TAMUC – Sports

Soccer downs WT 3-1 behind two Munguia goals to move into third place in conference standings.

COMMERCE– The Texas A&M University-Commerce soccer team defeated West Texas A&M 3-1 on Friday night. The Lions fell behind 1-0 but scored the final three goals to beat WT.

The win brings the Lions to 9-3-3 and 5-3-1 in the Lone Star Conference, moving them into third place in the conference standings. The Lady Buffs fall to 6-5-4 and 4-2-3 in conference play. The teams split the season series, with the home team winning each match.

The Lions will host their final home match of the regular season on Sunday as they will face Eastern New Mexico. The game will be at noon at the Lion Soccer Field. Entrance to the match will be free of charge as part of the Lion Champions Fund Senior Sellout.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
– Sabrina Munguia scored the final two goals of the match, including the game-winner. She scored in the 31st and 63rd minutes to bring her season goal total to seven.
– Sophie Haywood scored the first goal for the Lions, bringing her season total to seven goals.
– Caitlin Duty made five saves in the match.
– Haywood, Michelle Kotlik, Leslie Campuzano, Delaney Bunselmeyer, Katie Givens and Kara Blasingame all had one assist in the game.
– Munguia and Haywood both had two shots on goal. Kotlik and Izzy Ward also each had shots on goal.

HOW IT HAPPENED
The Lions had an early opportunity on a WT yellow card in the box. Kotlik took a penalty kick but shot the ball wide right.

WT capitalized on their first opportunity. After they fumbled about a corner kick, a WT player had the ball fall into her lap, and she shot the ball into the net, giving the Lady Buffs a 1-0 lead.

Haywood had a shot saved in the 17th minute while Duty saved WT’s two shots in the next 10 minutes.

The Lions tied the match in the 29th minute. Blasingame passed the ball in from deep. Kotlik headed the ball and directed it toward Haywood, who found the net for her seventh goal of the season. The match tied at 1-1.

The Lions then took the lead in the 31st minute. After receiving a pass from Campuzano, Haywood directed a long pass in front of Munguia. Racing past her defender, she had only the keeper to beat and shot past the diving keeper to give the Lions a 2-1 lead.

Ward had a shot saved in the final minute as the Lions took their 2-1 lead into the half.

WT had a shot on goal in the 51st minute that was saved by Duty as the Lady Buffs looked for the equalizing goal. However, the Lions extended their lead in the 63rd minute. Munguia scored on a header that was assisted by Bunselmeyer and Givens.

Duty made a save in the 66th minute and another in the 69th minute. Those were the final shots on goal in the match as the Lion defense clamped down to win the game 3-1.

 

Streak ends at eight as volleyball falls in straight sets to No. 22 Angelo State

SAN ANGELO– The Texas A&M University-Commerce volleyball team fell in straight sets to No. 22 Angelo State on Friday. The set scores were 19-25, 19-25 and 17-25, snapping an eight-match winning streak for the Lions.

The loss brings the Lions to 14-8 on the season and 9-3 in the Lone Star Conference. The Rambelles improved to 14-6 and 6-5 in conference play. The teams split the season series, with the home team winning each match.

The Lions return to the court on Saturday to face No. 13 Tarleton State. The match will be at 2:00 p.m. at the Wisdom Gym in Stephenville.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
– Mariyah Oliver led the Lions with nine kills. She also had two blocks.
– Shelley Chapron had six kills and three blocks. Jaryn Wacker had five kills.
– Layne Little had four kills, nine digs, and two blocks. Jaslyn Wacker added three kills and two blocks.
– Savannah Rutledge led the team with 20 digs. Lacie Jessup added ten digs.
– Gabriela Rosa led the Lions with 13 assists to go along with seven digs. Rylie Fuentes added ten assists and five digs.
– The Lions struggled to hit, posting a percentage of .032. ASU had nine blocks in the match.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Both teams had early runs in the first set. ASU scored the first three points before the Lions answered back with four of their own. The Rambelles then scored five of the next six points to take the lead. The Lions battled to within one point at the midway mark, trailing 13-12.

ASU pushed its lead to 21-15 late in the set before the Lions rallied to score four points in a row to trail 19-21. ASU scored the final four points of the game and took the first set 25-19.

The teams traded the first eight points of the second set before ASU went on a three-point run to take an early lead in the second match. The Lions battled back to tie the game at 10-all, with two kills from Chapron. ASU countered with three points in a row of their own. The teams traded points from there, as the Lions could not get to closer than three points down. The Rambelles scored the final three points of the set to win 25-19.

The Lions started the third set well. They scored four points in a row to take an early 6-4 lead. The Rambelles then answered, scoring five of the next six points to take the lead. Midway through the set, ASU led 13-11.

Angelo slowly built its lead to four points before the Lions cut the lead down to just two points. However, The Rambelles piled on late in the set, winning six of the final seven points to win the third set 25-17.

 

Lion men ranked No. 8 in Golfstat rankings, make debut at No. 14 in Bushnell Golfweek Coaches Poll.

The Texas A&M University-Commerce men’s golf team has been on a tear to open the 2017-18 season and has reached unprecedented heights in the GolfStat statistical rankings, as well as making its first-ever appearance in the Bushnell Golfweek Division II Coaches Poll.

The Lions are ranked No. 8 in the Golfstat statistical rankings and are No. 14 in the Bushnell Golfweek Division II Coaches Poll.

A&M-Commerce has finished in the top four of all three events this season, including the win at the Western New Mexico Fall Intercollegiate. The Lions have an adjusted scoring average of 71.66 and one of the tougher schedules in the nation.

The Bushnell Golfweek Division II Coaches Poll has existed for 15 years, and this is A&M-Commerce’s first-ever appearance in the top 25. The Lions are the highest ranked team in the South Central Region, and the third-highest ranked team when combined with the West Region, which is the regional pairing at the NCAA Super Regional Tournament.

The Lions have one more tournament in the fall season, hosting The Classic at Firewheel on October 30-31 at Firewheel Golf Park in Garland.

Golfstat Statistical Ranking

Rank	Team	Comparative Record*	Relative Pct.	Adj. Scoring Avg.	Adj. Drop Score	Comparative Record*	Relative Pct.	Schedule	Event Wins@
1	West Florida	218 / 218	95.80%	70.67	75.33	9 / 9	79.00%	74.024	2
2	Lynn	216 / 218	93.40%	72.04	76.14	8 / 9	63.30%	74.015	0
3	Florida Southern	214 / 218	91.10%	71.94	76.00	7 / 9	59.60%	73.926	1
4	Chico State	214 / 218	90.90%	71.96	77.66	3 / 3	80.70%	75.128	2
5	Newberry	211 / 218	87.30%	71.47	75.60	4 / 4	67.40%	75.362	2
6	Nova Southeastern	210 / 218	89.20%	72.42	77.22	4 / 9	49.60%	73.890	0
7	Florida Tech	210 / 218	88.70%	72.10	77.76	8 / 12	56.50%	73.959	0
8	A&M-COMMERCE	210 / 218	87.60%	71.66	76.91	6 / 6	63.30%	74.029	1
9	Columbus State	209 / 218	87.80%	72.19	76.44	7 / 8	63.60%	74.910	1
10	Limestone	208 / 218	89.00%	72.18	76.63	7 / 12	53.30%	74.330	0
11	Sonoma State	204 / 218	83.40%	73.61	77.22	1 / 3	47.50%	74.971	0
12	Cal State Monterey Bay	204 / 218	82.80%	72.62	79.84	5 / 7	54.10%	74.671	0
13	Simon Fraser	202 / 218	82.50%	72.87	78.92	2 / 2	66.60%	74.722	1
14	Cal State San Marcos	201 / 218	81.90%	73.50	78.70	3 / 7	44.20%	74.302	1
15	Saint Leo	199 / 218	84.00%	73.01	77.47	4 / 12	40.60%	73.813	0
16	Colorado-Colorado Springs	199 / 218	82.20%	72.61	78.46	4 / 11	42.40%	74.258	0
17	St. Edward’s	195 / 218	80.10%	73.07	76.76	3 / 4	50.30%	74.118	0
18	Lee	194 / 218	81.40%	73.11	77.75	1 / 12	33.40%	73.856	0
19	Lander	194 / 218	80.10%	73.08	78.19	1 / 12	32.60%	73.858	0
20	Carson-Newman	192 / 218	81.30%	72.95	78.82	3 / 8	39.60%	74.006	0
21	Regis	190 / 218	78.90%	72.74	78.24	1 / 8	41.60%	74.220	0
22	Colorado School of Mines	189 / 218	79.30%	72.29	77.39	2 / 7	45.20%	74.160	0
23	Lincoln Memorial	189 / 218	79.00%	72.99	78.57	2 / 8	41.10%	75.203	1
24	Colorado State-Pueblo	189 / 218	78.30%	72.30	77.00	0 / 7	38.00%	74.305	2
25	Coker	188 / 218	77.00%	72.98	78.93	1 / 3	48.90%	75.828	1

 
Bushnell Golfweek Division II Coaches Poll – Oct. 20

Rank	University (First Place Votes)	Points	Prev.
1	West Florida (14)	446	1
2	Lynn (1)	443	2
3	Florida Southern (4)	426	3
4	Nova Southeastern	391	5
5	Florida Tech	364	6
6	Newberry	338	8
7	Chico State	307	15
8	Columbus State	297	T10
9	Limestone	282	7
10	Cal State Monterey Bay	269	14
11	Saint Leo	223	T10
12	Lee	219	16
13	Barry	183	4
14	A&M-COMMERCE	180	NR
15	Lander	159	23
16	Simon Fraser	145	20
17	Sonoma State	143	NR
18	Colorado-Colorado Springs	141	18
19	Arkansas Tech	119	12
20	Cal State San Marcos	115	NR
21	USC Aiken	105	9
22	North Alabama	74	17
23	St. Edward’s	70	NR
24	Central Missouri	66	19
25	California Baptist	60	13

Dropped From Ranking: Central Oklahoma (#21), Grand Valley State (#24), Missouri – St. Louis (#22), Rollins (#25)

Others Receiving Votes: Carson-Newman, 59; Central Oklahoma, 56; Grand Valley State, 56; Valdosta State, 51; Coker, 42; Missouri – St. Louis, 39; Wayne State (Mich.), 34; Lincoln Memorial, 26; Colorado School of Mines, 22; Indianapolis, 21; Arkansas – Fort Smith, 20; Regis, 20; Saginaw Valley State, 15; Barton, 12; Rollins, 12; Cal State East Bay, 10; Georgia Southwestern State, 10; Clayton State, 9; Colorado Christian, 9; Oklahoma Christian, 9; Winona State, 9; Lindenwood, 8; Colorado State-Pueblo, 6; Flagler, 6; Missouri Western State, 6; Concordia (Ore.), 5; Georgia College, 5; Lincoln, 5; Minnesota State – Mankato, 5; Delta State, 4; Dallas Baptist, 3; Erskine, 3; Harding, 3; Stanislaus State, 3; Hillsdale, 2; St. Mary’s, 2; Bellarmine, 1; UC San Diego, 1; Ferris State, 1

 

No. 10 Lions host Angelo State on Youth Sports Day at 1:00 p.m. Saturday

YouTube Interview w/ HC Colby Carthel

COMMERCE – The No. 10 Texas A&M University-Commerce Lions’ football team hosts Angelo State this Saturday for Youth Sports Day in the second of two consecutive home games.

WHO: Angelo State University at Texas A&M University-Commerce
WHERE: Commerce | Memorial Stadium
WHEN: 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, October 14 – Note: The game was for a 4:00 p.m. kickoff now rescheduled for 1:00 pm.
RECORDS: A&M-Commerce is 5-1 overall and 3-1 in the Lone Star Conference schedule. Angelo State is 3-3 overall and 1-3 in the LSC.
RANKINGS: Texas A&M-Commerce is ranked No. 10 in the AFCA Coaches’ Poll and the D2Football.com Media Poll. Angelo State is unranked.

LIVE AUDIO: Lion Sports Network — KETR 88.9 FM, Commerce (http://www.ketr.org)
LIVE VIDEO: http://www.LionAthletics.com/live
LIVE STATS: StatBroadcast

TICKETS: Available by visiting WeAreLionsTix.com, calling (903) 468-8756, or visiting the Lion Sales & Service Box Office at the Field House

LIONS HOST RAMS IN EFFORT TO START STREAK
• The Lions will aim to get a winning streak going again after last week’s 52-3 victory over Western New Mexico.
• The game was for a 4:00 p.m. kickoff but has been moved up to 1:00 p.m. to avoid an incoming storm system.
• Both teams defeated A&M-Kingsville going into an off week, then lost to Midwestern State.
• It has traditionally been a tightly played game. Before last year’s blowout, none of the previous six games had been decided by more than a score.

ALL-TIME AGAINST THE RAMS
• The Lions and Rams are meeting for the 49th time in the history of the two programs.
•ASU leads the all-time series 29-17-2.
• A&M-Commerce has an advantage at home, with a 13-12-1 record against the Rams.
• The Lions have won three consecutive games against Angelo State, including the 2015 LSC Playoff Championship. A&M-Commerce has won four of the last five meetings.
• The Lions’ 41-40 win in San Angelo in 2014 snapped a five-game Ram win streak.
• A Lion win would give A&M-Commerce its longest win streak in the series.

STILL PUSHING #ToTheTop
• The Lions have risen one spot, now up to No. 10 in the nation in both the AFCA and D2Football.com polls.
• A&M-Commerce has been ranked in 34 straight AFCA polls, dating back to the 2015 preseason poll.
• It is A&M-Commerce’s 40th all-time appearance in the AFCA poll since its inception in 2000.

LSC LANDMARK ACHIEVED
• The Lion victory over Western New Mexico was their 300th Lone Star Conference victory in football action.
• It puts A&M-Commerce at second all-time in LSC football wins.
• Based on available records in the LSC media guide, A&M-Kingsville has won the most conference games in LSC history at 302.

CARTHEL 5TH IN SCHOOL HISTORY IN WINS
• Head coach Colby Carthel now ranks fifth in A&M-Commerce history in coaching wins with 39 wins.
• However, he will be in fifth for a while, as his 39 wins are just over half of J.V. Sikes’ 63 wins in fourth place.

1	Ernest Hawkins	1964-85	132-92-6
2	Eddie Vowell	1986-98	74-71-1
3	Bob Berry	1935-41, 46-50	72-34-8
4	J.V. Sikes	1954-63	63-34-4
5	Colby Carthel	2013-pres.	39-15
6	M.A. Smith	1951-53	30-2-1

SUCCESS ON THE BOUNCEBACK
• Under head coach Colby Carthel, the Lions have only lost consecutive games three times in five seasons.
• The Lions’ last five losses – including last year’s loss to Midwestern State – have been followed by wins.
• A&M-Commerce had not lost consecutive games since the 2015 postseason, when the Lions lost the LSC Playoff Championship game, followed by a loss to Ferris State in the NCAA Playoffs.
• Two of the three back-to-back loss occurrences came in the 2013 season, the first under Carthel.
• Now including the WNMU win, ten times in the last five seasons, a Lion loss has been immediately followed by a win.

PEREZ KEEPS CLIMBING THE PASSING CHARTS
• Preseason All-American quarterback Luis Perez earned Lone Star Conference Offensive Player of the Week honors with the WNMU win – taking the A&M-Commerce lead in all-time completions and touchdown passes.
• He has moved up to fifth in school history in passing yards at 5,212. Perez needs 151 yards to move up to fourth. He needs 734 yards in the next five guaranteed games to take the all-time lead.
• Perez leads the conference this season in completion percentage, passing efficiency, and touchdown passes.
• He ranks third in the nation in completion percentage (73.1), seventh in the nation in completions per game (25.33), seventh in passing efficiency (177.9), fourth in passing touchdowns (22), 17th in passing yards (1,873), ninth in passing yards per game (312.2), fourth in point responsibility (140, 23.3/gm), and 17th in total offense (302.3).
• He ranks second in Division II and seventh in all of the NCAA in career passing efficiency.

MARTINEZ IS NEW PAT LEADER
• Kicker Kristov Martinez ranks 14th among career leaders in Division II in scoring with his 249 career points.
• Martinez is currently the leader in scoring amongst kickers in the Lone Star Conference with 48 total points and 8.0 points per game.
• Martinez is 6-for-7 on field goal attempts, and 30-for-31 on PAT attempts through five games in 2017.
• He has scored 249 points in his career, which moves him up to second in A&M-Commerce history.
• Martinez’ 141 PATs made is the new A&M-Commerce career record.
• The A&M-Commerce all-time leader in scoring is Billy Watkins, who scored 281 points from 1990-93 on 134 PATs and 49 field goals.
• Martinez moved up to third on the career field goal list with a pair of 30-yarders at UNA.

PROTECTION AT A PREMIUM
• Two of the best teams in the nation at getting behind the line of scrimmage will meet up on Saturday afternoon, as the Rams rank sixth nationally in tackles for loss, and the Lions rank 17th.

FIREWORKS AFTER A SCORE
• The Lions have excelled on kickoffs, both when kicking the ball away, and when receiving.
• A&M-Commerce is 4th in the nation in kickoff return average at 26.92 yards per return.
• The Lions are also 2nd in the league and 6th nationally in kickoff return defense, allowing 14.86 yards per return.
• Opponents have averaged starting at the 27.1-yard line on kickoffs, while the Lions average is a start on the 41.0-yard line after kickoffs.
• Martinez’s boots have had touchbacks on 22 of 41.

ON THE SCOREBOARD
• The Lions rank in the top 25 nationally in both scoring offense and scoring defense.
• At 41.7 points scored per game, the Lions are 2nd in the LSC and 10th in the nation.
• The Lions allowed 15.3 points per game, and are rank 1st in the LSC and 11th in the Nation.

HOOKS ATOP PUNT RETURN LEADERBOARD
• Preseason All-American return man Shawn Hooks ranks first in the Lone Star Conference with an average of 12.8 yards per punt return this year.
• The only LSC player who has returned a punt for a touchdown this year was Jay Bias’ five-yard punt block return for a score in the fourth quarter against Western N.M.

MULTI-FACETED ALL-AMERICAN
• All-American tackle Jared Machorro has been fantastic on the left side of the offensive line.
• Likely unexpected? He ranks 11th in the LSC in average punt yardage at 35.5 yards per punt.
• That’s just awesome.

SCOUT TEAM PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
• The Lions will announce scout team players of the week each Tuesday for the 2017 season. Winners so far this year are:

at North Alabama	OL Richard West, DB Bryse Burris
WILLIAM JEWELL	QB Mason Ray, DL Nick Petitti
EASTERN NEW MEXICO	WR Deonta Adams, DL Lamonte Williams
at Texas A&M-Kingsville	DL Kolt Fullen
at Midwestern State	OL Nic Smith, DL Ty Reed
WESTERN NEW MEXICO	RB Antonio Lealiiee, LB Kendric Ford

On October 21 in Texas A&M-Commerce/East Texas State Football (5-4) :
• 1950 – The Lions play their third straight road game and pull off a 35-27 win at Midwestern in Wichita Falls. Bob Sloan has a school-record 100-yard kickoff return for a touchdown in the game. He has two in his career, also doing so against Midwestern in 1951.
• 1961 – ET loses to Howard Payne in Brownwood. 36-6.
• 1967 – The Lions snap a three-game losing streak with a 31-0 whipping of Sul Ross.
• 1972 – The Lions pick up their sixth consecutive win, with a critical 32-29 victory at home over Southwest Texas State.
• 1978 – Abilene Christian edged ET on the road, 28-27.
• 1981 – The Lions dropped a 19-14 decision to Abilene Christian at home.
• 1989 – A long trip to Blackwater Draw in front of a sparse crowd ends in a 45-28 at Eastern New Mexico. Don Carthel coached the Greyhounds.
• 1995 – The Lions win their second straight game of an eventual five-game winning streak, taking a 28-14 win over Eastern New Mexico at Blackwater Draw.
• 2006 – Cliff Edwards and Rusty Holmes earned LSC North Division Player of the Week honors as the Lions win at Angelo State 17-9 despite only 198 yards of offense. That stat is particularly impressive, considering Edwards had 201 yards rushing and two touchdowns., including a 67-yard carry. Holmes made a 31-yard field goal in the third quarter.

 

Cross Country runners Trevor Montgomery and Maddie Shubert named to LSC All-Academic teams.

RICHARDSON–Texas A&M University-Commerce cross country runners Trevor Montgomery and Maddie Shubert have been named to the 2017 Lone Star Conference All-Academic teams. The men’s and women’s teams were announced Thursday by the conference office.

Montgomery– a junior from Whitney– has been named to the All-Academic team two years in a row, after being named to the team as a sophomore last year. He carries a 3.76 GPA as a Human Performance major. He has been named to the LSC Commissioner’s Honor Roll and earned the D2ADA Academic Achievement Award. He has been named to the A&M-Commerce President’s List once and to Dean’s List three times. Montgomery has also been named to the Athletic Director’s Honor Roll three times and has earned a spot on the Best In Class (4.0) Honor Roll once. As a runner, Montgomery finished in the top 20 at both the East Texas Shootout and the Lois Davis Invitational this season.

Shubert– a sophomore from Rowlett– earned a 3.93 GPA as a Criminal Justice major. In her academic career, she has been named to the LSC Commissioner’s Honor Roll once, to A&M-Commerce’s President’s List twice and has twice earned a spot on the Best In Class (4.0) Honor Roll. As a runner, Shubert placed in the top 10 this season at the East Texas Shootout.

Montgomery, Shubert and the rest of the Lions will compete in the LSC Championships on Saturday. The women’s 6K will begin at 9 a.m., followed by the men’s 10K at 10 a.m. The meet will take place at L.E. Ramey Golf Course in Kingsville.

MEN’S CROSS COUNTRY ALL-ACADEMIC TEAM
Runner Team Year Major Hometown
Owen Hind West Texas A&M Sr. Business Administration London, England
Reese Montgomery Angelo State Jr. Computer Science Dalhart, Texas
Lorenzo Juarez Eastern New Mexico Jr. Biology Lovington, N.M.
Xavier Perez Western New Mexico So. Accounting El Paso, Texas
Trevor Montgomery A&M-Commerce Jr. Human Performance Whitney, Texas

SPECIAL RECOGNITION
Academic Runner of the Year: Owen Hind, West Texas A&M

WOMEN’S CROSS COUNTRY ALL-ACADEMIC TEAM
Runner Team Year Major Hometown
Stephanie Blaine Midwestern State Jr. Chemistry Arlington, Texas
Nikolina Hrelec West Texas A&M So. Sports & Exercise Science Zagreb, Croatia
Anna Parker Eastern New Mexico So. Family & Consumer Science Aztec, N.M.
Mariah Noyola A&M-Kingsville Sr. Business Management Harlingen, Texas
Maddie Shubert A&M-Commerce So. Criminal Justice Rowlett, Texas
Sara Smith Midwestern State Jr. Athletic Training Dalhart, Texas

SPECIAL RECOGNITION
Academic Runner of the Year: Stephanie Blaine, West Midwestern State