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OREM — Utah Valley University has only been competing at the NCAA Division I level since 2003. In that time, the school has seen a variety of success in both the Great West Conference and Western Athletic Conference.
However, the 2015-16 school year might be considered the best yet as it was a historic one with many firsts, especially for men's and women’s soccer and baseball.
Women’s soccer head coach Brent Anderson picked up his 100th win at UVU when the Wolverines defeated top-seeded Seattle University, 2-0, to win their first ever WAC title and earn their first-ever trip to the NCAA Tournament. Goalkeeper Jessica Duffin earned tournament MVP honors and holds the school record with 17 shutouts.
“Winning the tournament was kind of big,” Anderson said. “It’s a milestone for the program and it’s something we’ve been working towards ever since I got here … to get to the NCAA Tournament was another goal that we had set long ago, so it was very fulfilling to reach that goal.”
UVU lost to BYU in the first round of the NCAA Tournament but Anderson knows that the experience is something his program can continue to build on.
“We look to build on what we did last season,” Anderson said. “We hope to do it better and be more and more consistent as we go.”
In just its second year of competition, the UVU men’s soccer team made its mark on the national stage with the school's first-ever top-25 ranking in any sport when it entered the NSCAA Coaches Poll at No. 25 on Sept. 29.
The 2012 baseball team is the only other team to crack the national polls, as it was 27th in the NCBWA poll before finishing the season at 30th.
The men’s soccer team got as high as 23rd before a loss to Houston Baptist on Oct. 11 knocked them out of the rankings.
Despite falling just short of a WAC title on penalty kicks to Seattle University, UVU was rewarded with an at-large berth to its first-ever NCAA Tournament. The Wolverines lost in the first-round matchup to 15th-ranked SMU to end the season.
There is great excitement around the program as head coach Greg Maas returns the majority of his roster in 2016, including the 13th-ranked recruiting class by TopDrawerSoccer.
“Overall, it was just an exciting and historical year here at UVU for our athletic program,” Maas said. “I couldn’t be more proud of the direction we’re headed as a university, and certainly the future looks very bright for us.”
UVU wrestler Jade Rauser made some history in his final season on the mat. The senior from Townsend, Montana, became the first-ever four-time NCAA qualifier by placing third at the Big 12 championships on March 6.
He followed that up with an eighth place at the NCAA championships to become just the second Wolverine grappler to earn All-American status.
"It feels awesome,” Rauser said. "This has always been the ultimate goal. I told my teammates that I didn't have any other choice than to come back with the hardware … this is just a phenomenal way to end my career.”
Despite being picked to finish sixth in the WAC by the leagues coaches, the UVU baseball team racked up 37 wins overall, third best since becoming a Division I school, including an 18-9 conference record to earn the No. 3 seed in the WAC Tournament.
Led by tournament MVP Craig Brinkerhoff, UVU went a perfect 4-0 to win its first-ever conference title and first-ever trip to an NCAA Regional.
The historic season came to an end by going 0-2 in the Baton Rouge Regional with losses to eighth-seeded LSU and Southeastern Louisiana.
“Guys got in and just decided they wanted to do it and they were capable of it,” UVU head coach Eric Madsen said. “Our guys just deserve all the credit for how hard they competed … I’m so proud and happy for them.”
UVU sprinter Nick Taylor capped off the historic year by becoming the first-ever sprinter to qualify for the NCAA Final Rounds and the first-ever UVU athlete to qualify in dual events (100 meter, 200 meter).
At the NCAA championships in Eugene, Ore., Taylor earned second team All-American honors by placing 15th in the 100-meter dash and honorable mention All-American honors with a 19th-place finish in the 200-meter dash.
The men's and women’s cross country teams also won conference championships. For the men, it was their third straight title while it was the first for the women. Jason Lynch and freshman Sam Heaton won the individual titles.
“From our women and our men’s (soccer) program to make the NCAAs and with baseball capping it this spring, it was just exciting,” Maas said. “We had tremendous individual results with wrestling and track and field. I think it really gives our entire athletic department an incredible platform to move forward.”
Kyle McDonald is an avid sports fan especially for the Chicago Cubs and the Utah Valley University Wolverines. He is currently a communication major at UVU and will graduate in the spring of 2017. Email him at kyleuvu2014@gmail.com
