Razorback Roundup -- Jan. 20

RAZORBACK ROUNDUPJan. 20, 2009MEN’S BASKETBALL (12-4, 0-3) Arkansas lost at Florida on Saturday, 80-65. Michael Washington made 8-of-11 shots, and finished with 21 points and eight rebounds. Marcus Monk scored 10 and Marcus Britt nine. The Razorbacks dropped their conference road opener at Ole Miss on Wednesday, 74-65. Freshman Courtney Fortson had 24 points while fellow freshman Jason Henry added 19. The Razorbacks play just once this week, returning home following two road games to meet Auburn on Saturday in a 12:05 p.m. game televised by Raycom Sports. Raycom is carried by KHBS in Northwest Arkansas, KATV in Little Rock and KAIT in Jonesboro.WOMEN’S BASKETBALL (11-7, 0-3) Freshman Ceira Ricketts made Arkansas women’s basketball history with a triple-double against sixth-ranked Auburn, and was rewarded this week by her second Southeastern Conference Freshman of the Week honor. Ricketts had 14 points, 13 rebounds and 12 assists for the first-ever known triple, and tied the Arkansas record for assists by a freshman and assists in a regular season SEC game. The Razorbacks host defending national champion Tennessee on Thursday before traveling to Mississippi State on Sunday. Sunday’s game will be televised in the SEC package on Fox Sports Net.FOOTBALL Former Michigan State and Louisville head coach John L. Smith has joined the Razorback football staff as Arkansas’ special teams coordinator. Smith’s tenure at Arkansas will mark the fourth time he has coached on the same staff as Bobby Petrino. Smith has 36 years of coaching experience, including 18 years as a head coach. Seniors Jose Valdez and Jamar Love will represent the Razorbacks at the Texas vs. The Nation All-Star Showcase in El Paso, Texas, on Jan. 31. A trio of Razorbacks will play in post-season all-star games, including senior center Jonathan Luigs in the prestigious Under Armour Senior Bowl in Mobile, Ala., on Jan. 26. MEN’S GOLF The Razorbacks return from the off-season Feb. 23 at the John A. Burns Intercollegiate in Hawaii for their first tournament of the spring.WOMEN’S GOLF Arkansas returns to action at the LSU/Cleveland Golf Classic in Baton Rouge, La., March 13-15.GYMNASTICS (2-1, 0-0) The eighth-ranked gymnastics team (2-1, 0-0 SEC) scored a season-best 195.925 in a road meet at No. 9 Oregon State Friday. Junior Casey Jo Magee won the all-around title, her second of the season, scoring a 39.425. Magee tallied a pair of season-bests and a career-best 9.90 on the floor excise en route to the win. Junior Michelle Stout tied for the vault win with a 9.90 – her second vault title of the year as well. Freshman Jaime Pisani continued to improve with career-bests in four of the five events. She set career marks on the vault, bars, floor and as an all-arounder, finishing fourth overall with a 39.200. Arkansas opens Southeastern Conference action this Friday hosting top-ranked Florida at 7 p.m. in Barnhill Arena. The match is televised by COX Sports and airs Jan. 30.MEN’S INDOOR TRACK AND FIELD Arkansas will host the Razorback Invitational, Fri.-Sat., Jan. 23-24, at the Randal Tyson Track Center.WOMEN’S INDOOR TRACK AND FIELD Arkansas competed at the Missouri Southern Invitational Friday and Saturday. The Cardinal and White picked up four event wins during the two-day event. Senior Peter-Gaye Beckford finished second in the long jump with a mark of 20-0.25. Her jump is an NCAA provisional-qualifying mark and ranks first among SEC competitors and sixth nationally.Freshman Whitney Jones continued competition with a third-place finish in the long jump (19-8.25), a second-place finish in the triple jump (37-10.75) and a win in the 60 meters (7.67p/7.58f). Her long jump and 60-meter time are personal bests. Arkansas will host the Razorback Invitational, Fri.-Sat., Jan. 23-24, at the Randal Tyson Track Center.SWIMMING AND DIVING (8-1, 3-1) The Razorbacks jumped from No. 22 to No. 19 in the College Swimming Coaches Association of America poll last week after defeating then-No. 23 Missouri and Kentucky. This week, the Razorbacks welcome the Kansas Jayhawks to the Arkansas Natatorium on Thursday for a 4 p.m. meet.MEN’S TENNIS The No. 46 Razorbacks begin the spring schedule at the Auburn Spring Classic in Auburn, Ala., this weekend.WOMEN’S TENNIS Senior Aurelija Miseviciute moved into fourth-place in all-time singles wins at Arkansas during the final day of the Virginia Winter Invite on Monday. Second-ranked Miseviciute earned her 103rd career win at Arkansas while leading the No. 14 Razorbacks to an 8-1 record on Monday and a 21-6 overall record in Virginia. After playing individual opponents from Virginia and North Carolina on Saturday and Sunday, the No. 14 Razorbacks took on the 50th-ranked Utah Utes on Monday and posted a 7-0 victory. Miseviciute was awarded first-place in the tournament and sophomore Anouk Tigu, ranked No. 66 in singles, claimed second-place in singles. The Razorbacks play host to Saint Louis on Friday at 5 p.m. OLYMPIC SPORTS PRESS CONFERENCETuesday at 1 p.m. in the Barnhill Arena interview room.