College Confidential

Texas golfer Pressel qualifies for LPGA event; FW golfer Mocio grabs alternate spot #Longhorns, #TAMU

Texas golfer Madison Pressel qualified today to join her older sister, LPGA Tour standout Morgan Pressel, in the field for the North Texas LPGA Shootout, April 25-28 at Las Colinas Country Club.

Pressel fired an even-par 71 at the Las Colinas layout to join North Carolina’s Casey Grice, a College Station native, as co-medalists at the North Texas Collegiate Shootout. They claimed the two spots reserved for college participants in the $1.3 million LPGA event in Irving.

Texas A&M golfer Chelsea Mocio, a Fort Worth Arlington Heights graduate, posted a 73 and is one of two alternates for the college exemptions. As alternates, Mocio and A&M teammate Katerina Ruzickova (74) earned spots in an April 22 qualifier at Las Colinas with touring pros to try and earn a last-minute spot in the field.

Pressel, a senior, said it will be “incredible” to make her LPGA debut in the same event as her sister, a two-time tour winner and past major champion (2007 Kraft Nabisco Championship) who already has committed to compete in Irving.

“It’s very exciting,” Pressel said. “I’ve never been able to play with her in a tournament setting. It’ll be weird preparing for a tournament on the same golf course with her.”

Grice, a junior who played at A&M Consolidated High School, said she is “definitely very excited” for the opportunity to make her LPGA debut in her home state.

Mocio, a junior, said she made “a couple of mental mistakes” during back-nine holes in Tuesday’s round that prevented her from joining the co-medalists at the top of the leaderboard but said she is excited she will have a second chance to try and play her way into the field at the April 22 qualifier in Irving. 

Below is a look at the results of all 18 competitor's in today's event: 

Shootout results

A look at Tuesday’s scores from the 18 participants in the North Texas Collegiate LPGA Shootout in Irving:

Casey Grice, North Carolina, 71; Madison Pressel, Texas, 71; Chelsea Mocio, Texas A&M, 73; Katerina Ruzickova, Texas A&M, 74; Mary Michael Maggio, Texas A&M, 76; Kelsey Vines, Oklahoma State, 76; Alexandria Bonetti, TCU, 77; April McCoy, TCU, 78; Flower Castillo, Incarnate Word, 78; Hally Leadbetter, Arkansas, 79; Natalie Reeves, Texas A&M, 79; Jennifer Park, SMU, 80; Jenny Haglund, SMU, 81; Sanna Nuutinen, TCU, 82; Melanie White, SMU, 82; Sarah Beth Davis, Texas A&M, 83; Alexandra Ann Rossi, Texas A&M, 83; Taylor Slagle, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, 84.

 _ Jimmy Burch

Tee times set for Tuesday's North Texas College Shootout, with top two finishers to join LPGA field

Participants in the North Texas Collegiate Shootout, which will send two college golfers into the field for North Texas’ upcoming LPGA Tour event in Irving, will take the course at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday at Las Colinas Country Club.

The top two finishers among the 18 college golfers in the 18-hole competition will earn berths in the North Texas LPGA Shootout, a full-field event scheduled April 25-28 at Las Colinas CC.

Tee times for Tuesday’s competitors:

9:30 a.m.:  Natalie Reeves, Texas A&M; Hally Leadbetter, Arkansas; Alexanra Ann Rossi, SMU.

9:40 a.m.: Chelsea Mocio, Texas A&M; April McCoy, TCU; Taylor Slagle, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.

9:50 a.m.: Sarah Beth Davis, Texas A&M; Melanie White, SMU; Flower Castillo, Incarnate Word.

10 a.m.: Jenny Haglund, SMU; Madison Pressel, Texas; Alexandra Bonetti, TCU.

10:10 a.m.: Casey Grice, North Carolina; Sanna Nuutinen, TCU; Katerina Ruzickova, Texas A&M.

10:20 a.m.: Kelsey Vines, Oklahoma State; Mary Michael Maggio, Texas A&M; Jennifer Park, SMU.

 

_ Jimmy Burch

 

Texas, Texas Tech, TCU and Baylor add Thursday games to 2013 FB schedules #UT, #Tech, #TCU, #Baylor

Four Big 12 football teams will have Thursday night games, arranged for national telecasts, on their 2013 schedules: Texas, Texas Tech, TCU and Baylor.

Texas and Texas Tech will play in two of the four Thursday games, including a Thanksgiving night matchup in Austin, league officials announced today. TCU and Baylor will have one game each.

The Thursday night telecasts, with times and networks to be announced later, include Texas at Iowa State (Oct. 3), TCU at Texas Tech (Sept. 12), Oklahoma at Baylor (Nov. 7) and Texas Tech at Texas on Thanksgiving night (Nov. 28).

_ Jimmy Burch

Texas, Texas Tech draw two Thursday FB telecasts, including T'givng night; TCU, Baylor get one #UT, #TCU, #Tech, #Baylor

Texas and Texas Tech will play in two of four Thursday night football games to be played by Big 12 teams during the 2013 season, including a Thanksgiving night matchup in Austin, league officials announced today.

The Thursday night telecasts, with times and networks to be announced later, include Texas at Iowa State (Oct. 3), TCU at Texas Tech (Sept. 12), Oklahoma at Baylor (Nov. 7) and Texas Tech at Texas on Thanksgiving night (Nov. 28).

_ Jimmy Burch

 

Texas A&M golfer Mocio, a FW Arlington Heights grad, to join TCU golfers in LPGA qualifier #TAMU, #TCU

Officials at the North Texas LPGA Shootout announced the 18 college golfers who will be competing for two spots in the field at Dallas-Fort Worth’s new LPGA Tour stop, April 25-28 in Irving.

The college participants will play an 18-hole qualifier, dubbed the North Texas College Shootout, on March 12 with the top two finishers earning berths in the LPGA event in April. The qualifier will be played at Las Colinas Country Club, the same venue as the LPGA tournament.

Among the college participants are three golfers from TCU, four from SMU, one from Texas and five from Texas A&M.

The A&M contingent includes Chelsea Mocio, a junior from Fort Worth Arlington Heights. TCU’s threesome is comprised of Alexandria Bonetti, April McCoy and Sanna Nuutinen. Texas’ participant in the qualifier, Madison Pressel, is the younger sister of LPGA participant Morgan Pressel.

Tournament officals also announced Tuesday that two high school golfers will play their way into the field from an 18-player group in conjunction with an April 22 professional qualifier at Las Colinas Country Club. The names of the high school participants have yet to be released.

Below is a look at the 18 college golfers taking part in the March 12 qualifier in Irving (in alphabetical order):

Alexandra Bonetti, TCU; Flower Castillo, Incarnate Word; Sarah Beth Davis, Texas A&M; Marisson Dodd, Wake Forest; Casey Grice, North Carolina; Jenny Haglund, SMU; Mary Michael Maggio, Texas A&M; April McCoy, TCU; Chelsea Mocio, Texas A&M; Sanna Nuutinen, TCU; Jennifer Park, SMU; Madison Pressel, Texas; Natalie Reeves, Texas A&M; Alexandra Ann Rossi, SMU; Katerina Ruzickova, Texas A&M; Taylor Slagle, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi; Kelsey Vines, Oklahoma State; Melanie White, SMU. Alternate: Hally Leadbetter, Arkansas.

_ Jimmy Burch

TCU men's tennis hoping to set attendance mark Friday vs. SMU

TCU men’s tennis is hoping to break an attendance record against SMU at 5:30 p.m. Friday at the Bayard H. Friedman Tennis Center.
To encourage attendance, TCU coach David Roditi has devised up to $2,000 in prizes. The First 500 fans who arrive before 6 p.m. are eligible. Fans can arrive as early as 5 p.m., but not later than 6 p.m.
-- Stefan Stevenson

Spring football drills open Thursday at Texas; fellow Big 12 members TCU, Baylor begin March 1

Texas will open its spring football drills Thursday in Austin, just 15 days after adding its latest crop of recruits on National Signing Day. And the remainder of Big 12 schools will not be far behind the Longhorns in returning to the field for workouts.

Baylor and TCU begin spring football drills on March 1, with Oklahoma (March 6), Oklahoma State (March 11) and Texas Tech (March 24) opening later in the month. Texas will close its spring drills on Saturday, March 30 with its Orange-White Game in Austin (6:30 p.m., Longhorn Network).

Below is a look at the spring football schedules for league teams:  

 
Big 12 spring football dates
Baylor: March 1 start, spring game April 6
Iowa State: March 26 start, spring game April 20
Kansas: March 5 start, spring game April 13
Kansas State: April 3 start, spring game April 27
Oklahoma: March 6 start, spring game April 13
Oklahoma State: March 11 start, spring game April 20
TCU: March 1 start, spring game TBA
Texas: Thursday start, spring game March 30
Texas Tech: March 24 start, spring game April 20
West Virginia: March 10 start, spring game April 20

NOTE: Dates are subject to change.

_ Jimmy Burch 

TCU golfer Julien Brun included on 2013 Ben Hogan Award watch list

TCU golfer Julien Brun, a sophomore from France who won an event as an amateur on the 2012 European Challenge Tour, is one of 27 players on the watch list for the 2013 Ben Hogan Award, given to the nation’s top college golfer.

Brun, who won in September at the Allianz Golf Open Toulouse Metropole on Europe’s developmental tour, was joined today on the watch list by three fellow Big 12 golfers: Texas’ Brandon Stone, Oklahoma State’s Talor Gooch and Iowa State’s Scott Fernandez.

California had the most golfers on the watch list, with four:  Brandon Hagy, Max Homa, Michael Kim and Michael Weaver.

A list of 10 semifinalists, which could include individuals not on today’s watch list, will be released April 18. The list will be trimmed May 8 to three finalists, who will be in Fort Worth for the May 20 announcement of the winner as part of tournament week activities at the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial.

A full list of players on the watch list is below:

 2013 Ben Hogan Award Watch List

(in alphabetical order)

Daniel Berger (Florida State, So.), Julien Brun (TCU, So.), Albin Choi (North Carolina State, Jr.), Corey Conners (Kent State, Jr.), Scott Fernandez (Iowa State, So.), Steven Fox (Chattanooga, Sr.), Ben Geyer (St. Mary’s, Sr.), Talor Gooch (Oklahoma State, Jr.), Brandon Hagy (California, Jr.), Max Homa (California, Sr.), Michael Kim (California, So.), Jace Long (Missouri, Sr.), Tyler McCumber (Florida, Sr.), Cheng-Tsung Pan (Washington, So.), Kevin Penner (UNLV, Sr.), Thomas Pieters (Illinois, Jr.), Patrick Rodgers (Stanford, So.), Trevor Simsby (Washington, Jr.), Brandon Stone (Texas, Fr.), Julian Suri (Duke, Sr.), Ben Taylor (Nova Southeastern, Jr.), Justin Thomas (Alabama, So.), T.J. Vogel (Florida, Sr.), Michael Weaver (California, Jr.), Pontus Widegren (UCLA, Sr.), Chris Williams (Washington, Sr.) and Bobby Wyatt (Alabama, Jr.).

 

_ Jimmy Burch 

 

Big 12 ADs support seeking alliance with other leagues, have not ruled out expansion

IRVING _ Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby said league athletic directors expressed unanimous support for exploring a scheduling and marketing alliance with the ACC and other conferences during a Monday meeting but did not close the door on the possibility of future expansion.

Bowlsby said Big 12 administrators seek to prepare themselves for “any eventuality” on the realignment front and discussed multiple options during a three-hour discussion about the league’s future. But he stressed that league officials would not rush to expand from the existing 10-member configuration unless it makes financial sense.

Based on a recent Forbes projection for the current school year, the Big 12 is expected to have the highest average payout of any conference in terms of television, bowl and NCAA Tournament revenues _ roughly $26 million per school. Prospective new members would have to bring a comparable amount of value to the table to trigger voluntary expansion.

“Anybody we would look at would have to bring pro rata or a very high likelihood of sustained growth that would bring benefits to the league,” Bowlsby said. “We are never going to get bigger just for the sake of getting bigger.”

Bowlsby acknowledged expansion by other leagues could force the Big 12’s hand and said officials “have to be prepared to respond to that changing environment.” Speculation has centered on Big 12 interest from Florida State and Clemson, with Connecticut and Cincinnati among the most desirable remaining assets in the crumbling Big East.

But the league’s favored option, expressed in a unanimous vote at Monday’s meeting, would be an alliance with the ACC and two other leagues Bowlsby declined to name. Commissioners from the Pac-12 and SEC said Monday they are not part of the discussions with the Big 12, ACC and other leagues.

“Our group said these alliances have merit and we’re willing to support it,” Bowlsby said. “The discussions are probably furthest along with the ACC, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that’s what we’re going to end up doing.”

Big 12 athletic directors deferred questions to Bowlsby but indicated they joined him in considering Monday’s session a step forward in solidifying plans for the league’s future.

“I think we did gravitate around some principles that will guide us going forward,” said Bowlsby, who declined to offer details. “I think we created some filters that we all agreed on and I think there was a fair amount of unanimity in the room.”

The two-day meeting continues today, with discussions about future football schedules and bowl partnerships.

 Twitter: @Jimmy_Burch

_ Jimmy Burch

TCU set to hire former Auburn assistant as WR coach

TCU is set to hire former Auburn running backs coach Curtis Luper as its wide receivers coach, two sources said.
Luper is the father of Cameron Echols-Luper, a recruit who announced he committed to TCU over Texas A&M several days ago. Luper was Auburn’s running backs coach and recruiting coordinator since 2009. He attended Sherman High School before playing three seasons at Oklahoma State. After five years working as an air traffic controller for the U.S. Army, he played his last year of eligibility in 1993 at Stephen F. Austin. He graduated in 1996 and earned his masters degree from SFA in 1998. Before Auburn, he coached running backs at Oklahoma State for four seasons.
Luper replaces Trey Haverty, who took the same job at Texas Tech last month. TCU coach Gary Patterson is also looking for a linebackers coach to replace Randy Shannon, who left last month for the same job at Arkansas.

-- Stefan Stevenson
@FollowtheFrogs