Stelow wins 50 free; Cowgirls in second

UW senior Cassie Stelow

Cowgirl senior Cassie Stelow won the 2010 Mountain West Conference championship in the 50 freestyle and then anchored the 200 freestyle relay that also placed first to pace the Wyoming swimming and diving program Thursday in the Mountain West Conference Championships in Oklahoma City.

The Cowgirls are currently (288 points) in second place with the Cowboys in third after the second day of competition.

The Cowgirls trail only BYU, which has 320 points. San Diego State (194), Utah (166), Colorado State (141), UNLV (134), TCU (103), New Mexico (92), and Air Force (41) follow the Cowgirls.

On the men’s side, the Cowboys sit in third with 236 points. UNLV leads the way with 303 points while BYU is second at 285.5. Following the Pokes are Air Force (212.5), TCU (146), and Utah (136).

To start the winning ways, Stelow won the 50 freestyle MWC Championship in 22.45 seconds, which set a UW record and is also the fastest time in MWC history in that event.

Stelow and the Cowgirls won their second championship on the day in the 200 freestyle relay. Kelsey Conci, Shelby Bull, Kenzie Hewson, and Stelow not only broke the UW school record, but also set a new MWC record with a first place time of 1:30.55. The relay finished over a second ahead of second-place BYU and is also an NCAA provisional time.

“Cassie (Stelow) dominated the 50 freestyle from the start and smashed the old school record,” said an excited UW head coach Tom Johnson. “The relay was tremendous to watch and we dominated that from the start as well, finishing a full second ahead of second place. Currently, we rank 16th in that nation with that time, so we will wait and see if we can make NCAA’s.”

Senior Stephanie Ortiz and junior Lesley Young also broke UW records on Thursday.

On women’s three-meter springboard, Ortiz finished second with a total of 354.05 points and crushed the old school record she set last year at the conference meet at 325.90. Young also broke her own school record by placing fifth in the 200 IM at 2:01.93, an NCAA provisional time.

In the women’s 500 freestyle, junior Stephanie Vint and freshman Paige Fischer contributed, as Vint placed third in 4:49.76, while Fischer finished sixth in her first MWC Championships.

Also on three-meter diving, junior Allie Smith added an important fourth-place finish at 322.05.

“Stephanie Ortiz and Lesley Young did great and I was proud of their performances tonight,” Johnson said. “They were both against tough competition and battled their way through. Stephanie Vint and Paige Fischer did an awesome job today and had great swims as well. Allie Smith dove very well like she has all year and added great points for us”

The men’s 200 IM was full of Cowboys in the final round. Sophomore Brandon Fischer was fifth at 1:49.42, while fellow sophomore Marshall Dilworth was close behind in sixth (1:50.54) and freshman Kendrick Bachman was seventh (1:50.57).

The Cowboy distance swimmers were also strong in numbers in the 500 freestyle. Sophomore Kyle Wemhoff made the final round and finished eighth in 4:34.22. Five Cowboys finished consecutively going 10th through 14th with Tyler Kybartas (4:30:43), Robbie Hilton (4:32.47), Brett Henehan (4:32.83), Tyler Davis (4:34.00), and Sam Holmes (4:34.59) respectively.

The Cowboy diving duo of Mark Murdock and Kyle Bogner had strong finishes on the men’s one-meter springboard. Murdock and Bogner were fourth and fifth respectively at 333.10 and 332.50.

“The men had a very solid day in the pool and on the diving boards,” Johnson said. “I was proud of our guys in the 500 freestyle. Kyle Wemhoff came from behind in a swim-off to qualify for the finals and did great. The IM”s were very good swims with Fischer, Dilworth, and Bachman. They raced very well. The divers did an awesome job and I was very proud of Mark (Murdock) and Kyle (Bogner) as they continue to be excellent divers.

“We will be ready for tomorrow and will look to take advantage of the opportunities we have. We look to move up in the standings and separate ourselves from everyone else and we can do that if we continue what we have done so far.”

Day three of the championships begin Friday with preliminary rounds at 9 a.m. Final rounds will follow later in the day.

Jackson sets UW mark

The University of Wyoming Cowboys and Cowgirls had a record performance on the first day of the Mountain West Conference Championships in Albuquerque, N.M., on Thursday.

Junior Britney Jackson completed the women’s pentathlon with a final score of 3,388 points, a school record for the Cowgirls. She overcame Patty Harrington’s score of 3,340 set back in 1986. Jackson’s performance was enough to score her a point for the Cowgirls with an eighth-place finish.

“Britney competed very well today, and was in one of the strongest pentathlon fields ever,” said assistant coach Quincy Howe. “There are three individuals who have qualified for nationals in the field and Britney did a good job.”

Cowboy senior Jay Petsch is competing in his last heptathlon for the Cowboys, and after the first day, sits in third place with 2,818 points. On Thursday, he finished first in the long jump at 23-feet, 1 3/4 inches. Petsch will finish the competition Friday in the pole vault, the 60-meter hurdles and the 1,000-meter run.

“Jay had a solid day and now he controls his own destiny tomorrow, but has a very realistic shot at placing in the top of the group,” said Howe.

Friday will bring the rest of the field to action with many prelims in the track events and finals in a few of the field events.

WWC gets 14 spots for NCAAs

In an announcement made Thursday by the NCAA, the NCAA West Regional Tournament has been allocated 14 automatic qualifier spots for the 2010 Division I Wrestling Championships. Only members of the Western Wrestling Conference (WWC) earn bids to the NCAA Tournament at that event.

Also released by the NCAA, the WWC had 22 wrestlers named in the final Coaches’ Panel Rankings and Rating Percentage Index (RPI) for the 2009-10 wrestling season.
The breakdown of the 14 automatic bids per weight class for the West Regional, and subsequently for the fourth-year league, were as follows: 125 pounds (2), 133 (1), 141 (3), 149 (1), 157 (1), 165 (1), 174 (2), 184 (1), 197 (1) and Heavyweight/285 (1).

Last season, the NCAA West Regional Tournament, at which all WWC institutions currently compete to qualify for nationals, was awarded 13 automatic qualifiers. The WWC was also given one additional at-large bid for a total of 14 spots.

The Western Wrestling Conference is comprised of seven schools including the Air Force Academy, North Dakota State, Northern Colorado, Northern Iowa, South Dakota State, Utah Valley and Wyoming.

This year’s NCAA West Regional Tournament will take place March 6 in Brookings, S.D. and is hosted by South Dakota State University. The three-day, NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships will be held in Omaha, Neb., March 18-20 at the Qwest Center Omaha.

Each qualifying tournament was awarded spots per weight class based on current year data. Each wrestler was measured on the following: Division I winning percentage; rating percentage index (RPI); and coaches ranking. A threshold of a 0.725 winning percentage, top 28 in the RPI and top 28 in the coaches ranking was established to allocate 284 of the 330 championships field positions.

For each wrestler that reached the threshold in at least two of the three categories, his qualifying tournament was awarded a qualifying spot in that weight class. Each qualifying tournament was awarded a minimum of one wrestler per weight class, which will go to the tournament champion, even if they did not have any wrestlers reach at least two of the three thresholds. NCAA tournament spots for each qualifying event will be awarded at the tournament based solely on place-finish.

After all of the qualifying events have concluded, the NCAA Division I Wrestling Committee will meet in-person to select the remaining 46 at-large qualifiers, which will be announced on March 10. All weight classes will consist of 33 wrestlers. The at-large selections will be made based on the following criteria: head-to-head competition; qualifying event placement; quality wins; results against common opponents; winning percentage; RPI; coaches ranking and the number of matches contested at that weight class.

Following is a list of WWC wrestlers in each weight class for both the coaches’ panel rankings, as well as RPI. Lists of complete rankings and RPI are attached…

Weight Class WWC Wrestler (Institution) Coaches’ Panel RPI
125 pounds
Ben Kjar (Utah Valley), No. 9, No. 14
Michael Martinez (Wyoming), No. 10, No. 12
133 pounds
Cory VomBaur (Wyoming), No. 20, No. 14
Flint Ray (Utah Valley), No. 31, No. 22
Ryan Jauch (Northern Iowa), NR , No. 31
141 pounds
Cole VonOhlen (Air Force), No. 18, No. 9
Kenny Hashimoto (Northern Colorado), No. 22, No. 14
Ryan Adams (North Dakota State) , No. 25, No. 17
149 pounds
Trent Washington (Northern Iowa), No. 30, NR
157 pounds
Tyson Reiner (Northern Iowa), No. 29, No. 21
Justin Gaethje (Northern Colorado), No. 30, No. 14
Vincent Salminen (North Dakota State), NR, No. 24
165 pounds
Shane Onufer (Wyoming), No. 9, No. 4
Jeb Clark (Utah Valley), No. 32, NR
David Bonin (Northern Iowa), NR, No. 32
174 pounds
Jarion Beets (Northern Iowa), No. 24, No. 14
Brad Darrington (Utah Valley), No. 28, No. 26
Brock Smith (Wyoming), NR, No. 30
184 pounds
Joe LeBlanc (Wyoming), T No. 6, No. 7
197 pounds
Tyler Sorenson (South Dakota State), No. 29, No. 28
Alfonso Hernandez (Wyoming), NR, No. 33
HWT (285)
Christian Brantley (Northern Iowa), No. 30, No. 33

Season ends for UW hockey

The University of Wyoming hockey club fell short in its bid to return to the American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA) National Championships.

Needing to win back-to-back games at the Division III Pacific Regional Tournament in Las Vegas, the Cowboys dropped a 4-1 decision against Dordt College of Iowa in Saturday's semifinals.

UW, which rallied to defeat Fresno State University in its Friday opener, finished 20-12 this season. The Blades beat Air Force 6-4 in their regional opener.

The Cowboys, who won the 2001 ACHA championship and finished second in 2002, have not qualified for nationals since 2006.

UW tennis falls to UC Santa Barbara

In their first home match of the spring, the Wyoming Cowgirl tennis team (2-2 overall) suffered a 5-2 loss against the UC Santa Barbara Gauchos on Saturday.

“We had some good individual performances, but as we all know, we score as a team,” said UW head coach Kati Gyulai. “We had another slow start in doubles. Our first serve percentage was somewhere in the mid 20s and we didn’t do our job pushing forward. I certainly credit UCSB for their clean performance.”

The Cowgirls were only able to come up with three wins during the match with the Gauchos. The doubles team of Sarah Summerfield and Kim van Ginkel grabbed the first win for Wyoming, defeating Bryanna Ojeda and Asagi Onaga, 8-5.

In singles action, Alexandra Kovacs and Kim van Ginkel also picked up wins for the Cowgirls. Kovacs in the number three position defeated Annabel Gledden in a tough three set match, 5-7, 7-6 (2), 10-3. van Ginkel also had to comeback after falling in the first set, 6-7, to take the next two 6-3, 11-9, over Tova Hausman.

The Cowgirls were defeated at the number one and three positions in doubles. At the number one position, Kovacs and Simona Synkova lost to Natalia Lozano and Jordan Dockendorf, 8-1. Rebecca Berger and Paloma Navarro were defeated by Tova Hausman and Sofia Novak, 8-5.

Wyoming would also lose four of six singles matches against the Gauchos. At the number one position, Summerfield was defeated by Lozano, 3-6, 7-5, 7-6, as did Synkova in two sets, 6-3, 6-2, to Novak. Berger was defeated by Dockendorf, 6-2, 6-4, while Ojeda defeated Nemcova, 6-3, 2-6, 10-8.

The Cowgirls host the Northern Colorado Bears on Feb. 27. The match is set to begin at 11 a.m.

UW hockey rolls in regular-season finale

The University of Wyoming hockey club capped an undefeated home season with an 11-0 rout Friday night at the Laramie Community Ice Arena against the Colorado School of Mines.

In their regular-season finale, the Cowboys got three goals from Erik Blomberg (Parker, Colo.) and three assists from Tyler Yorke (Calgary, Alberta) en route to their seventh victory in Laramie. In those games, UW (19-11) outscored its opponents 48-12 -- highlighted by a 7-1 win Nov. 14 over the College of the Canyons, the top-ranked team in the Pacific Region of the American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA).

Mitch Nelson (Sheridan) added two goals, his team-leading 20th and 21st of the season, for the Cowboys, and Elliott Bauder (Douglas), Willie Forbes (Casper), Willy Miller (Arvada, Colo.) and T.J. Peters (Jackson) each had a goal and an assist.

Michael Leriger (Houston, Texas) and Craig Luplow (Banner) also scored goals for UW, and Seth Farrell (Longmont, Colo.) and Cody Leeper (Jackson) each recorded a pair of assists.

The Cowboys travel to the ACHA Pacific Regional Tournament this week, needing two victories to qualify for the national championship tournament for the first time in four seasons. UW faces Fresno State at 9:45 a.m. MST Thursday in its first-round game.

The Cowboys defeated the Bulldogs 2-1 this season in the teams' only matchup.

The College of the Canyons and the University of Colorado earned the region's automatic bids to nationals. The top two finishers at regionals will also advance to the March 10-13 national championship event in Estero, Fla.

Cowboys roll on Senior Night

The University of Wyoming Wrestling team defeated the Cal State Fullerton Titans (2-8-1), 28-13 on Senior Night in the UniWyo Sports Complex on Friday, improving their record to 11-3 overall.

Cowboy seniors Cory VomBaur and Alex Rieder competed in the last home dual of their UW careers. VomBaur wrestled Aaron Navarrete at 133 pounds, recording four takedowns and a reversal during the match and cruising to a 11-3 major decision for the Cowboys. Unfortunately, Rieder was not able to win his match with Todd Noel of the Titans at 174 pounds, wrestling tough for the Cowboys but losing in a decision to Noel, 10-5.

As a whole, the ‘Pokes won six of 10 bouts with the Titans, which included five bonus-point victories.

“Tonight was good and I’m proud of what we were able to do,” UW head coach Mark Branch said. “I think it was important to send the seniors out right. Rieder’s match didn’t end the way he wanted, but it was nice to have him out there representing us since he has meant so much for this program.

“That’s (aggressive wrestling) what we hope for. It was good to see Cory come out and open up. Overall, I’m proud of the way we competed.”

The dual began at heavyweight with Cowboy L.J. Helbig wrestling a tough match against the Titans’ No. 17-ranked Kurt Klimek. Helbig trailed the entire match, but closed the gap at the 6:55 mark of the match with a big takedown. Helbig would ultimately lose to Klimek by decision, 9-6

No. 12 Michael Martinez then battled Andre Gonzalez of the Titans at 125 pounds. Martinez controlled the entire match, taking his first lead at 2:28 with a takedown and never giving it up. Martinez wrestled his way to a major decision, 10-2.

Following VomBaur’s win, Cowboy Kasey Garnhart (141 pounds) wrestled up from his normal weight of 133 pounds for the third straight match. Garnhart lost, 9-1, in a major decision to No. 27 (NCAA Coaches’ Rankings) Adin Duenas.

The Cowboy’s Chase Smith, also wrestling up a weight class, could not avoid a second straight UW loss at 149 pounds. Smith wrestled Nick Jordan to a close 3-0 loss. After no scoring in the first period, a quick three-point nearfall from Jordan at the beginning of the second period proved to be the deciding moment of the match. Smith was close to nearfall points of his own in the second period, but time expired before the points could be awarded.

After that match, the Titans would take their second lead, 10-8, of the dual but they would not lead again. Wyoming would then win four of the next five matches.

Freshman Jimmy Belleville would wrestle his way to a solid victory over Steven De La Fuente at 157 pounds. Belleville came out early with a takedown at 1:07 and would earn two more takedowns and a reversal on his way to a 10-4 decision. That gave the Cowboys an 11-10 team lead over the Titans and UW would never let up.

No. 9-ranked Shane Onufer and No. 9 Joe LeBlanc would once again prove invaluable to the Cowboys, pinning both of their opponents. Onufer, at 165 pounds, wrestled Clayton Schuelke of the Titans and controlled his entire match, leading 11-3 before sticking his opponent at the 4:11 mark. Like Onufer, LeBlanc at the 184 pounds was controlling his match against Mark Savalle, leading 12-0, before pinning his opponent at 3:11. The win by fall was LeBlanc’s 10th of the season and Onufer’s pin was his eighth this season.

Rieder’s loss was sandwiched between Onufer and LeBlanc’s wins.

The final match of the evening was ay 197 pounds and it pitted UW’s Alfonso Hernandez against Ethan Weisrock. Hernandez would come out of the gate quickly with a takedown at :39 and would never look back. He would score five takedowns and three nearfalls on his way to winning by technical fall, 18-3.

“We trained right through this dual and we will do the same next week with the Air Force match-up,” Branch said. “Although our eyes are on the postseason right now, that match is important to us and we want to finish the dual season strong. Just like tonight, I will expect us to come out, perform well and dominate.”

Up next for the Cowboys, they will travel to Colorado Springs to take on the Air Force Falcons Thursday at 7 p.m.

UW track competes in three weekend meets

The University of Wyoming track and field teams sent competitors to Colorado Springs, Colo., to compete in the Air Force Invitational, to Seattle, Wash., to compete in the Husky Classic, and will have sprinters run Saturday in Ames, Iowa, to compete in the Iowa State Invite.

The bulk of the competitors went to Colorado Springs, and have a first day lead on 10 teams. The Cowboys lead with a total of 32 points while the Cowgirls have 15, just one point ahead of the Air Force Academy.

For the men, the jumpers and throwers carried the weight, as junior Jeremiah James came away with the title in the long jump with his leap of 24-feet, 10 inches and 10 points for his team. He was followed by redshirt freshman Stephen Michel with his third place jump of 24-2 1/4, earning six points for the Pokes.

“Both Jeremiah and Stephen had solid days in the long jump,” said assistant coach Quincy Howe. “It was a good opportunity for our team to see what the competition will be like in two weeks at the conference meet as four of six teams that will be there were here. It was a true gauge of what conference will be like.”

For the Cowgirl jumpers, freshman Erin Urbanoski placed ninth in the long jump and was the seventh-best collegiate competitor. With her jump of 17-6 1/4, which earned her three points for the Cowgirls.

In the throwing ring, the Cowboys had a personal best from sophomore Joe Plante in the 35lb weight throw. He finished as the second-best collegiate thrower with his toss of 60-10 3/4, which ranks 13th-best all-time in UW history. He was joined by freshman Mark Sparks who also hit a personal best and finished as the eighth-best collegiate with his throw of 54-6.

“Joe really did a good job today, he just continues to improve with every competition,” said assistant coach Paul Barrett.

For the Cowgirl throwers, junior Ashley Hutchinson finished seventh overall and was the sixth collegiate in the 20lb weight throw, with her toss of 56-3. While junior Amanda Aimone was close behind with a throw of 54-10.25, good for ninth place overall.

In Seattle, the distance squad sent two individuals to compete in the 5,000-meter run. Junior Alysha Davis for the Cowgirls and junior Greg Miller for the Cowboys.

Davis ran a time of 17 minutes, 36.52 seconds and finished 17th in her section. Her time was her personal best and a mark good enough for sixth all-time in Cowgirl history.

Miller, who was running with a mild chest cold, ran a 14:53.13 and finished 12th in his section.

On Saturday, the Cowboys and Cowgirls will continue action in Colorado Springs and will begin their competition in Ames.

Cowboy hockey splits with AFA

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -- The University of Wyoming hockey club split two games against the United States Air Force Academy last weekend, winning 6-3 and losing 5-2.

In the series opener Friday, Mitch Nelson (Sheridan), Willy Miller (Arvada, Colo.), Billy Ross (Superior, Colo.) and Tyler Yorke (Calgary, Alberta) netted second-period goals to help the Cowboys seize command against the Falcons. Jake Bates (Jackson) and Michael Leriger (Houston, Texas) added goals in the third period.

Leriger, Luke Walker (Jackson) and Levi Wood (Cheyenne) contributed two assists apiece for UW. Bates, Yorke, Mitch Barker (Powell) and Elliott Bauder (Douglas) also had assists.
Goalkeeper Kenny Ainsworth (Casper) improved to 11-7 by turning aside 29 of 32 shots.

The Cowboys didn't have as much success in Saturday's contest, allowing four unanswered goals after scoring the game's first point. Wood and Yorke had goals and Bates, Leriger, Rick Comer (Gillette) and Dustin Galbreath (Highlands Ranch, Colo.) recorded assists.

UW (18-11) concludes its regular season with a 7 p.m. Friday faceoff against the Colorado School of Mines (0-10-1) at the Laramie Community Ice Arena. The American Collegiate Hockey Association Pacific Regional Tournament follows Feb. 19-21 in Las Vegas.

Cowgirl soccer signs seven

University of Wyoming head soccer coach Danny Sanchez announced the signing of seven student-athletes got the fall of 2010. The Cowgirl class includes, two forwards, two midfielders, two defenders, and one goalkeeper.

Joining Wyoming soccer will be Ellen McCormick (Omaha, Neb.), Carmen McDermott (Colorado Springs, Colo.), Lucie McDowell (Queensland, Australia), Mackenzie Meade (Laramie) Liz O’Reilly (St. Clair, Australia), Sara Paul (Calgary, Alberta), and Julie Vande Berg (Tempe, Ariz.).

The Cowgirls will look to replace four seniors from last year’s squad in Kerstyn Etheridge, Morgan Johnson, Emily Layton, and Emma Wilson.

"We are very excited about our 2010 recruiting class. We feel that we have addressed specific needs throughout the team and will have more depth and competition at each position," said Sanchez. "What makes this class a bit unique is that most of these players can play multiple positions. They each have gained experience playing in different roles on their high school and club teams. They each come in with a commitment to improve Wyoming soccer and they are excited to become a part of our university."

McCormick, who can play forward or midfield, will join the Cowgirls after playing her high school career at Omaha Marian in Omaha, Neb. McCormick earned all-state honors in 2009 after leading her team to the conference championship. She played club soccer for Toro Depotivo and the Omaha Elite FC and was named team captain in 2008. McCormick led the OFC Elite RIO to the 2009 Nebraska State Championship. She was also a member of the ’92 Nebraska ODP team.

McDermott, a 5-foot, 9 goalkeeper from Colorado Springs, Colo., joins the Wyoming soccer program after playing her high school career at Pine Creek High School. McDermott was a four-time letterwinner and earned first team all-state in 2008-09 where she is also the team captain heading into her senior year this spring. She played her club soccer for the Colorado Rush and also participated in the Colorado Olympic Development program where she played in the ODP Championships in 2009. Academically, McDermott was an all-state academic team champion member for 2008-09 and was named academic all-state for three years.

A native of Queensland, Australia, McDowell is a midfielder and one of two incoming freshmen from Australia. In her high school career, McDowell was selected to the state high school team as well as the Australian Schoolgirls National soccer team in 2010 where she toured China and the UK with future Cowgirl teammate Liz O’Reilly. McDowell was also a member of the Regional Met North Team from 2006-2009 and the Queensland Schoolgirls Team in 2009. She also participated in swimming, cross country, and softball in high school.

Meade will join the Cowgirls as the all-time leading goal scorer in Laramie High School history with 46 goals heading into her senior season. While at LHS, Meade won two Wyoming State Championships and earned all-conference and all-state selections. Meade played club soccer for the Laramie Blizzard and Fort Collins Arsenal. While with the Blizzard, Meade won two state championships in 2003 and 2007. For the Arsenal, Meade was used primarily as a defender for Fort Collins and her teammates were Colorado State Runner-ups in 2008 and placed fourth in 2009.

O’Reilly and fellow freshman McDowell are the first Australian natives to play soccer at the University of Wyoming. O’Reilly was named to the 2009 and 2010 Australian Schoolgirls National team. She was named the team MVP for their tour of Japan and Korea in 2009. O’Reilly was selected to the all-regional team and all-state teams and also named team captain for both squads. She was a part of the NSW Metro Team for three years and captain of the NSW Metro team that won the 2007 National Championship. At the Hills Sports High School, O’Reilly was a part of the 4-time NSWCHS tournament championships.

Paul, a forward and native of Calgary, Alberta, will join three of her former club teammates that signed with the Cowgirls a year ago. Paul won a total of four provisional and three national championships with her club team Calgary Foothills. She was the leading goal scorer and golden boot winner at the U/18 Canadian National Tournament in 2009. She has been a member of the Canadian National Training Center since she was 13 years old. For her high school team, Paul led her team to three consecutive city championships. Paul was invited to the Team Canada Camp in 2009 and played a U20 international friendly against Mexico in November of 2009.

Vande Berg, a defender, played her high school soccer at Corona del Sol High School. In 2008, Corona del Sol was ranked 8th in the nation during the season. She was a part of numerous tournament championship teams and the 5A state championship team in 2007. Vande Berg was named team captain in 2009 and also participated in swimming in high school. She played her club soccer with the Gilbert Arsenal ’92 that were quarter-finalists in the Far West Regional’s in 2009 and Arizona State Cup Runners-up from 2007-09. In the classroom, Vande Berg was a National Honor Society member, honor roll student, and was named academic all-conference all four years.

"The Mountain West Conference is getting stronger and deeper every year," Sanchez said. "We feel that these talented student-athletes will help us continue to improve and move our program forward. They come from various backgrounds and we feel will have a huge impact on Cowgirl soccer."

The newly signed Cowgirls will join 17 returning players and will look to improve on last year’s 9-8-3 overall record and 3-3-1 MWC mark. The Cowgirls will open spring play by hosting the Wyoming Indoor Classic on March 7.

Cowboys hold off North Dakota State

FARGO, N.D. – The University of Wyoming wrestling team won its second Western Wrestling Conference dual in as many days by beating the North Dakota State Bison 25-15 on Sunday.

Wyoming now has an overall record of 10-3 and is 5-0 in the league, while NDSU is 9-5 and 2-1. The Cowboys broke a six-match win streak by the Bison. UW also clinched at least a share of the WWC regular season dual title for the second straight year.

The ‘Pokes won five matches, three by bonus-point margin (eight points or more), and took a forfeit at 133 pounds to obtain the final 10-point team margin.

“North Dakota State is a vastly improving team and they came out to win,” UW head coach Mark Branch said. “They were riding a win streak that included a win over No. 6 Boise State. They wrestled hard and as a team we matched their intensity.

“We got dominating performances from Mike (Martinez), Shane (Onufer), Joe (LeBlanc) and Fonz (Alfonso Hernandez). Fonz wrestled an outstanding match and really put the dual in our hands with the way he finished. He set the tone for a solid Cowboy win.”

The match began at 133 pounds, where UW’s Cory VomBaur took a forfeit, followed by two bouts where Wyoming wrestled guys above their normal weight classes due to a reoccurring stinger issue that has kept 149-pounder Cole Dallaserra out of the lineup.

Cowboy redshirt freshman Kasey Garnhart lost 6-2 to Ryan Adams who is ranked No. 30 at 141 pounds in the NCAA Coaches Panel rankings, and UW’s Chase Smith lost by a riding time point, 3-2 to Andrey Patselov at 149 pounds.

No. 9 Shane Onufer then swung the momentum back in the favor of UW at 165 pounds when he used six takedowns to earn a 14-4 major decision over Tyler Johnson. Onufer is now 22-5 this season.

At 174 pounds, Brock Smith picked up a 7-2 decision for his team over Mac Stoll.

All-American Joe LeBlanc, No. 9 ranked, then delivered at 184 pounds with an 18-2 technical fall win over Kenny Moenkedick. LeBlanc racked up four takedowns and three nearfalls on his way to his 30th win of the season. His overall record of 30-4 includes 24 bonus point margins. The win over Moenkedick was his 11th technical fall this year.

In the 197-pound match, UW’s Alfonso Hernandez was aggressive with five takedowns and two reversals, which resulted in a 15-8 win over Drew Ross.

Wyoming’s L.J. Helbig got caught at heavyweight and pinned by NDSU’s Joe Arthur at the 0:59 mark.

In the final match of the day, No. 12 Michael Martinez faced Justin Solberg, who is No. 32 at 125 pounds in the NCAA Coaches Panel rankings. Martinez made sure that the match was never a close one, as he recorded six takedowns on the way to a 14-5 major decision. He is now 25-7 this season.

Wyoming’s next competition will be their final home dual of the season, as well as Senior Night for Cowboys Alex Rieder and Cory Vombaur. UW will host Cal State Fullerton in the UniWyo Sports Complex on Friday, Feb. 12 at 7 p.m. MT. Rieder and VomBaur will be honored prior to the match.

Cowgirls fall to Nebraska

LINCOLN, Neb. -- The Wyoming tennis team suffered its first loss of the young season, falling to Nebraska 5-2 on Sunday.

“Certainly I give credit Nebraska for getting the job done but this was a missed opportunity for us,” said head coach Kati Gyulai. “We keep talking about the importance of the doubles point but we still don’t understand it. Simona and Kim led 4-1 then lost the lead from there. We served at 7-7, 40-15, but couldn’t hold serve. At the end of the day, these mistakes are costly and can change the momentum going into singles.”

The Cowgirls were only able to come up with three wins during the match with the Cornhuskers. The doubles team of Saša Nemcová and Sarah Summerfield grabbed the first win for Wyoming, defeating Abby Buxton and Mary Weatherholt, 9-7.

In singles action, Summerfield and Nemcova also picked up wins for the Cowgirls. Summerfield, in the number two position, defeated Wiveca Swarting, 6-4, 6-2. Nemcova also won for Wyoming defeating Buxton, 6-4, 6-2, at the number six position.

At the number one doubles position, Kim van Ginkel and Simona Synkova lost to Madeleine Geibert and Stefanie Weinstein, 9-7. Rebecca Berger and Alexandra Kovas were defeated by Jennifer Holmberg and Wiveca Swarting, 8-5.

Unfortunately, they would also lose four of six singles matches against the Cornhuskers. At the number one position, Synkova was defeated by Weatherholt, 6-4, 6-2. The Cowgirls grabbed the win from Summerfield but then lost their next three matches. Berger was defeated by Geibert, 6-1, 6-1, Kovacs fell to Weinstein, 5-7, 6-2, (10-4), and van Ginkel lost to Holmberg, 6-4, 6-1.

Up next for the Cowgirls will be their first home match against UC Santa Barbara, Saturday at 9 a.m.

UW track splits squad

The University of Wyoming track and field teams split their squads on Saturday, with half to the of the team at the Husker Invite in Lincoln, Neb., while the rest went to the New Mexico Classic in Albuquerque, N.M.

While in Lincoln, junior Cowgirl Afiya Walker improved on her sixth-best all-time 400-meter dash time on Saturday with her 55.37 seconds and seventh place finish. Fellow junior, Alysha Davis, ran the eighth-best 3,000-meter run in UW history with her third place finish on Saturday. Senior Jennifer Schmitz finished sixth in the 60-meter hurdles with her time of 8.83, and the 4x400-meter relay team of Taylor Gardner, Olivia Heaston, Erica Anderson and Walker ran a time of 3:49.34 which is good for sixth-best all-time.

As for the men, junior Greg Miller also entered the top-ten list for the Cowboys, with his sixth-best time of 8:18.97 in the 3,000-meter run. The 4x400-meter relay team of Kekoa Chavez, Jay Petsch, Ken Lane, and Mario Harris finished second in their section with their time of 3:18.88.

“We had another good day in here in Nebraska and hopefully we can continue to improve even more in our next meet,” said head coach Don Yentes.

In New Mexico, redshirt freshman Stephen Michel finished third in the long jump against some very tough competition. His best jump of 24-feet, 3 1/2 inches improved his place in the top-ten list and moved into ninth all-time. Junior Jeremiah James was right behind Michel in fourth place with his jump of 24-3.

The Cowgirls were led by freshman Erin Urbanoski in the long jump 18-3 3/4 and a seventh-place finish.

“We were a little off our game today,” said assistant coach Quincy Howe. “Stephen Michel had a good meet and had a personal best in the long jump, against some very good competitors.”

The Cowboys and Cowgirls will again split up their squads to compete at the Air Force Invitational in Colorado Springs, Colo., and at the Iowa State Invitational in Ames, Iowa. Both meets will be two-day meets and start on Friday.

UW swimmers sweep Air Force

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – In the final dual meet of the season, the Wyoming swimming and diving team swept the Air Force Falcons on Saturday afternoon, breaking two school records on the diving boards. With the 183-102 win, the Cowgirls finish in second place in the final Mountain West Conference dual standings, their highest finish ever. The Pokes took down Air Force by a final of 167-133 and clinch third in the final standings.

The Cowgirls finish 2009-10 with a record of 14-1 overall and 7-1 in the league. The Cowboys advance to 7-3 overall and 3-2 with the victory in the final dual of the season.

"It was a great team effort on both sides," said UW head coach Tom Johnson. "The men’s meet was a dog fight from the beginning and on the women’s side we swam very well and had some dominating performances. Our next step is to win a conference title on both sides."

The Cowboys won a total of 10 events, including one swimmer and one diver winning multiple events. On the diving boards, Mark Murdock led the Pokes today and broke Cowboy great Andy Welsh’s one-meter school record with a score 358.95 points. Murdock not only broke the 25 year-old school record, but he also one the three-meter board with 350.77.

In the pool, the Cowboys were led by sophomore Brandon Fischer who won both breaststrokes he competed in. Fischer swam the 100 breaststroke in 56.32 seconds and the 200 in 2:06.93 for UW. In a close meet, the Cowboys pulled slightly ahead in the 200 freestyle after Christian Johnson, Brett Henehan and Matt Jones finished first, second and third respectively. The Cowboy freestyle swimmers continued their winning ways with Tommy Gregory placing first in the 50 freestyle with a time of 21.20.

Tyler Kybartas swam the 200 butterfly in 1:54.34 and was first while Nathan Fuller won the 200 backstroke with a final time of 1:51.96 and Kendrick Bachman won the 200 IM in 1:53.97. The Cowboys 400 freestyle relay made up of Johnson, Jamie Comrie, Jones and Gregory also finished first.

"I felt like the tide turned when we went one-two-three in the 200 freestyle," Johnson added. "I am pleased with the effort our guys had today. I can not tell you how well Mark (Murdock) dove today by breaking the school record on one-meter. We had some super swims and awesome diving in the final meet of the year. Now we focus on the conference championships."

On the women’s side, the Cowgirls 183-102 win came thanks to winning nine events, including four Cowgirls winning multiple events. On the diving boards, senior Stephanie Ortiz scored a 276.6 to win the one-meter, as well as taking the three-meter springboard with a 276.85.

In the water, senior Cassie Stelow, usually a sprint freestyle swimmer, showed her versatility by winning both the 100 breaststroke (1:05.38) and 100 butterfly (59.25) for Wyoming. Fellow senior Molly Janak won both the 100 and 200 backstrokes in her final dual meet of her career.

Also in her final dual meet, senior Shauna Nelson won her first event of the season in the 1000 freestyle with a time of 11:04.84. Three Cowgirl freshman stepped up by winning events as well. Paige Fischer won both the 200 freestyle (1:56.21) and 500 freestyle (5:22.81), T.J. Padova finished first in the 100 freestyle (54.18), and Meghan Swirzcki won her first collegiate event in the 200 breaststroke (2:25.49).

"Ortiz dominated today and was fantastic by setting the school record on one-meter in her final dual meet," Johnson said. "Cassie (Stelow) swam events she isn’t used to swimming and also dominated. Shauna Nelson and Molly Janak swam great in their final meets as well. It is great to finish second in the conference, but we have always finished higher at the conference championships then in the regular season standings and we hope to do that again this year."

Wyoming swimming and diving will train and focus on the all-important MWC Championships in Oklahoma City, Okla., Feb. 24-27.

Cowgirl tennis opens with wins

LINCOLN, Neb. -- The Wyoming Cowgirl Tennis team (2-0 overall) completed its first day of the spring season with two victories over the Arkansas-Little Rock Trojans and the Creighto n BlueJays on Saturday.

“These two matches were good season openers for us,” said head coach Kati Gyulai. “I think we struggled with our doubles today but we improved from the first match to the second. We did a good job in singles. We need to continue raising our level of play as we keep moving forward with the season.”

The first match of the day pitted the Cowgirls against Arkansas-Little Rock. Wyoming won seven of the nine matches against the Trojans to come away with the 6-1 win. The number one doubles team of Simona Synkova and Kim van Ginkel started the match with a 9-7 win over Anne Weijenborg and Yana Kakovikina. Rebecca Berger and Alexandra Kovacs also picked up a doubles win for the Cowgirls defeating Fanny Lopez and Nathalia Garay, 8-1.

In singles, Wyoming won five of six matches, including the first four matches. Number one singles player Summerfield defeated Weijenborg, 6-2, 6-3. Nemcova followed Summerfield with a tiebreak win over Kakovkina, 7-5, 7-6 (3). The Cowgirls picked up two more matches from van Ginkel and Kovacs. van Ginkel defeated Luksich, 7-6, 6-4 and Kovacs defeated Garay in straight sets, 6-0, 6-0. Navarro for the Cowgirls also picked up a win over Van Den Houte, 6-3, 6-0.

The second match of the day featured the Cowgirls against the Creighton Bluejays. Wyoming also won this match 6-1.

In doubles, the Cowgirls swept the Bluejays winning all three matches. The number one team of van Ginkel and Synkova defeated Leesa Cladwallader and Sarah Cladwallader, 6-3, 6-1. Nemcova and Summerfield, followed with a win against Anna Kirshenbaum and Kelsey Schmidt, 8-3. In the final doubles match, Cowgirls Kovacs and Navarro defeated Lindsey Erickson and Tess Reddin, 8-6.

Singles was another strong point for the Cowgirls in their second match of the day. Wyoming won five of six matches. Summerfield started off with a win over Reddin, 6-3, 6-1. Kovacs followed with a win over Mastro, 6-1, 6-1. Van Ginkel and Nemcova continued the Cowgirls success with wins at number four and five. van Ginkel defeated Schmidt, 6-2, 6-1, while Nemcova defeated Erickson, 6-2, 6-2. At the sixth position Navarro defeated Mary Pat McMullan, 6-2, 6-1.

The Cowgirls will close out the weekend on Sunday at 9 a.m. MT against the University of Nebraska.

UW track competes in Nebraska

LINCOLN, Neb. – Four University of Wyoming track and field athletes entered the program's top-10 list Friday at the Husker Invite.

“We had a fairly nice day today, but didn’t have very many qualify for the finals,” said head coach Don Yentes. “We had a lot of personal bests but are competing against some very tough competition.”

Freshman Brandon Douglass ran the fourth best time in UW history in the 60-meter hurdles in 8.34 seconds and finished 19th overall. Also entering the top-10 were Cowgirl juniors Afiya Walker in the 400-meter dash, Emily Byra and Francis Gipson in the 5,000-meter run.

Walker ran a time of 55.94, which was good for sixth-best all-time and qualified for the finals to be run on Saturday. Byra and Gipson ran the ninth- and 10th-best times in the 5,000-meter run with respective times of 17:58.73 and 18:14.16.

Senior Jennifer Schmitz will join Walker in the finals on Saturday in the 60-meter hurdles with her eighth-place time of 8.78.

“I felt like we took a step forward today and we will see what we can do tomorrow,” said Yentes.

Action will continue Saturday in Lincoln, along with the rest of the Cowboys and Cowgirls competing at the New Mexico Classic, in Albuquerque, N.M.

Cowboys crush Jackrabbits

BROOKINGS, S.D. – The University of Wyoming wrestling team won big and won often on Friday night, crushing South Dakota State 34-9 in Western Wrestling Conference action.

The Cowboys earned pins at three weight classes, a major decision at another, were the recipient of a forfeit and tacked on two additional solid decisions to run away with the team scoring.

Sophomores Joe LeBlanc at 184 pounds and Shane Onufer at 165, in addition to senior Cory VomBaur at the 133-pound weight class, all ended their matches by sticking their opponents. Freshman Jimmy Belleville tallied the other bonus point win for UW, a major decision at 157 pounds.

After the dual win, Wyoming has an overall record of 9-3 and is 4-0 in the league. SDSU is 1-9-1 overall and 0-3 in the WWC. UW now leads the all-time series with SDSU, 11-0.

“This was a good win for us,” UW head coach Mark Branch said. “Every conference match is important and every match helps prepare us for the postseason.”

The dual began at 149 pounds where UW was forced to insert 133-pounder Kasey Garnhart, due to an arm injury to starter Cole Dallaserra. Despite giving up almost 20 pounds, the Cowboy redshirt freshman gave Nick Hagar all he could handle before dropping a 3-1 decision.

Belleville quickly righted Wyoming’s ship in the next bout by cruising to a 12-2 major decision over Nick Flynn. He has been a spark to the lineup since earning a spot last month with a 4-2 dual record, all of his wins coming by bonus-point margin (eight points or more) and scoring 24 team points. Belleville now has a season record of 27-5.

No. 9-ranked Onufer dominated in his match against Seth Moe, leading 15-4 before a pin at the 4:16 mark. He now is 21-5 overall, with seven pins this season and a team-best 21 for his career.

Wyoming’s All-American, LeBlanc, also ranked No. 9, mirrored Onufer’s performance by leading 14-4 over David Michaud at the time of his pin and getting the fall at 4:15, just one second earlier than his teammate. LeBlanc’s overall record is now 29-4 with an incredible 23 bonus point margins. It was his ninth pin of the season, the 16th of his career, and he now has a record of 11-1 in duals this year, contributing a gaudy 52 team points.

Sandwiched between Onufer and LeBlanc’s pins was a win by forfeit for UW’s Brock Smith at 174 pounds.

A stalling point provided the difference at 197 pounds, where Wyoming’s Alfonso Hernandez lost to SDSU senior Tyler Sorenson, 3-2. Hernandez had a two-point reversal and Sorenson had two escape points, before the costly penalty in the third period decided the match outcome. Sorenson is currently listed No. 28 in the all-important NCAA Coaches Panel rankings.

The ‘Pokes got a big-time performance by redshirt freshman L.J. Helbig at heavyweight, where he out-muscled the bigger Kevin Kelly for a 4-1 decision. A takedown by Helbig in the third period was the turning point of the match. Although he weighs in at 197 pounds, Helbig is now 3-2 at heavyweight for Wyoming, 2-0 in the WWC.

No. 12 ranked Michael Martinez faced a scrappy opponent, Aaron Pickrel, in the league’s toughest weight class, 125 pounds, but came away with a hard-earned 10-4 decision. In familiar fashion, Martinez outlasted his opponent and is now 24-7 this season.

One of the biggest wins of the evening for the Cowboys came in the next match, where VomBaur worked his way to only the second pin of his four-year career. Leading 16-6 over Tyler Johnson in the third period, VomBaur kept the pressure on his opponent near the edge of the mat and was rewarded with a victory by fall at 6:19.

UW’s only lopsided loss of the night came at 141 pounds where Chase Smith trailed the entire seven minutes and lost to Dustin Walraven, 8-1.

“When you are on the road, you have to take the match out of the official’s hands and we did not do that at 197 pounds,” Branch said. “I hated to see it end that way in such an important match. We are not performing at 141 pounds and that has to be addressed, but overall I liked our performance.

“NDSU will be tougher, so we need to bring an even better effort on Sunday.”

The ‘Pokes will now make the three-hour drive north on I-29 for another WWC dual on Sunday, this time against North Dakota State at noon.

UW hockey club goes 2-1

The University of Wyoming hockey club won two of three games last weekend, twice beating Mesa State College after losing to the University of Colorado.

The Cowboys (17-8) handled the Mavericks with ease, winning 6-2 Saturday at the Laramie Community Ice Arena and 7-2 Sunday at the Taco John's Events Center in Cheyenne to finish a four-game season sweep.

In the first game against Mesa State, Billy Ross (Superior, Colo.) netted a pair of goals and Mitch Nelson (Sheridan) padded his team-leading points total with a pair of assists. Will Alpsteg (Kearney, Neb.), Willie Forbes (Casper), David Wilcox (Houston. Texas) and Levi Wood (Cheyenne) also scored goals for UW. Jake Bates (Jackson) had an assist.

In goal, Kenny Ainsworth (Casper) turned aside 19 shots to earn the victory.

Alpsteg, Nelson and T.J. Peters (Jackson) scored two goals apiece in the weekend finale to back the strong goaltending of Sean Collins (Cheyenne), who stopped 16 of 18 shots. Elliott Bauder (Douglas) had the Cowboys' other goal.

Bates, Peters, Ross, Wood, Rick Comer (Gillette), Dustin Galbreath (Highlands Ranch, Colo.) and Cody Leeper (Bondurant) recorded assists.

UW opened its weekend with a 6-2 loss Friday against the Buffaloes in Cheyenne. Peters and Willy Miller (Arvada, Colo.) tallied goals for the Cowboys, and Wood, Taylor Freeman (Parker, Colo.) and Matt Moore (Casper) had assists.

UW faces off twice this weekend against the Air Force Academy club squad at World Arena in Colorado Springs, Colo.