CU tennis: Ranked opponents go down; Buffs rise
Feb 25th
CU TENNIS DEBUTS AT NO. 54 NATIONALLY IN LATEST ITA RANKINGS BOULDER –
Coming off back-to-back victories over ranked opponents, the University of Colorado women’s tennis team finds itself as the No. 54 ranked squad in the nation, announced Monday by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA). Of the 75 schools ranked in the weekly poll, only Ohio State made a bigger debut in the rankings as the Buckeyes went unranked a week ago to No. 52 Monday afternoon. OSU upset then-No. 27 Tennessee, 4-3 last week in Columbus.
The Buffaloes (6-3) winners of three-straight matches upset then-No. 54 Wichita State, 4-2 on Sunday, and last Friday, defeated in-state rival and then-No. 57 Denver, 4-3. The pair of wins over ranked opponents is the first time a head coach Nicole Kenneally-team has knocked off ranked foes consecutively since 2010. CU defeated No. 63 Utah in a match played at Berkeley, Calif., and No. 65 BYU, a week later at the Rocky Mountain Tennis Center. Both scores were 4-3.
It’s also the first time the Buffaloes defeated ranked opponents at home since 2007 knocking off No. 12 William & Mary and No. 43 Oklahoma State, both by 4-3 tallies. Of the 11 schools in the Pac-12 that sponsor women’s tennis, only Oregon is not ranked this week. CU at No. 54, joins UCLA (No. 2), Stanford (No. 4), USC (No. 6), Cal (No. 14), Washington (No. 24), Arizona State (No. 29), Utah (No. 44), Washington State (No. 51), and Arizona (No. 60). Last April, CU spent two matches as the No. 75 ranked team after upsetting No. 59 Oregon at the South Campus Courts. Prior to last April, the Buffs were nationally ranked in April 2010 as No. 68 when they were a member of the Big 12 Conference.
That season, CU was ranked as high as No. 51. CU takes to the road for four consecutive matches traveling to New Mexico this Friday (Feb. 28), then taking on Ball State (Mar. 2) in a match played in Albuquerque. CU opens Pac-12 Conference play at Washington State (Mar. 7) and at Oregon (Mar. 9). The conference home opener is March 14 against USC and UCLA on March 16. Both home matches are to be played at the South Campus Courts, weather permitting. -COLORADO-
Andrew Green | Assistant Director Sports Information Department of Intercollegiate Athletics | University of Colorado Boulder | 357 UCB | Fieldhouse Annex 50
CU: Shakespeare on the road in anti-violence drive
Feb 25th
Curtain rises on CU-Boulder’s
third anti-violence school tour
third anti-violence school tour
Following on the heels of its nationally recognized anti-violence school tours based on “The Tempest” and “Twelfth Night,” the Colorado Shakespeare Festival has hit the road with a new production of “Much Ado About Nothing.”
The highly praised program, co-created with the Center for the Study and Prevention of Violence at the University of Colorado Boulder, brings abridged productions of Shakespeare’s plays into schools to stimulate discussion about the “cycle of violence.” More than 38,000 Colorado schoolchildren have participated in the program, which was launched in 2011.
Professional actors perform the play and lead students in small-group exercises exploring issues raised, such as gossip and bullying. Actors receive training through the Center for the Study and Prevention of Violence and, among other things, educate students about Safe2Tell, an anonymous tip line to report bullying.
The new production focuses on the potential damage caused by gossip and the power of language, said Amanda Giguere, director of outreach for the festival.
In the play, Beatrice and Benedick are “frenemies” known for their constant verbal sparring. Their friends play a prank on them by gossiping within earshot about their mutual affection. In the meantime, the villain Don John fabricates a nasty rumor about Hero’s infidelity, which results in her public humiliation on her wedding day.
“Gossip and rumors can quickly damage a reputation and can have a negative impact on a person’s self-esteem,” Giguere said. “This play explores the power of words. When does a ‘merry war’ turn hostile? When does teasing go too far? What kind of damage can rumors cause? It’s a perfect vehicle for engaging students with questions about the cycle of violence and the negative impact gossip can have on a school climate.”
Some 26 percent of high school students report that other students have told lies or spread rumors about them, according to Beverly Kingston, director of the Center for the Study and Prevention of Violence.
“Every day, kids are faced with difficult issues like gossiping and spreading rumors,” she said. “This play brings these issues to life and empowers students to reflect on these topics and see how they can make better choices.”
Whether they are exploring rumor-mongering, bullying or other harmful behaviors, one key goal of the plays and workshops is to help students feel empowered.
“One of the best things schools can do is to promote a positive school climate where students feel physically and emotionally safe,” Kingston said. “School climate is continuously created in every single interaction. This play is a tangible action toward building a positive school climate.”
Colorado Shakespeare Festival’s anti-violence production of “Much Ado About Nothing” is available for booking. For more information email csfedout@colorado.edu, call 303-492-1973 or visit coloradoshakes.org/education/csf-schools.
The Colorado Shakespeare Festival is a professional theater company in association with CU-Boulder and has performed the works of Shakespeare every summer since 1958. The Center for the Study and Prevention of Violence is part of CU-Boulder’s Institute of Behavioral Science. The anti-violence school tour is funded in part through grants from CU Outreach, the Boulder Arts Commission, the OAK (Outstanding Acts of Kindness) Foundation and One Lafayette.
The current tour began Feb. 11 and remaining tour dates include:
Feb. 25: St. Bernadette Catholic School and Mountain Phoenix Community School (Lakewood/Wheat Ridge)
Feb. 26: OLLI West and Denver Montclair International (Denver)
Feb. 27: Heatherwood Elementary (Gunbarrel)
Feb. 28: Brady High (Lakewood) and Jefferson Academy Elementary (Broomfield)
March 4: Ouray School
March 5: Ridgway Schools
March 7: Cherokee Trail High (Aurora) and CU-Boulder
March 14: Boulder Country Day
March 18: Endeavor Academy (Centennial)
March 20: Lincoln Academy Charter (Arvada)
March 21: McGlone Elementary (Denver)
April 1: Estes Park Schools
April 2: Louisville Middle School
April 3: Stein Elementary (Lakewood)
April 4: Estes Park Schools
April 8: Colfax Elementary (Denver) and East Elementary (Littleton)
April 9: Niwot Elementary
April 10: Bromwell Elementary and Columbian Elementary (Denver)
April 11: Rocky Mountain Elementary (Longmont) and Longmont Estates Elementary (Longmont)
-CU-
WBB: An epic comeback and finally a WIN
Feb 24th
TUCSON, Ariz. – In a season of ups and downs the peaks and valleys on Sunday were monumental.
Colorado erased a 20-point first half deficit to claim a 61-56 overtime Pac-12 Conference win over Arizona Sunday afternoon at the McKale Center.
Sophomore forward Jamee Swan banked in a short jumper just off the block with 0.9 seconds left in regulation to send the game to overtime. Senior guard Ashley Wilson then scored seven of her 11 points in the extra session to help Colorado (15-12, 5-11) overcome its largest deficit to win in program history from available records since 1982.
“We needed that one,” CU head coach Linda Lappe said. “We battled back in the second half after one of our worst halves of the season. We were able to get it turned around at halftime.”
Arizona (5-22, 1-15) was able to build its lead with an impressive first half performance from the field. The Wildcats hit 14 of their first 20 shots (70 percent) and built a 36-16 lead by the 4:14 mark.
Colorado came out in a zone defense to take away the paint, but Arizona caught fire quickly hitting five 3-pointers in the first 15 minutes including two each from Candice Warthen and Carissa Crutchfield.
The Buffaloes issues were compounded by their own cold shooting and turnovers. Colorado shot just 29 percent in the first half (7-of-24) and committed 12 turnovers. To make matters worse, Arizona took advantage to the tune of 16 points off those turnovers alone.
Colorado was able to whittle the lead down to 16, 39-23, at the break. Swan scored eight points in the final five minutes and had actually cut the Arizona lead to 14 on a pair of free throws with 5 seconds left, but Warthen was able to take the inbounds pass and went coast-to-coast, finishing off with a runner in the late at the halftime buzzer.
Senior guard Ashley Wilson scored seven of her 11 points in overtime
With momentum starting to nudge towards Colorado, the Buffaloes put together an epic defensive effort to get to overtime.
Colorado outscored Arizona 26-10 in the second half, holding the Wildcats to just two field goals, and 10 percent shooting (2-of-20), both all-time CU opponent lows for one half. The 10 points allowed to Arizona was an all-time opponent low for a second half, and tied for the second-fewest in any half in team history.
“It was all about our mind set; we didn’t start off the game well and they were getting shots they don’t usually hit,” Lappe said. “We went back to our defense and made sure that we defended them the right way; changed our mind set to getting stops and keeping them from getting easy shots.”
The Buffaloes immediately cut the lead to 39-27 on layups by Swan and Arielle Roberson. After a LaBrittney Jones free throw, Colorado scored the next six, capped off by another Swan bucket as CU trailed 40-33 with 12:50 remaining.
Erica Barnes put in Arizona’s first bucket of the period on the next possession to put the lead back up to nine. But the Buffaloes kept coming. Haley Smith scored four points during another 6-0 CU run and her two free throws with 8:55 left made it a one possession game at 42-39.
Barnes made a free throw and Crutchfield made Arizona’s second and final field goal of the half with 7:14 left to kick the Wildcats’ lead back to six. Freshman guard Desiree Harris responded with her first career field goal on a nice layup in traffic. Swan followed with a jumper after a stop and Roberson completed the comeback with a pair of free throws that tied the game at 45-45 with 3:22 left in regulation. Roberson then gave CU its first lead of the game on a contested layup with 1:52 remaining.
“We were more aggressive and played together,” Lappe said. “We flipped a switch at halftime and it carried us from there on out.”
Jones kept Arizona going at the line. She hit four free throws sandwiched between a Swan missed shot that gave the Wildcats the lead back at 49-47 at the 1:07 mark. Arizona had a chance to increase its lead but turned the ball over on two straight possessions opening the door for the Buffaloes.
Following an Arizona shot clock violation, the Buffs had the ball with 15 seconds remaining. After a CU timeout with 6 seconds left, Roberson had the ball at the top of the key and found Swan posted up on the left block. Swan hesitated for a second, but turned around and banked in the equalizer off the top of the class from about eight feet out with :00.9 on the clock.
“I saw Arielle was blocked off (up top) and could hear someone yell for me to post up,” Swan said. “When she threw it in I thought about passing it, but the team told me to shoot it. My confidence (to take the shot) came from that.”
In overtime Roberson opened the scoring with a drive through the lane, but Jones answered at the other end. Wilson then hit Colorado’s first 3-pointer of the game for a 54-51 advantage. On the following possession, Wilson picked off a Crutchfield pass and took it the distance for a 56-51 CU lead.
The Buffaloes then held off Arizona at the free throw line. Lexy Kresl hit one and Jen Reese made two – her only points of the game – to give CU a six-point lead. Kama Griffitts pulled Arizona back to within 59-56 on the Wildcats’ first 3-pointer since the first half with 8 seconds left in overtime. Wilson then iced the game for the Buffaloes with a pair of free throws.
Swan finished with 18 points, seven rebounds and a career-high six steals. Roberson recorded her fifth double-double of the season with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Wilson added eight rebounds as the Buffaloes enjoyed a sizeable edge on the boards, 45-32.
Jones led Arizona with 13 points. Crutchfield and Griffitts both had 10.
Colorado returns to action on Friday, Feb. 28, by hosting UCLA at 6 p.m. at the Coors Events Center.
Colorado Buffaloes Women’s Basketball
