Y. flies high during fall season
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Sparkling on the national scene this fall, BYU women athletes claimed second place in cross country, made the "elite eight" in soccer and qualified for the national volleyball tournament.
"This has been a very good fall season for us," said Elaine Michaelis, BYU's director of women's athletics. She said the school's goal is to qualify all teams for the NCAA tournaments and shoot for top-10 finishes.
The Cougar soccer team celebrated its deepest march into the NCAA title race ever by playing into the fourth round.
For the cross country team, ironically, finishing second was a bit of a downer as the runners had their sights set on a third-straight national championship. "They were so disappointed," Sister Michaelis said during a Church News telephone interview. "But I was thinking how many teams would like to trade places with us. We have to be pleased with that performance."
The volleyball team, like the soccer team, lost out in the Mountain West Conference Tournament, but received an at-large bid to play in December's NCAA event. Speaking of the Cougar spikers, Sister Michaelis said, "They hit a bump in the road when it came to the conference championship, but were given a second chance because of a tough schedule, and success with a tough schedule where they were playing against the best."
Success in women's sports comes as the school and athletes fulfill commitments to each other, the women's athletic director said. The school provides "a special experience for our student athletes and helps them develop their talents." The athletes, in turn, through their conduct and performance, spread a positive impression of BYU and the Church.
Most of the women athletes at BYU are members of the Church, Sister Michaelis said, and those who are not still fit in well and are an asset to the school in fulfilling its purpose on and off the field. She said that the top runner in cross country, senior Michaela Mannova, is not a member of the Church but has talked very positively about her experiences at BYU. Mannova, who is from the Czech Republic, finished fourth in the NCAA finals to lead the Cougars.
Commenting further on BYU's success, Sister Michaelis said, "We may not have the same talent that the top teams in the country have, but we have a team chemistry that makes us stronger as a whole than we are as individuals." She added that much of that chemistry is based on believing in and living principles of the gospel.
Teams frequently schedule time to be with members of the Church in areas where they travel, Sister Michaelis said. For example, she noted that the Cougars, joined by members of the men's team, spoke and sang at a fireside while in Waterloo, Iowa, for the NCAA cross country finals. While in San Diego for the Mountain West Conference tournament, members of the volleyball team participated in a multi-stake fireside, a standards program for youth, visited an early-morning seminary class and did baptisms for the dead at the San Diego California Temple.
Athletes from anywhere in the world who would like to take part in what BYU has to offer them are welcome to contact the school, Sister Michaelis said. She particularly noted that "international athletes are important to us. If anyone knows of a top-quality athlete in their area, we'd love to hear about it."
While disappointed they didn't run down the gold trophy, the Cougars' second-place finish in cross country extended a string of top-2 finishes to seven years, including four championships. They finished just eight points behind champion Stanford on Monday, Nov. 24.
The soccer team, after losing to the University of Utah in the conference final, 2-0, made an impact with its at-large NCAA bid. The Cougars beat Colorado, nationally-ranked No. 11, and Idaho State by identical 2-0 scores in Salt Lake City. Then they stunned 15th-ranked Villanova on its home field, 5-3 in penalty kicks. The late-November run was stopped at 18th-ranked Connecticut, 3-1. In five previous NCAA appearances, the Cougars made it as far as the third round once, in 1998.
The 23-8 BYU volleyball team made the NCAA tournament for the 21st time in the 23-year existence of the event.
E-mail: ghill@desnews.com
