UT to help open Tech track facility

Corky Classic will christen new Sports Performance Center.

This weekend, Texas will return to the track and the field.

Texas’ track and field program will send the bulk of its athletes to Texas Tech’s Corky Classic on Saturday. For UT, the indoor season technically began at last month’s Clemson Opener. Only eight Longhorns were sent to that competition, but Elena Bruckner (shot put), Barrett Poth (pole vault), O’Brien Wasome (long jump) and Alan Zapalac (weight throw) recorded wins.

The Longhorns will be joined in Lubbock by the hosts, Baylor, Houston, LSU and Oklahoma State. The Corky Classic, which will christen Texas Tech’s Sports Performance Center, is named in honor of a longtime coach and administrator for the Red Raiders. Gerald “Corky” Oglesby, who also served as an official at the Texas Relays, lost a battle with cancer in November.

“We’re very excited to get our season rolling this weekend, but even more so we are humbled to be invited to the inaugural Corky Classic,” UT coach Mario Sategna said in a news release. “Corky Oglesby made a significant impact on our sport with decades of service and coaching at Texas Tech.”

Texas does not have an indoor facility, so UT fans will have to catch the Longhorns on the road this winter. Texas is set to return to Texas Tech later this month, and the Longhorns will also participate at meets in College Station, Seattle and Fayetteville, Ark.

The Big 12 meet will be held in Ames, Iowa, on Feb. 23-24. College Station will host the NCAA Championships in March.

UT swimmers place at Pro Series event: Former Longhorn and Olympic gold medalist Jack Conger took the men’s 100-meter fly final as current and former Longhorns competed in the Arena Pro Series at the Jamail Texas Swimming Center on Thursday night.

Conger finished the 100 fly in 51.80 seconds to take first place, with another former Horn, Tripp Cooper, second at 53.02.

The next-best finish for a former Longhorn was Clark Smith’s second place in the 200 freestyle. He finished in 1:49.34. Zane Grothe beat him by less than a second.

Former Longhorn Will Licon took fourth in the men’s 200 breaststroke with a 2:11.99.

On the women’s side, former Longhorn Madisyn Cox took second in the 400 individual medley with a 4:42.22. Current Longhorn Evie Pfieffer took fifth in 4:48.77.

Cox also was fourth in the 200 breaststroke in 2:28.35.

Quinn Carrozza took fourth in the 200 backstroke, clocking a 2:11.01.

Zelon leaves volleyball program: Texas has one fewer candidate to replace Cat McCoy.

UT confirmed Thursday freshman libero Olivia Zelon has left the volleyball program. Zelon, from Santa Monica, Calif., did not play during her only year at Texas. A member of UT’s top-rated recruiting class in 2017, the 5-foot-6 Zelon redshirted after she graduated from high school early and went through spring drills at Texas.

McCoy has been UT’s libero since 2014, but she graduated and will play beach volleyball at Washington. She is the school’s all-time leader in digs.

So who will be Texas’ next libero? In addition to her role as a defensive specialist, rising junior Autumn Rounsaville appeared as a libero in one set against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi last season. Claire Hahn, who will be a junior this fall, averaged 1.43 digs per set in 2017, and Natalie Gilbert earned some playing time during her junior year. Texas also recently signed Sydney Petersen out of Iowa’s DikeNew Hartford High.

Men’s tennis: Texas came away with nine victories on the first day of the Longhorn Invitational at the Weller Tennis Center on Friday.

The eighth-ranked Longhorns had five singles wins to go with four wins in doubles on the first day of the threeday event.

John Mee, ranked 52nd, and No. 98 Rodrigo Banzer each started the day with singles victories in straight sets. Mee defeated Maxwell Freeman of Vanderbilt 6-3, 7-5, and Banzer took a 6-4, 6-4 win over Carlo Donato of Virginia Tech.

Johnny Goodwin also took a straight-sets victory before Adrian Ortiz needed three sets to top Chase Bernstine of Virginia Tech. Goodwin topped Ryan Kros of Virginia Tech 6-2, 6-3. Ortiz bested Bernstine 6-2, 1-6, 6-4.

Sophomore All-American Yuya Ito trailed by a set before defeating Panu Virtanen 2-6, 6-3, 6-3.

Banzer and Leo Telles teamed up in doubles to take an 8-6 win over the duo from Virginia Tech.

Ito and Harrison Scott defeated a Vanderbilt team 8-6.

Mee and Colin Markes beat a duo from Virginia Tech 8-3.

Christian Sigsgaard and Ortiz took the final doubles match 8-5 over No. 36 Lachlan McPhee and Billy Rowe of Vanderbilt.