OCR Text |
Show B2 SPORTS APRIL 01, 2013 66 We talked to the girls and told them that the bar is being raised. CATHY NIXON Head Coach SHANE TRUSKOLASKI/LIVU ATHLETICS The WAC has been around since 1962. Jensen and the Wolverines suffer a tough loss in the season finale. The Wolverines have played their final game in the GWC and are preparing for the first season as a WAC affiliate By Matthew Baiamonte Sports Writer @baiamontematt The Great West Conference is in the rearview mirror. Next stop: the Western Athletic Conference. "We talked to the girls and told them that the bar is being raised," said UVU women's basketball Head Coach Cathy Nixon. "It's being raised for all of us and our job as coaches is to prepare ourselves for that level of competition. Fortunately, much of it is very famil- iar to us. We have played all of the teams that will be in the WAC except for Kansas City. That's one of the things I tried to do in scheduling is to help us prepare for that transition because I believed that was going to happen." The competition will be similar to the competition they faced in the GWC. Most of those teams have also joined the WAC. NJIT and Houston are the two teams from the GWC that won't be joining the Wolverines. What appealed most to UVU was the automatic bid into the NCAA tournament. For those who don't understand, picture this: The Wolverines could be in the Men's and Women's NCAA tournament next season. It doesn't take much to see how valuable the WAC will mean to the UVU athletic department. "Next year we will be playing in the conference tournament for a chance to go to the NCAA tournament," Nixon said. "That's exciting. It's something we've hoped for and dreamed about for a long time." Getting teams to visit the UCCU center hasn't been easy, but teams will be more willing to come here to play a WAC opponent. "Scheduling will still be somewhat of a challenge," Nixon said. "Absolutely though, it will be easier. It started when we first went Division One. I had to schedule all 29 games because we were independent. That was very challenging. As few teams as there were in the Great West this year it was challenging because you can only play so many games in November and December to try and balance out a short conference schedule." One thing that will be less challenging is recruiting. For years, the Wolverines have recruited a large portion of their players from the JC ranks. Now that the Wolverines are affiliated with the WAC, they should be able to receive more commitments from high school players. "All the players we have recruited so far committed before the WAC commitment," Nixon said. "I think the WAC will absolutely have an effect in spite of that because of the strengths of our program." Coach Nixon and the other coaches will hit the recruiting trail later this spring, and during the month of July to fill out a couple roster spots. They have a few players in mind and are hopeful to receive their LOI's (letters of intent) before the summer. These players would have the opportunity to play immediately. "We lose a lot of kids," Nixon said. "We are losing eight players from our program. Anytime you take away a core of kids, that's a major portion of our starters and minutes. It's going to take us some time to get together, although we have some returning players and some players redshirting and practicing, it doesn't matter. It's a whole different thing when it's for real and you're playing games. The hardest thing will be gelling as a team and finding an identity." The WAC awaits, and there is no turning back now. Who you gonna call? UVU has now played more games in California than it has in the state of Utah this season. SHANE TRUSKOLASKI/UVU ATHLETICS Beginning anew SHANE TRUSKOLASKI/UVU ATHLETICS Brian Whatcott warming up his arm. The UVU baseball team will head to Sacramento state on April 1st. Brian Whatcott has been playing exceptionally well this year as a relief pitcher By Weston Brierley Sports Writer @Westongb Brian Whatcott, a junior from Springville, Utah majoring in exercise science, has been nothing but solid this year for the baseball team as a relief pitcher. In 8.2 innings played this season, Whatcott has recorded five strikeouts and two saves. He hasn't allowed a run, and batters are only hitting .219 against him Being the closer, Brian knows that a game can be put in his hands at any moment, but he still manages to keep an extremely level head on and off the field. After graduating from Springville High School, Whatcott saw a big opportunity to showcase his talent at the ever-growing Utah Valley University. "It was kinda close to home, and I knew that they were making a transition to being a bigger school and everything, and I wanted to be a part of that," Whatcott said. Although he spends countless hours honing his skills on the practice field, Whatcott still has a love for the outdoors and enjoys things like golfing, fishing and biking. What's obviously most important to Whatcott though is his family, and he acknowledges that he could not be where he is without their support. "I've got school, I've got practice, and with traveling and everything you can't really work a job," Whatcott said. "My parents have definitely helped me out through the years being here. Not to mention they're at every game watching everything. They're a big part of it for me." Baseball has not always been Whatcott's main focus. He played football and basketball in high school, but baseball was where he found his niche. See WHATCOTT, 83 UVU hopes to begin the "new season" well after a drive to Provo for one game and a plane trip northeast to start conference play against NJIT By Kyle Spencer Sports Writer @kyledspencer The young Wolverine baseball team is weary of playing distant away games. Dropping five straight games will emotionally fatigue any team. A short stay at home and a pit stop to play in Provo against in-state rival BYU is in order to revitalize the team that consists of only eight seniors. UVU then end its season high 15game road trip in New Jersey versus conference foe NJIT. Issues at the plate continued in the Wolverines most recent trip to California, batting just .222 (28-126) over a four game series versus Cal State Northridge. The Wolverines were swept by the Matadors and lost three of the four games by two runs or less. UVU stranded base runners throughout the series, failing to capitalize with runners in scoring position. "Those were really tough games on the road," said Head Coach Eric Madsen. "We lost close games by one or two runs [but] we have had a lot of positives lately. The pitching has been consistently good. There were opportunities to eliminate runs defensively and produce runs. We just got to continue to get better." One game was shortened to seven innings by weather. The trip to the northern region of Los Angeles proved the most difficult of UVU's three trips to the golden state this year. The ability to practice in Orem to prepare for in-state rival BYU provides time to improve. The fact that the Wolverines get to challenge their neighbors of the south offers additional motivation. "It's always an exciting op- portunity to play against in-state rivals," Coach Madsen said. "Everybody wants the bragging rights of being the best in the state. So everybody gets excited and they're emotional baseball games." UVU missed its first chance to secure local bragging rights when it lost at the University of Utah prior to traveling to Northridge. The Wolverines also play home games against the Utes and Cougars next month. However, the team remains focused on its first priority, winning another conference championship. "Conference play turns into a whole new season," Madsen said. "Guys get a new light. They may have been down because of their batting average or personal statistics. The chance to compete for a conference title brings new energy to the season. You know the chance to play more home games is giant." The Wolverines open the Great West battle by putting their See BASEBALL, 83 |