Sports briefs
Women’s basketball
Utah Valley women’s basketball head coach Cathy Nixon will be honored for her storied collegiate playing career on Friday night when she is enshrined into the BYU Athletic Hall of Fame.
Nixon played at BYU from 1985-88 and ranks fifth on the all-time scoring list with 1,771 career points.
The American Women Sports Federation twice named her an All-American.
At Utah Valley, Nixon is entering her 13th season at the helm of the women’s basketball program. During her time in Orem she led the team to 231 career wins and through the school’s transition from a junior college to an NCAA Division I program.
The Wolverines open the regular season on November 9th against Mesa State before hosting Cal State Fullerton on November 10th.
The Wolverines return 11 letter-winners and four starters from last season’s team that set the NCAA school record for wins in a season with a 15-13 record.
Men’s Golf
Utah Valley moved up three spots to finish 10th at the Bill Cullum Invitational at Wood Ranch Golf Club in Simi Valley, California.
Junior Nick Neal finished tied for 9th overall after a final round 77 put him at +3 overall.
It was Neal’s best finish in his short time at Utah Valley. Andrew Smith shot even-par 72 for the low round of the day for the Wolverines. Smith finished tied for 66th overall after improving by nine shots from Monday’s second round. Jeff Gibson fired a 3-over 75 in the final round to finish tied for 30th at +10 overall while Nick Nelson (t-61st, +16) and Gavin Rice (t-72nd, +18) round out the UV golfers.UC Santa Barbara swept both the team title and medalist honors.
Brian Hollenbeck defeated teammate Michael Casca and Southern Utah’s Eric Nilsson by one stroke with a final score of -4. UCSB finished first, 11 shots better than Portland.
Up next for the Wolverines is the Santa Clara Invitational next Monday and Tuesday in San Jose, California.
Women’s Golf
Kasey Larson and Ashley Baldwin led Utah Valley women’s golf on the final day of the Aztec Fall Classic at Salt Creek Golf Course in Chula Vista, California.
The two golfers both shot a nine-over 81 on the day. Echo Thatcher was the top finisher overall for UV, tying for 76th. Larson finished tied for 80th overall.
The weekend’s scheduled women’s golf match between Utah Valley and Southern Utah has been postponed. The event has been tentatively rescheduled for sometime during the spring schedule.
The Wolverines will wrap up their fall schedule on November 5-6 at the Cal Poly Invitational in Cypress Ridge, California.
Cross Country
It was a dominant team effort for Utah Valley as both the Wolverine men and women won first place in the team scoring while sever UV runners had excellent individual performances.
The first place finish for the men is the first men’s top finish in Utah Valley Cross Country’s program history.
Utah Valley’s women’s team had five runners finish in the top-10 in route to the team victory. Ayisha Mitchell once again led the way for the Wolverines as she finished first by 10 seconds with a time of 15:32.60 in the five kilometer race.
Mary Nothum also returned from injury to finish in fifth, while Karinne Bentley finish strong once again with a third-placed finish and time of 16:16.60. Trisha Wright (sixth, 16:30.80) and Ashley Evans (seventh, 16:48.50) rounded out UV’s top-10 finishers.
The Wolverines were also running without one of their top runners as Aleina Eisenhauer, who regularly finishes fourth among UV women, suffered an injury prior to the race. On the men’s side, Chase Englestead once again finished first among the UV runners. Englestead finished fifth with a time of 23:12.00 in the eight-kilometer race.Chris Dorton (eighth, 23:32.90) and Derick Moody (ninth, 23:35.70) rounded out the top-10 finishers for the men.
The men’s team’s consistency led them to a 27 to 35 advantage over second-place finisher Idaho State. The women’s team had a dominating 22 to 42 lead over second-place Southern Utah.
The Wolverines will have the week off before traveling to Brownsville, Texas to compete in the Independent Championships on Oct. 27 to finish the season.