Sports ROUNDUP Vo lleyb all • The Wildcats finished 2011 with an overall record of 21-14, posted a 14-6 record against the Lone Star Conference, and qualified for the NCAA Division II South Central Regional as the No. 8 seed. Top-seeded Central Missouri eliminated ACU in the first round with a 3-2 win. • Senior Jennie Hutt was one of just six players voted onto the Capital One Academic All-America Division II first team. Hutt’s on-court performances throughout 2011 resulted in her earning two Lone Star Conference Player of the Week awards, spots on the Daktronics and American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) all-region first teams, and honorable mention all-America. • Senior Kelsie Edwards wrapped up her career as ACU’s all-time record-holder with 1,934 digs, and the single-season record for most digs (696). The 2011 team co-captain was honorable mention all-LSC and second team CoSIDA Academic all-District VI. • Sara Oxford was named AVCA’s South Central Region Freshman of the Year. Oxford, a middle blocker, had the LSC’s 10th-best hitting percentage of .274, averaged 2.89 kills per match and blocked 90 shots.
Sara Oxford
B a se b a ll • ACU was selected to finish fourth in the eight-team Lone Star Conference in its preseason poll of head coaches and made the LSC post-season tournament with a 24-26 overall and 11-17 league record. The Wildcats won seven in a row at one point in the season. • Head coach Britt Bonneau recruited 26 newcomers onto this year’s team, his 16th at ACU. Junior transfer second baseman Chuck Duarte (.379 average and 37 RBI) and senior infielder Duncan Blades (.333 average and 31 RBI) have been the team’s top hitters thus far. Freshman outfielder and first baseman Tyler Eager of Fort Worth Christian outfielder has been solid (.321 average, 31 RBI and team-leading 50 runs scored). • Junior transfer Clint Cooper (7-3 record), senior Aaron Lambrix (4.27 ERA) and sophomore Brady Rodriguez (3-1, 4.89 ERA) have been Bonneau’s top pitchers.
JEREMY ENLOW
G o lf • Abilene Christian spent the entire 2011 fall season ranked as the nation’s No. 1 team. • The Wildcats are one of four teams to qualify for the NCAA Division II South Central / Midwest Region tournament May 7-9 in Jefferson City, Mo. • Junior Alex Carpenter was invited to play Nov. 21-22 in the prestigious Western Refining College all-America Golf Classic in El Paso. Carpenter is the first Wildcat golfer to be selected for the tournament, and was the only NCAA Division II player in the field for the 54-hole event. JEREMY ENLOW
S occer • The Wildcats finished 2011 with a record of 20-2-1, won the LSC regular-season championship, and advanced to quarterfinal round of the NCAA Division II Championship, where they were eliminated by Chico State (Calif.), 1-0. • ACU is expected to return 19 letterwinners from last year’s club, including eight starters, led by two-time all-America forward Andrea Carpenter. • Sophomore defender Brie Buschman was honored with a spot on the Capital One Academic All-America third team, and was one of four Wildcats named to the LSC’s all-academic team along with Carpenter, Julie Coppedge and Krysta Grimm. • The National Soccer Coaches Association of America honored ACU’s Casey Wilson (’99) as the South Central Region’s Coach of the Year.
Hans Hach
JEREMY ENLOW
C ro ss Co unt ry • Juniors Alyse Goldsmith and Chloe Susset represented ACU at the NCAA Division II championships in Spokane, Wash. Susset completed the 6K course in 22:55, while Goldsmith finished in 23:49.8. • The U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association selected Susset as the South Central Region’s Division II Women’s Athlete of the Year. Susset won the individual regional title with a 6K time of 21:50.70. • Susset, Goldsmith, freshman Fabian Wessel-Terharn and sophomore Spenser Lynn were named to the all-LSC team after placing among the top 15 at the conference championships in San Angelo. Susset and Goldsmith finished second and third, respectively, leading the Wildcats to fourth place overall. The men’s team placed second. • Sophomore Erik Forrister was voted LSC Men’s Academic Runner of the Year. Gary Duncan joined Forrister on the men’s LSC all-academic team.
Track and F ield • Abilene Christian’s men’s and women’s teams both entered the 2012 season ranked among the top 25 in the nation, according to the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches’ Association. • Senior Nick Jones won the shot put at the 2012 NCAA Division II indoor nationals in Mankato, Minn., with a throw of 17.98 meters. Junior Amanda Ouedraogo won the women’s triple jump (12.84 meters). • Jones (see pages 6-7) is the remaining link to the Wildcats’ 2011 indoor national championship team, which finished with 49 points despite only qualifying four student-athletes. Jones later helped ACU to a national outdoor team title with an individual title in the discus and second-place finish in the shot put. In recognition of his stellar efforts, the USTFCCCA named him the NCAA Division II National Field Athlete of the Year. He won the shot put and discus at the UTEP
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Invitational, the latter with a 203-3 effort good for third on ACU’s all-time performance list. • Middle distance runner Banjo Jaiyesimi, junior college transfers Shenae Steele and Ayesha Rumble, and high school standouts Emily Hill and Karolyn have been among the Wildcats’ top newcomers.
Brie Buschman
M e n’s a nd Wo me n’s Te nnis • Each of the Wildcat tennis teams began the 2012 spring season ranked No. 1 in the region and No. 6 in the nation. The women’s team finished the regular season 21-3 and the men were 17-8 entering the LSC tournament, which both won. They also captured their respective regionals and qualified for the national tournament, starting May 16. • Sophomore Hans Hach and junior Julia Mongin won 2011 ITA/USTA South Central Region Singles Championships in Fall 2011, which qualified them for the National Small College Championships in Mobile, Ala. Hach was the sixth-ranked men’s singles player in NCAA Division II, according to the Intercollegiate Tennis Association, while Mongin ranked third among women. Hach’s season record in singles this spring was 22-4. • The team of Micah Hermsdorf and Hannah Kelley won the region’s doubles championship in the fall, and went on to place fourth at the National Small College Championships.
S o ftb a ll • ACU was selected to finish sixth in the 10-team LSC in its preseason poll of head coaches, but the Wildcats started the season 14-3 and by mid-April were the No. 4-ranked team in the region. They were 29-16 overall and 15-11 in the LSC when selected to the four-team South Central Region tournament. ACU’s last appearance there was in 2009. • Junior college transfers Kimberley Briggs, Keanna Winkfield and Sara Vaughn were among ACU’s top newcomers. Winkfield has been ACU’s top hitter with a .384 average. Briggs (.300 average and 37 RBI) and sophomore Lyndi Smith (.342 average) were tied for the team lead with seven home runs each. Courtney Flannery was hitting .345 and Vaughn had a .311 batting average. • Returnees Shelby Hall and Peyton Mosley, and Odessa College transfer Caitlyn Crain have anchored the ACU pitching rotation. Crain had a 13-6 record and Mosley an 11-8 mark. • Crain began the season with a 5-0 record and 1.62 ERA, earning the Louisville Slugger Division II National Pitcher of the Week award in late February. 䊱