Razorback Roundup -- Oct. 5

RAZORBACK ROUNDUPOct. 5, 2009MEN’S BASKETBALL: The Razorbacks are holding open tryouts for the 2009-10 season on Tuesday, Oct. 10, at Bud Walton Arena. For further information contact Matt Siverling at 479-575-3830 or msiverli@uark.edu.MEN’S CROSS COUNTRY: With a 17th-place finish from freshman Solomon Haile, No. 17 Arkansas finished fourth in the team standings at the 8,000-meter Wisconsin adidas Invitational. The Razorbacks scored 174 points and Arkansas was the highest finisher among SEC teams. For the second meet in his young career, Haile was Arkansas’ top finisher. In Madison, Haile clocked a time of 24:25.2. He finished 17th overall, second among SEC runners and fifth among all freshmen runners. He was also the top SEC freshman finisher. The Razorbacks will compete next when they host the Chile Pepper Festival on Oct. 17.WOMEN’S CROSS COUNTRY: Led by senior Miranda Walker’s top-20 finish, the Razorbacks finished seventh in the team standings at the 5,000-meter at the Wisconsin adidas Invitational on Saturday. The Razorbacks scored 174 points and Arkansas was the highest finisher among SEC teams. For the third time this season, Walker was Arkansas’ top finisher. With a time of 17:39.5, she finished 21st overall and second among SEC runners. For the second time this season, freshman Alyssa Allison was the second Razorback to cross the finish line. With her 5,000-meter time of 17:52.0, she finished 35th overall, fourth overall among SEC runners and eighth overall among freshmen runners. She was also the top SEC freshman finisher. The Razorbacks will compete next when they host the Chile Pepper Festival on Oct. 17.FOOTBALL (2-2, 0-2): Arkansas returns to Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium and SEC play this week as UA hosts Auburn on Saturday. The game will kickoff at 11 a.m. CT and will be broadcast nationally on ESPN. In its last outing, Arkansas defeated Texas A&M, 47-19, in the first Southwest Classic. The 47 points scored by Arkansas were the most ever scored by the Razorbacks in a game against Texas A&M. MEN’S GOLF: The Razorbacks compete at the Fighting Irish Gridiron Classic in South Bend, Ind., Monday and Tuesday. The Razorbacks are playing their third fall tournament of the year and look to improve upon two second-place finishes. The Hogs won the tournament by four strokes a year ago.WOMEN’S GOLF: Junior Kelli Shean won her first collegiate golf tournament, leading the Razorbacks to a second-place team finish at the Marilyn Smith/Sunflower Invitational in Manahattan, Kan., last week. Shean, a Cape Town, South Africa native, led wire-to-wire, firing a final round career-low 67 for the win. She finished seven-under on the par 72, 6,287-yard course at Colbert Hills, counting a 209 (74-68-67). The Razorbacks, playing a player down, finished second as a team. The Razorbacks return to their home course for a couple weeks of practice and a qualifying round before traveling to the Mercedes Benz Collegiate Classic in Knoxville, Tenn., Oct. 16-18. GYMNASTICS: Assistant coach Dave Kuzara resigned last week to accept the head coaching position at Western Michigan.SOCCER (6-3-3, 0-3-1): The Razorbacks lost at Auburn on Friday, 2-1, and tied at Alabama on Sunday, 0-0, in double-overtime. Arkansas’ three ties this year have all come on the road, and two have been 0-0. The SEC tie is the first for Arkansas since 2007 when Arkansas battled No. 6 Tennessee to a 1-1 standoff in Fayetteville. The scoreless tie in SEC play is the first since a 0-0 deadlock with Auburn in 2006. The SEC tie on the road is the first since 2004 when Arkansas and Georgia ended 0-0 in Athens. Junior keeper Britni Williams had 15 saves in the two games and has 210 for her career, becoming just the sixth Razorback with 200 career saves. Her shutout at Alabama on Sunday extended her school record to 19. Head coach Erin Aubry played a season-high 21 players at Alabama with junior forward Ally Atkins and freshman forward Allie Chandler both playing 91 minutes. Arkansas is on the road for two more SEC games this week, playing at Vanderbilt at 7 p.m. on Friday and at Kentucky Sunday at noon.SWIMMING AND DIVING: Sophomore Alison Templin and senior Yi-Ting Siow each won two events for the Red team, but it was not enough to overcome the strength of the White squad’s overall performance that led them to a 123-117 victory over the Red in the Arkansas swimming and diving teams’ annual Red and White intrasquad meet Saturday morning. The Razorbacks open the regular season with a double-dual meet at the University of Kentucky against the Wildcats and the University of the Cumberlands on Oct. 17. MEN’S TENNIS: Senior Dmitry Lebedev steamrolled his opponents in the pre-qualifying round of the All-American tournament. Lebedev defeated Kayvon Karimi of Texas A&M, 6-1, 6-4, and had a comeback win over Eliot Potvin of Georgia Tech, 4-6, 7-5 (10-6). Mike Ward made his debut wearing a Razorback jersey but fell in a tough match to Javier Pulgar, 7-5, 6-1, in the first round. Lebedev will join Matt Hogan and Chris Nott in the qualifying rounds on Monday. Doubles action will start Tuesday. WOMEN’S TENNIS: Junior Anouk Tigu and sophomore Kate Lukomskaya both won the finals in their singles draws Sunday at the Razorback Classic. Tigu defeated Tulsa’s Alexandra Kichoutkin 6-1, 6-0, while Lukomskaya also earned a straight-set victory, 6-4, 6-3, over Marta Marcinkowska from Tulsa. Tigu and Lukomksaya combined to go undefeated in singles throughout the tournament. The Razorbacks return to action Oct. 21-25 at the Wilson/ITA Central Region Championships in Norman, Okla.VOLLEYBALL (8-9, 2-4): The Razorbacks split two road matches this past weekend with a 3-0 win over Georgia and a five-set loss at Auburn. In Friday’s match, Arkansas used a balanced attack to upend the Bulldogs in straight sets. Four Razorbacks finished the match with at least six kills, led by freshman Jasmine Norton who turned in a 10-kill, 12-dig performance. Sophomore Kelli Stipanovich had nine kills while Amanda Anderson and Kristin Seaton posted seven and six kills, respectively. The win snapped a three-match skid for Arkansas and pushed the team over its win total from last season. In the weekend finale at Auburn, Norton tallied her second double-double performance in as many matches, and fourth of the season, with 20 kills and 11 digs. In the loss, freshman Janeliss Torres-Lopez tallied a career-high eight kills, Anderson tied a career mark with seven total blocks and senior setter Lindsay Scalan matched her career high with 53 assists. After four consecutive road matches, the Razorbacks return to Fayetteville for three consecutive home contests, beginning with Friday’s meeting with Alabama. First serve is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Barnhill Arena. Arkansas will also take on Mississippi State (Sunday) and Ole Miss (Oct. 14) during the homestand.OLYMPIC SPORTS PRESS CONFERENCE:Tuesday at 1 p.m. in the Barnhill Arena interview room.