022020

THURSDAY, FEB. 20, 2020 VOLUME 94 ■ ISSUE 40

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LA VIDA

SPORTS

TTUHSC Student Government Association engages campus community.

McCullar finds role for Red Raiders.

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OPINIONS

ONLINE

Love all pets on National Love Your Pet Day.

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INDEX

Check out @JayStraderDT’s recap from last night’s men’s basketball game against Kansas State on our website.

ONLINE

SPORTS OPINIONS CROSSWORD CLASSIFIEDS SUDOKU

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STUDENT GOVERNMENT

SGA candidates discuss visions, goals

By ELIZABETH HERBERT

Assistant News & L a Vida Editor Executive candidates are campaigning for the Student Government Association elections, which are quickly approaching.

Students will have the opportunity to elect executive candidates as well as representatives from their colleges on Election Day, which takes place on March 4 and 5.

Most candidates belong to a bloc, meaning candidates have the same campaign goals in mind and work together to share the information with the public. Even though candidates may be on the same bloc, each candidate is voted for individually.

“For the Future,” is one such bloc and is made up of executive candidates Haley Pratt, Rolando Bernal, Emily Shriner and Hayden Gonzales.

Pratt, a junior journalism major from San Antonio, is running for student body president and said her bloc, “For the Future,” was formed months ago and aims to fix inconsistencies around campus.

“So, kind of like, the reason we started was we just saw a lot of outdated and like, inconsistent aspects of Texas Tech, and that’s kind of where the ‘For the Future’ like, started,” she said. “We’re kind of trying to change things for future generations, like, for the future of like, the current students, for our lives, our careers, everything, because you know, everything you do now has an impact on your future.”

“Tech Together” is another SGA

campaign bloc and consists of executive candidates Hunter Heck, Colin McLaren, Klay Davis and Charles Ramey II. Heck, a junior philosophy and Spanish major from Panhandle, is running for student body president and said the bloc’s overall goals include making Tech a safer, smarter, more affordable and inclusive campus. One way she said the bloc plans to do this is by creating a safe bar initiative.

“We’d like to partner with local bars to train their staff to recognize signs of sexual assault before it happens,” she said. “Make sure that everyone’s night out is a safe night out.”

Viet Nguyen, a graduate student from Dallas involved in the higher education administration program, is running for graduate vice president with the bloc, “Tech Grads for All,” which she said is the first all-graduate student campaign at Tech.

The main goals of her bloc, Nguyen said, involve tuition-free English classes for non-native English speakers, a childcare facility with night hours for those who have class at night and an active shooter app with geolocation tools to let students know where the safest building is.

“So yeah, we don’t have as much initiatives as the other campaigns,” Nguyen said, “but these are pretty strong to include everyone.”

Nguyen said if she were elected she would focus on the childcare facility initiative and speak with administrators for guidance.

SEE CANDIDATES, PG. 2

Men’s Basketball

Women’s Basketball Sophomore guard Chrislyn Carr dribbles between her legs in the Texas Tech vs. Baylor women’s basketball game on Feb. 18, 2020 in the United Supermarkets Arena. The Lady Raiders fell to the Lady Bears, 77-62.

MANDI MCDONALD /The Daily Toreador

Freshman guard Clarence Nadolny dribbles past a TCU player on Feb. 10, 2020, in the United Supermarkets Arena.The Red Raiders defeated the Horned Frogs, 88-42.

MADELINE DIFFEE/The Daily Toreador

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CANDIDATES

CONTINUED FROM PG. 1 “Here’s what is so special about other people running with me,” she said, “is that I have a group of people who are smarter than I am, know different things and can probably include information where my back is — where I don’t know, you know?”

Although “Tech Grads for All” does not have social media accounts, Nguyen said the bloc will create a presence on social media soon.

The “For the Future” bloc focuses on safety patrols and measures for those on campus, a basketball overflow area, a juice and smoothie bar in the Recreation Center, a farmer’s market on campus, more affordable textbook options and a change in the passing period between classes, Pratt said.

More information on the initiatives can be found on the bloc’s social media sites at forthefuture.ttu.

“If I’m elected, my goal is definitely to, like the initiatives that we’re running on,” Pratt said. “I definitely want to get those established because I know it was important to us to run on initiatives that like, were sustainable and can actually, potentially happen.”

Bernal is a junior marketing and finance major from Carrollton and is running for internal vice president. “For the Future” aims to create a safer, more inclusive environment on campus by promoting transparency and continuity within SGA, he said.

“So, overall campaign goals is we just want to make sure that students feel safe on campus, make sure they’re included, they feel a sense of belonging within our school, they have the best Red Raider experience possible,” he said.

If elected, Bernal said he would be president of the Senate. Some of his biggest goals would include creating meaningful legislation students care about and

providing an open space for students to reach out to SGA officials.

“What I want to do with Senate is just make sure they’re motivated, inspired to write pieces that they know will actually make a difference within their college,” he said.

Graduate student Hayden Gonzales is working toward his master’s in business administration and is running for graduate vice president. He said his bloc, “For the Future,” has teamed up with a local liquor store to combat drunk driving and wants to provide extra safety measures on campus along with more entertaining initiatives such as the basketball overflow area.

so whenever they’re like, ‘Okay we, our employees, we want to send you to get your master’s,’ they send it to us — that is a program that I want to build.”

Emily Shriner, a marketing and management junior from Allen, is running for external vice president and said although her bloc’s initiatives may not all pass, they are all manageable ideas.

“I think that a big thing is sometimes students will hear these initiatives and think, ‘Oh well, that’s not going to happen, that’s not feasible.’ but we’ve researched these, talked to faculty and staff, all of that to make sure that these are actually feasible and can happen,” she said.

BLOCS OF CANDIDATES • • •

“For the Future” with Haley Pratt, Rolando Bernal, Emily Shriner and Hayden Gonzales.

“Tech Together” with Hunter Heck, Colin McLaren, Klay Davis and Charles Ramey II. “Tech Grads for All” with Viet Nguyen and graduate students that represent the Graduate School.

“We want to provide a hotline you can call, put it on the back of your ID,” he said. “Say you’re walking from the library to your dorm, or from, you have a night class and you want to get to your dorm or your car to wherever you’re going, so you can, someone will come, meet you where you’re at and walk you to your car, or to your building, wherever you need to go safely.”

Aside from campaign goals, the graduate student from Beaumont said if elected, he would try to improve career opportunities for students; one way he said he would do this is by working to implement a rotational program, specifically for engineering students.

“What I want to do is, I want to get one of those bigtime corporations, whether it be ExxonMobil or Shell or Valero or, you know, a major wind energy corporation in this area or whatever it may be,” he said. “I want to get in talks with them

A goal of Shriner’s, she said, is to implement safety ushers and security guards on campus at night.

“A big thing that I’m wanting to implement that has been done in the past somewhat, but I really want to emphasize safety and security on campus.”

In the “Tech Together” bloc, Heck said if elected she would use her position to shift the campus culture to include deeper inclusivity and togetherness. Students are welcome to visit the SGA office on the third floor of the Student Union Building anytime to discuss whatever may be on their minds, she said.

“And so, I think like, shifting the environment and culture of identity and kind of that sense of value and worth students experience,” she said, “just letting them know that they’re valued for who they are and not what they do in the classroom.”

More information on “Tech Together” initia-

tives can be found on their social media sites under techtogether2020.

Klay Davis, a junior animal science major from Florence, is running for internal vice president and said his bloc aims to create a welcoming environment at Tech where students feel at home. “ We ’ r e d o i n g t h a t through representation, through a diverse body in which we feel that we have put a bloc together of senators that duly represents Texas Tech well and, obviously, the diversity even, our exec team, as well,” he said.

If elected, Davis said a main focus of his would be creating and passing legislation students care about.

“As internal vice president, my role is, would be to be in charge of the senate chamber, in which I would be in charge of roughly 80 senators or so,” he said, “and I would ensure that they are passing legislation that is duly representative of the student body and my role would mostly pertain to that.”

C h a r l e s R a m e y, a graduate doctoral student studying educational psychology, is running for graduate vice president and said his goals mainly focus on graduate students, such as providing a $5 lunch for all students.

“Well, there are several, there are several initiatives that our campaign is working on, but I’m working on, specifically, graduate initiatives, and I am looking to one, we’re looking at food options for one,” he said.

Ramey said he would also like to increase awareness of SGA work around campus, network more with leaders of organizations to hear about their events and needs and assist international students with the expertise of an international policy lawyer.

“We would like to develop an international policy lawyer that is available for all students and that is on-call whenever there is, they need legal advice that’s

WWW.DAILYTOREADOR.COM dealing with international law,” he said.

Junior finance student Colin McLaren is running for external vice president and said his bloc is looking to increase affordability and mental health resources, create a campus bar, improve Tech’s connection to the community and create the multicultural center that has been discussed on campus.

“I think affordability is one of our big ones that we’re going to push heavily on,” he said. “I think like, building community spaces is another. I think in light of recent events, one of the, some of the big stuff that we really want to focus on is how we bring this campus together.”

The student from New Braunfels said another goal of the “Tech Together” campaign is increasing mental health resources, something he said he has worked on in the past with Heck.

“We actually wrote a piece that fully funded the mental health access oncampus,” he said. “It’s about a $1.5 million piece where we actually went in and we raised that money to make sure that we were able to fully fund mental health access on-campus.”

If elected, McLaren said one of his main goals would be increasing voter awareness and participation on-campus, especially since Texas state legislation is being created and decided upon, much of which may focus on education.

“One of the things I’d really like to get done is I’d really like to get a, I think they’re called ‘ex officio members of the city council,’ so what we would do,” he said, “is we would have a non-voting student that would sit on the student, city council and actually interact, be a part of those meetings and really represent the needs of the students.”

Vo t i n g i s o p e n f r o m March 4 to 5 and can be submitted online. @EHerbertDT

STUDENT GOV.

SGA to host general elections March 4, 5 The Texas Tech Student Government Association will host its election as well as other events in the coming weeks.

A town hall will take place at 6 p.m. Thursday in the Hall of Nations at the International Cultural Center, according to the SGA Twitter page.

On Feb. 28, there will be an executive candidate forum. The time is to be determined, according to the SGA General Elections Schedule.

Election Day will take place at 9 a.m. and close at 7 p.m. on March 4 and 5. Students can vote through the voting tab under elections on the SGA website or through ttu.edu./vote.

One will have the chance to vote on a candidate for the SGA president, internal vice president, external vice president and graduate vice president position. People also will vote on senators for colleges around campus.

Students will need their eRaider usernames and passwords and can only vote once, according to the Tech voting website.

Results for the election will be announced 6 p.m. on March 6 at the Student Union Building Courtyard, according to the SGA General Elections schedule.

Runoff elections will be hosted at 9 a.m. and will close at 7 p.m. on March 24 and 25, according to the schedule. Results for the runoff election will be announced at 6 p.m. on March 27 in the SUB West Basement.

For more information about SGA, visit their website at http://www.depts. ttu.edu/sga/. @EmmaSippleDT

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STUDENT GOVERNMENT

LA VIDA

Page 3 thursday feb. 20, 2020

TTUHSC Student Government Association engages campus community

By ADÁN RUBIO

News & L a Vida Editor On top of their class workload, four students at the Texas Tech Health Sciences Center are working to increase engagement among their school’s student body.

The Tech HSC Student Government Association works to support the student population at the school through community outreach and engagement.

The Tech HSC executive officers include Tobi Saliu, Tech HSC SGA president and second-year School of Medicine student from Little Elm, Peyton Presto, vice president of finance and firstyear Ph.D. student in the Department of Pharmacology and Neuroscience from Cullman, Alabama, Emily Hecox, vice president of communications and second-year School of Medicine student from Schertz, and Katerina Kellar, vice president for operations and third-year medical student from Bulverde.

All the academic programs at the Tech HSC are represented in the HSC SGA, Saliu said.

“And so, how we get them involved is just by reaching out,” she said regarding outreach to students, “and we have senators that are from each school too, so that helps us get ourselves out there too.”

Senators and executive officers in the Tech HSC SGA work with the school’s administration to voice the concerns of students, Hecox said.

“I think all student governments try to do the same type of thing,” she said. “But we’re unique because we really focus on cultivating professionalism and making sure that our students are ready and willing to work with the other professions that we have in this school.”

Since students at the Tech HSC study in different fields, Hecox said the student government works to provide students with opportunities to socialize and work with one another.

Even among the SGA officers, Presto said studying in different fields helps.

“I think it gives more perspective to the fact that we’re not all just medicine as officers, so it kind of helps us relate to maybe the different schedules and different timelines of all of the programs,” she said.

Focusing on the different programs at the Tech HSC is one goal of SGA, Hecox said.

“We make sure that, in student government, we emulate what we will do in our profession when we graduate and move on,” Hecox said.

In addition to representing students at the Tech HSC in Lubbock, Hecox said SGA represents other Tech HSC campuses.

“And an important part of our job too is representing all of the HSC,” she said regarding the Amarillo, Permian Basin, Abilene and Dallas campuses.

Whether it be in their SGA office or when collaborating on events such as welcome events or volunteering at the Ronald McDonald House, Kellar said she and the other executive officers support each other in student government and in academics.

“With us, a lot of these fine lines between our jobs kind of get blurred because we work well with each other,” she said.

“So, we’re always helping each other out in different aspects.

We’re a pretty close-knit group of officers for sure.”

Despite the stress of studying in the medical field, Saliu said working with her fellow executive officers makes the job easier.

Regarding her overall goals for the HSC SGA, Saliu said she wants to keep the momentum going in engaging students on campus.

“I came in being worried and scared but going through this process, it wasn’t difficult because I had [Hecox, Kellar and Presto],” she said, “and I think what makes it special is that we’re all focused and committed to all of the things that we do, so we are able to balance school and SGA.” @AdanRubioDT

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Passengers leave ship docked off Japan after quarantine ends YOKOHAMA, Japan (AP) — About 500 passengers left the Diamond Princess cruise ship Wednesday at the end of a much-criticized two-week quarantine that failed to stop the spread of the new virus among passengers and crew.

The quarantine’s flop was underlined as Japanese authorities announced 79 more cases, bringing the total on the ship to 621. Results were still pending for some other passengers and crew among the original 3,711 people on board.

Japan’s government has been questioned over its decision to keep people on the ship, which some experts have called a perfect virus incubator.

The Diamond Princess has the most infections outside of China, where the illness known as COVID-19 emerged late last year.

Many foreign governments won’t let passengers from the ship return unless they go through another quarantine period, so it was striking to see passengers disembark, get into taxis and disappear into Yokohama, where the ship is docked.

Japanese soldiers helped escort some passengers, including an elderly man in a wheelchair who wore a mask and held a cane. Some got on buses to be transported to train stations.

Some people still in their cabins waved farewell from their balconies to those who had already been processed.

“I’m a bit concerned if I’m OK to get off the ship, but it was getting very difficult physically,” a 77-year-old man from Saitama, near Tokyo, who got off with his wife, told Kyodo News. “For now, we just want to celebrate.”

Health Minister Katsunobu Kato initially said Wednesday that those with negative virus tests had fulfilled the Japanese quarantine requirement and were free to walk out and go

home on public transportation.

He said passengers were only asked to watch their health carefully for a few days and notify health authorities if they have any symptoms or worries.

But after meeting with experts later in the day, he urged the former passengers to refrain from non-essential outings and try to stay home for about two weeks.

This establishment, Texas Tech University & The Daily Toreador, do not encourage underage drinking or alcohol abuse.

Photo courtesy of Texas Tech Health Sciences Center Student Life

(From left to right) Emily Hecox, Texas Tech Health Sciences Center Student Government Association vice president of communications and second-year School of Medicine student from Schertz, Tobi Saliu, Tech HSC SGA president and second-year School of Medicine student from Little Elm, Katerina Kellar, Tech HSC SGA vice president of operations and third-year medical student from Bulverde, and Peyton Presto, vice president of finance and first-year Ph.D. student in the Department of Pharmacology and Neuroscience from Cullman, Alabama.

OPINIONS

Page 4 Thursday. Feb. 20, 2020

CARTOON

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COLUMN

Love all pets on National Love Your Pet Day N

ational Love Your Pet Day has many pet owners setting aside extra time to pamper and give even more affection to their pets.

To some, this can seem ridiculous. They may feel

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that pets don’t contribute much to our lives anyway, and instead drain us of time, money and energy.

In reality, pets contribute significantly to our lives, especially for college students. A recent study conducted at Ohio State University found college students with pets reported feeling less lonely and were in turn less likely to report feeling stressed and overwhelmed. The same students reported feeling their pets helped them significantly through difficult times in their lives.

This idea seems contradictory, considering pets (especially dogs) require copious amounts of attention, something that non-pet owners seem to feel is a deterrent for getting pets. It’s a question I often get asked myself regarding my own dogs: “how do you find time to take care of them?”

It’s true; I have an insanely busy schedule. I struggle to make time for myself occasionally. But honestly, making time for my dogs has never been something difficult for me.

It’s rewarding for me to be able to go home to see them during the day, and it’s even more rewarding for me to be able to come home at the end of the day to their wagging tails and unconditional love. They make me want to stay home and that’s not a bad thing. I never mind nights in as long as I’m with them.

Understandably, for t h o s e wh o v a l ue t hei r nights out, this seems crazy. Obviously for me, it’s no questions asked. I want to stay home to spend time with my dogs. I want to make time for them because as studies show, pets really do make a difference in our lives. They drastically increase the quality

from studying and writing columns, and he would try to lick away my tears when I got too overwhelmed.

River also laid next to me in my bed or on the couch countless times when I found myself unable to get up some days due to my health; he was also there when I got a diagnosis and stayed by my side when he knew I wasn’t OK. Things only got better when my mom rescued our second dog, Isla, while I was out of town. At seven months, she still only weighs ten pounds, and while she is a contrast to River, I’m grateful for her all the same. I was worried and perhaps a little scared of having a second dog, as I wanted first to make sure I would not be adding stress to my first dog’s life. The result, after nearly five months, has been quite the opposite.

If anything, Isla brings out the best in River. She has continued to be his companion, his best friend and his ultimate playmate.

I look back on the time I was so scared of River’s reaction and wonder what was thinking. I can’t imagine River without his smaller sister now, but at the same time, not every lifestyle supports two dogs. We were just fortunate that Isla fit so perfectly into my life. Even though she was a surprise, she has been one of the best additions to our family.

Unfortunately, not everyone is as kind or grateful to their pets as the devoted pet owners who today celebrate Love Your Pet Day. Perhaps it’s not so much that they’re not grateful, but more so that they don’t realize how big of a commitment a pet can be.

While I find it simple to find time for my dogs, it’s not always so easy for some people. Even if they want to make time for

Gloria Matheson is a senior political science major from Round Rock.

of my life, and it seems I’m not the only one who has experienced this.

When I got my first dog River, I was 17 and trying to figure out how to be an adult when in reality I was a teenager navigating college. Really, I wanted a cat. But when I saw a photo of this tiny little mini -Australian Shepherd, I instantly fell in love. We had an instantaneous connection from the moment we met two years ago, and I would have sacrificed anything to have him in my life. I still would.

A recent study conducted at Ohio State University found college students with pets reported feeling less lonely and were in turn less likely to report feeling stressed.

He’s an amazing dog that has always deserved love and a good life, and I intended to provide that for him from the first moment he climbed into my lap and snuggled up to me as a tiny little fluff ball. I didn’t expect to find him, nor was I actually searching for a dog at the time. It wasn’t something I particularly considered.

It was all coincidence (and maybe a little bit of fate).

River was there for me while I struggled to figure out how to be in college.

I would take him on long walks while I took breaks

a pet, they may just not be able to. Many college students desire a pet in their new apartment for the very same reasons put forth by the aforementioned studies. Truly, they have pure intentions, but find themselves in a predicament when they can’t take care of their new furry friend.

Anyone considering getting any kind of pet should be sure they have time and money to support the animal, as well as understanding having them is typically a 10+ year commitment.

This is a dark, unfortunate truth that is especially clear in a college town like Lubbock, where there are many stray dogs who were abandoned roaming around, as well as months-old puppies who were returned to shelters by students who found they weren’t able to care for them. Neither of these options are fair to the dogs who form attachments to their new owners and don’t understand why they’ve been left behind.

Having pets, although desirable and seemingly glamorous, is just not for everybody. Anyone considering getting any kind of pet should be sure they have time and money to support the animal, as well as understanding that with pets, like cats and dogs, having them is typically a 10+ year commitment that really shouldn’t be broken. Pets get attached to us just as

much as we do to them.

For those who can’t or don’t want pets but still want to celebrate National Love Your Pet Day, I recommend donating time and supplies to local shelters, or simply contacting a local shelter to ask what most would benefit the dogs being cared for there.

It may be a good opportunity to see if a shelter needs volunteers and see how you can spend quality time with sheltered animals who, like other pets, need love too.

In addition to this, donating funds to national organizations that combat animal abuse and abandonment is a great way to show love today. While our dogs are surrounded by toys, treats and shelter, not all dogs and animals have these luxuries, therefore these are good ideas even if you do have pets you’ll be loving on today as well. There is room in our hearts not only to love on our own companions, but also to reach out to those organizations that care for those in need.

Considering this, in a sense we do owe our pets a day just for them, full of pampering and quality time. If anything, just one day isn’t enough to show them our appreciation when we actually consider how much they do for us. Every day should be National Love Your Pet Day, but it’s good to have a specific day just to remind them how much they mean to us.

That being said, I will make sure to remind my dogs, River and Isla, how much they have contributed to my life and give them lots of pets to make sure they really understand how I feel about having them around. @GMathesonDT

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MEN’S BASKETBALL

Page 5 Thursday, Feb. 20, 2020

McCullar finds role for Red Raiders

By JAY STRADER Staff Writer

After watching from the sidelines during last season’s Final Four run as a redshirt, freshman Kevin McCullar has carved a role for himself on this season’s team that appears to be growing.

McCullar was on the team last year and traveled with the Red Raiders as they made their run to the Final Four and national championship game.

Although he did not play any games that season, he was there for the ride, nonetheless.

He was set to come to Tech in the fall of 2019, but instead he reclassified and decided to forego his senior year with the intention of being able to earn more minutes on the court.

Unfortunately, McCullar suffered a fractured tibia in the second round of the playoffs his junior year at Wagner High School that kept him from being on the court at all last season.

Since the injury, McCullar spent most of last year rehabbing and encouraging his teammates as they went on to have the best season in Tech’s men’s basketball history. The freshman guard said

it was good for him to experience the Final Four and adversity early in his career.

“I went through some adversity earlier in my high school career. But coming here earlier and watching the guys in front of me all of last year going to the Final Four was big for me to experience that,” McCullar said. “Coming out this year, just playing hard, and I’m glad to be back on the court.”

Head coach Chris Beard said McCullar is continuing to embrace the opportunities he gets.

He is earning more minutes and playing well on both ends of the floor.

“He didn’t have an offseason because of a couple of injuries and some adversity, but he’s a guy we’ve always believed in with his talent,” Beard said.

“It’s never been about basketball with (McCullar). Its been about getting healthy and earning that experience through game play. I would’ve much rather him have a better offseason in terms of practice and scrimmage minutes and things like this but that wasn’t his race. You gotta run your own race.”

McCullar was a four-star

recruit coming out of high school, according to ESPN. He was also ranked the 23rd best player in the state and a top30 prospect nationally. In his sophomore season at Wagner, McCullar led his team to a 6A Division 1 title game and averaged 16.8 points and 6.6 rebounds as a junior, according to Tech Athletics.

As the season is near an end, Beard said McCullar has consistently improved his play.

“I think above all, (McCullar’s) done a great job improving as the year goes on in game play, which is very difficult to do,” Beard said. “He’s playing well on both ends of the floor. He’s a guy we trust out there defensively.

I think he’s a guy continuing to find his spots on offense. I’ve been impressed with how aggressive he’s been lately, so he’s a guy that’s definitely apart of our plan, always has been.”

Although he is just averaging five points and three rebounds a game, his play as of late has been strong. In the last four games, McCullar averaged 23.5 minutes per game, eight minutes more than his season average. He made the most of

those minutes, putting up 8.8 points, 4.5 rebounds and two steals per game in that stretch.

He has done so efficiently, shooting 60 percent from the field and has only missed one free throw in 11 attempts.

Defense is a large part of the Red Raiders’ identity on the court. McCullar embodies that mentality. Beard described McCullar as a “street puppy,” meaning he is tough and gritty but still young and inexperienced. He has recorded 25 steals this season, according to Tech Athletic stats, fourth on the team behind guards Kyler Edwards, Jahmi’us Ramsey and Davide Moretti.

Moretti leads the team in steals with 31 but has played 848 minutes this season, according to the stats. Like Moretti, Edwards has played over 800 minutes this season while Ramsey has played around 650 minutes. McCullar has played just 357 minutes this season, not even half of Moretti or Edwards, and has almost as many steals as them.

McCullar earned his first start of the season against Kansas State on Wednesday, recording nine points and six rebounds.

KINLEY ROBINSON/The Daily Toreador

Redshirt freshman guard Kevin McCullar dribbles during the Texas Tech vs. Tennessee State men’s basketball game on Nov. 21, 2019, in United Supermarkets Arena. The Red Raiders defeated the Tigers 72-57.

@JayStraderDT

BASEBALL

Fans get first look at 2020 lineup

CHASE SEABOLT/The Daily Toreador

Redshirt freshman shortstop Cal Conley throws the ball to first during the game between Texas Tech and Northern Colorado on Sunday, Feb. 16 at Dan Law Field at Rip Griffin Park.

By MAX HENGST Sports Editor

As the No. 1 Texas Tech baseball team opened its season with four wins, it gave Red Raider fans their first look at the new roster.

Highlighting the Red Raiders’ opening weekend was freshman

catcher Nate Rombach. Over the weekend, Rombach posted a .500 batting average, recording seven hits, nine runs, five home runs and 15 RBI. Nationally, Rombach is tied for first in home runs while also ranking second for his RBI total.

For his play over the weekend, Rombach was recognized

nationally as he helped the Red Raiders jump from being ranked No. 3 to topping the nation with a No. 1 ranking. Rombach was named the Big 12 Player of the Week while being selected as the National Player of the Week by the National Collegiate Baseball Writer’s Association (NCBWA) and D1Baseball.

While Rombach has performed well at the plate, on the defensive end, he and junior Braxton Fulford rotate every other game at catcher. Defensively, head coach Tim Tadlock said Rombach does a good job receiving and presenting pitches. When Rombach is not starting behind the plate, he will stay in the lineup as the designated hitter.

“We’re not going to take Nate (Rombach) out of the lineup, that’s for sure,” Tadlock said.

“We’re not that crazy.”

Along with Rombach, freshmen Jace Jung, Cal Conley and T.J. Rumfield performed well in their debut weekends for Tech.

Jung started at third base, filling the role of his older brother

Josh. Over the weekend, Jung tallied 13 RBI and two home runs while posting a .500 batting average. His play led to him being named the Big 12 Newcomer of the Week as he ranks third nationally in RBI. Conley filled the Red Raiders’ void at shortstop after rotating players at the position last season. Offensively, Conley posted a .412 batting average, recording two home runs and seven hits. Tadlock said Conley is a solid infielder and was satisfied with his play over the weekend, despite not getting a lot of balls hit his way.

“I’m excited about the opportunity for him to be able to go show everybody how he can play,” Tadlock said.

Of the players who earned a start over the weekend, Rumfield posted the highest batting average with a .583, recording seven hits in 12 at-bats. After his first appearance subbing in for Cole Stilwell at first base, Rumfield started the next two games.

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FEB. 20, 2020

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WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

Tech shows improvement despite Big 12 standing

By ZACH RICHARDS Staff Writer

Although the Texas Tech women’s basketball ranks at the bottom of the Big 12 standings, the Lady Raiders have improved their play compared to last season.

Despite finishing with a 14-17 record in the 2018-19 season, head women’s basketball coach Marlene Stollings voiced from the jump she intended to get a winning tradition back to Lubbock. Since being hired, she has had the program trending upwards in stadium attendance, wins and player productivity.

In her first year at Tech, Stollings doubled the Lady Raiders’ win total from the previous season. This was historical in that it was the second-biggest turnaround at a Power Five school in the country, according to Tech Athletics.

Her first season win total was the best since 1997 by any Tech sports coach across any athletic program.

Among the top ways to measure the rise in the Lady Raiders’ abilities is to see their matchups against top tier teams. Baylor, one of the best teams in the country, also happens to be in the Big 12 conference and has won two national titles in the past seven years, including one just last season.

“We played Baylor three times last year and got absolutely blown out,” Stollings said.

The Lady Raiders lost their three matches last season by an average of 38 points, the worst

of which came in Waco when they suffered a 96-37 defeat.

A good amount of Baylor’s core from the national championship team returned for the following season after winning in 2018-19, including a couple of key transfers. Some may argue the current team is up to par or even better than the prior roster, as they are 20-1 on the season while demolishing opponents. Baylor is winning games by an average of 32 points per game, leading the nation comfortably in scoring margin, according to NCAA Statistics.

The Lady Bears have had a relatively smooth season, as they will cruise into the NCAA tournament a one-seed.

But, the few speed bumps on the course of their astonishing season have come from a couple of rigid games against the Lady Raiders.

Aside from the loss against South Carolina, Tech handed the Lady Bears their most difficult match of the season.

They gave them a tougher contest in regulation than powerhouses like No. 6 ranked UConn., who has won four national championships in the last seven years, and No. 24 ranked Indiana, who knocked off No. 1 ranked South Carolina earlier in the season.

Although Tech lost, they proved that they are able to compete against the best and are on the right track to becoming a championship organization once again.

“Baylor is a team that can win the national championship again,” Stollings said, “and it speaks to our team, players and

coaches to see the direction that our program is rapidly going in.

We wanted to have a very rapid turnaround here, and I think games like this we’ll eventually win while on track to getting this program back to the level that it needs to be.”

In its first game against Baylor, Tech shot lights out.

From a statistical standpoint, they were in the game because of their great three-point shooting ability but still suffered an 87-79 loss. The second game proved it was more than just a fluke, as Tech put up a good fight against the No. 2 ranked team in the nation.

“If you look at the stats, we didn’t play a bad game by any means,” Baylor head coach Kim Mulkey said following the Lady Bears’ second matchup against Tech. “We shot 50 percent from the field and only had eight turnovers. Let’s compliment Texas Tech. They played a really good game and they had more spark than us.

We took their best shot.”

The Lady Raiders outscored Baylor in two quarters of play, but the margin down the stretch of the game became too much to overcome and Tech ultimately lost 77-62. The Lady Raiders still proved that they could compete with anybody, spearheaded by a 19-point double-double from senior forward Brittany Brewer.

Mulkey also commented on the impact of Stollings not only on the program but also on the development of players like Brewer at Tech.

“Marlene has improved her perimeter players and has

built a game plan around her personnel. She just knows the game extremely well,” Mulkey said. “Brittany Brewer is so much improved, for her to do what she does and get doubledoubles surrounded by that cast is amazing.”

With the exceptional program Stollings is developing at Tech, her work does not stop at player improvement or gaining moral victories. Stollings believes that a strong support system at the United Supermarkets Arena is vital to her team’s success. In fact, she has players address the crowd after every game and thank the supporters and fans before every press conference.

Against Baylor, there were over 5,000 fans in attendance, which was the Lady Raiders’ largest crowd of the entire season. Stollings said Tech women’s basketball holds one of the top-20 attendance averages in the country. Their attendance has been trending up all year as Stollings and the Lady Raiders show traces of improvement every game.

Despite not being exactly where they want to be, Stollings and the women’s basketball team will look to use these last five games of the season as an indicator of how much they have improved and can improve in the future.

“From last year, these games against Baylor have gone a lot better,” Brewer said. “Our mentality is so much better, and if we carry that into these last five games then it’s going to be a fun ride.”

LINEUP

CONTINUED FROM PG. 5 While fans saw new faces in the infield, the outfield underwent a few changes as well. Filling Gabe Holt’s spot in right field was sophomore Dru Baker, who played in the infield last season. Baker also took Holt’s spot as the Red Raiders’ leadoff hitter in their last three games of the weekend.

Baker was the only Red Raider to record a triple over the weekend and also tallied five hits and three RBI. While hitting leadoff, Baker only

MANDI MCDONALD/The Daily Toreador

Texas Tech women’s basketball head coach Marlene Stollings talks to sophomore guard Chrislyn Carr during the game against Baylor on Feb. 18, 2020 in the United Supermarkets Arena. The Lady Raiders fell to the Lady Bears, 77-62.

Brewer is expected to finish these last five games of her collegiate career and declare for the 2020 WNBA draft, where she is projected to be a top-20 pick.

Tech will end its conference schedule with Iowa State, Oklahoma State, TCU, West Virginia and Oklahoma. The Lady Raiders currently have

a 4-9 record in conference play but will have a chance to end the season with an even 9-9 Big 12 record, and an even more impressive 20-9 regular-season record if they go unbeaten down the stretch.

Their next game will take place on the road against Iowa State at 2 p.m. on Sunday.

struck out one time in 13 at-bats. Baker did not start in the season opener after having arthroscopic surgery about three weeks before the season started.

“He hasn’t seen as near as many pitches as these other guys. Everybody on our team had roughly 40 plate appearances going into this weekend.

Before the season, (Baker) had two,” Tadlock said. “To be able to do what he did with that, it tells you what type of player he is.”

While junior Dylan Neuse remained in center field over

the weekend, a change in left field was made as freshman Dillon Carter started all four games there. Carter posted a .417 batting average, recording five hits, two doubles and three RBI. Tadlock said Carter’s speed puts pressure on the defense.

After four games of play, the Red Raiders posted a collective batting average of .438.

Tech also scored 65 runs off 63 hits, with 12 home runs being hit. Of the 144 at-bats, only 25 plate appearances ended with a strikeout.

As far as pitching goes, Tadlock said the first three starters at the mound, redshirt sophomore Clayton Beeter, sophomore Austin Becker and junior Bryce Bonnin will stay the same for their weekend tournament in Round Rock.

He said if there is one thing he was impressed with over the weekend, it was the performance from all of the pitchers.

Beeter, Becker and Bonnin each recorded wins at the mound in their first starts of the season. The trio posted a combined ERA of 1.92, led by Beeter’s 1.50 ERA. The three pitchers also struck 18 batters out in 14 innings in their time at the mound.

As a pitching staff, the Red Raiders posted a 3.09 ERA collectively after the first weekend of play. Tech’s pitchers struck out 43 batters while giving up 17 hits and 11 earned runs in 32 innings pitched.

“Our pitching is going to separate us,” Tadlock said.

“We’re going to be able to pitch at a high level.”

Following the homestand sweep, the Red Raiders will be tested on the road for the first time this season at the Round Rock Classic. Tech is set to play Tennessee, Stanford and Houston at Dell Diamond over the weekend, opening the classic against the Vols at 7 p.m. on Friday. “ “I think there’s a lot of value that you get to play different teams each day. A lot of value in the competition,” Tadlock said. “Obviously it is a tournament format. I think it definitely puts a premium on playing good baseball that day.”

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