Wednesday, May 3, 2023
Native American Student Association honors graduates, crown 2023 Miss and Mr. American Indian
Stephanie Landaverde Staff Reporter
Carson Toulouse The Cowboy and Cowgirl tennis teams were selected to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in two years on Monday night.
Let the dance begin
Cowboy, Cowgirl tennis teams selected for NCAA Tournament weekend for the first round of the tourney — the men face a first-round matchup with Florida in Tucson, Arizona, and the women facing the University of Denver in Palo Alto, California. The O’Colly PJ Tikalsky is here to break down the reStaff Reporter gional round of play for both teams. Cowboys finally off the When the dust settled in fence Gallagher-Iba Arena’s Varsity This year’s selection Room on Monday evening, was not guaranteed for the the OSU men’s and women’s Cowboys just two weeks ago. tennis teams found themAfter falling to 12-12 in the selves dancing in the 2023 regular season and losing NCAA team championships for the first time in two years. every game in conference The Cowboys and Cow- play, they needed something girls will travel out west this big from the Big 12 Tournament. With all eyes on Carl
Roothman in the opening match against Texas Tech, the freshman from South Africa delivered, bolstering the team toward the top of the bubble following final results from across the country. This is coach Dustin Taylor’s first tournament bid with Oklahoma State, but if his experience coaching three national championship teams before coming to Stillwater tells us anything, it’s that he’s got the stuff to get a team moving in May. Looking at their regional draw, the ball is certainly in their court when it comes to potential advancement to the super regional. See Tennis on 3
of student programs, such as SGA. The contestants each showed off their regalia and introduced themselves. After introductions, Garcia took a seat among other members of NASA while the other contestants went backstage. The two women presented their talents next. Glass shared a Quapaw game with the audience. McGee, who has been a classical singer for six years, sang “Misty” by Ella Fitzgerald. Both contestants had the opportunity to present a speech over their platforms and what they intend to do if crowned. Glass’ platform was Tribal Sovereignty and educational knowledge. McGee’s is Native American health and wellness. “My platform is that tribal nations should strive to be economically sovereign,” Garcia said. Extemporaneous question was the last portion of the pageant competition. Gabrielle Tiger, the 2022 Miss American Indian, asked Glass how she would like to give back to her community after she graduates. Glass said she would like to give back to Native American scholarships at OSU to further future students.
This is not the finish line, it’s just another starting line. John Chaney, keynote speaker at the Native American Student Association Senior Honoring Ceremony & Miss American Pageant, said this to the graduates honored that afternoon. The event started with the pageant. There were two women and one man. Kristal Glass, a general business sophomore who is Quapaw, Seneca Cayuga, Cherokee and Choctaw, and Shaeleigh McGee, a microbiology/ cell and molecular biology freshman and Chickasaw and Mississippi Choctaw, competed for Miss American Indian. Caleb Garcia, a junior in economics and member of the Wyandotte Nation, was the only male contestant. Of the three judges, two were past Miss American Indians: Megan Baker from 2016 and Catherine White from 2018. Melisa Echols, the third judge, is the coordinator See Honors on 5
Stephanie Landaverde Four graduates honored at the ceremony; from left to right: Jerret Carpenter, Hadley Hume, Gabrielle Tiger and Kayleigh Moulton.
How OSU golfers manage mental aspects of golf Jax Thompson Staff Reporter Many golfers will imagine themselves hitting an amazing shot, but Clemence Martin imagines playing an entire round. Martin, a sophomore on the Oklahoma State women’s golf team, said before every tournament, she takes the yardage book, which is a guide to the golf course, and plays all 18 holes in her head. She visualizes good shots and bad. When she visualizes hitting a bad shot, she takes the time to feel what she would feel in real life. Then she works through it and visualizes getting herself out of trouble. “Just trying to find, like, solutions to help me so if it happens the next day, I’ll be prepared because I’ve already experienced it,” Martin said. Positive visualization is one of many techniques used by golfers behind the scenes to improve the mental aspect of their game. Maddison Hinson-Tolchard, a junior, said though physical ability matters, mental ability can set a player apart. “I think what determines a good player from a great player is definitely their mental aspect of the game,”
Hinson-Tolchard said. “Like if you’re strong mentally, you’ve got a massive advantage over someone who can just hit the ball a really, really long way. So, I think the mental side of the game is super, super important.” The mental ability of a golfer is harder to see, hiding behind the physical ability. The only time it is visible is during an outburst: a thrown club, a yelled expletive, a promise to never play again. Mental ability is about more than controlling tempers. Golf can be discouraging. Gene Littler, a former professional golfer who is in the World Golf Hall of Fame, said managing mistakes is the key to golf. “Golf is not a game of great shots,” Littler said. “It’s a game of most accurate misses. The people who win make the smallest mistakes.” Depressing. Staying confident in a game where missed shots are more frequent than great ones takes mental fortitude. There are many ways for players to improve their mental strength. Some of the Cowgirls, such as Martin, use sports psychology. Kevin Andrews, a sports psychologist who works with some of the players, trains them to control their mindset through techniques such as positive visualization, breathing exer-
Courtesy of OSU Athletics OSU golfer Clemence Martin plays a course in her head before ever swinging her club at a tournament.
cises and meditation. Martin started working with Andrews while recovering from a herniated disc in 2022. She said she struggles with negative thoughts on the course. “Sometimes I’m just insecure,” Martin said. “And I’m my own, like, enemy and that’s basically what we worked on. And sometimes I can be a little bit anxious before tournaments, so I can just give him a call.” Andrews said sports psychology involves changing how people view
what is happening to them. He used the example of waking up to go work out. A player could wake up and think negative thoughts, such as thinking about how tired or sore she is. Or she could think of waking up to work out as an opportunity to improve. “We can catch those negative thoughts and kind of reframe them to help create more positive emotions which in turn will create higher motivation,” Andrews said. See Golfers on 4