Razorback Roundup

May 20, 2013

BASEBALL (35-19, 18-11):                                         

The No. 13 Arkansas baseball team dropped two of three games on the weekend, losing a series at Auburn. The Razorbacks finished the regular season with a 35-19 overall record and an 18-11 mark in Southeastern Conference play, finishing the league schedule with the third-best conference record. Arkansas won seven of its 10 conference series for the first time since the 2004 season. Arkansas, which earned the No. 3 seed, opens play in the 2013 SEC Tournament on Wednesday at 9:30 a.m. against the winner of the first round game between No. 6 seed Ole Miss and No. 11 seed Kentucky. The Rebels and Wildcats will face off in a single-elimination game on Tuesday morning at 9:30 a.m. Wednesday's game will be televised on Comcast Sports Southeast, Cox Sports Television and will also be available on ESPN3.com.

MEN'S GOLF (No. 12):

The No. 12 men's golf team advanced to the NCAA Championship with a second-place finish at the NCAA Fayetteville Regional.  As a team, Arkansas shot two-over par for the 54 hole event which was held at Blessings Golf Club.  The Razorbacks are making their third appearance at the NCAA Championship in the last five years.  Individually, senior Austin Cook finished in a tie for second after his 40-foot putt on 18, which would have tied him for the lead, stopped two inches from the hole.  Freshman Taylor Moore tied for eighth while junior Sebastian Cappelen and freshman Nicolas Echavarria tied for 14^th.  Of the 12 scores that counted for Arkansas over the three days, none were worse than two-over par.  The NCAA Championship begins on Tuesday, May 28, at the Capital City Club in Atlanta, Ga.

WOMEN'S GOLF (No. 5):                                            

The fifth-ranked Razorback women's golf team is in pursuit of an NCAA title at the NCAA Championship in Athens, Ga., this week.  Arkansas competes four days (Tuesday-Friday) on head coach Shauna Estes-Taylor's collegiate home course, the UGA Golf Course.  Making the trip is week is two-time All-American Emily Tubert, Emma Lavy, Victoria Vela, Gabriela Lopez and Regina Plasencia.  Results can be found at www.golfstat.com.

SOFTBALL (36-20):

No. 24 Arkansas softball finished its season last weekend and advanced to its second consecutive regional final. The Razorbacks were beaten by No. 1 Oklahoma twice to knock them out of the tournament. The Hogs did pick up two wins over Fordham on the weekend to push their final record to 36-20. The 2013 Razorbacks finished the season as the program's leader in batting average (.283), slugging percentage (.470), on-base percentage (.390), walks (229) and runs scored (304). Devon Wallace notched two of the three hits for the Razorbacks on the final day and belted a solo-homerun in the fourth inning. She finished her sophomore season with an SEC-record 79 walks. The Double Oak, Texas native set the UA single-season record in walks (79), slugging percentage (.768) and on-base percentage (.627). She finished second in the all-time record books with a .376 batting average and 55 runs scored. Stephanie Canfield capped her freshman year with a walk in the season finale. She finished the year as the program's all-time single-season batting average leader with a .381 mark.

MEN'S TENNIS:

Juniors Mike Nott and Manfred Jeske will travel to Urbana, Ill. this week to take part in the 2013 NCAA doubles Championship. The duo, ranked No. 23 in doubles play received an at large bid into the tournament with a field of 32 teams. The doubles tournament begins Wednesday, May 22, but the draw will not be announced until Tuesday morning. 

WOMEN'S TENNIS:

Arkansas freshman Yang Pang will begin competition this week at the NCAA Individual Singles Competition. Play will begin on May 22 at the Khan Outdoor Tennis Courts in Urbana, Ill. Pang was 11-12 at No. 1 singles for Arkansas, and was named Rookie of the Year in the Central Region, as well as First Team All- SEC and to the All- SEC Freshman Team.

MEN'S TRACK AND FIELD (No. 4):

The No. 4 Razorback men will send 27 total qualifiers-25 individual and two relays-to the 2013 NCAA West Preliminary which will be held May 23-25 at Mike A. Myers Stadium in Austin, Texas. The top 12 in each event from each preliminary event (East Preliminary is taking place concurrently in Greensboro, N.C.). Along with its prelim entries, Arkansas will have Kevin Lazas and Nathanael Franks competing in the decathlon at the NCAA Championships. Chris Bucknam was named the SEC Coach of the Year while Franks was voted the SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year when year-end league honors were announced last week.

WOMEN'S TRACK AND FIELD (No. 6):

The No. 6 Razorback women collected 22 total entries-21 individual and one relay-for the 2013 NCAA West Preliminary. The qualifying event for the national meet will be contested May 23-25 in Austin, Texas. The top 12 in each event from each preliminary event (East Preliminary is taking place concurrently in Greensboro, N.C.). In addition to its prelim qualifiers, Arkansas will have Makeba Alcide competing in the heptathlon at the NCAA Championships. Alcide was named the SEC Field Athlete of the Year last week when year-end league honors were announced.