Forty Acres Insider: April 8

Chris Del Conte head shot 2025

Longhorn Nation,

It never gets old, so here we go again, LIGHT THE TOWER ORANGE, Men's Tennis is the SEC Champion! Oh, what a week it was my friends, overflowing with Texas Fight and many a Longhorn triumph. With the eyes of the golf world focused on The Masters this week, the Eyes of Texas were laser focused on our No. 1 Men's Golf squad earning the co-team championship at the Haskins Award Invitational in Augusta on Sunday. No. 2 Baseball swept No. 3 Georgia for another big-time SEC series win, while No. 1 Softball did the same on the road at Missouri. No. 8 Beach Volleyball was perfect, too, taking to the Tallahassee sand and going 5-0 on the weekend, including a 3-2 thriller over the host No. 5 Florida State Seminoles. No. 5 Men's and No. 14 Women's Tennis combined for a perfect 4-0 mark, including the men winning a Red River Rivalry and Cotton Holding Lone Star Showdown in the same week! We didn't end up on the winning end Friday against South Carolina, but it sure was an incredible year for Coach Schaefer and Women's Basketball. There sure is nothing to hang their heads about as our Horns' magical ride took us all the way to the Final Four for the first time since 2003. It's time to get right back to work as Longhorn action is plentiful again this week. No. 1 Rowing and Softball, as well as Women's Tennis compete at home, Baseball and Men's Tennis take their shows on the road, and Volleyball will be in spring action taking on LSU in Houston. More SEC titles are on the line later this week as Coach Ianello and No. 6 Women's Golf head to Tampa for the SEC Championship starting on Monday. It's fast and furious on the Forty these days, spring is in the air, so let's get hose Horns Up, folks!

adding a new one to the trophy case 🏆🤘#HookEm pic.twitter.com/riVs4TL6Ya
— Texas Men's Tennis (@TexasMTN) April 5, 2025

Here's to that SEC Championship for Men's Tennis (if you're counting that's FIVE SEC CROWNS for our Longhorns this year)! Coach Berque and our Horns did it with an exclamation point, securing the title with an emphatic 4-1 victory over Texas A&M to raise the Cotton Holdings Lone Star Showdown trophy right there on our longtime rival's home court in College Station. That came just two days after they did the same thing with a 4-1 Red River Rivalry win at Oklahoma in Norman last Thursday. We're 12-0 in the SEC with two to go in the regular season, and it's off to Athens to take on Georgia on Friday (5 p.m. CT) then Tennessee on Sunday (Noon CT). Meanwhile, the women got a pair of dominant wins last week as well, defeating Alabama on Friday and Mississippi State on Sunday in a pair of 4-0 sweeps. Coach Joffe and our Horns will close out the regular season with a pair of home matches versus top-ranked Georgia on Friday (2 p.m. CT) and top-25 South Carolina on Sunday (Noon CT). Come on out and support the ladies this weekend!

Back to last week in Tampa with Women's Basketball, from the Austin send-off to the photo shoots, festivities, practices and games, it was truly a special time as Coach Schaefer and our sensational Final Four squad was rewarded with tons of much-deserved shine, love and flowers. We were one of four teams still standing on the final week of the women's college basketball season, a position earned by a whole lot of grit, determination and Texas Fight. It certainly was a season to be proud of, this group represented The University of Texas at the highest level and took us a glorious run. There was our first Final Four in more than 20 years (and fourth Elite Eight in the last five years), an SEC regular season championship, the third-most wins (and most since 1981-82) in program history (35), and our 68 wins over the last two seasons are second-most ever in a two-year stretch in program history (70, 1978-80). Longhorn Nation is rockin' for this team, and we can't thank you enough for your tremendous, passionate, and never-ending support. Coach Schaefer has us rollin' and the future is oh so bright. One more round of applause, and let's put our HORNS UP FOR AN AMAZING YEAR!

y'all know @CoachVic_UT loves a selfie 🤳🤘#HookEm pic.twitter.com/gCkkLDOmhK
— Texas Women's Basketball (@TexasWBB) April 2, 2025

Talk about a LONGHORN STAMPEDE, Coach Schloss and Baseball are doing just that in our SEC debut! This time it was No. 3 Georgia, and our Horns charged through the visiting Bulldogs with a Jared Spencer pitching gem Friday (how about those 11 K's?!) in a 5-1 win, a thrilling 7-4 comeback victory Saturday, and the capper, a Rylan Galvan 10th-inning walk-off homer in Sunday's nail-biting finish. You can say goodnight to that one and a fourth-straight series win y'all! We've now got an 11-1 SEC record, including eight-straight conference victories (how 'bout those Longhorns?!) We're 26-4 folks, climbed up to No. 2 in the polls and will be back at UFCU Disch-Falk field tonight for a mid-weeker against Houston Baptist (6:30 p.m. CT/SEC Network+) before traveling to Kentucky for a weekend series in Lexington. Look forward to seeing y'all at The Disch tonight, and if you can't be in the Blue Grass state, tune in and cheer on our Horns!

No. 1 and 37-3 Softball CONTINUED ITS DOMINANCE, TOO. Coach White and our squad traveled to Columbia to take on Missouri and navigated numerous weather schedule changes, but in the end, swept the Tigers for our fourth-straight series win and a 10-2 SEC mark. We'll be back in the friendly confines of Red & Charline McCombs Field against Texas State on Wednesday (6 p.m. CT/SEC Network) before a must-see top-10 showdown with Tennessee this weekend. Friday will be a late-nighter with the Vols (8 p.m. CT/ESPNU), Saturday is set for 5 p.m. CT (ESPN), and Sunday at Noon (SEC Network+). It's a heck of a weekend right here in the ATX, so get your Burnt Orange & White best ready, and I can't wait to see you at the ballpark!

Beach Volleyball traveled to the FSU Unconquered Invitational and took names and games, sets and matches. Coach Metzger and our Horns were en fuego, winning all five contests, taking down host No. 5 Florida State in a 3-2 thriller and added ranked wins over No. 10 LSU (3-2) and No. 15 FAU (4-1). That makes it 10 wins over top-20 opponents (five over top-10 foes) this season, folks! Mark your calendars to bring the heat for this group in a couple weeks when we host the Lone Star Invitational on April 18-19 at Wright-Whitaker Sports Complex.

With so many victories across the board, last week was like a TEXAS-SIZED CELEBRATION. The pride and winning tradition of The University of Texas and the devotion and spirit of you — the best fans in the land — is undeniable. Your Longhorn calendar is bursting at the seams for more of that again this week (including No. 1 Rowing in home action at Lake Walter E. Long Saturday morning), and are we absolutely grateful for your passion, pride and dedication. Let's get those horns up, bring that energy & enthusiasm, and Hook 'Em, Horns!

you can find us cheering on the Horns 🤘#HookEm | @SeatGeek pic.twitter.com/sX720lf9zk
— Texas Longhorns (@TexasLonghorns) April 7, 2025

Before we get to all the notes, let's take one more victory lap with Coach Bowman and our NATIONAL CHAMPION Men's Swimming and Diving program. First off, here's to our national award winners that were announced after the Forty Acres Insider hit your emails and Longhorn platforms last week – your CSCAA Swimmer and Coach of the Year, Hubert Kós and Coach Bowman. And while I've got you on the subject of swimming and diving excellence, take a look back at this wonderful piece that aired on Longhorn Network before the season, ushering in our quest for the national title!

Hubert Kós. CSCAA Swimmer of the Year. 🤘#HookEm pic.twitter.com/pzIp4Jd1rs
— Texas Men's Swimming & Diving (@TexasMSD) March 31, 2025

Your CSCAA Coach of the Year is @coach_bowman 🤘#HookEm pic.twitter.com/T29cOm5oN4
— Texas Men's Swimming & Diving (@TexasMSD) March 31, 2025

Madison Booker wins Cheryl Miller Small Forward of the Year Award … Again!

Our own Madison Booker has done it again, winning the Cheryl Miller Small Forward of the Year Award in back-to-back seasons. Our sensational sophomore earned First-Team All-American and SEC Player of the Year honors while leading our team to a 35-4 record, an SEC regular-season championship and a trip to the NCAA Final Four. Beyond all the stats, records and individual honors, Maddie is a great teammate and an incredible inspiration to so many by the way she carries herself off the court. Later this week, Maddie and Coach Vic travel to Los Angeles to attend the John R. Wooden Award ceremony, as she is one of five finalists for the prestigious honor that recognizes the National Player of the Year. The ceremony will take place on Friday (7 p.m. CT/ESPN+) at the Los Angeles Athletic Club.

BACK-TO-BACK 🤘#HookEm | @MaddiewitdaB_ | @hoophallu pic.twitter.com/dXAmvLn1GC
— Texas Women's Basketball (@TexasWBB) April 5, 2025

Baseball breaks out the brooms against No. 3 Bulldogs!

The Horns keep rolling! Coach Schloss and his men did the dang thing again, sweeping No. 3 Georgia in style to build on Texas' best start in 21 years! The Horns are a remarkable 26-4 and 11-1 in SEC play, moving up to No. 2 in the national rankings. We certainly are SEC ready! Catcher Rylan Galvan was the hero on Sunday, delivering a walk-off home run in extra innings to lift the Longhorns to a 4-3 win and give Texas its first sweep against a top-3 opponent since 2019. Left-handed pitcher Jared Spencer set the tone for the weekend from his very first pitch on Friday night. He struck out a career-high 11 batters in the longest outing during his time as a collegian, tossing 7 2/3 innings to lead the Horns to a 5-1 win. The very next day, the Horns showed plenty of Texas Fight! The boys rallied from a four-run deficit to score seven unanswered runs to clinch the series. It was a total team effort, as the Longhorns mounted a five-run seventh for their 11th comeback win of the year. In addition to their incredible resilience, Max Weiner's pitching staff quieted one of college baseball's best offenses. Entering the three-game set, Georgia averaged 10.5 runs per game and led the country in home runs. Against our arms, the Bulldogs scored just eight runs during the ENTIRE three-game series. It was an unbelievable effort from Spencer, Luke Harrison, Max Grubbs and Dylan Volantis on the mound! Special shoutout to Dylan on winning yet another SEC Freshman of the Week honor. The Longhorns will look to keep it going, as they host Houston Christian later tonight (6:30 p.m. CT/SEC Network+), before a three-game weekend series at Kentucky on Friday (5:30 p.m. CT/SEC Network+), Saturday (11 a.m. CT/SEC Network) and Sunday (11 a.m. CT/SEC Network).

barked up the wrong tree 🐶#HookEm pic.twitter.com/y9L4FM7Tdv
— Texas Baseball (@TexasBaseball) April 8, 2025

Kavan leads No. 1 Softball to sweep at Missouri

How SWEEP it is to be our TOP-RANKED Softball program right now?! Entering the weekend atop the SEC standings, Coach White and the Longhorns remained there following a three-game sweep in Columbia. The weekend's action started with sophomore ace Teagan Kavan celebrating in the circle and ended with Kavan celebrating in the circle. Teagan was unhittable – literally – once the series got rolling on Saturday as the right-hander tossed her first career no-hitter in the Horns' 8-0 win in five innings. A trio of pitchers – Mac Morgan, Citlaly Gutierrez and Kavan – spent time in the circle to clinch the series win in the first game of Sunday's twin-bill as Texas earned a 4-3 victory. Kavan was up to her usual self during the second game as she struck out 13 batters in UT's 3-1 win in eight innings to complete the sweep. Riding a five-game winning streak, the Longhorns will be back at Red & Charline McCombs Field this week to start a seven-game homestand. It all starts on Wednesday against Texas State (6 p.m. CT/SEC Network), before No. 7/6 Tennessee comes to the Forty Acres for a three-game weekend series that features contests on Friday (8 p.m. CT/ESPNU), Saturday (5 p.m. CT/ESPN) and Sunday (12 p.m. CT/SECN+). It's a great time to come out to McCombs Field and cheer on this squad!

first career no-hitter for @teagan_kavan 🤘#HookEm pic.twitter.com/UFZsuby8Lo
— Texas Softball (@TexasSoftball) April 6, 2025

Men's Golf claims another team championship!

Our top-ranked Men's Golf team is on a serious heater! Coach Fields and the squad shared the team championship with No. 5 Oklahoma State at the Augusta Haskins Award Invitational over the weekend in Augusta, Georgia, as both teams recorded 54-hole scores of 20-under 844. This marked the FOURTH team title of the season for Texas, with all four wins coming since the start of the spring campaign. Check out this crazy nugget - in our first six tournaments this spring, the Longhorns have posted four team victories, a runner-up finish and a third-place showing. THAT'S EN FUEGO! The trio of junior Christiaan Maas, junior Tommy Morrison and freshman Daniel Bennett paced the team in Augusta, as each tied for ninth in the individual standings at 4-under 212. The guys will be back on the course next Monday and Tuesday (April 14-15) at The Ford Collegiate in Richmond Hill, Ga.

CO-CHAMPIONS OF THE AUGUSTA HASKINS AWARD INVITATIONAL 🏆🤘#HookEm | #TakeDeadAim | @AHAInvite pic.twitter.com/Z4NYNLn5h1
— Texas Men's Golf (@TexasMGolf) April 6, 2025

Track and Field dominates Tom Tellez Invite in torrential downpour

Coach Flo and our No. 5/2 Outdoor Track and Field teams continued their outdoor season in some wild weather over in Houston over the weekend. The squad won 10 events over a shortened two-day meet and was led by some fast times in windy conditions on Friday. Mackenzie Collins and Kody Blackwood swept the 400-meter dash before Saturday's rain made the track a little more tricky. Seven Longhorns took home wins on the final day of competition. Nina Ndubuisi continues to heave the shot put over 18 meters and recorded the sixth-farthest throw in school history, while Aaliyah Foster also got things soaring after jumping the eighth-best mark in UT history. The team is off for the first time in three weeks but stay tuned when they split up in two weeks and head to both coasts for a distance carnival in California and some fast times in Florida!

women's long jump 🤘

Aaliyah Foster goes off and moves to No. 8 on the UT all-time performer list with a winning jump of 6.43m (21-1.50) ‼️#FloKnows x #HookEm pic.twitter.com/hnHasGjWlx
— Texas T&F/XC (@TexasTFXC) April 6, 2025

Perfect week and some hardware for Tennis

What a week we had for the Texas netters (I know the old school crew will appreciate that reference)! Coach Berque and the men started it out on Thursday, and heading into their matches there were various scenarios for ways they could put their stamp on this inaugural SEC season with a championship, but to do that it meant going on the road for our biggest rivalries. Undaunted, they traveled north of the Red River and by the time they left with their 4-1 victory over the No. 22 Sooners, they had already clinched a share of the regular season title. In doing so they had wrapped up a share of their FIFTH conference title in the last SIX years (not counting the Covid year)! Whoa! And I want to send a special Hook 'Em on that one to Evan Burnett who not only stepped into the singles lineup at the last minute, and not only won his match, but he clinched the whole darned thing! Well done, Evan! On Saturday, it was then a trip out east to College Station for the Cotton Holdings Lone Star Showdown for opportunity to make that an outright title against the No. 13 Aggies, and did they ever get it done, making it a pair of 4-1 wins! So it was two trophies in one day and the FOURTH outright title in that six-year span as they improved to 12-0 in the conference! Outstanding work, gentlemen! Now it's back to the road for yet two more matches with no easy tasks at No. 31 Georgia on Friday (5 p.m. CT) and No. 17 Tennessee on Sunday (12 p.m. CT)!

For Coach Joffe and the women, they had one home match and one road match in a split weekend, but they didn't split their scores as they also produced a pair of W's and took it one step further with some 4-0 sweeps! First on Friday at home, they took to the Weller Indoor courts and used some brooms for No. 33 Alabama and then they kept right on sweeping all the way to Starkville for another one at Mississippi State! Although they've had some key injuries this year, they've never let up on their Texas Fight, and that put them back over .500 in the conference with two to go in the regular season! Those two will both be at the friendly confines of the Texas Tennis Center and are they ever some doozies! We need y'all to bring your Burnt Orange energy on Friday (2 p.m. CT) with the No. 1 Georgia Bulldogs coming to town, and then again on Sunday (12 p.m. CT) for a top-25 contest against No. 21 South Carolina. Most importantly, that will be Senior Day for a pair of fantastic players in Sabina Zeynalova and Vivian Ovrootsky! We'll see you there!

HOOK 'EM 🤘@TexasMTN has captured the program's first SEC Men's Tennis Regular Season Championship!#SECTennis x #ItJustMeansMore pic.twitter.com/fxiYuxpfV8
— Southeastern Conference (@SEC) April 6, 2025

Beach Volleyball conquered the FSU Unconquered Invitational with five wins

Talk about a Texas Takeover! Coach Metzger and crew went 5-0 on the road including three wins against ranked opponents in good ole Tallahassee. Texas began the weekend with a conference win against South Carolina before posting a 3-2 upset of No. 5 Florida State on the Seminoles' home court! The Longhorns wrapped day one with a 4-1 win against South Florida and then returned on Saturday to earn a 3-2 victory over No. 10 LSU and a 4-1 win against No. 15 Florida Atlantic. The team was led by the No. 3 pair of Maddison Parmelly and Karin Zolnercikova and the No. 4 pair of Macey Butler and Noa Sonneville, as both groups went 5-0 over the weekend. How about that TEXAS FIGHT?!

wait for it… that moment when you realize you won the whole dual 🥹🤘#HookEm pic.twitter.com/vg53nvj9gt
— Texas Beach Volleyball (@TexasBeachVB) April 5, 2025

Hook 'Em Horns,

Chris Del Conte

P.S. — Make it FIVE SEC Championships!

Today's outright regular season title-clinching win by @TexasMTN at Texas A&M makes it 5️⃣ SEC Championships for our Longhorns this year, joining @TexasWBB, @TexasMSD,@TexasWSD and @TexasSoccer🤘🏻🤘🏻🤘🏻🤘🏻🤘🏻🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆 pic.twitter.com/utB9MYDdvn
— John Bianco (@UT_Bianco) April 5, 2025

P.S. — SWEEPING!

completed the sweep in style 🤘#HookEm pic.twitter.com/X8XJOubxYA
— Texas Baseball (@TexasBaseball) April 7, 2025

P.S. — Thank You for your incredible support!

thank you, Longhorn Nation 🤘#HookEm pic.twitter.com/00OW3VHCub
— Texas Women's Basketball (@TexasWBB) April 5, 2025

P.S. — Back-to-Back Cheryl Miller Awards

BACK-TO-BACK 🤘#HookEm | @MaddiewitdaB_ | @hoophallu pic.twitter.com/dXAmvLn1GC
— Texas Women's Basketball (@TexasWBB) April 5, 2025

P.S. — What Starts Here!

Congratulations to Logan Eggleston on being named a finalist for the inaugural LOVB Woman of the Year Award 💜

Keep shining and being a role model on and off the court, we LOVB you 🥹 @loganeggleston_ pic.twitter.com/19kh5Sx3nj
— LOVB Austin Volleyball (@lovbatx) April 4, 2025

P.S. — Lighting the Tower never gets old!

your 2025 National Champions🤘#HookEm pic.twitter.com/gzdarD6jII
— Texas Men's Swimming & Diving (@TexasMSD) April 1, 2025

P.S. — Congrats to Jillian Cox, so well-deserved!

Freshman Jillian Cox is one of four finalists for the 2025 Honda Sport Award for swim and dive 🤘#HookEm pic.twitter.com/vYcjVdk7pb
— Texas Women's Swimming & Diving (@TexasWSD) April 1, 2025

P.S. — SQUAD!

our people 🫶🤘#HookEm pic.twitter.com/qofgfjdWkl
— Texas Women's Basketball (@TexasWBB) April 4, 2025

P.S. — What a weekend it was!

Our Longhorns Weekend of Wins🤘🏻@TexasMTN Lone Star Showdown victory AND SEC Champs🏆@TexasMGolf Haskins Award Invitational co-Champs🏆@TexasBaseball swept No. 3 Georgia@TexasSoftball sweep at Missouri@TexasBeachVB 5-0 in Tallahassee (3 top-15 wins)@TexasWTN 2 SEC wins pic.twitter.com/FUZORQjKxF
— John Bianco (@UT_Bianco) April 7, 2025

P.S. — Love our Longhorns representing us on the national stage!

Alejandra Estudillo Torres claims silver in the 10-meter synchro at the Diving World Cup! 🤘🥈

📸 (Photos by Hector Vivas/Getty Images) pic.twitter.com/xxh5fVGsTK
— Texas Women's Swimming & Diving (@TexasWSD) April 6, 2025

P.S. — Congrats Coach!