LITTLE ROCK — GOLF UA women struggle in first round at NCAAs
Arkansas sophomore Emily Tubert fired a 1-over-par 73, leading the Razorbacks in the first round of the NCAA Women’s Golf Championship at Franklin, Tenn., on Tuesday.
But the Razorbacks finished with a 15-over 303 as a team at Vanderbilt University’s Legends Course, leaving them 17 strokes behind first-round leader Alabama (286).
“It’s been a common denominator with this group to get out to a slow start,” Arkansas Coach Shauna Estes-Taylor said. “But I think with this course, the more rounds you get in, the better they are going to be. We did a lot of good things and there are some holes out there we can take advantage of. ... I fully expect them to bounce back [today].”
Behind Alabama at the top of the team standings was Virginia (288), Duke (289) and North Carolina (290). UCLA and Arizona State were tied for fifth place at 292.
Virginia’s Portland Rosen shot a 6-under 66 on Tuesday to lead the individual standings, holding a one-stroke lead over Purdue’s Laura Gonzalez. Two shots back were North Carolina’s Catherine O’Donnell and Alabama’s Brooke Pancake.
In addition to Tubert for Arkansas, sophomore Emma Lavy shot a 3-over 75. Junior Victoria Vela finished with a 5-over 77, sophomore Emily Podzielinski carded a 6-over 78 in her first NCAA appearance and freshman Hally Leadbetter had a 7-over 79.
“We have dug ourselves a little bit of a hole,” Estes-Taylor said. “But that isn’t anything we are not familiar with and we are certainly capable of digging ourselves back out again. ... This is a marathon, not a sprint, and we just have to keep grinding away out there.” BASEBALL Red Wolves, Trojans earn Sun Belt honors
A day before it begins play in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament, Arkansas State picked up two postseason honors.
Fourth-year Coach Tommy Raffo was named the conference’s Coach of the Year after leading the Red Wolves (32-21, 19-9) to a second-place finish in conference play.
Red Wolves senior Jacob Lee was named the conference Pitcher of the Year, finishing 8-1 with a 2.99 ERA in 14 starts this season.
Lee, a Jonesboro native, struck out 75 this season and set a school-record with 269 for his career.
Under Raffo’s direction, the Red Wolves had the most victories of any Sun Belt team this season and the most by an ASU team since 2005. The Red Wolves enter the Sun Belt Conference Tournament today as a No. 2 seed, seeking their first title since 1994.
UALR led the All-Sun Belt first team with four selections even though the Trojans (26-28, 12-18) finished ninth in the conference standings and did not qualify for the conference tournament.
The Trojans were represented by junior catcher Blake Johnson, junior starting pitcher Chance Cleveland, senior left fielder Sean Bignall and junior utility player Myles Parma.
Bignall led UALR with a .346 batting average and led the conference in home runs (18), slugging percentage (.696), runs scored (60), and RBI (64).
On the second team, ASU was represented by junior closer John Koch (0-1, 2.12 ERA, 11 saves) and sophomore shortstop Dustin Jones (.290 BA, 1 HR, 23 RBI). UALR senior center fielder Cameron Bentley (.339 BA, 6 HR, 25) also made the team.
Matos moved to Salt Lake
The Los Angeles Angels named Francisco Matos hitting coach for Class AAA Salt Lake on Tuesday. Matos has spent the past four seasons as hitting coach for the Arkansas Travelers.
Matos, 43, will replace interim hitting coach Tyrone Boykin, who took over when Bees hitting coach Jim Eppard was promoted to the Angels, when the Bees return to Salt Lake on Friday. Matos will not be with the Travelers when they begin a three-game series at Corpus Christi today.
In an email Tuesday, Tim Mead, Angels vice president for communications, said a new hitting coach for the Travelers will be “in place in the very near future.”
Also Tuesday, Travs outfielder Jeremy Cruz was placed on the seven-day disabled list with a right wrist fracture. Cruz was hitting .269 in 9 games with the Travs after being promoted from Class A Inland Empire.
VOLLEYBALL Arkansas Tech signs two
Arkansas Tech Coach Kristy Bayer has announced the signing of Heidi Hausheer of Austin (Texas) Savio and Morgan McKellar of Katy (Texas) Seven Lakes.
They join the five high schools players that signed with Tech during the fall early signing period and will join a team that finished 35-4 and 18-0 in the Great American Conference this season, winning the conference title and advancing to the NCAA Tournament.
Hausheer, a 6-0 setter was named a first-team all-district selection and the district MVP last season. She was also an all-state selection in 2011 after leading Savio to state runner-up finish.
McKellar, a 5-5 libero, was a three-time all-district selection and earned district defensive player of the year honors last fall.
BASKETBALL Sylvan Hills guard picks Williams
Sylvan Hills guard Dion Patton has signed a letter of intent to play at Williams Baptist College.
Patton earned all-conference and all-state tournament honors this season and helped lead the Bears to the Class 5A state championship.
“We are excited to have Dion join our team,”Williams Baptist Coach Josh Austin said. “Dion has great vision and an excellent feel for the game. He plays both ends of the floor, and we are confident that he will make an immediate impact on and off the court.” SOFTBALL Central Arkansas Classic set for today
The Central Arkansas Softball Classic will be played today at Little Rock Fair High School. The doubleheader will begin at 5 p.m. and will feature the top high school senior softball players from central Arkansas.
Sports, Pages 27 on 05/23/2012