Razorback Roundup -- Aug. 31

RAZORBACK ROUNDUPAug. 31, 2009FOOTBALL: The season begins for the Razorbacks as Arkansas takes on Missouri State in Little Rock on Saturday. The game will be televised on PPV and on ESPN GamePlan. Arkansas head coach Bobby Petrino speaks Monday at the Little Rock Touchdown Club. RazorRock, billed as Central Arkansas’ week-long Razorback football rally, will include a series of events that will lead into the opener. The week culminates in a first-ever Friday night pep rally on the historic Junction Bridge, connecting the downtowns of Little Rock and North Little Rock. MEN’S BASKETBALL: Head coach John Pelphrey was honored last week at the 35th annual Toast and Roast by Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Arkansas.MEN’S AND WOMEN’S CROSS COUNTRY: Razorback men’s and women’s cross country will host the Arkansas Invitational Friday, Sept. 5, at Agri Park. The women will race a 4K at 6 p.m. while the men will race four miles starting at 6:30 p.m. Joining Arkansas will be Missouri Southern. Both teams begin their season with this event.MEN’S GOLF: Senior David Lingmerth reached the round of eight at the 109th U.S. Amateur Championship in Tulsa, Okla., last week. Lingmerth fell 2 & 1 to Greenwood, S.C.’s, Ben Martin after leading the match early at Southern Hills Country Club. Lingmerth won the first two holes, going 2-up early in the match. He would fall to 1-up but hung on to the lead through seven holes. Lingmerth returns to campus leading the Razorbacks after the team’s extraordinary NCAA runner-up finish this past spring. The Razorbacks open the 2009-10 season Sept. 13-14 at the Baylor Intercollegiate.WOMEN’S GOLF: The Razorbacks open the 2009 season traveling to the Branch Law Firm/Dick McGuire Invitational in Albuquerque, N.M., Sept. 19-20.SOCCER (3-0): After being named the SEC Defensive Player of the Week, Arkansas defender Kailey Anders became the first player in program history to be named to the Soccer America Women’s Team of the Week. In weekend action, Arkansas hosted the 2009 Razorback Adidas Classic and posted wins over Air Force and Missouri State. Against the Falcons, the Razorbacks trailed at halftime but scored four second-half goals to rally for a 4-2 victory. In the win, Sophie Wentz had the first two-goal performance of her career. Lauren Hallauer and Kim Schleif each added goals against Air Force. In the weekend finale, freshman Allie Chandler scored the first goal of her collegiate career at the 7:46 mark to give the Razorbacks their first score against Missouri State. Ally Atkins completed her four-point weekend with a goal in the 82nd minute to secure the victory. Britni Williams totaled four saves against the Bears, including a point-blank deflection that would have tied the match in the 62nd minute. Arkansas improves to 3-0 for the first time in program history. The previous best start came during the 1992 season when that team began 3-0-1. The Razorbacks travel to Tulsa, Okla., this weekend for a pair of matches against regional rivals Tulsa and Oral Roberts.SOFTBALL: Mike Larabee was hired as the new Razorback head softball coach on June 25. He spent the previous five seasons as the head coach of the Wright State program in Dayton, Ohio. During his tenure, the Raiders were the Horizon League Tournament champions in 2007 and 2008, and advanced to back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances. In his final two seasons at Wright State, Larabee’s teams finished among the nation’s top 15 in batting average. Larabee added Sue Carpenter to his coaching staff on July 18. She was an assistant coach at Wright State during the past three seasons. A two-time member of the USA Women’s National Team Coaching Pool, Larabee spent July 31-Aug. 9 with the Pan American Qualifier Team in Maracay, Venezuela, where the team captured gold and earned a spot in the 2011 Pan American Games to be held in Guadalajara, Mexico. VOLLEYBALL (1-2): The Razorbacks opened the year 1-2 at the TCU Invitational last weekend. Arkansas suffered a five-set lost to the host Horned Frogs and fell to Loyola Marymount. The Razorbacks defeated Grambling State in the final match. Freshman Amanda Anderson was selected to the all-tournament team. Arkansas hosts Texas-Arlington Tuesday at 7 p.m. and travels to the Virginia Tech Invitational this weekend.OLYMPIC SPORTS PRESS CONFERENCE:Tuesday at 1 p.m. in the Barnhill Arena interview room.