Wyoming will face the Bears Thursday at 7 p.m. at UNC’s Jackson Stadium before hosting the Cougars Sunday at 1 p.m. at the Louis S. Madrid Sports Complex.

“It’s a good rivalry we have with Northern Colorado and it’s going to be a tough game on the road,” Wyoming coach Pete Cuadrado said. “Washington State is a very tough team that finished fourth in the Pac-12 last season and returns a great team this year.”

Northern Colorado is 2-2-1 on the year as the Bears average 11.2 shots per game and have scored six goals through the first five games. After defeating Air Force in an exhibition, UNC lost two games before defeating Utah State and Nebraska-Omaha last weekend.

Junior Brittany Dunn leads the Bears with two goals and one assist for five points on the year and has 11 total shots, including eight on goal. Chandler Guetz is second with eight shots, while Morgan Rynearson has six shots. Rynearson had the game-winning goal against Utah State last Friday, while Rebecca Lancia had a game-winning goal against Nebraska-Omaha on Sunday.

The Cowgirls defeated the Bears in Laramie last season 2-1 in a game that went into two over-times.

Washington State is 3-1-0 this season and out-scoring opponents by an 11-5 margin. The Cougars are also outshooting opponents 50-39, including a 30-14 shots-on-goal ratio.

After opening the season with shutout wins over Gonzaga and Boise State, WSU competed last weekend at the USC Futbol Classic where they defeated San Diego, 2-1, before falling to No. 4 Duke 4-0.

Micaela Castain leads the Cougars with five of the team’s 11 goals and had two straight two-goal games against Boise State and San Diego. Her six shots this season have all been on goal.

Brandi Vega has two goals and two assists on the year and a team-high 11 shots, while Kourtney Guetlein has one goal and two assists for four points.

The Cowgirls rank first in several categories in the Mountain West standings, including goals (18), assists (13), points (49) and shots (81). Redshirt sophomore Sara Paul leads the Mountain West Confrence in assists with six and points with 10. Olivia Mohtadi is tied for third in goals with three, while Lucie McDowell is tied for third in assists with three.

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The team victory is the first team title in head coach Joe Jensen’s tenure at Wyoming. It is also the first tournament victory for a UW team since the Rocky Mountain Intercollegiate in 2000. After holding the 36-hole lead, junior Eddie Stewart fired his third under-par round of the tournament of 71 (-1) to win the individual title by five strokes with a total score of 208 (-8). Stewart’s eight-under is tied for the third-best tournament score in Wyoming golf history.

“This is a great start to our fall season,” Jensen said. “The kids played three excellent rounds of golf yesterday and today. I am very proud of them to shoot three rounds under par. We were the only team to be under-par for three rounds. I don’t care who you are playing, if you shoot three rounds under par you are always going to be competitive in any tournament. We took one round at a time this tournament and we never were complacent, increasing our lead each round.”

Stewart won the individual title of the 48-man field to lead the Cowboy scoring. Two other Cowboys recorded top-three finishes. Junior Eric Parish, who was in second place following yesterday’s rounds shot a final round 76 (+4) to finish in a tie for third place with a score of 214 (-2). True freshman Kamrin Allen fired the low individual round of the day for the tournament at 68 (-4) to move up from 11th place to finish tied with Parish for third place. Allen recorded a top-five finish in his first collegiate event. Jake Hedge also finished in the top 10 for Wyoming shooting a final round 77 (+5) to finish with a final score of 219 (+3) to tie for ninth place. Junior Brent Baylon shot his first under-par round of the season firing a two-under 70 to finish in a tie for 15th place with a score of 221 (+5).

The Cowboys won the tournament title by 36 shots over Valparaiso who took second with a final tally of 883 (+19). Utah State and Utah Valley tied for third place with three-round scores of 888 (+24). In fifth place was Southern Utah (891, +27), followed by host Weber State in sixth (892, +28), South Dakota State in seventh (898, +34) and Westminster College (Utah) in eighth (910, +46).

Stewart ran away with the tournament championship with the five-shot victory over Valparaiso’s Austin Gaugert who shot a final round 71 (-1) to finish with a final score of 213 (-3). Gaugert topped third place Cowboys Parish and Allen (214, -2) by one stroke. Rounding out the top five was Utah State’s Tanner Higham with a final score of 215 (-1).

Wyoming golf will return to the course Sunday, Sept. 9 and Monday, Sept. 10 in Colorado Springs, Colo. at the Gene Miranda Air Force Invitational.

“This was a great victory for us, but we cannot take anything for granted,” Jensen said. “We need to keep working hard the rest of the fall season. We have some things we are going to work on the rest of this week and go out and play as hard as we can next Sunday and Monday.”

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Photo: UW Athletics Media Relations
Members of the UW football team face off during the 2012 Wyoming Football Fall Camp on Aug. 22 at War Memorial Stadium. Cowboy football hosts its first home game of the season Saturday against Toledo.

The Wyoming Cowboys return to War Memorial Stadium on Saturday to host their 2012 home opener against the Toledo Rockets. Kickoff will be at 2 p.m.

Saturday’s match up will feature two teams that both earned bowl appearances a year ago. Wyoming lost to Temple 37-15 in the New Mexico Bowl and posted an 8-5 record. Toledo defeated Air Force 42-41 in the Military Bowl and ended the season 9-4.

The two teams have featured some of the top quarterbacks in the country. Wyoming’s Brett Smith ranks 26th in the nation in passing yards and 26th in total offense this season. Toledo rotates junior QB Terrance Owens and senior QB Austin Dantin. Owens ranks No. 6 in the nation in passing efficiency this season, and Dantin ranks No. 20.

Wyoming is one of the favorites in the 2012 Mountain West Conference race, and was picked fourth in the 10-team Mountain West by conference media members to begin the season. The Rockets were picked by Mid-American Conference media to win the West Division of the MAC entering this season.

Wyoming and Toledo will be meeting for only the second time in the two schools’ histories. Wyoming won the first meeting in Toledo on Oct. 2, 2010, by a score of 20-15.

Both teams are looking to bounce back from tough opening week road losses. Wyoming lost at No. 15 Texas by a score of 17-37 and Toledo lost to Arizona 17-24 in overtime.

Defensively, senior linebacker Korey Jones led the way for the Cowboys in the season opener versus Texas. Jones registered the first double-figure tackle game of his career, with 13 stops against the Longhorns. Jones is tied for No. 12 in the nation in tackles.

UW head coach Dave Christensen was an assistant coach at Toledo from 1992-2000. Cowboy assistant coach Jim Harding played offensive tackle for UT from 1997-2000 and was an All-Conference performer and team captain in 2000.

Matt Campbell is in his first season as head coach of the Toledo Rockets after serving as the Offensive Coordinator/Offensive Line Coach for Toledo in 2010 and 2011. He is the youngest NCAA Division I (Football) head coach in the country at age 32. He served his first game as a college head coach in the 2011 Military Bowl, guiding Toledo to a 42-41 win over Air Force.

In 2007 and 2008, he was an assistant coach at Bowling Green under current Wyoming Offensive Coordinator Gregg Brandon. Campbell served as Brandon’s Offensive Line Coach in 2007 and was promoted to Run-Game Coordinator/Offensive Line Coach in 2008. He originally joined Brandon’s staff as a Graduate Assistant Coach in 2003 and 2004. For the 2004 and 2005 seasons, he returned to his alma mater, Mount Union College, as the Offensive Coordinator/Offensive Line Coach.

The Wyoming Cowboys will be hosting their 116th home opener this Saturday. In the previous 115 home openers, the Pokes have a record of 78 wins, 34 losses and three ties, for a winning percentage of 69.1 percent. Wyoming has won nine consecutive home openers dating back to the 2003 season.

Wyoming has had success hosting teams from east of thswe Mississippi River. Wyoming is 7-1 since 2000 versus teams from east of the Mississippi. Among the wins were a 37-32 victory over the SWC’s Ole Miss in 2004 and a 23-3 win over the ACC’s Virginia in 2007.

Toledo will be the ninth team from east of the Mississippi that Wyoming has hosted since 2000 and the fourth member of the Mid-American Conference to visit Laramie since 2000.

UW defeated MAC teams Central Michigan (31-10) and Ohio (21-20)before losing to Bowling Green (16-45) in 2008. The head coach of Bowling Green at the time of that game is now Wyoming offensive coordinator Gregg Brandon.

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Wyoming jumped to an early 3-0 lead in the first half as the Cowgirls outshot the Eagles, 5-4, and continuously pushed the ball in EWU territory.

“I liked our energy both in today’s game and Friday’s game with Nebraska-Omaha,” said Wyoming coach Pete Cuadrado. “We’re really pushing that as coaches and I think the girls are responding well. We’re getting goals and pushing the ball upfield, so we are pleased with the effort.”

Senior Carmen Blume scored first for the Cowgirls as she put in a header off of Sara Paul’s corner kick for a 1-0 lead at the 9:50 mark.

After an Eagle penalty, Paul took the free kick and tapped the ball a few feet to Sydney Jones, who then wound up and shot it from 20 yards out above the outstretched hands of EWU keeper Jamie Walker for another score at the 28:22 mark.

With three minutes before the half, freshman Jennifer Paul got a hold of a loose ball following a pass from teammate Cassie Sheffield and increased the Cowgirl lead to 3-0 with a goal into the lower right corner of the net.

EWU’s Kasey McNeill scored early in the second half off an assist from Alisha Stott, but Wyoming responded at the 56:25 mark when Olivia Mohtadi scored her third goal of the year off a Lucie McDowell shot attempt that was blocked and recovered by Mohtadi, who tapped it in for the final 4-1 score.

The Cowgirls outshot the Eagles, 12-7, including an 8-6 shot-on-goal ratio. UW goalie Carmen McDermott earned her third straight win as she had five saves during the game.

Wyoming travels to Greeley, Colo., to face the University of Northern Colorado on Thursday, with the kickoff slated for 7 p.m. The Cowgirls then host Pac-12 opponent Washington State on Sunday at 1 p.m. at the Louis S. Madrid Sports Complex

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Wyoming will face the rival Mavericks on Friday at 4 p.m. and then continue to play against the Eagles on Sunday at 1 p.m.

“We look forward to returning home and competing against two quality opponents,” Wyoming coach Pete Cuadrado said. “Both teams will provide stiff challenges for us and we’ll need to play at our highest level to achieve victories.”

Nebraska-Omaha is currently 0-3 this season, and are coming off a 3-1 loss to Utah State last Sunday in which the Mavericks scored their first goal of the year. Junior Monica Bosiljevec leads the team with two points after scoring the goal against the Aggies.

They opened the 2012 season with a 4-0 loss to Iowa State and a 3-0 loss to Missouri State after going 5-7-2 in 2011. The Mavericks have a 198-59-12 all-time record under coach Don Klosterman, and are entering their first season at the NCAA Division I level as a member of the Summit League.

The Mavericks had eight NCAA Division II tournament appearances and won the national championship in 2005.

Eastern Washington is 0-2 this season coming off a 3-0 loss to Seattle on Sunday and a 3-2 loss to North Dakota State last Friday. Wyoming owns a 6-0 all-time record against the Eagles.

Redshirt freshman Alisha Stott and sophomore Kayla Sutter lead the team with one goal each. The Eagles average 13 shots per game. They will face MW opponent Air Force Friday before Sunday’s matchup with the Cowgirls.

Both games will take place at the Louis S. Madrid Sports Complex.

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Photo: Ashlee Williams
Without additional funding from the University, club sports like the Rugby Club could suffer.

With all the attention given to the “big name” athletics around campus, the University’s Club Sports find themselves at a loss both in finances and status.

Those recently passing through the Wyoming Union have probably noticed the Men’s Rugby team selling raffle tickets to the students and faculty passing by.

The tickets, sold at 10 dollars per ticket, give people the chance to be entered in a drawing for an expense-paid trip to the UNLV football game Nov. 16th in Las Vegas.

The department funding UW Club Sports has agreed to match the Rugby team’s sales for the fundraiser. This means if the team raises $10,000 thousand, which is the maximum amount they will match, the department will then contribute an additional $10,000 to their account.

This rule only applies to Nordic skiing, hockey and to the rugby club sports.  A majority of club sports receive no funding at all.

Though this allocation of funds seems generous, in recent years it has not been enough to fund teams like rugby to travel and compete throughout their season.

“To put in perspective how much funding we need in order to travel for our games, it takes approximately $17,000 to send 40 to 50 players to our game in Seattle,” team captain Jonathan Daraie said. “That’s just the cost of one traveling trip,” Daraie said.

Although sports like football and basketball are important to the University, it is often forgotten how much other club sports and activities mean to the students around campus.

Club sports are a great way to bring together different groups of people and play the various games in an atmosphere where winning does not mean everything. Without proper funding for these activities, the school would lose a sense of collaboration among students who enjoy spending their time doing these extra-curricular activities.  Not only that, students miss out on the things they love to do most while taking a short break from academic pursuits.

“I don’t think that the University realizes just how much Club Sports mean to our school,” Daraie said. “The students in these different types of athletic programs bring a sense of enthusiasm and joy to sports which is always such an amazing thing to see.  I feel that is something that is overlooked far too often.”

Photo: Ashlee Williams
Without additional funding from the University, club sports like the Rugby Club could suffer.

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The University of Wyoming offers more than 50 different Intramural Sports annually in which any student currently enrolled can participate. Some of the activities have already started for entry and will go from now until Sept. 5. These activities include fantasy football, bouldering, flag football, outdoor soccer and Ultimate Frisbee.

Other intramural events that will begin doing sign-ups from Sept. 3 through Nov. 26 include miniature golf, softball, cricket, tennis, paintball, volleyball, basketball, water polo, track, wallyball, floor hockey, racquetball, badminton and Bowling.

Individuals looking for more serious competition in sports also can get involved with the campus’ club sports. Club sports are different from intramural because they require a more serious level of competition, but not that of an intercollegiate athlete. Club sports for the upcoming year include badminton, baseball, cricket, cycling, fencing, men’s hockey, men’s rugby, Nordic skiing, racquetball, shotgun sports, Ultimate Frisbee, women’s hockey, women’s lacrosse, women’s rugby, women’s soccer, women’s softball, women’s volleyball, tennis, horseshow, wen’s water polo and men’s lacrosse.

For those interested in more information about these activities or those who are wanting to signup can visit the University website and go to the link for “Campus Recreation.”  Students also can visit UW’s Half Acre Recreation Facility for more details and information.

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The tournament will be played March 12-16 at the Thomas and Mack Center located in Las Vegas. The 16-game tournament will tip off Tuesday, March 12, with the men’s and women’s first-round contests featuring the No. 8 and No. 9 seeds.

The men’s quarterfinals will begin Wednesday, March 13, followed by the women’s quarterfinals held on Thursday, March 14. The semifinals will then take place Friday, March 15, while the men’s and women’s championship games are both set for Saturday.

For the first time in Mountain West Conference history, the men’s final will be televised on CBS. The game will tip off at 3:05 p.m. PT on Saturday, followed by the women’s final aired on CBS Sports Network beginning at 7:05 p.m. PT.

VIP all-session tickets are now on sale. The tickets are good for all 16 games in the 2013 Mountain West Basketball Championships. Reserved all-session tickets are now available as well.

All-session tickets are now on sale at the Mountain West member institution box offices. Single-session tickets will be available Friday, March 1, 2013, at the Thomas and Mack Center box office. You also can purchase tickets through UNLVTickets.com.

The complete bracket can be found at www.themwc.com.

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Higher One, a company that provides students with financial aid refunds, teamed up with the University of Wyoming for the upcoming year. What this means is that all refunds will no longer go through the University, but rather through Higher One.

Prior to the agreement, UW would write checks to students or deposit funds into students’ personal accounts.

After dealing with the annoyance and difficulty caused by the Higher One “Cowboy Card”, I find myself wondering why the University would choose to be paid off instead of worrying about students’ convenience and welfare. Without the happiness and well-being of the students, the University would cease to move forward and succeed.

Furthermore, I am curious as to why the University feels it  can dictate and make loopholes in regulations regarding students’ refund money. Last time I checked, as long as all fees were paid to the school, the money belonged to students and not to the college.

Anyone who has tried to receive a refund but did not put the money directly on the Cowboy Card probably shares the same irritation.

Not only does it take two to three business days to transfer the money to another account, but students also must fax or mail forms, which also add an additional few days. When students are in a bind to purchase books and pay rent, waiting a few extra days is not an option.

It is the same process to have a check mailed to your current place of residence. It can take days before it finally arrives.

The “preferred option” is to have the money put directly on the card. Sure, that sounds like a great idea because the money is disbursed to the card the same day the refund is sent out. What they do not say is that there are hidden fees that every student is charged. Fees include a 50-cent charge for every pin-based transaction, and a $2.50 charge for using an  out-of-network ATM, several of which have been placed on campus.

There also is a first time insufficient funds fee of $29, subsequent overdraft costs of $38 and finally a $19 per month abandonment account fee for accounts that have been inactive over nine months.

What it boils down to is that Higher One is taking money from the poorest of college students by charging millions of dollars in hidden banking fees. Unfortunately, there is nothing students will be able to do about it because of the benefits the University receives by teaming up with the company. I guess even UW can overlook its standards if given the right profit for it.

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Over the summer the Cowboys attended camps and football clinics, as well as spending countless hours in practices.  Most recently, the team members have been scrimmaging against one another to make sure they are well-equipped for their first game against Texas on Saturday.

During their first fall scrimmage, the Cowboys defense won with a score of 70-35 keyed by five forced turnovers.

As the game progressed, Wyoming’s offense made headway by ending the day’s scrimmage completing 17 of 29 passes for 214 yards, which resulted in four touchdowns and two interceptions.

In their second scrimmage, the No. 1 defense went up against the No. 2 offense for a majority of the game. Two field goals in two series during a red-zone period were the only points given up by the defenders by the end of the scrimmage.

Along with the No. 1 defense having a great day on the field, the No. 1 offense had noteworthy performances as well. The Cowboys’ offense finished the day-ending second scrimmage with 428 yards of total offense, 263 passing and 165 rushing. As a whole, the team completed more than 150 plays.

For their third and final scrimmage, the Cowboys’ excellence shined through as the No. 1 offense led their best scrimmage of the fall against the No. 2 defense.

Chris McNeill, senior wide receiver for the Cowboys, had a strong day of playing in his first scrimmage as he caught three passes for 25 yards and made one touchdown thrown by sophomore quarterback Brett Smith. During the scrimmage, Wyoming included 62 total plays.

“I think we’re doing some really good things on offense,” head coach Dave Christensen said. “We’re working together — all 11 guys. We’re making good progress. Any time you move the football, it’s a good thing.”

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