SHSU To Host Intercollegiate Golf Tournament
Courtesy: Paul Ridings,Jr., SHSU Sports Information
Twelve women’s teams and nine men’s squads will gather Monday morning at Raven Nest Golf Course as Sam Houston State plays host to the annual Harold Funston Intercollegiate Golf Classic.
The even marks the third year in a row that SHSU has hosted a fall golf event at Raven Nest.
Sam Houston won the men’s tournament both in 2010 and 2011 and the Bearkat women are the defending champs in their competition as well.
A&M-Corpus Christi, Alabama State, Houston Baptist, Lamar, New Orleans, Saint Edwards Texas Southern University, Texas-Pan American, Tyler Junior College, Western Texas College and Jacksonville College will be the participants in the women’s event.
The women’s layout at Raven’s Nest will play at par 71 with a yardage of 6,067 yards.
Jacksonville, North Dakota State, Texas-Brownsville, Texas-Pan American Texas Southern and Tyler will compete in the men’s team competition while four-man squads from Baylor and Houston will play as individual medalist entries only.
The men’s layout also has a par 71 and will be 6,943 yards long.
Play begins Monday with an 8 a.m. shot gun start.
The 54-hole tournament will feature 36 holes on Monday and the final 18 on Tuesday.
Bearkat Volleyball Team Set For Oral Roberts
by Cheval John
There are always a first time for everything.
Your first day of school. Your first day of work.
For the Sam Houston State Bearkat volleyball team, it will be their first meeting against Oral Roberts University at Bernard G. Johnson Coliseum on Thursday at 7 p.m.
ORU joined the Southland Conference this past July and the Bearkats are looking forward to the matchup.
“Obviously, Oral Roberts is new to the conference,” assistant coach Ellen Andrews said. “It’s interesting to open the conference season with them.”
The Bearkats (4-7) finished their two week road trip at the Sugar Bowl Classic in New Orleans with a 1-2 record.
That win came against host Tulane in the last game of the classic.
Oral Roberts also have a record of 4-7 and are on a five-game losing streak.
Three of their players have a total of 100 kills or more.
“We’re really optimistic about the conference season because we knew that we scheduled a really tough ‘pre-season,’ Andrews said.
“We are pretty battle tested at this point.”
Over the last 11 games, the Bearkats has totaled 526 kills.
Sophomore outside hitter Devene Wells-Gibson leads the team with 155 kills, which is No.3 in the conference.
“Devene is a very good volleyball player,” Andrews said.
“She has a good knowledge of the game. … She’s very calm on the court.”
Contributing to the offense is defensive specialist Tayler Gray.
The junior from Huntsville ranks No.4 in the conference with 424 assists.
Libero Jamie Haas leads the defense with 163 digs.
Though she is not in the spotlight, the senior from Deer Park produced spectacular defensive plays that creates an opportunity for the Bearkats to score.
“Sometimes they are not given enough credit for what they do because they are not the flashy players,” Andrews said.
“Jamie is setting up a lot of points for us. … She knows what she is doing out there.”
The Bearkats believe that their preparation will serve them well when they play host to ORU.
“We watch some film on them,” Andrews said.
“We have a good game plan on what we need to do to take care of them.”
Question And Answer With Melanie Kania
Melanie Kania is a prime example of what being persistent is all about.
She graduated from Sam Houston State University in 2009 during the “great recession.”
She could have given into the notion of just settling for a job that was available.
Instead, she continued to be persistent and months later, she acquired internships with two public relations firms in the Houston area.
She is now with Weatherford International were she serves as a Communications Specialist.
We caught up with Melanie to get her perspective on the journey that led her to her current position.
Vallano Media: How long did it take for you to find that post-college job?
Melanie Kania: I graduated in 2009 during the height of the recession, so it took about nine months to find the job I have now. In the meantime I pursued internships to gain experience in public relations and was exposed to a broad range of industries, which led me to oil and gas where I am now.
V.M. : Were you involved in any organization while in college?
M.K. : Yes I was involved in: Alpha Chi Omega, Alpha Lambda Delta Freshman Honors Society, Public Relations Student Society of America, National Society for Leadership and Success, Golden Keys National Honors Society and Order of Omega.
V.M. : Why should students get involved in an organization?
M.K. : I believe that organization involvement is very important to college students and is an intregal part of one’s college experience.
V.M. : Did you study abroad and if so, how has studying abroad impacts a student’s undergraduate/graduate career?
M.K. : Yes I studied abroad through Sam Houston’s Puebla program and lived in Puebla, Mexico with a host family for a month. This was one of the best experiences I have ever had, and the memories made and lessons learned will be with me forever. The program gave me first hand exposure to another culture and I was able to see how they live and do business.
V.M. : Looking back, was it worth attending college?
M.K. : Absolutely, in fact I am planning to go back to pursue my Masters.
V.M. : Final thoughts?
M. K. : Get as involved as possible. Networking through my collegiate/ post college organizations led me to my current position and the internships along the way.
No.3 Bearkats Advances To Championship Round Of Houston Regional
by Cheval John
Houston, Texas- No.3 Sam Houston State Bearkat baseball team eliminated the No.1 Rice Owls by the score of 4-1 to advance to the championship round of the NCAA Baseball Championship Houston Regional.
It was the biggest win of the year for first-year head coach David Pierce, who spent 9 years as an assistant to Rice head coach Wayne Graham, out coached his teacher and have taken the Bearkat baseball program to another level.
The Owls, who was favored to win the regional and make a run at the College World Series, scored a total of five runs in three games.
They could not overcome a strong pitching performance by starting pitcher Michael Oros and key defensive plays by the Bearkats.
They were looking to pounce on the Bearkats in the top of the first inning when Christian Stringer walked and J.T. Chargois reached on a error by third baseman Kevin Miller.
With two outs, Michael Fuda issued a walk to load the bases.
But Oros got Michael Ratterree to fly out to center fielder Colt Atwood to end the threat.
The Bearkats capitalized and scored the first run of the game in the bottom of the third inning that made it 1-0.
Corey Toups started the inning with a single and stole second base to put himself in scoring position.
He advanced to third on a ground out to first base by Atwood and scored the first run on an error by second baseman Stringer that allowed Luke Plucheck to reach first.
Plucheck was credited with the RBI.
The Bearkats increased their lead to 2-0 in the bottom of the fourth inning on a RBI single by Atwood.
The Owls made things interesting in the top of the fifth inning as they cut the lead to 2-1.
With two runners on, Jeremy Rathjen hit a drive to left field that went off the glove of Plucheck at the wall.
Stringer scored easily from second base, but Chargois was thrown out at home as he tried to score the tying run.
They tried again in the top of the seventh inning when Stringer hit a one out single up the middle.
He advanced to second on a error by O’Hearn that allowed Chargois to reach first on a fielder’s choice.
Oros settled down and got the final out to end the Owl threat.
They had something going in the top of the eighth inning when Ratterree led off with a single to left field.
The Bearkats got two quick outs as Hale thrown out Ratterree and struck out Lewis.
Geoff Perrott followed with a two out double to keep the Owls rally alive.
But, Oros got Shane Hoelscher to fly out to Atwood and snuffed out the rally.
That turned out to be important as Anthony Azar’s two out, two-run single gave the Bearkats a 4-1 and put the game out of reach for the Owls.
Oros pitched eight strong innings and got the win. He struck out five batters and gave up a run.
Michael Burchett got his 10th save of the season.
The Bearkats (40-21), who earned an at-large bid in the tournament, will face the Arkansas Razorbacks in the championship round tonight at 6 p.m.
If they beat Arkansas, then they will play again tomorrow at 6 p.m., but if Arkansas wins, then they will move on to the NCAA Super Regional.
Bearkats Loses First Game In NCAA Baseball Championships Houston Regional
by Cheval John
Houston, Texas- After striking for four runs in the top of the fifth inning to gain their first lead in the contest, it seemed as if the # 3 seeded Sam Houston State Bearkat baseball team was on their way to getting their first win in the NCAA Baseball Championships Houston Regional.
However, the # 2 seeded Arkansas Razorbacks had different ideas as they rebounded in the bottom of the seventh inning and scored three runs to regain the lead and eventually defeated the Kats by the score of 5-4.
Starting pitcher Caleb Smith threw 117 total pitches in 7 2/3 innings and held the Razorbacks at bay for most of the game.
But it wasn’t enough as Arkansas got key hits when it counted.
The trouble began in the bottom of the fourth inning when Matt Reynolds led off the inning with a double.
They added two more base runners on consecutive walks to Brian Anderson and Bo Bingham to load the bases.
A pair of sacrifice flies scored both Reynolds and Bingham to give the Razorbacks a 2-0.
It didn’t take long for the Bearkats to answer as they scored four runs in the top of the fifth inning to lead it by the score of 4-2.
Luke Plucheck drove in their first run on a bases-clearing ground out to cut the lead to 2-1.
Anthony Azar followed with an RBI single to tie the game at 2.
Then, Jake Arrington followed with a two-run triple to complete the four run rally.
For two innings, Smith kept the Razorbacks at bay as he retired six batters in a row.
Then the lead evaporated in the bottom of the seventh inning as the Razorbacks scored three runs on a two-run single by Tim Carver and an RBI ground out by Reynolds to take back the lead and win by the score of 5-4.
The Bearkats will try to avoid elimination tomorrow as they face Prarie View A&M Panthers at 1 p.m.
The Panthers lost a nail biter to regional host Rice in the nightcap by the score of 3-2.