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Sports Update For Week Of Nov. 12
FOOTBALL
The Sam Houston State football team completes its 2000 regular season schedule Saturday at 2 p.m. when the Bearkats play host to Southwest Texas State in a game that could have NCAA Division I-AA national playoff implications. The Bearkats currently are tied for second place in the Southland Football League. Troy State has already clinched the SFL's automatic NCAA playoff berth but a victory Saturday could put SHSU in a position for selection as an at-large playoff participant.In his second start as Bearkat quarterback, junior Brian Null passed for 264 yards and two touchdowns to lead a Sam Houston State offense that monopolized the clock for 37 minutes of playing time as SHSU knocked off 18th-ranked Northwestern State 27-13 in Natchitoches, LA. The victory was the first for SHSU at Northwestern State since 1992 and marked the Bearkats' fourth consecutive victory in Louisiana.The win upped Sam Houston State's record to 7-3, the most wins for a Bearkat team since 1991. This also was the fifth road victory for Sam Houston this season, a feat only four other teams in SHSU's 86 years of football have equaled. While the Demon defense held the Bearkats' ground game in check, giving up only 73 rushing yards, Null went to the air as Jonathan Cooper had eight catches for 75 yards, Keith Heinrich 5 for 44 yards and a touchdown, Jermaine Henderson 4 for 57, and Matt Dominguez 4 for 43. Tr'Maine Jackson set up the first Bearkat touchdown with a fumble recovery on a Northwestern State kickoff return at the 14 yard line. Dink Watson set up the game clinching score with a fourth quarter interception.
CROSS COUNTRY
Fresh from their second place finish at the Southland Conference Championships (their highest league finish ever), the Sam Houston State women's cross country team competed in the NCAA South Central Regional Championships in Denton Saturday. The region is composed of all NCAA Division I schools in Arkansas, Louisiana, and Texas (32 total schools). The women's team finished in sixth place out of the 32 teams, marking the first time in school history that a team from Sam Houston State has finished in the top ten at NCAA regional championships. Kacey Phillips of SHSU became the first Bearkat women to earn All-NCAA Regional honors by virtue of her 20th place finish. The Sam Houston State men's cross country team placed 14th.
WOMEN'S TENNIS
Mary Hamm Ridings, an All-American on three national championship tennis teams at Trinity University and top 40 Women's Tennis Association (WTA) professional player, has been named interim head women's tennis coach at Sam Houston State University.Ridings served the past three years as a volunteer assistant to former SHSU Head Women's Tennis Coach Vicki Markowsky who resigned in July to teach kinesiology at Texas A&M University. Ranked 36th in the WTA world computer rankings in 1977 and 25th in the United States Tennis Association (USTA) women's rankings in 1978, Ridings played in the U.S. Open, Wimbledon, Italian Open, and German Championships and was a French Open doubles quarterfinalist in 1977. She won both the USPTA National singles and doubles championships in 1984. She served as head tennis professional at SentryWorld Sports Center in Stevens Point, Wisconsin, was women's tennis coach at the University of New Mexico, and was assistant tennis professional at T Bar M Racquet Club in Dallas.
MEN'S BASKETBALL
Tramaine Hancock of Kountze and Chris Jordan of Hitchcock have signed early letters-of-intent to attend Sam Houston State University and play men's basketball for head coach Bob Marlin. Hancock, a 6-1 point guard, has been a starter the past three years at Kountze, leading his team to a 32-7 record and the Texas Class AAA state semifinals last season. He earned Texas Association of Basketball Coaches (TABC) All-State, All-Region, and All-District honors, averaging 13.7 points and 7.8 assists as a junior. He also started on teams that went 30-6 his freshman season and 32-5 during his sophomore year. An outstanding athlete, Hancock also is the starting quarterback and defensive back on the Kountze High School football team. His high school basketball coach at Kountze is Todd Sutherland.Jordan, a 6-4 wing, has been a three-year starter at Hitchcock where last year he averaged 16.4 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 3.2 assists. He named to Texas Basketball Magazine's Texas Class AAA All-State squad. He also was a first team All-District and All-Region selection and runs cross country for Hitchcock. He will play his senior year for first-year head coach Rogers Davis.
Sam Houston State will open its 2000-2001 regular season schedule Friday at 7 p.m. when the Bearkats play host to Texas A&M-Kingsville at Johnson Coliseum. The Bearkats are defending Southland Conference champions.
The Bearkats defeated Team Ezybonds of Australia 82-67 in a preseason exhibition game on Nov. 6.
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Crystal Jackson, a 5-5 point guard from Mt. Pleasant High School, has signed a national letter of intent to attend Sam Houston State University and play women's basketball for head coach Erika Notzke Ritter. Jackson averaged 16.4 points, 5.9 assists, and 5.1 steals per game as a junior last year, earning first team all-district honors for the second year in a row. She is in her fourth season as a starter for Mt. Pleasant. Team captain and named district defensive player of the year as a sophomore, Jackson was a participant in the Top 20 Underclassmen All-Star Game at Stars of the South in Atlanta, Ga.Sam Houston State will open its 2000-2001 women's basketball regular season schedule on Saturday, Nov. 18, with a trip to Baton Rouge, LA, to face nationally-ranked LSU. The Sam Houston State women lost to the Houston Flights in a preseason exhibition Saturday by a score of 90-84.
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Media Contact: Paul Ridings
Nov. 12, 2000
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