Forty Acres Insider: May 18 - University of Texas Athletics

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Chris Del Conte head shot

Longhorn Nation,

Amid all the success our teams are having in so many competitions, we must first start this week's note by celebrating the many Longhorns reaching the mountaintop in the classroom, too! It's graduation week y'all, the culmination of a goal all of our student-athletes set out to attain when they arrived on the Forty, and a huge accomplishment for the brilliant and talented University of Texas Class of 2021. Earning a degree is a monumental achievement, and doing so at our great institution — one of the premier universities in the world — says you are among the best and brightest. For this year's class especially, you overcame so many challenges along the way in an unprecedented year, and that deserves a super big Hook 'Em Horns!! We know you and your families are so proud, and so are we! And after the 2020 health crisis forced the event to be virtual, we're beyond fired up to see you graduating in person this year and right here at DKR-Texas Memorial Stadium to boot.

As we prepare for graduation and a week filled with even more big-time Big 12 and NCAA competition, we must take time to celebrate last week because it was epic, historic, monumental … you pick the adjective and that's what the week was! The Tower Lighting Tour continued as Rowing and Men's and Women's Outdoor Track & Field all won conference titles. Count 'em up, that's a dozen Big 12 Championships in 2020-21, already the second-most in a single-season ever in league history, trailing only the 13 trophies we collected in 2005-06. Let's just say, the Tower has been lit and burning a steady glow of orange all spring!

It started bright and early Saturday morning with No. 2 Rowing dominating the Big 12 field as we hosted the championship at Decker Lake! All four races went to our squad, and six of our Longhorns earned spots on the All-Big 12 team as Coach O'Neill led us to a sixth straight conference title. It was quite impressive to watch, and now it's time to get ready for the National Championship from May 28-30 in Sarasota, Fla.

For Coach Flo and Track & Field, it was all Burnt Orange and White from start to finish in Manhattan, Kansas, as our squad turned in the Big 12's first Men's and Women's Outdoor Championship double since 2016. It was a historic effort, as coupled with a Longhorn conference indoor title sweep in February, it made it just the fifth time in Big 12 history that a team swept the indoor and outdoor meets in the same year — four of those are by, you guessed it, Texas. The performances and point totals were eye-popping across the board, including the women scoring a meet record 207 points and the men winning by a 29-point margin! All totaled, 12 Longhorns combined to win 15 individual titles, including double winners Tara Davis (100m hurdles/long jump) and Kynnedy Flannel (100m/200m) on the women's side, and Yusuf Bizimana (800m/1500m) for the men. Our Longhorns also claimed three relays crowns, swept the multi-events (Leo Neugebauer, decathlon/Kristine Blazevica, heptathlon), and Kynnedy was the meet's high scorer with 22.5 points). That effort launches our Longhorns into the NCAA West Preliminary Rounds next week in College Station (May 26-29).

Meanwhile on the national stage, Men's and Women's Tennis moved on to the Elite Eight, Women's Golf advanced to the NCAA Championship with a terrific effort at regionals, Men's Golf is off to a great start at regional play and on target to qualify, as well, and Softball gets underway in NCAA Tourney play right here in Austin later this week. What a time it is to be a Longhorn!!

Men's and Women's Tennis are surviving and advancing at the NCAA Tourney and are one of only two schools with both teams in the Elite Eight (Georgia is the other). Coach Joffe and Women's Tennis just kept on rolling, punching their ticket to the quarterfinals on Sunday with a 4-1 win over No. 16 Ohio State. It was the 21st straight dual match win and through three NCAA matches thus far, our Horns have won by a decisive 16-1 tally! Not to be outdone, Coach Berque and Men's Tennis moved on to the Elite Eight with a valiant comeback for the ages on Monday in securing an 4-3 victory over No. 13 South Carolina. When Evin McDonald closed out the final point in his come-from-behind 3-6, 6-4, 7-5 victory, it sealed the deal on the Horns epic rally from 3-0 down to advance. Next up in Orlando, our women take on No. 7 Florida State on Wednesday (1 p.m. CT), and the men face No. 12 USC on Thursday (4:30 p.m. CT/) as they take dead aim on a spot in the semifinals in front of a national television audience on the Tennis Channel.

Golf is in full swing, too, as Coach Murphy and No. 15 Women's Golf finished second at the NCAA Louisville Regional and advanced to a fifth consecutive NCAA Championship. Kaitlyn Papp and Agathe Laisne led the charge, both finishing in the top 10, tying for fourth and seventh, respectively. It's on to Scottsdale, Ariz., this week with a tee time at the NCAA Championship beginning on Friday. This week it's Coach Fields and No. 6 Men's Golf's turn, and they're deep into the competition at the NCAA Noblesville Regional in Indiana with a spot in the NCAA Championships on the line. Our Horns are looking to qualify for the NCAAs for the 14th straight time. Kudos are in order as well for our sensational junior Pierceson Coody, who was named as one of three finalists for the Ben Hogan Award.

For Coach White and Softball, it's home-sweet-home as we begin NCAA postseason play this week. Securing the No. 12 national seed when the 64-team Tourney Field was announced on Sunday night, we'll get things started off at Red & Charline McCombs Field on Friday against St. Francis (PA) with a 4 p.m. first pitch. Our Austin Regional is a good one, as Oregon and Texas State will square off in the night game.

After a rare weekend off, Coach Pierce and No. 2 Baseball unfortunately had today's game with Rice canceled due to the forecast of bad weather, but will close out the Big 12 regular season against West Virginia this weekend. Our Horns sit just one game behind TCU in the Big 12 race so the regular season title is still in play before the conference convenes for the Big 12 Tourney at Bricktown Ballpark in Oklahoma City next week. But before that, here's to closing out the regular season with a bang!

NCAA Announces 50% Capacity for Tournament Games:
And we got some really good news this week, as in accordance with NCAA guidelines, we'll be able to allow 50 percent capacity at our NCAA Softball Regional games and any future Regionals or Super Regionals. We'll continue to have our health and safety procedures in place, but it's exciting to continue moving closer to a full house and can't wait to see that when our fall seasons kick off!

Let's Renew those Football Season Tickets, Deadline is May 24:
Speaking of the fall and those full houses, time is ticking away as there's less than a week left before our May 24 deadline for renewing football season tickets. I know y'all are just as excited as we are about the upcoming season, and I get to hear about all of the wonderful conversation our staff is having with you as you make plans to join us at DKR-Texas Memorial Stadium. I promise, it truly will be the biggest Longhorn Family Reunion ever, and Coach Sark and your Longhorns will be ready! So, for you great fans who have not yet renewed your season tickets, now's the time to get it done! It's just a click (online at TexasSports.com/Renewals) or phone call (512-471-3333) away. Or you can fill out and drop that paper application you received in the mail to secure your spot to celebrate alongside us and cheer on the Horns. Don't forget, this will be the final season to lock in annual required seat-related gift amounts for as long as you maintain your season tickets and seats. And as a reminder, fans waiting until 2022 to purchase season tickets will be subject to periodic increases in their seat-related gift. This applies to any renewed or new season tickets in 2021.

A big shoutout to all of our new season ticket deposit holders, as well. The response has been strong and the energy and enthusiasm you're bringing are palpable. Welcome to the Longhorn season ticket family, and we can't wait to see you in the fall. For those of you who want to join in as well, come on aboard! Season ticket deposits are on sale now at TexasSports.com/deposits for $199 per seat and give you the first chance to select seats after current season ticket holders.

Graduation, Big 12 Championships, National Championships, we're in the final stretch and heading for home in a most unique 2020-21 season. I continue to be so proud of our student-athletes, coaches and all of our programs as their success just continually mounts, on and off the fields and courts of competition. We know that these extraordinary accomplishments have not been done alone. We are grateful to each and every one of you for the support and resources you've provided along with your patented Longhorn pride and passion. Thank you as always for being the wind beneath our wings! There's so much more to come, so let's do this!

Stay safe, be healthy and Hook 'Em Horns,
Chris Del Conte signature
Chris Del Conte

P.S. — We see ya Tara, doing what you do better than anyone ever! Four of the top six jumps by a collegian ever, that's gettin' it done!!

P.S. II – Longhorn Nation, we are so ready!!

HEADLINES

Football schedule updated for Arkansas, Oklahoma games
Game times and TV info for the Longhorns' matchups this fall have been set.

New Post: South End Zone Blog
Your weekly South End Zone sneak peek and insider information

Texas Women's Tennis preview: No. 7 Florida State (NCAA Quarterfinals)
The Longhorns will face the Seminoles on Wednesday (1 p.m. CT) at the USTA National Campus in Orlando.

VIDEO: Gymnast Amari Drayton, Family a Formidable Team
Daughter of Longhorn Football assistant coach, Stan Drayton, is chasing Olympic Dreams

Men's Golf in first after opening day at NCAA Noblesville Regional
Travis Vick (-4) and Pierceson Coody (-2) occupy the top five on the leaderboard in Indiana.

Rowing lands six on All-Big 12 Conference Team
Texas features six all-conference honorees for the sixth consecutive season.

Women's Golf advances to 2021 NCAA Championship
The Longhorns tied for second and had two top-10 finishers.

Softball puts seven players on All-Big 12 teams
Juniors Janae Jefferson (unanimous) and Mary Iakopo each picked up first-team league honors

Seven Longhorns earn spots on All-Big 12 Women's Tennis teams
Peyton Stearns named Big 12 Freshman of the Year.

Men's Tennis earns several Big 12 postseason honors
The Longhorns captured Coach of the Year, Freshman of the Year, four All-Big 12 selections and two individual singles champions.

Soccer's Julia Grosso named United Soccer Coaches All-Midwest Region
The junior midfielder led the Longhorns in goals (five), assists (four) and points (14) during 2020-21

Rowing holds at No. 2 in this week's Pocock USRowing/CRCA poll
The Longhorns will defend their Big 12 Conference title this Sunday on Walter E. Long Lake.

The University of Texas at Austin Athletics

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