star-telegram.com: College Sports

Agency denies illegal activity with Mayo

Tue, 13 May 2008 06:59 CDT

The head of the sports agency representing O.J. Mayo denied any illegal activity involving the Southern California star on Monday, a day after ESPN reported Bill Duffy Associates gave cash to an event promoter who provided gifts.

Louis Johnson, a former associate of Mayo's, told ESPN's Outside the Lines that BDA Sports provided Rodney Guillory with about $200,000 before Mayo arrived at USC. Johnson said a portion of that money was given to Mayo.

"I haven't seen any evidence of them saying we gave O.J. Mayo a dime, and that has not happened," Duffy told The Associated Press.

Briefly

TCU football: Linebacker Jason Phillips and safety Stephen Hodge are on the watch list for the Bronko Nagurski Trophy, awarded to the best defensive player in college football.

TCU baseball: The Horned Frogs used a six-run sixth inning to erase a 5-0 deficit in an 8-3 victory over UT-Pan American. TCU (36-16) swept the three-game series and has won seven straight.

TCU basketball: Former North Crowley guard Ronnie Moss signed a national letter of intent. The 6-foot-2 Moss averaged 12 points, seven rebounds and seven assists at North Crowley. He spent the past two seasons at Bridgton Academy in Maine and Christian Life Center in Houston, both prep schools.

TCU women's tennis: Sophomore Nina Munch-Soegaard, of Amarillo, went 16-8 this spring and was named the ITA Player to Watch, while Colin Foster was named the ITA Assistant Coach of the Year for the Southwest Region.

North Texas softball: First baseman Mallory Cantler was selected to the Sun Belt Conference All Tournament team. Cantler hit a walk-off home run against Florida Atlantic at the tournament.

Stephen F. Austin women's basketball: Mansfield Timberview guard Courtney Conwright signed with the Lady Jacks. The 5-foot-6 senior was the District 15-4A newcomer of the year in 2006.

Florida football: Defensive lineman Matt Patchan is recovering after being shot in the shoulder at a Tampa-area park.

Report: Mayo received cash, benefits from promoter

Mon, 12 May 2008 07:07 CDT

A former associate of ex-Southern Cal guard O.J. Mayo claims the basketball star received thousands of dollars in cash and other gifts from an event promoter over the past four years in violation of NCAA rules, ESPN reported Sunday.

Louis Johnson told ESPN's Outside the Lines that Rodney Guillory, a Los Angeles-based event promoter, gave Mayo about $30,000 and other benefits while he attended high school and during his one season at USC. Mayo has decided to forgo his sophomore year and enter the NBA Draft.

Guillory received monthly payments from a Northern California sports agency, Bill Duffy Associates, the network reported. A phone message left for the agency was not immediately returned Sunday.

Mayo signed with the same agency last month shortly after declaring that he would enter the June 26 draft.

Johnson said the agency provided Guillory with about $200,000 before Mayo arrived at USC. Guillory used most of the money to support his own lifestyle but also gave a portion of it to Mayo, Johnson told ESPN. Mayo then entered into a verbal agreement that allowed the agency to represent him when he turned pro, Johnson added.

Giving college athletes money or other gifts violates NCAA policy.

"I will not allow these allegations to become a distraction to me and my family," Mayo said in a statement to ESPN. "I have not engaged in any wrongdoing."

Mayo got into some minor trouble with the NCAA earlier this year after he accepted free tickets from Denver Nuggets forward Carmelo Anthony to an NBA game. Mayo wasn't forced to sit out any USC games but had to contribute $460 -- the total value of the two tickets -- to a charitable organization.

Briefly

UT-Arlington track and field: Wade Hayes (pole vault) and Idilio Campos (800) were both winners as the Mavericks finished third at the 2008 Southland Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Huntsville. Jasmine Walls was selected as Outstanding Female after winning both the 100 and 200.

Big 12 softball: Megan Gibson threw a three-hitter as Texas A&M beat Nebraska 5-0 to win its first Big 12 championship and an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

TCU baseball: Steve Elkington homered twice as the Horned Frogs (35-16) beat visiting UT-Pan American 13-3.

UTA baseball: The Mavericks (22-29, 13-14 Southland) managed only four hits in a 9-1 loss at Stephen F. Austin (24-26, 11-15).

NCAA tennis: The Baylor men defeated Texas A&M 4-2 to advance to the NCAA championships in Tulsa later this week.... The No. 17 Texas Tech men lost to No. 16 Michigan 4-2 in a regional final.

Weatherford College baseball: Josh Turner tossed a five-hitter as the Coyotes upset New Mexico Junior College 11-1 in the first round of the NJCAA Region V tournament in Lubbock.

Two freshmen making UNT future look golden

Mon, 12 May 2008 07:08 CDT

By TROY PHILLIPS

After seeing the present occasionally falter the previous few days, North Texas track coach Rick Watkins was relieved to see the future deliver good news.

UNT came up short in bids to win men's and women's team titles, but freshmen Alysha Adams and Jermaine Jamison won gold medals during Sunday's finals of the Sun Belt Conference Track and Field Championships.

"We've had a big year from our freshmen all year," Watkins said. "It's great to see those two step up. They deserve all the success they've had."

Adams was honored as the meet's Top Freshman, contributing in 26 of UNT's 115 points to help the Mean Green women finish second to Western Kentucky (143).

She won the 100-meter hurdles after junior teammate and favorite Lauren Wiggins was disqualified in Saturday's prelims. Wiggins' trail leg was too far outside the near-lane hurdles.

Adams ran lead leg on UNT's silver-medal 4x100 relay and was second in Saturday's heptathlon finals.

"We just had too many mistakes earlier in the meet to overcome," Watkins said.

Jamison helped UNT's men finish fourth with 98 points, winning the high jump at 6 feet, 8 3/4 inches. Western Kentucky won the men's title with 144 points.

A top contender in the women's triple and long jumps, junior Brandi Stanfield, was fourth and sixth in the events.

Wild finish

UNT swept the night's finales, the men's and women's 4x400 relays. UNT's anchor runners -- Kelvin Wright and Ciara Smith -- passed the leaders in the final 100 meters.

"That's exactly how you want to do it," Rick Watkins said. "It doesn't matter who's in first on the back stretch."

Regional contingent

UNT has its most regional qualifying marks (14) since 2002-03, when it had 20. Eight new ones came this weekend regardless of place, and one by virtue of a gold medal.

Temitayo Harriman won the men's 800, but his time of 1 minute, 54.30 seconds wouldn't have qualified for regionals had he finished second. Conference champions automatically advance.

Overruled

UNT's Billy Giano took second in the men's 1,500 but was nearly disqualified.

Middle Tennessee protested that Giano pushed one of its runners who finished lower.

Giano explained to a judge he was suddenly cut off in traffic, and he put his arms on someone to keep from falling.

Texas A&M wins Big 12 softball title, seeded 5th in NCAA tourney

Sun, 11 May 2008 21:23 CDT

OKLAHOMA CITY -- Megan Gibson pitched a three-hit shutout as the Texas A&M Aggies won their first Big 12 softball tournament championship with a 5-0 victory over the Nebraska Cornhuskers.

Gibson allowed three singles and two walks and never allowed a runner past second base.

Texas A&M was seeded fifth overall in the NCAA Tournament as a region host and will play Stephen F. Austin in the first round in College Station on Friday. Selections and pairings were made Sunday night.

Texas was placed in the Houston region and will play Washington on Friday in the first round.

Oklahoma will host Oregon in a first-round game in Norman, Okla. Arkansas and Tulsa will meet in the other first-round game in Norman.

The top-seeded Aggies (49-7) took the lead Sunday against Nebraska on consecutive singles by Jamie Hinshaw, Holly Ridley and Erin Glasco to start the second inning. Macie Morrow added a one-out single to make it 2-0.

Kelsey Spittler added an RBI single, Morrow scored on a wild pitch and Gibson added a run-scoring groundout as the lead swelled to five in the fourth inning.

"It's just great to finally get that monkey off our back," Aggies head coach Jo Evans said. "We haven't played well at this tournament and I thought we came out this weekend and looked really good."

Gibson (33-1) picked up her 16th shutout of the season, striking out six.

Nebraska (25-27) came into the tournament as the last place team in the conference and became the first No. 10 seed to reach the championship game. A win would have given the Cornhuskers an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.

Molly Hill (15-17), the winning pitcher in Nebraska's upsets of Kansas, second-seeded Oklahoma and Texas Tech, gave up five runs on 10 hits for the Cornhuskers.

Gibson, a senior from Spring, was named the tournament Most Outstanding Player, adding to her regular-season honors as Player of the Year and Pitcher of the year. Texas A&M, the Big 12 regular-season champion, improved to 49-7 on the season.

Texas A&M defeated Iowa State and Texas on Saturday to reach Sunday's championship game.

Big 12 Sunday: Nebraska sweeps Texas A&M in baseball

Sun, 11 May 2008 21:02 CDT

LINCOLN, Neb. -- The Nebraska Cornhuskers rallied in the late innings in both games Sunday to sweep a doubleheader from the Texas A&M Aggies and cut the Aggies' lead in the Big 12 baseball race to 1 1/2 games.

Second-place Nebraska (38-9-1, 17-6-1 Big 12) scored five runs in the bottom of the ninth of the opener to win 9-8. In the second game, the Cornhuskers overcame a five-run deficit with three runs in the sixth, seventh and eighth innings for a 13-10 victory.

Texas A&M (42-10, 19-5) plays at UT-Arlington on Tuesday before meeting Texas in a three-game series on the weekend.

Bryce Nimmo had four hits and four RBIs in the second game for Nebraska. In the opener, Mitch Abeita producied the go-ahead run with a two-out single. The Huskers' victory in the opener ended the Aggies' Big 12-record 16-game conference win streak.

Texas A&M led 9-4 in the second game. Mike Nesseth (4-1) pitched 2 2-3 shutout innings to finish and pick up the win in the second game. Shane Minks (4-1) took the loss, with Nebraska scoring three unearned runs against him in 1 2-3 innings.

Jose Duran went 2-for-4 with four RBIs for the Aggies, including a three-run homer in the sixth.

Texas Tech 12, Oklahoma State 10

STILLWATER, Okla. (AP) _ Willie Rueda and Chris Hall each drove in four runs as Texas Tech rallied from an eight-run deficit to beat Oklahoma State.

Hall drew a bases-loaded walk in the ninth inning from Cowboys closer Jordy Mercer (0-2) to give the Red Raiders a 10-8 lead, and Rueda and Joey Kenworthy followed with an RBI singles.

Neil Medchill hit a solo home run in the bottom of the ninth, and Oklahoma State had the tying run at the plate before Thomas Belza grounded into a double play.

The Cowboys led 8-0 after a five-run fourth inning against Texas Tech starter Nathan Karns, but Hall and Rueda led the Red Raiders right back.

Hall had an RBI single and Rueda a two-run double in the fifth inning, and Hall's two-run single in the sixth got Tech within 8-6.

Roger Kieschnick's two-run home run tied the game, and Rueda gave Tech its first lead with an RBI single in the eighth.

James Leverton (2-3) got the final four outs to pick up the win.

Oklahoma 10, Kansas State 2

NORMAN, Okla. -- J.T. Wise homered and drove in four runs as Oklahoma beat Kansas State 10-2 Sunday to move ahead of the Wildcats in the Big 12 standings.

Mike Gosse also homered and drove in two runs, and Casey Johnson added three hits and two RBIs as the Sooners moved into eighth place — the final spot that advances to the Big 12 tournament — with one week left in the regular season.

Ryan Duke (6-4) gave up one run on three hits in seven innings. He struck out four and walked two.

Wise had an RBI single in the first inning and added a three-run home run off Kansas State starter Justin Murray (2-2) in the third inning to stretch the lead to 5-0. The Sooners also scored four runs in the fifth inning. Byron Wiley hit his first home run of the season for the Wildcats.

Saturday's games

Top assistants willing to play waiting game

Sun, 11 May 2008 04:38 CDT

By Wendell Barnhouse

When Bobby Bowden ends his remarkable run as Florida State's football coach, there will be a succession instead of a search.

Last December, Florida State announced that offensive coordinator Jimbo Fisher would be the Seminoles' next head coach. All that remains is for the 78-year-old Bowden to decide when it's time to walk away.

"I've always signed five-year contracts," Bowden said. "Now, I'm on a one-year basis. I'm still the head football coach. But I'm at the end of my career, and you wonder how you'll retire and what will happen to your staff.

"I think this succession plan is a plus all the way around. It's been a relief that this has been taken care of this way."

The medieval-sounding "head coach in waiting" has become a mini-trend for athletic directors who are seeking smooth transitions and continuity.

Texas Tech decided in 2005 that Pat Knight would be his father's successor as the school's men's basketball coach.

When Bob Knight retired in February, athletic director Gerald Myers didn't have to worry about a frenzy of interest in the vacant job plus the pressure of finding a replacement for the coach who has won more Division I games than any other.

"Recruiters were using Bob's future against us," Myers said. "Having Pat in position to step in helped us keep the recruiting in place and made for a smooth transition.

"And it certainly helped with my peace of mind having a coach in place and not having to worry about a [coaching] search."

Myers has followed the Knight to Knight transition by doing the same thing in baseball. Last month, Texas Tech announced that assistant coach Dave Spencer would replace Larry Hays when Hays decides to step down.

While a number of longtime assistants in football and basketball have stepped in as replacements when their bosses stepped down, officially naming a successor before the fact has become more popular.

Before the 2004-05 season, Purdue hired Matt Painter -- a former Boilermakers player and assistant -- from Southern Illinois. Painter served as a head-coaching apprentice during Gene Keady's final season in West Lafayette, Ind.

The school is following a similar path this season. Football coach Joe Tiller, age 65, will retire after this, his 12th season at Purdue.

The Boilermakers hired Danny Hope, who spent the last five seasons as head coach at Eastern Kentucky, to coach with Tiller this season before Hope takes over in 2009.

Purdue athletic director Morgan Burke doesn't believe he has reinvented the hiring wheel. The coach-in-waiting template requires unique circumstances.

"These succession plans only work if you have a program that's operating in an effective manner," he said. "You have a coach who is willing to make the handoff and you have a coach who's willing to come in and serve one year as an assistant.

"If you can't get those things lined up, this approach doesn't work."

Circumstances also can derail a perfect plan.

Sean Sutton was the designated head coach and replaced his father, Eddie, as basketball coach at Oklahoma State. Sean Sutton was dismissed in March after two years on the job.

Last November, Kevin O'Neill and Arizona athletic director Jim Livengood had a handshake agreement that O'Neill would be Lute Olson's successor as the Wildcats' basketball coach. The 73-year-old Olson, who took a leave absence for the 2007-08 season, has returned to his job. O'Neill has been reassigned in the athletic department until his contract expires June 1.

COLLEGE NOTES: Derrey sets TCU mark at regional tournament

Sun, 11 May 2008 14:46 CDT

Valentine Derrey shot a TCU tournament-record 210, helping the Horned Frogs' golf team to a fourth-place finish at the women's NCAA Central Regional in Austin and a second consecutive trip to the NCAA National Championship.

TCU will be making its first back-to-back appearances at the nationals since 1999-2000.

Derrey finished third after carding a 73 on Saturday. Her 6-under-par 210 bettered the previous TCU 54-hole mark of 211 by Catherine Matranga at the Jeannine McHaney Invitational in 2006.

Derrey finished two strokes behind Purdue's Maria Hernandez and UCLA's Maria Jose Uribe, who tied for medalist honors at 208.

Allyson Ferguson also posted a top-10 finish as she tied for eighth with a 1-over 217.

TCU had a final round 11-over-par 299 to finish with an 884. Top seed and third-ranked UCLA placed first at 861.

The nationals are set for May 20-23 in Albuquerque, N.M.

In other TCU news:

Baseball: TCU scored four runs in the sixth inning and beat UT-Pan American 4-3 despite having only three hits.

The Horned Frogs (34-16) scored on a pair of walks, an error and an RBI double by Clint Arnold, who later stole home for another run.

Andrew Cashner gave up one hit in four innings of relief. Tyler Lockwood, who started, gave up one earned run in five innings.

UTA

Track and field: Quinchun Carey won the long jump with a 25-1 1/4 at the Southland Conference Track and Field Championships in Huntsville. Carey qualified for the regional meet with the jump.

Baseball: Michael Choice went 4-for-5 with four RBI and Matt Ryan held SFA scoreless in 5 2/3 innings of relief, helping the Mavericks to a 13-5 victory in the Southland Conference.

Brock Wilson had two hits and three RBI, and David McLeod two hits and two RBI for the Mavericks (22-28, 13-13 SLC).

Big 12 softball

Megan Gibson pitched two complete games, including a five-hitter against Texas, leading the Aggies to a 3-1 victory over the Longhorns and a spot against Nebraska in the Big 12 Softball Championships in Oklahoma City.

Gibson threw a two-hitter in a 1-0 victory over Iowa State earlier in the day. Texas reached the semifinals when Kacie Gaskin hit a sacrifice fly in the ninth inning for a 4-3 victory over Oklahoma State.

Nebraska 6, Texas Tech 1: Crystal Carwile hit a three-run home run, Haley Long had two hits and two RBI, and Molly Hill threw an eight-hitter for the Cornhuskers.

Nebraska earlier scored five runs over the first three innings and held on to beat Oklahoma 6-5. Texas Tech scored three runs in the fifth inning to beat Missouri 5-3.

Guard trying to shake bad rap

Sun, 11 May 2008 04:38 CDT

By Mike Jones

J'Covan Brown understands that some might have the wrong impression about who he is and what he's about.

"They just see me on the court," the Port Arthur Memorial senior said. "They forget I'm still a teenager learning about life. I've learned from my mistakes. I'm not a bad person."

In fact, people who know the Texas signee stress just the opposite, though indeed the fact that he was kicked off his high school basketball team this past December -- while averaging 29.9 points a game -- might lead some to question his character, if not his advanced skill as a combination guard.

Brown was ejected for arguing with an official, then later suspended and dismissed for leaving courtside with time remaining on the clock. It was only the latest in a history of emotional, competitive-fueled outbursts that go back several years and include summer competition.

"I'm very passionate about basketball," Brown said. "And I know that sometimes my emotions take over. But if people knew me off the court, they would see that I would give the shirt off my back to anyone who needs help."

B.J. Tyler, a former all-Southwest Conference guard at Texas (1994) now living in the Port Arthur area, is Brown's mentor. He has counseled Brown in what is and isn't acceptable on-court behavior. He believes that Brown has learned from his mistakes.

"He understands that nobody is picking on him, that he created this," Tyler said. "But he also understands that he's created a beautiful upside."

The two work out almost daily as Brown attempts to keep his game in tune while also struggling to qualify academically for admission to Texas. Brown took the SAT on Thursday.

"I know J'Covan has worked hard to finish the classes he needed and get into position to take this test," Tyler said. "He could have taken a negative outlook on a whole bunch of stuff. But he's focused on the job at hand, which is getting into school.

"J'Covan smiles differently, he walks differently. I think he feels he's making progress and looking forward to a new chapter in his life."

J'Covan's father, Johnny, and the Texas coaching staff point out that Brown's on-court demeanor belie his off-court personality.

"We've never had a problem with him off the court," Johnny Brown said. "J'Covan just has the will to win. Everything he puts his hands on, he assumes he has to win. And that's just sometimes a problem on the court.

"He's very, very competitive. Sometimes, too much for his own good."

No one questions his potential to be an impact player at the next level.

"He definitely can help us," Texas coach Rick Barnes said. "I hope he makes it -- for him -- I really do. I think he will benefit from being in our program and if he makes it, will have a really productive career."

UT assistant coach Rodney Terry, the point man for Brown's recruitment, said Brown is the kind of competitive player Barnes covets -- a player who could provide a boost to next year's team and help compensate for the loss of All-American point guard D.J. Augustin.

"He plays with tremendous pace," Terry said. "He can really push it, is a really good passer and knows how to put the ball in the cup."

Mike Kunstadt, a former high school coach and founder of texashoops.com, has long been considered a definitive judge of high school talent in the state. He sees a lot to like of the 6-foot-2 combo guard who is regarded as a consensus top 50 pick nationally.

"A tremendous athlete," Kunstadt said. "He has size, can handle, shoot the deep 3s, can drive. He's got all the skills. He just needs to channel his emotions as well as his competitiveness."

Brown now plays the waiting game. Waiting for his grades to come out after school dismisses June 3, waiting for his SAT results. Yearning to get back on the court.

Briefs

Sun, 11 May 2008 04:37 CDT

Track and field

Robinson wins 800: Former TCU All-American Khadevis Robinson won the 800 on Saturday at the California Invitational Relays in Modesto. Robinson finished in a time of 1 minute, 47.32 seconds. Robinson, the four-time U.S. outdoor champion in the 800, finished slightly off last year's top times for the best U.S. runner at his distance. "This is my home away from home, but sometimes the body doesn't allow you to do it," Robinson said. "I'll take a win any day, though." Meanwhile, Mike Rodgers and Lauryn Williams won the 100-meter races. Rodgers' 10.06-second dash is the fastest by an American this year, while Williams won in 11.18. Williams also won the 200 in 22.85.

Tennis

Roddick, Stepanek withdraw from semifinals: The biggest losers at the Rome Masters on Saturday were the fans. One after the other, Andy Roddick and Radek Stepanek quit shortly after their semifinal matches began. Roddick pulled out with a back problem after falling behind 3-0 in the first set against Stanislas Wawrinka. Stepanek stopped while trailing Novak Djokovic 6-0, 1-0 after appearing affected by the heat. Total elapsed time for the two matches: a wimpy 49 minutes. Wawrinka and Djokovic will play in today's final.

Dementieva, Safina reach final: Elena Dementieva beat second-ranked Ana Ivanovic 6-2, 7-5 to reach the final of the German Open in Berlin. In today's final, the ninth-ranked Dementieva will face fellow Russian and 17th-ranked Dinara Safina, who beat Victoria Azarenka 6-4, 6-1.

Softball

Record crowd watches U.S. team win: Monica Abbott struck out five of the six batters she faced, and Team USA beat NPF's Washington Glory 2-0 in front of 8,724 fans in Bowie, Md., the largest crowd to see an American pre-Olympic tour game. The attendance shattered the previous mark for a pre-Olympic tour game of 7,245 in Lake Jackson in 1996. It was just short of the Olympic record of 8,750 set in Atlanta in 1996.

Soccer

U.S. women blank Canada: Natasha Kai had her first career hat trick with three second-half goals to lead the United States to a 6-0 win against Canada in a friendly at RFK Stadium in Washington.

Hockey

Staal leads Canada: Eric Staal scored four goals to help Canada rout Germany 10-1 for its fifth straight win at the hockey world championships in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Canada will face Finland on Monday with the top seed in the single-elimination quarterfinals at stake. In Quebec City, Alexander Ovechkin scored with six seconds left to lead Russia to a 3-2 comeback win over Sweden. Earlier, the Czech Republic beat Belarus 3-2 in a shootout.

Boxing

American wins WBC title: Timothy Bradley of the United States remained unbeaten after he knocked down Junior Witter of Great Britain in the sixth round on the way to winning the WBC light welterweight title on a split decision in Nottingham, England.

Horse racing

Recapturetheglory ill, could miss Preakness: Recapturetheglory might skip the Preakness after developing a fever. The colt finished fifth in the Kentucky Derby. Assistant trainer Lara Van Deren said the colt became feverish Friday night and his temperature spiked at 102 degrees Saturday morning.

Cycling

BMX racer clinches Olympic berth: Kyle Bennett is the United States' first Olympic BMX qualifier. A three-time BMX world champion, Bennett clinched his spot on this summer's Beijing-bound team, making the finals of a World Cup race in Copenhagen, Denmark, enough to wrap up USA Cycling's yearlong points competition for an automatic Olympic berth. BMX makes its Olympic debut this summer.

Slipstream wins 1st Giro stage: The Slipstream-Chipotle team won the first stage of the Giro d'Italia in Palermo, Sicily, with American Christian Vandevelde crossing first to take the leader's pink jersey.

TCU | NCAA TENNIS: Women, men bow out in regional play

Sat, 10 May 2008 10:25 CDT

TCU's season ended in men's and women's tennis Friday with NCAA regional losses.

The 26th-ranked women fell to Tulsa 4-3 in Waco.

The men's team, ranked 34th, lost a 4-3 decision to Rice in a match that took nearly five hours in Austin.

"Tulsa played a really nice match," TCU women's coach Jefferson Hammond said. "They handled the heat a little better than we did and really competed well. We had a really nice season, and this was a tough way for it to end, but I'm proud of the girls and how they competed. We're looking forward to the NCAA individual championships."

Macall Harkins and Anna Sydorska will represent TCU at the NCAA individual championships in Tulsa, Okla. Nina Munch-Soegaard will be the third alternate in singles.

Harkins beat Thalia Diaz-Barriga 4-6, 6-0, 6-3.

Munch-Soegaard took a 6-2, 7-5 win over Alexandra Kichoutkin. The win was Munch-Soegaard's ninth over a ranked opponent this season.

From the men's team, Cosmin Cotet will compete in singles at the NCAA national tournament. He will team with Kriegler Brink in doubles.

Cotet beat Bruno Rosa 7-6 (5), 6-0 and teamed with Adrian Simson for an 8-3 doubles victory over Chong Wang and Tobias Scheil.

The victory was Cotet's 13th of the season over a ranked opponent and the third against a player ranked in the top 20.

"We played really well today," TCU men's coach Dave Borelli said. "We had our chances in doubles and couldn't take advantage of them.

"We played really well in singles, and I think Rice was just the better team. The guys left it all out on the court today, and I'm really proud of them."