Forty Acres Insider: June 7

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Longhorn Nation,

Yeah, Baby! I know those Horns are up high and you're swellin' with Longhorn pride again this week! How about Coach White and that amazing Monday night of Texas Fight with our Softball Team?! Whether it's Lighting the Tower Orange for last week's Men's Golf National Championship, Softball's sensational stampede to the WCWS Championship series, or celebrating with y'all in a packed house at UFCU Disch-Falk Field as Baseball rolled through our Austin Regional, the hits just keep on comin'! What a glorious time to be a Longhorn, and we're not done yet. Softball is playing for the Natty, Baseball continues its quest to return to the College World Series once again, and Track & Field has its sights firmly set on the National Championships in Eugene this week. We've built this dream together, and nothing's gonna stop us now!

Let me tell 'ya, I can get you hummin' the 80's hit "Celebration" when we think about our 2021-22 Longhorns season. There's a party going on right here, a dedication to last throughout the year. The stampede continued with Men's Golf's National Championship last Wednesday. That joined Women's Tennis (May 22) and Rowing (May 29) to make it three Natty's in a stretch of 11 days! That's a lot of celebrating the good times for sure!! Add in the Men's Indoor Track & Field victory from earlier in the year and that's four national titles in 2021-22, tying our most in an academic year in school history. And with the three we won in 2020-21, the seven national titles is the most we've ever had in a two-year span. And the pride and winning tradition doesn't stop there! Softball has taken the nation by storm and the Eyes of Texas will be firmly on our Longhorns as we launch our quest for the National Title against OU on Wednesday (7:30 p.m. CT/ESPN).

With 10 teams already securing top-five NCAA finishes, four titles, and eight in the top-two, I must say, the folks at the Learfield Director's Cup better be ready to crunch those numbers. With Softball and Baseball still racking up points, and our top-ranked Track & Field squads heading to NCAAs this week, we're taking dead aim on raising that all-sports championship trophy once again!

The Tower was Lit again as Men's Golf wins National Championship

We Lit the Tower Orange again as Men's Golf is the National Champion! What a storybook ending to the season for Coach Fields and our squad in Scottsdale, Arizona last week! Our senior trio, or "Three Amigos" as Coach Fields says, of Parker Coody, Pierceson Coody and Cole Hammer fell just short of the big prize three years ago as freshmen when we finished as national runner-up in 2019. They were in great shape to make a run in 2020 as sophomores, but the season was canceled due to COVID-19. Last year, our crew battled sickness and fatigue and had a disappointing finish at the NCAA Championship. And this fall, things got pretty scary when the Coody twins each broke the same bone in their right arm during a freak accident that put them out of action for a four-month period. All this trio did was bond with juniors Travis Vick and Mason Nome to produce a magical run in Scottsdale. After surging up the leaderboard in the final two rounds of stroke play to earn the fourth seed in match play, our Longhorns took down Oklahoma State (3-2) in the quarterfinals and top-seed Vanderbilt (3.5-1.5) in the semifinals on Tuesday to advance to the finals. This time, there was no stopping our Longhorns as both Coody twins earned wins, and Vick stepped up to deliver the clinching point in dramatic fashion with a 1-up victory on the 18th green. To be there in person to watch the raw emotion of our guys and how much it meant to them to win a national title for The University of Texas was a moment I won't forget.

Oh what a night! It's on to the WCWS Championship series as Softball is playing for the Natty

All I can say is oh what a night (click here for a video recap) it was on Monday as Coach White and our Softball team continued an amazing and historic postseason ride filled with clutch hitting, fabulous defense, incredible pitching and non-stop, glorious Texas Fight. I know y'all were dialed in as things got really fired up last night at the WCWS in Oklahoma City as our gritty and determined bunch staved off two more elimination games to advance to our first-ever NCAA Championship series final. Like our entire blitz through the postseason, it was a magical night, starting with a dominant performance in the circle from Estelle Czech in a 5-0 game, a victory that was fueled by Courtney Day's three-run homer in the second inning. I know the decisive nightcap had y'all on the edge of your seats as down 5-0, it was time to dig deep. But as you know, the "comeback Longhorns" refuse to quit and facing one of the nation's premier pitchers, Courtney got us back in it with another three-run shot in the fourth inning. One frame later, it was all passion, persistence and hustle as Bella Dayton's single set off a series of chaotic events that resulted in three runs for a stunning 6-5 lead. From there, senior pitching extraordinaire Hailey Dolcini slammed the door on the Cowgirls to lead us to victory and the opportunity to play for it all. Last night was no exception as this crew has taken us on some breathtaking comebacks, amazing moments, a whole lot of fun, and some fantastic Texas Fight all tourney long! But Monday took the cake as, completely unfazed, our Horns became the first-ever unseeded team to make it to the championship series. To really appreciate it, we've got to go back to how it started. Some would have been discouraged when we found ourselves overlooked in the NCAA national seeding and instead of playing at home, and our "Road to Oklahoma City" took a westward path more than 2,000 miles away in Seattle. Victories over the host and No. 13-national seed Washington, including a 3-2 thriller in the regional-sealing game, sent us on to the Super Regionals for the third-straight year. Once again, we faced enemy territory in the heart of old Southwest Conference rivalry turf at Arkansas. After dropping a heartbreaker in game one with record crowds and rowdy red-clad Razorbacks cheering on their home team, our squad re-grouped. Back-to-back triumphs over the region's top seed and No. 4-ranked Razorbacks quieted the chants of Pig-Sooie as our Horns secured a spot in the Women's College World Series. They took a winding and rugged course to the promised land, but dug deep to win three elimination games in the first two rounds to get there. And once we arrived in Oklahoma City, we hit the ground running, knocking off UCLA, 7-2, in game one. After a setback in game two against OU, our Horns responded with a bounce back win in an elimination game versus Arizona. That sent us to the semifinals for the fourth time in program history and set up Monday night's triumphs, the fifth and sixth wins in elimination games during this NCAA postseason. Talk about the pride and winning tradition of The University of Texas, that's puttin' it on full display right there! Now it's on to the ship! I'm so looking forward to cheering on this team — our Longhorns — as they drive and strive to take this thing to the finish! And I know you are too … let's do this! Like Coach White said, we still are THE most dangerous team in the tournament!!

Softball's Janae Jefferson and Hailey Dolcini earn All-America honors

Just as we prepared to get started at the WCWS last week, a couple of our Longhorns received great news. The outstanding seasons of senior second baseman Janae Jefferson and senior pitcher Hailey Dolcini were rewarded with All-American recognition from the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA). Janae earned second-team honors and became just the second player in our history to earn NFCA All-American honors four times. It's pretty special company, too, as she joins Cat Osterman, whose retired jersey number 8 is proudly displayed at McCombs Field. Hailey's our super senior and has taken on the role of our ace in the circle this year. All-American is a great title for both of them, and we're so proud of them for the well-deserved recognition!

While we're talking Softball, secure your spot at McCombs Field next season!

Want to make sure you're in the stands for every game at McCombs Field next season? Purchase a 2023 Softball season ticket deposit TODAY for only $60 per seat. Deposit holders will get the first selection of available season tickets in loyalty points order on a first-come first-served basis.

Baseball wins NCAA Austin Regional and is headed to the Supers

What a weekend it was for Coach Pierce and our Baseball squad as the Road to Omaha began without missing a turn or hitting a single stop light! We're on to the Supers for the second year in a row, and what a glorious feeling it is! It certainly was a wonderful few days at UFCU Disch-Falk Field. There were spectacular plays, sensational efforts, record-setting crowds and magical, heartwarming moments from the men of Air Force, too! Y'all showed out, showed such respect for a team filled with men that have dedicated themselves to protect and to serve our great nation, and in turn, what a scene it was after the final game. That's a scene we'll never forget, and we have the utmost respect for the folks at Air Force. We were so blessed to have them in Austin twice this year. As for the games, your Longhorns were absolutely en fuego all weekend! It was three up and three down en route to winning the Austin Regional, topped off by the clinching 10-1 win over Air Force on Sunday. Our Horns were hitting, pitching and fielding on all cylinders on the way to three-straight victories where we outscored our opponents, 26-6, belted out 36 hits and didn't commit a single error on defense. The Regional's Most Valuable Player Skyler Messinger's bat was like a stick of dynamite, and he was pretty much unstoppable all weekend. Skyler hit an eye-popping .778 (7-of-9), scored five runs and had four RBI, and who knows what else he'd have done if they didn't walk him three times. And how about Austin Regional All-Tournament team honoree Dylan Campbell taking center stage and shining to open the NCAA postseason with three home runs?! Congratulations and a huge Hook 'Em are also in order for shortstop Trey Faltine, first baseman Ivan Melendez, outfielder Murphy Stehly, DH Austin Todd and Saturday's hero on the mound Tristan Stevens, all of whom also earned spots on the All-Tourney Team. Up next, we'll be hitting the road to Greenville, N.C., to take on eighth-seeded East Carolina in the Super Regionals. The first two games will be Friday and Saturday at 11 a.m. CT/noon ET on ESPN2, so stay tuned to all of our platforms for the details on that series as our Horns are down to the final group of 16 programs competing for a spot in the College World Series. But before that, back to y'all – holy cow! We added bleachers to accommodate as many of you as possible, and y'all showed up and showed out for sure with 7,695 on Friday, a record crowd of 8,502 on Saturday, and 8,325 packed the house on Sunday. What a way to close out our final home sporting event of the 2021-22 sports seasons. Nearly 25,000 over three days at the Disch, WOW, we can't thank you enough for your support and the passion, pride and energy you brought to all of our events this year. It's on to the Supers with a record-extending 38th trip to Omaha and the CWS in our sights. Let's go Horns, we got this!

Ivan Melendez named Collegiate Baseball's National Player of the Year

First, it was Big 12 Player of the Year, and then last week, it was Collegiate Baseball's National Player of the Year as Ivan Melendez continues to collect much-deserved honors for a phenomenal season — one that is far from over, of course! Ivan increased his UT single-season record this weekend with his 30th home run, and to put that in context, that's the most by a collegiate player in nearly a decade! Ivan's in some elite company as Longhorns to win the Collegiate Baseball National Player of the Year, joining legendary Texas hardballers Brooks Kieschnick (1993), Scott Bryant (1989) and Greg Swindell (1986) on that list. In addition to the Player of the Year honor, Melendez was tabbed first-team All-American by Collegiate Baseball and joined by pitcher Pete Hansen and outfielder Murphy Shehly on that squad with both of them earning second-team recognition. Kudos and an emphatic Hook 'Em to a tremendous trio of Longhorns!

Track & Field headed to Eugene to compete for NCAA Championships

There are more National Championships on the line this week as Coach Flo and our Track & Field squads head to Eugene, Ore., with their eyes on the prize! Our Horns are in the midst of a historic year that includes sweeping all four Big 12 Indoor and Outdoor Championships, winning our first-ever Men's National Championship in Track & Field with the thrilling victory indoors, and the Women bringing home the NCAA indoors runner-up trophy. There have been many records set, magnificent performances and sensational efforts, and we can't wait to see even more of that this week as we head into the NCAA Championships with 33 entries (18 women's events & 15 men's events), including all four relay teams. That is by far the most of any program, with LSU being the next closest at 25. On the No. 1-ranked Women's side, 11 of our 18 qualifying women's marks would score points, with 14 of those ranking in the top-10 of their events. Our school-record-setting and NCAA-leading 4x100m relay has been tearing up the track all season long and is led by the nation's top-ranked 100m runner in Julien Alfred. It doesn't stop there as we have at least two sprinters ranked in the top-six in the 100m, 200m and 400m. That's a huge opportunity for points, while Tyra Gittens leads an outstanding field event squad, as she ranks in the top-three in both the long and high jumps. For the Men, nine of our entries enter the NCAA meet ranked in the top-10 heading in, with Micaiah Harris (200m) and Tripp Piperi (shot put) leading the nation. Jonathan Jones is ranked No. 2 in the 400m and the leader on our third-ranked 4x400m relay squad. Needless to say, our Men's and Women's squads are looking to take the nation by storm and bring home some Nattys! We all know Flo Knows, and trust me, our Horns are ready. I can't wait to see what they can do!! It will be a blast to watch, so stay tuned and follow along with us for all the information and updates on TexasSports.com and all of our social media platforms.

Peyton Stearns named finalist for Honda Sport Award for Tennis

I'm running out of superlatives when it comes to the sensational Peyton Stearns. Stearns, who elected to turn professional last Friday, was named one of four finalists for the Class of 2022 Honda Sport Award for Tennis. The award has been presented annually by our friends at the Collegiate Women Sports Awards (CWSA) for the past 46 years to the top women athletes in 12 NCAA-sanctioned sports. The winner of the sport award becomes a finalist for Collegiate Woman Athlete of the Year and the prestigious 2022 Honda Cup. We should learn if Peyton is the winner this week!

Tennis honors galore

And with Tennis on our mind, we've got even more honors for both the women and men! The ITA announced its All-Americans yesterday, and I know you'll be surprised by this…Peyton Stearns racked up those accolades in both singles and doubles, too, along with her partner in doubles Allura Zamarripa, and also Kylie Collins in singles! For the Men, our National Champion duo of Richard Ciamarra and Cleeve Harper got the nod, as did the pair of Eliot Spizzirri and Siem Woldeab for the second-straight year! Congrats to you all on such a well-deserved reward! But wait, I'm not done! Let me also give a shout out to our men's fab freshman Pierre-Yves Bailly who was named the ITA Texas Region Rookie of the Year! Pierre now qualifies for the national version of the award, and we'll know if he wins that next Monday! By the way, that's three-straight years one of our Horns has won the region award after Micah Braswell got it last year and Siem the year before that! Way to go, Pierre!

Ryan Murphy tabbed Big 12 Coach of the Year, Bohyun Park and Sara Kouskova earn All-Big 12

After leading our Women's Golf squad to the Big 12 Championship for the fourth time in the last five years, a sixth-straight NCAA Championship appearance, and a fifth-straight NCAA top-15 finish, Coach Murphy was tabbed this year's Big 12 Coach of the Year. It's the fourth time in his career he's accomplished that feat. His leadership was on full display as he guided a young and somewhat inexperienced squad to the title. The key veteran on the team was senior Sara Kouskova, who joined Coach Murphy with league honors as she and freshman phenom Bohyun Park were tabbed All-Big 12. Both Sara and Bo were recently named All-America, as well, and this was the third time that Sara earned All-Big 12 honors as she closed out a sensational career. Oh, and the tradition continues as it was the fifth-straight year that our Horns have had multiple players on the All-Big 12 team.

Swimming & Diving squad in action, too

Swimming & Diving has started the summer off on a high note, picking right up where they left off at the NCAA Championships in March! Last week, our current Horns collected a trio of victories and six top-three results in Mission Viejo, Calif., at the final stop of the 2021-2022 TYR Pro Swim Series. David Johnston highlighted the meet for the men with wins in the 1500m freestyle and 400m IM, while Erica Sullivan was triumphant in the 1500m freestyle and placed second in the 800m free. Kyla Leibel had a great week in the pool with a runner-up finish in the 50m freestyle on the final day of racing after grabbing a couple fourth-place results earlier in the meet. Olivia McMurray also took third in the 800m freestyle. Texas-Ex Will Licon got in on the action, winning both the 100m and 200m breaststroke. The week continued a trend of winning results for the Women's team, who picked up four victories in Europe the prior week on the Mare Nostrum Tour. Anna Elendt won three races, including a new German national record in the 50-meter breaststroke, and placed third in a fourth race. Incoming freshman Lydia Jacoby picked up two wins and a third-place result. Emma Sticklen had a strong showing in Europe with a pair of third-place results and numerous personal bests. The Horns will look to keep the good times rollin' this weekend when Janie Boyle, Manuel Borowski and Noah Duperre hit the boards to compete for USA Diving at the Canada Cup.

NCAA postseason action continues for our Longhorns

We've got more NCAA Championship action going on this week with Baseball, Softball and Track & Field all in the heat of postseason competition.

Monday

• Softball at WCWS Semifinal vs. Oklahoma State

Wednesday

• Softball at WCWS Championship vs. Oklahoma

• Track & Field at NCAA Championships

Thursday

• Softball at WCWS Championship vs. Oklahoma

• Track & Field at NCAA Championships

Friday

• Softball at WCWS Championship vs. Oklahoma*

• Baseball at NCAA Super Regional at East Carolina

• Track & Field at NCAA Championships

Saturday

• Baseball at NCAA Super Regional at East Carolina

• Track & Field at NCAA Championships

Sunday

• Baseball at NCAA Super Regional at East Carolina*

*If Texas advances or if necessary

Get those Football Season Tickets before they're gone!

Season tickets for the 2022 Football campaign continue to go at a fast and furious pace. If you haven't gotten on board, you best hurry up before they're gone! There is still time to get those tickets and guarantee your spot at DKR-Texas Memorial Stadium this fall for the epic Texas-Alabama game and our exciting seven-game home slate. Take a look at the map here, dial us up or learn more about it on TexasSports.com. Bear in mind that purchasing season tickets is the ONLY way to guarantee tickets for that monumental matchup with Alabama on Sept. 10. DKR will be the place to be all season long, 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.

Secure your Women's Basketball season tickets in the Moody Center!

Coming off of two consecutive Elite Eight appearances and the Big 12 Tournament Championship, Coach Schaefer and our Women's Basketball program have things cooking. With the move to the brand new Moody Center, now is the time to get those season tickets if you haven't already. Starting at $100, you can join the Texas Fight in the finest arena in college sports all season long. Tickets can be purchased online at TexasSports.com/tickets or by calling 512-471-3333 (Monday through Friday 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Central). More information on the Moody Center can be found here.

Jill Sterkel selected for induction into the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Hall of Fame

A huge shoutout to our very own Longhorn Legend Jill Sterkel who has been selected for induction into the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Hall of Fame. Jill, who has long been a valuable member of our athletics staff, including time as our Women's Swimming & Diving Head Coach, earned this most recent honor as a part of the 1976 Olympic 4x100m freestyle relay team. That gold-medal winning and world-record-setting relay was such a historic accomplishment as were the many other memorable feats in Jill's career. A member of our Texas Athletics Hall of Honor, she's the first woman selected to four U.S. Olympic swim teams (1976, '80, '84 and '88) and was elected team captain three times – 1980, 1984 and 1988. During her Olympic career, she won two gold medals and two bronze medals in the freestyle and relays. At Texas, her honors were extraordinary and endless. Swimming for us from 1979-83, she anchored teams that claimed the Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW) National Championships in 1981 and 1982, earning 27 All-American honors and winning 16 individual national championships. Jill was a two-time recipient of the Honda Award as National Female Swimmer of the Year (1979-80 and 1980-81) and earned the 1980-81 Honda-Broderick Cup as the National Female Athlete of the Year. She will be formally inducted on June 24 at the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Museum. The honor is, needless to say, well-deserved, and I want to send a huge Hook 'Em and congratulations from your Longhorn Family!

It's the homestretch of 2021-22 and you can feel the rumbling as our Longhorns continue to stampede through an incredible year. We're not done yet, the Softball WCWS Championship series starts on Wednesday, we've got a CWS berth on the line this week for Baseball, and Track & Field at NCAAs, too. We know you share our joy in getting charged up and ready to cheer on our Horns. Let's get those Hook 'Ems, Horns Up, and Burnt Orange and White pride on display and wave those Longhorn flags in celebration. It's truly a special time to be a part of the Longhorn Family, and we're lucky to have each and every one of you along with us for this beautiful ride!

Hook 'Em Horns,

Chris Del Conte

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Chris Del Conte