/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/51243585/273598_640.0.png)
Today’s Events
- Soccer, at Oklahoma, 7:00 PM
- Cross Country, vs Aggieland Open (women), 5:00 PM
- Women's Tennis, vs Under Armour/HEB Kickoff, TBA
- Men's Tennis, vs ITA All-American Championships, All Day
Soccer
The Baylor Lariat reports that defensive mentality is key for Baylor soccer.
Thus far, Baylor has been suffocating opponents defensively, forcing turnovers that have led to goals, as well as completely controlling ball possession. Baylor is outscoring their opponents 24-8, outshooting them 198-76, an average of just over five and a half shots per game. Their goals against average (number of goals allowed per contest) is .595 and good for 21st best in the country. Baylor’s defensive commitment has been unwavering and serves as a testament to the work (head coach Paul) Jobson and (assistant coach Chuck) Codd have done. Their work goes well beyond strategizing. It has involved getting the players to buy into the philosophy and implementing it on the field.
“A lot of it has to do with mentality. It all begins with an ‘over my dead body’ mentality in terms of giving up goals,” Codd said. “We try to take the ball away out on the field. We defend the whole field and make it as difficult as possible for the other team to score.”
This year’s team has been more than up to the challenge to match some of the defensive efforts of past Baylor teams. Much of that has been due to the experience and ability of this year’s team.
“In the back line, we have a lot of girls with a lot of ability, with experience, and they’ve been tested in their times here, and that goes a long way. They’re fully committed to what they do,” Codd said. “They’ve got the experience, which is key. They’ve got the ability, athleticism and the soccer ability to compete against the best players in the country.”
Today’s game at Oklahoma will be OU’s Kick for Cure game in support of breast cancer awareness. From Sooner Sports dot com.
The No. 22 Oklahoma soccer team returns home for a Big 12 contest when it hosts Baylor at 7 p.m. CT on Friday at John Crain Field. The match will serve as OU’s annual “Kick for a Cure” game for breast cancer awareness, and fans are encouraged to wear pink.
Through four Big 12 matches, OU holds a 3-1-0 record, tying the 2002 season for the second-best start in program history behind a 3-0-1 record in 2005. The Sooners will be looking to start a new overall winning streak this weekend after their eight-match one, the second-best in school history, was snapped at No. 4 West Virginia on Sunday.
Baylor enters Friday's match with an 8-4-1 overall record, including a 1-1-1 mark in Big 12 play. The Bears defeated Oklahoma State, 2-1 (OT), in conference while tying with Texas, 1-1, and falling at West Virginia, 2-0.
Women’s Tennis
Baylor women’s tennis will host the Under Armour/HEB Kickoff Classic this weekend at the Hurd Tennis Center. From BearsExtra.
A quartet of Baylor players will take part.
Junior Theresa Van Zyl, sophomores Karina Traxler and Elizabeth Profit, and freshman Jessica Hinojosa will compete individually in the singles bracket. Pairing up for doubles action are Van Zyl and Profit and Hinojosa and Traxler.
There will be a 32-player singles draw and a 16-team doubles tournament beginning Friday, with action running through Sunday.
Baylor welcomes competitors from Louisiana Monroe, Georgia State, Mississippi State, Troy, and Wisconsin.
“We are looking forward to competing and continuing to learn at home,” head coach Joey Scrivano said. “Our players definitely have been working hard and improving on the court. We believe that they have learned a lot since the wildcard event, and we are excited to see what they’ve learned in action this weekend.”
Action begins with a doubles match at noon (CT) on Friday and continues with two singles matches. A session of Baylor Cub Tennis follows at 5 p.m. for children under the age of 11. To participate in the free clinic, children must wear athletic wear and tennis shoes. Tennis equipment will be provided.
Cross Country
A dozen women's cross country runners will be in action at the Aggieland Open Friday. PREVIEW: https://t.co/R7Volfqhhw pic.twitter.com/Qrnq0PFrdZ
— BaylorTrack (@BaylorTrack) October 6, 2016
A total of 12 Baylor women's cross country runners will be in action at the Aggieland Open today at 5 p.m. in College Station, Texas. From Baylor Bears dot com.
For the recently added meet, Baylor's top runners will be off, but a dozen other members on the roster will get a chance to run the 5,000-meter race hosted by Texas A&M at the Dale Watts course.
The runners scheduled to be in action for the Lady Bears are Emily Curran, Amanda Dillon, Haley Everroad, Micaela Freeman, Sydney Gandy, Kasey Kinzel, Isabella Lackner, Katy Parsons, Jessica Purtell, Leila Rohde, Megan Rule and Lindsay Walton.
The Baylor women are currently ranked No. 21 in the USTFCCCA national coaches' poll and are ranked No. 3 in the South Central region. At their last meet out, the women placed fifth at the Notre Dame Invitational, but BU’s top nine runners from that meet will not run on Friday.
Other schools competing at the event include Louisiana Tech, Prairie View A&M, Sam Houston, Stephen F. Austin, Texas A&M and Texas Southern.
Men’s Tennis
Baylor men’s tennis senior Max Tchoutakian started his singles run at the Saint Francis Health System ITA Men’s All-American Championships with a victory yesterday at the Michael D. Case Tennis Center. From Baylor Bears dot com.
The Marseille, France, product upset South Carolina’s 30th-ranked Gabriel Friedrich in straight sets, 6-3, 6-2, in the first round of main draw singles play.
Tchoutakian is now 3-2 on the season and 2-1 against ranked foes. Today, Tchoutakian will face Florida’s 22nd-ranked Elliott Orkin in round of 32 action.
Lady Bears Basketball
The Baylor Lady Bears basketball team started practice this week.
The Lady Bears held their Welcome Back Dinner last night. Baylor Bears dot com has the story complete with slide show.
Lady Bear basketball fans look forward to the Welcome Back Dinner each season as it signals that the start of basketball season is near, and another tremendous crowd of 900 attended the Tip Off Club's 17th Annual event in the Ferrell Center on Thursday night.
Fans packed the Ferrell Center to meet the team, 10 returnees and three newcomers, and the staff. In addition, head coach Kim Mulkey gave the attendees a glimpse of what to expect this season. The Baylor squad returns four starters off last season's 36-2 team that reached the NCAA Championship Elite Eight for the third straight season and again swept the Big 12 Conference regular season and postseason tournament crowns. This season's 13-player team sports four seniors (Khadijiah Cave, Nina Davis, Alexis Jones, Alexis Prince), two juniors (Dekeiya Cohen, Kristy Wallace), three sophomores (Kalani Brown, Alyssa Dry, Beatrice Mompremier) and four freshmen (Alexandria Gulley, Natalie Chou, Lauren Cox and Calveion Landrum).
After playing two exhibition games, Baylor opens its regular season on Friday, Nov. 11 against Houston Baptist in the Ferrell Center. The tip time has yet to be announced.
Baylor Athletics invites fans to come watch practice and “Select Your Seats” at the Ferrell Center on Friday, Oct. 14, beginning at 1:30 p.m. From KCEN TV 6.
Parking is available in front of the Ferrell Center and the entrance into the arena will be through the Stone Room on the north side.
The free event allows fans to watch both teams practicing for their upcoming seasons and select their season tickets. The Lady Bears will practice beginning at 1:30 p.m. and the men's team will take the court immediately after the women’s practice ends. Additionally, Bear Foundation donors and current season ticket holders are invited with ability to add seats.
Competitive Trivia
The ABA Journal reports that Princeton’s 2017 law school review has Baylor Law School at No. 1 for the Most Competitive Students.
Football
Jeremy Faulk, a junior college recruit who was kicked off the team and stripped of his scholarship before the season started because of a Title IX investigation, won an appeal against Baylor and had his scholarship reinstated in July, KWTX has learned.
He has been waiting, for more than four months, for a resolution to the Title IX case.
“It is the most egregious denial of basic due process that I have seen in 38 years of law practice. I could not have imagined that a person would be denied just the fundamental opportunity to defend himself,” Faulk’s attorney, Richard Tate, said.
Tate, who practices in Richmond, agreed to represent Faulk for free after learning of the situation.
Faulk and Tate appealed to Baylor in June, saying Faulk lost his scholarship without any due process, and, in fact, without being provided with a reason.
“By the next day, they take this situation which was nothing more than a dormitory prank and they blow it out of proportion. They call it sexual harassment. Two strikes you’re out, and he was shocked,” Tate said.
On July 1, an appeals panel, comprised of three staff members from the school's Student Financial Aid Office, ruled in Faulk’s favor, and demanded reinstatement of Faulk’s scholarship, but Baylor officials countered that Faulk could not play football because the Title IX investigation was still underway.
Faulk says that as far as he knows, the investigation is still open, but he’s still not been provided with details about the specific accusations.
Visit https://t.co/HGaO711wwj to enter for your chance to throw for $1 Million at #SicTCU game or National Championship Game in Tampa. pic.twitter.com/8yBHcIHYdg
— Baylor Athletics (@BaylorAthletics) October 6, 2016