Forty Acres Insider: May 6

Chris Del Conte head shot 2025

Longhorn Nation,

IT'S TIME FOR SOME MAY FLOWERS as we celebrate another week of Texas Fight my friends. There were serves, volleys and rallies galore at the Texas Tennis Center as BOTH our Men's and Women's Tennis programs swept a pair of matches and advanced to the Sweet 16, No. 3/5 Softball garnered a series sweep capped off by a sensational Saturday Senior Day salute and Beach Volleyball put a bow on a historic season. Now as we head into an always special Mother's Day weekend with an opportunity to honor the amazing women in our lives, we've got a full slate ahead with Women's Golf underway competing at NCAA Regionals (with the Men's Golf regional right around the corner), Softball headed to the SEC Tournament, Baseball back home at UFCU Disch-Falk Field, Men's (at Texas Tennis Center) and Women's Tennis (on the road) looking to continue to thrive and advance, and Rowing competing for an SEC Championship. But first off, we've got to THANK MOM! Here in Texas Athletics, we want to take a moment and send a huge, heartfelt thank you to all the moms who entrust us with their precious children. We don't take that responsibility lightly and recognize the importance of our role as educators, role models, mentors and leaders, and are beyond grateful for the opportunity to work with such bright and talented student-athletes every day. Horns Up Mom, we'll look to put over one more win for you!

And speaking of making Mom, your family and all of us oh so proud, this weekend signifies a major victory with GRADUATION WEEK UPON US! There's so much discussion about all that is going on around college athletics these days, let us not forget the educational mission of our outstanding student-athletes. That is a huge piece of their collegiate experience which culminates when they hold their heads high, beaming from eye-to-eye while walking across that stage on graduation day. The opportunity to get an education and earn a degree from our great university is life-changing for them and something our coaches, staff and outstanding student-athletes do not take lightly. We know what starts here changes the world y'all and whether they go into a career with a tremendous toolkit of knowledge, compete in their sport as professionals or for some have a prosperous pro career and return to complete that degree or an advanced degree, getting that diploma will forever be a crowning achievement for our student-athletes and their families. It's a goal that was set from the day they arrived, an achievement that came with hard work, dedication and determination (just like they do in their sports) and will pave the way to seize the day in the many years to come. We couldn't be prouder of the 82 brilliant and talented student-athletes that we will celebrate among the UT Class of 2025! The world is your oyster my friends, now go make your pearl!!

But before we get too far into the week that is, we must look back and take a victory lap for another fantastic week that was for our Longhorns. Let's get it started with A HISTORIC SEASON FOR COACH METZGER AND BEACH VOLLEYBALL that culminated a magnificent year with a fifth-place finish at the NCAA Tournament in Alabama last weekend. In their first full season of competition, our Horns won a Conference Tournament Championship (CCSA), earned their inaugural NCAA tourney bid, won a thrilling first-round match over No. 10 Cal and advanced to the Elite Eight. What a thrilling moment that first-ever NCAA Tournament win was!. We've been working towards this season for a couple years and what a full-fledged stampede of a debut it was, as we made it clear our Longhorns are here and a force to be reckoned with. Y'all showed up and showed out at our home tournaments to create an absolutely festive atmosphere on the sand — thank you so much for that — and our Horns delivered home & away with a 28-10 overall record, including a sparkling 10-2 mark at home. We couldn't be more grateful for this year, fired up for next season and know the future is oh so bright you'll need to keep those shades on!

is this what making history feels like?? 🥹🤘#HookEm pic.twitter.com/Zx9BYsl8Kl
— Texas Beach Volleyball (@TexasBeachVB) May 2, 2025

Meanwhile right here on The Forty, Men's and Women's Tennis cruised through their first two rounds of the NCAA Tourney to ADVANCE TO THE SWEET 16 (AGAIN!). It speaks volumes to the pride and winning tradition of our tennis programs under the leadership of Coach Berque and Coach Joffe that we're one of only eight programs nationally with both teams still alive in the NCAA Tournament. How about that for a pretty solid flex?! It marks the 11th-straight year for the men's squad to reach the Round of 16 and the fifth year in-a-row for the women, to boot. Coach Beque and our No. 3-seeded men will remain right here on the Forty as their quest for a title continues, facing Tennessee on Saturday (Noon CT) at the TTC. Y'all brought it last week and we need y'all to bring the heat again — can't wait to see you there. After a pair of sweeps last weekend at home, our 14th-seeded women travel to Ann Arbor this week to take on No. 3-seed Michigan on Saturday (Noon CT).

Across Comal Street at Red & Charline McCombs Field, it was an incredible three days for Coach White and No. 3/5 Softball last week as they rebounded in emphatic fashion with a three-game sweep of Kentucky. The bats got charged up, pitching and fielding was on point and how about Ms. Versatility Mia Scott playing all nine positions to highlight an extraordinary Senior Day celebrating Mia and a total of six seniors — they're all so special to our program! There was much rejoicing with y'all packin' the house, bringin' your patented pride, passion & spirit, while our Horns pounded out 28 runs and run-ruled the Wildcats twice to improve to 45-9 (16-8 in SEC) on the season. NOW IT'S POSTSEASON TIME and on to the SEC Tournament in Athens, Ga. It's an all gas no brakes, survive and advance, one and done format that we'll kickoff with a double bye for us as the No. 3 seed, and our ladies will get things going on Thursday (4 p.m. CT/SEC Network) in the quarterfinals. Let's Go Horns, you got this!

no such thing as too much fun at the ballpark 🤘#HookEm pic.twitter.com/kiK8Nc2SCG
— Texas Softball (@TexasSoftball) May 3, 2025

Coach Schloss and No. 1 Baseball battled through a tough rivalry weekend at No. 11 Arkansas last week. They fought hard but our Horns just couldn't get things going on the road, so what better time to return to the friendly confines of home with Florida coming to UFCU Disch-Falk Field for another critical SEC series this weekend. We're still sitting atop the SEC standings at 19-5 (38-8 overall) with a lot of baseball in front of us, and I know this is a group that will roll up their sleeves, get back to work and bring their Texas Fight to The Disch this weekend. Rest assured we know y'all will too and there's no doubt Longhorn Nation will be ready to bring the juice to help our Horns bounce back. Looking forward to seeing y'all at the yard!

Our Golf programs are giving you a lot to brag about too as we're the only school to have both its women's AND men's golf teams earn No. 1 seeds in the NCAA Regional Championships. The women got things started and are in great shape at their regional in Lubbock, looking to punch its ticket to the NCAA Championship in today's final round. The men take to the course for its NCAA Regional in Reno this coming Monday-Wednesday (May 12-14). Here's to both teams advancing to the NCAA Championships and taking dead aim on the Natty in San Diego later this month. While we're on the subject of golf, I've got to give a big-time Hook 'Em and emphatic congratulations to our guy Scottie Scheffler who went wire-to-wire for his 14th career PGA Tour victory at the CJ Cup Byron Nelson last weekend. Way to go my friend and cheers to Texas Golf!

wire-to-wire. simply dominant 🤘

Congrats to our guy Scottie on his 14th career @PGATOUR victory !!#TakeDeadAim | @cjbyronnelson pic.twitter.com/25XafZaaVt
— Texas Men's Golf (@TexasMGolf) May 4, 2025

We've reached the postseason for Coach O'Neill and our defending National Champion Rowing squad as they'll compete for an SEC Title for the first time in Oak Ridge, Tennessee on Sunday. They'll be looking for a 10th-straight conference crown as they won nine in-a-row to finish out our time in the Big 12. So here we go folks. It's another week of wall-to-wall action on and off the fields of competition. Get that Burnt Orange and White best ready, shower your moms with their flowers, let's put those Horns Up, and Hook 'Em. It's a phenomenal time to be a Longhorn!

🤘🆙#HookEm | @SeatGeek pic.twitter.com/KRVWbRc60s
— Texas Longhorns (@TexasLonghorns) May 5, 2025

Scott creates history on Senior Day as No. 3/5 Softball sweeps Kentucky

Longhorn Nation, what a series it was for our Softball program at Red & Charline McCombs Field last week! And how about Mia Scott playing all nine positions AND batting from both sides of the plate in just five innings to put a bow on Saturday's Senior Day. She's something else I tell ya, one of the best to ever come through the program! The good times started on Thursday night, when the Longhorns ran away with Game 1 against Kentucky, 9-1, thanks in large part to a six-run third inning. Game 2 was a bit of a nailbiter, but ole reliable Reese Atwood game through in the clutch, again, with a two-run homer in the sixth to put us up for good and take the series with a 7-6 victory. That set the stage for what turned out to be one of the most memorable days at the ballpark in program history. With the series already in our back pocket, it was time to honor the seniors before their final regular season home game. After taking a 10-run lead through the first two innings, Coach White and his staff shifted Mia all around the field as she became the first player in program history to play all nine positions in a single game during the Longhorns' 12-3 win. What an awesome moment that wouldn't have happened without Kentucky coach Rachel Lawson going along, so thank you, Coach Lawson, for helping create a lifelong memory for everyone in attendance or watching. With the regular season in the rearview mirror, it's all sights set on this week's SEC Tournament, where our Longhorns will be the third seed in the 15-team tournament in Athens, Ga. After earning a double bye, we'll begin play on Thursday (4 p.m. CT/SEC Network) in the quarterfinals. Let's bring ANOTHER SEC Championship back to the Forty Acres!

she does it all 👏🤘#HookEm | @miakscottt pic.twitter.com/S9NRufMWKy
— Texas Softball (@TexasSoftball) May 3, 2025

How Sweet it is for Texas Tennis

Folks, our Horns were back at home at the TTC this past weekend for the start of the NCAA tourney, and both programs played themselves right into their second home of the Sweet 16! Mother Nature was our friend, and we dodged the rain on Friday for the women and then we were good to go the rest of the way for both teams in the beautiful sunshine of our fantastic home of Austin, Texas. Like I said, Coach Joffe and the women got us started on Friday and handled their business with a sweep of Grand Canyon in the opening round and doubled that up with more broomsticks against Boise State on Saturday to turn that "p" of sweep into a "t" of sweet for the fifth-straight year! And it was more of the same earlier on Saturday as Coach Berque and the men also put up a bagel against Montana in their first round and gave up just one point to a top-40 team from Cornell on Sunday to get to that Round of 16 for the count 'em up – 11th-straight time! Whoa! So, all-in-all, 16-1 is pretty impressive for a weekend's work, I'd say! Oh, and on the subject of bagels, I want to give a couple of special shoutouts individually for our players who put together not just one, not just two, not just three, but FOUR individual shutout matches! That's how you get it done! So, a big Hook 'Em to Eszter Meri in singles, and Charlotte Kempenaers-Pocz and Salma Drugdova in doubles for the women against Grand Canyon, and then Sebastian Eriksson against Montana for the men, and Pierre-Yves Bailly against Cornell! You don't see that much, especially the double zeros in singles, but it's always a fun thing to witness, kind of like a no-hitter! I'd also be remiss not to mention again that even though they had their senior day in the regular season, Saturday was indeed the final home match on the 40 Acres for a pair tremendous student-athletes in Sabina Zeynalova and Vivian Ovrootsky. Both have been just awesome representatives of our program and our university, and it's always a bitter-sweet moment to see them wrap up their time here, but we thank them for ALL they've done! And speaking of thanks, we can't thank y'all enough for the tremendous support all season at the TTC and out at Weller for both programs. You brought it like only you can do, and even though our ladies now head out on the road to Michigan for their next match, we know you'll be watching and cheering them on with those Horns high! And for the men, we've got one more to go at the friendly confines of the TTC as the No. 14 Tennessee Volunteers come to town on Saturday (Noon CT) for a Super Regional! It'll be the third time we've squared off against them this year with each team winning one already, so we need you all there for the rubber match to earn the right to go to Waco for Elite 8! So, bring out that patented Texas pride and passion, and let's pack the house with all the beautiful BURNT orange we can muster! And I know I usually put the PS's later on, but just wanted to point out that our original start time for that match was set at 1 p.m. like it says in the tweet below, but we shifted it to high noon to take away some of the overlap with baseball that day! So all of you coming out for baseball, make sure you pop by the TTC net door and get our guys across the line in doubles before you head to the ballpark! It's a free event and you just might get hooked on tennis!

And there it is!! The Horns are on to the @NCAATennis Sweet 16 for the 1️⃣1️⃣th-straight year with a 4️⃣-1️⃣ victory over #37 Cornell!

They'll next host the winner of #14 Tennessee and #17 Duke on Saturday, May 10 at 1 pm CT at the TTC! See you there!#HookEm 🤘🎾 pic.twitter.com/C6l0JhLTvY
— Texas Men's Tennis (@TexasMTN) May 4, 2025

And there it is!! The Horns are into the round of 16 of the @NCAATennis tournament for the 5️⃣th-straight year with a 4️⃣-0️⃣ sweep of Boise State!

They'll next travel to face #3 Michigan in Ann Arbor next weekend!#HookEm 🤘🎾 pic.twitter.com/CuG3tyHKek
— Texas Women's Tennis (@TexasWTN) May 3, 2025

Beach Volleyball puts a bow on an outstanding first official season!

I know I mentioned it earlier in the intro, but I've got to salute Coach Metzger and Beach Volleyball on an incredible first official season here on the Forty Acres that saw our Longhorns advance all the way to the NCAA quarterfinals. Simply outstanding! What a historic run it was for our Horns, posting a 28-10 overall record while winning the CCSA Tournament Championship and earning a berth in the NCAA Championship tourney. Just getting to Gulf Shores was not enough for our group, as the Longhorns opened play last Friday with a dramatic 3-2 victory over Cal. The match epitomized the Texas Fight in this team, as it faced a 2-1 deficit before rallying for three-set wins on the final two courts to pull off the win. And it doesn't get any better than seeing the team celebrate after Katie Hashman's ace serve on match point on court two. Following the win in our opening match, our Longhorns fell to the eventual national champions, TCU, in the quarterfinals. But we are all so proud of this great group of women who decided to choose Texas and make history. We can't wait to see what the future holds for this exciting program!

what a season. surpassed every expectation and did it tough and together. we'll be back, Longhorn Nation 🫶🤘#HookEm pic.twitter.com/K311cJronM
— Texas Beach Volleyball (@TexasBeachVB) May 3, 2025

Hook 'Em Horns,

Chris Del Conte

P.S. — Become a part of something great and join Texas One Fund today!

https://x.com/TexasOneFund/status/1918435363674341490

P.S. — This is perfect for graduation week! What Starts Here!

Thank you for tagging me to see this! Professor Brandl was a blessing and is part of the reason I was able to graduate in 3.5 years. Forever thankful for him and how he met extra with me. https://t.co/LEmLvHB8EI
— Barryn Sorrell (@BarrynSorrell_) May 5, 2025

P.S. — Love this Scheffler Family photo!

love this Scheffler family photo 🤘🏆

📸 courtesy Stacy Revere @GettySport #TakeDeadAim | @cjbyronnelson pic.twitter.com/j07EI8nppB
— Texas Men's Golf (@TexasMGolf) May 4, 2025

P.S. — With team success comes individual recognition, what an awesome trio!

the only school with 3️⃣ in the top 2️⃣5️⃣🤘#HookEm pic.twitter.com/VtZ4cvJZp5
— Texas Softball (@TexasSoftball) May 4, 2025

P.S. — Thank you Longhorn Family for your incredible support, can't do it without you!

That's a wrap on this year's Donor Appreciation Month! 🎉🤘

We 🫶 our Longhorn Foundation members, and we enjoyed celebrating y'all through snack shacks, giveaways, and tailgates all month long!

Click the link for highlights from the month!

🔗 https://t.co/a8l2dHD2n2 #HookEm
— Longhorn Foundation (@UTLF) April 30, 2025

P.S. — We see ya Barryn, SO AWESOME!

Special NFF Flashback!

A big congrats to @TexasFootball's @BarrynSorrell_ selected in 4th round (124 overall) by @packers in 2025 #NFLDraft.

Sorrell was also a NFF @SugarBowlNola Chapter Scholar-Athlete in 2021!#HookEm #GoPackGo pic.twitter.com/1v10AzFYO5
— National Football Foundation (@NFFNetwork) April 28, 2025