Sports Update for May 27

Michael Hunt Named Women's Tennis Coach

Hunt took over a young and inexperienced Panther program at EIU in July of 1999 and directed both the men's and women's teams to winning records and Ohio Valley Conference post season tournament appearances in 2001. This spring, the Eastern Illinois men produced a 12-8 record and placed fifth in the OVC while the EIU women were 12-11 and placed sixth in the conference.

From 1997 to 1999, Hunt served as assistant men's tennis coach at Illinois State University, helping produce a team that won 34 matches overall and earned back-to-back top 10 regional rankings. Hunt coached two All-Missouri Valley Conference players at Illinois State.

Prior to Illinois State, Hunt was the head boys coach at Champaign (IL) Central High School. His squad was ranked among the state's top 25 teams and five of his players qualified for the state meet. For two years, he was a player/assistant coach at Parkland College. He was the Region 24 number two singles and doubles champion and competed in the 1995 National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) National Tournament. In 1996 he was the regional number one doubles champion and was the NJCAA nationals number one singles consolation runner-up.

Originally from Lake Jackson, Texas, Hunt is a 1990 Texas A&M graduate with a degree in political science. He received his master's degree in athletic administration from Illinois State in 1999.

"Michael Hunt will be an outstanding addition to our Bearkat athletic staff," said Williams. "He has demonstrated the ability to build a solid, winning program at the NCAA Division I level. During the interview process, we were most impressed with his organizational and communication skills, his knowledge of recruiting both foreign and Texas players, and his tennis teaching abilities. It is a pleasure to welcome Michael to our Sam Houston State family.

"I also want to say thank you to Mary Ridings who served this past season as interim women's tennis coach. She did an excellent job of coaching the team while giving our administrative team to time to conduct an extensive national search that resulted in more than 40 outstanding candidates for the position."

Hunt will officially begin his new job on June 15.

Madison Qualifies For Long Jump Finals

Madison qualified for the NCAA Division I national women's long jump finals with her SHSU record mark of 20 feet, 10 inches on April 14 at the Texas A&M Relays in College Station. Madison's jump ranked 15th among the 16 finalists named to the event. Madison will participate in the long jump finals on Wednesday afternoon, May 30, at the NCAA meet in Eugene, Oregon.

Two other Bearkats just missed qualifying for nationals. Chris Sitka, junior from Yoakum, ranked 20th nationally in the javelin with his throw of 224 feet, nine inches. The NCAA accepted only the top 19 marks into the finals. Carol Dyer, senior from Spring, ranked 25th nationally in the women's 400 hurdles with her time of 58.94 seconds. The NCAA invited only the top 21 marks to the finals.

The only other female Sam Houston State track and field athlete to earn an NCAA Division I finals berth was Gay Neil Gulihur who placed 13th in the NCAA women's shot put in 1990. Four Bearkat men have gone to the NCAA finals. Shane Stewart was 12th in the pole vault in 1997 and 18th in 1999; Chris Gonzalez was 16th in the shot put in 1998; Calvin Robinson placed 14th in the long jump in 1998; and Chris Stewart placed 16th in the 200 meters last year.

Bearkats Named 'Most Valuable'

Sport by sport the winners were:

Baseball - C. J. Wright - junior from Bismarck, Mo. Led the team in hitting this season with a 368 batting average ... starter at third base all season ... leads the squad in runs batted in and ranks second in doubles

Men's Basketball - Senecca Wall - senior from Fort Worth Eastern Hills First Bearkat ever to be named both as an All-Southland Conference first team selection and a first team All-Tournament honoree ... led the 2001 Bearkats in scoring, rebounds, and steals ... closed his Johnson Coliseum career with an incredible 45 points in the Kats' 103 to 98 overtime victory over Texas-Arlington in the first round of the conference tournament, the most points by a Bearkat since James Lister set the school record of 47 in 1971

Women's Basketball - Stacy Allen - sophomore from Webster Set an incredible standard for durability, playing 11 complete 40 minute games in Southland Conference play, sitting on the bench only 49 minutes out of a possible 800 during league action ... led the Kats in scoring average, with 16.8 points per game, hitting in double figures 22 times ... third team All-Southland Conference section, ranking fifth in the league in steals and second in three point shooting.

Football - Keith Davis - junior from Italy Leading tackler with 99 stops including 14 tackles for losses ... had two interceptions, a fumble recovery, and blocked two punts ... first team All-Southland Football League selection ...SFL "Defensive Player of the Year"

Men's Golf - Ryan Polzin - junior from San Antonio Led the Southland Conference in stroke average this year with a 72.9 mark ... won the individual medalist championship at the Southern Mississippi Tournament ...placed 11th at the Southland Conference championships and earned first team All-Southland honors

Women's Golf - Wendy Gray - junior from Haskell Led her team in stroke average this season with a 78.5 mark ... posted five top 20 individual finishes in her first seven tournaments including a third place at Southern Mississippi

Softball- Jennifer Robertson - senior from Garland Starting catcher for the Bearkats the past four years ... stands as Sam Houston State's second all-time leading home run hitter with 16 career homers ... hit six home runs, five doubles, and 14 runs batted in this year

Women's Tennis - Ivette Andrade - junior from San Luis Potisi, Mexico Number one player for the Bearkat tennis team, winning more than half of the Bearkats' Southland Conference matches ... semifinalist in the SFA Classic number one

Men's Cross Country - Raul Villarreal - freshman from Houston Led the Bearkats to a fifth place Southland Conference finish this fall, placing 13th individually at the SLC Championships with a time of 26 minutes, 59 and a half

Women's Cross Country - Kacey Phillips - senior from Cameron With a third place individual finish that earned her All-Conference honors, she led the Bearkat women to their highest Southland finish ever as SLC runners-up ... placed 20th in the NCAA South Central Regional race to become the first Sam Houston woman ever to earn NCAA All-Regional honors in cross country

Volleyball - Liz Dahlstrom - sophomore from Friendswood Started every match and one of only three players on the team to play in each of the Bearkats' 106 games ... led the team in total kills with 294 and digs with 272. She posted double digit kill totals in 14 matches including a high of 20 in a victory at Northwestern State

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Media Contact: Paul Ridings
May 27, 2001
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