on the web:
UCAsports.com
Facebook.com/ucasports Twitter.com/ucasports Message from the Director of Athletics:
Dr. Brad Teague Dear Lettermen,
UCA PROGRAM PRODUCES ANOTHER NFL TALENT Following 14 years without having a player taken in the NFL Draft, the Bears have had a much more consistent presence since moving to Division I FCS play – having had three players taken in the draft in the last five seasons. Markell Carter became the third when he was taken in the 6th round by the New England Patriots in this year’s draft, following the selections of Jacob Ford by the Tennessee Titans in 2007 and Larry Hart by the Jacksonville Jaguars last year. In addition to the three defensive ends, former UCA tight end Marquez Branson – who went undrafted – is with the Atlanta Falcons, making four Bears currently in the NFL. Carter was the first Southland Conference player taken in this year’s draft, with Stephen F. Austin linebacker Jabara Williams the only other – going 228th overall to the Ravens in the 7th round. Carter was one of just 20 FCS players selected in the 254 picks of the draft and was the Patriots’ second defensive pick behind Virginia defensive back Ras-I Dowling in Rd. 2. The Pats also selected OL Nate Solder (Colorado), RB Shane Vereen (California), RB Steven Ridley (LSU), QB Ryan Mallett (Arkansas), OL Marcus Cannon (TCU), TE Lee Smith (Marshall) and DB Malcolm Williams (TCU). Since 2001 the Patriots have appeared in four Super Bowls, winning three (‘01, ‘03, ‘04), and have won 8 of the last 10 AFC East titles.
The semester has ended, but three of our teams are still competing. Tennis, Men’s and Women’s Golf, and Softball have finished their seasons, though we had one men’s golfer – Steven Lecuyer – selected to participate in the NCAA regional tournament. Baseball and men’s and women’s track & field still have contests remaining. Baseball is still hoping to play its way into the Southland Conference Tournament and the track & field teams compete May 13 & 14 at the conference track meet with hopes of advancing on to the regionals. The turf installation is progressing nicely. You can view the live cam at our web site UCASports.com. The Weight Training Facility begins in June with a completion date of January 2012 while the Bear Hall/Sky Box project has begun and should be completed by Fall 2012. Our annual Purple Circle Golf Tournament is coming up soon as well, and we hope to see many of you for that event on June 20. Have a great summer. Go Bears and Sugar Bears! Brad
Upcoming Events May 13-15 — Final home baseball series The Bears take on Sam Houston State in their final games at Bear Stadium this season. The Bears are currently 11th in the Southland standings, but are only two games out of the top 8 and a spot in the conference tournament with six regular season games left. The regular season ends next weekend at UTSA. May 20-21 — State baseball championships Bear Stadium will be the site of the Arkansas Activities Association’s high school baseball state championship games this season. Come out to campus to see the best high school baseball the state of Arkansas has to offer. Games begin at 2 p.m. on Friday the 20th and 10 a.m. on Saturday the 21st. June 20th — Purple Circle Golf Tournament The Purple Circle’s annual fundraising golf tournament will be held at Centennial Valley Golf & Athletic Club. Four-person scramble, limited to 44 teams. $600 per team (includes carts, lunch and gift bag). Two shotgun starts – 8 a.m., 1:30 p.m. For more info call 852-7744. (Form attached on page 7)
NEW SEASON. NEW TURF. NEW SOUTHLAND CHAMPION? Get your seat to see the Bears make a run for their first FCS Playoffs appearance at the all-new First Security Field at Estes Stadium. Call (501) 852-2234 or visit ucasports.com to order your tickets!
Don’t miss out on the tailgating action on Bruce Street!! Call (501) 450-3150 to reserve your spot!!
FOUR SOFTBALL BEARS EARN SOUTHLAND RECOGNITION Four members of the UCA softball team were recognized by the Southland Conference this week, with two 1st team selections, one on the 2nd team and an honorable mention selection. Melanie Bryant, a sophomore catcher from Hernando, Miss., was named the league’s Hitter of the Year and 1st team catcher after leading the league in batting average (.429 – the only player in the league above .400) and hits. She was also second in the league in total bases, and third with 37 RBI and a .486 on base percentage and was fourth with a .663 slugging percentage. She becomes the first UCA player to earn a Southland Conference postseason individual award. Kasey Britt, a junior utility player from Florence, Miss., was named to the 1st team with 10 homers, 44 RBI – 2nd in the league, a league-leading 16 doubles and finishing third in total bases and fifth in hits and slugging percentage. Katie McGregor, a junior designated player from Lake Jackson, Texas, was named 2nd team after batting .293 with three homers and 21 RBI, and going 2-1 with a 1.42 ERA in 11 pitching appearances. Kelsie Armstrong, a sophomore pitcher from Hot Springs, was an honorable mention selection after posting a league-best 223 strikeouts with a 2.20 ERA and a .222 batting average against.
BASEBALL, SOFTBALL STUDENT-ATHLETES NAMED TO ALL-ACADEMIC TEAMS Baseball seniors Zack Dickson and Greg Noble, along with sophomore Melanie Bryant and junior Katie McGregor from the UCA softball team, were recently named to the Capital One Academic All-District teams. Noble and Dickson were both named to the 1st team, with Noble being just one of four on the 1st or 2nd team with a 4.0 GPA. In addition to Noble’s 4.0 in Finance, Dickson carries a 3.69 in Mass Communication/Broadcast Journalism. McGregor was named to the 1st team with a 3.83 GPA in Management and Bryant to the 2nd team with a 3.57 in Pre-Nursing. 1st team selections are eligible for All-America honors.
SUGAR BEARS FACING TOUGH SCHEDULES BASKETBALL
VOLLEYBALL
The Sugar Bears will open their season by bringing New head coach David McFatrich’s first slate promises a pair of marquee names into the Farris Center as to be a tough one as the Sugar Bears head into the seathey begin their 2011-12 season with Alabama and son looking to claim their third consecutive Southland Conference regular-season title. Indiana coming to Conway on Nov. 11 and 15. Following a game with Paul Quinn, the Sugar Bears Before getting to conference play, the Sugar Bears will travel to Lubbock, Texas to take on Texas must first take on four teams ranked in the top 65 of the Tech – which scored three wins over Top 20 teams NCAA RPI and open the season with 15 matches away (including No. 1 Baylor) late last season. On Dec. from the Prince Center. The season begins Aug. 26 in 10, defending Ohio Valley Conference champion Houston, but the home opener doesn’t come until Oct. 4 against UAPB. UCA will also host the Southland ConTennessee-Martin comes to the Farris Center for the final game before UCA takes off for Nassau to ference tournament this year, running Nov. 18-20. play two games in the Bahamas Sunshine Shootout. 2011 Schedule Fri. 8/26 – vs. Xavier Opponents have yet to be set, but will be two of High Point, SIU-Edwardsville and Georgia State. Sat. 8/27 – vs. Lipscomb; @Houston UAPB visits Conway on Dec. 30 and the non-con- Fri. 9/2 – vs. UNLV, vs. Morehead St. Sat. 9/3 – @Texas Tech ference portion of the schedule concludes on Jan. 2 Fri. 9/9 – @Ole Miss against Philander Smith. The conference schedule Sat. 9/10 – vs. Northwestern has yet to be released. Fri. 9/16 – @Northwestern State
11-12 Non-Conference Schedule Fri. 11/11 – Indiana Tue. 11/15 – Alabama Mon. 11/21 – Paul Quinn Fri. 11/25 – at Texas Tech at Lubbock, Sat. 11/26 – vs. UMKC Texas Sun. 11/27 – vs. ULM Fri. 12/2 – Ecclesia Mon. 12/5 – CBC Sat. 12/10 – UT-Martin Sun.-Thu. 12/18-22 – Bahamas Sunshine Shootout (opponents TBD - two of High Point, SIU-Edwardsville and Georgia State) Fri. 12/30 – UAPB Mon. 1/2 – Philander Smith
Sat. 9/17 – vs. Arkansas St.; vs. Alcorn St. Thu. 9/22 – @Sam Houston State Sat. 9/24 – @Stephen F. Austin Thu. 9/29 – @Nicholls Sat. 10/1 – @Southeastern Louisiana Tue. 10/4 – UAPB Wed. 10/5 – Northwestern State Sat. 10/8 – UT Arlington Thu. 10/13 – McNeese State Sat. 10/15 – Lamar Wed. 10/19 – @UAPB Sat. 10/22 – @Texas State Thu. 10/27 – Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Sat. 10/29 – UTSA Thu. 11/3 – @McNeese State Sat. 11/5 – @Lamar Thu. 11/10 – Nicholls Sat. 11/12 – Southeastern Louisiana Fri-Sun 11/18-20 – Southland Tournament
UCA GOLFERS NAMED ALL-CONFERENCE; LECUYER TO REGIONALS Senior Steven Lecuyer led three UCA men’s golfers selected to the All-Southland team, joining fellow seniors Jad Sinclair and Gideon Pienaar along with Julia Roth from the UCA women’s team. Lecuyer, who will advance to play as an individual in the regional at Colorado National Golf Lecuyer Club in Erie, Colo. on May 19-21, had nine Top 10 finishes in his 10 tournaments this year and led the Southland with a 72.0 strokes per round average. It was his third year in a row to be named all-conference.
Pienaar
Sinclair was named to the 2nd team after losing in a playoff in the Southland Conference Tournament. He had four Top 10 finishes during the season
and averaged 73.6 strokes per round. Pienaar was an honorable mention choice with six Top 10 finishes and a victory at the Kansas State Jim Colbert Intercollegiate in September. He was a 1st Team selection in ‘09 and a 2nd Team choice last year and in ‘08. Sinclair That trio of seniors led the Bears to a school-record streak of five straight tournament victories this season. Roth, a sophomore from Sweden, was named to the women’s 1st Team after having the third-best stroke average in the Southland at 75.5 per round. She Roth had three Top 10 finishes.
Basketball Bears Enjoying Success Overseas Former UCA standouts Nate Bowie, Durrell Nevels and Mitch Rueter are currently enjoying successful seasons in their overseas pro leagues, with Bowie and Nevels – teammates in Portugal – in the semifinals of their playoffs and Rueter off to a hot start with his Australian team. Bowie led the Proliga in scoring at 26.1 ppg this season, with the next highest average being 20.5. He was also 5th in the league in assists (5.4) and 10th in steals (2.3). Nevels leads the league with averages of 13.5
Bowie
TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE Markell Carter is 3rd in UCA history in Yards Lost From Sacks with 135. Who ranks 1st?
A. Jacob Ford B. Mike Lovelady C. Larry Hart D. Bart Reynolds
rebounds and 3.1 blocks per game. They swept the 3 seed out in the first round of the playoffs and are up 2-0 in the semifinals. In their last game, the duo combined for 49 points. Rueter started his career with the Maitland Mustangs by hitting the game-winner in his first game after pouring in 21 points and 12 rebounds. He has consistently been over 20 & 10, having another pair of games with 23 points and at least 10 rebounds.
SHOW YOUR BEAR PRIDE!! Display your love of the Bears & Sugar Bears! Visit the official online shop at UCASTORE.COM for a wide variety of apparel and accessories, and support the purple & gray!
Answer: D. –Reynolds forced opponents into 148 lost yards on 20 sacks from 1992-95.
TURF PROJECT UNDERWAY The installation of the new purple and gray turf field at Estes Stadium is in progress, with crews working to level the surface and begin preparing to install the foundation and drainage system in the coming days. Their progress to date (photos taken 5/11/11) can be seen in the top two photos at left. Fans can view the progress throughout the project live via video streaming on ucasports.com. Much of the dirt excavated from Estes Stadium is being placed at Farris Field, home of the UCA softball program. The dirt will be used to construct a grass berm behind the outfield fence, which will become a seating area for fans next season. The softball field itself will see its overhaul begin soon as well, with articifial turf installation set to begin this summer. Both the football and softball playing surfaces are from GeoSurfaces, the same company that installed the turf at Bear Stadium last year.
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UCA Lettermen’s Club Membership Application Please act now to reserve your membership in the UCA Lettermen’s Club It only takes a minute to be remembered for a lifetime! PRINT this form and return to address listed below. Name __________________________________________________________________ Address________________________________________________________________ City _________________________________________ State ________ Zip __________ Home Phone _______________________________ Business Phone ____________________ *Email Address__________________________________ Years Lettered __________________ Sports _________________________________________________________________ Dues:
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Card Number__________________________________________ Expires _________________ Print name as it appears on card ___________________________________________________ For additional information on the UCA Lettermen’s Club contact Carole Good at 501.450.3150 or caroleg@uca.edu Please return this form with check or credit card authorization to: UCA Lettermen’s Club Athletic Department PO Box 5004 Conway, AR 72035 Fax your application to (501) 852.2638
Go UCA Bears!!