ENMU Athletics News

By Adam Pitterman and Will Edwards

Five Inducted into Greyhound Athletics Hall of Honors

The Athletics Hall of Honors welcomed five new members during their September banquet. The 2017 induction class includes Larry Riley (men’s basketball), Gary Good (rodeo), Alex Mayo-Otis (softball), Anna Bellum (volleyball), and Samantha Lawrence-Ward (women’s soccer).

Larry Riley

Although most people recognize Larry Riley as the general manager and architect of the Golden State Warriors’ recent NBA Championship team, his 27-year journey through the NBA also included working as a video coordinator/scout, serving in the front office and in coaching capacities with the Vancouver Grizzlies (1994-99) and Dallas Mavericks (2000-05). Prior to his work in the NBA, Riley served as the Greyhound Men’s Basketball coach for 10 seasons from 1978-87.

Gary Good

Gary Good was one of ENMU’s top rodeo stars from 1971-75 and reached the College National Finals rodeo every year. He also competed for the 1972 Greyhound Track & Field program. He had a strong post-ENMU career, won eight PRCA rodeos and numerous titles including PRCA World Champion steer roper in 1979 and All-Around Cowboy at the Cheyenne Frontier Days in 1978.

Alex Mayo Otis

Alex Mayo Otis (BS 10) played for the ENMU Softball team from 2007-10 and was one of the most complete players in program history. She could hit for both average and power, steal bases, and bunt. Mayo Otis concluded her career in the top 10 of nearly every offensive category and set the program record for hits in a career with a grand slam against Northeastern State.

Anna Bellum

Anna Bellum (BA 06) was a First Team All-Lone Star Conference selection for the ENMU Volleyball team in the 2003 and 2004 seasons. Also strong academically, Bellum was an ESPN the Magazine First Team Academic All-District selection and was chosen as Eastern’s LSC Scholar Athlete. Her 481 kills in the 2003 season are seventh all time for Eastern, while her 942 career kills are eighth in ENMU history.

Samantha Lawrence-Ward.

Samantha Lawrence-Ward (BS 10) played for the ENMU Women’s Soccer team from 2006-09 and was one of the most highly decorated players in program history. She is Eastern’s all-time leader in goals and earned numerous academic honors. Lawrence holds the ENMU career records with 37 goals and 13 game-winning goals.

Successful College Daze Rodeo

In September, the ENMU Rodeo team hosted the annual College Daze Rodeo at Lewis Cooper Arena. Overall, the women’s team tied for fourth with 155 points while the men’s team finished ninth with 145 points. The women’s goat tying team turned in a strong performance, while the men’s steer wrestling team also produced a quality outing. South Plains College took home the top spot on the women’s side with 255 points. On the men’s side, Odessa College won the event with a score of 360.

The Women’s Rodeo team tied for fourth place after a successful College Daze Rodeo.

Volleyball Team Upends Buffs for Third-Straight Home Win in the Series

The ENMU Volleyball team picked up its third-straight home win over West Texas A&M with a four-set thriller against the Lady Buffs this past September in front of over 500 rowdy fans. The match went back-and-forth the entire night, featuring 25 ties and 10 lead changes. ENMU improved to 6-9 overall and 4-2 in the Lone Star Conference following the victory.

Bailey Hale Chosen as Season’s First LSC Special Teams Player of the Week

Greyhound sophomore kicker Bailey Hale made a dramatic 41-yard field goal with seven seconds left in the game against 18th ranked Southwest Baptist.

After a strong showing in the season-opening win over Southwest Baptist, Bailey Hale from the ENMU football team was chosen as 2017 season’s first Lone Star Conference Special Teams Player of the Week. Hale’s dramatic 41-yard field goal with seven seconds left was his second of the day from that distance. It also lifted the Greyhounds to a season-opening victory over No. 18 Southwest Baptist. The sophomore kicker went three-for-four on field goals to score 11 of ENMU’s 23 points of the day. The contest also marked the first time a Greyhound kicker hit multiple 40-yard field goals in the same game since Lee Price against East Central in 2005. Hale also had three touchbacks on six kickoffs, which included the final one after ENMU took the lead with seven seconds left. Hale is the first Greyhound to earn LSC Special Teams Player of the Week since Mitchell Cox in 2014, a date in which Eastern swept the LSC weekly awards. Last season, the Hounds received three weekly awards from the conference.

Women’s Soccer Showing Scoring Punch This Season

Five games into last season, the ENMU women’s soccer team had scored 11 goals, all coming against University of the Southwest in a record-setting performance. Five games into this season, Eastern looks much improved and the Hounds have scored 10 goals against NCAA Division II competition. In September the Greyhounds played a stellar defensive game and not only picked up their first shutout in nearly a calendar year (one day short), but defeated Texas Woman’s for their first league win.

Sophomore Ariel Lopez goes up against a Fort Lewis player.

Men’s Soccer Also Finding the Net This Year

Early in the season, the Greyhound Men’s Soccer team went double overtime to claim a dramatic win at University of Colorado-Colorado Springs. The Mountain Lions rallied from a 4-1 deficit to force overtime, but senior Nicolai Alstrom’s doubleovertime goal pulled out the win. Alstrom also had late heroics against Oklahoma Christian, with a late tie-breaking goal.

Senior Ignacio Dicun takes on a player from St. Mary’s University.

Freshman Christopher Mesquita has a team-best three goals as the Hounds have scored 12 over their first 18 games. Ignacio Dicun, Mitchel Meisinger and Alstrom each have scored twice. Yuri Nascimiento and Cody Wann have split time in net.

Cross Country Teams off to Strong Starts

Coley Norcross and Omer Almog helped the ENMU Cross Country teams to get off to strong starts. The duo were the top finishers in the first two competitions of the season. In the opener at Texas Tech, Almog’s seventh-place performance led the men’s team to a sixth-place finish. For the women’s team, Norcross took 26th and was joined in the top 50 by Cynthis Tovar, as ENMU placed sixth. At New Mexico Highlands, the duo helped get the Greyhounds to second-place finishes. Almog placed fifth, while Norcross was fourth.