By Matt Welnack sports editor The men's basketball team beat the Hawaii Rainbows Thursday night 106-96 at Daniel-Meyer Coliseum. Senior forward Marquise Gainous paced the Frogs with 27 points and seven rebounds and junior guard Estell Laster added another 21 points and four steals. "Estell really got himself on a start," head coach Billy Tubbs said. "It was good to have a game like that." TCU improved its record to 5-4 in Western Athletic Conference play and 14-11 overall. The Rainbows drop to 4-5 in the WAC and 15-7 overall. Tubbs said the game was a display of offense, as both teams shot over 55 percent. Hawaii coach Riley Wallace said he was disappointed with the effort given by his team. "(Our defense) was terrible," he said. "If we score 96 points, we should win every night. It is just a matter of pride." One player Wallace said he was impressed with was junior forward Lane O'Connor. O'Connor had a career night, scoring 27 points on 11 of 15 shooting. He made 4 of 6 shots from behind the three point line. For most of the first half, the two teams battled back and forth. But, the Frogs used timely shooting and a pressing defense to take an 18-point lead at halftime. Wallace said his team had trouble beating the TCU pressing defense. "We turned the ball over too much on the press," he said. "Anytime we got over center court, however, we got some good looks (at the basket)." Laster said the Frogs' ability to force Hawaii into 22 turnovers is a credit to the TCU coaching staff. TCU scored 19 points of Rainbow turnovers. "The coaches pointed out to us in practice that their guards like to throw the ball up the court, not dribble it," he said. "We forced them to put the ball on the floor." The Frogs, however, had their own troubles holding onto the ball. TCU committed a season-high 24 turnovers which led to 15 points for Hawaii. "It was an ugly, strange game," Tubbs said. "We've looked bad in some games, but we have never chunked in the towel. I think our guys deserve credit." The Rainbows made a run of their own at the beginning of the second half, going on a 14-4 run to cut the TCU lead to eight points. TCU, however, didn't let Hawaii back within seven for the rest of the game. TCU is coming off of a 33-point loss to Tulsa on Saturday. Tubbs said his team fought back well and he thinks the Frogs still have a shot at making National Invitational Tournament. "We've had a lot of practice coming back this season," Tubbs said. "I'm still excited about this season. I still like our team. Sometimes you don't always like your team at this point in the season. I still think we have a chance to play better this season." Laster said the Frogs need to win the rest of the games this season to put themselves in a position for postseason play. "If we win there is no telling what good luck will fall on us," Laster said. The Frogs play San Jose State Saturday at 7:05 p.m. at Daniel-Meyer Coliseum.
Matt Welnack
By Danny Horne staff reporter In a high-scoring basketball game like Thursday's 106-96 men's victory over Hawaii, defense would be an afterthought. The Horned Frogs played well defensively at times despite giving up 96 points to the Rainbows, head coach Billy Tubbs said. "It was not a really great exhibition of defense overall," Tubbs said. "But our full-court pressure was very good. [The pressure] got us control of the game in the first half." For the season, TCU came in forcing an average of 17.5 turnovers a game. The Horned Frogs forced a season-high 22 turnovers Thursday night with constant use of full-court pressure and a half-court trap. Hawaii head coach Riley Wallace said his team was definitely affected by the TCU pressure from the start of the game. "We did nothing to break the press all night," Wallace said. "We were turning the ball over, so I did not expect that [TCU] would ever let up defensively."
"We did not get into our half-court offense often enough to have a chance," Wallace said. "We tried to force the ball through the pressure too much and it cost us in turnovers." Junior guard Estell Laster said the one focus for the Frogs' defensively was to specifically pressure the point guards. "We wanted to force their point guards to put the ball on the floor," Laster said. "They do not like to dribble the ball up the floor. Their guards are more comfortable throwing the ball up the court." Junior guard Nerijus Puida accounted for seven of the 22 Hawaii turnovers. The Rainbows entered the game as one of the better defensive teams in the Western Athletic Conference by giving up an average of 69 points a game. "Our defense was not nearly as effective tonight," Wallace said. "They were running around us too easily because we did not play well in the one-on-one situations." Junior forward Lane O'Connor said the Rainbows did not play defense at all, and that TCU's shooting was evidence of that all night. He said the Frogs were given too many open looks. Wallace said O'Connor was the only bright spot on the Hawaii defense. O'Connor also led the Rainbows offensively with a career-high 27 points. "Our shooting was not the problem," O'Connor said. "We were able to score, but we never stopped turning the ball over and we never kept them from scoring." Tubbs said the game was definitely one of the strangest games of the season but thought it was a good win for the team. "It was a strange game to say the least," Tubbs said. "We turned the ball over too, but our pressure in the first half was the difference." Danny Horne
By Chris Gibson staff reporter The TCU men's and women's track and field teams are set to take on some of the nation's elite this weekend at the Tyson Invitational track meet in Fayetteville, Ark. This meet will mark the unveiling the new indoor facility, the same track that will host the NCAA Indoor championships next month. As part of the USA Track and Field Golden Spikes Tour, the Tyson meet will also host an elite complement of post-collegiate athletes. The meet has many strong teams including the Razorbacks' No. 1 ranked men and No. 5 ranked women, the No. 2 men of Stanford, plus the two teams ranked second in the Trackwire 25 national poll for women, Texas and South Carolina. The Trackwire 25 poll is based upon a projection on how teams should fare at the NCAA Indoor Championships in March. They will be joined by teams from Clemson, Georgetown, UCLA, Houston, Oklahoma, Tulsa, SMU and Oklahoma State. The TCU men's team was on the move again, rising another spot in this week's Trackwire 25, is now tied for No. 11 with Alabama. "The rankings are nice," head coach Monte Stratton said. "They indicate respect for our team from others around the country but we still need to go out there and perform."
"When I saw the time I was definitely surprised," Patton said. "I knew I was running pretty fast, but not that fast. I set my goals on running and jumping well this year, and I've been practicing really hard to try and do that. I'm hoping to do even better this weekend." Stratton hopes that a strong showing this weekend will not only show off that depth but also qualify more people for the NCAA national event. The TCU women's team has a challenge of their own this weekend. Many of the top women's programs from around the nation will converge in Fayetteville, but that doesn't have TCU players too worried. "We know there are going to be some good teams there like Texas and South Carolina," junior Heather Hanchak said. "We really just need to focus on ourselves. We need to run the way we can run and think about getting some good qualifying times to put us in nationals." Hanchak also said that this meet will be a good opportunity for them to do just that. "We are all looking forward to this meet," she said. "It's the track that nationals will be held on, it's a really fast track with banked curves. It should be a great meet for us, I'm really excited about our chances." At the Houston Indoor Classic, senior sprinter Dywana Crudup's school record in the 60-meter dash (7.48) highlighted the day for the Frogs. Sophomore distance runner Katie Singleton also ran well, threatening the TCU record in the 3,000 meters. Singleton's 9:59:35 performance fell just shy of the school record of 9:58:00 set by Glady's Keitany last year. "We are really looking to improve on both the men's and women's sides this weekend," Stratton said. "Just having Arkansas there is enough, but then you add those other teams. It should be a great meet." Stratton also said that his team is really looking forward to the competition that the Fayettville meets will provide. "This is a great chance for us to see how we match up on a national level," he said. "We are still trying to qualify additional people for nationals and this would be a good place to do that. The NCAA's usually take between 18 and 24 in each event so it's a very elite group when you think about it. I think TCU belongs in that group."
Chris Gibson
By Chris Gibson staff reporter It's still hours before the sun rises, and for most college students, the annoying buzz they hear is from a long night out on the town. But not for Jamie MacCurdy. The annoying buzz is coming from her alarm clock, signaling the start of another day in the life of a swimmer. Early morning workouts are nothing new for MacCurdy. The sophomore from Plano has been doing it virtually all her life. She said from the time she began swimming, she knew that was all she ever wanted to do. MacCurdy, who is currently ranked 13th in the nation by the College Swimming Coaches Association in the 400-meter individual medley, comes from a family of swimmers who taught her the sport. "Swimming has always been a part of my life," MacCurdy said. "My mom and dad wanted to start me off at a young age. When I was younger, I was also involved in gymnastics, but it got to where I was too busy and had to choose one or the other. I chose to keep swimming, and I think I definitely made the right choice."
"Some people say that swimming is in my genes," MacCurdy said. "That may be true, but it hasn't come to me as easy as it did my parents and my uncle. I was always the smallest one in the pool growing up, and even though I've grown an inch since I've been in college, I'm still smaller than other swimmers. I guess it has helped me in a way because it made me work harder to try and stay up with everyone else." Both teammates and coaches said working hard is something that is MacCurdy's strong point. "She is one of the most dedicated swimmers that I have ever coached, and it shows in and out of the water," head coach Richard Sybesma said. "That is one of the reasons that we chose Jamie as our most valuable swimmer after her freshman year. You hardly ever see an underclassman step up and be the leader of the team, but nothing surprises me with Jamie anymore." Teammate junior Diane Drake said she feels the same way. "Without Jamie, we would really have our work cut out for us," she said. "She's really amazing." While at Plano Senior High she was the co-captain of her 1998 state high school championship team. She finished fourth in the 200-yard freestyle and eighth in the 500-yard freestyle, while helping her relay team to a second place finish in the 200-yard freestyle relay. "When Jamie came in, we knew she was going to be really good for us," Sybesma said. "She has been able to compete in a lot of areas, but now we would really like to concentrate on her individual medley and backstroke events. Those are two areas where we think she is exceptionally strong and can go on to the next level." That next level for MacCurdy and for most swimmers with her ability is the Olympics. "My ultimate goal has always been to make the Olympics as a swimmer," MacCurdy said. "I've wanted that my whole life. I think it's every swimmers dream to make it to the Olympics. It's like making it to the Superbowl." Despite missing a few weeks due to illness, she said she is looking forward to getting back in the water and preparing for the Western Athletic Conference championship meet later this month. "It has been really hard watching everybody swim," MacCurdy said. "I've wanted to get in the water so bad. But now that I've rested a little and am starting to feel better, I can start preparing for conference. I just hope (the illness) doesn't affect my times too much."
Chris Gibson
By Rusty Simmons staff reporter Freshman shortstop Ramon Moses' sacrifice fly in the bottom of the eighth inning put TCU ahead for good in its 13-9 win over Texas-Arlington Thursday at the TCU Diamond. "The bases were loaded, and I got a pitch to hit," Moses said. "I like that pressure." The Frogs were in a position of pressure because they lost their second lead of the game in the top of the eighth inning when junior pitcher Chad Durham gave up two runs. The Mavericks combined three consecutive hits to score a pair of runs and tie the game 9-9. But TCU's offense, which scored four runs in the seventh inning, put four more runs on the board in the eighth to regain the lead.
It was also a big win for Brown personally as the victory marked the 400th in his career at TCU. The Frogs tallied 15 hits, but Brown said the team's ability to do the little things made the win possible. "In batting practice, we worked on bunting and hitting the ball on the ground," he said. "We took extra bases a couple of times and did the things that kept us from winning Tuesday." Some other things have changed for the TCU baseball team since Tuesday's extra-innings loss to UTA. Red-shirt freshman outfielder Greg Bratton and freshman first baseman Walter Olmstead made their way into the lineup because they have been hitting the ball well in practice, Brown said. Also, senior second baseman Levi Groomer replaced sophomore infielder Erick Macha, who was hit in the face with a ground ball during the pre-game warm-ups. The trio combined for five hits, four RBI, and Groomer hit a home run. The team's leading hitter, junior outfielder Tom Bates, added two hits to his season total and drove in a pair of runs. Brown said it was nice to see the Frog bats making solid contact again. "I think hitting becomes contagious," he said. "When a guy gets hot, other guys on the team believe they can hit as well, and when the players see others struggling, they struggle also." TCU used four pitchers to hold the Mavericks to nine runs. Junior pitcher Chris Bradshaw threw the first five innings and left the game with the lead, giving up two earned runs during his stint on the mound. Junior pitcher Stan Newton, who pitched Tuesday, relieved Bradshaw and gave up three runs without recording an out. Brown said it is difficult dealing with pitchers early in the season. "It is kind of weird when they can only throw a certain number of pitches," he said. "You never really know whose arm is going to bounce back after throwing earlier in the week." Brown said it is something the Frogs will have to work out before this weekend when the team plays three games in two days. TCU meets Iowa State at noon today at UTA, plays the Mavericks for the third time in four days at 3:30 p.m. tomorrow at UTA and has a rematch against Iowa State at 2:30 p.m. Saturday at the TCU Diamond. Rusty Simmons |
Wallace said he thought the Rainbows shot the ball well
when they were able to get good looks at the basket. 
TCU has done just that in previous meets this year by qualifying
many of its athletes for nationals. Leading the way for the Frogs are juniors
Kim Collins, Lindel Frater and Darvis Patton. Patton, who has preliminary
qualifying marks in the 200-meter and the long jump, owns the nation's
fastest time for this year's college indoor season in the 200-meter dash
at 21.06 seconds. Patton's jump of 25 feet 5 1/4 inches was also a personal
best.
Swimming is something that has seemed to come easy to the
MacCurdy family. Both parents were collegiate swimmers at Texas Tech University,
where they met and eventually got married. Her uncle, Jerry Heidenreich,
was key performer for the United States in the 1972 Olympics. He was able
to bring home two gold medals, one silver and one bronze. Her father is
now the coach at the Academy of Texas Aquatic Champions Swim Club Inc.
of Plano, a club that her uncle founded.
"It is a good win for us because we got behind and
fought back," head coach Lance Brown said.| The TCU Daily Skiff © 1998, 1999 Credits |