With the fall sports season coming to a close and basketball getting into full swing, the CUI sports staff thought it would be a good time to reflect on the fall and look ahead to hoops. In this week’s mailbag, read about CU volleyball’s two freshman standouts, cross-country’s award-winning head coach and the women’s basketball team’s outstanding start to the season.
1. CU volleyball improved quite a bit this season compared to 2011. Which players made the difference?
Freshmen outside hitter Alexis Austin and setter Nicole Edelman were key newcomers to the Buffs volleyball team. Both were named to the Pac—12 Conference All-Freshman honorable mention team for the 2012 volleyball season. Austin and Edelman are the first two CU volleyball players to receive a Pac—12 honor. Both had great seasons.
(Josh Shettler/CU Independent Illustration)
Austin hails from Houston, Tx., and recorded a team best 364 kills this season, averaging 3.14 kills per set. She also had a team-high 393.5 points over the course of the season. Edelman is a Boulder native who ranked ninth in CU history for her 1,060 assists this season. She averaged 9.22 assists per set, the eighth-best in the Pac—12.
Austin and Edelmen helped the Buffs to an overall record of 14-18 and a Pac—12 record of 4—16. CU recorded eight more overall wins during this season and three more Pac—12 wins than in the previous season.
2. I know the men’s basketball team is doing really well, but what about the women? Have they had a good start to their season?
The CU women’s basketball team remains undefeated through five games. The Buffs’ most recent victory came in the form of a commanding 68—59 win over Wyoming on Wednesday night at the Coors Events Center.
Leading the team is freshman forward Arielle Roberson with 72 points and 27 rebounds so far this season. The lady Buffs have been outscoring their opponents by just over 19 points per game. Look out for the Buffs’ next home game on December 5 against Colorado State University.
3. I heard that a CU coach was the winner of the 2012 Pac-12 Conference Coach of the Year award. It certainly wasn’t our football coach — so who took home the trophy?
For the second year in a row, the Pac—12 Coach of the Year award went to CU cross-country head coach Mark Wetmore. Wetmore led his men’s team to a Pac—12 Conference title and a third-place finish at the NCAA Championships this year. Under Wetmore’s leadership, seven CU runners, six from the men’s team and one from the women’s, earned all-conference honors for the 2012 season.
Wetmore is no stranger to the coaching success. His harriers are continually competitive at the national level. Over the course of his 18-year tenure as head coach, Wetmore has coached 11 athletes to a combined 20 NCAA individual titles in cross-country, indoor and outdoor track. Wetmore is the only coach in CU history that has taken athletes to NCAA national titles in all four categories: individual, men’s, women’s, and men’s and women’s combined.
Have something to ask the CU Independent sports staff? Email Tips@cuindependent.com or tweet us @cuindependent, and we’ll address your question in next week’s mailbag!
Contact CU Independent Sports Editor Caryn Maconi at Caryn.maconi@colorado.edu.
