Bearkats Maintains No.2 Ranking
Courtesy: Paul Ridings, Jr., SHSU Sports Information
Sam Houston State remains No. 2 in the Sports Network FCS Top 25 and moved from third to second in the NCAA FCS coaches’ poll Monday.
The Bearkats extended their home winning streak to 19 victories with a 14-3 homecoming victory over Lamar last Saturday.
The winning streak is the longest current mark in FCS football.
Sam Houston stands 5-1 for the season.
The only loss on the record was to FBS top 10 powerhouse Texas A&M.
The Kats were only nine points down to the Aggies in the third quarter of that matchup.
SHSU is 1-0 in Southland play.
North Dakota State, Sam Houston’s foe in the past two FCS national championship games, remains No. 1 in both the Sports Network and NCAA FCS Coaches Top 25.
The Bearkats have been ranked among the FCS top 25 for 31 consecutive weeks.
The team debuted in the national poll on Sept. 9, 2011.
After an 11-0 regular season in 2011, Sam Houston rose to No. 1 before entering the playoffs.
The Kats have finished No. 2 in each of the past two final rankings.
Sam Houston has rated among the FCS top 10 for 27 consecutive polls.
The Bearkats travel to Lake Charles, La., to take on McNeese State Saturday at 7 p.m.
The Cowboys stand No. 9 in the Sports Network poll.
Like, SHSU, McNeese is 5-1 for the year and 1-0 in Southland action.
Sam Houston will return to Elliott T. Bowers Stadium to play host to Northwestern State on Saturday Oct. 26.
Bearkats Aiming For Encore In 2013 Season
Courtesy: Paul Ridings, Jr., SHSU Sports Information
When the Sam Houston State Bearkats began the season at 1-13 last year, many believed that they were on their way to having another dreadful year.
But the Bearkats won their final 26 out of 29 games to finish in second place in the Southland Conference behind regular season champion Texas State Bobcats and made the SLC Tournament.
After opening the tournament with a loss, the Bearkats won their next three games to reach the finals, where they eventually lost to the Bobcats.
Now with the Bobcats gone due to joining the Western Athletic Conference (WAC), the Bearkats has been picked to win the 2013 Southland Conference softball title in the annual preseason poll of the league’s head coaches.
The Bearkats received seven first-place votes from the coaches and 78 total points.
Key returners for the Bearkats feature include first baseman Kim Damian, a senior from Angleton, Texas; third baseman Shelbi Tucker, a senior from Montgomery, Texas; catcher Hillary Adams, a sophomore from Elgin, Texas; and outfielder Tori Benavidez, a senior from Midlothian, Texas.
McNeese State, the team that Sam Houston defeated in last year’s Southland tournament semifinals, has been tabbed second by the coaches.
The Cowgirls return 11 letterwinners, including seven starters and two pitchers.
Central Arkansas stands third in the coaches’ poll, followed by A&M-Corpus Christi, Stephen F. Austin, Northwestern State and Nicholls State.
Houston Baptist, which is an affiliate member for softball this season before becoming a member of the Southland in all sports next year, was picked to finish tied for eighth along with Southeastern Louisiana in the coaches’ poll.
Lamar, which is reviving its softball program this season after playing from 1983-87, was picked to finish 10th in both polls.
Southland teams open the season Feb. 7 with conference play beginning March 9.
The conference tournament will be hosted by Northwestern State in Natchitoches, La., May 9-11 at the Lady Demon Diamond Complex.
The championship game will be streamed live exclusively on ESPN3.
Sam Houston State’s first softball action will come Feb. 7-9 at the Baylor Bear Classic in Waco
Bearkat Volleyball Takes Aim At Southland Conference Title
Courtesy: Paul Ridings, Jr., SHSU Sports Information
The Sam Houston volleyball team is two victories away from hoisting a Southland Conference regular season championship trophy for the first time since 1994.
The Bearkats play host to McNeese State Thursday at 7 p.m. and Lamar Saturday at 3 p.m.
If the SHSU volleyball teams win both those matches they can do no worse than be tied for the championship with Central Arkansas.
Both Sam Houston and UCA enter this weekend’s action tied for first place with identical 13-3 records.
Both play their final two games on their home floor.
Sam Houston’s foes, McNeese State (7-23, SLC 1-15) and Lamar (10-20, SLC 2-14 already have been eliminated from competition for any of the eight berths in the Southland post season tournament.
Central Arkansas faces third place Northwestern State (20-8, SLC 12-4) Thursday night and fourth place Stephen F. Austin (20-10, SLC 10-6).
UCA, Northwestern State and SFA are the three teams that were responsible for the Bearkats’ Southland losses this year.
The Bearkats have won 13 of their last 14 matches with an attack led by Deveney Wells-Gibson, Kendall Cleveland and Kaylee Hawkins.
Wells-Gibson was totaled 462 points this year with 406 kills 29 service aces and 49 total blocks.
Cleveland and Hawkins have added 368 and 263 points, respectively.
Sam Houston setter Tayler Gray was Southland Conference “Defensive Player of the Week” last week.
She has assisted on 1,088 or SHSU’s 1,328 kills this year and is leading the team with 3.61 digs per set.
Haley Neisler, Kim Black and libero Camille Alfaro also have been key performers for what has turned into Sam Houston’s most successful season in more than a decade.
The Bearkats won Southland titles in both 1993 and 1994 but have finished no higher than second in the Southland race (1996 and 2005) since.
Sam Houston has posted an 18-10 overall record this year.
Bearkats Move Up To No.5 In National Rankings
by Cheval John
After destroying McNeese State Cowboys 45-10 last Saturday night, the Sam Houston State Bearkats have moved up to No.5 in both the Coaches Polls and the Sports Network FCS
polls.
The Bearkats have been in the FCS Top 25 National Rankings for a record 20 consecutive weeks and have an overall record of 5-2.
The win against the Cowboys extends their winning streak to four games and are aiming for their fifth straight win when they face Lamar University in Beaumont, Texas this Saturday on the Southland Conference Television Network.
They will be playing without linebacker Darius Taylor, who was suspended for one game by Southland Conference commissioner Tom Burnett for a “hit on a defensless player” on October 13 against Nicholls State.
“It is an unfortunate decision forcing Darius to miss a game,” SHSU director of athletics Bobby Williams said to gobearkats.com.
“We disagree with the ruling that this was a targeted hit. We asked the league to take a second look at the play in comparison to other similar hits that went unpunished this season and were denied on the appeal.”
Taylor accumulated 45 tackles and five sacks during this season.
Kickoff is at 3:05 p.m.