UVU Notebook
Great West Conference player of the year Isiah Williams gets a shot off in the Wolverines’ loss to NJIT in tournament action. Photo by Matthew Petersen/UVU Review
Men’s rodeo takes first at Rocky Mt. Regional
UVU scored a round 800 points to beat out Southern Idaho, Utah State and Idaho State at the second Rocky Mountain Regional of the season.
Senior rider Brock Winn earned another regular season first-place finish in the saddle bronc. Last year Winn finished second at nationals in the event.
Luke and Olin Pulham combined for a 6.5-second finish in the team roping event, good enough for first place by 0.8 seconds.
Jeffery Wilson took second in steer wrestling (5.6 seconds) and Taggert Elliott finished third in bull riding (70 points).
Williams recognized as conference player of the year – but not by the conference
A week after losing to Great West Conference Player of the Year Isaiah Wilkerson of New Jersey Institute of Technology, Williams got the POY nod from someone who thought different.
CollegeInsider.com named Williams as the conference POY after UVU’s first-round showing in their national postseason tournament, the CIT. Williams’ performance (26 points on 11-of-20 shooting) was impressive in and of itself, but the fact that it came against likely lottery pick Damian Lillard of Weber State likely played a factor in CollegeInsider.com’s decision to recognize Williams.
That makes for back-to-back seasons in which Chicago native has been honored as the GWC Player of the Year in some manner. He finished the season averaging 16.4 points per game, a shade under his 17.5 clip in 2010-11.
Hunsaker also honored
Men’s basketball head coach Dick Hunsaker was likewise honored by CollegeInsider.com as the Conference Coach of the Year, though this was a duplication of the award he received from the conference itself.
Hunsaker likewise benefitted from the CIT, earning a chance to coach at his alma mater at Weber State. The former Ball State and University of Utah head coach finished his 11th season at UVU with a 20-13 overall record, including a 13-game winning streak that was the third-longest in the nation.
Lacrosse struggles against No. 5 Westminster
The Wolverines couldn’t overcome their own injuries nor Westminster’s offense, losing 18-3 in Salt Lake City on Saturday, March 17.
The loss dropped UVU to 1-3 on the season after being ranked No. 15 nationally before their season opener. Head coach David Williams, however, has lighter expectations for this year’s squad.
“It’s been a rebuilding year for us,” Williams said. “We’ve got a young team, so a lot of it is just getting the guys out on the field and getting them feeling what needs to happen and to know the direction we are going as a program.”
Softball to debut at home on Wednesday
Twenty-five games and 46 days after the season started, Utah Valley will finally play in its home field this week against University of Missouri-Kansas City.
The Wolverines entered last Friday’s double-header against Nebraska-Omaha riding a three-game winning streak and sporting a 13-5-1 overall record.