Branch announces tough wrestling schedule

UW wrestling coach Mark Branch

by UW Media Relations

Mark Branch sees no reason why his University of Wyoming wrestling team should not face the best possible opponents this season as they prepare for the 2010 postseason. In fact, when putting together UW’s 2009-10 schedule, Branch took the approach that a high-level of competition was an absolute necessity for his Cowboy squad.

As a result, in the 2009-10 season, UW will host six home dual matches, with three of those match-ups coming against teams that finished last year ranked in the top-25 nationally. Other highlights include Wyoming’s annual home tournament, the Cowboy Open, a road trip to Lincoln, Neb., to face the Nebraska Cornhuskers, who placed fourth at the 2009 NCAA Championships, as well as four high-caliber national preseason tournaments.

“Our schedule will be considerably tougher this year and that is what we want,” Branch said. “There were really two key elements we considered when putting together our schedule. One, we want to wrestle elite competition, so that when championship time comes around we have confidence knowing we are prepared. Two, we wanted to cater to our fans and provide more opportunities to watch Cowboy wrestling in Laramie.

“We are very excited about our home lineup. We have six quality dual match-ups, which include the most successful wrestling program in history in Oklahoma State, Northern Iowa and several of our other conference rivals.”

In their first action of 2009-10, the ‘Pokes will host the 37th Annual Cowboy Open, presented by UniWyo Federal Credit Union, Nov. 14, all day in War Memorial Fieldhouse. Last season, over 20 collegiate teams and 450 individuals competed in the event, with an even larger field expected this year.

Over the next month of the season Wyoming will travel to three tournaments, the Body Bar Classic, Sprawl & Brawl, and the Las Vegas Invitational, before their first dual match of the season, versus Stanford on Dec. 18 in Palo Alto, Calif. The Reno Tournament of Champions will conclude UW’s preseason tournament competition on Dec. 20.

The new year will bring the Cowboys home to the UniWyo Sports Complex to host North Carolina State on Jan. 5. The Wolfpack finished last season ranked No. 19 in the country and feature one the most exciting wrestlers in the sport, defending national champion Darrion Caldwell.

A road trip to face Oregon State and a home Western Wrestling Conference dual against Northern Colorado will serve as a precursor to Wyoming’s match-up with Nebraska on Jan. 17 in Lincoln.

UW will then host a huge home weekend of duals when the Oklahoma State Cowboys visit on Jan. 29, followed by match-ups with WWC foes Utah Valley and Northern Iowa on Jan. 30. OSU is the most successful program in college wrestling history, having won 34 NCAA championships. Additionally, in an effort to highlight the UW Cowboy versus OSU Cowboy dual, the UW Athletics Department will hold the event in the spacious Arena-Auditorium.

UNI was No. 22 after last season and narrowly edged the ‘Pokes at the 2009 West Regional by one and a half team points for the league crown.

Road WWC duals at South Dakota State, North Dakota State and Air Force, as well as a senior-night home contest with Cal State Fullerton will lead Wyoming into the postseason.

“Our team has a little more experience this year and I believe they are mature enough to accept the challenges awaiting them during this upcoming season,” Branch said. “We should be well prepared when the postseason rolls around.”

The Cowboys will have a chance to qualify for the NCAA National Tournament by earning automatic or wild-card bids at the West Regional Tournament and WWC Championship, March 6, 2010 in Brookings, S.D.

This year’s NCAA Wrestling Championships are March 18-20 at the Qwest Center in Omaha, Neb. Wyoming fans are encouraged to purchase tickets for the three-day event through the UW Athletics Ticket Office so that the Cowboy fan contingent can all be seated in the same section. The UW Athletics Ticket Office can be contacted at 800-922-9461.

There is the possibility that additional dual matches could be added to the Cowboy schedule prior to the start of the season. If added, those match-ups will be announced at a later date.

UW returns 11 letterwinners for the 2009-10 season, four NCAA qualifiers including All-American Joe LeBlanc, and boasts a recruiting class that was recognized by numerous national publications for its potential at the collegiate level.

Twelve returning team members saw dual match action last season when the Cowboys grabbed a share of the regular season WWC dual championship with a record of 15-3 overall, 5-0 in the WWC. The 2008-09 UW team also had a runner-up finish at the West Regional/WWC Tournament, four individual champions and automatic NCAA qualifiers, as well as nine of 10 wrestlers placing in the top-three of their weight class. Branch was the league’s Coach of the Year and was selected as the Top Rookie Coach in the nation by Amateur Wrestling News.

Cowgirl soccer to face DU on Saturday

The University of Wyoming Cowgirl soccer season will officially start with the first regular season match on Saturday against the Denver Pioneers.

The game originally was scheduled to be played at 6 p.m. at the home field of DU, but has been relocated to the Regis University Soccer Field at 4 p.m.

"We know that Denver will be a huge challenge for us, but we feel good with how the team has jelled in pre-season," said UW head coach Danny Sanchez. "We learned a lot from the Colorado exhibition game and are excited to get the season going."

The Pioneers are picked pre-season favorites to win the Sun Belt Conference. Last season, DU finished with an overall record of 19-3-2 and claimed their fourth SBC regular season title. In the NCAA Tournament the Pioneers fell in the first round to Kansas 2-1.

Wyoming and Denver will play for the eighth time ever on Saturday, and the first meeting since 2004. In that game, the two teams played to a 1-1 tie on a neutral field.

Last week, the Cowgirls played their only exhibition game of 2009 against Colorado. After a scoreless first half, CU took the lead at the 65:51 mark and won 1-0.

The Fox Soccer Channel also announced this week that it will broadcast the Cowgirls game against Northern Colorado on Oct. 4 as the NSCAA College Game of the Week. It will be the second televised game ever for Wyoming soccer.

Cowgirls come up short against Colorado

The lone exhibition for the Wyoming Cowgirl soccer team was an evenly matched game throughout, but the Cowgirls lost to the Colorado Buffaloes 1-0 at the Louis S. Madrid Sports Complex.

"Both teams came out rusty, which can be expected in the first action of the season," said UW head coach Danny Sanchez. "Overall, we learned a lot against a quality team in Colorado. Our defense was solid and although we didn’t have a lot of chances to score, I am pleased with the effort today."

In the first half, the Cowgirls out-shot CU 4-3, with three of those shots being on goal. Freshman Courtney Merkle started at goalkeeper for Wyoming and had strong defense in front of her. Junior Bostyn Burger and the rest of the Cowgirl defenders didn’t allow a shot on goal in the first half of play.

In the second half, the even tempo continued for both teams. The game remained scoreless until Nikki Marshall took a shot that hit the back of the net to give the Buffs the 1-0 lead. Marshall is currently on the 2009 Hermann Trophy watch list, which is given to the top individual in women’s college soccer.

Wyoming’s best chance came in the second half on a cross that freshman Jenny Johnson, who attempted to head into the goal, but the shot was saved by a CU defender. On the rebound, senior Emily Layton took a close shot that was saved by CU’s goalkeeper Kara Linder.

Next week, the Cowgirls will be on the road for their fist regular season game of 2009. On Aug. 22, Wyoming will face Denver for the first time since the 2004 season. Game time is set for 6 p.m. in Denver.

Murdock advances in National Diving Championships

Wyoming diver Mark Murdock competed at the 2009 AT&T National Diving Championship in Tallahassee, Fla. and qualified for the final round on the platform event.

Murdock qualified for the championships in the preliminary round earlier this summer. Friday in the quarterfinal round, Murdock placed 16th with a score of 311.80 which was good enough to advance to the semifinals. In the next round, Murdock continued to dive well and advanced to the finals after posting a score of 335.05 points.

"Mark has been training really well and it is a huge accomplishment for him. No other Cowboy diver has gone this far so it is a special thing," said UW diving coach Ben Herdt. "Mark is diving against elite competition and has exploded onto the national scene. This is a huge stepping stone for him and Wyoming diving."

Murdock will be competing in the final round for a chance to compete in the U.S. Olympic Trials. Diving will continue tomorrow in Tallahassee, Fla.

Complete results can be found at www.divemeets.com.

Cowgirl soccer begins practice

Wyoming coach Danny Sanchez

The 2009 soccer season is here for the Wyoming Cowgirls, as they opened practiceThursday at the North 40 practice fields. Fitness test were held in morning with practice later in the day.

"I was pleased to see that the players came in prepared and did a great job in the fitness tests this morning," said UW head coach Danny Sanchez. "We are excited to take the field and build up for Colorado next week and the start of the regular season."

A total of 23 Cowgirls make up the squad this season. Of those 23 players, the Cowgirls return 14 players from last year and welcome nine newcomers.

The Cowgirls will open up with an exhibition match Aug. 14 against Colorado at 2:30 at the Louis S. Madrid Sports Complex. The first regular season game will be on the road against Denver on Aug. 22 at 6 p.m.

Utah tabbed to win MWC volleyball title

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - Defending league champion Utah is once again the favorite to win the Mountain West Conference volleyball title in a vote by the conference head coaches and selected media.

The Utes collected eight first-place votes and 138 total points. Colorado State was a close second with 135 points and four first-place votes, while New Mexico (three first-place votes) was picked third, totaling 112 points. BYU collected 96 points and two first-place nods for fourth place in the poll, while TCU (89 points) and UNLV (87 points) claimed fifth and sixth place, respectively, followed by San Diego State (seventh, 53 points), Wyoming (eighth, 38 points) and Air Force (ninth, 17 points).

MWC all-Conference performers Tessa Nelson (Colorado State) and Jade Michaelsen (New Mexico) highlight the preseason all-Mountain West Conference team, as they were tabbed the preseason MWC Co-Players of the Year. Six teams were represented on the 2009 preseason all-MWC squad, which also was chosen by the coaches and selected media.

The 2009 season will feature seven returning all-Mountain West Conference players, including 2008 Freshman of the Year Cursty Jackson (UNLV). Last season, Jackson tallied the conference's highest freshman ranking in hitting percentage in overall and conference matches (.264 and .236, respectively), kills per set in overall and conference matches (2.55 and 2.72, respectively), and points per set in overall and league play (3.06 and 3.24, respectively).

Kayla Walker (Sr., RS) returns for BYU, while Tessa Nelson (R-Sr., MB) will be back at Colorado State and Jade Michaelsen returns to New Mexico. Walker was third in the league in kills per set (3.24) in conference matches, while also finishing fourth in points per set (3.92) in conference play. Nelson ranked in the top-10 in blocks per set (6th, 1.16) and hitting percentage (9th, .312) in the league rankings, while Michaelsen finished second in assists per set (10.92).

San Diego State's Lauren Salisbury, TCU's Christy Hudson and Utah's Karolina Bartkowiak round out the returnee list. Salisbury ranked fourth in points per set (3.65), fifth in hitting percentage (.344) and 10th in kills per set (2.88) in overall matches last season. Hudson finished third in hitting percentage (.353) in overall matches, while Bartkowiak was second in hitting percentage (.354) in overall contests.

The 2009 season is set to begin Aug. 28, with all nine league teams in action. Conference play begins Sept. 16, with New Mexico hosting TCU.

Cowgirl rodeo team to appear at Centennial event

The 2009 Wyoming Cowgirl national champion rodeo team will make an appearance in Centennial on Aug. 21 to help kick off the Centennial Library and Cultural Association “Cowboy Culture Celebration.”

A cocktail reception and book signing for Wyoming author Craig Johnson begins at 7 p.m. at the Centennial Library. Johnston is the author of five mystery books set in Wyoming including “Cold Dish” and his latest book “The Dark Horse.” The $10 admission includes CLCA membership or for members of the Centennial Library and Culture Association it is free. The event will continue on Aug. 22 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the University of Wyoming President’s Cabin, Horseshoe Haven, in Centennial.

Along with Johnston and the Cowgirl rodeo team, the event features Tim Rush, Cowboy Poet; Julianne Couch, author of Jukeboxes, Jackalopes: a Wyoming Bar Tour and music by the Country Club Band. Lunch will be provided by Albany County Cow-Belles and Pepsi.

The fee for the day, which includes lunch, is $20 for adults and $5 for youth 16 and under. Tickets are available in Laramie at the Albany County Public Library, Chickering Books, ACPE. Tickets in Centennial are at the Friendly Store, the Old Corral, Centennial Branch Library, and Mountain View Historic Hotel. This is a family event to benefit the Centennial Library General Maintenance Fund. Event co-sponsored by Albany County Public Employees Credit Union (ACPE), Wyoming Arts Council, Albany County Tourism Board (ACTB), Pepsi, KCGY Radio, Mountain View Historic Hotel and Albany County Cow-Belles. For more information, visit http://www.centenniallibrary.net/.

Take HWY 130 to Rainbow Valley Lodge Road and volunteers will direct you 3.3 miles to the event.