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Show B3 SPORTS Getting to know: Jessica Uresti thirektikz. r C-- By YVETTE CRUZ Sports Writer --74. - r. ■ Photo courtesy of UVU Atlietics Second baseman Jessica Uresti has made a place for herself on the Wolverines softball team, convincing and then proving to head coach Todd Fairbourne she deserves a chance. t1 Second baseman and UVU freshman Jessica Uresti may be new to this school, but she is certainly no amateur in softball. Uresti began playing softball in the sixth grade. She was invited to try out for an accelerated softball team and her dad encouraged her to "go for it," so she did. She's enjoyed playing the sport since. Head softball coach Todd Fairbourne said that Uresti came in and stepped it up this fall with a "hey, you need to play me" attitude. Fairbourne said she has been the most consistent, giving it her all at every game and practice. Uresti chose UVU because when she met Coach Fairbourne and told her if she wanted to get better, he would make sure she did. She already feels she has improved and learned a lot. Uresti also likes that UVU is close to her hometown, Payson, and how welcoming the professors are as well as the scene on campus. Uresti defines herself a player because she "works really hard" and likes constructive criticism. She stays consistent by giving her best efforts all the time whether it be a practice or a game. "If I'm doing something wrong, I would want someone to tell me," Uresti said. Uresti is not a stranger to injury. She tore her ACL her sophomore year in high school while playing basketball, but .; made an early recovery to softball four months later. Uresti would like to work on her speed for the spring season. She said she used to be quick, but after tearing her ACL she lost some of it and plans on getting it back. She has chosen Criminal Justice as her major, which she became interested in during her high school junior year while taking a law enforcement class. She would like to one day be a parole officer for juvenile. Her favorite class this semester happens to be intro to criminal justice. Uresti is the oldest of four. She has two brothers and one sister. She is also the first in her family to attend college. One of her hobbies is hiking. Uresti lives near Payson canyon, where she often goes hiking to unwind and explore. Her favorite athlete and role model is New York Mets baseball player Jose Reyes. Before any game, Uresti tries to stay relaxed by listening to music. Chris Brown and Justin Timberlake can be found on her pre-game playlist. Her favorite game memory is from two years ago when she played for Utah Pegasus. Her team went to nationals in California and had to play against an older team for their last game. It was the last inning they were down by a couple runs. Uresti walked up to the bat bases load, got the hit and they won, getting their team into the championships. Uresti has impressed her coach as well as herself this season and only plans on getting better. Clement takes third conference honor NAPERVILLE, -- Utah Valley University volleyball player Sarah Clement earned her third defensive weekly honor of the season Tuesday, when the Great West Conference tabbed her as the conference's Defensive Player of the Week. The middle blocker Clement helped lead the Wolverines to two conference road wins last week as she put up 11 total blocks and averaged 1.38 blocks per set. In a fiveset win at NJIT, the senior from Lindon, Utah, recorded a solo stuff and seven block assists, while also posting a career-best 16 kills. Clement also leads the Great West in total blocks (105) and blocks per set (1.21). The weekly honor is Clement's third of the year as she previously won defensive honors on Aug. 30 and Oct. 4. UVU's Jaicee Kuresa and Erica Nish have also been recognized as conference player's of the week during the season. The Great West also selected North Dakota's Lexi Robinson as the Offensive Player of the Week. Robinson, a freshman from Ramsey, Minn., was named Offensive Player of the Week after posting a career-high .750 hitting percentage in a 3-0 win at Chicago State. Her 23 kills in a 3-1 victory at NJIT also set a new personal high, as well as a new season high for the Sioux, and tied the league's top mark. To date, Robinson is the only UND player to exceed the 20-kill mark and is one of five players to do so in the GWC. Her 23 kills is the conference's top performance in a four-set match, and along with her career kill marks against NJIT, Robinson registered 12 digs to mark her first career doubledouble. Other offensive nominees for this week's honor included Isis Gardner (Houston Baptist), Maria Kliefoth (TexasPan American) and Clement (Utah Valley). Others nominated for the defensive award were Courtney Whittleman (Houston Baptist), Taylor Bohannon (North Dakota) and Juri Franzen (Texas-Pan American). Photo by Lance Larsen/UVU Review The Wolverines women's soccer team practices between road games. After a four-game losing streak, Utah Valley won two straight over Idaho and Montana, respectively. PINK from Al cancer awareness, stating it gives more meaning beyond wins and losses. "[The pink games] give a purpose to the game, and it's great to see this kind of support as a result," Jacobsen said. The volleyball program has taken a more direct hand in cancer awareness this year, raising funds to support a faculty member who is suffering through a third round of the disease. The faculty member, who wished to remain anonymous, will receive donated funds received through the volleyball team's recruiting efforts performed on game nights and in their collective spare time on campus. Senior outside hitter Jaicee Kuresa admitted the cause held a personal meaning for many on the team. "Having her be at UVU, someone we could personally have dealt with because we don't know who she is, it hits close to home," Kuresa BOLDT from B1 Photo by Nathan Grill/UVU Review The Wolverines women's soccer team practices between road games. After a four-game losing streak, Utah Valley won two straight over Idaho and Montana, respectively. WRESTLING from B3 Photo courtesy of UVU Athletics Junior grappler Josh Wilson will be the leader of this season's wrestling team after seniors Ben Kjar, Justin Morrill and Flint Ray graduated last year. came on strong in the latter portion of last season. Wilson has further impressed in practice, earning both praise and expectations from Williams entering the season. "Josh is wrestling at a level where he can step up and be the guy we expect to go [to nationals]," Williams said. Purdue transfer Ethan Smith will also see time on the mat, making his return to Utah after winning consecutive state titles as a junior and senior at Wasatch high school. Williams admitted this season and possibly next will form a "rebuilding phase," but was more excited about the prospect because of this year's freshman class. The group includes consecutive Utah state champion Derek and the score knotted up at seven. Then of course his next at-bat would be a walkoff solo home run to win the game 10-9. What makes this series so good for the game and endearing to the public is that on rosters with $100 million players, it has been littlename guys like Freese and Derek Holland that have stolen the show. Holland took the mound for the Rangers in Game 4 with the Cardinals leading the series 2-1 and pitched one of the most impressive games of someone not named Cliff Lee or Thomas (Layton) and Montana's Jade Rauser, who finished 175-0 in his four-year high school career. For Williams, the young talent pool presents incredible potential after they gain experience against quality opponents. "Those tournaments are going to be awesome opportunities for these guys to wrestle and get some wins against good kids," Williams said. "We're going to set up that kind of schedule again next year. From then on out, we're going to expect to start winning those. We don't expect to win them right now, but not because we can't win some of those matches. We're just young throughout the lineup, and we will be again next year because we've got some guys said. "It gives us an extra purpose." The impact hits even closer to home for several players. Kuresa's father was thought to have cancer a few years ago, but was properly diagnosed after further medical review. Others on the team, however, have been less fortunate and seen loved ones suffer through the disease. Kuresa's near-brush with the same experience has given, according to her, another reason to excel on the court. "Sports is about competing, but you still have a dayto-day life," Kuresa said. "You have things that need to have purpose in your life. If you can play for someone else, if you can use your talents for someone else, then that makes you a great player and a great person." Matt Petersen can be reached at petersensports@ gmail.com You can follow him on Twitter @SportsWriter93. Roy Halliday. In the economy and financial environment that we live in, we can all gravitate to good guys like these, enjoy the drama that even TNT can't produce, and whether anyone watched it or not we just experienced sports at its best. A movie a few years ago may have been about 'the Greatest Game Ever Played' , but this year we may have witnessed 'the Greatest Series Ever Played (and later replayed on DVR by more people than watched it live)' . redshirting. It's going to be a fun two years of growth and development." Fans will get their first glimpse of this year's squad Wednesday at 7:00p.m. at the Activities Center in the annual Intrasquad Dual. It is there, Williams hopes, both he and observers will see who the team can count on come tournament time. "One of the things you find out in dual meet situations is who your garners are," Williams said. "Sometimes you have these guys at practice and you're like, 'he's getting pounded.' All of the sudden he steps out on the mat in a real match, and they just rise to the occasion. Some trigger just sets them off." |