UVSC wrestler in prestigious tourney

OREM — While the Utah Valley State College wrestling team is off until the Jan. 7 Lonestar Duals in Arlington, Texas, Erkin Tadzhimetov will compete in the prestigious Midlands Tournament in Evanston, Ill., on Dec. 29-30.

The Midlands is an invitation-only tournament comprised of some of the most talented wrestlers in the country.

Tadzhimetov is 12-4 on the season, including a first-place finish at the Cyclone Open in November. Three of his four losses have come against wrestlers currently ranked in the top 10 nationally in the NWCA/Intermat poll.

The week that was

MENS BASKETBALL: The Wolverines lost Saturday at Boise State 79-62. Senior guard Sylvester Allison netted a career-high 23 points. The Broncos shot 58 percent from the field, while UVSC (5-5) shot 41 percent. The Wolverines never led.

WOMENS BASKETBALL: Visiting UVSC lost 61-54 Saturday to BYU. The Wolverines (2-7) took the undefeated Cougars (8-0) to the wire when BYU went ice cold from the field late in the game. Over the final seven minutes, the Cougars made zero field goals and went 1-for-8 at the foul line. Although UVSC didn't fare much better with its shooting, the Wolverines made enough shots to go on a late 8-0 run and climb back into the game before ultimately losing.

Wolverine of the week

ROBYN FAIRBANKS, FRESHMAN CENTER, WOMENS BASKETBALL: Fairbanks lit up the Cougars in Saturday's loss at BYU. She scored 17 of her 19 points in the second half on 7-of-11 shooting after halftime. Working primarily down low on the right block, Fairbanks put on a clinic with her nifty footwork in the low post. She also stepped outside to nail a key 3-pointer.

"We really are reaching that sense of confidence where we know if we execute our play, get the ball to Robyn, Robyn's going to score," UVSC coach Cathy Nixon said. "She really came back (in the second half) and went at them. If she can add that low block presence to her game, I think Robyn Fairbanks is going to be phenomenal."

According to Nixon, the 6-foot-1 Fairbanks is still adjusting to a kind of competition that she just didn't face growing up in Canada. "She's playing against some pretty big, tough kids," Nixon said. "She made some improvements from the last game, especially defensively. She hasn't defended kids like that; she's never even seen kids like that. In Raymond, Canada, they just don't grow them like that. I'm excited about Robyn."

With averages of 14.6 points and seven rebounds, Fairbanks leads the Wolverines in both categories.

They said it