Men's Tennis
The men’s tennis team will compete in the Saint Francis Health System ITA Men’s All-American Championship in Tulsa, Oklahoma, this Saturday in a tournament that
goes until Oct. 6.
Competing in the main singles draw are seniors Søren Hess-Olesen and Lloyd Glasspool.
Glasspool, who ranked No. 31 in the preseason ITA rankings, finished last year’s tournament with a loss in the consolation quarterfinals. Two-time All-American Hess-Olesen, who ranked No. 5 in the preseason ITA rankings, finished last year’s tournament with a 1-1 record in singles play.
Hess-Olesen and Glasspool will compete in the doubles main draw and look to improve on last year’s loss in the consolation finals.
Senior Adrien Berkowicz will join junior Nick Naumann and sophomore George Goldhoff in the qualifying singles draw.
Goldhoff, the reigning ITA Texas Region Rookie of the Year, advanced to the main draw quarterfinals in last year’s tournament.
Berkowicz and Goldhoff will pair up in the qualifying doubles draw.
Junior Michae Riechmann will compete in the pre-qualifying singles draw.
Women's Tennis
Texas will travel to Pacific Palisades in Los Angeles for the ITA All-American Championships this weekend and will be there until the final day on Oct. 5.
Sophomores Ratnika Batra and Neda Koprcina, ranked No. 81 and No. 112 in the ITA rankings, respectively, will compete in the pre-qualifying singles draw. Batra is the first alternate to receive a berth to the qualifying singles competition if a player withdraws. Junior Breaunna Addison, two-time All-American and Big 12 Player of the Year, will compete in the main singles draw. Addison ranks No. 13 in the ITA national rankings.
The doubles teams of freshmen Ryann Foster and Danielle Wagland, as well as junior Lana Groenvynck and sophomore Pippa Horn, will play in the pre-qualifying doubles draw to try and earn spots in the qualifying rounds. Pre-qualifying singles and doubles competitions are Saturday and Sunday, and the main singles competition will take place Oct. 2-5.
Cross Country
Texas will compete in the first major meet of the fall season Saturday at the Roy Griak Invitational hosted by the University of Minnesota.
The invitational will feature many of the top-ranked teams from around the nation, including local rival Texas A&M, along with Ohio State, Iowa State and many more.
Both the men’s and women’s teams are coming off the heels of a sweep at the UTSA Ricardo Romo Classic last weekend. Redshirt freshman Robert Uhr was named Big 12 Runner of the Week for his performance in San Antonio with a mere 15:29.1, setting off a 1-2-3 finish for the Texas freshmen in the men’s race.
This was Uhr’s first weekly award from the Big 12 Conference for cross country and the first for the Texas men since now-senior Craig Lutz won on Oct. 18, 2011 during his freshman campaign.
The women’s race Saturday will feature six more teams than the men’s race, including Baylor.
BYU won the men’s Division I prize in 2013, and Arizona won the gold medal for the women, but neither team is returning to the race this year.
Soccer
The women’s soccer team began the season with a respectable 5-3-2 record, including a strong effort in a loss against No. 1 UCLA. This weekend, though, marks the start of Big 12 competition and Texas will immediately face the strongest punches the conference has to offer.
The Longhorns will take on undefeated No. 9 Texas Tech (9-0-0) Friday at 7 p.m. and face No. 17 West Virginia (7-2-1) Sunday at 1 p.m.
Despite having been shut out in three of their last four matches, the Longhorns do not sound too concerned about letting recent struggles bother them.
“We’re just focused on Texas Tech. They’re a top-10 team, and we respect them and want to beat them,” senior defender Julie Arnold said. “We had a great weekend last weekend, played the top team in the country. We’re excited about Friday.”
Texas Tech will not need much offense to leave Austin with a win. The Red Raider defense, anchored by star sophomore keeper Lauren Watson, has held opposing offenses to only five goals on the season. Texas’ game Sunday will likely be more high scoring, as West Virginia has scored 12 goals in its last three matches.
