Daily Bears Report 10/25

Today’s Events

• Men's Golf, vs Royal Oaks Intercollegiate, All Day
• Women's Golf, vs Las Vegas Collegiate Showdown, All Day

Golf

• Baylor women’s golf holds the tournament lead after shooting 15-under-par 273 in Sunday’s first round at the Las Vegas Collegiate Showdown. Story in yesterday’s DBR.
• Baylor men’s golf owns a commanding lead over the 11-team field, shooting 27-under-par 710, in Monday’s two rounds at the Royal Oaks Intercollegiate. From Baylor Bears dot com.

The Bears are 29 strokes ahead of second place New Mexico (+2) and 31 strokes in front of third place Houston (+4) heading to the final round at Royal Oaks Country Club.

Junior Matthew Perrine is tied atop the leaderboard, shooting 7-under-par 135, with scores of 6-under 66 in the first round and 3-under 69 in the second round. Perrine is tied for the individual lead with Pepperdine’s Roy Cootes.

A trio of Bears in freshman Cooper Dossey (70, 66), senior Hunter Shattuck (68, 68), and sophomore Braden Bailey (67, 69) follow closely behind, all carding scores of 6-under-par 136 to tie for third place. In a tie for 10th place is sophomore Garrett May, who played to a 1-under-par 141 with scores of 69 and 72 in the first and second rounds, respectively.

Tied for 17th place at 1-over-par 143 is junior Jackson Heazel, who carded a 69 in the first round and a 74 in the second. Three Bears are playing as individuals - freshman Colin Kober (71, 73) and redshirt freshman Austin Cotton (72, 72) are tied for 24th place at 2-over-par 144, and junior Nick Thornton (71, 78) is tied for 54th place.

Baylor players will begin Tuesday’s final round from the first tee, paired with golfers from New Mexico and Houston. Heazel begins at 9:18 a.m. (CT), followed by May, Dossey, Bailey, Shattuck, and Perrine, respectively, in nine-minute increments. Baylor golfers playing as individuals will begin from the 10th tee in pairings with players from UT Arlington and SMU. Thornton is up first at 9:32 a.m., Cotton at 9:50 a.m. and Kober at 9:59 a.m.

Tennis

Baylor women’s tennis senior Blair Shankle and sophomore Elizabeth Profit capped off play at the ITA Texas Regional Championships with championship wins Monday morning at the Hurd Tennis Center. From Baylor Bears dot com.

After a rain delay that temporarily delayed the match, the Baylor doubles duo claimed a 6-4, 6-3 victory over seventh-seeded Sarah Dvorak and Sabrina Federici of Texas Tech for the doubles championship. The win earned Shankle and Profit, the fifth seed in the tournament, a spot in the ITA National Intercollegiate Championships on Nov. 3-6. The doubles tandem finished the tournament with a 5-0 record.

“I’m just really happy that Liz and I performed well and finished off the tournament great,” Shankle said. “She really stepped up. We really played well and executed as a team.”

Shankle will also advance to ITA Nationals in singles action after she rolled to a 6-1, 6-0 victory over No. 9 seed Neda Koprcina of Texas. The Dallas, Texas senior finished the regional event with a perfect 6-0 record in bracket play.

“Congratulations to Blair on a great week,” Scrivano said. “It’s not easy winning tournaments at any level and she has won three this fall. I’ve always been proud of the way she competes and conducts herself, but this fall she has been more committed to the process. I’m also proud of the way she and Liz worked together through the doubles bracket. They showed resilience throughout the tournament and played well together. Thanks to our incredible staff for hosting another successful tournament at Hurd Tennis Center. Special thanks to Jacqui Haddock for running the event.”

“In singles, I played well today. That was a tough opponent, but I just executed a little better than she did today. I’m just happy with my overall performance this week. I really started off with a rough match my first round, and then I just tried to climb my way back into the draw. Overall, I’m just happy with the week. I’m happy to go to the National Indoors, and I’m really excited for the opportunity to compete there and just keep extending my fall season a little longer.” -Senior Blair Shankle.

Blair Shankle and Elizabeth Profit advance to the ITA National Intercollegiate Championships in New York City on Nov. 3-6.

Volleyball

• Baylor redshirt junior Katie Staiger was named the Big 12 Volleyball Offensive Player of the Week, announced by the conference office on Monday afternoon. From Baylor Bears dot com.

The outside hitter from Plano, Texas, earned her fourth offensive POTW award from the conference this year, passing Anna Breyfogle (3, 2007) for the BU record for single-season weekly honors.

Staiger helped lead the Bears to a historic 2-0 week in Big 12 play, including the team’s first win in Ames over Iowa State since 2005 and the first win over Oklahoma in Waco since 2008. The 6-2 mark in Big 12 play matches the 2009 squad for the best eight-game start of the conference schedule in program history.

With 27 kills against the Cyclones and 19 facing the Sooners, Staiger easily paced the conference in kills (46), kills/set (5.11), points (48.5), and points/set (5.39). Staiger leads the Big 12 in all four categories this season and ranks in the top-five nationally in each.

Her four offensive awards in 2016 ties for the fourth-most in Big 12 history by one player in a single season, becoming just the fifth player in the conference to earn four or more Big 12 Offensive POTW honors in a season.

The Baylor squad improved its program-record sixth weekly honor of the season, including four from the Big 12, with Staiger earning four conference and one national offensive POTW awards. Additionally, Jana Brusek earned Big 12 Defensive POTW on Sep. 26.

For Staiger, it is the fourth conference offensive award of her collegiate career and her fifth Big 12 weekly award overall, after earning Big 12 Rookie of the Week on Sept. 29, 2014.

Her five career weekly awards ties Anna Breyfogle (2007 [3], 2008 [1], 2009 [1]) for the Baylor record for career honors from the conference.

• Baylor Volleyball starts the second half of conference play this Saturday at Kansas State at 7:00 p.m.

Soccer

From Baylor Bears dot com

• Baylor soccer sophomore forward Jackie Crowther will represent Mexico in the 2016 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup in New Guinea from Nov. 13 through Dec. 3. From Baylor Bears dot com.

The Temecula, California native has been training with Mexico during Baylor’s season, missing preseason camp and matches against Texas (Sept. 23), Oklahoma State (Sept. 25), West Virginia (Sept. 30), Oklahoma (Oct. 7), TCU (Oct. 14), Iowa State (Oct. 21) and Kansas (Oct. 23). In 11 games this season, she has a career-high three assists in 254 minutes played for the Bears.

Last winter, Crowther trained with the team in preparation for the CONCACAF U-20 World Cup Qualifiers. During the summer of 2015, she played for Mexico in the NTC Invitational in Carson, California. Crowther also played in the 2014 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup in Costa Rica, started in all four games and scored one goal in a 4-0 victory over Colombia.

To keep track of Crowther’s progress with Mexico, visit http://www.fifa.com/u20womensworldcup/ and follow @miseleccionmx on Twitter.

• Baylor Soccer begins Big XII tournament play on November 2 through 6 at Swope Soccer Village.

Lady Bears

• Baylor women’s basketball senior Alexis Jones was named one of 20 watch list candidates for the 2017 Nancy Lieberman Award, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame announced Monday morning. From Baylor Bears dot com.

The award, now in its 17th year, recognizes the top point guard in women’s NCAA Division I college basketball.

Candidates exhibit the floor leadership, play-making and ball-handling skills of Hall of Famer Nancy Lieberman.

“Nancy Lieberman was and continues to be a trailblazer for women in basketball,” said John L. Doleva, President and CEO of the Basketball Hall of Fame. “Before she was an assistant coach in the NBA, Nancy was an outstanding collegiate point guard, much like the tremendous student-athletes on this watch list. With her leadership and vision, we look forward to identifying the top female point guard in the game this season.”

Jones is a Preseason All-Big 12 Team selection after collecting Big 12 Newcomer of the Year recognition as a junior last season. Transferring in from Duke, Jones started 34-of-38 games for the Lady Bears. She averaged 15 points and 4.2 rebounds per game and recorded 30 double-digit scoring performances en route to All-Big 12 First Team and Big 12 Championship Most Outstanding Player honors in 2016.

A WBCA Honorable Mention All-American in 2016, Jones also earned All-Tournament Team recognition at the NCAA Dallas Regional, was named a Junkanoo Jam All-Star and collected WBCA All-Region honors. Prior to her arrival at Baylor, Jones earned All-ACC Second Team accolades in 2013 and 2014 and was named ACC Freshman of the Year in 2013.

The Selection Committee for the Nancy Lieberman Award is composed of top women’s college basketball personnel including media members, head coaches, sports information directors and Hall of Famers. By mid-February, the watch list of 20 players for the 2017 Lieberman Award will be narrowed to just 10. In March, five finalists will be presented to Ms. Lieberman and the Hall of Fame’s selection committee. The winner of the 2017 Lieberman Award will be announced at the NCAA Women’s Final Four in Dallas, TX.

“It’s truly an honor to be the namesake of this award recognizing the best point guards in college basketball,” Lieberman said. “When you look at the list of winners over the past 16 years, we’ve celebrated some extraordinarily talented players and I can’t wait to see who will earn the right to have her name among these greats.”

Baylor graduate Odyssey Sims was honored with the Nancy Lieberman Award in 2014 after being a finalist in 2012 and 2013. The two-time All-American, a senior that season, averaged 28.5 points per game, shot 44.6 percent from the field and shot 39.8 percent from three-point range.

The list will be narrowed to 10 in mid-February, then again to five finalists in March. Finalists will be presented to Nancy Lieberman and the selection committee. The winner of the award will be recognized at the NCAA Women's Final Four in Dallas, Texas. The list is fluid and players have the ability to play themselves on or off the list until the final five finalists are announced.

• The Lady Bears first game is an exhibition game vs. Emporia State on November 1 at 7:00 p.m.

Football

• @TedVid has released a Hype Video titled “lesser athletes.” It’s a great 3¹⁄₄ minutes of Baylor football.

• The Jim Grobe weekly press conference was yesterday. Not featured in the video release were quotes from Ryan Reid and Aiavion Edwards which can be found at Baylor Bears dot com.

• Baylor junior nickelback Travon Blanchard was named one of 16 semifinalists for the Jim Thorpe Award, the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame announced Monday. From Baylor Bears dot com.

The Thorpe Award is named after history’s greatest athlete, Jim Thorpe, and is presented annually to the nation’s best defensive back.

Blanchard has racked up 29 tackles (18 solo), 7.5 tackles for loss, 1.0 sack, one forced fumble and a fumble recovery, while starting all four games that he has played in for the Bears in 2016. The Orange, Texas, product missed the season’s first two contests with an injury.

Blanchard has been an integral part in a Baylor defense that leads the Big 12 in both scoring (17.2) and total defense (320.3). With the junior’s help, the Bears also rank third nationally in team passing efficiency defense (87.61) and sixth in TFLs (8.8).

Former Bear Thomas Everett won the inaugural Jim Thorpe Award in 1986.

Three Thorpe Award finalists will be named on Nov. 21 and the winner will be announced at The Home Depot College Football Awards Show on Dec. 8 airing on ESPN. The winner of the 2016 Thorpe Award will be honored at a banquet in Oklahoma City on Feb. 7.

• Baylor football will next play at Texas at 2:30 p.m. Saturday. That game will be nationally televised by ABC.

More News Clippings

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• No denying it anymore: Rivalry exists between Texas and Baylor - Houston Chronicle, Even as Baylor's program became a fixture in the national rankings and the Longhorns dropped out of them, UT players routinely scoffed at the idea that the Bears were worthy of their scorn. [...] once again, the state's flagship school will be reduced to playing spoiler against a Baylor team with national championship aspirations.
• Unfriendly territory: Baylor expects rowdier than usual crowd in Austin this weekend - WacoTrib.com: Baylor Bears Football, Baylor always expects a hostile environment when it plays Texas in Austin, but it could be off the charts Saturday afternoon.
• Baylor, Texas Gearing up for Big XII Bout, This weekend's match up on the 40 Acres will be big for both Texas and Baylor, but for different reasons.
• Even if Texas won't say so, Baylor becoming a top rival for UT, Whether or not the Longhorns will admit it, Baylor has slowly become a prominent rival for Texas
• Big 12 hot seats topped by Charlie Strong at Texas - WacoTrib.com: Baylor Bears Football, KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Charlie Strong began his weekly news conference Monday by spending a couple of minutes discussing the multitude of self-inflicted wounds that cost Texas in its loss to Kansas State on Saturday.
• Footballs TCU Game Slated For 2:30 p.m. Kick On FOX - Baylor Official Athletic Site, The Official Athletic Site of the Baylor University - Baylor football's Big 12 Conference home game against TCU on Nov. 5 will be played at 2:30 p.m. CT and will be televised nationally on FOX, the league office announced Monday.