VOLLEYBALL TEAM TAKES THIRD. The volleyball team finished third in the Southland Conference regular season behind Texas State and Stephen F. Austin. In the first round of the conference tournament, the Lady Mavs lost to Nicholls State, which went on to win the tournament and earn an automatic NCAA berth. The loss ended a run of two straight trips to the NCAA Tournament for UTA, which won both the regular season and conference tournament titles last year. Senior Melissa Robinett and juniors Heather Dunn and Caley Smith earned second-team All-Southland Conference honors.

CROSS COUNTRY WOMEN FINISH SECOND. The women’s cross country team had four runners in the top 14, but it wasn’t enough as Stephen F. Austin took the 2003 Southland Conference Cross Country Championship on Nov. 3 at Huntsville. UTA finished with 72 points, two ahead of third-place Lamar. SFA won the meet with 42 points. Senior Lisa Haglund was third in the individual competition while her twin sister, Kasja, finished fifth. In the men’s division, UTA was fifth. Erik Petersson was the team’s top finisher, placing seventh.
 
TENNIS ASSISTANT COACH HIRED. Diego Benitez has been named assistant tennis coach, helping head coach Christian Wassmer with both the men’s and women’s teams. Benitez, a 2000 graduate of Texas Wesleyan University, previously was head coach at his alma mater and a volunteer assistant at TCU.

UTA RANKS HIGH IN BASKETBALL POLLS. A preseason poll of league coaches picked UTA to win the men’s SLC basketball title this year. The UTA women ranked fourth.

GOLFER ADDS NAME TO RECORD BOOKS. Freshman Marc Campbell shot one of the best rounds in UTA history in October as he finished with a seven-under-par 209 in the South Alabama/Fall Beach Classic in Gulf Shores, Ala. The 54-hole total ties Campbell for the school’s fourth best three-round total. The score is only three strokes off the all-time best total of 206.

CORRIE NETS TITLE. Senior David Corrie won the Men’s A Division Singles title at the Ragin’ Cajuns Men’s Tennis Classic in Lafayette, La., Nov. 2, as he defeated South Alabama’s Fero Babej, 6-3, 6-4, in the championship match. Earlier in the fall season, Corrie, a three-year letterman from London, England, reached the quarterfinals of the prestigious International Tennis Association Region VI Tournament in Fort Worth.

OUTFIELDER EARNS SUMMER ALL-AMERICA AWARD. Baseball America named junior outfielder Hunter Pence to its 2003 first-team Summer All-America team. College players who perform well in summer leagues make the team. Pence dominated the Jayhawk League with a .429 batting average and led the Liberal (Kan.) Blue Jays in hits (61), home runs (seven), runs batted in (39), triples (four) and total bases (102). He was named the team’s most valuable player.

PENNINGTON QUALIFIES FOR GOLF AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIPS. Sophomore Pete Pennington became the first UTA golfer under head coach Jay Rees to qualify for the U.S. Golf Association Amateur Championships, which were held in Oakmont, Pa., in August. Pennington qualified by finishing in a tie for second at the Texas Star Golf Course in Euless.

FORMER OUTFIELDER WINS HONOR. Daniel Ortmeier was named 2003 most valuable player and offensive player of the year for the San Jose Giants in the Class A California League. Ortmeier, who played at UTA in the 2000 and 2001 seasons, batted .304 with 32 doubles, 62 runs scored, 56 runs batted in, eight home runs and 13 stolen bases in 115 games.

FORMER GOLFER CLAIMS TOUR WIN. Former UTA golfer Shad Muth captured his first Gateway Tour victory in August as he won the Glassical Design Classic at the Crow Creek Golf Club in Calabash, N.C. He shot a 17-under-par 199. Muth, who played at UTA in the 2001 and 2002 seasons, earned All-Southland Conference honors both years.