UW roundup: Cowboys golf place fifth in Colorado (copy)

Oct. 2—LARAMIE — The University of Wyoming men's golf team closed out the Mark Simpson Colorado Invitational on a strong note on Tuesday.

UW shot 283 (-5) as a team in the final round to finish with a 54-hole total of 835 (-29), tying host Colorado for fifth place in the 17-team tournament at Colorado National Golf Club in Erie, Colorado. The Cowboys competed with No. 48 San Diego throughout the day on Tuesday, ultimately finishing two shots back of the Toreros.

Jimmy Dales moved up 27 spots to tie for seventh with a 5-under-par performance on the final day, his fourth consecutive top-25 finish to start the season.

"I'm really proud of the guys' performance this week," UW coach Joe Jensen said in a press release. "Our guys really competed hard against some really good teams. San Diego advanced to the NCAA Championships a year ago, and Colorado was playing on its home course.

"It was a great experience for us to be in that situation and to come through with a strong performance. This was a very positive tournament for us. We are definitely trending in the right direction."

This marked the second tournament this season in which the Cowboys have placed fifth. In addition to finishing fifth out of 17 teams at the Mark Simpson Colorado Invitational on Tuesday, UW also placed fifth out of 21 teams at the Gene Miranda Falcon Invitational earlier this month.

Joining Dales with a top-25 finish of his own was UW's Tyler Severin, who tied for 20th at 208 (-8). Kirby Coe-Kirkham tied for 33rd at 212 (-4), followed by Jaren Calkins in 38th at 213 (-3) and Bryce Waters at 218 (+2) to finish 60th.

"This was a very positive tournament for us. We are definitely trending in the right direction."

Wyoming Cowboys who played as individuals included: Patrick Azevedo in 38th; Jared Edeen in 54th; Cade McLaughlin in 60th; and Aidan Mann in 85th.

The team title was won by Boise State, which shot a 818 (-46). The individual title was captured by Harrison Kingsley of San Diego. Kingsley entered the final round tied for 10th, but fired the lowest round of the day with a 66 (-6) to take medalist honors.

UW drops match at Colorado State

The UW volleyball team came up short on the road against one of their rivals on Tuesday night, falling to Colorado State in three straight sets (25-18, 25-17, 25-22) in the Border War.

Tuesday's match was the first of four consecutive road tests for the Cowgirls.

KC McMahon led the Cowgirls (8-7, 0-3 MW) offensively on the night, tallying nine kills. Jackie McBride and Naya Shimé added eight kills each, with McBride hitting .353. Kayla Mazzocca added five kills and also led the Cowgirls with two blocks. Mazzocca was also one of four Cowgirls to record a service ace.

Colorado State (7-5, 3-0 MW) hit .298 as a team, while Wyoming hit just .147. The Rams also out-blocked the Cowgirls 8-3 and had a 5-4 edge in serving aces.

Hailey Zuroske led the Cowgirls defensively with nine digs, while Erika Jones added eight. Casady Berry tallied five digs in her first career action at Wyoming. From the setter position, UW was paced by Payton Chamberlain's 19 assists. Abby Olsen added 10 to go along with three digs and an ace.

The opening set was a close affair until late in the set, when CSU took control with an 8-2 run. The Rams controlled much of the second set after bouncing back from an early 2-0 UW lead.

In the third and final set, there were seven ties in the opening stages of the frame. CSU gained some breathing room and took a three-point lead after a kill by McMahon tied the set at 11-11. The Cowgirls faced a match-point deficit at 24-19, but tried to claw their way back with a 3-0 run to cut the deficit down to 24-22. CSU called a timeout and responded with a kill out of the break to take the match.

Next up for the Cowgirls is a match at 1 p.m. Saturday at Fresno State.

Eberhardt named a finalist for NFF William V. Campbell Trophy

UW senior receiver Ayden Eberhardt was named one of the semifinalists for the 2021 National Football Foundation (NFF) William V. Campbell Trophy, which honors the nation's best college football scholar-athlete each season.

Eberhardt is one of 176 semifinalists selected from all levels of college football. He earned a 3.31 cumulative grade-point average as an undergraduate at UW, completing a bachelor's degree in finance in May 2020. He is currently working on a second degree in communication.

Eberhardt began his college career at Wyoming as a walk-on and earned a scholarship. In the 2020 season, he rose to become Wyoming's top receiver with 16 catches and 252 receiving yards in six games.

Off the field, Eberhardt has served as a volunteer coach for City of Laramie youth athletics teams, has volunteered for the Toys for Tots program at UW and has served as a recruiting ambassador at the University of Wyoming. Eberhardt is also an active member of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) Laramie Chapter.

"These 176 impressive candidates truly represent the scholar-athlete ideal," said NFF Chairman Archie Manning in a press release, whose sons Peyton and Eli were named NFF National Scholar-Athletes in 1997 and 2003, respectively.

"For more than 60 years, the NFF National Scholar-Athlete Awards have honored more than 800 college football players who have been successful on the football field, in the classroom and as leaders in the community. And we are excited to celebrate the 32nd year of the Campbell Trophy, which honors the best of the best. This year's semifinalists further illustrate the power of our great sport in developing the next generation of influential leaders."

The list of semifinalists will be narrowed down to a list of 12 to 14 finalists on Oct. 27. Each of the finalists will receive an $18,000 postgraduate scholarship as a member of the 2021 NFF National Scholar-Athlete Class. One member of the class will be named the winner of the 32nd Campbell Trophy.

The winner of the William V. Campbell Trophy will have his postgraduate scholarship increased to $25,000.

Nominated by their schools, which are limited to one nominee each, candidates for the awards must be a senior or graduate student in their final year of playing eligibility, have a GPA of at least 3.2 on a 4.0 scale, have outstanding football ability as a first-team player or significant contributor and have demonstrated strong leadership and citizenship.

The class is selected each year by the NFF Awards Committee, which is composed of a nationally recognized group of media, College Football Hall of Famers and athletics administrators.

Basketball scrimmages in Sheridan canceled

Due to COVID-19 protocols, the University of Wyoming basketball scrimmage set for Saturday in Sheridan has been canceled.

As a result of cases within the program, the first outreach event of the season will not take place out of an abundance of caution. The Pokes' trip on Oct. 9 to Storey Gym in Cheyenne is still planned to go on as scheduled.

"The Cowboy basketball program was very excited to visit the great town of Sheridan and showcase our roster," UW coach Jeff Linder said in a press release. "But it is important to keep our student-athletes and staff as healthy as possible as we get ready for a great season of Cowboys basketball. We will make sure going to see our fans in Sheridan in the near future is a priority."