Chacon, Shanahan Record Double-Doubles in Five-Set Loss
UW will continue MW play at Utah State on Thursday
SAN JOSE, Calif. – Courtney Chacon and Bridget Shanahan each recorded a double-double for the University of Wyoming Cowgirl volleyball team, which fell to San José State in five sets on Thursday night.
Despite a decisive first-set victory for the Cowgirls, UW (15-5, 5-3 MW) dropped the match 3-2 (25-18, 25-22, 28-26, 14-25, 14-16) at Spartan Gym.
With 11 kills against SJSU (11-9, 3-4 MW), Shanahan moved herself into 15th place in school history, as she currently has 960 kills for her career. It proved to be her first double-double of the season with a career-high 14 digs on the night.
Chacon had her sixth double-double of the year as she led UW with 19 assists and was second on the team with a season-high 16 digs. It became her 16th match this season she has led the Cowgirls in assists.
Freshman Reed Copeland had her fourth match of the year with double-digit blocks. She finished with a total of 10 in addition to six kills against the Spartans.
Laura Beach had eight kills, while Mattison DeGarmo had a career-high seven. Senior Kayla Henderson had five kills on the evening, as Emily Hines and Kelly O’Brien added five and four, respectively.
Senior Allison Waldvogel had a team-high 17 digs against the Spartans. She also added five assists. Dani Westfall had nine assists, as Cori Aafedt dished out three. Sophomore Lily Austin scooped up eight digs, while DeGarmo had four against San Jose State.
The first set went in favor of the Cowgirls as they hit .450 (10-1-20). Shanahan lead UW with four kills, while Westfall and Chacon each had four assists. The Spartans took the second frame although Shanahan had four digs to guide UW.
Waldvogel had nine digs in the third frame, as Chacon added eight. Also in the third, Copeland had a set-high five kills to help UW take a 2-1 set lead. Shanahan and Hines each had two kills in the fourth set, while Chacon had six digs in the fifth before SJSU was able to steal the victory.
Wyoming takes to the road again next weekend as the Cowgirls head to face Utah State on Thursday and Boise State on Saturday.
Cowgirl Tennis Has Tough Outing on Thursday at ITA Championships
Four singles and one doubles played for UW
LAS VEGAS, Nev. – The Wyoming tennis team had a tough second day at the ITA Mountain Regional Championships in Las Vegas.
“Today was a gut check day for the team as to who we are and what we want to be,” UW head coach Dean Clower said. “Hopefully, the ladies learned from the experience and we will continued to grow as a team.”
In doubles action, the lone remaining team in the main draw of Dorottya Jonas and Elisa Koonik lost by the score of 8-6 against Jeannez Daniel and Nuria Ormeno-Ruiz of Colorado.
Sophomore Magdalena Stencel was the only individual to come away with a victory on the day in singles play. She defeated her first opponent of the tournament Adriana Gergelyova of Nevada in three sets, 4-6, 7-5, 7-5. Unfortunately, Stencel fell in straight sets, 6-2, 7-6 against Ruth Copas of New Mexico.
Junior Miranda Talbert lost to Nuria Ormeno-Ruiz, 6-2, 6-4, while senior Nastya Tokareva was defeated by Taylor Calton of Utah, 6-1, 6-1. The final Cowgirl in action was Jonas who came up short, 6-0, 6-2, against Bianca Mok of Denver.
The round of 16 and quarterfinal round of doubles will be played along with round of 16, consolation and additional singles matches on Friday.
Day One
Four individual singles players and one doubles team advanced to the next round to begin the 2015 ITA Mountain Regional Championships, on Wednesday in Las Vegas.
“We have come a long way but still have miles to get where we want to be. We have glimpses of playing good doubles but somehow revert to old ways at times. We are playing better which is all we can ask for.” – UW Head Coach Dean Clower.
Three doubles teams opened up the first day of competition for the Cowgirls. Junior Dorottya Jonas and freshman Elisa Koonik were the lone duo to come away with a victory. The pair defeated Gabriel Joyce and Chloe Jolliff of New Mexico State 8-7.
Senior Nastya Tokareva and junior Miranda Talbert fell short against Rita Bermudez and Celine Koetz of Idaho, 8-6, while sophomore Magdalena Stencel and freshman Tessa van Der Ploeg lost to New Mexico’s Andrea Leblanc and Rachana Bhat, 8-3.
Three of the seven Cowgirls won their first round matches in singles. Stencel had a first round bye and will play Adriana Gergelyova of Denver tomorrow afternoon.
Jonas advanced with a 6-3, 6-2 victory against Mia Brandt of New Mexico State. Talbert won in straight sets, 7-6, 7-5, over Reka Szentes of UNLV. Her next opponent will be Nuria Ormeno Ruiz of Colorado.
The other Cowgirl to come away with a victory was Tokareva. She defeated Veronica Dodds in two sets, 6-2, 6-2, and will face Taylor Calton of Utah.
“We played some good singles today. Elisa (Koonik) showed signs of playing some high level tennis and Miranda (Talbert) did what we brought her in to do. Once again, we moved another step forward as a team and must continue to progress.”
Hoekstra, Koonik and van Der Ploeg each suffered first round losses and will move into the consolation bracket. Hoekstra fell short in straight sets, 6-1, 6-1, to Jordan Denesik of Northern Arizona. Koonik had a tough three set battle, 3-6, 6-1, 6-1 against Savannah Ware (BYU) while van Der Ploeg lost to Lea Krajcovicova of Northern Colorado, 6-1, 6-2.
UW Soccer Hits the Road to Battle UNLV and Nevada
LARAMIE – The University of Wyoming Cowgirl soccer team will continue conference play this weekend to take on UNLV and Nevada. Wyoming will look to improve its 2-3-1 Mountain West record and 6-4-4 overall mark.
“These games are huge for us. It’s not easy going on the road for conference games. Everyone in the conference is playing well at home right now, with the standings being so close we need to score points and come out with wins.” – Cowgirl Soccer Head Coach Pete Cuadrado.
Freshmen goalkeeper Cassidy Entsminger and midfielder Summer Taube will return to their home city of Las Vegas, Nev., with the matchup against UNLV.
Entsminger has played in 12 out of 14 games this season. She has recorded 23 saves in 643 minutes of playing time. Taube has played in 4 games this season and recorded 23 minutes of playing time.
UW’s defense has been strong all season forcing seven shutouts, which ties its all-time single season shutout record. The Cowgirls have tallied 49 saves this season. Wyoming has also totaled 76 corner kicks and 202 shots this season, scoring on 18 of the attempts.
The UNLV Rebels sit in 10th place in the MW conference standings. UNLV holds a conference record of 2-4-0 and an overall mark of 4-8-2. The Rebels are led by Jodi Barber who has notched five goals, two assists and 12 points on the year.
Last season, the Cowgirls upended the Rebels 3-0 in Laramie. However, UNLV has a 12-4-3 all-time advantage over UW.
The Nevada Wolfpack are in 11th place in the MW with a record of 1-4-1. Nevada has an overall standing of 4-8-2 this season. The Wolfpack are led by Lindsey Salcido with five goals, three assists and 13 points. The Cowgirls trumped the Pack by a score of 4-0 in Laramie last season. UW boasts a 2-1-1 all-time record against Nevada.
Friday’s kickoff against UNLV is set for 8 p.m., MT. Then, the Cowgirls will travel to Reno to battle Nevada on Sunday with a 2 p.m. start.
Cowboy Swimming to Host Denver
Meet will be held at the Laramie Recreation Center
LARAMIE – The Cowboy swimming and diving team will return to the pool on Friday for the first of four meets to be held in Laramie this year. The Cowboys will dual the Denver Pioneers at 4 p.m. MT in the Laramie Recreation Center.
Wyoming returns to action after a six-day break. UW opened the 2015 campaign last Saturday competing in the Denver University Relays. The Cowgirls won the meet on the women’s side, while the Cowboys finished second. With its combined score, Wyoming came away with the victory over host Denver, 564-554.
UW won a total of nine events at the DU Relays. The winning ways began with the Ryan Nelson, Ryan Ball and Eric Oleson taking home the 3×500 freestyle relay.
On the women’s side, Samantha Burke, Emily Stucky and Molly Coonce claiming the Cowgirls first victory of the season in the 3×100 butterfly relay. Kyla Scalise, Kyle White and Gabe Rooker won the 3×100 breaststroke relay, while Emily Ridout, Danielle Badger, Stucky and Sarae Dydo won the next event in the 4×25 freestyle relay.
With an impressive time of 4:00.36, Stucky, Coonce, Emma Dow and Alanna Dassof claimed the top time in the 4×100 IM relay, as Emily Stevens, Ridout, Coonce and Dydo brought home the women’s 100 medley relay.
The Cowboys were led by Austin Layman, Rooker, George Eglesfield and Bryce Carter in the men’s 100 medley relay. They finished with the top time of 41.76. Badger, Stucky, Abby Sullivan and Ridout won the 4×100 freestyle relay with a final mark of 3:29.36.
The last event of the evening that Wyoming won was the mixed 200 medley relay. UW was paced by Stucky, Scalise, Nelson and Ridout to claim the victory for UW.
More Ranked Foes Await Wyoming Cross Country in Kentucky
LARAMIE – The University of Wyoming men’s and women’s cross country teams face another key meet in their hopes of qualifying for the NCAA Championships at this weekend’s Louisville Pre-National Invite.
The Cowboys will compete in the women’s seeded 8-kilometer race at 7:30 a.m. MT on Saturday in Louisville, Ky., while the Cowgirls run the seeded 6-kilometer race at 8:15 a.m.
The full Wyoming squads are back in action for the first time since the Roy Griak Invite on Sept. 26, as head coach Bryan Berryhill sent just partial squads to the Rocky Mountain Shootout on Oct. 3.
The Cowgirls and Cowboys now face another field loaded with ranked teams without the services of seniors Audra DeStefano and Mike Seas, though, as both are ill. However, the opportunity to beat some programs in the nation’s top 30 gives Wyoming a chance to add to its resume for an NCAA at-large bid.
The UW women finished 19th at last year’s pre-nationals in Indiana, while the UW men were 32nd.
“This is our last meet before the conference championships so it will give us a really good idea of where we are right now,” UW head coach Bryan Berryhill said. “I really like where both teams have been training the past three weeks since we’ve last raced. I’m excited to find out where we are so we can make a few changes going into the conference championships.”
Last Time Out
Young Wyoming Harriers Perform Well in Boulder
Several young members of the University of Wyoming men’s and women’s cross country teams had solid showings at the Rocky Mountain Shootout on Oct. 3 in Boulder, Colo. Sophomore Lauren Hamilton paced the Cowgirls to a second-place team finish behind No. 2 Colorado, while redshirt freshman Jesse Gray led a group of three Cowboys in the men’s race.
“The race was really about seeing which of our young kids could step up for the team,” UW assistant coach Amanda Clower said.
“The Cowgirls did an awesome job of working together as a group. Lauren led from the start, but it was great to see a freshman in Bella right behind her. It was good to see that confidence from her. All our young kids really fought for spots.” – UW Assistant Coach Amanda Clower.
Hamilton finished 12th overall on the 5.8-kilometer course in a time of 22:07. Freshman Bella Pape was four seconds behind her for 15th place, while junior Cassidy Meade was 20th in 22:28 and sophomore Quinn DeStefano was 22nd in 22:29.
Freshman Kiah Leonard was UW’s last scorer in 22:38 for 25th. Junior Catherina Cloetta finished in 29th place at 22:51, while three freshmen followed her. Regan VanDePol was 33rd in 22:56, Solana Quistorff was 47th in 23:29 and Emily Person was 56th in 24:03.
Gray was UW’s top Cowboy in the men’s 8-kilometer race with a time of 27:05 for 43rd overall. Freshman Michael Downey followed in 27:07 for 46th and junior Michael Rotellini was 74th at 27:57.
The Injury Bug
Wyoming has been a bit unlucky this season in terms of injuries. Seniors Audra DeStefano and Mike Seas are doubtful for the Cowgirls and Cowboys this weekend. Both have been diagnosed with mononucleosis. DeStefano was UW’s top runner in the first two meets this season, while Seas was in UW’s top eight. Sophomore Kerry White, the Cowgirls’ top returner this fall, has been battling a foot injury she suffered in the first meet of the season.
Wyoming in the USTFCCCA Regional Polls
The Cowgirls stayed eighth in the latest USTFCCCA regional polls, while the Cowboys stayed ninth. Both teams started this season ranked 10th. The Wyoming women finished last season fifth (second Mountain West team) in the Mountain Region, after climbing as high as fourth. The Cowboys were 10th (fifth MW team). The polls are on page three of the notes.
Local Flavor
Wyoming’s cross country squads have a distinct local feel this season. A total of 11 of the 20 Cowboys hail from the Equality State, including Jonah Henry of Laramie, while nine of the 21 Cowgirls are natives of the state.
Next Up
Wyoming races at the Mountain West Championships on Oct. 30 in Reno, Nev.
