Bearkat Volleyball Team Set For 2012 Season
by Cheval John
The Sam Houston State Bearkat volleyball team is set to make a run towards post-season play starting tomorrow when they will host the Sam Houston Volleyball Invitational at Bernard Johnson Coliseum.
Along with the Bearkats, the teams that will participate in the tournament are the University of Colorado, Texas Southern University and the University of Louisiana-Lafayette.
Head coach Brenda Gray returns for her 29th season at the helm.
She is among the 29 active head coaches with 500 or more wins (575) at the NCAA Division I.
The Bearkats were picked to finish No.4 in the Southland Conference in pre-season coaches polls.
They finished with a conference record of 11-5 record (17-12 overall) and made the SLC Post-Season tournament, where they were knocked out by UTSA in the semifinal round of the tournament.
The Bearkats are returning nine letterman including four starters.
Three of the starters, (Kim Black, Kendall Cleveland and Kaylee Hawkins), were named to the 2012 pre-season All-Southland Conference team.
Black, a senior from Huntsville, led the team with 139 blocks last season.
It was the highest in one season since SHSU moved up to the NCAA Division I in 1986.
She is two-time All-Southland Conference Selection and is currently No.2 in career blocks at SHSU.
Cleveland, a senior from Houston, was fifth on the team with 179 kills and contributed with 45 blocks last year.
Hawkins, a senior from Dickson, is ranked No.9 in SHSU history with 1,345 career digs.
She was fourth on the team with 186 kills and is a two-time All-Southland Conference selection.
The tournament is set to begin tomorrow at 4 p.m.
For more information, visit www.gobearkats.com.
SHSU-Baylor Football Game To Be Televised On Fox College Sports
by Cheval John
No one expected the Sam Houston State Bearkat football team to receive more media exposure than the four games that will be televised by the Southland Conference Television Network and KHOU Channel 11 (Bearkats vs. Texas Southern at BBVA Compass Stadium) this season.
Until now.
The Big 12 Conference announced today that the contest between the Bearkats and the Baylor Bears will be televised by Fox College Sports on September 15 at 6 p.m. in Waco.
The game is one of two contest against an FBS opponent.
The last time both teams met was in 2010 with Baylor winning the contest against the Kats under first year head football coach Willie Fritz.
The playoff run by the Bearkats was televised lived on ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPN3 last year.
They made it to the NCAA Division I National Championships Final as the No.1 team in the country.
However, they lost to North Dakota State by the score of 17-6 to finish the season at 14-1, the most wins in school history.
They are looking to return to the big dance this season with 50 players returning to the squad that include 19 starters.
To obtain tickets, contact the SHSU Athletic Ticket Office at (936) 294-1729.
Season ticket holders receives first priority.
Augusta Finally Made The Right Choice
by Cheval John
It was only a matter of time that the Augusta National Golf Club would accept a woman into their membership.
The only question was when it would happen?
That was answered today when the prestigious club inducted former Secretary of State Condeleezza Rice and Darla Moore as members.
The Augusta, the famed country club that is home to the Masters Tournament, refused to allowed females into their fraternity since it’s founding in 1933.
Even with the explosion of women’s sports ranging from amateur to professional since the passage of Title IX in 1972, they were determined to keep it as a male only club.
When Annika Sorenstam, the most decorated female golfer, was denied membership, the public wanted to know why they did not wanted any female members even though women was making progress in all aspects of life.
Then the final straw came early this year.
IBM, who has been a sponsor of the Masters for years, hired Virginia Rometty as their CEO last year.
The previous CEOs, who were all male, received invites for membership into the club.
The dilemma that the members faced was, “to invite or not to invite Rometty for membership?”
If they refused, then they would destroy their relationship with IBM.
But, if they did invite her, then they would be breaking their “old tradition.”
One could say that they did not want to face that dilemma again, so they decided to give an invite to not only one, but two women.
It was long overdue.
Bobcats Defeats Bearkats 1-0
by Cheval John
Texas State Bobcats eliminated the Sam Houston State Bearkat soccer team in the semifinal round of the Southland Conference Post-Season Tournament last year in a penalty shoot out to advance to the championship game.
Since then, the Bearkats regrouped and returned all of their starters and were looking to avenge their loss on Sunday night when the Bobcats came to town in a non-conference match.
But it was not meant to be as the Bobcats defeated the Bearkats 1-0.
“I thought we had some good opportunities early on,” head soccer coach Tom Brown said.
“Unfortunately, we just didn’t capitalize on them.”
The Bobcats had possession of the ball for most of the game and kept the Bearkats out of rhythm.
They came out of the gate in the second half when Tori Hale blasted a shot from 18 yards that went wide.
They kept up the intensity as they created more chances that resulted in four more shots that either were on goal or went wide.
The Bearkats had their share of opportunities when freshman Ashley Alonzo blasted a shot inside the box, but was saved by Texas State goalkeeper Natalie Gardini.
It remained scoreless until the 85th minute when Serena Hines went down the right side of the field and crossed it to the left post.
Goalkeeper Kyle Hambleton could not bring it in and Jourdan Brown put it in the net for 1-0.
The Bearkats tried to equalize in the final five minutes, but ran out of time as they suffered their first loss of the season.
Their next game will be on Friday when they host the University of North Texas at 7 p.m.
Bearkats Defeats Panthers 1-0
by Cheval John
In her first collegiate game, freshman midfielder Ashley Alonzo scored the go-ahead, game-winning goal that gave the Sam Houston State Bearkat soccer team a 1-0 victory over the Prarie View A&M Panthers.
“I thought that Prarie View did a great job of making it difficult on us,” head coach Tom Brown said.
“They got a lot of numbers behind the ball.”
The Bearkats had the ball in the Panthers territory for most of the first half, but they could not produce any chances.
They were out shot by the Panthers 5-3.
The second half was a different story when the Bearkats create more chances for themselves.
They shot the ball fifteen times in the half, with the breakthrough coming in the 79th minute when Alonzo made a sweet move past a defender and blasted a shot that went off the post and off goal keeper Bianca Garza into the net that gave the Bearkats a 1-0 lead.
“I saw the near-post wide open and that’s where I shot for,” Alonzo said.
“Luckily, it went in.”
The Panthers shot the ball three times in the second half, they had one last opportunity to equalize in the closing seconds of the match, but came up short in the end.
Though coach Brown wasn’t pleased with the performance, he is satisfied with the result and will use it to make some improvements going into the next match against Texas State on Sunday night.
“It’s a win,” coach Brown said. “I rather not play to my expectations and win than the opposite…We’ll have some things to learn.”