411 on the Forty: soccer headed to NCAAs, women’s basketball drops opener

By Riley Zayas

It’s that time of year again. November means postseason tournaments are starting, fall baseball and softball are wrapping up and basketball is tipping off. Such was the past week among Longhorn sports, as the football team not only got a huge home win, but several other programs also came up victorious in more ways than one both at home and on the road.

Soccer makes NCAA Tournament
After the Texas soccer team was eliminated early in the Big 12 Tournament [s2If current_user_can(access_s2member_level2)]by TCU, head coach Angela Kelly said she and her squad felt both relief and motivation Monday when they found out they’d be playing in the NCAA Women’s Soccer Championship. Posting an 11-7-1 record on the year, the Longhorns will travel down to College Station, Texas to take on their Lone Star State rivals, the No. 16 Texas A&M Aggies Friday night in the first round.

“We’re really excited for our matchup on Friday night,” Kelly said on Texassports.com. “I’m so proud of our team and its overall body of work. We are certainly a battle-tested group that has grown by leaps and bounds each and every week. Friday night will be a historic battle in a fantastic atmosphere with an opportunity to create a lot of memories for our squad.”

Although A&M leads the series, 18-5-2, and holds the higher seed heading into the match, Texas has considerable talent, including in a stacked midfield. The group led by Julia Grosso and Haley Berg, each of whom received 2019 All-Big 12 honors after combining for 16 goals this season.

Tickets for the match went on sale Tuesday and can be bought at 12thman.com/tickets. With a victory, Texas likely would go on the road to Los Angeles, California, to face either No. 2 USC or Cal State Fullerton in the second round.

 Men and women’s swimming and diving claims team, individual victories
Trying to keep their undefeated seasons alive, both the men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams battled to beat Indiana and Louisville over the weekend. The No. 2-ranked men bested Indiana by a score of 160-118 and Louisville, 198-76, while the eighth-ranked women beat Indiana, 168-113, and Louisville, 146-135.

Leading the men was sophomore Daniel Krueger, who helped the Longhorns secure first in the 200 medley relay and also took home first-place finishes in the 50 and 100 freestyle. Alvin Jiang’s winning time in the 100 backstroke of 47.05 seconds was the fourth-fastest in the country this season. On the women’s side, senior Claire Adams had a strong meet in the backstroke events, taking first in the 200 back and second to teammate Julia Cook in the 100 back. Cook and Adams also played big roles on the winning 200 freestyle relay team.

Next, the diving teams host the Texas Diving Invitational Nov. 22-23. Then both the men and women travel north to Minnesota, where they’ll compete in the four-day Minnesota Invitational in the first week of December.

Orange and White World Series begins Saturday
The Texas baseball team continues its five-game fall slate Saturday with the Orange and White World Series. The annual three-game intrasquad series will be a great opportunity for fans to see their team in game situations months before the season officially kicks off with a road series Feb. 14-16 in Houston against Rice. The home opener follows on Feb. 18 with a game against UTSA. Saturday’s first pitch will be at 10 a.m., followed by a 1 p.m. game Sunday and finally a 4:30 p.m. game Tuesday afternoon.

Elish anchors Texas softball in pitching duel against Texas State
The softball team wrapped up its fall schedule with a 1-0 win over in-state rival Texas State, where former Longhorn ace Cat Osterman is an assistant coach. Ace Miranda Elish threw a complete game, allowing just one hit and no walks while striking out 11. The only run of the ballgame was pushed across by UT catcher Taylor Elsworth, who went 2 for 3 and brought center fielder Shannon Rhodes across the plate on a sixth-inning bunt.  

Women’s hoops falls in opener
The women’s basketball team fell to South Florida in the season opener Friday night, 64-57. After a in which her team committed 17 turnovers and knocked down just one three-pointer, Texas head coach Karen Aston said she was optimistic about the season ahead.

“I thought there were some really good moments in this game,” Aston said. “There were some things that we can learn from and build upon.”

The Longhorns will need to improve soon, as they return home for four straight games, including one Nov. 17 against Arizona.

Leading the Horns in scoring Friday was LaShann Higgs, who had 17 points, and made UT’s only three-pointer of the day. Forward Joyner Holmes added with 15 points and brought down 10 rebounds.
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