OPINION: Athletic dominance
Three days. Six wins. Two WAC titles.
All in a weekend’s work for Utah State Athletics.
Simply put, it’s a great time to be an Aggie, regardless of what sport you’re following. The fall sports seasons are winding down, and the success of the university teams across the board is abundant.
This past weekend alone, every team that saw action came away victorious. How often can a school say its two best victories of the weekend came from neither football or basketball?
The biggest and most significant win belonged to the women’s soccer team. For the second straight season, the Aggies are going dancing in soccer after 2-1 and 1-0 victories over Seattle and Denver in the WAC Tournament. That’s four consecutive regular season titles and two straight tournament titles on the pitch.
It wasn’t easy, but after never having made the NCAA Tournament, the soccer gals pulled it off two years in a row.
And that was just one of the two conference titles earned over the weekend.
The women’s volleyball team pulled off the second-biggest win with a four-set win over New Mexico State to clinch at least a share of the regular season conference title – something the volleyball team had never done as a member of the WAC. The win also meant a sweep in the battle of the Aggies on the volleyball court this season and clinched the No. 1 seed for the Aggies in the conference tournament later this month.
Then there’s the team that everyone in the state is talking about this season, the Utah State football team. With their win over Texas State Saturday, the Aggies improved to 8-2 this season and set up a showdown with Louisiana Tech in two weeks for the conference title.
The Aggies have won eight games in a single season on the gridiron for the first time since 1974, when current head coach Gary Andersen was just 10 years old. Not only that, but USU is ranked in the top 20 in at least a handful of statistical categories and is two missed field goals away from potentially being 10-0 and ranked nationally.
Even still, the football gang is still receiving votes in the national polls and bowl eligible for a second-consecutive year after not having made a bowl game since 1997.
Better yet, the Spectrum magic that has been the pride of Utah State for so many years is finally carrying over the Romney Stadium. Who doesn’t love weekends like this past one where you get 9-plus straight hours of Aggie sports in person?
And with the men’s and women’s basketball seasons kicking off, Aggie Nation has even more to be excited about. The men cruised past Grand Canyon and Simon Fraser in exhibition play while the women ran past New Mexico
Highlands in their only exhibition.
Both teams were picked to win the WAC and with both teams returning its core of key players after the success both teams saw last season, you can bet the Spectrum will be rocking all season long.
And while it’s not a university-sponsored team, we can’t forget the guys in the rink at the Eccles Ice Center. The hockey team is always dominant, most recently a 10-1 shellacking of Weber State. The players are fast, physical and always put on a good show for the crowd.
Speaking of the crowd, did I mention it’s the best in the country? The way the Utah State HURD has shown up to games this season, it leaves little room for argument. Yep, Aggie Nation is running full throttle this season.
It’s definitely a good time to be an Aggie.
In its final season in the WAC, Utah State is making sure it goes out with a bang.
– Curtis is a proud husband and father, a junior in print journalism, an aspiring sports journalist, and referee. He eats, sleeps and breathes sports. His life goal is to bowl a perfect 300. Send any comments to curtis.lundstrom@aggiemail.usu.edu or on Twitter @CurtisLundstrom.