Razorback Roundup -- March 1

RAZORBACK ROUNDUPMarch 1, 2010BASEBALL: The No. 16 Razorbacks completed a three-game sweep of Troy this past weekend at Baum Stadium. In game one, Andy Wilkins, James McCann and Brett Eibner hit home runs and a five-run seventh inning led to a 10-1 victory. The long ball was again in play during Saturday’s game as the teams combined for seven. Wilkins and Eibner went deep for the second consecutive game while Zack Cox added his first of the season, and equaled his career high with four RBI, in the 10-8 victory. In the series finale, the Hogs jumped out to a seven-run lead after two innings and held on for the 7-6 win. Andy Wilkins was 2-for-4 with four RBI. In addition to his two home runs, the junior slugger posted seven RBI and six runs scored during the weekend. Cox also had seven RBI during the series. Wilkins and Cox were responsible for 14 of the Razorbacks’ 27 RBI. DJ Baxendale earned his first career saves by closing out games two and three. Arkansas returns to the field Tuesday for a game against Kansas, its first midweek contest of the season. First pitch is set for 3:05 p.m. at Baum Stadium. For the weekend, the Razorbacks travel to Berkeley, Calif., for their first road series of the season, a three-game set against the Cal Bears. Friday’s game is at 3:30 p.m. (CT) with games two and three scheduled for 3 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.MEN’S BASKETBALL (14-15, 7-7): The Razorbacks had a tough week, losing at LSU, 65-54, before returning to Bud Walton Arena to face No. 16 Vanderbilt and falling 89-72. Marshawn Powell and Mike Washington both looked good in the Vanderbilt game as Powell scored an SEC career-best 27 points and grabbed nine rebounds. Washington, who returned to the court after missing the LSU game with a sprained ankle, scored 11 points and added 13 rebounds. Sophomore shooting guard Rotnei Clarke hit four three-point baskets in each contest to give him 95 on the year. The 95 three-pointers place him in a tie for third on Arkansas’ single-season three-point list and he is seven shy of Scotty Thurman’s single-season record of 102, which he hit in 1995. The Razorbacks wrap up the regular season at No. 19 Tennessee on Wednesday before returning home to face Ole Miss in a game that will determine seeding for the upcoming SEC Tournament.WOMEN’S BASKETBALL (12-15, 4-10): Arkansas heads to the Southeastern Conference Tournament Wednesday, taking on No. 20 Vanderbilt in the first round. The game is scheduled for a 5:30 p.m. central tip and will be televised on FSN (Fox Sports Southwest in Arkansas). The winner of the Razorback/Commodore game faces LSU in the second round. FOOTBALL (8-5): Arkansas is being represented at the NFL combine by Malcolm Sheppard and Mitch Petrus. The SEC has 62 players participating, which is more than any other conference in the nation.MEN’S GOLF: The Razorbacks head to the Border Olympics in Laredo, Texas, this weekend at the Laredo Country Club. Last season Arkansas finished second at the event behind Baylor, which began a string of five straight runner-up team finishes. Arkansas entered the Nike/Golf World Coaches Poll earlier in the week at No. 25 after its strong showing at the Battle at the Beach. The Razorbacks are 3-1-1 against teams in the Nike/Golf World Top 25 and the ranking is Arkansas’ second as it is also ranked No. 30 in the Golfstat list.WOMEN’S GOLF: Arkansas is competing in the second spring event of 2010, taking part in the Kinderlou Challenge in Valdosta, Ga., Monday (today) and Tuesday. Billed as an SEC-ACC challenge, Arkansas faces a top 25 field, including 10 league teams in the two-day event. Log on to golfstat.com to watch the livestat results.GYMNASTICS (5-3-1, 2-3-1): No. 8 Arkansas won a tri-meet over the weekend with victories over host Washington and Seattle Pacific. The Razorbacks scored 196.075 points, their highest point total on the road this season. Senior Sarah Nagashima, competing in her hometown of Seattle, won the first all-around title of her career with a total of 39.175. Jaime Pisani won vault, Casey Jo Magee won beam, and Magee and Pisani tied for the floor title. Magee’s 9.925 on beam ties for the fourth-best mark in school history. The Razorbacks are on the road again this week for Saturday’s 6 p.m. meet at Minnesota.SOFTBALL (8-6): Arkansas went 3-2 at the NFCA Lead-Off Classic in Columbus, Ga., over the weekend. The 24-team tournament featured some of the top teams in the USA Today/NFCA collegiate softball poll. The Razorbacks got off to a strong start Friday with a 2-0 victory over Nebraska and defeated Central Florida, 6-0, extending their winning streak to five games. Pitching dominated the day as both starters, Layne McGuirt and Hope McLemore, tossed shutouts. On Saturday, Arkansas beat Iowa, 3-2, after falling 11-2 to No. 11/8 Georgia Tech. Against Iowa, Arkansas freshman Chelsea Cohen (1-0) got the win in her first start. Arkansas fell in the final game of the week, 7-4, to Illinois. Seniors Sandra Smith and Miranda Dixon each went 1-for-4 with two RBI. Smith finished the weekend 7-for-16 (.438) with a double and team-high six RBI. Shortstop Brittany Griffiths also batted over .300 for the weekend (4-13) with five runs scored, a home run and one RBI. Arkansas returns to action Friday through Sunday when it hosts the first of two non-conference tournaments at Bogle Park. The Razorback Invitational features teams from Eastern Illinois, Louisiana-Lafayette, Iowa State, Drake and Southern Mississippi.SWIMMING AND DIVING (6-2, 2-1): Arkansas was idle this week except for freshman Chelsea Franklin, who traveled to the NCAA Last Chance Invite in Knoxville, Tenn. The newcomer was looking to improve her time in the 1,650-yard freestyle in hopes of qualifying for the NCAA Championship, March 17-20, in West Lafayette, Ind. The team returns to action Thursday through Saturday at the Austin Grand Prix in Austin, Texas. The NCAA championship season begins with NCAA Zone Diving March 12-14.MEN’S TENNIS (8-4): No. 53 Arkansas went 2-0 last week with clean sweeps over UMKC and Johnson County CC at home. The Hogs showcased their depth and extended their winning streak to four. Junior Nicholas Spinazze entered the lineup for the first time and claimed victory over JCCC’s Chris Copenhaver, 6-1, 6-2. Against UMKC, sophomore Matt Walters moved to the No. 2 position and defeated Serge Ristivojevic, 3-6, 6-1, 1-0(6). The Hogs have won 10 of 12 doubles points this season. Arkansas gets conference play underway this weekend against No. 6 Florida and No. 42 South Carolina in Fayetteville. WOMEN’S TENNIS (10-2): No. 20 Arkansas won all three matches over the weekend. On Friday, the Hogs got strong performances from the bottom part of their lineup. Utilizing their depth, the Hogs got huge singles wins across the board en-route to 6-1 victories over both Memphis and Oral Roberts. In Sunday’s match against No. 35 Oklahoma, Arkansas was able to win the doubles point, which led to strong singles performances, giving Oklahoma its first loss of the season and the Razorbacks their fourth straight win. The Hogs now move to their first conference matches of the season against No. 9 Florida and No. 38 South Carolina this weekend on the road. MEN’S INDOOR TRACK AND FIELD: Propelled by five event titles, including two from senior Dorian Ulrey, and two runner-up finishes, No. 6 Arkansas won the team title at the SEC Indoor Championships on Sunday. Arkansas won its 29th conference indoor team title, its 17th SEC indoor team title, its 94th conference team title overall (cross country, indoor and outdoor) and its 49th SEC team title overall (cross country, indoor and outdoor). The Razorbacks picked up event wins from Ulrey in the mile and the 3,000 meters, Scott MacPherson in the 5,000 meters, and Alain Bailey in the long jump and the distance medley relay. The Razorbacks also had runner-up finishes from Solomon Haile in the 3,000 meters and Tarik Batchelor in the long jump.WOMEN’S INDOOR TRACK AND FIELD: No. 6 Arkansas earned a runner-up finish in the team race at the SEC Indoor Championships on Sunday. The runner-up finish is Arkansas’ best since earning the same spot at the 2005 championships. During the three-day competition, Arkansas picked up three event titles from Shelise Williams in the 400 meters, Tina Sutej in the pole vault and from Edina Brooks, Williams, Whitney Jones and Regina George in the 4×400-meter relay. The Razorbacks also earned a runner-up finish in the distance medley relay (Samantha Learch, Karen Thomas, Stephanie Brown and Kristen Gillespie).VOLLEYBALL:Head coach Robert Pulliza traveled to Lima, Peru, as an assistant coach for the Puerto Rico Junior National Team. The club participated in the Summer Cup tournament to take on the national teams from the Dominican Republic, Chile and Peru.