TheSideline

Women’s basketball at No. 20 in preseason poll
After earning preseason mention from several basketball publications, the TCU women's basketball team was placed at No. 20 on the ESPN/USA Today Coaches’ Poll announced Tuesday. It is the first-ever officially-recognized preseason ranking in Lady Frog history.

With 100 votes, the Lady Frogs are rated 26th in the preseason Associated Press poll which was announced on Monday. TCU fell just six votes shy of 25th-ranked UC-Santa Barbara (106).

The Lady Frogs open the exhibition season 2 p.m. Sunday at Daniel-Meyer Coliseum.

Men’s basketball opens season with exhibition
The TCU Horned Frogs open the 2002-03 basketball season today with an exhibition game against the Slovakia-Select team that is touring the United States.

This is the first of five games in the United States for the Slovakia-Select team. They next play at Fort Hood on Thursday, then travel to Dallas to play SMU on Saturday. They will also play McNeese State and Louisiana-Lafayette.

The contest is the first of two exhibition games for the Horned Frogs. Admission is free and the tipoff is 7:05 p.m.

Irons named C-USA Swimmer of the Week
After claiming six victories and two second-place finishes in eight races over the weekend, TCU women's swimmer Erin Irons has been named the Conference USA Swimmer of the Week, the league office announced Tuesday.

On the strength of Irons' performances, TCU compiled a 5-0 record in dual meets versus Louisville and defending C-USA champion Cincinnati last Friday and Saturday in Louisville, Ky.

The honor is the second of Irons' career. She also claimed C-USA Swimmer of the Week honors on Jan. 29, 2002.

Men’s golf takes first at California tournament
The TCU men's golf team claimed its second tournament title of the fall season on Tuesday with a 15-stroke victory at the Prestige at PGA West in La Quinta, Calif. The Frogs had three players finish among the top six individuals, matching a feat set earlier this season during the Frogs’ victory at the Sooner Invitational.

TCU led the tournament from wire-to-wire and finished with a three-round total of 853 (-11). The Horned Frogs were the only team to play all three rounds under par.

Senior Adam Rubinson led the Horned Frogs with a three-day score of 208 (-8), good for second place. It was the fourth runner-up finish of his career, and second this season.

Sophomores David Schultz and J. J. Killeen shared sixth place after recording two-under-par scores of 214. Junior Stephen Polanski tied for 25th place, and freshman Colby Beckstrom tied or 42nd with a three-round 225.

Rifle finishes second in both events at Army meet
TCU's rifle squad couldn’t overcome three Army shooters placing 1-3 individually in both shooting events, as the Horned Frogs finished second to the Black Knights Saturday in West Point, N.Y. The Frogs scored 4,510 in the smallbore and 1,511 in the air rifle for a total of 6,021, 130 points behind Army and 324 points ahead of the University of Sciences-Philadelphia.

TCU was led in the smallbore by freshman Sherri Gallagher, who posted a career-high 1,153 to place fourth in the discipline. Freshman Celeste Green followed with a 1,146, good for sixth place, while seniors Stacy Hughes and Jessica Green rounded out the Frogs’ efforts by placing 12th and 13th respectively.

The Black Knights also took first through third in the air rifle to claim the meet title. Hughes and Celeste Green were right behind, tying for fourth with a 382. Gallagher added a top-10 finish, placing ninth with 374. Jessica Green came in 11th with a 373.