By Paul Freelend skiff staff In a Western Athletic Conference matchup the Volley Frogs beat Rice 15-11, 15-10, 13-15 and 15-10 Saturday night for their second WAC victory. TCU outplayed the Owls in virtually every category, tallying 79 kills to the Owls' 71, out hitting Rice .262 to .150 and out blocking them 12 to six. Rice was able to hold its own on the floor, however, out digging the Volley Frogs 96 digs to 82 and serving up 11 service aces to TCU's five. Volley Frogs head coach Sandy Troudt said the team came into the match riding an emotional high. "We were just pumped after the Tulsa match," Troudt said. "We hadn't won in a long time. In fact, this was our first win in October. We were down 9-3 and 10-4 in the third game against Tulsa so it was huge for us to stall them out and come back to close out the match."
"Rice has had a rough year so far," Troudt said. "Their number one setter is out with an injury and two of their outside hitters are just coming off of different injuries so they are not quite at full strength. It is tough to play hard against a team that you know isn't at full strength but we knew we had to anyway. Rice digs a lot of balls so they aren't an easy team to beat." The Owls lived up to their reputation, digging 96 of TCU's 214 attacks. "Ninety-six digs is an incredible number," Troudt said. "We were trying hard to just put the ball in play and let the other side make the mistakes. We just couldn't put the ball to floor sometimes. Also, Rice likes to play a slow tempo and in parts of the match we found ourselves playing their speed instead of our normal fast tempo." TCU was led by junior outside hitter Bethany Toce's 16 kills while sophomore outside hitter Marci King and freshman middle blocker Katie Kieffer each had 15 kills. The Volley Frogs' defensive efforts were led by junior outside hitter Amy Atamanczuk's 20 digs and Kieffer's seven blocks. Sophomore setter Lindsay Hayes led the team with 60 set assistsAfter an unproductive start, Kieffer, Atamanczuk and Toce have increased their levels of production as the Volley Frogs' season comes to a close. "Katie Kieffer is still just a freshman," Troudt said. "There is a big learning curve between high school and college but with her performances so far, Katie is coming along just like you want a freshman to. Atamanczuk was hurt at the start of the season so it took her a while to get back into the game. "Bethany Toce didn't play quite as much during the summer as we would have liked her to. She missed some practice time, but she has come back very well and we are excited about the job she is doing." The win improves the Volley Frogs' record to 8-14 (2-5 WAC) while Rice falls to 10-16 (1-7 WAC). Saturday's win also clinched the school record for victories in a season. "Actually, I thought that we would be a lot better than we are right now," Troudt said. "It is a lot better to be sitting on eight wins as opposed to six, though. We have four matches left on the road and four matches at home, and we can't ask for a better split than that." The Volley Frogs' next match is in Dallas Saturday against Southern Methodist (15-10, 4-2 WAC). In their last meeting, the Mustangs defeated the Volley Frogs in the Rickel Building, sweeping them 15-11, 15-6, 15-4. "Whenever we play SMU, it's always a war," Troudt said. "In 1996, we won on their home court while they won at ours. In 1997, each team won at home and last year they beat us in two very close matches. I can't really make an accurate prediction about Saturday. I just know that it will a fun match and that we will play 100 percent better than we played against them the last time."
Paul Freeland
By Chris Harrison staff reporter Playing conditions were perfect last weekend in California. The weather was perfect, the course was perfect and the host team Stanford played as close to perfect as a team can. The Stanford Cardinals shot a total of 847 to win the Nelson Tournament by one stroke over the Fresno State Bulldogs. Stanford and Fresno were the only two schools to shoot under par for the tournament. The TCU men's team finished in a two-way tie with Nebraska for 17th place. TCU's highest finisher was junior Aaron Hickman who tied for 52nd, shooting a total of 221. "The course was one of the better ones we've played this year," said Hickman. "Our team score doesn't reflect the difficulty of the course. We all just had bad second and third rounds." Hickman felt he and his teammates played individually. "I felt I played and hit the ball really well that first day," he said. "My last two rounds of the tournament were just not that good. I struggled just like the rest of the team." Junior Scott Volpitto tied for 58th, shooting a total of 222 (+ 9). He said the Frogs didn't play to their potential. "We were all pretty disappointed," Volpitto said. "We had all played pretty good in Dallas two weeks ago. Finishing tied for 17th wasn't what we were expecting. We are just in a little bit of a slump right now. I'm not worried though. I know we can come together as a team and pull out of this slump." Like Hickman, Volpitto said he felt he struggled in the last two rounds. "I didn't feel like I played really well overall," said Volpitto. "It was kind of discouraging coming off of such a strong tournament in Dallas two weeks ago. We just couldn't get the low scores we needed to win." Volpitto said the team has to forget about the tournament at Stanford and concentrate on this weekend in South Carolina. "I am really excited about this tournament because we will be playing against the best golf teams in the country," Volpitto said. "It's an invitation only tournament, and I know TCU has won the thing in the past." Hickman said he agrees with Volpitto about the importance of the South Carolina tournament. "Being an invitational tournament, you know the competition is going to be really good," said Hickman. "And by the way, you can't beat going to Hilton Head, S.C. for the week to play some golf." The Frogs tee off for the Golf World Invitational at Hilton Head, S.C., Friday.
Chris Harrison
By Chris Harrison staff reporter Senior All-American Angela Stanford said she wasn't real happy about the way she hit the ball this past weekend in the Lady Paladin Invitational. Her results proved otherwise. She won the tournament shooting even par with a total of 216. "I can't explain it," said Stanford. "I didn't hit the ball as good as I did in New Mexico, but I think my short game and putting is what saved me." Stanford reached the green in two shots and two-putted for birdie and earned medalist honors in a playoff to determine the individual champion Sunday at the Lady Paladin Invitational in Greenville, S.C. She defeated Wake Forest's Maria Beautell in the playoff hole. Beautell did not go home empty-handed, however. Beautell led the Wake Forest Deamon Decans to their third Lady Paladin Invitational in the '90s and their first since 1996. TCU finished sixth overall in the tournament, 31 shots behind Wake Forest at 923. "At times the team struggled, but they held together, and I was really proud of them," said Stanford. "I was really proud of our freshman (Shannon Barr) when she shot a 73 on the last day of the tournament. "We are a young team but getting better every tournament. We finished strong." Sophomore Jennifer Patterson finished tied for 30th shooting 18-over with a total of 234. She said the course reminded her a lot of her home course. "The fairways were tight with tree lines, just like the fairways are at my home course in Pennsylvania," said Patterson. " The greens were also extremely fast. "I was happy with the way I played. I think the second and third day could have been a little better, but that's just how it goes sometimes." Patterson said she was also impressed with the team's play this past weekend. "I thought the team played well overall," Patterson said. "It was our best finish of the year. It was Angela's second win in a row. I can't even begin to explain how good she is playing right now. Absolutely awesome." Patterson said she is really excited about the upcoming tournament next week. Stanford shares Patterson's excitement heading into next week's tournament at Hilton Head, S.C. "I am excited that the team will be competing in this tournament," said Stanford. "It is an invitation-only tournament and we will be playing against the best of the best." The women's team is leaving Wednesday for the Rolex Golf World Championships in Hilton Head, S.C.
Chris Harrison
By Rusty Simmons sports editor He dreams of sprinting in from the bullpen to get one important out for the Texas Rangers. He dreams of having every set of eyes in a capacity crowd at the Ballpark in Arlington focused on him when he steps onto the mound. He dreams of throwing left-handed curve balls that strike out power-hitting left-handed hitters. Ryan Ridenour, a senior radio-TV-film major, got one step closer to achieving his dreams when New York Yankees' scout Mark Batchko convinced his employer to draft Ridenour in the 7th round of the 1998 Major League Draft. Last season, Ridenour compiled an earned run average of 9.38 for the Oneata Yankees (single A team) while losing all five of his decisions. But he is the first to admit that his talent has not yet caught up with his potential. "I have the ability. I'm just not good yet," Ridenour said. "It's huge that I'm left-handed. You don't even have to be good (to get a chance in the minors)." Part of Ridenour's problems in his minor league experiences thus far have stemmed from his inability to throw strikes consistently. Junior Chris Bradshaw, a pitcher on the TCU team and friend of Ridenour, said walks change the outlook of the game for Ridenour. "(Ridenour) is really hard on himself, probably too hard," Bradshaw said. "When he gets down, he struggles." To combat the frustration the walks have caused him, Ridenour said he tries to listen to every word the Yankees roving pitching coaches, Billy Connors and Greg Pavlik, say when they work with the single A teams. Ridenour played two seasons at Baylor and another year at TCU before being drafted, but he said the coaching he has received in the minors surpasses anything he learned in college. "Mentally, I've learned a lot," he said. "I am a real raw talent, and nobody has ever really coached me before." Many of Ridenour's teammates and opponents in the minor leagues have a head start because their fathers played professional baseball, he said. "I know I would be a more polished baseball player now if my dad had played baseball before me, but my parents have always supported me in their own way," he said. When Ridenour left TCU to pursue his professional baseball career, he promised his parents he would return to school and get his degree some day. Every fall semester, Ridenour trades in his glove for notebooks as he enrolls again in a full load of classes, but he said the transition is hard. Bradshaw said although the transition is hard, he thinks Ridenour uses the fall semester to get away from baseball. "More or less, it is a break," Bradshaw said. "He benefits from the time where his only responsibilty is going to school, and he can forget about baseball for awhile." Even though it is difficult to go from being paid to play a game to paying to go to school, Ridenour said it is worth it. "I could blow my arm out tomorrow, and my career would be over," he said. "It is nice to have something to fall back on." For now, however, Ridenour said he is enjoying the life of a minor league baseball player. Above all, Ridenour said he enjoys the time in the bullpen. "They split us 10 guys off from the rest of the team, and we get real close," he said. "We'll do anything to keep our minds occupied." Ridenour's favorite bullpen memory is trying to get children in the stands to buy his fellow relief pitchers food. But being in the Yankees system, a lot of clowning around is cut out, Ridenour said. "(Yankees owner) George Steinbrenner is from a military background, so he leads a strict, business like franchise, he said." Because Steinbrenner is willing to spend money on proven Major League talents, Ridenour said his chances of making it to the Majors as a Yankee are slim. The Yankees often trade minor league prospects for high-priced Major Leaguers on small market teams. But Ridenour's dreams have always played out in a Texas Rangers uniform, so he said maybe a trade will work out.
Rusty Simmons
By James Zwilling skiff staff When I learned of Walter Payton's death Monday, I felt chills up and down my spine. "What? How did this happen?" I asked myself. Had I forgotten the emotional press conference where the all-time leading rusher in NFL history announced to the world that he was dying of a rare liver disease? No. I hadn't forgotten about that day, but I had pushed it out of my mind. I pushed it out of my mind because the idea of Payton dying meant that the indestructible, all-powerful athletes that I immortalized as a young boy were human. Professional athletes serve as gods to little boys all over the world, and I wouldn't hesitate to say to adults too. That is why when one of these monumental athletes dies it is so shocking.
I was helping my mom out with a charity golf tournament, co-sponsored by her company, the day I encountered the legend. It was over 100 degrees in the Arizona sun, and I was supposed to stand on a golf course for upwards of five hours. When I volunteered to help, I was doing my mom a favor. By the end of the day, I had revisited my childhood. My only instruction for the day was to not ask for autographs, a task I did not expect to conflict with my duties. As I said, I had lost interest in autographs years ago. But suddenly, as Payton stepped out of his golf cart in front of me, I transformed into a 5-year-old with nothing else on my mind beyond an autograph from the world's greatest running back to ever live. In front of me stood 13 years of rushing records, a man who led the Chicago Bears to two Super Bowls and an NFL Hall of Fame inductee. I thought of all the things I wanted to say to him. How I could probably name all of the players from that 1985 championship team. Jim McMahon, William "the Fridge" Perry, Mike Singletary. . . the list goes on. I thought about how I would tell him that the Chicago Bears will forever be embedded in my mind as the first team I can remember winning the Super Bowl, and how I believe no other running back in the game will ever surpass his ability, personality and love of the game. But when I approached the man who came to be known as "Sweetness" over the years, I couldn't talk to him about his rushing statistics which reached 16,700 total yards by the end of his career or mention the game against the Minnesota Vikings where he rushed for 275 yards. All I could do was say, "Sir, may I have your autograph?" In his career, Payton led the NFC in rushing four years straight from 1976 to 1980, he became the highest paid player in the league and he led his team to a 46-10 Super Bowl XX victory over the New England Patriots. And at that moment, I could barely hand him a pen. When I look at his autograph today, I don't see all those records, I see the man I met that day. He was a grateful man. He had a joke for everyone on the course. He was friendly, outgoing and he was a pretty good golfer too. Now, at 45, he has died of a rare liver disease. Payton's death follows those of Wilt Chamberlain and Payne Stewart in a group of sports figures to die in the past few weeks. Their deaths remind me that I will most likely outlive the sports heroes that I grew up idolizing. But I don't believe this is a time to be sad. I think it is a time for us to remember what it was like to be 5-years-old, when the only thing on our mind was how we would try to get autographs and be thankful for those times. "Tomorrow is never promised to you," Payton once said. I guess he was right. I don't feel guilty about forgetting that Payton was dying. It might be selfish, but I didn't see him get sick. I didn't see him become weak. I didn't witness him near death, and I didn't have to see him become human. In my eyes, Payton will always be the all-powerful, unstoppable, legendary sports hero whom I admire more than any other playerever.
James Zwilling |
Troudt warned her team about taking Rice lightly, despite
a series of injuries that have hindered the Owls all season.
I remember the day I met Payton. It was several years ago,
long after I quit collecting sports cards and when staying after sporting
events to get autographs just wasn't important anymore.| The TCU Daily Skiff © 1998, 1999 Credits |