Lady Frogs to play at Invitational
Team anxious to show improvement at weekend tournament

By Kelly Morris
skiff staff

With the women’s basketball team’s disappointing 63-59 loss Wednesday night against North Texas still fresh in their minds, senior guard Jill Sutton said the team is anxious to get back on the court for this weekend’s Cook Children’s TCU Hoops Invitational.

“We have a bitter taste in our mouths,” Sutton said. “We’re ready to play again after (Wednesday’s) loss and to make a statement to ourselves that we can play. We definitely have to get our offense going because it’s been stale.”

On Wednesday, with 14:08 remaining in the first half, the team had made just two of 13 shots (15 percent) from the field. For the game, TCU shot 31 percent.

Head coach Jeff Mittie said the goal of this weekend’s tournament is to play better basketball.

“We don’t feel very good right now about our loss to North Texas,” Mittie said. “It is still early in the year, but we have to use this tournament to get us back in the right direction. We have to play better and find some way to score.

“Some players on this team are struggling right now with their shooting, and we’ll try to put them in better positions and give them better looks.”

The other three teams playing in the tournament are Georgia Southern, Texas-Arlington and Texas-Pan American. There will be two games played today and Saturday, one beginning at 5 p.m. and one beginning at 7 p.m. each day.

Texas-Arlington (0-3) will play against Texas-Pan American (2-3) in the first game tonight. TCU (1-2) will play against Georgia Southern (2-2) in the second game.

At 5 p.m. Saturday, the two teams who are defeated today will face off against each other in the consolation round. The championship game will be played 7 p.m. Saturday.

While the Frogs have not played any of these teams before, Mittie said his team will most likely be playing the best team in the tournament in the first round.

“From the four games I’ve seen them play so far this season, (Georgia Southern) is an excellent team that is very athletic,” Mittie said. “We’ll have to be well prepared against them to do well.”

Georgia Southern has been on the road for four consecutive games and is coming off a 85-67 loss to No. 6 Georgia.

Mittie said the tournament format will provide TCU with new challenges.

“The tournament atmosphere allows us to play back-to-back nights which pose different challenges for us,” Mittie said. “Scouting is difficult in the first round of the tournament because we haven’t played any of these teams before, but for the second round, we have an opportunity to get looks of the teams before we face them.”

With their solid starts, Mittie said junior guard Tricia Payne and Sutton have both been consistent forces in the lineup.

“Since Tricia has been in the program for three years and Jill has been in the program for four years, both are very comfortable on the team,” Mittie said. “(Payne) is shooting the ball very well, and (Sutton) has been effective from the three-point range.”

Even though the Frogs have played two games in just three days, Sutton said fatigue will not be a issue in their playing back-to-back games in the tournament.

“We had a day off Thursday to get a chance to get our legs back,” Sutton said. “We want to make the most of this tournament and establish some sort of a winning streak before we go on the road Monday.

Kelly Morris
k.l.morris@student.tcu.edu

By Colleen Casey
skiff staff

As the men’s and women’s swimming teams reach the halfway point in their season, both teams are well above .500, at 5-2 and 6-2, respectively.

TCU swimmers will match their times against some of the top-ranked teams in the nation at the University of Texas Invitational in Austin this weekend.

“We have a good mix to our schedule this year, and this invite is part of that,” head swimming coach Richard Sybesma said. “We can win some meets, swim some that are toss-ups and challenge ourselves some as well. (The swimmers) are ready for it all.”

Sybesma said the Texas Invitational will be one of the teams’ biggest challenges of the season, but it will also serve to encourage the swimmers.

“It’s a true motivator for the entire program, and a great chance for individual analysis,” Sybesma said.

TCU will compete against 14 teams in the invitational, including: Arizona, Arizona State, Texas, Stanford, UCLA, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, Harvard, Southern Methodist, Kansas, Wisconsin, Rice and California.

“It’s a big meet for us, and it’s exciting to see how well we’ll do against very competitive teams,” freshman sprinter Ashleigh Bastak said.

File Photo Junior backstroker/individual medley swimmer Jamie MacCurdy works on her form during a practice at the Rickel Building. The Frogs (6-2) are competing this weekend at the University of Texas Invitational in Austin.

The invite is also a chance to see how well the TCU swimmers fare individually against the nationally ranked swimmers at the meet.

Sybesma said he thinks many individuals and relay teams will place high, and their high placing will give confidence to the swimmers as they go into the second semester.

Kansas and Rice, both unranked teams, will be TCU’s closest competitors in the meet.

The Texas Invitational is the Frogs’ top invitational of the entire season and will be the fastest meet to take place in the nation this weekend, Sybesma said.

One reason as to why the meet attracts such talented competition is Texas’ modern, up-to-date facility, he said.

“When you walk into a pool like the one at Texas, you just go ‘wow,’” Sybesma said. “It’s what we call a ‘fast pool.’”

Sybesma said he expects his swimmers to significantly shave seconds off their times, due to the facilities at Texas and the caliber of the competing swimmers.

“It’s fun to race the best, because that’s what we want to be,” Bastak said.

Colleen Casey
c.m.casey@student.tcu.edu

Defense

Overall - A+
The defense finished as the No. 1-ranked unit in the country, allowing just 245 yards a game and 9.6 points a game. While the offense has gotten criticism this season for its inconsistency, the defense has been consistently dominant against Western Athletic Conference competition.

DE Chad McCarty - B
Junior defensive end Chad McCarty had 30 tackles and three sacks. He’s made seven tackles for losses totaling 28 yards. He didn’t put up the numbers of the rest of the line, but those numbers weren’t expected.

DT Shawn Worthen - A
Senior defensive tackle Shawn Worthen recorded 51 tackles and 2.5 sacks. When the season started, head coach Dennis Franchione said Worthen was one of the defensive linemen who would lead this team. He was right.

NT Stuart Ashley - B+
Senior nose tackle Stuart Ashley has done a little of everything for the Frogs defense this season. He’s battled injuries en route to 27 tackles, 2.5 sacks, an interception and a fumble recovery.

DE Aaron Schobel - A+
Senior defensive end Aaron Schobel was named WAC Defensive Player of the Year and has etched his name in TCU record books. He’s the school’s all-time sack and he picked up 6.5 sacks this season to lead the defense.

SLB Chad Bayer - A
Junior strongside linebacker Chad Bayer led the Horned Frog defense in tackles with 103. He, ironically, was given just honorable mention when it came to voting for the all-WAC teams.

MLB Shannon Brazzell - A
Senior middle linebacker Shannon Brazzell put together a solid season with 85 tackles, 15 for a loss and 5 sacks. His 85 tackles were second on the team, but his 15 tackles for a loss were tops on the squad.

SS Russell Gary - B+
Senior strong safety Russell Gary made 55 tackles and had two interceptions. He returned his two picks for a total of 112 yards. He was named second-team all-WAC.

WS Charlie Owens - B+
Junior weak safety Charlie Owens finished fourth on the team with 64 tackles. His six tackles for a loss totaled 24 yards in losses. He played a big role in making TCU’s pass defense fourth in the country.

FS Curtis Fuller - A+
Senior free safety Curtis Fuller was an anchor on this defense all season. He finished third on the team with 81 tackles and tied for the team lead with nine pass deflections. Finding someone to replace him next season won’t be easy.

CB Kenneth Hilliard - A
Sophomore cornerback Kenneth Hilliard was thrust into the spot after starter Jason Goss tore ligaments in his right knee. He made immediate impact when he made an interception in the game against Tulsa. With Hilliard and Goss both being sophomores, the future at cornerback seems secure.

CB Greg Walls - B+
Senior cornerback Greg Walls only made 22 tackles but his coverage was steady all season, helping the Frogs to allow just 160 yards a game. He tied for the team lead with nine passes deflected.

P John Braziel - A
Walk-on punter John Braziel won a mid-season tryout to become the Horned Frog punter after Joey Biasatti fractured his fibula and tibia in his right leg. He’s made 17 punts averaging 37.5 yards and landed two inside the 20-yard line.

Offense

Overall - B+
The TCU offense ranks No. 24 in the country, averaging 421 yards a game. The Frogs, however rank at No. 11 in scoring offense, averaging 37 points a game. For the most part, the offense has been reliant on senior tailback LaDainian Tomlinson, but sophomore quarterback Casey Printers has shown signs this season of what could be ahead.

QB Casey Printers - B+
He’s been up and down throughout the season. It’s tough to put a grade on that type of performance. It’s hard to argue with a quarterback who has gone 18-3 since becoming the starter. He ranks No. 1 in the Western Athletic Conference and No. 4 nationally in pass efficiency.

TB LaDainian Tomlinson - A+
He’s just the second running back in NCAA history to run for 2,000 yards in a season and 5,000 in his career. The other was former Texas running back Ricky Williams — not bad company. For the season, he rushed for 2,158 yards and 22 touchdowns. A Doak Walker Award should be in his future.

FB George Layne - B+
He’s managed to put together a career year while lead blocking for Tomlinson. He’s accounted for 430 yards and eight touchdowns, but his focus is still lead blocking for Tomlinson. He started the season strong, but cooled off toward the middle and end.

WR Cedric James - B
It was supposed to be a break-out season for James, but that never materialized in the TCU run-oriented offense. He finished tied for the team lead with 19 catches for 310 yards.

WR Tim Maiden - B+
Maiden, finished his career at TCU this season and led the team with 19 catches for 348 yards. He also scored four touchdowns. Down the stretch of the season, it seemed as though Maiden had become Printers’ go-to receiver in the clutch.

TE B.J. Roberts - B-
In this offense, Roberts doesn’t catch many passes. He run blocks well, which is all head football coach Dennis Franchione is really worried about. He caught seven passes for 107 yards this season.

Offensive Line - A
Nothing can be said about these guys that Tomlinson hasn’t already said. There’s a reason why seniors David Bobo, Mike Keathley and Jeff Millican were all named to the all-WAC first-team. The offensive line has catapulted TCU to the No. 4 rushing offense and has kept Printers well-protected. A+

K Chris Kaylakie - A
Kaylakie missed just three kicks all season. He missed two field goals out of 18 and missed just 1 out of 51 extra points. He’s made 4 of 5 kicks from beyond 40 yards.

Danny Horne
bravetcu3116@mindspring.com

With all that has happened this fall with TCU football and the attention surrounding senior tailback LaDainian Tomlinson, it’s a wonder that TCU even bothered to have other sports compete.

Well, not really. As a matter of fact, sports at TCU — other than football — either had or are in the midst of good seasons. For the most part, that’s not typical. I took the time to look back at the semester for some other TCU sports.

Earlier this week it was announced that 10 Frogs were named to the first-team all-Western Athletic Conference team. Senior Aaron Schobel was named Defensive Player of the Year. Tomlinson was named Offensive Player of the Year. He was also announced as a finalist for the Doak Walker Award for the nation’s best running back Thursday.

While he won’t win a Heisman Trophy, Tomlinson will get his invitation to New York and he’ll probably win the Doak Walker.

But things haven’t all been rosy. TCU has been criticized all season as a team that wasn’t as good as people thought. A loss to San Jose State sent the Frogs tumbling down the polls and out of contention for the Bowl Championship Series. Oh well, a return trip to Mobile, Ala., isn’t a total loss.

What’s interesting is that people around this campus have probably forgotten that there are other sports competing, some of which are or were competing well.

The Volley Frogs have never had a season like the one they had this season. TCU’s 15 overall wins and six wins in conference play were the most the Frogs have ever gotten.

When looking at the schedule a bit closer, TCU was just 3-9 over the final 12 matches. Without that final stretch, I wonder what might have been.

TCU soccer has never been known as a powerhouse. The women’s team, though, made strides this season by making the WAC Championships while the men’s team struggled in the Missouri Valley Conference.

The men started the season a promising 4-2, but lost nine of their last 12 to finish the season 7-11.

The women’s team finished the season at 10-9-1, but made an early exit from the WAC Championships.

The TCU women’s basketball team started it’s season with a win over Yale and then hosted No. 2 Tennessee in a game that was played a lot closer than most people thought it would be. So they passed that test, but a loss to North Texas two nights later sent the team hurdling back in the opposite direction of progress.

So the jury is still out.

The men’s team has found new life with help from guard Greedy Daniels. He creates an excitement on the floor that TCU basketball hasn’t seen. However, he’s not going to win games by himself as evidenced him scoring 31 points against Minnesota and TCU still losing 107-99.

Again, the jury is out on the Frogs, probably until conference play begins.

TCU had several athletes perform well individually this semester. Senior tennis player Esteban Carril started the fall season as the nation’s sixth-ranked player. He picked up a win this fall in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Region VI Championships.

Soccer, volleyball, basketball, tennis and golf are all proof that other sports at TCU can actually succeed.

At this point, TCU is recognized for its football program. That’s somewhat hard to swallow knowing the recent history of football here, but when someone talks about TCU now, the conversation seems to center around Tomlinson.

I wonder what will happen next semester when Tomlinson is no longer in the spotlight.

Sports editor Danny Horne is a senior broadcast journalism major from Carrollton.
He can be reached at (bravetcu3116@mindspring.com).

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