of those five makes Utah State eligible for a bowl game, which has been the goal for this team from the beginning. Few people are penciling in the Aggies for a win on the road against either Nevada or Boise State, which means of those five winnable games, Louisiana Tech looks to be the toughest remaining test on the road. A high-point for the last decade of the program was reached Friday night, but the best may still be on its way. There could be no better way to build on the exposure that the Utah State program got during the BYU game than to finish the season strong by going to and winning a bowl game. Matt Sonnenberg is a senior majoring in print journalism. Matt is an avid fan of Aggie athletics and can be found on the front row of every home football and basketball game. He can also be reached at matt.sonn@aggiemail. usu.edu. |