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  1. Cougar athlete leads the way for young gymnasts

    By JJ Despain

    - Tue, 03/09/2010 - 22:26
    Photo by Mariangela Mazzei. Kaylee Gallup competes on the beam as part of the BYU gymnastics team.

    Freshman year in college can be a difficult one. Classes, the social scene and living away from home demand new routines and habits. On top of all the adjustments, joining a college sports team can add to the confusion.

    Lucky for the 10 freshmen on BYU’s gymnastics team last year, they had their teammate Kaylee Gallup to lead the way.

    “She took them all under her wing,” said fellow gymnast McKell Poulson-Merkley. “She would have sleepovers with them, and she was always checking on that class to make sure they’re OK. She really took it upon herself to make sure that class transitioned well into the college gymnastics team.”

    Gallup, a senior from Cypress, Texas, uses her experiences with gymnastics to teach and share with those around her, both on and off campus.

    Last summer, Gallup coached aspiring gymnasts at Jump Up Gym in Lehi and plans to go back this summer.

  2. Notre Dame watching expansion plans

    By Associated Press

    - Tue, 03/09/2010 - 20:22

    NEW YORK — Notre Dame wants to remain independent in football, but that might not matter if the Big Ten and Pac-10 decide to expand and create sweeping changes to major college sports.

    “Our preference is clear,” Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick said on Tuesday. “I believe we’re at a point right now where changes could be relatively small or they could be seismic.”

    Swarbrick said it will be up to him and university president Rev. John Jenkins to “evaluate the landscape” if realignment happens.

    “You can each come up with a scenario that would force our hand,” he told a small group of reporters at a Manhattan restaurant.

    The Big Ten announced in December it will explore options for expansion in the next 12 to 18 months. Last month, the Pac-10 also made it known that it would be considering adding schools.

  3. Lacrosse looks to bounce back vs. Westminster

    By BJ Pugmire

    - Tue, 03/09/2010 - 20:19

    The BYU lacrosse team looks to rebound against Westminster after suffering its second defeat of the season last Saturday against the University of Michigan. The Cougars will face off against the Griffins tonight at 7 p.m. at the North University Field.

    BYU coach Matt Schneck said the Michigan game was a back-and-forth battle.

    “At the end of the day, Michigan was more disciplined than we were, and that was the difference,” Schneck said.

    The No. 1 ranked Wolverines were able to defeat the Cougars by a final score of 13-9, increasing their active win streak to 43.

    “Michigan is a great team, and they are proving that week in and week out,” said senior and captain Elliot Grow from Salt Lake City. “We showed times of greatness and at times we didn’t. We need to be more focused and disciplined and play our game. We can’t get out of our game plan and we did on Saturday.”

  4. MWC honors four BYU players

    Mon, 03/08/2010 - 21:50
    Photo by David Scott. BYU’s Jackson Emery and three of his teammates received awards from the MWC on Monday.

    By Chase Cornett

    Four Cougars were recognized on Monday when the Mountain West Conference announced its men’s basketball season award winners.

    Conference coaches and select media writers voted for the winners of the 2009-10 season.

    Jimmer Fredette was named to the all-MWC First Team for the second straight year. The junior guard was second in the conference in points per game (19.7) and first in 3-point percentage (49 percent). Fredette received MWC Player of the Week honors twice and scored over 30 points in three games this season.

    Jackson Emery was named to both the all-MWC Second Team as well as all-MWC defensive team. Emery led the league in steals per game (2.9) and had at least one steal in 11 of 13 conference games.  On the offensive side, Emery scored in double digits in 11 games and tied for 11th in the conference in points per game (12.3).

  5. Tennis falls to No. 1 seed in HEB Invitational

    By Liz Helm

    - Mon, 03/08/2010 - 20:40

    The BYU men’s tennis team suffered its second loss of the season in its final match against No. 18 Texas Tech (4-1) in the HEB Invitational. The Cougars defeated DePaul (4-0) and Middle Tennessee (4-1) before falling to the No. 1 seed in the tournament.

    “We competed well,” BYU head coach Brad Pearce said. “We just came up short.”

    Having lost to Middle Tennessee last season, the Cougars expected a tough contest. After losing the doubles point, they had to step it up in singles to take the victory.

    “We had our backs up against the wall early in the match because we lost the doubles point,” Pearce said. “I was really proud of our guys for being so resilient.”

    Fortunately for the Cougars, they were able to turn the match around.

  6. Viewpoint: NCAA seed on line at MWC tournament

    By Christian Carlson

    - Mon, 03/08/2010 - 20:39

    The regular season is over and the greatest time of the year in sports begins Thursday when No. 14 BYU plays in the MWC Tournament in Las Vegas.

    The Cougars (24-6, 12-4) earned the No. 2 seed in the tournament and will take on TCU in the quarterfinals. BYU is a lock to be in the NCAA Tournament according to ESPN’s Bracketology, but what seed the Cougars earn depends on their performance in the MWC Tournament, a tournament they haven’t won since 2001.

    With that in mind, here are the implications of the Cougars’ NCAA Tournament seeding depending on how they perform this weekend.

  7. Baseball team picks up two more wins

    By Ginni Revuelta

    - Sun, 03/07/2010 - 22:20

    The BYU baseball team finished its week in Texas with two more wins..

    BYU (4-7) faced Baylor and Texas A&M earlier in the week, and the team finished the week with a three-game series against UT Arlington. The Cougars lost the first two games, but were able to pull out a win during the ninth inning of game three.

    Game one was a devastating blow to the Cougars, both offensively and defensively. The Mavericks completely dominated the game, beating BYU 17-2. The Mavericks boasted two nationally recognized players, National Pitcher of the Week, Jason Mitchell, and Pre-Season All-American, outfielder Michael Choice. Mitchell struck out six batters and Choice had three runs.

  8. Men's tennis takes two of three matches

    By Liz Helm

    - Sun, 03/07/2010 - 22:13

    The BYU men’s tennis team suffered its second loss of the season in its final match against No. 18 Texas Tech (4-1) in the HEB Invitational. The Cougars defeated DePaul (4-0) and Middle Tennessee (4-1) before falling to the No. 1 seed in the tournament.

    “We competed well,” BYU head coach Brad Pearce said. “We just came up short.”

    Having lost to Middle Tennessee last season, the Cougars expected a tough contest. After losing the doubles point, they had to win in singles to take the victory.

    “We had our backs up against the wall early in the match because we lost the doubles point,” Pearce said. “I was really proud of our guys for being so resilient.”

    Fortunately for the Cougars, they were able to turn the match around and beat what they called a very good team.

    “We had something to prove to ourselves,” team captain Cassidy Mears said. “We lost to them last year.”

  9. Men's rugby clinches No. 1 seed

    By Courtney Henderson

    - Sun, 03/07/2010 - 21:04

    In a sold-out showdown, BYU’s rugby team overcame the winter weather, beating Utah 15-10 in the Wasatch Cup on Saturday afternoon.

    The win against the Utes guarantees the 2009 national champion Cougars will be the No. 1 seed in this year’s USA Rugby collegiate playoffs.

    “Leading into this game we knew it would be a battle,” coach David Smyth said. “We’ve seen them play and we know they’ve got good players.”

    With six inches of snow covering the field only 24 hours before the game, members of the grounds crew were kept busy clearing South Field. The field conditions definitely factored into the level of play as players for both teams struggled at times to maintain control on the wet ground underfoot.

  10. Women's basketball team holds second place

    By Rachel Matheson

    - Sun, 03/07/2010 - 20:53

    The Cougars had to fight to hold on before finally toppling MWC regular-season champion TCU in a 70-65 victory on Saturday. The victory secured the women’s basketball team’s second-place seed for the upcoming Mountain West Conference Tournament.

    “We played a very good game, and then we kind of went into a little bit of a slump, but these guys figured a way how to win,” women’s basketball coach Jeff Judkins said. “I think they learned a valuable lesson tonight and they really stuck as a team, and that probably makes me more proud than the win.”

  11. Men's basketball team pummels TCU

    By Chase Cornett

    - Sun, 03/07/2010 - 20:51

    The BYU men’s basketball team overcame a slow start and got solid play from its bench on Saturday night in Fort Worth, Texas, to steamroll TCU 107-77 in its final regular season game.

    The Cougars started the game with three straight turnovers. TCU took advantage of BYU’s sloppy play, outscoring the Cougars 18-4 in the first three minutes of the game. The Horned Frogs made their first seven shots from the field and didn’t miss until there were 14 minutes left in the half.

    “They got a lot of easy shots in the first few minutes by out-running us,” BYU coach Dave Rose told The Mtn. “It was pretty tight there for awhile.”

  12. BYU defends home court against Pepperdine

    Sun, 03/07/2010 - 20:49
    Photo by Stephanie Rhodes. BYU's Robb Stowell, left, watches after a Pepperdine defender blocked a spike last weekend.

    By Ashlyn Hewlett and Daniel Ng

    After four straight road trips, the No. 4 BYU men’s volleyball team was glad to be home this weekend as it reeled off a 30-28, 25-30, 30-27, 30-18 victory on Friday night over No. 1 Pepperdine.

    In front of 4,169 fans on Friday, the Cougars (10-7, 8-6 MPSF) were able to play consistently on both sides of the net as they bounced back from two losses against Hawaii last weekend. After the Cougars ended Pepperdine’s eight-match winning streak, the Waves (10-5, 9-4 MPSF) bounced back and swept the BYU 3-0 Saturday to split the weekend series.

    “It’s great to be back at home,” BYU coach Shawn Patchell said. “It seems like it’s been forever.”

    The Cougars hit at a clip of .441 in the Friday night match and had 13 total blocks as a team, compared to only seven blocks and a .298 hitting percentage recorded by the Waves.

  13. Intramurals: Men's basketball power rankings

    Fri, 03/05/2010 - 15:09

    1    JORDAN CHRISTENSEN    4.79
    2    TEAM LP    4.42
    3    I'M ON A BOAT    4.38
    4    UDONIS    4.33
    5    HOLLA    4.29
    6    BBALL    4.17
    7    SAUCY MAMAS    4.11
    8    CHANCHO    4.10
    9    WHERE AMAZING HAPPENS    4.03
    10    FIST PUMPING LIKE CHAMPS    4.03
    11    THE WALK-ONS    4.03
    12    THE 435    4.00
    13    THE WARRRIORS    4.00
    14    BEE'S KNEES    3.96
    15    MOSTLY BALDING & ARTHRITIC    3.96

  14. Intramurals: Coed soccer power rankings

    Fri, 03/05/2010 - 15:08

    1    CHALLIS POWER**    4.83
    2    TEAM SABONIS    4.44
    3    BRADY    4.28
    4    CRAZY LEGS    4.17
    5    THE MIGHTY DUCKS    4.06
    6    ROONEY    4.00
    7    SNACK ATTACK!    4.00
    8    THE BIG GREEN    4.00
    9    CHAOS FC**    4.00
    10    COBRA KAI    3.94
    11    FAIRFIELD UNITED    3.94
    12    BARNEY AND THE BRUTES    3.92
    13    ESOTERIC    3.86
    14    IPO    3.83
    15    TEAM 168    3.83

  15. Intramurals: Women's basketball power rankings

    Fri, 03/05/2010 - 15:08

    1    HOOPSTERS    4.44
    2    THE DREAM TEAM    4.29
    3    THE REAL PURPLE COBRAS    4.20
    4    THUNDERCATS    4.17
    5    WASHIINGTON    4.17
    6    LAS LLAMAS    4.00
    7    SUPERMAN    3.83
    8    RAWR!!!    3.79
    9    THE DESTROYERS**    3.56
    10    TEAM 66    3.42
    11    BALLIN    3.33
    12    TEAM GLORY DAYS    3.28
    13    BLUE STEEL    3.20
    14    PROVO BULLDOGS    3.19
    15    SD-6    3.17
    16    MONSTERS    3.13