Utah Athletics To Honor Season-Shortened Seniors

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – University of Utah Athletics will honor all of the seniors that had their season shortened due to the coronavirus or COVID-19 pandemic.

Winter teams were entering the postseason and the spring sports were just getting started when the pandemic forced all sporting events to shut down until further notice. In college athletics, particularly in the Pac-12, spring sports has been canceled.

The athletic department will introduce a series of senior recognitions beginning on Tuesday, March 31 and ending on April 30.

Seniors from gymnastics, skiing, softball, baseball and much more will be honored.

“Our student-athletes continue to inspire us every day by the way they are handling this unprecedented situation with such resiliency,” said Athletics Director Mark Harlan. “Our seniors in many of our sports are particularly impacted, and we are hopeful this recognition will create an experience they and their families will enjoy, along with our fans. We fully understand that there is still much to be determined with the status and plans of our seniors in spring sports, but it is important that they all are celebrated and acknowledged.”

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Many of our seniors missed out on competition and senior day recognitions this year. We plan to celebrate them and all of their accomplishments on social media over the next few weeks:https://t.co/f8zT9VuAZz pic.twitter.com/lJDSFYBGWE

— Utah Athletics (@utahathletics) March 28, 2020

Gymnastics

Utah will honor the seniors on the Red Rocks roster on Tuesday, March 31. Those seniors include Missy Reinstadtler and Kim Tessen.

The Red Rocks were getting ready for their final home meet against Utah State before preparations for the Pac-12 Championships after an undefeated regular season before COVID-19 forced the conference to cancel the final regular season meet and the championship.

Follow Utah Gymnastics on their social pages, Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

🚨8 Red Rocks were named to the All-Pac-12 teams!🚨

Congratulations to @maile_okeefe, @Sydney_soloski, @BurchAlexia, @arandall02, @kim_tessen, @Missypaigee , @AbbyPaulson & @cristal_isaa! pic.twitter.com/pG7wCwOgjT

— Utah Gymnastics (@UtahGymnastics) March 25, 2020

Skiing

The ski team will have their seniors honored on Thursday, April 2. They will honor Logan Diekmann, Addison Dvoracek, Eirin Engeset, Guro Jordheim, Leah Lange, Fredrik Maurstad and Roni Remme.

The team had two more competitions in Bozeman, Montana before nationals but the pandemic forced the cancellation of those events.

Follow the ski team on their social media pages, Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

Great article from @SkiRacingMedia – it was an exciting two days of racing! #goutes https://t.co/t9tXzpQvt8

— Utah Ski Team (@utahskiteam) March 19, 2020

Men’s Tennis

The Utah men’s tennis team will honor Azat Hankuliyev and Slava Shainyan on Tuesday, April 7. The men were off to a 12-5 start on the season but their final 10 matches were canceled including the Pac-12 tournament.

Women’s Tennis

The Utes will honor their lone women’s tennis senior Whitney Hekking on Thursday, April 9. The women were off to a 10-5 start. Their final 9 matches were canceled along with the Pac-12 Tournament.

Beach Volleyball

Utah’s beach volleyball team has five seniors on their roster. They will be honored on Tuesday, April 14. Those seniors include McKenna Granata, Tiyana Hallums, Keana Smalls, Lauren Sproule and Kinga Windisch.

The last match that the beach volleyball team played was a win over Irvine Valley College. They will not get to play their last 10 regular season matches or the Pac-12 Tournament.

Golf

The Utes’ golf team will honor seniors Jordan Costello, Peyton Hastings and Mitchell Schow on Thursday, April 16.

They had three more tournaments before the Pac-12 Tournament.

The golf team can be found on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

Chilly day outside means it is a perfect time to practice social distancing! #GoUtes #AloneTogether pic.twitter.com/oFDHeTHW7T

— Utah Mens Golf (@UtesGolf) March 25, 2020

Track & Field

On Tuesday, April 21, Utah will honor seven seniors from the track & field. Those seniors include distance runners Anna Busatto, Sarah Feeny, Nicole Griffiths and Ashley Licata, 400 and 800 meter runner Caitlin Faust, hurdles Brooke Martin and combined events competitor Kolbi Sims.

The track & field team can be found on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

Full House: A #UtahTF Quarantine mini-series 💁🏼‍♀️ #goutes pic.twitter.com/RLwnHvhtud

— Utah T&F/XC (@Utah_trackfield) March 28, 2020

Lacrosse

The lacrosse team was in their second season of existence as a Division I team when their year was cut short after a 3-3 start. COVID-19 forced the program to cancel their last eight games.

On Thursday, April 23, seniors Colin Burke, Aaron Fjeldsted, Seth Neeleman, Jimmy Perkins, James Sexton, Josh Stout and Dan Tracy will be honored.

Follow the Utah lacrosse team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

Seth Neeleman was third on the team this year with 20 ground balls and had two caused turnovers. #goutes pic.twitter.com/NpuPRJ87Rl

— UtahLacrosse (@UtahLacrosse) March 29, 2020

Softball

Three Utah softball seniors will be honored on Tuesday, April 28. Those seniors include outfielders Alyssa Barrera and BreOnna Castaneda, along with pitcher Claire Feldman.

They had a 14-4 record before their 33 games were canceled.

The softball team can be found on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

A Note from Coach Ahttps://t.co/RfXqMoohN5#GoUtes 🥎🙌

— Utah Softball (@Utah_Softball) March 26, 2020

Baseball

On Thursday, April 30, the baseball team will round out all of the seniors being honored by the University of Utah.

The seniors on the baseball team include infielder Chase Fernlund, pitchers Jacob Rebar and Kyle Robeniol, along with catcher Zack Moeller. They had a 6-7 record but had their final 40 games were canceled.

The baseball team is on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

Things look a little different these days but we are still getting it done!

We hope everyone is staying safe and staying home. And of course, thank you to all the essential workers out there!#goutes🙌🏼 pic.twitter.com/753aS9PrPD

— Utah Baseball (@utahbaseball) March 24, 2020

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