UT gets win in softball opener
The Texas softball team opened Friday’s doubleheader with a 3-0 win over Oklahoma State at McCombs Field.
The win improved the Longhorns’ record to 10-1 in the Big 12 before the second game of the series.
Brooke Bolinger pitched a shutout and struck out 11 to earn the win.
Bekah Alcozer hit a home run in the second inning for Texas. Janae Jefferson added some insurance when she hit a two-run single to put the Longhorns up 3-0 in the fifth. She finished 2-for-3 as the only Longhorn to have a multihit game. MK Tedder had a hit and scored a run, and Malory Schattle scored a run.
Volleyball: Texas released its 2018 schedule Friday, and the Longhorns should expect to be tested this fall.
For the second straight year, Texas will open its season against Florida and Oregon at the VERT Challenge. UT is set to host nonconference matches against Texas State and Kentucky, and the team will travel to Wisconsin. Stanford, which has beaten Texas in the past two postseasons, will have a homeand-home series with UT on Sept. 11 and 14.
Texas’ first match in Big 12 play will be against Kansas State on Sept. 19.
The Longhorns will play 13 matches against nine teams that reached the NCAA Tournament in 2017. Florida was the NCAA’s runner-up last season. No. 4 Stanford, No. 6 Kentucky and No. 12 Wisconsin were all top-tier teams in the AVCA’s final poll of the year. Texas was listed fifth.
There were two notable omissions from UT’s schedule. After meeting the past two seasons and during a scrimmage this spring, Texas will not play rival Texas A&M. The Longhorns will also miss NCAA champion Nebraska, with Texas transfer Lexi Sun, at the Husker-hosted VERT Challenge.
Texas went 27-3 last season. Two-time All-America outside hitter Micaya White is among the team’s 10 returnees. The Longhorns have also signed middle blocker Asjia O’Neal and libero Sydney Petersen.
Women’s basketball: Former UT basketball standout Nneka Enemkpali’s career as a college coach is about to begin.
Enemkpali, who played for the Longhorns from 2011 to 2015, has been named assistant women’s coach at UC Santa Barbara, the school announced Thursday.
Enemkpali enters her first college on-court coaching job after spending two seasons as the women’s basketball video coordinator at Gonzaga. There, she was part of two West Coast Conference Championships and two NCAA Tournament appearances, as the Bulldogs posted a 53-13 record.
Men’s tennis: The Longhorns suffered a 4-3 setback Thursday, dropping three singles contests and the doubles point to Texas Tech in Lubbock.
Ilgiz Valiev topped Rodrigo Banzer 6-7 (2), 6-2, 6-0 in a comeback victory to clinch the match for the No. 32 Red Raiders.
“Tough day,” UT coach Michael Center said. “We had trouble executing in doubles and then struggled to finish some opportunities in singles.”
Texas Tech earned the doubles point after dropping one set 6-1. Harrison Scott and Christian Sigsgaard put No. 15 Texas in the lead briefly with their win.