USU baseball eyeing return to playoffs

By: Logan Jones

Utah State University’s 2012 baseball team wasn’t built like a championship team. They held open tryouts in the fall, recruiting 15 players to their roster by spring — barely enough to qualify as a full squad. They had no scholarships to offer players and no paycheck to offer first-year head coach Norm Doyle. Instead, the players were asked to fund road-trips themselves and Doyle offered nearly 30 hours of volunteer time every week to keep the team afloat.

“We got zero respect,” Doyle said. “We were the underdogs and that was just fine with us.”

Even after finishing the regular season with one loss and winning the regional championship, Doyle said nobody took the Aggies seriously.

“Nobody knew anything about us,” Doyle said. “Everybody discounted us because we only had 15 guys on the team. Every other team at the national tournament was extremely good.”

The Aggies were predicted to be the first team out of the National Club Baseball Association World Series.

“We set some pretty lofty goals for ourselves,” Doyle said. “But we were dedicated and we played with confidence. Nobody saw us coming.”

The Aggies defeated Colorado State University 14-3 in the National Championship game and returned home with a NCBA World Series trophy.

USU finished the 2013 season ranked second in the Northern Pacific South Conference, in what coach Doyle calls an “abrupt” end to an otherwise successful season. Doyle said he Aggies are back in championship form, ranked No. 18 in the nation and one win away from clinching first place in the conference.

“Winning the conference means we’re heading to regionals,” said sophomore second-baseman David Clayton. “We have the same goals this year that the team did in 2012.”

Doyle confirmed the team is set on making it to the World Series this year.

“We want to play with confidence, but not overconfidence,” Doyle said. “We have the killer instinct we need to go far.”

Jeff Schiffman, one of six remaining players from the 2012 championship team, said the Aggies are ready to be back in the national spotlight.

“We should be going to Tampa this year,” Schiffman said. “We’ve got enough talent to win it all.”

The Aggies will play Weber State University on Friday at 6 p.m., followed by a double-header against the Wildcats on Saturday beginning at noon.

Aggies to battle unbeaten Air Force

By Logan Jones

Utah State University’s women’s lacrosse team will face a familiar foe in Air Force on Friday in the first round of the Rocky Mountain Women’s Lacrosse League playoffs.

Sophomore captain Jenessa Woods is ready for a rematch after the Falcons beat the Aggies in February by a final score of 9-3 — AFA’s second-lowest scoring game of the year.

“When we played in February we were only down by two goals with 10 minutes to go,” Woods said. “I think we lost because of playing two games before in the cold.”

The playoffs will be held at the University of Utah and will pit the top two teams of the RMCLL East and West Divisions against each other Friday. The first-round winners will face off Saturday at 9 a.m. for a spot in the national tournament.

“We should have a pretty good chance,” said Paige Simpson, a sophomore defender. “We were pretty close last time. We played them the first time and it was cold. Plus it was the second or third game of the day and we went into it with a poor attitude.”

The Falcons boast a perfect 8-0 record heading into Friday's matchup. The Aggies are 6-3 overall, with losses to AFA, Westminster and the University of Utah.

Simpson said she is looking forward to Friday, but not because she wants revenge on the Falcons.

“It’s an awesome opportunity to play more games,” Simpson said. “It’s fun to keep playing lacrosse.”

Second-year player Hali King said she thinks Friday’s rematch will favor the Aggies.

“I feel a lot more confident than I did the first time we played,” King said. “We’ve improved a ton and we’ve been focusing and sharp clean passes. Our defense is solid and our offense knows what to do. We just have to win.”

King said the Aggies are more prepared for the Falcons now than they were early in the season.

“They like to drive a lot so defense will have to be ready,” King said. “Our offense will have to maneuver fast to get around their defense.”

Woods said she knows beating an undefeated team isn’t easy but believes her team is up for the challenge.

“I have full faith it’ll be a great game,” Woods said. “They won’t be expecting us to put up much of a fight. I think we’re going to be more focused this time. They won’t beat us a second time.”

USU rugby raises funds for playoffs

By Logan Jones

The Utah State University men’s rugby team will play its first playoff game of the season  Saturday in Los Angeles. The club, ranked third in the Division I-AA Utah Conference, will shoulder most of the trip’s expenses in order to participate in the postseason.

“The school helped us a little bit,” said senior captain Ryan McLoud. “The team has some funds they’ve collected this season but we only get about 10 percent that we need from the university.”

McLoud played rugby at USU for five seasons and has spent time both as a captain and as a coach for the past four years.

“Our budget is actually not very big,” McLoud said. “The team spends more money than the school gives us. Now that we’re going to Los Angeles, that’s a really expensive trip.”

Sophomore forward Eric Lyman said each player on the team needed to pay $100 to make the road game possible.

The Aggies’ first round opponent hasn’t yet been determined which has caused some concern among players.

“We’re going to go down there and see who they give us,” McLoud said. “California has a lot of high quality teams and elite teams that would probably destroy us. They’ve got lots of others that we can definitely beat.”

Lyman is optimistic the team will make the most of the west coast trip.

“I am pretty confident that we will win at least the first game,” Lyman said. “Then we’ll see from there.”

The Aggies reached the state championship game last season and McLoud hopes to make another deep run in the post-season.

“We are getting better and better,” Lyman said. “Last year we made the playoffs and made it to the state championship. I’m graduating this fall, so it would be nice to go out on a win.”

USU lacrosse one win away from post-season

By Logan Jones

Utah State University's men’s lacrosse club is one conference win away from its first playoff berth in school history.

The team started the 2014 season with a 19-6 loss to Westminster. USU won its next matchup, a road game versus Montana State University, with a score of 9-8.

The streak had begun.

After their narrow one-goal victory in Montana, the Aggies beat the University of Montana the following day by two goals.

The next game, USU won by eight.

The next by 20.

The Aggies won six straight games before losing to the University of Utah on the road, the best start to a season since the team was resurrected in 2011.

“We were looking for a new coach in 2010, and the transition was a little rough,” said junior midfielder Kevin Mann. “A lot of guys quit because it looked like we weren’t going to have a team, and we were barely able to group enough guys together with the new coach.”

The Aggies technically dropped out of the Men’s Collegiate Lacrosse Association for the 2010-2011 season, though Mann said the team “still played a few games around Utah.”

Despite the club’s past struggles, Mann is confident in the new squad.

“We’re back now,” Mann said, “and we’re winning.”

The team will play Friday at 6 p.m. against non-conference opponent Idaho State, before returning home to Legacy Fields for the last game of the season — a showdown with conference rival Utah Valley University for a spot in the playoffs.

“We are really feeling like this is the year for us,” said freshman midfielder Marshall McGill. “We’re pretty happy with our performance so far this year. We’re confident we can make the playoffs this year.”

Mann said a post-season appearance would legitimize the team and put the memory of the lost 2010 season in the past.

“We haven’t made the playoffs since the team was reinstated,” Mann said. “If we beat UVU we’ll go to the conference playoffs and a chance to play in the national tournament.”

Sophomore attack Tanner Boden said the team takes games “one at a time,” but the thought of beating UVU still crosses his mind.

“It’s the biggest game of the season,” Boden said. “We just have to take care of business.”

USU baseball hosts Idaho State in home opener

By Logan Jones

Utah State University is set to face Idaho State University in the Aggies’ home opener Friday at 6 p.m. at Providence Field. The game is the first of a three-game series against the Bengals, who are currently the only team to deal the Aggies a conference loss this season.

“We beat them two out of three games earlier this season,” said sophomore second baseman David Clayton, “they will definitely be out for some revenge.”

Idaho State currently holds a 5-4 conference record, second only to USU’s 7-1 mark. With two wins this weekend, the Aggies will clinch a playoff spot with nearly half of the season still remaining.

“It’s a big matchup,” said junior Jeff Schiffman. “I don’t see why we can’t win all three games this weekend. All of our pitchers are throwing great right now and our bats are getting hot.”

USU holds a 12-8 overall record this season, and leads the Northern Pacific South Conference in home runs, RBIs and strikeouts.

“We are excited to finally get to play a home game,” Schiffman said. “I hope we can get a lot of fans out — this is a big series for us.”

Clayton is hoping to sweep the bengals this weekend so Aggie fans will take notice.

“We’re exceeding expectations right now,” Clayton said. “We want as many people to show up to our home opener as possible. It’s a white-out game and should be awesome.”

Schiffman said that fan support can make a big difference, and hopes USU students get excited for the team to go far this postseason.

“We have something extra to offer this year,” Schiffman said. “I think we have a shot to win it all.”

Men’s volleyball wins big in Reno

By Logan Jones

Utah State University’s men’s volleyball club capped its most successful season in school history on Saturday with a first-place finish in the silver bracket of the 2014 National Collegiate Volleyball Federation Championship.

USU beat out DePaul University for the top spot, winning both sets of the final match by a 2-point margin.

“A lot of the team members had family come watch,” said junior Jesse Laverty, “so our cheering section went wild. We have a mostly level-headed team, so our celebration was contained until after we left the court.”

The Aggies were ranked second in the field of 48 division IAA men’s club teams at the start of the tournament, but lost their opening game against Temple University on Thursday.

After beating Boston University and the University of Houston, USU began Friday’s pool play with a loss to Cal State Fullerton, followed by consecutive victories over the University of Oregon and the University of Utah.

“We earned a spot in the silver bracket,” said Chris Hunsaker, a junior setter for the Aggies. “We knew our matchup with Navy wouldn’t be easy.”

The Aggies beat Navy 27-25 and 25-23 to advance in the elimination round on Saturday. USU then beat the University of New Hampshire and Texas State University by equally narrow margins and held off DePaul to win the silver bracket.

“There was just the gold bracket above us,” said club president Bryce Hunsaker, “but both games we lost were early morning games, so we’ll just blame those losses on a lack of sleep.”

Laverty said he savored the victory, knowing next season poses a big challenge for the club.

“That was the best finish we’ve had,” Laverty said. “Unfortunately, half of our starters are graduating at the end of the semester, so next year could very well be a rebuilding year for the team.”

Most of the team’s recruiting is done by word-of-mouth, with a tryout in the fall and what Laverty terms a “mini-tryout” in the spring.

“The team will still be good,” Laverty said. “We’ve just got to find new people willing to come play.”

USU baseball travels to Boise for final road series

By Logan Jones

David Clayton settled into his seat on Utah State University’s team bus Friday evening — a setting the sophomore second baseman had grown all-too-familiar with. The bus, bound for Boise, had driven him to six different states in the past ten weeks.

Clayton said he’s ready for the road trips to end.

USU’s baseball team begins its three-game series against conference rival Boise State on Saturday at 12 p.m., followed immediately by a second game at 2:30 p.m. — it will be the team’s final road series of the regular season.

The weekend marks the 2014 season's halfway point, and the first-place Aggies hope to maintain control of the Northern Pacific South Conference before returning for their home opener on Friday.

“I'm excited to play at home and win games,” said Clayton, who was named Conference Player of the Week on Monday. “The way our team is looking, we should make playoffs and I'm excited for that.”

Third-year player Jeff Schiffman agrees.

“We are leading the conference right now, and we are starting to hit better,” Schiffman said. “Our pitchers are throwing great right now. We are sitting right where we want.”

Following USU’s series in Boise, the Aggies will play the remainder of their season at home — an opportunity head coach Norm Doyle is looking forward to.

“We’re hoping to come home in first place after all our games being on the road,” Doyle said. “We’re hoping to have overflow crowds supporting us this year. The fans do make a difference.”

Players like Clayton are already thinking about making a deep post-season run.

“Last year's team didn't make it to regionals,” Clayton said, “but this year's team is a different story. We have a chance to win every game we play in.”

USU won the National Club Baseball Association title in 2012, and this year’s squad wants nothing less than to return to NCBA prominence.

“We should make it to the World Series in Tampa,” Schiffman said. “We have the talent to go back there. Anything short of that will be a disappointment.”

No. 2 ranked Aggies headed to nationals

By Logan Jones

More than 150 men’s volleyball teams converged in Reno, Nev., on Thursday in preparation for the 2014 National Collegiate Volleyball Federation Championship, a tournament consisting of two rounds of pool play followed by an elimination round on Saturday.

“This is the one we work towards all year long,” said club president Bryce Hunsaker. “We get to see the best competition and teams from all over the country.”

Utah State University is ranked second in a field of 48 division IAA men’s club teams.

“Last year we finished in ninth place in our division,” Hunsaker said. “This year we’re coming into the tournament ranked second, and we're hoping to take it.”

Hunsaker, a setter for the team, isn’t the only player talking about a first-place finish.

“I'm excited to be ranked so high,” said junior Jesse Laverty. “This is the highest we have ever been ranked going into nationals. We're expected to go really far, and hopefully we win it.”

The NCVF tournament moved from last year’s location in Dallas to the Reno-Sparks Convention Center, a facility Laverty described as “massive” with 35 courts set up in one room.

The Aggies will spend Thursday playing in a four-team pool with Boston University, Temple University and the University of Houston.

“The second day is power pools,” said junior Chris Hunsaker. “We get put in pools of four based on how we did the first day. If we finish first in our pool, we play other teams that finished first the first day too. If we finished second, we play teams that also finished second.”

Teams are then sorted into gold, silver or bronze categories of 16 teams each, based on the first two days of competition. Saturday, the third and final round, is single elimination.

“Last year we lost to Syracuse,” Laverty said, “so it would be nice to beat them this year. We have been really happy with the support we have received from all the USU students. It should be a great tournament.”

USU men's soccer begins spring season

By Logan Jones

When Utah State University’s men’s soccer team walks onto the Aggie Legacy Fields on Saturday, it will be to play in the club’s first ever spring game — a match which marks what many players hope will be a new era for Aggie soccer.

The match* against first-time opponent BYU-Idaho begins at 4 p.m.

“This is our first spring season that the team has ever had,” said junior forward and team co-captain Matt Cannon. “So we are taking this opportunity to test certain players out and giving new players some experience for the fall season.”

Cannon said the spring games will give the Aggies an in-depth look at next year’s potential strengths and weaknesses.

“Spring is basically a transitionary period for us,” said senior co-captain Joseph Burt. “We are using these games to start looking for players to replace outgoing seniors and to strengthen positions that need reinforcement.”

Burt aims to show Aggie soccer fans a dynamic team on Saturday in an effort to provide the squad’s young players with valuable in-game experience.

“We'll cycle in combinations of players from last season and new guys so we see who works well together,” Burt said. “In the end our goal is to experiment and find what works best with the group of players we have.”

Andrew Nickerson, who will be joining Cannon as a co-captain in the fall, said he’s looking forward to seeing how the new players mesh together.

“It’ll be cool having a few more games with legendary captains like Joey Burt and Jordan Butterfield,” Nickerson said.

Returning players will bear extra responsibility for the Aggies this spring, as the club has been without a coach since Sherri Dever stepped down from the position at the conclusion of the fall season.

“I think it was mostly due to personal reasons,” Nickerson said. “Coach Dever had a busy schedule and wasn’t going to have a lot of extra time this coming season.”

Despite the potential setback, team captains aren’t overly concerned about the coaching vacancy.

“I’m not worried about it,” Cannon said. “A typical practice session runs the same with or without a coach. We had a great practice on Wednesday — the players are very focused and having loads of fun. It’s been smiles all around.”

Cannon said this past week’s practices were “encouraging” and the team has been functioning well under the direction of several player coaches.

Burt in particular is looking forward to the upcoming mini-season and being able to wear his USU jersey for five more matches before graduating in May.

“I love the game and love working to develop it in Logan,” Burt said. “We play the highest-quality and most entertaining soccer in the valley.”

Burt said it’s difficult for him to compare each of his four seasons to another, as each year has featured different people, different results and different leadership styles.

“The team was a lot of fun this season,” Burt said. “We had a lot of injuries that hurt our results on the field, but the team was very cohesive and I believe the core players coming back next year will have a lot of success.”

*Yes, I did just use "match" twice in quick succession, but it was that or "game" which I also just used, or some other synonym for "game" which just felt unnecessarily wordy.

Students invited to participate in racquetball tournament

By Logan Jones

Junior Brooke Sherwin prepares to serve Friday at the tournament.

Utah State University’s racquetball team is sponsoring a tournament this weekend in the HPER building.

The tournament, open to all USU students, begins at 5 p.m. on Friday for intermediate players and continues Saturday at 9:30 a.m. for advanced players.

“It’s a local tournament we’re putting on that anyone can sign up to play in,” said Josh Greenwell, captain of the Aggie racquetball team. “We’re trying to get a lot of the recreational players together and make them aware that there is a racquetball club here on campus that they can potentially become involved with.”

Greenwell and his teammates are especially interested in recruiting more women to play for USU’s team.

“Less girls have an interest in racquetball, since it’s a smaller sport,” said Brooke Sherwin, one of two women on the 14-person club team. “They would like more girls to join. We used to have four or five, and now we’re down to two.”

Sherwin, a junior at USU, said she believes that more people would try out for the team if they were more familiar with the sport.

“It’s nice to be able to play here,” Sherwin said. “I love being able to go have a release, something fun to do.”

USU offers beginning, intermediate and advanced racquetball courses each semester.

“I’ve learned a lot in the class so far,” said Hillary Newton, a junior enrolled in the beginning racquetball class. “I really like racquet sports in general. I would consider trying out for the team if I felt good enough.”

Newton said she plans on playing in Friday’s tournament, but her attempts to convince friends to sign up were unsuccessful.

“They hadn’t played before,” Newton said. “I think people are afraid to try the sport.”

Entry in the round-robin style tournament costs $10, and participants have the option to play in either singles or doubles matches. Students are free to sign up for either the intermediate or the advanced level.

“This is the first time we’ve done something like this at such a cheap entry cost since we have a different goal in mind,” Greenwell said. “This isn’t so much about fundraising as it is about bringing players together.”

Welcome

Utah State University is home to several club teams and intramural sports, including Baseball, Lacrosse, Rugby and Racquetball. This blog will cover sporting events, fundraisers, player news, tournaments, student involvement opportunities and any other news pertaining to USU campus recreation.