By Riley Zayas
Baseball alumni game returns to The Disch this Saturday
Fans will get to see past and current Texas ballplayers battling it out in a unique game Saturday afternoon at UFCU Disch-Falk Field, as the alumni ballplayers will face off against the 2020 squad.
The annual alumni baseball game is a one-of-a-kind event and must-see for every Texas baseball fan, as former Longhorn players who have gone on to pro careers in the minor leagues will come back to the Forty Acres to square off in a game against the current team, which will open its regular season Feb. 15 against Rice. The first[s2If current_user_can(access_s2member_level2)] four innings will be the alumni against the current team, with pitchers from the current squad pitching for both sides. The final few innings will be intrasquad action, with fans getting a final look at this year’s team before the first pitch of the 2020 season.
A total of a dozen alumni will be in attendance, although UT has said not all alumni in uniform will get on the field. That list includes Tres Berrera, a catcher for the World Series champion Washington Nationals this past October.
Professional players expected to be in attendance include:
• Catcher Tres Barrera (Washington Nationals)
• First baseman Kacy Clemens (Toronto Blue Jays)
• Second baseman Kody Clemens (Detroit Tigers)
• Pitcher Ty Culbreth (Colorado Rockies)
• Infielder Zane Gurwitz (Los Angeles Angels)
• Pitcher Blair Henley (Houston Astros)
• Infielder Travis Jones (Kansas City Royals)
• Pitcher/utility Andy McGuire (Toronto Blue Jays)
• Outfielder Mark Payton (Oakland Athletics)
• Infielder Ryan Reynolds (Chicago Cubs)
• Pitcher Parker Joe Robinson (Los Angeles Angels)
• Pitcher Chase Shugart (Boston Red Sox)
The game is just one of the many festivities on this year’s annual Fan Appreciation Day, which will kick off bright and early at 10:30 a.m. Saturday. Fans can get a look at the newly finished indoor, state-of-the-art J. Dan Brown Player Development Facility and take part in an autograph session.
It is important to note that no outside items can be brought in due to NCAA compliance rules, but Texas will have plenty of posters and pennants available, on which fans can collect signatures. In addition, kids will have the opportunity to test their speed on the basepaths from 11:30-noon, getting that feeling of running the bases like they’re legging out a double, or just swatted a homer. Fans also don’t want to miss batting practice from the current Longhorns or alumni; the 2020 Horns will start at 1:40, the alumni at 2:25. The game, which will be broadcast on the Longhorn Network, starts at 3:30.
Alfred receives high honor after record-setting performance
Tearing up the track in the sprints this season has been Julien Alfred, one of the most successful athletes on the team three meets into the indoor season. Without All-America sprinter Teahna Daniels, who graduated last year, to anchor the women’s team in the short distance races this season, head coach Edrick Floréal was looking for someone to step up. Alfred, a native of St. Lucia, answered the call. After her winning performance this past week at the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Invitational in Albuquerque, which included running the seventh-fastest time in women’s college history in the women’s 60-meter dash and setting a new Longhorn record in the event, she received the high honor of United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) NCAA Div. I Women’s Athlete of the Week, becoming the first Longhorn in four years to do so during the indoor season. Her time in the 60 meters was 7.10 seconds, besting her time of 7.23 seconds back at the first meet of the season in December, and good enough for her second first-place finish in the event this season. Just a sophomore, the mark of 7.13 was the fastest in the NCAA and second-fastest in the world this year. In addition, she claimed the top spot in the 200-meter dash, posting a career-best 23.50 seconds.
She was also named the Big 12 Women’s Athlete of the Week.
Men’s tennis takes two
After taking on the label of “road warriors” and playing on the road for nine of its first 10 matches, the Texas men’s tennis team finally got the chance to play an NCAA match in front of its home crowd this past weekend, when it hosted the ITA Kick-Off Weekend, in which UT swept Indiana and Florida State, 4-0. The victory over No. 21 FSU was the Longhorns’ second dual match victory over a ranked opponent this season, and they’ll got two more opportunities against ranked teams in the coming weeks, as they will face No. 6 Ohio State on the road before returning to the Forty to go against No. 18 Georgia.
Yuya Ito continues to be a force for the Horns. Ranked No. 2 in the country, the senior has continued to add to his impressive senior season, adding his 17th straight singles victory against the Hoosiers.
Not only was the win over FSU a huge boost to the Longhorns’ résumé, it also earned them a spot in the ITA indoor nationals set to be held Feb. 14-17 in Madison, Wisc.
“This was a really good day for us,” head coach Bruce Berque said after the victory against the Seminoles. “We showed definite improvement today from yesterday in our doubles. That was going to be a big lift to our confidence.”
Texas fell to No. 2 Ohio State in the semifinals last season.
- Swimming and diving recognized for performance in the classroom
The top-ranked men’s swimming and diving team and the No. 10 women’s squad were honored for their work in the classroom, as each squad was recognized Wednesday by the College Swimming and Diving Coaches Association (CSCAA) as a CSCAA Scholar All-America team. To qualify, a team must have at least 12 on its roster with a GPA of 3.0 or higher.
However, this level of excellence isn’t anything new for these teams. The women have earned the honor every year since 2012, and the men have done the same, earning it every year for the past decade.
All in all, the total GPA for the men’s team was 3.08 and the women’s team posted a GPA of 3.53.
The Texas teams were two of 762, from 482 schools, to earn the honor.
After a long break from competition, both teams will hit the starting blocks this weekend in back-to-back dual meets in Arizona — the Longhorns will face off Friday against Arizona, and then will take on the Arizona Wildcats in a dual meet.
The UT women have taken first place in four of their five meets this season, while the men are still perfect at 5-0.
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