LeTourneau University – Sports

 

MEN’S TENNIS

RICHARDSON, Texas – Men’ tennis had to battle through a rain delay and their match split with a break between the doubles and singles matches. The LeTourneau University men’s tennis team saw their 2018 campaign come to a close with a 5-1 loss to American Southwest Conference Tournament host and ASC West Division number one seed Texas-Dallas at the UTD Tennis Courts in Richardson, Texas on Thursday, May 3.

How It Happened:

Due to a weather delay that pushed back earlier quarterfinal matches, the YellowJackets were able to get their doubles matches in at the regularly scheduled start time before being forced to wait for courts to become available to resume their match.

LETU managed to pick up an 8-5 win at number one doubles with Christian Farris and Jimmie Henson while Robby Bundy and Zac Crowley-Kurth fell 8-1 at number two doubles and the duo of Nash Best and Dale Wallace falling by a score of 8-2 at number three doubles.

Once the singles action was able to get started, the Comets were able to secure the first three matches of singles play to win the game which played until a team had clinched the victory.

Of the matches completed, Farris fell by a score of 6-4, 6-3 at number one singles while Henson dropped a 6-1, 6-2 decision at number two singles.

The number three singles match that featured Bundy ended up as 6-0, 6-3 loss while Crowley Kurth, Cameron Wall, and Best were able to begin their games before seeing a team scoring decision met before the conclusion.

 

BASEBALL

LONGVIEW, Texas – Following a one-year absence, the LeTourneau University baseball team returns to the American Southwest Conference Baseball Tournament as they head west to take part in the “Blue Bracket,” which will be hosted by Sul Ross State University in Alpine, Texas starting Friday, May 4.

LETU will enter Friday’s bracket-opening 3 p.m. game as the number six seed in the tournament and will take on Texas-Dallas University who earned the number three seed after a 25-15 overall record in the regular-season. The other opening-round game in the Blue Bracket will feature bracket host and number two seed Sul Ross State University taking on seventh-seeded Hardin-Simmons University at 7:00 p.m.

On the year, the YellowJackets are 21-17 overall and have squared off against both the Lobos and the Cowboys this year but have yet to see Friday’s opponent in the Comets. This year will mark the fourth-overall appearance for LeTourneau in the ASC baseball postseason tournament, which includes an ASC Tournament Championship in 2014. LETU has played a total of 11 games all-time in the tournament, holding a 6-5 overall record with three of the 11 matches coming against UT-Dallas.

The YellowJackets will look to rely on their defense and pitching, as two of the other three opponents in the Blue Bracket rank one and two in team batting average this year while LeTourneau holds the lowest team ERA of any of the four teams in the bracket. LETU’s offense will look to be led by sophomore Will Bradshaw who ranks sixth in the ASC in RBI (41) and eighth in runs scored (36).

All games this weekend will have live video and statistics provided courtesy of Sul Ross State with links provided above. The winner of the Blue Bracket will take on the winner of the ASC Tournament “Red Bracket” in a best two-of-three series next week with the winner moving on to the NCAA Division III Baseball Championship.

2018 ASC Tournament Blue Bracket Schedule
Friday, May 4
3:00 p.m. – Game 1 – #3 UT Dallas (25-15) vs. #6 LeTourneau (21-17)
7:00 p.m. – Game 2 – #2 Sul Ross State (23-17) vs. #7 Hardin-Simmons (15-25)

Saturday, May 5
11:00 a.m. – Game 3 – Game 1 Loser vs. Game 2 Loser (Elimination)
3:00 p.m. – Game 4 – Game 1 Winner vs. Game 2 Winner
7:00 p.m. – Game 5 – Game 4 Loser vs. Game 3 Winner (Elimination)

Sunday, May 6
Red Bracket Championship
Game 6 – Game 4 Winner vs. Game 5 Winner
Game 7 – If Necessary

 

WOMEN’S TENNIS

RICHARDSON, Texas – Highlighted by all-conference accolades for freshman Samantha Trevino and junior Lauren Rockwell, the LeTourneau University women’s tennis saw six athletes awarded for their play during the 2017-18 season with American Southwest Conference All-Conference and All-East Division Honors as announced by the conference office on Thursday, May 3.

Trevino (Corpus Christi, Texas / Tuloso-Midway HS) was named ASC All-Conference for her play at number six singles throughout the year, posting an 8-8 overall record at number six singles which included a perfect 5-0 tally in conference play. In addition to being named All-Conference at number six singles, Trevino and doubles partner Rockwell (Tatum, TX / Tatum HS) earned All-Conference honors at number three doubles with a 2-2 dual record in the conference with Rockwell also earning second-team All-East Division honors at number five singles. The All-Conference honors for both Trevino and Rockwell also designated the pair as All-East Division First Team in their respective flights.

Along with the All-Conference honors, sophomore Maddison Brackenreg (Melbourne Australia / Box Hill Secondary School) was named ASC East Newcomer of the year and second-team All-ASC East Division at number one singles after leading the YellowJackets all year at number one singles and number one doubles. All nine of Brackenreg’s singles wins came at number one singles in addition to posting eight wins in doubles action. Brackenreg also earned All-ASC East Division second-team honors at number one doubles with Terin Murray (Iowa Park, TX / Iowa Park HS) who also made All-East Division recognition at number two singles. Brackenreg and Murray combined to win three matches in the conference at number one doubles while Murray earned nine wins at number two singles.

Other YellowJacket athletes earning recognition from the conference on Thursday include sophomore Gracie Favela (Brawley, CA / Brawley Union HS) at number three singles and freshman Katy Hall (Euless, TX / Kaufman HS) at number four singles. Both Hall and Favela managed to pick up seven wins each on the year, playing in a mix of singles positions as needed for head coach Suzanne Merritt.

 

MEN’S TENNIS

 

LONGVIEW, Texas – The LeTourneau University men’s tennis will make their fifth-consecutive American Southwest Conference tournament appearance on Thursday, May 3, when they travel to Richardson, Texas to take on host Texas-Dallas at 4:30 p.m.

LETU earned the number four seed in the ASC East Division and will take on the Comets, who won the ASC West Division Title and hosting rights after going 9-1 in the regular season.

The YellowJackets will be led by the number one doubles duo of Christian Farris and Jimmie Henson, who has posted a 12-4 overall record this year in doubles action. Farris and Henson also hold down the top two singles spots for LeTourneau, with Henson posting a team-high eight wins in singles play.

In the first match of the day, West Division No. 2 Hardin-Simmons (6-12, 5-1 ASC West) will play East No. 3 Ozarks (8-10, 3-2 ASC East) at 9 a.m., followed by East Division winner and four-time defending tournament champion Texas-Tyler (17-4, 5-0 ASC East) versus West Division No. 4 Concordia Texas (8-8, 2-4 ASC West) at 11:30 p.m. At 2 p.m., East Division No. 2 East Texas Baptist (5-9, 4-1 ASC East) will face West Division No. 3 Mary Hardin-Baylor (4-7, 3-3 ASC West).

Thursday’s winners will advance to Friday’s semifinal round with matches at 10:30 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. Saturday’s title match is 11:00 a.m.

There is no admission charge for the event and per ASC policy, no pets will be allowed at the event except adequately marked, trained and permitted certified service animals.

As of now, everything is scheduled to take place on the campus of Texas-Dallas but could change due to the possibility of inclement weather in the Richardson area on Thursday. Any changes in the schedule will be posted on the ASC tournament as well as through social media channels of the competing schools and American Southwest Conference.

Matt Kinney
Sports Information Director