411 on the Forty: Cory Redding headed to Cotton Bowl Hall of Fame

By Riley Zayas

AUSTIN, Texas — In the midst of all the talk surrounding the Texas football team, and who would be returning next season, several players from the tennis teams already were in the midst of their seasons, ready to return to action after a long winter break. At the same time, a former Longhorn standout on the gridiron learned he would be inducted into the Cotton Bowl Hall of Fame. Who is he? Read on to find out, and also get caught up on the tennis teams’ recent success.

Two-time All-America defensive end Cory Redding to be inducted into the Cotton Bowl Hall of Fame
“We can, we will, we must.”

That was [s2If current_user_can(access_s2member_level2)]former Longhorn standout defensive end Cory Redding’s battle cry, which inspired, motivated and challenged his teammates, as he became a leader on and off the field during his time at Texas.

It was announced Tuesday that the two-time All-America would be inducted into the Cotton Bowl Hall of Fame, making Redding the 12th Longhorn to be enshrined. He earned the honor despite the fact that he played in the Cotton Bowl just once — in 2003, when Texas took down LSU, 35-20, en route to a final record of 11-2.

Following that spectacular season, Redding was taken in the third round of the 2003 NFL Draft by the Detroit Lions, for whom he played six seasons before finishing his career with two seasons in Baltimore and three in Indianapolis.

Redding also has worked to give back to UT. He and his wife, Priscilla, donated $100,000 and established the Cory and Priscilla Redding Family Scholarship at the College of Education in 2012.

The induction is scheduled to take place in the spring at AT&T Stadium in Arlington. The class of enshrinees also includes former Kansas State quarterback Jonathan Beasley, Notre Dame split end Thom Gatewood, Arkansas guard/Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, Ole Miss defensive back Dexter McCluster, Boston College linebacker Bill Romanowski and longtime K-State head coach Bill Snyder.

Women’s tennis heads to the Carribean
The women’s tennis team is preparing to compete in the inaugural Pink Flamingo Invitational, which will be played over three days at the Bah Mar resort in Nassau, Bahamas. The tournament will feature some of the best teams the country has to offer, including UCLA, Florida and Miami, as well as UT.

The Oracle/International Tennis Association (ITA) collegiate rankings were released Wednesday, and all of these four teams are ranked. UCLA sits highest in the No. 4 spot, just ahead of Texas, which came in at No. 7. That was an improvement from the Longhorns’ year-end rank of No. 9. Florida is ranked No. 21, while Miami was just behind at No. 23.

Each team has multiple players in the top 100 singles rankings. Miami’s Estella Perez-Sommariba is currently No. 3 in the nation, while Longhorn Anna Turati is close behind at No. 4. UCLA has two in the top 10: Abigail Forbes at No. 6 and Jada Hart at No. 9. Florida’s top ranked player is McCartney Kessler, who is at No. 37.

Men’s tennis travels to East Coast
The men’s tennis team also will be taking a trip to the east this weekend. The Longhorns will be competing from Friday through Sunday in Coral Gables, Florida, at the Miami Invitational. Heading into their first matches since Christmas break, their confidence and morale were aided by the most recent ITA team rankings, in which the Longhorns are No. 2 overall, only behind Florida. Texas, the defending national champs, received four first-place votes, just one fewer than the Gators did. This sets up a dramatic showdown when the Horns visit Gainesville next Wednesday for a dual match.

Interestingly, despite receiving the higher ranking in the ITA national rankings, Texas was picked to finish behind Baylor in the Big 12 Preseason Poll which was released Tuesday.

When the last singles rankings were released in November, Texas was the only team to have two players ranked in the top 15 as well as a top 10 doubles pair.
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