Terrell Lyday
Men’s Basketball
- “Marriott Magic is Back, Cleve 4 Pres.,” read a sign in the student section at the Cougars’ victorious second-round National Invitation Tournament game. Coach Steve Cleveland and his team definitely had some magic moments this season–racking up 22 wins and three postseason games for a basketball program that hit bottom at 1-25 just three seasons ago. This year the Cougars upset the University of Utah Utes for the first time since 1995 and made it to the Mountain West Conference (MWC) finals. In their first post-season appearance since 1994, they blazed through the first two rounds of the NIT, halting only after a hard fight against Notre Dame in the quarterfinals.
- The Cougar Classic, the preseason basketball tournament first played in 1971 and held annually since 1975, will not be played again. The coaching staff is negotiating other preseason options.
Football
- The NCAA has ruled that, except for the numbers, there can be no white on home football jerseys. That means the white “bibs” introduced last year will be removed from BYU’s Nike-designed uniforms.
- Assistant football coach Lance Reynolds has been named offensive coordinator, replacing longtime assistant coach Norm Chow, who accepted the offensive coordinator’s position at North Carolina State.
- Former BYU lineman and Snow College head coach Mike Empey joined the BYU football coaching staff in February.
Women’s Soccer
- Aleisha Cramer, the women’s soccer 1999 National High School Player of the Year, is among the five high school athletes who signed letters of intent to play for BYU’s women’s soccer program. A 5’10” midfielder from Lakewood, Colo., Cramer has already made six appearances with the U.S. National Team.
Men’s Gymnastics
- In a repeat of last season, BYU seniors Guard Young and Cortney Bramwell each won individual event titles at the NCAA men’s gymnastics championship. Young, who placed second in the individual all-around competition, successfully defended his 1999 vault title by scoring a 9.825. Bramwell also renewed his title, with a score of 9.950 on the still rings, an event he has dominated this season.
Rachelle Smith Kunkel
Swimming and Diving
- Cougars Rachelle Smith Kunkel and Jennifer Tasker each earned All-America honors at the 2000 NCAA Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships. Kunkel, a senior, finished sixth on the 1M board and 20th in the 3M event. Tasker, a junior, finished 14th in the 100-meter breaststroke.
- Keeping his three-year All-American streak alive, junior Arunas Savickas finished 16th in the 200-meter backstroke at the 2000 NCAA Men’s Swimming and Diving Championships. He also came away from the meet with two new Lithuanian national records. The BYU men’s team finished 33rd overall, led by Savickas and freshman Aaron Russell’s All-American performance on the 1M board.
Track and Field
- Mark Robison has been named the men’s track and field head coach, replacing veteran coach Willard Hirschi, who will retire after the 2000 season. Hirschi has had a 36-year affiliation with BYU, including the last 13 as head coach. Robison, son of legendary track and field coach Clarence Robison, has been a full-time assistant coach for the past 13 seasons.
- At the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships, the Cougars broke three school records and produced nine All-American athletes. The Cougar women placed sixth overall; the men ended in 34th place.
Elizabeth Jackson
Senior Kirsten Bolm finished third in the long jump and seventh in the 60-meter hurdle, earning All America honors in both events. Bolm broke the school long jump record for the second time in three weeks, adding over an inch to her own mark set at the MWC Championships.
Senior Elizabeth Jackson took nearly nine seconds off her own school record in the 5,000 meters, placing third in the event. She has earned six All-America letters as a Cougar.
Also setting a new school record was the distance medley team of Lindsay Jones, Tara Haynes, Holly Gibbons, and Susan Taylor. The quartet finished in second place in 11:11.45, more than five seconds faster than the previous record. All four athletes earned All-America honors.
Other All Americans were sophomore Sherida Rogers, who took third in the mile with a time of 4:46.03; junior Jeff Hansen, who finished ninth in the pole vault; and Jim Roberts, a junior, who finished fourth in the shot put.
