The basketball team struggled through a tough season
After losing several seniors from last year’s team. They finished 12-19 and lost in the opening round of the GWC Tournament despite it being played in the UVU Events Center. Senior Jordan Swarbrick was, however, named to the GWC second team, while Jourdain Scoubes and Tyray Petty were honorable mention selections.
Lady Wolverines perform well during first year in Great West Conference
The Lady Wolverines picked up their second GWC title when the women’s basketball team entered the GWC tournament as the sixth seed, the underdog. Despite their spot in the tournament, the Wolverines eliminated two of the top three seeds in the first two days of tournament play and entered the championship game. Utah Valley came from 18 points down to take the 70-62 win over the No. 1 seed and regular season champion North Dakota on Utah Valley’s home court. Senior Asumi Nakayama was named tournament MVP and finished her basketball career as a Wolverine along with Julie Smith, Blake Reynolds and Kayla Burningham.
The Wolverine wrestling team had its best season
As a Division I program and sent three wrestlers to the national tournament in Omaha, Neb. Ben Kjar, UVU’s Male Athlete of the Year, was ranked for most of the season and had a good showing at nationals. He will also be back next year as a senior to lead the Wolverines to another stellar season.
Baseball
And, although the baseball season is only in mid swing, the Wolverines have sole possession of first place in the conference. The UVU bats are also good enough for the seventh best team batting average (.352) in the nation led by Chris Benson’s .450.
Cross-country
The men’s cross-country team also had a solid year. They raced to the GWC Championship and qualified for regional’s for the first time in school history. Coach Scott Houle was named GWC Coach of the Year and Jason Lynch, a freshman from Sandy, Utah, was named Newcomer of the Year.
Soccer
The conference titles began to rack up on Nov. 9, 2009 as the Utah Valley women’s soccer team battled Houston Baptist in the championship game and took the 1-0 win. The Wolverines had traveled to Newark, New Jersey to compete in their first ever GWC championships.
Junior Katey Turner scored four goals during the duration of the conference tournament games and earned MVP. Seniors Tasha Bell, Brooke Salcido and Adrienne Schneider joined Turner on the all-tournament team.
Utah Valley women’s soccer finished their season with a 9-10-1 record while Bell, Salcido, Schneider, Athena Maher and Kelly Vide finished their soccer careers as Wolverines.
Volleyball
The lady Wolverine’s second chance at a GWC championship came as the UVU women’s volleyball team traveled to Houston, Texas to compete in their conference tournament.
Utah Valley fought hard, but ultimately dropped a 3-1 decision to North Dakota in the final GWC title match.
