The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
04.06.2021 | Forty Acres Insider
Important news happening in and around Texas Athletics compiled by Vice President and Athletics Director Chris Del Conte. [<a href="http://texassports.com/archives.aspx?path=forty_acres_insider">Forty Acres Insider archives</a>]
Longhorn Nation,
First and foremost, here's to hoping everyone had a fantastic Easter Weekend and enjoyed an opportunity to spend time with family, friends and loved ones in some capacity in that very special time. It came on the heels of a wonderful week for all of us in the Longhorns Family as we certainly had an exciting, successful, and at times, adventurous, several days here on the Forty Acres and beyond!
Among the many victories on the courts, field and track last week, my early morning flight to Plainview last Thursday resulted in a memorable success story, as on that trip, we landed a phenomenal coach to lead our Men's Basketball program. There were many outstanding candidates, but after conversations with Chairman Eltife and President Hartzell we quickly and collectively identified Chris Beard as the perfect fit. That collaboration was so valuable in our efforts leading up to that momentous day when I was able to strike a deal with our new coach over an Egg McMuffin and cup of coffee in a Comfort Inn on the plains of West Texas. It was a hectic morning, but what an extraordinarily exciting couple of hours it was as we now have the best of the best, one of our very own Texas Exes, and just an awesome person leading our program. He arrived home to Austin, the place he cut his teeth as a student assistant under Tom Penders in the 1990s, later that day. And on Friday, seeing the gleam in Coach Beard and his family's eyes and the pride he exuded as he met BEVO and strolled the orange carpet on his way to and through the Frank Denius Family University of Texas Athletics Hall of Fame, it was so awesome.
I sure would imagine you all were just as inspired as all of us listening to him at his introductory press conference. Wow, he is the perfect man for the job, and hearing him say "expectations don't scare me" and echoing the sentiments of the "pride and winning tradition" at Texas just warmed my heart. He was so right when he said there's nothing weak or timid about him, and that's why I know y'all will join me in welcoming Coach Beard home! He'll be getting to know all of you in the coming weeks and months, but right now, he's rolling up his sleeves and getting to work to build a championship program. We look forward to doing our part to help that all come together and can't wait to see everyone for one last run in the Erwin Center next fall!!
Football is doing its thing, too! After missing a few days of practice due to COVID protocols, Coach Sark and our Longhorns were back at work last week and are looking good heading into practice number five on Tuesday. Rest assured, meetings and non-practice preparations continued in a safe and healthy manner during the practice pause, so overall progress has been steady since the spring season began a couple of weeks ago. Coach Sark and his staff re-worked the schedule to be able get all 15 practices in on time, and we are all really looking forward to seeing them in action on Saturday, April 24 (1 p.m. CT) at DKR-Texas Memorial Stadium for the Orange-White Spring Game (presented by Living Spaces). We're still working out details for those of you joining us at that game, but for those who can't be here, it will once again be carried live on Longhorn Network and the Longhorn Radio Network so you can see and hear all of the action.
Speaking of action, last week certainly was another successful one for so many of our teams, highlighted by a Sweeps Week! Coach Pierce and No. 4 Baseball travelled to Kansas and swept the Jayhawks, moving to 7-2 in the Big 12 (20-8 overall). Coach White and No. 7 Softball opened conference play with a sweep of Texas Tech at Red & Charline McCombs Field and now stands at 27-3 overall. Coach Flo and both the No. 3 Women's and No. 6 Men's Track & Field squads pulled out the brooms in taking down our rivals to the east in Texas A&M in a dual meet at Mike A. Myers Stadium. The women won 14 of the 19 events contested to post a 125-78 victory while the men claimed 12 of 19 events for a 113-90 win. And of course, Coach Elliott and No. 4 Texas Volleyball traveled to Fort Worth to take down TCU twice, culminating our Big 12 Conference Championship season with a perfect 16-0 record (23-1 overall)! Up next for our Horns is the NCAA Tourney in Omaha starting next week, and on Sunday we were announced as the No. 4 overall seed for that. Now it's time to Take Dead Aim on the National Championship!
In addition to Track & Field, we got to watch Coach Berque and No. 7 Men's Tennis knock off the No. 6 Aggies in a thrilling 4-3 match at the Texas Tennis Center last Wednesday that they clinched at 4-0 as it came down the stretch. And continuing the Longhorn sweep theme, Coach Joffe and No. 2 Women's Tennis registered a pair of wins, topped off by a 4-0 sweep over Houston on Senior Day on Friday. I tell you what, seeing our great senior Anna Turati welling up with tears as she walked to the net after slamming home the final point of her Senior Day match, it got the waterworks going for me, too, and I'm sure everyone who was there and watching at home. Not only that, but when Longhorn Network asked about her advice to our young players, she summed it up perfectly: "Enjoy every single time you come to the court and wear Burnt Orange, because it's an amazing school, and you just fall in love with the school and the program." Couldn't have said it better, Anna! Thank you and a big Hook 'Em to you and all of our fantastic seniors! The team wrapped up their regular season home slate with a perfect 14-0 record and are now 18-1 overall. Up next for Men's Tennis are home matches with No. 20 Oklahoma on Friday (3 p.m. CT/LHN) and No. 18 Oklahoma State on Sunday (Noon CT), while Women's Tennis travels to Kansas (5 p.m. CT) and Kansas State (11 a.m.) on Friday and Sunday, as well. Coach Kelly and our Soccer squad also came away victorious last week, traveling to Baylor and posting our largest win in Waco in school history at 4-0 and sweeping their two games with the Bears this season. Next up for them is a road matchup at LSU on Friday (7 p.m. CT/SEC Network).
In closing, I do want to take a moment to celebrate the magnificent NCAA tourney run of Coach Schaefer and our Women's Basketball program. I just beam with pride when I think about the thrills and delight they brought to all of Longhorn nation, not just with the success they had advancing to the Elite Eight, but the passion, grit, determination and extraordinary teamwork they played with in accomplishing that. It was such a tremendous example of how sports can rally us all together, and the elation we all had in cheering and celebrating these outstanding women was a joy to be a part of. I'm so proud of the team, coaches and staff. The future is so bright, and in just his first year with our program, Coach Schaefer put everyone on notice that the Longhorns are coming and you better be ready for the stampede!
It definitely is a great time to be a Longhorn, and I do want to thank each and every one of you for your never-ending support and commitment to helping us do great things. I say it all the time and it's worth reiterating, you are the wind beneath our wings, and we are so lucky to have you. Keep your Horns Up my friends!
Stay safe, be healthy and Hook 'Em Horns,
Chris Del Conte
P.S. – Love this! Looks like you and BEVO are off to a good start Coach Beard!
P.S. II — Kudos and a huge Hook 'Em to our Longhorn Great Jordan Spieth for getting back to the top in the Lone Star State last weekend! Good luck this week at the Masters!!
HEADLINES
VIDEO: Day one of the Chris Beard era
Follow the new Men's Basketball Head Coach through his first 24 hours on the UT campus.
VIDEO: Chris Beard introductory press conference
The University of Texas officially welcomed Chris Beard to the Forty Acres on Friday morning.
Volleyball sweeps TCU to finish Big 12 Championship season
The Longhorns completed the regular season with their 16th sweep.
VIDEO: Jerritt Elliott and Logan Eggleston media availability
Fourth-seeded Longhorns preparing NCAA Tournament.
Track and Field sweeps Texas A&M
The Longhorns took down the Aggies in men's and women's dual-meet action on Saturday.
Track and Field maintains top-10 rankings
The Longhorns sit at No. 3 in the women's top-25 and No. 6 in the men's this week.
Baseball sweeps Kansas
The Longhorns picked up their first sweep of the Jayhawks in Lawrence since 2001.
Baseball's Melendez named Big 12 Co-Newcomer of the Week
The Longhorns designated hitter batted .615 to help Texas to a sweep of Kansas.
Softball finishes Big 12-opening sweep of Texas Tech
Sophomore pitcher Shea O'Leary struck out a career-high 11 batters during the complete-game victory.
Women's Tennis sweeps Houston
The Longhorns improve to 18-1 and complete the regular season home schedule with a 14-0 mark.
Soccer sweeps season series from Baylor with a 4-0 win in Waco
The margin of victory was Texas' largest in its series against the Bears since a 4-0 win back Oct. 10, 2003
Soccer's Madden & Hranicky reap Big 12 Conference weekly honors
Hranicky picked up her first career nod as the league's Defensive Player of the Week.
Collier named Second Team USBWA All-American
The junior forward/center is Texas' first USBWA All-American since 2005.
Davis named USTFCCCA National Athlete of the Week
The Longhorn broke a 36-year-old collegiate record in the women's long jump at the Texas Relays last week.
Davis named Big 12 Athlete of the Week
The Longhorn broke a 36-year-old collegiate record in the women's long jump at the Texas Relays last week.
Trio from Men's Swimming and Diving honored by CSCAA
Windle named Men's Diver of the Year, Reese tabbed Men's Swimming Coach of the Year and Scoggin selected as Men's Diving Coach of the Year.
Men's Swimming and Diving boasts 23 Academic All-Big 12 Team selections
A total of 18 Longhorns named to the first team and five selected to the second team.
Women's Swimming and Diving earns 13 Academic All-Big 12 Team selections
All 13 Longhorns named to the league's first team.
Spizzirri named Big 12 Men's Tennis Player of the Week
Sophomore Eliot Spizzirri earns his third conference weekly honor of the season and of his career after posting top-50 wins in both singles and doubles this week.
Turati named Big 12 Women's Tennis Player of the Week
UT senior went 4-0 in singles and doubles to lead the Longhorns to a pair of wins against ranked foes last weekend.
Davis-Wrightsil a 2021 NCAA Legacy Award recipient
The Longhorn Legend is one of eight recipients this year for her civic involvement and inclusion efforts.
