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April 17, 2017 Special Section
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Infographic by Alex Gudac On March 21, the men’s basketball team won its first national title since 2006. The Rams beat Life University‘s Runnin’ Eagles by a score of 86-76 at Kansas City’s Municipal Auditorium.
The champs’ road to domination Matt Smith
mxsmith@txwes.edu
The road to success is a hard one, with ups and downs, twists and turns, dead ends and pitfalls. For Texas Wesleyan’s men’s basketball team, the road to a national championship began in earnest on Halloween 2016, and an easy 10179 win over Dallas Christian College. “It was a fun first game,” said junior guard Ryan Harris. “The first game was full of energy, we were all excited to play, I was excited to play – I was a little nervous but all the nervousness went away as soon as I touched the ball. I felt the energy from the crowds, our coaches were into it – it was exciting.” That easy win would serve as a preview of things to come. After the DCC win, the Rams would rack up six consecutive wins until they lost two in a row, first to Wiley College (70-61) on Nov. 28, and then, three days later, to Mid-
America Christian University (91-90). Two losses in a row are never good, but the Rams kept pushing. “[The two losses in a row] didn’t affect us because we bounced back,” said Harris, one of the team’s top three scorers. “You had to win some and you had to lose some. If you lose one, it’s how you respond to that what makes you great. You just had to practice hard and be better in the next game.” After that hiccup, the Rams went on to win 16 and lose only five before claiming the Sooner Athletic Conference regular-season title in late February; their 23-7 record included six blowouts. Wesleyan topped the SAC’s conference standings in late January and never looked back; winning the conference came with automatic placement in the SAC tournament. The Rams were ecstatic to win the conference but, Harris said, they were driven to accomplish more. “When we found out we won – at that mo-
ment, it was like, ‘Wow,’” Harris said. “Me personally, I’m finally a part of a winning organization. But, I felt like – at that moment – I wanted more. I wasn’t just satisfied with the conference. I want to win the conference tournament. I want to win the nationals. We all enjoyed the moment, but at the same time, we want more to come.” The Rams started strong in the SAC tournament, blowing out MACU 93-60 on Feb. 28. Not only did the victory advance the Rams to the semifinals, but it was especially sweet, given that MACU had beaten Wesleyan twice in the regular season. Senior guard Najeal Young, another one of the Rams’ three top scorers with 14.6 points per game, said the win over MACU was simply a matter of Wesleyan wanting the victory more. “That game, we knew what was at stake and, again, they had beaten us back to back, home and away,” he said.
But the Rams’ hopes of winning the SAC tournament were dashed three days later when they lost 80-68 to the University of Science and Arts. It was the second time USAO had beaten Wesleyan that season, just as MACU had. “[In that second conference tournament game] we struggled,” Young said. “Our guys just didn’t feel well, we were a little banged up, a little tired. Guys were just not in sync. And they (USAO) was just hitting us, they figured out their strengths and focused on our weaknesses, and that’s why we lost from the conference tournament.” Losing in the SAC tournament did not bode well for the Rams’ chances in the NAIA national tournament, which was set to begin in Kansas City on March 15, less than two weeks later. Could the Rams rebound from a tough loss to do better in a more difficult tournament
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Table tennis continues 15-year legacy Karan Muns
kemuns@txwes.edu
Dynasty. What else can you call the 65 national championships Texas Wesleyan’s table tennis program has won in the past 15 years? Wesleyan’s domination of college table tennis continued earlier this month, with the program winning five of a possible six titles at the 2017 TMS College Table Tennis National Championships; the wins included the program taking its 13th coed team championship, according to ramsports.net. In addition to the coed team title, Wesleyan won women’s team, men’s single, men’s doubles and women’s doubles at the tournament, which was held April 7-9 in Eau Claire, Wis.
The tournament included 250 players from more than 40 universities. Both the coed and women’s teams won their titles for the second year in a row. Jishan Liang, who on April 8 became the sixth player to win one of the program’s 11 national men’s singles titles, said he “will treasure this moment for a long time.” “I’m so proud of my university, and I feel as if I am part of a very big family,” said Liang. “My teammates and everyone in my university are so perfect, and I really mean it. I appreciate this so much.” Liang said that his teammates inspire him to continue to work hard as part of a championcaliber team. “My teammates are very good people nd players and we all push each other to be better,”
Photo by Sachiko Jayaratne Freshman Yue Wu, who is an Olympian, competes at nationals in Eau Claire, Wis. on April 7-9.
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Rams look to repeat SAC success Matt Smith mxsmith@txwes.edu
Texas Wesleyan’s baseball team is looking to repeat last season’s Sooner Athletic Conference regular-season championship – but they’re not going to be satisfied with that. With a 28-11 record as of April 12, the team is hoping to win the 2017 Avista-NAIA World Series, which will be held in late May and early June. If they do, the team will follow in the footsteps of Wesleyan’s 2017 champion sports teams. Head coach Mike Jeffcoat, who notched his 500th win on March 17 with a 12-4 victory over Bacone College, notes that this season’s team has a lot of mature players who stay dedicated to their responsibilities on and off the field. “We got a group of guys that are committed to taking care of their business off the field, going to class, keeping their grades up and, ya know, making wise decisions,” Jeffcoat said. “You need some upperclassmen to lead by example off the field, and keep the guys committed to staying focused – going to bed at a
decent hour, not getting into things they’re not supposed to, being mentally and physically prepared for how many games we have in college baseball. When you get a group of young men willing to do that, it kinda helps bond the team and keeps us focused on the field.” Jeffcoat said it would be a big help for the
“The weather’s getting really nice, we play mostly afternoon games. We’re pretty exciting to watch and most of our games are quick – normally two hours or less – so I think you’ll see some pretty good baseball, so come down and watch.” Senior right hand pitcher Alex Lopez said
“The biggest factor for our success is how close we are as a team. Even though we start slow, we just stick togehter and battle until the last inning.” - Luis Ramon Wesleyan Ramily to come out and watch a few games, noting that the team’s home field, Sycamore Park, is not far away, and that the games are usually entertaining and pretty fast. “It’s only about five blocks west of campus, right off of Rosedale, so any of the Wesleyan family that could come down and support the team would be a huge asset to us,” he said.
the team has an unselfish quality, which has played into them getting this far. “This year, we seem to have a really good group of guys who wanna play for each other,” he said. “We have our mind set on a goal of more than just winning a regular season championship or regional. We want to go all the way to something special and come back
with a national championship.” Lopez also noted the team’s comradery. “Us just kind of getting along as friends off the field,” he said. “It’s really hard to play with guys that you don’t like off the field, even putting your differences aside. It’s hard to get guys on the same page, and I think it’s been really easy for us as a team, with the freshman through seniors we have, to really be on the same page and know everybody’s there on and off the field.” Senior third baseman Luis Ramon said the team’s true strength lies in the ability to actually work as a team. “The biggest factor for our success is how close we are as a team,” Ramon said. “Even though we start the game slow, we just stick together and battle to the last inning. The other guys quit. It’s been a really big factor – we never quit. We got each other’s back on and off the field, we help each other when we were struggling in class, ya know, keep our grades up so we can be eligible to play, making sure everybody got their stuff done. We have a good chemistry.”
Photo courtesy of Little Joe Senior right hand pitcher Alex Lopez is one of two Rams to be named the SAC Pitcher of the Week. He has won the award twice in the 2016 - 2017 season in baseball at Texas Wesleyan.
Lady Rams look for first national title Karan Muns kemuns@txwes.edu
Texas Wesleyan women’s golf team is one of the best in the nation, but that’s not enough. The Lady Rams, which have been ranked in the top 10 in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics most of the season, are hungry for their first national championship, junior business finance major Alex Schies wrote in an email. “We’ve been practicing every day, with having qualifiers every Tuesday and Thursday for the top five spots, to help prepare us for the pressure,” Schies wrote. “Outside of that, we practice on our own on the weekends.” The team got off to a rocky start this season, falling to No. 13 in final poll of the fall, but since then there has been steady improvement, Schies wrote. “We did well at our most recent tournament and beat five of the seven top 15 teams, so that gave us a major boost to No. 10,” Schies wrote. “We have one more tournament, hosted by Oklahoma City, then we have conference at the end of the month and hopefully a bid to nationals at the end of May.” The team was ranked No. 10 on April 7 in the 2016-2017 NAIA Women’s Golf Coaches’ Top 25 Poll, according to naia.org. The NAIA national championships are May 23-26 in Florida. The team has been resilient and worked through difficulties all year during practice and tournaments, Schies wrote. “We have worked hard this year and never given up,” Schies wrote, “no matter what happens to us in a tournament. Every time we’ve gotten knocked down, we’ve come back at the next tournament and proven ourselves.” The team is motivated by the knowledge that the players have the talent and skills it takes to win at nationals, Schies wrote. “We know how close we are and what we are capable of doing,” she wrote. “We want to make sure we solidify a spot for nationals, so then once we get there we can then prove ourselves. Last year we got one of the last spots, but finished fourth, and if we wouldn’t have been delayed we were in position to win it. So that definitely motivates us, knowing we can do it.” The team has a saying to keep them motivated and encouraged on the green, Schies wrote.
“We usually say ‘Vamos cabrones,’ meaning ‘Let’s go Rams’ in Spain,” Schies wrote. “(Team member) Elena (Romero) is from Spain, and she taught us that. Every team has something unique at tournaments and we wanted something unique, so Elena came up with this.” Schies is excited to see where the rest of the season takes the Lady Rams because of the toughness and resilience this team has. “I’m proud of us, like I said earlier, no matter how hard of a day any of us have had on the golf course we don’t give up and we continue to get better,” Schies wrote. “We’ve shown a lot of progress this year and hopefully we continue to get even better.” The team has only one goal, Schies wrote. “Win a national championship, for sure.” The team prepares in a very simple way, wrote freshman psychology major Trudy Allen: Practice, play, practice, repeat. Every day. The team encourages each other to be better golfers every day, Allen wrote. “Overall we have been doing pretty good,” Allen wrote, “and it helps that we are all motivated and pushing each other to play better than the previous round.” Allen wrote that she is motivated by the possibility of winning a national championship. “I golf more now than I ever have before because I know I have potential to be really good and help my team be even better,” Allen wrote. “Potential motivates me. I feel we are so close to being really really great. When we come together as one, that’s when we will be at our best. “ The team is doing so well because everyone has the same mind set at this point, Allen wrote. “I think we are getting to where we should be,” Allen. “Everyone is working hard because we all want to be the best that we can be. We can’t be the best without hard work and dedication and all of us know that.” Allen wrote that she tries to help the team the only way she really can, by practicing her own skills. “My goal during this season is to just practice as much and as hard as I can for the upcoming tournaments we have,” Allen wrote. “You can’t control how anyone else plays but you have the power to be the best you can with just practice. Lots of practice.”
Photo courtesy of Josh Lacy Junior business finance major Alex Schies head coach Kevin Millikan talk at a recent tournament. Schies was named the team MVP two years in a row.
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with teams from around the country? Especially since several members of the team were injured? Young said that, rather than getting down, the Rams remained optimistic. “I was confident, I felt like we had the best team,” he said. “We were hurt, Jeremy (Crane) was out with a hurt shoulder, Peyton (Prudhomme) had a groin injury, I was a little banged up, Trey (Treyvon Jeffery) was a little banged up – ya know, our core guys were going through something going to the conference tournament. And then we got some time to rest a little bit, so we went go back in better health again, and we got our championship run.” Junior guard Praneeth Udumalagala, who was honored as a 2016-17 Daktronics-NAIA scholar-athlete, said the key that strengthened the Rams through the tournament was that everyone gave 100 percent from Photo by Matt Smith the beginning to the end of every Texas Wesleyan University President Frederick Slabach stands with the men’s basketball team at their celebration at the Sid W. Richardson Center. game. “It definitely felt different being in the bigger final 16, the Rams beat The Master’s College And from there it was easy. Playing the next and we played for each other.” stage of nationals, but for us, it’s nothing be- 77-75 and then, advancing to the final eight, night in front of a crowd that included a busNaiel Smith, who scored 17 points in the title cause from there, there’s no ‘buts,’ ‘ifs’ – there’s Dalton State College 82-73. load of Wesleyan fans, the Rams led Life Uni- game, described the Rams’ triumph as a blessno second chances,” he said. “You lose you go But then came March 20 and the end of a versity the entire game on the way to a 86-76 ing. It was the leadership, he said, that made home, so there’s only one thing to do – just hard-fought game against William Penn Uni- victory and the team’s first national champion- the season what it was. win. The only plan is, from the first buzzer to versity. ship since 2006. “It feel good man, and actually, to be honthe last buzzer, you give everything you have, The Rams were down by one point as overWhen it was all over and he had the title and est with you, it don’t even feel real,” Smith said everyone in the team. From coaches to 15 time drew to a close. They needed a miracle, the tournament MVP award, Rogers didn’t just after the championship win. “My coach players, everyone just gives everything ‘til the but instead they had top scorer Dion Rogers know how to react. say he believes in me – he believes in us, and last buzzer goes. We gave everything, simple as who, with 2.3 seconds on the clock, shot a “It’s unexplainable man, I don’t know how to we here man, and we got it, it’s a blessing man. that.” jumper from the corner. The Ramily held its feel right now,” he said. “It’s just amazing. So [Especially] to be the person from where I The Rams’ first NAIA tournament game was collective breath for a long second before – much that we’ve been through, all the ups and came from. We just wanted to win, that was simple enough, a 74-68 win against University swish! – the shot was good and the Rams won downs. So we just pull through as a team, we the whole goal. When Ryan guided us, Dion of the Cumberlands on March 16. Now in the 83-82 to go to the championship game. stuck together – we pull through as a family guided us, Najeal guided us.
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said Liang, who along with Zhe Fang captured the men’s doubles title. “Wherever we go to play, we need to keep our level and try to get better so we can perform well. I love table tennis and feel lucky to get a support of university to study and play table tennis.” Yue Wu said that this year’s competition was “very strong.” “We had a couple of Olympians participating as well as world champions in different events,” said Wu, who along with Chen Wang won the
women’s doubles title. “Going there, I was not sure what to expect but I knew that I need to try my best.” Wu and Liang personify a largely international roster that includes players from, among other countries, China, Brazil, Jordan, Nepal, and England. At the same time, there are a few Texans, including Bedford’s Adrian Rodriguez.
Photo by Sachiko Jayaratne Sophmore accounting major Edina Haracic performs at the national tournament in Wisconsin.
Congratulations “Ram”pions! Dr. Jon Crook
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Rambler TV focuses on champions
Newscast with With Sachiko Jayaratne and Brianna Kessler on April 20, 2016.
Sports Access with Tina Huynh on Feb. 26, 2017.
Sports Access with Nicholas Acosta on Feb. 8, 2017.
Sports Access with Tina Huynh on March 28, 2017.
Sports Access with Tina Huynh on Feb. 26, 2017.
Sports Access with Tina Huynh on Feb. 26, 2017.
Newscast with With Sachiko Jayaratne and Brianna Kessler on April 20, 2016.
Sports Access with Nicholas Acosta on Feb. 8, 2017.
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Championship win benefits Wesleyan Hannah Onder
hlonder@txwes.edu
Senior criminal justice major Katie Matthews made the joke that the cookies she baked for the basketball team were the key to their victory. “I’m part of Ram Squad so I thought it would be nice for Ram Squad to do something for them,” Matthews said. “I’m really big into baking anyway and everyone says my cooking is really good so I just decided combine the two together.” Matthews said assistant men’s basketball coach Matt Garnett was thankful when she gave him the cookies. He even asked her to bake again for the team next year. Garnett’s request to Matthews wasn’t the only change that happened on campus due to the men’s NAIA championship. The win also affected Texas Wesleyan’s Office of Marketing & Communications. “First of all, we knew that we wanted to have a celebration for the guys on campus, so we worked with our different on campus partners in Student Life, the Provost Office, athletics, as well as many other departments to organize that celebration,” said Darren White, associate vice president of marketing and communications. “We also reached out to our partners because we knew that we wanted to commemorate the national championship with T-shirts since we knew that people were already asking before they won the national championship.” The celebration took place on March 28 in the Sid W. Richardson Center during lunch time. Students and faculty received free lunch and a T-shirt while congratulating the basketball team on their win. White said marketing and communications also worked on getting the word out to the community. “In addition to those things, we also wanted to get the community to know the great things that our basketball team was doing,” White said. “We obviously got a lot of great coverage from area news media, but we also had run a short, limited run of billboards and a TV commercial.” As for future plans, White said he isn’t completely sure but marketing is likely to refocus on basketball when next season rolls around. “We don’t have any plans for videos or billboards right now specifically for them. However, we are very excited about basketball,” Graphic by Hannah Onder White said. “Once you have a national chamThe basketball championship win could increase media coverage, enrollment, and donations. pionship team, the question is, can the team
win (back to back)? We would love to build the energy and enthusiasm around our season next year so maybe we’ll look at some strategies for that.” Marketing and communications aren’t the only ones with plans to promote the basketball team’s victory. Djuana Young, associate vice president for enrollment, said student enrollment will also be mentioning the championship to incoming students this summer. “Everyone wants to be associated with the winner, so being able to talk about what the team has done and the excitement of that is one more thing that a student can point to and say, ‘I’m going to a school that has X,’” Young said. “It just brings excitement to the campus.” Young said she hasn’t seen any noticeable spikes in enrollment yet, but she believes there will be some eventually. “I think it (the victory) helps when a student is making a decision on whether or not they want to attend an institution to have this type of publicity and excitement on a campus,” Young said. “I can’t tell you that everything (that causes enrollment spikes) will directly relate to the team winning a national championship, but as students are making their minds up that one more piece will possibly help them with the decision.” Matthews is hopeful that the basketball team’s victory will draw in lots of new students. “Well, I’m hoping it will bring more recruitment in,” she said. “I watched it when (the team) was on the news and (head men’s basketball) coach (Brennen) Shingleton was like they’re (the players that are graduating are) going to help me recruit. I’m hoping it will bring in new faces and more people will want to donate (to Wesleyan).” Matthews is graduating this fall, and she said she would like to see this victory revamp the crowds at the basketball games next season. “I was there for every game cheering them on,” Matthews said. “I’m just hoping that Ram Squad will continue to grow even after I leave. We won our national championships and some of the reason is because Ram Squad was always there cheering the guys on and hyping up the crowd and players.” Matthews said this victory sets the team’s bar for next season. “It gives them (the basketball team) something to strive for because you know spring 2017 was just so good and hopefully we can live up to that and we can surpass that in the coming years,” Matthews said. “It gives them (the basketball team) something to work to-
Congratulations, Champions!
Congratulations on your great achievement!!
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From 3PR WEDNESDAY, APRIL 19 10:30 A.M. – NOON NICHOLAS MARTIN HALL MASTER OF CEREMONIES April 19, 2017
SCHEDULE OF EVENTS 8:30 - 9 A.M. Baker Building Registration & program pickup Breakfast 9 A.M. - 5 P.M. Brown Lupton 137 Late Registration 9 - 10:20 A.M. Across Campus Morning Presentations 9 - 10:20 A.M. International Students Office, Dan Waggoner Annex Poster Sessions 10:20 - 10:30 A.M. Martin Hall Wesleyan Chamber Singers 10:30 A.M. - NOON Martin Hall
NOON - 2 P.M. On the Mall Lunch for Presenters Ram Jam 2 - 4 P.M. Library Poster Sessions 2 - 4 P.M. STC 114, 116, 118 Natural Sciences Poster Session
Joe Prud’homme, head football coach, Texas Wesleyan
PA N E L Claudia Castillo, digital and social media manager, FC Dallas Emily Snow, head dance coach, Texas Wesleyan John Henry, sports editorial reporter, Star-Telegram Mike Leslie, sports reporter, WFAA-TV
2 - 5 P.M. Across Campus Afternoon Presentations 6:30 P.M. Science Lecture Theatre Screening: Tickling Giants A flim by Sara Taksler
Featured Presentation: “Diversity: Building Success for a Touchdown” by Keynote Panel and Keynote Speaker Everson Walls
VIEW THE SCHEDULE ONLINE AT TXWES.EDU/UCD2017
F E AT U R E D P R E S E N TAT I O N :
“The Influence of Character” Everson Walls, television personality, commentator and former NFL player (1981-1993) Walls is a former NFL player for the Dallas Cowboys, New York Giants and Cleveland Browns. He currently serves as a television personality and commentator for various national sport talk shows.