Sports Briefs – July 19

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Arendse signs with Angels

OREM, Utah – Former UVU catcher Kevin Arendse signed a professional contract with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim on Friday, July 9. Arendse has begun his career with the Orem Owlz at Brent Brown Ballpark, right where he played four seasons with the Wolverines.

Arendse earned Great West first team All-Conference honors and had the game-winning RBI single in UVU’s extra-inning win over Northern Colorado in May. The Burlington, Wash. native batted .338 with seven home runs, 21 doubles and 48 RBIs in 2010. UVU finished the college baseball season with the best team average in the country at .372.

Toolson signs internationally again

OREM, Utah – UVU all-time leading scorer Ryan Toolson signed a two-year deal to play for Italy’s Benetton Treviso of the Euroleague. He will report in mid-August for training camp.

In his first season of professional basketball, Toolson averaged 16.7 points and 2.8 rebounds and was an All-star for Pinar Karsiaka of the Turkish Basketball League. Currently, Toolson, who scored 2,163 points in his career at UVU, is playing for the Phoenix Suns’ summer league team, which opened play July 9 in Las Vegas. Last year he played in four summer league games for the Sacramento Kings.

Student athlete named 2010 PSCS Scholar-Athlete of the Year

PORTLAND – UVU senior and first baseman Cherylyn McGraw has been named the 2010 Pacific Coast Softball Conference Scholar-Athlete of the Year. The conference office made the announcement in early July. The award was voted on by members of the PCSC Executive Committee. UVU joined the PCSC prior to the 2010 season.

McGraw was a four-year standout for the Wolverines, while carrying a 3.86 GPA with a double major in Criminal Justice and Paralegal Studies. She also minored in Political Science.

On the field, McGraw started every game in her career, setting school records for both games played and started with 205. She also finished as UVU’s career leader in at-bats (614), runs scored (126), hits (201), RBIs (123), total bases (288) and walks (66). McGraw finished with a .327 batting average, 17 home runs, 32 doubles and was 18-of-23 in stolen bases for her career.

McGraw graduated magna cum lade and earned the school’s 2010 Paralegal Studies Outstanding Student Award. An eight-time member of UVU’s dean’s list, McGraw also was named second-team Academic All-District 8 by ESPN The Magazine this spring. In addition, she is a member of the Golden Key National Honor Society and earned UVU’S 2010 Female Scholar-Athlete Award.