Campus briefs

0 Comments | Deseret News (Salt Lake City), Jun 24, 2009

BYU

ACADEMICS: BYU had a Mountain West Conference-best 148 student- athletes who were honored for academic success as 2009 Academic All- MWC Team spring sports selections, which were announced Tuesday afternoon.

"We are very pleased with the success of our student-athletes in the classroom and in competition," said BYU Director of Athletics Tom Holmoe. "Both endeavors are equally important to us at BYU and demonstrate the quality of our student-athletes."

BYU led the conference with 31 more student-athletes earning academic accolades than any other MWC institution. New Mexico followed with 117, trailed by in-state rival Utah who added 88 student-athletes; the list was rounded out by UNLV (86), Wyoming (78), Air Force (77), TCU (70), Colorado State (64) and San Diego State (48).

Women's track paved the way for the Cougars, placing 45 athletes on the team. Men's track followed with 27 honored athletes, women's swimming and diving added 21 and was matched with 15 men's swimming and diving athletes. Several other BYU teams contributed to the total: baseball (12), women's basketball (6), men's golf (5), women's golf (5), women's tennis (5), men's tennis (3), men's basketball (3) and softball (1).

A total of 772 student-athletes were named to the spring 2009 Academic All-MWC team. The previous high was 731, set twice before in the spring semesters of 2008 and 2006. Spring sports include baseball, men's and women's basketball, men's and women's golf, softball, men's and women's swimming and diving, men's and women's tennis and men's and women's track and field. To be eligible for selection, student-athletes must have completed at least one academic term at the member institution while maintaining a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or better, and be a starter or significant contributor on their athletic team.

UTAH

VOLLEYBALL: University of Utah head volleyball coach Beth Launiere has announced the addition of Natalie Nichols to the incoming fall class.

"Natalie will be a nice addition to our team," Launiere said. "She will be able to add depth to the outside hitter position. She has a great desire and passion to play at this level."

A 2009 graduate of Olympus High School, Nichols helped her team as a two-time team captain to its first state tournament appearance in eight years last fall. Nichols earned honorable mention all- state in 2008 and was an all-region selection. She was also a member of the Mt. Olympus team that won the 18's club division.

Nichols becomes the third player added to Utah's incoming class, joining Brooke McAlister and McKenzie Odale this fall.

WEBER STATE

FOOTBALL: Seven Weber State University football players were accorded pre-season all-America honors by the Consensus Draft Services.

Wildcats who were honored included senior center Kyle Mutcher (Park City), who was selected to the first team; senior running back Trevyn Smith (Springville), who was named to the second team; and junior quarterback Cameron Higgins, senior defensive end Kevin Linehan, senior cornerback Josh Morris, senior tight end Cody Nakamura, and senior wide receiver Tim Toone, who received honorable mention.

The honors are the first of the year for the Wildcats. All seven players earned all-America honors following the 2008 season.

ALASKA ANCHORAGE

WOMEN'S BASKETBALL: Alaska Anchorage women's basketball head coach Tim Moser announced Tuesday that a pair of Utah natives JC transfer Torle Nenbee and prep Brooke Larsen have signed National Letters of Intent to play for the Seawolves in 2009-10.

Nenbee, a 5-8 guard, played her first two collegiate seasons at Snow College where she gained NJCAA All-Region 18 first-team honors in 2008-09 after averaging 12.6 points, 6.7 rebounds and 58.7 percent shooting. Originally from Nigeria, she was a second-team all- state honoree at Cyprus High School in 2007, averaging 15.7 points as a senior.

Larsen, a 6-0 forward, garnered Class 5A first-team all-state honors from both the Salt Lake Tribune and Deseret News as a senior at Kearns High School. She was a McDonald's All-America nominee and gained a spot on the Deseret News' large-schools West Senior All- Star squad after averaging 13 points, 11 rebounds, 4 assists and 1.5 steals per game in 2008-09.

UTAH VALLEY

MARKETING: UVU has reached an exclusive apparel, footwear, accessory and equipment agreement with Adidas, the school announced on Tuesday. The five-year agreement begins with the 2009-10 school year.

The deal will outfit all 15 NCAA Division I programs at Utah Valley. It will also provide the school with cost-savings for each program's uniform and equipment needs while also adding a look-and- feel consistency to the school's new brand.