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Show B2 Young, Sack take player of the year honors FIFF UVU may luck out from lockout Sports should be and usually ary a way to relax and be entertained, giving us a release from the daily grind and an outlet to blow off steam. With the financial and social climate in flux, sports may turn out to be even more important than ever for our collective sanity. We all held our breath as the NFL lockout day counter tallied each day that passed without an agreement on a new CBA between the players and owners. Just as our faces went red from lack of oxygen, an announcement was made that there would indeed be an NFL season. Right at the moment that fans were about to burst and revolt in anger, that first breath of relief swept over, resulting in a tidal wave of emotions. The dizziness and stars that were seen in those first moments quickly dissipated and even though there were no games immediately following the announcement, the thought of games actually being played quickly squelched any resentment fans had for either party. In the heat of the stalemate, fans' frustration built as millionaires fought over money with other billionaires and jeopardized hardworking Americans' favorite weekend excitement. As games continue to be shaved off the NBA's potential season this yeaA from the same fiscal fight, fan frustration has yet to reach a boiling point even though the NBA skirmish has been a far more bloody battle than that of the NFL. Pundit(Greg Gumbe) even compared team owners to plantation owners with slaves. With the explosion of social media, fans are at their most influential point in history. Public perception was key in getting the NFL to hammer out a new contract and the lack of public outcry may be the most harmful facet to the NBA The NBA has come a long way since airing the Finals on tape delay after the late local news in the '70s and early '80s, but this lockout will test how much clout the league has with the fans themselves. Will fans demand a return to action or will the outrage be absent during football season? If football pacifies fans until after the BCS bowl games and the Super Bowl, it may be too late to salvage the NBA season. All games through the end of November have been cancelled and we are only halfway through the football season, so even if a new agreement is worked out before the playoffs and all the bowl games, we will most likely miss out on at least another month of the NBA. The shot clock on the NBA season is ticking dowe, and by the time anyone decides to start "occupy NBA„ it will have reached double zeroes and LeBron will have to take his talents to the 20122013 season. (To read the rest of this column and other exclusive online sports coverage, please visit our website at uvureview.com/category/ sports.) Jonathan Boldt can be reached at jonboldt@ gmail. com. You can follow him on Twitter @jboldt24. 44; ByJONATHANBOLDT ka*asEdtor The 2011 season for the Lady Wolverines soccer team exceeded expectations and turned from what was thought to be a rough rebuilding year into a championship beauty. Last year's conference player of the year Lauren Sack returned as a sophomore staple in the net for UVU. She followed up her award-winning freshman season with the Defensive Player of the Year for 2011. Sophomore sensation Natalie Young nabbed a couple topof-the-trophy case awards: Newcomer of the Year and Offensive Player of the Year. Young was key for the Wolverines in securing a regular season championship and snagging the top seed for the conference tournament. Young and Sack were joined by Regan Clifford, Kaitlyn Thomas, Lexi Dunn, and Brianne Larsen Bastian on the all-conference first team while Camille Broderick and Kelsey Kimball Cook made the second team. Head coach Brent Anderson added to his stellar resume with his third straight coach of the year awards. This weekend the Wolverines take to the pitch in effort to build on their championship year and this season the conference tournament is being hosted by the New Jersey Institute of Technology. (Check online for results www. UVUReveiw.com ) What has been the deciding factor for this seasons success has not just been the award winning headliners, depth and team chemistry have been invaluable for Anderson's squad. Calling red shirt freshman Jade Colebrook a back-up does not do her justice. She has shared goal-keeper duties with Sack and has been equal to the task and pulled her weight in the net for the Wolverines. Ashley Burdett, Hayley Curtis, Alexa Pulley, and Jaime Lyons have provided the depth to allow fresh rotations and bursts of energy to allow many late game rallies. But it 's not just the on the field efforts that lead to a 5-1 conference record. "A lot of us are roommates and we all have so much fun together," Young said. "How well we all get along off the field definitely helps us trust each other come game time." itmiNsiplr 11111111aLer' Photo courtesy of UVU Athletics Sophomore striker Natlaie Young was named both the conference Player of the Year and the Newcomer of the Year. VOILLEYBALL FROM B1 .4LC-1 HELPING . (.n01311117 . All Photo by Lance larsen/UVU Review Senior outside hitter Jaicee Kuresa goes up for the outside kill against Utah State last Thursday. GWC FROM B1 an assist in the Wolverines 4-0 win over South Carolina State. With the regular season wrapped up, the Wolverines look for two more wins to seal the tournament crown and an at-large shot for the field of 64 in the NCAA tournament.. "This is a tough conference," said head Coach Brent Anderson in an earlier interview this year. "Obviously it would be nice to have an automatic bid but we have our work cut out for us in conference. Hopefully playing some tougher teams before conference play started will help us out if we can make ZONE FROM B1 held over the weekend. This is because those sports are all-day events, necessitating weekend scheduling so student-athletes can still go to class, do their part-time jobs, or whatever other obligations they may have. Complicating things even further is that cross-country, golf and wrestling rarely — if ever — have "home games." Golf's closest invitational so far this season was in Layton. Cross-country's closest meet was in Cedar City. After their intra-squad dual last week, wrestling won't be seen at home competitively until January. These are the factors that restrict our coverage. Again, it sucks. Other section editors feel the same way when a big news story or a concert it through and win the Great West tournament." Fighting through the tough early schedule has given the Lady Wolverines plenty of confidence in themselves and their teammates. "We've had a good week of practice," said senior and Provo native Jaime Lyons. "We are pretty relaxed and focused. Knowing that you can trust the girl next to you really helps to do what you have to do. If we play the way we know we can there is no reason we can't win the tournament." The Wolverines' toughest opponent may prove to be themselves as they prepare to prevent a letdown. If UVU has NCAA aspirations they happens over the weekend. We are here to provide broad and consistent coverage, and when we are prevented from doing so we get the same helpless, violent urges as the people who feel we don't care. This probably won't satisfy everyone student-athlete. Hopefully, though, it will help them understand all the effort, preparation and red tape we go through to show what they go through. As for the cross-country teams, we'll see you Nov. 12 at the NCAA West Regionals which, mercifully, are being held in Provo. In the meantime, congrats on your conference championship. Matt Petersen can be reached at petersensports@ gmail .com. I • Dakota (8-1 GWC) becomes the deciding match for the regular season conference title. The Wolverines won their previous match at North Dakota, 3-1. Utah Valley will look to continue spreading the wealth, particularly as Norris and sophomore setter Brookelyn Campbell continue to add to the offensive makeup of the team. Norris, who logged nine kills Thursday, has evolved into a third threat at the outside hitter position behind Heaps and Kuresa. Campbell, primarily a setter, has been able to score key points on dumpkills over the net, catching the waiting defense off-guard. The multiple weapons at Atoa's disposal has provides what he considers a doublebonus, as he both depend on all his players but also keep any individual load from behave to first take care of business and win their next two games and claim the GWC tournament throne. A 5-1 conference mark with a 10-8-1 overall record, a regular season championship, a tournament championship, and a whole lot of crossed fingers may just be enough to make it to the "big dance". If it doesn't shake out in the Wolverines favor, at least Anderson and his crew of young talent will have a solid foundation to make a run at it next season. UVU's first-round match was against North Dakota on Saturday. The Wolverines won their only previous matchup by a final score of 3-2. coming too heavy. "We rely on, as much as possible, all of our players," Atoa said. "Whether it's Chelsey or whether it's Jaicee. We have two middles that have continued to carry us through and they are huge as far as our success. Kalani [Norris] is making great strides in being able to slowly get herself into competing at this level." Friday's game against North Dakota starts at 7:00p.m. in the Activities Center. VOLLEYBALL STANDINGS* Overall GWC Team WL WL North Dakota Utah Valley Houston Baptist NJIT Texas Pan Am Chicago St. 24-4 8 -1 20-8 8 - 1 19-8 5-3 10-15 3-5 7-21 1 - 7 1-26 0 - 8 *as of Friday, Nov.4 Jonathan Boldt can be reached at jonboldt@gmail. corn. You can follow him on Twitter @jboldt24. WOMENS SOCCER STANDINGS* Overall GWC Team WLT WLT Utah Valley Houston Baptist S. Carolina St. Howard North Dakota Delaware St. NJIT 1081 510 981 411 593 321 4111 330 583 231 2142 141 2160 150 *as of Friday, Nov. 4 WRESTLING FROM B1 Kjar's absence a point of weakness on this year's squad. "I don't feel any pressure at all," Christensen said. "There's a lot of people who aren't expecting anything out of me and I want to prove them wrong. Wednesday night proved a good starting point, as Christensen went on to win both his matches over Rouser and freshman Jarod Maynes. "[The freshmen] are tough," Christensen said. "They've got a lot more experience than I had coming into college. They're a lot better than I was. They need to work on bottom and top a little bit, but they're going to be tough." Freshman Napoleon Aniciete , aided by a large following of friends and family, quickly became a fan favorite due to his combination of name, game and origin (Las Vegas). The 157-pounder dominated en route to two shutout victories over Andrew Orr and Jake Falk. Other freshmen who swept their matches included David Prieto (184), Derek Thomas (184) and Chase Cuthbertson (157). Kjar, who recently qualified for the 2012 U.S. Olympic trials, was on hand to behold the program's most successful recruiting class yet. "It's big-time," Kjar said. "You kind of see how you were the Johnny Appleseed and finally you see things coming to fruition you never thought you would see. Usually you see it eventually, but you never think it will come so quick." Men's golf takes 6th in Hawaii LIHUE, Hawaii -- Utah Valley University's Mason Casper collected his fourth Top 10 of the fall season Tuesday after shooting a final-round 74 to finish in a tie for sixth at the Kaua'i Collegiate Invitational. Casper entered the day tied for third, but dropped three spots after shooting a +2 in final 18 holes of the three-day tournament. Casper opened the season with a win at the Battle in the Tetons in early September, finished fourth at the Palouse Collegiate and ninth at the Wildcat Invitational. For the tournament, Casper was -2 on the par 3s and par 55, and +2 on the par 4s. Teammate Brayden Ericksen, who was -6 in par 5s, finished in a tie for 14th at +3. He shot a final-round 2-under par 70. Joey Olson recorded and even-par 72 to go with his previous rounds of 74 to finish in 16th, while Stratton Schulz finished tied for 25th after shooting a final-round 72 and Andrew Carlin finished 43rd. University of Hawaii's Thomas Kua ran away with the individual title by shooting -14 at the 6,954-yard Paukea Golf Course. University of San Diego's Linus Viananen finishe second at -7 and College of Charleston's John Duke Hudson finished third at -5. As a team, the Wolverines entered the day in fourth and that's where they finished at +15. San Diego (-14) held of Hawaii (-13) by a shot and College of Charleston finished third at -1. For the fall, the Wolverines finished no lower than seventh. They won the Battle in the Tetons, finished second at the Palouse Collegiate and Firestone Grill Invitational and seventh at the Wildcat Invitational. The Wolverines will look to defend their title at the SUU Pat Hicks Thunderbird Invitational Feb. 13-14 in St. George when they open the spring season. |
