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Inside:

No. 2 Wildcats take on Buffs, begin hunt for National Title

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See how the Wildcat football team stacks up against its first opponent in the playoffs: Lone Star Conference rival West Texas A&M.

From ACU’s first home game to its last, see a sampling of the photo staff’s best photos of the team’s undefeated

Find the Arts Page, Opinion Page and the rest of the Optimist’s usual campus coverage in Section A inside this special

Photo: ACU running back Bernard Scott, who leads NCAA Division II football in points per game, all-purpose yards per game and is second in a myriad of statistical categories, runs onto the field at Shotwell Stadium. Scott and the rest of the Wildcats will host West Texas A&M in the second round of the NCAA Division II Postseason. The first time the Wildcats and Buffs met in the regular season, Scott posted 409 all-purpose yards, scored three touchdowns in ACU’s 52-35 win.

Zak Zeinert :: chief photographer

SportsWednesday

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Wednesday, January 24, 2007

ScoreBoard Standings MEN’S BASKETBALL

Team

Div. 2-0 1-0 1-1 1-1 0-1 0-2 0-0

ENMU MSU WTAM Angelo TAMU-K ACU Tarleton

Overall 6-9 12-3 9-7 6-10 10-4 9-6 11-4

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

Team

WTAM TX Woman’s Tarleton Angelo St. ACU TAMU-K MSU ENMU

Div. 4-0 3-1 2-1 2-2 2-2 1-2 1-3 0-4

Overall 15-3 9-4 9-4 10-6 11-7 6-10 8-8 9-7

Scores

Conference continues in Denton n The women’s basketball team will attempt to win its first road game since Nov. 18 when ACU takes on Texas Woman’s on Wednesday.

By MICHAEL FREEMAN Online Editor

The ACU women’s basketball team has a troublesome monkey on its back; The Wildcats have not won a road game since Nov. 18.

The Wildcats will have an opportunity to cast the chimp off Wednesday when they take Texas Woman’s University in Denton.

“Playing at [Texas Woman’s] is always kind of good for us,” said head coach, Shawna Lavender. “We usually have more fans there than they do. It’s almost like a home game for us.”

Lavender said the would-be home game is an advantage for the Wildcats.

Women’s basketball ACU averages 76 points per game and is undefeated at home. But on the road, they average only 61 points.

“When we’re playing our game, there aren’t a whole lot of people that can beat us,” Lavender said.

One team that was able to beat ACU was West Texas A&M on Saturday. The Wildcats fell to West Texas 62-50 in Canyon.

ACU got off to a slow start, and was not able to catch up to the No. 16 team in NCAA Division II rankings. The loss sets the Wildcats at 11-7 on the season and 2-2 in conference competition.

“We came out a little timid and kind of let them push us around a lot in the first half,” Lavender said. “Against a great team like that, you can’t afford

[to] dig yourself a hole.”

In the first half alone, the Wildcats turned the ball over a total of 22 times. ACU shot only 21 percent (4 of 19) in field goal shooting as the Lady Buffs went into halftime with a 28-12 lead.

However, the Wildcats did not go down without a fight.

“We made a good run at them in the second half,” Lavender said.

The second half featured an offensive surge by the Wildcats. Late in the game, ACU pulled within eight points.

Guard Alex Guiton led the way with 15 points, while center Audrey Maxwell recorded her sixth double-double of the season with 10 points and 12 See

Cats conquer Rams

Saturday WOMEN’S BASKETBALL West Texas A&M 62, ACU 50

MEN’S BASKETBALL

WOMEN page 8

brian schmidt SENIOR PHOTOGRAPHER

Forward Audrey Maxwell goes for a shot against an Eastern New Mexico defender on Jan. 18. ACU won the game 72-67.

Nine qualify for indoor nationals at opening meet n Seven women and two men athletes from the ACU track & field teams provisionally qualified for the Indoor National Championships in Boston at the season’s first meet.

West Texas A&M 78, ACU 69

Tuesday MEN’S BASKETBALL ACU , Angelo State

By JARED FIELDS Managing Editor

Upcoming Wednesday WOMEN’S BASKETBALL ACU at Texas Woman’s, Denton 6 p.m.

Saturday WOMEN’S BASKETBALL ACU vs. Texas A&M Kingsville, 2 p.m.

MEN’S BASKETBALL ACU vs. Texas A&M Kingsville, 4 p.m.

n Home games listed in Italics

Online

Gary RhodES CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER

Guard Philip Brooks gets fouled while driving to the basket against a slew of Angelo State defenders. Brooks recorded a double-double, 25 points and 10 assists, in the Wildcats’ 92-76 win Tuesday.

View a video update on the ACU men’s and women’s basketball teams seasons so far at www.acuoptimist.com.

Intramural Round-up Upcoming n The intramural schedule seen on the Optimist sports page is not final and is subject to change. Any last-minute changes can be viewed on the intramural bulletin board in Moody Coliseum.

BASKETBALL Sign up Deadline: Wednesday Amount per team: $125 Season Begins: Monday WATERBALL Tournament finals Thursday.

View complete schedule on intramural board.

Intramural points MEN’S SOCIAL CLUBS Gamma Sigma Phi, 140 Galaxy, 70 Frater Sodalis, 55 WOMEN’S SOCIAL CLUBS Ko Jo Kai, 55 Delta Theta, 25 Sigma Theta Chi, 20

n The ACU men’s basketball team pulled in a must-win game against rivals Angelo State on Tuesday. ACU is 1-2 in conference after the 92-76 win.

By DANIEL JOHNSON Sports Editor

The ACU men’s basketball team faced a must-win situation Tuesday night.

A loss against rival Angelo State would have dropped them to 0-3 in conference and dashed any reasonable hope of making the regional tournament.

“Coming in we knew we

Men’s basketball had to win,” said guard Cortnie Ross. “We didn’t want to dig ourselves a hole; We had to win.”

The Wildcats executed when it mattered and kept their postseason hopes alive by downing Angelo State 92-76.

“We really needed this one,” head coach Jason Copeland said.

The win is ACU’s ninth at home and extended the Wildcats’ record to 1-2 in conference and 10-8 overall.

ACU is now tied with Angelo

for fourth in the Lone Star Conference South division.

“We take pride in not losing here,” guard Norman Alexander said.

After going into the half with a 48-38 lead, the Wildcats’ outpaced the Angelo Rams and led throughout the second half by as much as 20 points.

Guard Philip Brooks posted a double-double with 25 points and 10 assists. A majority of Brooks’ 25 came from the free-throw line where he was 12-15. Brooks See

CATS page 8

Waterball championships Thursday n The finals of the ACU intramural waterball tournament, which was postponed in the fall, will be played Thursday night in the pool in Gibson.

By BLESSED MATAI Student Reporter

For two months waterball has been on standby because of the burned pump that forced the pool in Gibson to close for two weeks.

Although the burned pump was fixed four days before finals of last semester, the tournament was postponed.

“We choose to wait because

Waterball we needed a week to do the playoffs,” said Susan Hardcastle, intramurals sports administrative coordinator. “We could have started the playoffs in the fall semester, but we didn’t want to interfere with finals.”

Fourteen teams were rescheduled to play in the playoffs that will have a duration of three days.

The tournament began Monday, games were played Tuesday and will end Thursday.

Waterball is usually played during the fall semester, but

because of the damaged pool pump, the intramural sports office had to move it to the spring semester.

“Starting the playoffs for waterball in spring will not interfere with our schedule; it only pushed us back one week.” Hardcastle said. “[It] wasn’t a big deal because we start basketball next Monday, and because of the weather, we are not even sure about the exact dates for basketball.”

It may not be a big deal for the intramural office to do the See

WATERBALL page 8

Expectations for the first indoor meet of the year are to achieve personal goals and compete well.

But the ACU track team returned with nine provisional qualifiers from the Wes Kittley Invitational in Lubbock this weekend.

Seven women and two men earned spots for the national indoor meet. Only one athlete, Sasharine McLarty, earned spots in two events, the 55meters and 200-meters.

“I didn’t really plan for it but eventually it just happened,” McLarty said.

McLarty, a 200 and 400meter sprinter, said she didn’t know she was being entered in the 55-meters until before leaving for the meet.

“They told us before I left here,” McLarty said. “It was my best time.”

Head coach Don Hood called McLarty’s performance a “pleasant surprise.”

“We knew she was good but I was impressed with how fit she was coming in,” Hood said. “She has more in her.”

Three pole vaulters also earned provisional marks: Angie Aguilar, Elizabeth Buyse and Kyle Dennis. Aguilar cleared a height of 12-5.50 feet, and Buyse a height of 11-5.75 feet. Dennis qualified with a height of 16-1.75 feet.

“Kyle was a foot and a half under what he has jumped before,” Hood said. “He’ll get accustomed.”

Triple jumper Vladyslav Gorbenko earned the second qualifying mark for the men with a jump of 50-10.00 feet for second place at the meet.

Cross-country champion Nicodemus Naimadu placed fourth in the mile with a time of 4:21.34.

Hood said it takes distance runners longer to get into shape and he’s not worried

Track & Field about the results.

“Nicodemus had sinus problems so he’s going to be fine,” Hood said. “He was 10 seconds faster than he was in this meet last year.”

Hood attributed the success at the meet to his team’s dedication during fall workouts. While the teams were far from full, those who went proved themselves to Hood.

“I know our fall workouts were much more intense than the year before,” Hood said.

“I hope it’s just an increase in intensity on their part, they trained a lot more than last year.”

Hood didn’t keep athletes out because of any problems, he said some events, such as the mile relay, just need more time before they can be ready to compete.

“We need two or three weeks of training,” Hood said.

“By Nebraska and Arkansas our team will fill out a lot.”

The Wildcats don’t have a meet this weekend and will return to competition Feb. 23 in Lincoln, Neb. or Lubbock for the Texas Tech Open.

Indoor Nationals Qualifiers NIne ACU track and field athletes provisionally qualified for the NCAA Division II National Indoor Championships in Boston on March 9-10. n Sasharine McLarty, 55m, 200m n Shawna-Kaye Thompson, 60m hurdles n Angie Aguilar, pole vault n Elizabeth Buyse, pole vault n Keva Wilkins, 400m n Denise Morgan, 800m n Kim Prather, 55m n Kyle Dennis, pole vault n Vladyslav Gorbenko, triple jump

E-mail Fields at: jrf03b@acu.edu

Manning Tracker

Super Bowl Starter n The Chicago Bears and rookie Danieal Manning are Super Bowl bound after the Bears defeated the New Orleans Saints 39-14 in the NFC Championship game Sunday. Manning recorded one tackle in the game. The Super Bowl appearance will be Chicago’s first since 1985.

Coming Feb. 2 Danieal Manning feature story/rookie season recap

COURTESY OF CHicago Bears

SportsWednesday

Page 8

ScoreBoard Standings

Flyboys claim title with last-second shot B-Ball champs

Scoreboard as of Tuesday

Div. 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0

ACU TAMK-U Angelo Tarleton ENMU WTAM

Team

The intramural basketball season ended Monday after the final championship games were played.

The women played their championship games Thursday.

BASEBALL

Team

Overall 15-3 12-5 13-6 11-9 10-10 4-11

Men’s champ league n Flyboys

SOFTBALL

Div. Angelo St. 4-0 TAMK-U 4-0 ACU 2-2 TX Woman’s 2-2 Tarleton 0-0 ENMU 0-4 WTAM 0-4

Men’s rec league

Overall 19-5 10-4 10-6 10-16 13-5 11-14 5-13

Scores Friday BASEBALL ACU 12, Southeastern Oklahoma State 11 ACU 15, Southeastern Oklahoma State 3

SOFTBALL ACU 1, Texas Woman’s 2 Texas Woman’s 6, ACU 1

n Deuce Droppers Women’s champ league brian schmidt SENIOR PHOTOGRAPHER

Willis Hogan, junior physical education major and member of the Flyboys intramural basketball team drives to the basket during the champ league championships Tuesday.

n The Justice League Women’s rec league n Jasiri

n The Flyboys won the intramural champ league basketball championship Monday night after downing the Fresh Team 46-43 on a last-second, 3-point shot.

By BLESSED MATAI Sports Writer

The Flyboys won the intramural basketball champ league with a 46-43 win over the Fresh Team on Tuesday.

The Flyboys led throughout the game until the final minute when the Fresh Team guard Sam Jones, freshman undeclared major from Houston, hit a 3-pointer to tie the game at 43-43 with 55 seconds left on the clock.

“I thought I was going to win the game, but they came down

Intramural basketball and hit the shot,” Jones said.

That shot was a game-winning 3-pointer by Flyboys guard Zach Laughlin, senior business management major from Dallas.

Before the shot, it appeared the Fresh team would win until a backcourt violation gave the ball back to the Flyboys with less than 10 seconds remaining in the game to set up Laughlin’s last-second shot.

“It feels good to me, especial for my boy Zach who is graduating next December. It’s a good one to go out with,” said Flyboys guard Willis Hogan, junior physical education major from Sundown.

The Fresh team had the ball

back and tried to take the game to overtime, but the referee called a travel on Quinton Lewis of the Fresh Team.

Flyboys controlled the game with an inside-and-outside game. Willis, who dominated the inside-and-outside game for the Flyboys, recorded a game-high 18 points and five rebounds.

“We should have executed better in offense and played a better defense,” said Lewis, sophomore Biblical studies major from Kansas City, Mo. “The execution was the biggest problem, and that cost us the victory on a game that we should have won easily.”

The other contributor for See

FLYBOYS page 7

Sweep slides No. 8 ACU to 15-3 n The nationally ranked ACU baseball team extended its home streak to 12-0 after sweeping Southeastern Oklahoma State on Friday and Saturday.

By DANIEL JOHNSON

Saturday

Sports Editor

BASEBALL ACU 9, Southeastern Oklahoma State 6 ACU 19, Southeastern Oklahoma State 5

SOFTBALL Texas Woman’s 6, ACU 1 ACU 5, Texas Woman’s 1

MEN’S TENNIS ACU 5, Tyler Junior College 4 ACU 8, New Mexico Military 1

WOMEN’S TENNIS ACU 9, Tyler Junior College 0 ACU 8, Tarleton State 1

Upcoming Friday TRACK & FIELD ACU at NCAA Division II Indoor Championships, Boston.

BASEBALL ACU at Southwestern Oklahoma State, 1 p.m. (DH)

SOFTBALL ACU vs. Texas A&M-Kingsville 5 p.m. (DH)

n Home games listed in italics

Briefs McDonald, Johnson named Players of the Week

McDonald

March 7, 2007

Johnson

n ACU pitcher Kim McDonald and designated hitter Jessica Johnson were named LSC South Hitter and Pitcher of the Week. McDonald was 2-0 after 16 innings of work, and Johnson recorded two home runs and a slugging percentage of 2.000 over the weekend against Texas Woman’s.

Intramural Round-up Upcoming n The intramural schedule and points seen on the Optimist sports page are not final and subject to change. Any lastminute changes can be viewed on the intramural bulletin board in Moody Coliseum.

INTRAMURAL VOLLEYBALL Intramural volleyball schedule will be posted on the intramural bulletin board in Moody Coliseum after spring break.

Head baseball coach Britt Bonneau knew Southeastern Oklahoma State, a former Division II College World Series champion, would be a challenge for the Wildcats this weekend. What he didn’t know is how well his team would step up to that challenge.

“That team is always a tough team,” Bonneau said.

“If you look over the history of ACU and Southeastern, we’ve had some wars.”

ACU dominated this season’s war, winning all four games to sweep the series and extend its home record to 12-0. The Wildcats beat the Savage Storm 12-11 and 15-3 Friday and 9-6 and 195 Saturday.

The wins pushed ACU to 15-3 overall and up one spot to No. 8 in the nation according to the Collegiate Baseball Magazine Division II poll, while Southeastern dropped to 5-11 overall. “[The series] challenged our pitchers and it challenged our hitters,” Bonneau said.

“But we met those challenges and did a god job of stepping up when we needed to.”

ACU’s batters stepped up, out-hitting Southeastern 5520 and outscoring Southeastern 55-25.

But no matter how high ACU’s lead got or how many hits the Wildcats recorded,

brian schmidt SENIOR PHOTOGRAPHER

Outfielder Mike Elkerson slides into third base during a double steal in ACU’s first Saturday game against Southeastern Oklahoma State. ACU won the game 9-6 and swept all four games of the series, extending its undefeated home streak to 12-0 and overall record to 15-3.

Baseball Bonneau said he was weary of Southeastern’s ability to claw back into a game.

“I didn’t care what the score was; there wasn’t any inning I relaxed,” Bonneau said.

Catcher Jordan Schmitt hit two home runs in the series, while third baseman Alec Sowards and designated hitter Matt McGuire also hit one out of the park.

McGuire, who only played on Saturday for the Wildcats, led the team with a single game school record of eight RBI on five hits.

Despite his team-leading, record-breaking performance, Bonneau said McGuire’s spot at the designated hitter position is unknown.

“When [Matt] gets up there and swings the bat he does good things,” Bonneau said.

“Right now he’s an off-and-on

Men and women sweep weekend

n ACU softball team went 2-2 in its first Lone Star Conference South Division series in Denton this weekend. ACU is now 12-8 overall.

By RACHEL DAVIS Sports Writer

By MICHAEL FREEMAN Online Editor

See

TENNIS page 7

came to beating the Wildcats was in the first game of the series.

After ACU had to go to its bullpen early because starter Ben Maynard reaggrivated a back injury, the game became a hitting battle as Southeastern scored at least one run in every inning of the game.

Southeastern held an 11-8 lead at the top of the sixth, See

SWEEP page 7

Cats split with Pioneers

n Both nationally ranked men’s and women’s tennis teams won both of their matches this weekend. The men are 12-3 overall and the women are 9-2.

One set decided the victor between the ACU men’s tennis team and the No. 2 junior college team in the nation, Tyler Junior College. Freshman Luke Hawk won the crucial set, giving the Wildcats a 5-4 victory over Tyler on Saturday at the Eager Tennis Pavilion. The ACU men went on to defeat the New Mexico Military Institute 8-1 on Saturday to improve their overall record to 12-3.

guy, but hopefully he’ll be an everyday guy for us.”

Pitchers Brian Kennedy and Chris Wiman posted the two best starts for the Wildcats in the series. Kennedy pitched a full seven innings in game two and only allowed four hits and struck out four batters, while Wiman pitched allowed only two hits in six innings while striking out six batters.

The closest Southeastern

brian schmidt SENIOR PHOTOGRAPHER

Bryce Hicks returns a ball during a doubles match against New Mexico Military Institute on Saturday.

ACU beat New Mexico 8-1.

The Wildcats split a four-game series this weekend with Texas Woman’s University in a Lone Star Conference South Division face-off in Denton.

The team, now 12-8 overall and 22 in conference, split both games in each day’s doubleheader Friday and Saturday.

“On the bright side, we fought to win two games,” said head coach Chantiel Wilson. “Kim McDonald pitched extremely well and was very effective winning both games she pitched. However, we struggled to drive in runs and make the right adjustments at the plate. We are never satisfied with splitting a series, but TWU was tough, and we played them at their field.”

The team wasn’t very happy with its performance, said junior second baseman Tayler Wilson.

“This weekend, I think we were all disappointed,” Tayler said. “We were looking to come out hard in our first conference series and to dominate; we weren’t thrilled.”

Saturday, after losing its first game 6-1, the 19th-ranked Wildcats came

Softball back in the second game to win 5-1.

Junior Jessica Johnson homered twice in the game to cap off the ACU offensive onslaught.

“Jessica Johnson really stepped up the last game to drive in all five of our runs,” Wilson said. “Our pitching was pretty solid overall and kept us alive most of the series.”

Johnson was named LSC South Player of the Week for her performance and ACU pitcher Kim McDonald, was named LSC South Pitcher of the Week.

On Friday, ACU won its first game 2-1 and then lost 6-1 in the second game of the day. In the first game, senior third baseman Nicole Deel hit a solo home run to seal the Wildcat victory.

ACU now moves up to fourth overall in the LSC South and is eighth in the conference in batting with an average of .289.

“I think as a team we need to work on being more aggressive at the plate and scoring early in the games,” Tayler said.

“We need to turn the corner mentally at the plate,” Wilson said. “If we can just get something going offenSee

PIONEERS page 7

SPORTSFRIDAY

Page 8

SCOREBOARD Standings Scoreboard as of Thursday

BASEBALL

Team

Div. 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0

ACU Angelo TAMK-U Tarleton ENMU WTAM

Team

Overall 24-8 22-9 17-14 18-16 15-18 8-21

SOFTBALL

Div. 15-1 11-1 7-5 5-7 6-10 TX Woman’s 2-10 WTAM 2-14 Angelo St. TAMK-U Tarleton ENMU ACU

Overall 19-5 10-4 20-10 20-17 10-6 11-25 10-26

Scores Wednesday MEN’S TENNIS ACU 4, Illinois - Chicago 3

Spring brings chance to continue success n Coming off of one of ACU’s most successful football seasons in almost 30 years, the ACU football team is using spring training to build focus in preparation for 2007.

By DANIEL JOHNSON SPORTS EDITOR

Spring workouts bring fall wins — at least that is what the ACU football team hopes will be the equation for 2007.

ACU, which started its spring training on March 19, hopes its focus and a work-equals-wins mentality during the offseason will be the fuel behind the Wildcats second-straight winning season and another playoff appearance in 2007.

“This is where all the work comes in, and in the fall we put it to use,” said returning all-conference linebacker Cody Stutts.

Spring training will end on

Football Thursday after two inter-team scrimmages. ACU’s first scrimmage will be played at Shotwell Stadium at 10 a.m. Saturday, and another scrimmage is scheduled for Thursday at Shotwell at 7 p.m.

ACU is on the heels of one of the best seasons in the program’s history — 2006 was the Wildcats’ first NCAA Division II playoff appearance, its first eight-win season since 1981, and ACU finished the season with a No. 20 national ranking — and the coaches and players understand the pressure on their shoulders to meet the expectations after a successful season.

“How well we play later is a direct reflection of the work we put now,” said defensive coordinator Jason Johns.

Johns, who is in his second year as the Wildcats’ coordinator, said he anticipates his defense to be ready come August.

ACU will open its season against the University of Central Oklahoma in Edmond, Okla., a game that returning starting quarterback Billy Malone is already focused on.

“I’m just thinking about UCO,” Malone said.

UCO is one of 11 teams ACU will play in 2007 and the first in a list of preseason opponents scheduled to prepare the Wildcats for the always-competitive Lone Star Conference South divisional play. Probably one of the Wildcats’ toughest opponents scheduled is NCAA Division I-AA Texas State.

Malone, a sophomore, is coming off of the best season of his career and will most likely be the Wildcats’ starting quar-

WOMEN’S TENNIS

E-mail Johnson at: djj04a@acu.edu

n The nationally ranked ACU men’s tennis team won its fifth straight match after defeating Division I opponent Illinois-Chicago.

Upcoming

By MICHAEL FREEMAN ONLINE EDITOR

Friday TRACK & FIELD ACU at Stanford Invitational, Palo Alto, Calif.

WOMEN’S TENNIS ACU vs. Central Oklahoma, Edmond, Okla., 9 a.m.

ACU vs. Oklahoma State, Stillwater, Okla., 2 p.m.

BASEBALL ACU vs. Tarleton State, 4 p.m.

(DH)

SOFTBALL

ACU at East Central, Irving, 10 a.m.

ACU at Northeastern State, 2 p.m.

On the Web

Saturday

www.acuoptimist.com

TRACK & FIELD

n See an online video profiling the nationally ranked ACU tennis teams and their success this season at:

ACU at UTEP Spring Invitational, El Paso

MEN’S TENNIS ACU vs. Prairie View A&M, Dallas, 9 a.m.

www.acuoptimist.com

ACU vs. Arkansas-Little Rock, Dallas, 6:30 p.m.

WOMEN’S TENNIS

terback for his third season in a row. But despite his experience, Malone admits he still has a lot to gain from spring training.

“You can never learn enough,” Malone said.

Jody Walker, sophomore outside linebacker, said his personal goals for spring training is to get stronger and focus on finishing when it counts the most.

“It started after we lost [in the playoffs],” Walker said.

“The main point is we need to finish everything,” Walker said the work put in is worth the fruits of success in the fall, but sometimes the early morning workouts get to him.

“Those 6 a.m. workouts are tough at times,” Walker said.

Men down D-I opponent

ACU 9, Southeastern Oklahoma 0

ACU at Northeastern State, Tulsa Okla., 2 p.m.

BRIAN SCHMIDT SENIOR PHOTOGRAPHER

Luke Hawk returns a shot in his match-winning game against Andy Lockhart. Hawk’s victory gave ACU a 4-3 win over the Division I Illinois-Chicago at Eager Tennis Pavillion on Wednesday.

The win was the nationally ranked ACU men’s tennis team’s fifth-straight.

The ACU tennis teams each racked up another win on Wednesday at the Eager Tennis Pavilion. The Wildcat women trounced Southeastern Oklahoma State 9-0, while the men slipped by Illinois-Chicago 4-3. The women now own an overall record of 16-2, and the men are 18-7.

The ACU women, currently ranked No. 6 in Division II polls, swept through most of the matches against conference opponent, Southeastern Oklahoma State on Wednesday. After winning the three doubles in convincing fashion, Aina Rafolomanantsiatosika, Irene Squillaci, Meagan Brown and Sarah Drummond smashed their opponents in singles play. Dina Pavlin and Alexsandra Vucic each won their singles matches in third set tiebreakers. In the end, the women picked up their 13th straight victory.

“The girls are just tough,” said assistant head coach John Walker.

“They’re pretty much winning these matches just because they’re better than other teams.”

Also on Wednesday, the Wildcat men, the No. 26 team in Division II tennis, played a highly contested match against the University of Illinois at Chicago. Both teams split wins in singles matches, half of which needed three sets to decide the winner. The determining factor came in doubles play where the ACU men dug down to take all three matches.

“I just feel like we’ve got a good group See TENNIS page 7

SOFTBALL ACU at Southeastern Oklahoma, Irving, 10 a.m.

ACU at Southwestern Oklahoma, Irving, noon

BASEBALL ACU vs. Tarleton State, 2 p.m.

Sunday

SOFTBALL

ACU at East Central, Ada, Okla., 1 p.m.

n Home games listed in italics

INTRAMURAL ROUND-UP Upcoming n The intramural schedule and points seen on the Optimist sports page are not final and subject to change. Any lastminute changes can be viewed on the intramural bulletin board in Moody Coliseum.

March 30, 2007

Bonneau expects competitive series n ACU will open its LSC South division play against Tarleton State on Friday. ACU and Tarleton have split their four-game series the last two seasons the teams have met.

By DANIEL JOHNSON SPORTS EDITOR

Head baseball coach Britt Bonneau doesn’t anticipate any high-scoring games in the Wildcats series against Tarleton State this weekend, and based on the program’s past battles his prediction is well founded.

ACU and Tarleton have split the series the last two season’s and ACU slightly leads the se-

Baseball ries historically 62-50.

“In the couple of years past, it hasn’t mattered what the teams’ records are, we’re two teams who are gonna fight,” Bonneau said.

The nationally ranked ACU baseball team will open Lone Star Conference South division play at home with a four-game series against Tarleton State this weekend. ACU will play two nine-inning doubleheaders, one on Friday and another on Saturday.

ACU leads the LSC with a 24-8 record for a .750 win-

ning percentage, and No. 17 ACU is also the lone LSC team nationally ranked. Tarleton holds the fifth best record in the LSC at 18-16 and finished last place in the LSC South in 2006.

But regardless of his team’s past or current accomplishments, Bonneau is confident the series is up for grabs.

“They took two away from us last year; it’s going to be a good series to watch,” Bonneau said.

ACU is coming off of a hard-fought series with LSC See

BONNEAU page 7

BASEBALL BREAKDOWN The ACU baseball team is the only team in the Lone Star Conference that is nationally ranked and is in the top three in numerous categories in the LSC. n Runs scored — 291 (1st) n Hits — 361 (1st) n RBI — 254 (2nd) n Team batting avg. — .367 (2nd) n Triples — 20 (2nd) n Slugging pct. — .572 (3rd) n Doubles — 72 (3rd) n Homeruns — 27 (3rd)

BRIAN SCHMIDT SENIOR PHOTOGRAPHER

Linebacker Nathan Scott makes a one-handed catch during spring practice on Wednesday.

ACU golf finishes third twice n The ACU golf team recorded two third place finishes over the past three weeks. ACU placed third at the Harbor Lake Invitational and at the Kickingbird Classic.

By NATHAN MACDONALD SPORTS WRITER

The ACU golf team competed at the Harbor Lake Invitational in Granbury during spring break and placed third overall.

The two-day tournament, hosted by Odessa Community College, was also won by Odessa, winning both days and taking the tournament by only two strokes.

See

GOLF page 7

Naimadu attempts new race Friday n Three-time Division II cross country national champion Nicodemus Naimadu and five other ACU distance runners will compete in California on Friday.

By JARED FIELDS MANAGING EDITOR

Long-distance standout Nicodemus Naimadu will do something he’s never done before this weekend — run 10,000-kilometers at Stanford.

“It’s the best place in the world to run distance,” said head coach Don Hood. “It’s a great atmosphere and the premier distance meet in the nation.”

See

NAIMADU page 7

Monday

Wildcats ‘Crossover’ with LSC North in Irving

VOLLEYBALL Final week of regular season for champ league begins, rec league tournament continues.

See schedule on intramural bulletin board in Moody Coliseum.

n The 18-16 ACU softball team will play in the Lone Star Conference Crossover series against LSC North division teams in Irving this weekend.

OUTDOOR SOCCER Season begins, see intramural board for schedule and teams TEAM TENNIS Games begin, see intramural board for match times and locations.

By RACHEL DAVIS SPORTS WRITER

The Wildcat softball team will play four games in the Lone Star Conference Crossover Tournament this weekend in Irving.

Softball The tournament has a classic format, which means no winners will be determined. It gives a chance for LSC teams, which are split into North and South divisions, to play teams from the opposite division.

ACU is going into the tournament with an overall record of 18-16 and a conference record of 6-10.

The women are sched-

uled to play East Central and Northeastern State on Friday, and Southeastern Oklahoma State and Southwestern Oklahoma State on Saturday.

“I think all the teams will be tough to play,” said head coach Chantiel Wilson. “We’re playing four teams from the North side of the conference, and that’s a very competitive conference.”

The team has been working this week on increas-

ing batting consistency and other elements of the game.

Four players, Tayler Wilson, Chessie Brehm, Kim Partin and Leisha Johnson, lead the team with batting averages over .300.

“We’ve been working on our fundamentals and working on our assets that we bring to the game,” Wilson said.

“We’re really trying to remain consistent at the plate.”

Currently the team’s bat-

ting average is .262, which is the 12th highest average in the LSC. The team is 7th in pitching with an ERA of 3.48, and the team’s strongest innings are still the fifth and sixth innings. ACU has scored 42 percent of its runs during those two innings.

So far this season, ACU has been outscored by its opponents 129-124, and while the See

IRVING page 7

SportsWednesday

Wednesday, October 25, 2006

ScoreBoard Standings FOOTBALL

Team

Div. 3-0 3-0 3-1 2-2 1-2 0-3 0-4

ACU Tarleton WTAM-U MSU Angelo TAMU-K ENMU

Team

Page 8

Malone throws No. 14 ACU into first

Overall 7-0 4-3 7-1 6-2 2-5 3-5 1-6

VOLLEYBALL Div. 8-0 7-1 5-4 3-6 1-7 1-7

WTAM ACU Tarelton St. TAMK-U ENMU Angelo St.

Overall 26-3 17-8 12-13 15-22 6-23 3-20

Scores Thursday FOOTBALL ACU 49, West Texas A&M 33

VOLLEYBALL brian schmidt CHIEF PHOTOGRAPHER

ACU 3, Angelo State 1

Quarterback Billy Malone throws a touchdown pass in the Wildcats’ 49-33 win over West Texas A&M Thursday. Malone and the rest of the Wildcats jumped to No. 14 in the nation after the win.

Saturday ACU 3, St. Edwards 0

Upcoming Thursday VOLLEYBALL ACU vs. West Texas A&M, 7 p.m.

Saturday FOOTBALL ACU vs. Tarleton State, 2 p.m.

VOLLEYBALL ACU vs. Eastern New Mexico, 2 p.m.

n Quarterback Billy Malone led the Wildcat football team to 7-0 and first place in the Lone Star Conference, throwing for six touchdowns Thursday.

By DANIEL JOHNSON Sports Editor

Quarterback Billy Malone’s best game began with his first fumble.

“I didn’t play good,” said a dissatisfied Malone, whose fumble dropped the Wildcats into a 15-point deficit, the biggest of the season.

The early mistake was soon forgotten as Malone tied the

Football ACU and Lone Star Conference records for most touchdown passes in a single game and led the Wildcats to a 4933 come-from-behind victory over formerly fourth ranked West Texas A&M Thursday.

Malone threw six touchdowns and 388 passing yards in front of a national television audience, 13,641 fans and former ACU standout, now NFL rookie, Danieal Manning, who flew in from Chicago.

But Malone wasn’t quick to forgive himself for his early mistake.

“My goal was to make good decisions 100 percent of the time and not have any turnovers,” Malone said.

Although he failed to meet his own expectations, Malone’s performance was good enough to pick up the Wildcats’ seventh straight win, securing the team’s spot atop the LSC standings and earning him LSC South Offensive Player of the Week honors.

Malone and the Wildcats are nationally ranked and undefeated in his second year.

“I’ve never been a part of something like this,” Malone said.

n Home games listed in Italics

Malone ties record, earns LSC Honors

n Quarterback Billy Malone was named Lone Star Conference South Division Player of the Week after tying the ACU and LSC record for most touchdowns thrown in a game in the Wildcats’ 49-33 win over West Texas A&M on Thursday. Malone threw for six touchdowns, 388 yards and was 23 of 36 against West Texas.

n The ACU men’s and women’s cross country teams took the LSC Championships in Stephenville Saturday, as the men won five of the top six places in the meet.

By HUTTON HARRIS Sports Writer

GARY RHODES CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER

American Football Coaches Association Poll: No. 14 D2football.com Top 25 Poll: No. 11 Scoring offense Conference (2) National (6) Total offense Conference (2) National (9) Passing offense Conference (2) National (7) Rushing offense Conference (5) National (38) Scoring defense Conference (1) National (13) Total defense Conference (3) National (45) Passing defense Conference (6) National (42) Rushing defense Conference (3) National (46)

Intramural Round-up FLAG FOOTBALL PLAYOFFS See schedule at intramural board in Moody Coliseum.

WATERBALL Sign up deadline, Nov. 2

for itself.”

Head coach Chris Thomsen said he wasn’t surprised his team did so well against such high caliber competition and he attributes all of his team’s fruits to the labor they put in at the beginning of the season.

“We want to play at the highest level,” Thomsen said.

“That’s been our goal all year and we want to accomplish that no matter what.”

The Wildcat defense kept the nation’s second-best passing offense from playing at See

FOOTBALL page 7

Runners sweep LSC cross country titles

Briefs

football Rankings

The last time “something like this” happened was in 1950 when ACU had its only unblemished record and first national championship.

Malone’s biggest target was wide receiver John Brock, who had four catches, three touchdowns and 160 receiving yards. Brock’s longest touchdown grab was an 84yard, fourth-quarter bomb, and the hail-mary touchdown was one of two, as he pulled in a 64-yard grab for the Wildcats’ first score.

“We just found something in the defense,” Brock said. “This win really speaks

Outside hitter Abbie Lowry kills a ball in the Wildcats’ 3-1 victory over Angelo State on Oct. 19. Lowry leads the team in kills with 427 and has led her team to a 7-1 conference record.

Cats face undefeated foes n The volleyball team will put its seven-game winning streak on the line against 8-0 West Texas A&M, the only LSC team that has beaten ACU.

By DANIEL JOHNSON Sports Editor

The one thing that would prevent the ACU volleyball team from winning its eight straight match Thursday isn’t the undefeated West Texas A&M Lady Buffs; it is whether or not the Wildcats play consistently, said head coach Kellen Mock.

Volleyball “It will be a dog fight regardless of who wins,” Mock said.

ACU will take on Lone Star Conference leaders West Texas A&M in Moody Coliseum in its second to last game before the LSC Tournament.

The first time the Wildcats and Lady Buffs met resulted in ACU’s first conference loss of the season. The Wildcats suffered a three game loss on the road and bounced back to win seven straight matches in the second

half of the season.

The biggest reason ACU was able to recover from the loss was the consistent play of outside hitter Abbie Lowry.

Lowry leads the team in kills, with 427, averages 4.49 kills per game and was posted 21 kills in the Wildcats latest 3-0 win over St. Edwards Saturday.

“Abbie had a phenomenal night against St. Edwards,” Mock said “But when she isn’t on, we can See

VOLLEYBALL page 7

Sixteen and six.

The ACU cross country team made those numbers a reality Saturday in Stephenville: 16 straight Lone Star Conference championships for the men and six straight for the women.

Even more impressive was the men’s total score 17—a near perfect score—as the men swept five of the top six places, led by three-time conference and two-time national champion Nicodemus Naimadu.

But following him home were two runners to make it a 1-2-3 ACU finish. Two more Wildcat runners finished only seconds behind in fifth and sixth, just missing a perfect 1-5 sweep that would have earned a perfect 15-point total.

“I couldn’t have been more proud of the way our top five competed,” said second-year head coach Derek Hood. “To only have 17 points overall is really just icing on the cake.

Cross Country It’s just a testament to their talent and work ethic to win in that fashion.”

Once again, leading the Wildcat men was Naimadu from Kenya and for the women was Loice Cheboi from Ukraine, sweeping both time trials.

Naimadu won his eighth consecutive race this season and captured his third consecutive LSC title in the 8,000-meter run with a time of 24:33.

The ACU men convincingly proved why they are one of the top programs in the nation, grasping five of the top six spots in the men’s category, totaling 17 overall points on the scoreboard for the Wildcats and easily beating runner-up East Central with 59 overall points.

Naimadu, who is undefeated since last year’s Arkansas Chile Pepper Festival race, finished one second ahead of teammate Serge Gasore, who ran a 24:34.

ACU’s Philip Birgen was third in 24:36, while Julius Nyango was fifth overall in 24:46 and Laurent Ngirakamaro was sixth in 24:47.

See

CHAMPS page 7

Men’s tennis team ends fall season in Tyler n The ACU men’s tennis team completed its season in Tyler against top junior college competition. Ryan Hudson was the only Wildcat to win a singles flight.

By MICHAEL FREEMAN Online Editor

The fall tennis season is finished, and the ACU men’s tennis team finished the sea-

Men’s Tennis son strong.

Friday and Saturday, the Wildcats played in the Tyler Invitational. The tournament was hosted by the top tennis junior college in the nation, Tyler Junior College.

Along with Tyler Junior College, two other highly ranked teams competed in

the tournament: Ouachita Baptist University and Holland County Junior College.

Out of the five singles flights, one ACU player came out of the tournament triumphant. Sophomore Ryan Hudson tore through the No. 2 flight and won the finals.

ACU senior Kevin Beedy also fought to the finals of the No. 3 flight before falling in his

last match. Six out of the eight competing Wildcat singles players finished the weekend with a winning record.

In doubles, senior George Carstens and freshman Luke Hawk teamed up and dominated the No. 3 flight.

Carstens and Hawk won their final match by a decisive score of 6-2, 6-2. The duo of Hutton Jones Jr. and sophomore Brett

Proctor made it to the finals of the No. 4 doubles flight before losing. Every Wildcat doubles team came out with an above-.500 record.

“It was encouraging to see how we compared to the top junior college teams,” head coach Hutton Jones said of

See

TENNIS page 7

SportsWednesday

Page 10

Wednesday, January 24, 2007

ScoreBoard Standings MEN’S BASKETBALL

Team

Div. 2-0 1-0 1-1 1-1 0-1 0-2 0-0

ENMU MSU WTAM Angelo TAMU-K ACU Tarleton

Overall 6-9 12-3 9-7 6-10 10-4 9-6 11-4

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

Team

WTAM TX Woman’s Tarleton Angelo St. ACU TAMU-K MSU ENMU

Div. 4-0 3-1 2-1 2-2 2-2 1-2 1-3 0-4

Overall 15-3 9-4 9-4 10-6 11-7 6-10 8-8 9-7

Scores

Conference continues in Denton n The women’s basketball team will attempt to win its first road game since Nov. 18 when ACU takes on Texas Woman’s on Wednesday.

By MICHAEL FREEMAN Online Editor

The ACU women’s basketball team has a troublesome monkey on its back; The Wildcats have not won a road game since Nov. 18.

The Wildcats will have an opportunity to cast the chimp off Wednesday when they take Texas Woman’s University in Denton.

“Playing at [Texas Woman’s] is always kind of good for us,” said head coach, Shawna Lavender. “We usually have more fans there than they do. It’s almost like a home game for us.”

Lavender said the would-be home game is an advantage for the Wildcats.

Women’s basketball ACU averages 76 points per game and is undefeated at home. But on the road, they average only 61 points.

“When we’re playing our game, there aren’t a whole lot of people that can beat us,” Lavender said.

One team that was able to beat ACU was West Texas A&M on Saturday. The Wildcats fell to West Texas 62-50 in Canyon.

ACU got off to a slow start, and was not able to catch up to the No. 16 team in NCAA Division II rankings. The loss sets the Wildcats at 11-7 on the season and 2-2 in conference competition.

“We came out a little timid and kind of let them push us around a lot in the first half,” Lavender said. “Against a great team like that, you can’t afford

[to] dig yourself a hole.”

In the first half alone, the Wildcats turned the ball over a total of 22 times. ACU shot only 21 percent (4 of 19) in field goal shooting as the Lady Buffs went into halftime with a 28-12 lead.

However, the Wildcats did not go down without a fight.

“We made a good run at them in the second half,” Lavender said.

The second half featured an offensive surge by the Wildcats. Late in the game, ACU pulled within eight points.

Guard Alex Guiton led the way with 15 points, while center Audrey Maxwell recorded her sixth double-double of the season with 10 points and 12 See

Cats conquer Rams

Saturday WOMEN’S BASKETBALL West Texas A&M 62, ACU 50

MEN’S BASKETBALL

WOMEN page 8

brian schmidt SENIOR PHOTOGRAPHER

Forward Audrey Maxwell goes for a shot against an Eastern New Mexico defender on Jan. 18. ACU won the game 72-67.

Nine qualify for indoor nationals at opening meet n Seven women and two men athletes from the ACU track & field teams provisionally qualified for the Indoor National Championships in Boston at the season’s first meet.

West Texas A&M 78, ACU 69

Tuesday MEN’S BASKETBALL ACU , Angelo State

By JARED FIELDS Managing Editor

Upcoming Wednesday WOMEN’S BASKETBALL ACU at Texas Woman’s, Denton 6 p.m.

Saturday WOMEN’S BASKETBALL ACU vs. Texas A&M Kingsville, 2 p.m.

MEN’S BASKETBALL ACU vs. Texas A&M Kingsville, 4 p.m.

n Home games listed in Italics

Online

Gary RhodES CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER

Guard Philip Brooks gets fouled while driving to the basket against a slew of Angelo State defenders. Brooks recorded a double-double, 25 points and 10 assists, in the Wildcats’ 92-76 win Tuesday.

View a video update on the ACU men’s and women’s basketball teams seasons so far at www.acuoptimist.com.

Intramural Round-up Upcoming n The intramural schedule seen on the Optimist sports page is not final and is subject to change. Any last-minute changes can be viewed on the intramural bulletin board in Moody Coliseum.

BASKETBALL Sign up Deadline: Wednesday Amount per team: $125 Season Begins: Monday WATERBALL Tournament finals Thursday.

View complete schedule on intramural board.

Intramural points MEN’S SOCIAL CLUBS Gamma Sigma Phi, 140 Galaxy, 70 Frater Sodalis, 55 WOMEN’S SOCIAL CLUBS Ko Jo Kai, 55 Delta Theta, 25 Sigma Theta Chi, 20

n The ACU men’s basketball team pulled in a must-win game against rivals Angelo State on Tuesday. ACU is 1-2 in conference after the 92-76 win.

By DANIEL JOHNSON Sports Editor

The ACU men’s basketball team faced a must-win situation Tuesday night.

A loss against rival Angelo State would have dropped them to 0-3 in conference and dashed any reasonable hope of making the regional tournament.

“Coming in we knew we

Men’s basketball had to win,” said guard Cortnie Ross. “We didn’t want to dig ourselves a hole; We had to win.”

The Wildcats executed when it mattered and kept their postseason hopes alive by downing Angelo State 92-76.

“We really needed this one,” head coach Jason Copeland said.

The win is ACU’s ninth at home and extended the Wildcats’ record to 1-2 in conference and 10-8 overall.

ACU is now tied with Angelo

for fourth in the Lone Star Conference South division.

“We take pride in not losing here,” guard Norman Alexander said.

After going into the half with a 48-38 lead, the Wildcats’ outpaced the Angelo Rams and led throughout the second half by as much as 20 points.

Guard Philip Brooks posted a double-double with 25 points and 10 assists. A majority of Brooks’ 25 came from the free-throw line where he was 12-15. Brooks See

CATS page 8

Waterball championships Thursday n The finals of the ACU intramural waterball tournament, which was postponed in the fall, will be played Thursday night in the pool in Gibson.

By BLESSED MATAI Student Reporter

For two months waterball has been on standby because of the burned pump that forced the pool in Gibson to close for two weeks.

Although the burned pump was fixed four days before finals of last semester, the tournament was postponed.

“We choose to wait because

Waterball we needed a week to do the playoffs,” said Susan Hardcastle, intramurals sports administrative coordinator. “We could have started the playoffs in the fall semester, but we didn’t want to interfere with finals.”

Fourteen teams were rescheduled to play in the playoffs that will have a duration of three days.

The tournament began Monday, games were played Tuesday and will end Thursday.

Waterball is usually played during the fall semester, but

because of the damaged pool pump, the intramural sports office had to move it to the spring semester.

“Starting the playoffs for waterball in spring will not interfere with our schedule; it only pushed us back one week.” Hardcastle said. “[It] wasn’t a big deal because we start basketball next Monday, and because of the weather, we are not even sure about the exact dates for basketball.”

It may not be a big deal for the intramural office to do the See

WATERBALL page 8

Expectations for the first indoor meet of the year are to achieve personal goals and compete well.

But the ACU track team returned with nine provisional qualifiers from the Wes Kittley Invitational in Lubbock this weekend.

Seven women and two men earned spots for the national indoor meet. Only one athlete, Sasharine McLarty, earned spots in two events, the 55meters and 200-meters.

“I didn’t really plan for it but eventually it just happened,” McLarty said.

McLarty, a 200 and 400meter sprinter, said she didn’t know she was being entered in the 55-meters until before leaving for the meet.

“They told us before I left here,” McLarty said. “It was my best time.”

Head coach Don Hood called McLarty’s performance a “pleasant surprise.”

“We knew she was good but I was impressed with how fit she was coming in,” Hood said. “She has more in her.”

Three pole vaulters also earned provisional marks: Angie Aguilar, Elizabeth Buyse and Kyle Dennis. Aguilar cleared a height of 12-5.50 feet, and Buyse a height of 11-5.75 feet. Dennis qualified with a height of 16-1.75 feet.

“Kyle was a foot and a half under what he has jumped before,” Hood said. “He’ll get accustomed.”

Triple jumper Vladyslav Gorbenko earned the second qualifying mark for the men with a jump of 50-10.00 feet for second place at the meet.

Cross-country champion Nicodemus Naimadu placed fourth in the mile with a time of 4:21.34.

Hood said it takes distance runners longer to get into shape and he’s not worried

Track & Field about the results.

“Nicodemus had sinus problems so he’s going to be fine,” Hood said. “He was 10 seconds faster than he was in this meet last year.”

Hood attributed the success at the meet to his team’s dedication during fall workouts. While the teams were far from full, those who went proved themselves to Hood.

“I know our fall workouts were much more intense than the year before,” Hood said.

“I hope it’s just an increase in intensity on their part, they trained a lot more than last year.”

Hood didn’t keep athletes out because of any problems, he said some events, such as the mile relay, just need more time before they can be ready to compete.

“We need two or three weeks of training,” Hood said.

“By Nebraska and Arkansas our team will fill out a lot.”

The Wildcats don’t have a meet this weekend and will return to competition Feb. 23 in Lincoln, Neb. or Lubbock for the Texas Tech Open.

Indoor Nationals Qualifiers NIne ACU track and field athletes provisionally qualified for the NCAA Division II National Indoor Championships in Boston on March 9-10. n Sasharine McLarty, 55m, 200m n Shawna-Kaye Thompson, 60m hurdles n Angie Aguilar, pole vault n Elizabeth Buyse, pole vault n Keva Wilkins, 400m n Denise Morgan, 800m n Kim Prather, 55m n Kyle Dennis, pole vault n Vladyslav Gorbenko, triple jump

E-mail Fields at: jrf03b@acu.edu

Manning Tracker

Super Bowl Starter n The Chicago Bears and rookie Danieal Manning are Super Bowl bound after the Bears defeated the New Orleans Saints 39-14 in the NFC Championship game Sunday. Manning recorded one tackle in the game. The Super Bowl appearance will be Chicago’s first since 1985.

Coming Feb. 2 Danieal Manning feature story/rookie season recap

COURTESY OF CHicago Bears

SPORTSFRIDAY

Page 10

SCOREBOARD Standings Scoreboard as of Thursday

Team

BASEBALL Div. 9-3 9-3 6-6 5-7 4-6 1-9

ACU Angelo St. TAMK-U Tarleton ENMU WTAM

Team

Overall 34-11 33-13 23-23 23-24 19-26 10-31

SOFTBALL

Div. 19-1 11-5 9-7 8-8 7-13 TX Woman’s 4-12 WTAM 2-14 Angelo St. TAMK-U Tarleton ENMU ACU

Overall 40-6 28-14 29-12 23-21 21-20 18-31 14-31

CT, Siggies win intramural volleyball titles n Intramural volleyball ended Tuesday night after CT won the men’s champ tournament and the Siggies won the women’s champ league Monday night.

By BLESSED MATAI SPORTS WRITER

Intramural volleyball ended Tuesday night after the CT team claimed the men’s intramural champ league title.

The CT team defeated GSPYoshi in two games Tuesday night to win the men’s champ

Intramural Volleyball title and coveted intramural T-shirts, while the Siggies claimed the women’s title after defeating the Polka Dots on Monday night.

“The diversity that we had helped us to pull this victory,” said Graham Russell, junior undeclared major from Concord, Calif., and member of the CT team. “We had players from California, Japan, Madagascar and Texas.”

The two men’s finalist went

back and forth in the men’s game before CT pulled out the victory 21-17, while in the second game, things looked a little easier for the CT team. The champs won the second game by seven points, downing GSP 21-14 to claim the title.

“They had a lot athleticism on their team, but we had experience from players with volleyball background; that was the difference between both of us,” Russell said.

Even after winning the title, Russell said the game against

GSP was one of the hardest, if not the hardest, game they played in the tournament.

“I felt like it could go either way,” Russell said.

On the women’s side, the Siggies victory was a redemptive one — the Polka Dots knocked Siggies out of the tournament last year.

“It felt really good to win,” said Shaylee Busch, senior interior design major from Austin.

“Especially playing against a team that beat us last year; for us that was a sweet revenge,”

BASEBALL ACU vs. Eastern New Mexico, 4 p.m. (DH)

Busch said.

Busch said the victory was also special because of the large number of seniors on the Siggies team.

“That’s a good way to go out,” Busch said.

In the rec league, Dunder Mifflin won the men’s tournament and OSS won the women’s tournament.

“There was a lot of good and solid teams out there.”

Busch said.

E-mail Matai at: optimist@acu.edu

Goal-oriented addition

Upcoming Friday

April 20, 2007

The inclusion of women’s soccer to ACU’s list of sports offered added depth to an athletic department already used to being ahead of its competition.

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION

BY BRIAN SCHMIDT

MEN’S TENNIS

ACU at LSC championships, Oklahoma City.

By DANIEL JOHNSON

WOMEN’S TENNIS

SPORTS EDITOR

ACU at LSC championships, Oklahoma City

Allison Thomas wouldn’t usually have considered ACU, but a single visit changed that.

In December, she came to a school more than 1,200 miles from her hometown of Pasadena, Calif., and found two reasons to choose ACU: the friendly people and the new ACU women’s soccer team.

“I’m from California, so I’m used to rude people and a big city,” Thomas said. “Everyone in Texas is so nice.”

Thomas, who has played soccer since age six, always wanted a scholarship to play college soccer. But because she wasn’t accepted right out of high school to her first choice, she ended up attending Pasadena City Junior College and playing soccer as a walk on.

Now, thanks to the newest addition to the list of Division II sports ACU offers, Thomas has a chance to mark her goal as complete.

“I finally fulfilled my goal,” Thomas said.

It was stories like Thomas’ that pushed ACU athletic director Jared Mosley to bring soccer to ACU. Before ACU added the new sport, he said he frequently spoke with prospective students who would have come to ACU if it had a soccer team.

“We and admissions would always field calls from parents saying, ‘My daughter would have gone here if you offered soccer,’” Mosley said. “Those phone calls got to the point where we said, ‘Hey it’s as good a time as any.’”

SOFTBALL ACU vs. West Texa A&M, 1 p.m. (DH)

Saturday BASEBALL ACU vs. Eastern New Mexico, 4 p.m. (DH)

SOFTBALL ACU vs. West Texa A&M, 5 p.m. (DH)

TRACK & FIELD ACU at TCU Invitational, Fort Worth

Briefs Kennedy named pitcher of the week

See

GOAL page 7

BRIAN SCHMIDT

SENIOR PHOTOGRAPHER

Kennedy

Left: Kathy Maxwell heads a ball during practice on Wednesday.

n ACU starting pitcher Brian Kennedy was named Lone Star Conference South Division Pitcher of the Week after throwing 7 1/3 innings to pick up his seventh win this weekend. Kennedy allowed only seven hits and one earned run as the Wildcats went on to beat Texas A&M-Kingsville 5-3 Saturday.

Wildcats ranked fourth in South Central n The nationally ranked ACU baseball team is ranked fourth in the South Central Division II Region.

ACU is ranked behind D-II powerhouses Ouachita Baptist, Delta State and defending regional champions Montevallo.

ACU’s next regional opponent will be Eastern New Mexico on Friday.

INTRAMURAL ROUND-UP Upcoming n The intramural schedule and points seen on the Optimist sports page are not final and subject to change. Any lastminute changes can be viewed on the intramural bulletin board in Moody Coliseum.

Monday OUTDOOR SOCCER See intramural board for schedule.

SOFTBALL Softball began Monday, see intramural board for team names and schedule.

Right: A group of women’s soccer players cheerfully run around the old intramural field during practice Wednesday.

ACU needs sweep to make the postseason Golf n After losing a series to Eastern New Mexico last weekend, the ACU softball team needs to sweep West Texas A&M to put itself in contention for the postseason.

By RACHEL DAVIS SPORTS WRITER

The Wildcats will take on West Texas A&M in its last Lone Star Conference South

Softball Division series of the season this weekend at home.

To make it into the postseason conference tournament, the team needs to sweep its series against West Texas since ACU is ranked fifth in the LSC South and needs to be ranked fourth or higher to secure a spot in the

LSC postseason tournament.

“We need to win four games this weekend and just see what happens with the remainder of the conference the following weekend,” said head coach Chantiel Wilson.

ACU has the best chance of sweeping the series since West Texas is last in the division with a 2-14 conference record and an overall

record of 14-31. But regardless of the records, both teams offense is very similar with batting averages both in the .270s.

“We just have not been able to get our offense and defense going at the same time,” Wilson said. “It’s just one of those things. WTAMU See

NEED page 9

Bid depends on continued success n The ACU baseball team will play in its second to last Lone Star Conference series this weekend and needs to continue winning to secure a postseason spot.

By DANIEL JOHNSON SPORTS EDITOR

The ACU baseball team is done with the majority of its regular season, but the No. 1 seed in the Lone Star Conference postseason tournament is still theirs to lose.

With 10 games remaining in the regular season, nation-

Baseball ally ranked ACU is tied with Angelo State for first place in the LSC South Division and must win its series against fifth place Eastern New Mexico this weekend to remain atop the LSC. “Its our conference to lose,” said second baseman Thomas Bumpass. “It’s in our hands and we should win out.”

ACU’s 9-3 conference record should be good enough to secure the Wildcats a spot in the LSC tournament, but

its performance against its last three opponents, ENMU, Texas-Permian Basin and West Texas A&M, will affect its spot in the South Central regional rankings.

ACU is ranked fourth in the South Central Region after the rankings were released Thursday and needs to continue to win to maintain a high ranking that would put them in the South Central Regional tournament.

“That’s another reason See

BID page 9

places third at tourney n The ACU golf team tied for third at the Lone Star Conference Championships but is expecting a bid to the South Central Regional championships May 7-9.

By NATHAN MACDONALD SPORTS WRITER

BRIAN SCHMIDT SENIOR PHOTOGRAPHER

Shortstop Willy Uechi fields a ground ball at batting practice Wednesday.

After a tournament filled with miserable weather, the ACU Golf team came back tied for third from the Lone Star Conference men’s championship in Roanoke.

The scoreboard was broad this tournament with Northeastern State leading all three rounds with a total combined score of 867 strokes. Central Oklahoma was 17 strokes behind with a combined score See

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