Forty Acres Insider: May 10

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Longhorn Nation,

Ain't nothin' gonna break our stride as we're off and running with the Texas Fight Tour and another awesome week of Texas Athletics. But first I do want to start this week by reflecting. Sunday was an extra special day as it was a chance to shower the amazing matriarchs in our lives with appreciation, love and affection on Mother's Day. Here's hoping everyone had some enjoyable family time, fun festivities and a joyous day as we took time to honor, pay tribute to and celebrate the truly special mothers everywhere. Our teams provided plenty of weekend cheer, as well, with both our Tennis squads charging up the Texas Tennis Center and sweeping all four of their matches in advancing to the Sweet Sixteen! Baseball got a series win at West Virginia, while Softball honored its seniors and secured a series win over Baylor, too.

Nobody's gonna slow us down — I love that 1980s classic hit —so let's get right back at it and stampede into another exciting week full of Longhorn action. Women's Golf is already in action at the NCAA Albuquerque Regional as they seek a sixth-straight NCAA Championship bid. Track & Field heads to Lubbock looking to defend their Big 12 Outdoor Championships, and Rowing will do the same right here in Austin on Sunday morning. And on Monday, we joined the Texas Exes in kicking off the Texas Fight Tour in San Antonio, with Dallas set for Wednesday and Fort Worth Thursday. It's such a great time to share the great things happening on our campus, for fellowship and to show our Texas passion, pride and spirit. Y'all brought it big-time, and we appreciate you all joining us.

Get your best Burnt Orange and White garb ready, have a week-filled with Texas Fight and Hook 'Em Horns, and together, let's do this Longhorn Nation!

Football Season Tickets are going fast!

We're so fired up for the 2022 Football season and can tell y'all are too! Season ticket sales have topped 60,000 and already surpassed last year's mark! For that, we are so grateful and send a huge thank you to all of you who are on board. If you haven't gotten on the train yet, what are you waiting for? Season tickets continue to go at a fast a furious pace, and there's only a few thousand left in the maximum number of about 65,000 we have available to sell. Bear in mind that purchasing season tickets is the ONLY way to guarantee tickets for our monumental matchup with Alabama on Sept. 10. Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium will be the place to be for that epic matchup of two iconic and legendary football programs, and all seven home games this season, so don't miss out. There are a number of different options to consider, from your traditional season tickets to premium seating options and the UFCU Field Club location, just call 512-471-3333 (Monday-Friday/9 a.m.-4 p.m. CT) to discuss or read more about it right here.

Both Men's and Women's Tennis Advance to the NCAA Sweet 16

How about that dominant home weekend for our Men's and Women's Tennis Teams?! Thanks to great support from Longhorn Nation at the Texas Tennis Center, both our Men and Women earned back-to-back 4-0 SWEEPS in NCAA First and Second Round action on Friday and Saturday to advance to the oh so Sweet 16. Texas is one of just six schools to have BOTH its men's and women's tennis squads reach this far. For Coach Joffe and our fourth-seeded Women, we blanked Ball State and a very good No. 18 Michigan team to reach the Round of 16 for the 25th time in program history and the fourth time in six opportunities under Coach Joffe. And the best part is we get to play our next match against No. 14 Auburn right here at the TTC! So make plans now to leave work early on Friday, as we'll need you loud and proud when we take the court at noon for a spot in the quarterfinals. For the Men, it's now the eighth-straight and 33rd total time they've reached the Sweet 16 after they swept Idaho and LSU. That's made all the more impressive by what Coach Berque and our guys have had to overcome, not ONCE having a fully healthy lineup the entire season. Just amazing. Because of that, they'll be heading on the road this week to Coach Berque's old stompin' grounds of Michigan where they'll take on the fifth-seeded Wolverines on Saturday at noon CT. So let's send 'em all of our positive Burnt Orange vibes as they look to get back to the quarterfinals for the third-straight time and fourth in the last five! Oh, and if you missed any of the Sweet Saturday action at the TTC and are ready to get pumped up, check out these fantastic videos from our creative team! (Keep a special eye out for a great cameo two-shot of our super fan Prez, the one and only Jay Hartzell, and one of our tennis GOATs Christian Sigsgaard gettin' all sorts of fired up!)

Track and Field Readies for Big 12 Outdoor Championships

Another week and another set of top-10 Texas performances as Coach Flo and our Track and Field squad just keep rewriting the record books. This time, it was out west at the Oregon Twilight meet where Crayton Carrozza had the top college finish in the men's 1500m, while Yaseen Abdalla took second in the men's 5000m with both moving into the top 10 in the Longhorn annals. That sets the stage as both our top-ranked Men's and Women's teams head to Lubbock for the Big 12 Outdoor Championships in an effort to follow their sweep of the indoor titles earlier this year. Get this, if they can pull off the double, it would be only the sixth time in league history a team has completed a full sweep of the men's and women's indoor and outdoor titles. And guess who will have been responsible for five of those...you betcha, that would be The University of Texas! And to top it off, it would be the first time anyone has done it in consecutive years. Our Women are also looking for a three-peat of the outdoor title, while the Men are trying to go back-to-back. Twelve Texas events rank No. 1 in the conference, while both Women's relays and Tripp Piperi enter the weekend with the top NCAA marks. Piperi also looks to make it nine Big 12 shot put titles this weekend. With NCAAs close on the horizon, there's no time to slow down now. Tune into ESPN+ for the three day meet and watch our Horns put on a show. Go get 'em, Flo and company!

Rowing seeks to defend its Big 12 Crown right here in Austin

Coach Dave O'Neill and our defending National Champion and No. 1-ranked Rowing squad are set to defend their Big 12 crown this Sunday on Walter E. Long Lake (9 a.m. CT). After total domination all season long and fresh off a sweep of all five races at the Longhorn Invite, our crews will be going for a seventh-straight Big 12 title! The First Varsity Eight boat's impressive performance at the invite earned them a second consecutive Big 12 Boat of the Week honor, as they remain unbeaten over the last two years and look primed for big things as we head into championship season. Entry for this weekend's regatta is free, so head out to the lake this Sunday and joins us for some fun in the sun and to help pull our Horns victory!

Baseball gets a series win at West Virginia

Coach Pierce and our Horns traveled to Morgantown and took two of three over West Virginia. Friday's game was pushed to Saturday due to inclement weather and our Horns responded with a doubleheader sweep. Pete Hansen tossed another gem in game one, pitching 8 2/3 innings and allowing just two runs and six hits in a 5-2 triumph. Our pitching was magnificent in game two as Lucas Gordon threw a seven-inning, 11-0 run-rule complete game shutout. Ivan Melendez continued to lead us at the plate, blasting three homers in those two games to up his total to 25 on the season. That's the second-most in a season in Longhorn history, just three shy of Kyle Russell's record set in 2007! The Hispanic Titanic, who drove this one to the moon over the left field fence, was 5-for-11 with three home runs and seven RBI on the weekend and with that was tabbed the National Player of the Week once again! It was a tight one on Sunday, falling 8-6 in the series finale, but we will have a chance to bounce back tonight. It's a time when our Horns will get a bit of a break in between hosting a pair of non-conference games at UFCU Disch-Falk Field this Tuesday (vs. Texas Southern/6:30 p.m. CT/LHN) and next (vs. Sam Houston/6:30 p.m./LHN), before a Big 12 home series with Kansas that marks the final regular season games of the season. The Phillips 66 Big 12 Baseball Championship follows, beginning on Wednesday, May 25, at Globe Life Field in Arlington.

Softball closes out regular season with series win over Baylor, on to postseason

Coach White and our Horns finished the regular season strong with a series victory over Baylor in a weekend that included a special "Senior Day" tribute to our six standout seniors. One of those outstanding seniors, Janae Jefferson, etched her name in the UT record book once again by breaking the Longhorn career doubles record on Saturday. The series started in Waco on Friday where we built an early eight-run lead, banged out 14 hits and held off a late Baylor flurry in a 10-6 win. After a tough one Saturday in Austin, Sunday was a special game at McCombs Field with Hailey Dolcini registering a complete game shutout as our Horns rolled into the post-season with a 6-0 blanking of the Bears on Mother's Day. And for her performance last weekend, Hailey was tabbed the Big 12 Pitcher of the Week this week! Now with the regular season in the books, the Longhorns have secured the No. 3 seed in this week's Big 12 Championship tournament that begins on Thursday at the USA Softball Hall of Fame Complex in Oklahoma City. It's single elimination this year, and the Horns will seek to survive and advance against sixth-seeded Texas Tech on Thursday night (6 p.m. CT/ESPN+).

Women's Golf in action at NCAA Albuquerque Regional

Fresh off a Big 12 Championship – Coach Murphy's fourth in the last five played – our Women's Golf squad is in the midst of competing for a spot in the NCAA Championship at the NCAA Albuquerque Regional. It's a homecoming for Coach Murphy, who grew up in New Mexico and was a standout golfer and assistant coach for the Lobos. After the opening round of the 54-hole event at the historic Championship Golf Course at UNM, our No. 3-seeded Horns are right in the thick of things among the 12-team field. The top four teams from each of the six regional sites across the country advance to the NCAA Championship (May 20-25) at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Ariz. That's what we're looking to do for the sixth year in a row and 30th time in program history, so let's follow along on all of our platforms during Wednesday's final round and cheer on our Horns!

Men's Golf heads to Norman for NCAA Regional Championship

One of the hottest teams in the nation, Coach Fields and our Men's Golf squad earned the No. 2 seed in the NCAA Norman Regional. Our Horns will be one of 13 teams to compete at the Jimmie Austin Golf Club on May 16-18 (Monday-Wednesday), with the low five teams advancing to the NCAA Championship from May 27-June 1 in Scottsdale, Ariz. In its last five tournaments, our group has recorded a pair of wins, a second-place finish and two third-place results and has a combined team score of 97-under-par. Those are just WOW scoring numbers. The team is ready to Take Dead Aim on qualifying for the NCAA Championship for a 15th-straight time, a streak that dates back to 2008 and is the longest active one in the nation!

41 Track & Field student-athletes earn Academic All-Big 12

Our No. 1-ranked Track & Field teams are not only the best in the country and the world in their sport, but they're doing big things in the classroom, too! How about 41 of our Longhorn tracksters earning Academic All-Big 12 honors?! Thirty-four of the honorees were first-team members with seven more making the second-team. That deserves one big, emphatic Hook 'Em to Coach Flo and all of our student-athletes for a job well done!

More Longhorns Earn Big 12 Weekly Honors

Kudos are in order for a number of recent sensational performances by Longhorn student-athletes. It's another honor for Softball's Hailey Dolcini as the senior right hander was named the Big 12 Pitcher of the Week for the third time this season after dominating from the circle during our Big 12 series win over Baylor. The Ferndale, Calif., native went 2-0 with a perfect 0.00 ERA and 12 strikeouts over 11 innings pitched while allowing just five total hits and limiting the Bears to a miniscule .135 batting average. Hailey's best performance of the weekend came in Sunday's finale as she fired a three-hit shutout to complete the regular season with a 6-0 victory. Like we mentioned earlier, Baseball's Ivan Melendez was tabbed Big 12 Player of the Week this week, as well. He hit .571 with three home runs and nine RBIs while extending his hitting streak to a conference-leading 16 games. Late last week after the Forty Acres Insider went out, we got word that our Track & Field squad swept the Big 12 Athlete of the Week honors. For the Women, it was our spectacular 4x100m relay team of Julien Alfred, Rhasidat Adeleke, Kevona Davis and Kynnedy Flannel that broke our school record and posted a blistering NCAA-leading time of 42.37 seconds in winning that event at the LSU Invitational. Talk about en fuego, that quartet has run four of the five fastest 4x100m relay times in school history — a long and illustrious one in that relay — this spring. On the Men's side, a name we say a lot, Jonathan Jones, brought home the honor after winning the 400m dash at the LSU Invitational in 44.79 seconds, the third-fastest time in school history, second-best in the NCAA, and No. 8 in the world this season. He also led our Horns to a second-place finish in the 4x400m relay in Baton Rouge.

Another Full Week on the 40

We've got a lot going on this week on The Forty and beyond with NCAA and Big 12 Championship play. Women's Golf is in the midst of NCAA Regional Championship competition in a homecoming for our head coach Ryan Murphy in Albuquerque, while Men's and Women's Tennis advanced to the next round of NCAA Championship play and with the Women hosting their upcoming match right here at the Texas Tennis Center. In Big 12 Championship action, on the heels of a series win over Baylor, Softball is headed to Oklahoma City for the Big 12 Tournament later this week, and Track and Field is off to Lubbock to defend their Big 12 Outdoor Championships. After a series win at West Virginia, Baseball has a bit of a break between hosting Texas Southern on Tuesday and Sam Houston the following Tuesday. After that, Kansas comes to UFCU Disch-Falk Field for our final Big 12 series later this month (May 19-21). Also Men's Golf will be at their NCAA Norman Regional Championship early next week, looking to qualify for the NCAA Championship.

Monday:

• Women's Golf at NCAA Regional Championship

• Texas Fight Tour (San Antonio)

Tuesday:

• Women's Golf at NCAA Regional Championship

• Baseball vs. Texas Southern

Wednesday:

• Women's Golf at NCAA Regional Championship

• Texas Fight Tour (Dallas)

Thursday:

• Softball at Big 12 Championship

• Texas Fight Tour (Fort Worth)

Friday:

• Softball at Big 12 Championship*

• Track & Field at Big 12 Outdoor Championship

• Women's Tennis vs. No. 14 Auburn in NCAA Round of 16

Saturday:

• Softball at Big 12 Championship*

• Track & Field at Big 12 Outdoor Championship

• Men's Tennis at No. 5 Michigan in NCAA Round of 16

Sunday:

• Rowing hosts Big 12 Championship

• Track & Field at Big 12 Outdoor Championship

Monday:

• Men's Golf at NCAA Regional Championship

Tuesday:

• Men's Golf at NCAA Regional Championship

• Baseball vs. Sam Houston

Wednesday:

• Men's Golf at NCAA Regional Championship

*If Texas advances

Longhorn Associate Head Coach for Athletic Performance Melissa Schmitz Honored

Kudos are in order for our Associate Head Coach for Athletic Performance extraordinaire Melissa Schmitz, who last week was recognized as a Master Strength and Conditioning Coach by the Collegiate Strength and Conditioning Coaches association (CSCCa). That's the highest honor given in the strength and conditioning profession and so well-deserved! Melissa received her blue MSCC Jacket last week at the national organization's conference in Oklahoma City, and we know she will wear it well. Thank you for all you do for Texas Athletics, and congratulations my friend!

We got to keep on movin' my friends. Big 12 Championships are on the line, we're in the heat of NCAA Championship season, the Texas Fight Tour has commenced, and there's so much more going on. What a great time it is to be a Longhorn, and even better, we've got you right there pushing and pulling for us all the way. We're runnin' and we won't touch ground! Together, let's do this Longhorn Nation!!

Hook 'Em Horns,

Chris Del Conte

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Chris Del Conte