SPORTS
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F r i d a y, S e p t e m b e r 3 0 , 2 011
Volleyball
Sooners look to stay on winning track Opponent to watch Amanda Dowdy Year: Senior Position: Outside hitter Hometown: Lexington, Texas Season stats: 4.12 kills/set, 3.69 digs/set, 0.39 assists/set
After upsetting Texas at home, OU heads to face Texas Tech on the road Luke McConnell Sports Reporter
After an emotional and exciting win against No. 8 Texas on Wednesday night, the OU volleyball team turns its attention to Texas Tech this weekend. The No. 25 Sooners will be on the road to take on the upstart Red
Raiders at 6:05 p.m. Saturday in Lubbock. “Bottom line is, I told our team to enjoy the win last night only, and [Thursday] when you wake up, go back to reality and start thinking about Texas Tech,” OU coach Santiago Restrepo said. Wednesday’s win against Texas moved the Sooners to 15-3 this season and 2-0 in Big 12 conference play. It also gave the Sooners a leg up on the Longhorns for the season, should tiebreakers become
a factor later in the year. OU hit .248 against a big Texas team and actually out-blocked the Longhorns 13.5 to 9.5. Te x a s Te c h comes into the more inside m a t c h w i t h a OU’s upset win 14-2 record. New against Texas was coach Don Flora fitting. PAGE B2 has resurrected the Red Raiders, who only won 11 games in the last three seasons. With the newfound confidence, Tech cruised through
nonconference play, rattling off 13 straight wins after dropping its season opener. Texas Tech has a lot of powerful hitters and has used them to roll up a .244 hitting percentage so far this year. The Red Raiders also are fifth in the nation in blocking this season. Experience is the Red Raiders’ weak point. There are nine freshmen on the roster, and no one on the team has experienced the kind see Tech page B2
SOFTBALL
Soccer
Oklahoma Pitcher to suit up for Team USA Ricketts helped lead team to gold medal at World Cup in July Tobi Neidy
Sports Reporter
Marcin Rutkowski/The Daily
Junior forward Caitlin Mooney (4) fights for a ball against BYU on Sept. 17 in Norman. OU won, 2-0. Oklahoma opens Big 12 conference play Friday with a game against the second-ranked Oklahoma State Cowboys. It will air on tape-delay Saturday on Cox Channel 3, OU soccer’s first televised game in its history.
OU to host home Bedlam clash Sooners attempt to knock off nation’s No. 2-ranked team Tobi Neidy
Sports Reporter
Oklahoma soccer will have its first opportunity to host a televised game when the Sooners clash with Oklahoma State at 7 p.m. Friday in Norman. Although the Cowgirls defeated OU, 1-0, during a nonconference matchup Aug. 26, the Sooners look to even the score during Friday’s Bedlam matchup against the secondranked team in the country. “Our attack is our strength, and it’s getting some early production,” coach Nicole Nelson said. “Our focus this week has been improving the areas defensively where we have been giving up goals.” The game, which will be aired on tape-delay Saturday on Cox Channel 3, will provide a
unique opportunity to help improve recruiting by showcasing the Sooner program at home in action, something Nelson said will help when competing for recruits against the nationally renowned Cowgirls. “We want the best players in Oklahoma to come to OU,” Nelson said. “With our facility, the resources we have and people believing in the direction we’re heading, we’ve been able to win some of those battles.” OSU comes into Norman as one of only two schools left in the NCAA field that remains undefeated this season (13-0, 2-0 Big 12) while also defending the highest national ranking for the program. Memphis (10-0, 2-0 C-USA) is the only other school in Division-I soccer to be undefeated. While several Big 12 schools Marcin Rutkowski/The Daily have already competed in their first conference games this Freshman forward Kelly Price (26) chases after a ball against BYU earlier this season. The Sooners closed out nonconference play with two losses but hope see soccer page B3 to get back on track with a win against No. 2 Oklahoma State on Friday.
conference realignment
Door may be opening for TCU joining Big 12 League says stance against adding any Texas teams has shifted The Associated Press
DALLAS — The Big 12 has a new stance about adding members from Texas, potentially opening the door for TCU and other schools. TC U, w h i c h w o n t h e Ro s e
Bowl last season, would add to the league’s football profile. Additionally, SMU has lobbied for membership in the Big 12 or another conference with an automatic BCS bid. The turnaround is important because the league could have another vacancy. Missouri, linked frequently to the Southeastern Conference during realignment, has scheduled a board of curators
meeting Tuesday to consider its conference affiliation, multiple reports indicated. The Tigers, with two major TV markets in St. Louis and Kansas City, would be attractive to the SEC as a 14th member. Texas A&M was approved as the conference’s 13th school Sunday. The loss of Missouri would bring the Big 12 down to eight members and add to the idea of the Big 12 as
endangered. “It would be a problem with perception. We can build the house again with different pieces,” interim Big 12 commissioner Chuck Neinas said. “There is no shortage of institutions expressing interest in joining the Big 12.” Neinas indicated a resistance to additional members from Texas see Big 12 page B3
Oklahoma pitcher Keilani Ricketts will lay her crimson and cream uniform aside for a red, white and blue one this fall. The ace was selected to participate in the 16th Pan American games for Team USA, the team announced this week. All 17 of the athletes selected for the Americans will play in the games for the first time while the program seeks its eighth Pan Am title on Oct. 17-23 in Guadalajara, KEILANI RICKETTS Mexico. “The Pan Am games have a rich history of great softball,” USA coach Ken Eriksen said. “To represent your country, listen to the National Anthem on foreign soil and compete for a gold medal are all very uplifting opportunities. We plan on doing all three with great integrity.” Before making the trip to Mexico, Ricketts along with fellow Sooner teammate Jessica Shults, will travel to play exhibition games with Team USA against Texas A&M and Houston on Oct. 9-11 in preparation for the upcoming competition. “We will train for five days, get back to the basics of USA Softball and play hard,” Eriksen said. Ricketts helped lead Team USA to a gold medal — the first ever won by a member of the Sooner softball team — during the World Cup of Softball in July, seeing action in four of the six games while recording wins against Australia and Japan. Ricketts spent six innings on the mound, giving up just three hits and one earned run. The San Jose, Calif., native will miss OU’s eight-game fall season this year while working out with the national team. The Sooners kick off their fall stint with a match against Seminole State on Oct. 5 before concluding the season with a matchup against the National Pro Fastpitch All-Stars on Nov. 3. The team features top professional performers from the league’s four teams. All games will be played in Norman.
Team USA Schedule:
In Houston: USA vs. Texas A&M — noon Oct. 9 (doubleheader) USA vs. Houston — 7 p.m. Oct. 11
In Mexico: USA vs. Venezuela — 6:30 p.m. Oct. 17 USA vs. Dominican Republic — 11 a.m. Oct. 18 USA vs. Mexico — 9 p.m. Oct. 18 USA vs. Cuba — 1:30 p.m. Oct. 19 USA vs. Puerto Rico — 4 p.m. Oct. 19 USA vs. Canada — 2 p.m. Oct. 20 USA vs. Argentina — 4:30 p.m. Oct. 21 Playoffs begin Oct. 22 with the medal round scheduled for Oct. 23.