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LeTourneau Men’s Basketball To Make Fourth Consecutive ASC Tournament Appearance Beginning Thursday at 12:00 p.m.
LONGVIEW, Texas – Heading into their fourth consecutive American Southwest Conference Tournament, the LeTourneau University men’s basketball team will seek their first ASC Tournament Title beginning on Thursday, February 21 by taking on Hardin-Simmons University in the quarterfinal round of the 2019 American Southwest Conference Men’s Basketball Tournament hosted by the University of Texas-Dallas in Richardson, Texas.
Winners of eight of their last ten games, LETU is coming off an emotional 89-88 defeat to the host Comets, as UTD clinched the American Southwest Conference East Division Title and the right to host this week’s tournament with the win over the YellowJackets. LeTourneau was denied a third-consecutive ASC East Division Title after winning the past two ASC East regular-season championships but will now turn their attention to the tournament as the number two seed in the east.
LeTourneau will play in the first game of the day in quarterfinal action at 12:00 p.m., with East Texas Baptist University and the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor playing in the other afternoon quarterfinal matchup at 2:30 p.m. in a rematch of last year’s quarterfinal round. Other quarterfinal action on Thursday evening will pit east division No. 2 seed Concordia Texas against No. 3 seed out of the East Louisiana College at 5:00 p.m. while host Texas-Dallas will take on McMurry in the nightcap at 7:30 p.m.
The four teams that advance to Friday’s semifinal round will play at either 5:00 p.m. or 7:30 p.m. The winners of games one and two playing at 5:00 p.m. on Friday and the winners of games three and four playing at 7:30 p.m. Saturday’s ASC Men’s Basketball Tournament Championship game will tip-off at 6:00 p.m. with the winner earning an automatic berth into the 2019 NCAA Division III Men’s Basketball Championship.
In their only meeting this year, Hardin-Simmons would overcome a seven-point deficit in the final 50 seconds to stun LeTourneau 98-95 in the first game of 2019 for each squad. LETU senior Caleb Loggins would be one of five YellowJacket athletes in double-figures in the game scoring a team-high 25 points while Hardin-Simmons managed to put six athletes in double figures including a 30-point outing from Steven Quinn. The game will mark the third all-time postseason meeting between the YellowJackets and Cowboys with HSU winning both previous contests. LETU and HSU would meet for the 2017 ASC Tournament Title in Solheim Arena in Longview with the Cowboys grabbing a 104-92 victory and the conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
Hardin-Simmons has won three of the past four ASC Tournament championships, with 2018 being the only year in that span where they did not earn or qualify for the postseason tournament.
Sporting a 15-10 overall record, HSU finished tied for second in the ASC west before losing the tiebreaker to Concordia Texas but came in on a three-game winning streak. Senior Joe Hoeup leads the Cowboys in scoring with a 16.4 point per game average, but the Cowboys tend to spread the ball around with four players in double figures and six players averaging at least eight points per contest.
You can purchase single-day tickets at the competition site. Ticket prices are $10 for adults and $5 for students. Children under two will be admitted free of charge. UTD will only accept cash.
All fans attending the tournament should take care where they park this weekend. All spectators are requested to park in LOT J, located adjacent to the UTD Activity Center. Please note: no fan parking is allowed in PURPLE spaces. You should park only in GOLD or ORANGE spaces for the entirety of the tournament. If no parking is available in LOT J, there is additional parking available in LOT U (south of the Tennis Facility) or metered spaces are open in the Parking Garage west of the Activity Center.
Haydn Parker Named ASC Softball Hitter of the Week.
RICHARDSON, Texas – Following a stellar performance at the plate, LeTourneau University softball infielder Haydn Parker has been named the American Southwest Conference Offensive Player of the Week for the first time in her career.
Parker led LeTourneau to a three-game sweep of McMurry as she went 7-of-11 (.636) with 11 RBI, four home runs, five runs scored, a double and a 1.818 slugging percentage. The Brock, Texas native blasted two homers for four RBI in Friday’s 8-4 win and added another two jacks in Saturday’s 14-4 victory.
The daughter of Cody and Jamie Parker, and is majoring in Nursing at LeTourneau University.
Brandon Ramirez Named ASC Baseball Hitter of the Week.
RICHARDSON, Texas – For the first time in his career, LeTourneau University baseball junior Brandon Ramirez has been named American Southwest Conference hitter of the week for his performance during the week of February 11-17.
Ramirez recorded two or more hits in all three games for the YellowJackets as they took two out of three games at the University of Dallas. In game one, he drove in both runs in a 3-2 loss to the Crusaders. Ramirez drove in two more and scored twice in a 9-2 game for the win. In the 12-6 finale, Ramirez was responsible for the RBI and a run scored. On the weekend, he hit .727 (8-of-11) with two doubles, five RBI, three runs scored and a .909 slugging percentage.
A native of Willis, Texas, Ramirez is majoring in business at LeTourneau University.
Nate West Named ASC East Division Men’s Basketball Co-Player of the Week.
RICHARDSON, Texas – For the fifth time this season and eighth time in his career, LeTourneau University’s junior guard Nate West has been named American Southwest Conference East Division Co-Player of the Week for his performances during the week of the February 11-18.
West averaged 30.0 points, 6.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 3.5 steals per game. In a 76-68 overtime win over East Texas Baptist, he scored a game-high 32 points, including 11 in the extra period. In a battle for the ASC East Division title against UT Dallas, West netted 26 of his 28 points in the second half and grabbed six rebounds in an 89-88 loss to the Comets.
Majoring in business at LeTourneau University, West is the son of Anna and Nathaniel West.
LeTourneau Women’s Tennis Falls To ASC West Favorite Texas-Dallas 9-0.
LONGVIEW, Texas – Squaring off against American Southwest Conference foe Texas-Dallas in non-conference competition, the LeTourneau University women’s tennis team would fall by a final score of 9-0 at the Davis Tennis Courts in Longview, Texas on Sunday, February 17th.
LETU falls to 0-1 with the defeat while the Comets improved to 2-0 on the early season.
UTD would end up taking all three doubles matches by a score of 8-0 as Katharine Waldthausen and Maddison Brackenreg fell at number one doubles and Gracie Favela and Terin Murray fell at number two doubles. Pairing up at number three doubles would be Lauren Rockwell and Samantha Trevino as they would also end up falling in their first match of the year.
Singles action proved to be competitive as the YellowJackets would force the Comets into long rallies but ultimately could not prevail as Hannah Moore would drop a 6-0, 6-0 decision at number six singles and Rockwell a 6-0, 6-1 decision at number five doubles. Both Favela and Murray would fall by scores of 6-1, 6-0 at number three and number four singles, with Brackenreg going down by a score of 6-1, 6-1 and Waldthausen dropping a 6-4, 6-2 decision at number one singles.
LeTourneau will now be on the road for their next eight matches of the season, beginning on Saturday, February 23 with a pair of neutral-site games in Shreveport, LA. The road swing starts with a 9:00 a.m. match against Millsaps College and will continue with a 1:30 p.m. clash with Austin College later in the afternoon on the campus of Centenary College.
LeTourneau Men’s Golf Wins Consolation Bracket At Battle at Camp Bowie.
BROWNWOOD, Texas – A day after edging Centenary College to make the consolation bracket finals, the LeTourneau University men’s golf team would not drop a single match to win 4.5-0.5 over East Texas Baptist University and claim the consolation bracket title at the Battle at Camp Bowie Match Play event held at Brownwood Country Club in Brownwood, Texas.
Results of the match would see Cory Gillespie win 4 & 2 while Landon Oney won 6 & 5. Earning a 7 & 5 victory was Reed Fisher while Dalton Northcutt (3 & 2) and Alex Koll (2 & 1) both won their matches. The only other game involving LeTourneau on Sunday saw Wes Nolen finish in a tie to earn a half a point for the YellowJackets.
Following a week off from competition, LeTourneau will next be in action when they host the Pinecrest Intercollegiate at Pinecrest Country Club in Longview, Texas. The work will begin with 36 holes on Monday, March 4 with the final round taking place on Tuesday, March 5.
LeTourneau Men’s Tennis Drops Season Opener To Texas-Dallas.
LONGVIEW, Texas – Getting their first chance to face outside competition during the spring 2019 season, the LeTourneau University men’s tennis team would drop a 7-2 decision to the University of Texas-Dallas at the Davis Tennis Courts in Longview, Texas on Monday, February 17.
LeTourneau is now 0-1 on the season while the Comets improved to 2-0 overall.
Tightly contested doubles action would see Paulo Cressio and Nathan Schmidt battle throughout before ultimately falling 8-6 at number two doubles while Christian Farris and Jimmie Henson would face a similar situation in an 8-5 defeat at number one doubles. The YellowJackets would manage to snag a win at number three doubles as Zac Crowley-Kurth and Bobby Clark would grab a come-from-behind 8-6 victory after trailing 6-2 early on in the match.
Singles play proved to be just as competitive between LETU and UTD as Henson would fall 7-5, 6-0 at number one singles and Crowley-Kurth 6-2, 6-1 at number three singles. In number five singles, James Estrada would drop a 6-2, 6-1 decision as the Comets would go on to win at number six singles with Jeffrey Golladay falling 6-3, 6-3. The number two and number four singles matches would come down to third set tiebreakers as Schmidt earned a 3-6, 7-5, 10-8 victory at number four singles and Farris falling 6-3, 3-6, 10-8 at number two singles.
LeTourneau will be back in action next Friday, February 22 with a 2:00 p.m. home match against Dallas Baptist University. The Patriots have been in operation since February 1 and sport a 5-3 overall record ahead of two more games before taking on LETU.
Matt Kinney
Sports Information Director
Office: 903-233-3735
Cell: 903-736-7669
MattKinney@letu.edu
www.letuathletics.com