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ASC Women’s Tennis Preseason Polls/Players to Watch
RICHARDSON, Texas – East Texas Baptist and UT Dallas have been picked to win the 2019 American Southwest Conference women’s tennis East and West Division titles, respectively, after a vote of the league’s head coaches announced by the conference office Thursday.
ETBU received 64 points 12 out of 13 first-place votes to secure the top spot in the East. UTD collected 89 points and 12 of the 13 first-place votes to lead the West Divison.
LeTourneau was picked second in the East Divison with 50 points and one first-place vote. They were followed by Belhaven (34), Ozarks (31) and Louisiana College (15). Defending ASC champion UT Tyler will not count in the 2019 standings and are not eligible for the ASC or NCAA Championship due to the Patriots reclassifying to NCAA Division II.
In the West, Hardin-Simmons was selected second with 62 points, followed by McMurry with 61. Next was Concordia Texas with 60 points and a first-place vote, then Mary Hardin-Baylor (40), Howard Payne (26) and Sul Ross State (25).
East Texas Baptist was the ASC East regular-season runner-up and advanced to the ASC Championship semifinals in 2018. UT Dallas won the West Division and lost to UT Tyler 5-4 in the ASC Championship finals last season.
In addition to the preseason poll, 26 players were named to the ASC Women’s Tennis Preseason Watch List by the head coaches. Two players on the list were All-Conference selections in 2018, and six total were All-Division.
Reigning ASC West Division Most Valuable Kathy Joseph (Williston, Vt.) returns for her junior season for UT Dallas and is ranked No. 28 in the nation in singles and No. 24 in doubles. Fellow All-Conference selection Elisa Kendall (Houston, Texas), a junior from East Texas Baptist, won the ITA Southwest Regional A Draw in the fall and played in the ITA Cup qualifier. Kendall is ranked No. 14 in the nation in singles.
The women’s tennis season will begin on Friday, February 1 when Concordia Texas plays at St. Edward’s and Belhaven hosts Blue Mountain.
2019 ASC Women’s Tennis Preseason Poll
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East Division
# Eligible for ASC regular season title/ineligible for ASC Championship/NCAA Championship (NCAA Division III Provisional) West Division
2019 ASC Women’s Tennis Preseason Players to Watch
2018 All-Conference* |
AMERICAN SOUTHWEST CONFERENCE TRACK & FIELD ATHLETES OF THE WEEK
Competitions: January 18-19, 2019
MEN’S TRACK ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Zac Richardson, Sr., UT Tyler
UT Tyler senior Zach Richardson (Waxahachie, Texas) earned his third career Athlete of the Week honors by posting an ASC-leading 6.99 seconds in the 60-meter dash at the FasTrak Invitational in Houston, ranking 21st in the nation in fifth in the region. He placed ninth in the 60 meters against mostly NCAA Division I competition. Richardson also had a 22.15 second time in the 200 meters, placing fifth. He currently ranks fourth in the nation in 200.
MEN’S FIELD ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Austin Parrish, So., LeTourneau
LeTourneau sophomore Austin Parrish (Carthage, Texas) set a new indoor school record for the YellowJackets, taking second place with a pole vault of 4.88 meters (16 ft.) at the FasTrak Invitational in Houston. His mark ranks third in the nation, for his third career ASC Athlete of the Week.
WOMEN’S TRACK ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Jessica Eastham, Jr., Hardin-Simmons
Hardin-Simmons junior Jessica Eastham (Robinson, Texas) ran a 400 meter dash time of 1:03.49 at the Red Raider Invite in Lubbock, Texas, placing 17th. Her mark ranks 15th in the NCAA Division III South/Southeast Region. Eastham also had a 600-yard time of 1:41.24.
WOMEN’S FIELD ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Summer Grubbs, Fr., UT Tyler
UT Tyler freshman Summer Grubbs (Gladewater, Texas) cleared 5.51 meters (18 ft.-1 in.) in the long jump at the FasTrak Invitational in Houston, which ranks tied for eighth in Division III and first in the region. Grubbs also ran the 60-meter dash in 8.11 seconds, placing fifth, and was third in the 200 in 26.09.
OTHER TOP MEN’S PERFORMANCES
Hardin-Simmons freshman Aaron Martinez (Big Spring, Texas) broke a 10-year old school record in the 800 meters with a time of 1:59.40 at the Red Raider Invite, placing 17th. His time ranked eighth in the NCAA Division III South/Southeast Region. Martinez also placed 15th with a mark of 51.00 seconds in the 400-meter dash, which ranks 10th in the region.
Hardin-Simmons junior Tanner Wright (Fort Worth, Texas) broke the Cowboy indoor long jump record by a foot, clearing 6.55 meters (21 ft.-6 in.) at the Red Raider Invite in Lubbock, Texas. Wright placed 21st overall in the event and ranked fifth in the South/Southeast Region in NCAA Division III. He also had a 60 meter dash time of 7.32 seconds and a 200 time of 23.31.
OTHER TOP WOMEN’S PERFORMANCES
LeTourneau junior Alexis Segura (Austin, Texas) took second place at the FasTrak Invitational in the mile with a time of 5:37.72, which ranks 23rd in the South/Southeast Region.
AMERICAN SOUTHWEST CONFERENCE MEN’S BASKETBALL PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Games: January 17-19, 2019
EAST DIVISION PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Nate West, Jr., G, LeTourneau
LeTourneau junior guard Nate West (Houston, Texas) averaged 39.5 points, 3.0 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 3.0 steals per game as the YellowJackets won a pair of home games. He also shot 62.8 percent (27-of-43) from the field, 50 percent (11-of-22) from three-point range and 93.3 (14-of-15) from the free throw line. West went for 41 points with four assists and three boards in a 100-84 victory over Belhaven. In a 97-94 win over the East Division-leading Louisiana College, West posted 38 points and seven assists. He also came away with a loose ball with six seconds remaining with LETU up 95-94 and allowed the YellowJackets to run the clock down to 1.5 seconds before getting fouled and coming away with the three-point win. This is West’s third Player of the Week award of the year and sixth of his career.
WEST DIVISION PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Sam Moore, So., G, Mary Hardin-Baylor
Mary Hardin-Baylor sophomore guard Sam Moore (Gonzales, Texas) recorded game highs with 31 points and 13 rebounds to lead the Cru to an 83-77 win at first place Concordia Texas. He was 8-of-13 from three-point range and added five assists. Moore hit a three-pointer to give UMHB a 73-70 lead with 3:50 remaining and the Cru never trailed again. This is Moore’s third Player of the Week of the season.
OTHER TOP PERFORMANCES
EAST DIVISION
UT Dallas junior guard Dimitrius Underwood (Mesquite, Texas) averaged a double-double as he led the Comets to a pair of road wins last week, extending their winning streak to seven games. He opened the week with 32 points and 15 rebounds, both season highs, as he sparked the Comets to an 83-71 win at UT Tyler Thursday. Underwood was 13-for-26 from the field and 4-for-4 from the free throw line against the Patriots. He then added a 25-point, 11-board performance Saturday for his eighth double-double of the year, going 10-for-17, with four assists and four steals in an 89-69 win at Ozarks. For the week, Underwood averaged 28.5 points, 13.0 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 2.5 steals per contest.
East Texas Baptist junior forward Robby Dooley (Bossier City, La.) helped spur a pair of victories for the Tigers by averaging 15.5 points, 8.0 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 2.0 steals per game. He posted 14 points, five assists and six boards in a 94-80 win against then ASC East-leading Louisiana College. Dooley added a double-double of 17 points and 10 rebounds with five assists and three steals in a 95-61 victory over Belhaven.
Louisiana College sophomore guard Kae’ron Baker (Navasota, Texas) averaged 24.0 points, 5.5 assists and 4.5 rebounds per game in a pair of tough losses for the Wildcats. He shot 50 percent (18-of-36) from the field and was perfect (7-of-7) at the free throw line. Baker had 21 points and seven assists in a loss at East Texas Baptist and 27 points with four assists in a four-point loss at LeTourneau.
Ozarks senior guard Skyler Barnes (Farmington, Ark.) came off the bench to score 15 points behind a 5-of-6 shooting performance from the three-point line in Saturday’s loss at UT Dallas.
UT Tyler freshman guard Darius Alford (Houston, Texas) averaged 27.5 points per game with 4.0 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game as the Patriots split during the week. He also shot 53.3 percent (16-of-3) from the field and was 11-of-20 (55 percent) from three-point range). Alford scored 24 points in a loss to UT Dallas and 31 in a 93-66 non-conference win at Dallas Christian.
WEST DIVISION
McMurry senior forward Jordan Jackson (Seattle, Wash.) averaged 14.5 points, 4.0 rebounds, 3.0 blocks and 3.0 steals per game as the War Hawks picked up a pair of home wins. He had 18 points, four boards, four blocks, and four steals in an 80-79 win over Sul Ross State. Jackson recorded two steals in the final minute against the Lobos, including the final inbounds pass. In the 77-58 win over Howard Payne, he had 11 points, two blocks and a pair of steals.
Hardin-Simmons senior guard Joe Hoeup (Santa Rosa, Calif.) helped pull the Cowboys within one-half game of first place in the ASC West after averaging 21.5 points, 7.0 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game as they won a pair of games at home. He shot 48.1 percent (13-of-27) from the field, including 7-for-11 from three-point range. Hoeup recorded 22 points with seven rebounds in a 95-69 victory over Howard Payne, then had 19 points with seven boards in an 82-72 win against Sul Ross State.
Concordia Texas senior guard Joe Neal (Houston, Texas) finished with 25 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists in the Tornados’ 83-77 loss to Mary Hardin-Baylor.
AMERICAN SOUTHWEST CONFERENCE WOMEN’S BASKETBALL PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Games: January 15-19, 2019
EAST DIVISION PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Kendrick Clark, Jr., F, East Texas Baptist
East Texas Baptist junior forward Kendrick Clark (Georgetown, Texas) was a consistent scorer for the No. 15/16 Tigers in a pair of wins, averaging 19.0 points to go with 4.5 rebounds per contest. She posted 20 points in the first half against Louisiana College in a 68-44 victory, hitting four three-pointers. Clark then had 18 points with another four three-pointers in a 79-54 win over Belhaven. For the week, she shot 53.8 percent (14-of-26) from the floor and 44.4 percent (8-of-18) from three-point range.
WEST DIVISION PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Hannah Holt, Jr., G, Mary Hardin-Baylor
Mary Hardin-Baylor junior guard Hannah Holt (Lumberton, Texas) had a double-double of 20 points and 10 rebounds in the No. 7/9 Cru’s 79-54 victory at Concordia Texas. She shot 58 percent (7-of-12) from the field and added two assists and a steal as UMHB remain undefeated in ASC play. This is Holt’s second Player of the Week award of the season and fifth of her career.
OTHER TOP PERFORMANCES
EAST DIVISION
UT Dallas junior guard Victoria Pena (Helotes, Texas) averaged 14.0 points, 4.5 rebounds and 5.0 assists per game as she lifted the No. 23 Comets to a pair of road victories. Pena scored 18 points, hitting 4-of-7 three-pointers, in an 84-58 road win over UT-Tyler Thursday. She added eight points, five assists, and four rebounds in 21 minutes of an 89-42 victory at Ozarks Saturday.
Louisiana College senior guard Kourtney McGhee (Simmesport, La.) averaged 9.5 points, 6.0 rebounds and 6.5 assists as the Wildcats went 1-1. She passed 1,000 career points during the week. In a 73-67 win at LeTourneau, McGhee posted 12 points, five boards, and seven assists.
Ozarks senior guard Hailey Ostrander (Alma, Ark.) averaged 14.0 points, 2.0 assists and 3.0 steals per game while hitting five three-pointers as the Eagles went 1-1 on the week. She scored 18 points with six steals in an 82-52 non-conference win at Dallas Christian.
LeTourneau sophomore guard Keauna Whitfield (Rosebud, Texas) helped the YellowJackets earn their third home victory in the past four games by scoring 20 points and grabbing 10 rebounds in a 46-44 win over Belhaven and added 12 points and eight rebounds in a loss to Louisiana College. For the week, she averaged 16.0 points, 9.0 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game.
WEST DIVISION
Howard Payne sophomore guard Chelsey Harris (Waco, Texas) posted 27.0 points, 4.5 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game as the Lady Jackets split on the road. She scored 25 points with four assists in a four-point loss at Hardin-Simmons, then followed with 29 points and six rebounds in a 67-63 victory at McMurry. Harris also shot 58.3 percent (7-of-12) from three-point range during the week.
McMurry junior forward Skyler Reyna (San Antonio, Texas) had back-to-back double-double games as the War Hawks split a pair of contests last week. She averaged 17.5 points, 11.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists, and 2.0 steals and shot 57.9 percent (11-of-19) from the field. In a 90-57 win over Sul Ross State, Reyna recorded 20 points and 13 rebounds, passing both 900 career points and 600 career boards.
Hardin-Simmons sophomore forward Karlea Ritchie (Wichita Falls, Texas) helped the Cowgirls to a pair of wins with stellar play on both ends of the floor. She secured the 68-64 win over Howard Payne with a last-second blocked shot. For the week, Ritchie averaged 14.5 points, 7.0 rebounds, 2.5 steals and a blocked shot. She also hit six three-pointers and drew four charges.