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The UTEP track and field team will compete in the 2018 Conference USA Men’s and Women’s Championships beginning on Saturday, February 17 at the Birmingham CrossPlex in Birmingham, Al.

The championship events begin on Saturday at 8 a.m. MT starting with the combined events, field events will start at 1 p.m. and running events will kick off at 3 p.m.

The men’s team has captured two C-USA indoor titles (2006 and 2014) and the women’s team have three league titles (2015-17). Last year, the women’s team notched their third consecutive title edging out Rice by four points.

Competing for the Miners will be sophomore Michael Saruni in the 800m and mile run. Saruni ranks No. 1 in the nation in the 800m after clocking the second-fastest time (1:44.89) in NCAA history, just behind his distance coach Paul Ereng. Teammate Jonah Koech will compete alongside Saruni in both events and is ranked No. 3 in the nation in the mile (3:55.81). The Kenya natives will take the track on Saturday at 3:15 p.m.

Senior Asa Guevara will compete in the 400m, where he is ranked first in the league with a time of 46.68, followed by Carvellion Horn.

In the 60m hurdles, newcomers Shakeem Smith and David Rivera will take the track at 3:55 p.m. Smith ranks fourth in the league clocking in a time of 8.09.

Three Miners will race in the 3,000m and 5,000m, Antony Kosgei, Cornelius Kapel and Boaz Ronoh. The trio will start the 5,000m on Saturday at 6:55 p.m. and the 3,000m beginning at 1:50 p.m. on Sunday.

In the field events, Etamar Bhastekar ranks tied for first in the league in the pole vault with a leap of 5.20m (17-0.5). Bhastekar will compete at 3 p.m.

Darius King, Donivan Ortega and Devin Mungro will all see action in both the long jump and triple jump. The long jump will start on Saturday at 3 p.m. and the triple jump will begin on Sunday at 10 a.m.

On the women’s side, Senior Lucia Mokrasova will defend her title in the pentathlon starting on Saturday at 8:15 a.m. The Slovakia native will compete in five events in one day, which include the 60m hurdles, high jump, shot put, long jump and 800m. Mokrasova set the school record in the pentathlon last year at the league championships scoring 3,950 points.

Junior Lilian Koech will compete in the mile where she’s ranked first in the league with a season-best time of 4:41.03. Koech will take the track with teammate Linda Cheruiyot at 3 p.m.

A trio of newcomers, Carolyne Chepkosgei, Andrea Lucero and Destiny White will all battle in the 800m trail on Saturday at 5:30 p.m. Chepkosgei clocked the fourth-fastest time in C-USA with a time of 2:11.22.

In the field events, Tyler Ragin will compete in the long jump starting at 5:30 p.m., followed by Cierra Chenault in the shot put beginning at 6 p.m.

Be sure to follow @UTEPTrack on Twitter and UTEPTRACK on Instagram for live updates and breaking news.

The meet will conclude Sunday night and will be available on ESPN3 at 1 p.m. MT.

Live Video Stream Link – Day 1 (Free)

Live Video Stream Link – Day 2 (Free)

Live Stats Link

Espn3 Video Stream Link (coming soon)

UTEP led all Conference USA athletic programs in the final 2016-17 Division I Learfield Directors’ Cup standings, released this week.

The Learfield Directors’ Cup measures performance in NCAA Championship competition.  The Miners scored a total of 242.5 points for a no. 83 national finish.  The second-highest rated program in C-USA was Middle Tennessee with 217.5 points (91st), while Rice scored 142.5 points to rank 121st.

A total of 293 Division I athletic programs were ranked.

The Miners scored their points from men’s indoor track & field (50 points), men’s outdoor track & field (50 points), women’s outdoor track & field (50 points), men’s cross country (45 points), women’s indoor track & field (25 points) and men’s golf (22.5 points).

The UTEP men’s track & field team finished tied for 22nd at the NCAA Indoor Meet and tied for 23rd at NCAA Outdoors.  Women’s track & field tied for 47th at NCAA Indoors and tied for 21st at NCAA Outdoors.  Men’s cross country took 29th place at NCAAs.  Men’s golf reached NCAA Regionals as a team for the first time since 2004.

The Learfield Directors’ Cup was developed as a joint effort between the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) and USA Today.  Points are awarded based on each institution’s finish in up to 20 sports in Division I — 10 men’s and 10 women’s.

TEXARKANA – The UTEP men’s golf team defeated Southern Miss (4-1, semifinals) and Charlotte (4-1, finals) in match-play format to win the 2017 Conference USA Men’s Golf Championship at the Texarkana Country Club on Tuesday.

It is the first conference title since 1985 and only the second in program history. The Orange and Blue also punched their ticket to the NCAA Regionals for the first time as a team since 2004.

It was the fitting conclusion to the three-day event for the Miners, who notched the top seed in match play after their first-place showing in stroke play (15-over 879; 287-294-298).

“You have a lot of moving parts going on,” sixth-year head coach Scott Lieberwirth said. “It’s tough to judge [the match]. The best part is we got the first two points on the board. Knowing that we had leads in two other matches, we knew we just needed to hang on and close out one of those matches.”

Battling in a match that was too close to call early, Nicklas Pihl got the Miners off to a solid start in the championship vs. Charlotte. The match with the 49ers’ Conor Purcell was all square through eight holes before Pihl found another gear. He won two of the next three holes to go 2UP through the 11th hole, and Purcell could never recover.

UTEP pushed its team advantage to 2-0, thanks to Charles Corner knocking off the 49ers’ Matty Lamb, 2UP. Corner started fast by taking the first two holes, an edge he maintained through the turn. Lamb’s comeback started on the back nine with wins at both 10 and 13 to make the match all square. Corner remained steadfast, winning both the 15th and 18th holes to put Lamb away.

Charlotte tried to claw back into the championship with Tyler Young edging Aaron Terrazas, 1UP. The match was all square through 15 holes but Young found the necessary separation after carding a 3 and Terrazas recorded a 4 on the 17th hole. Both golfers fired 4s on the 18th hole to give the 49ers a team point.

The lone senior on the team Frederik Dreier then took center stage. The reigning C-USA Golfer of the Year was in a back and forth match with Charlotte’s John Gough. All squared through 10 holes, Dreier won three of the next five holes to take control of the dual. Gough claimed hole No. 16 to get within two, but Dreier prevailed, sending the Miners into celebration.

“It was very emotional,” Dreier said. “This being my last conference [tournament] ever and to win it with the guys was amazing.”

Those sentiments were expounded upon by Lieberwirth.

“I think fittingly, it was Frederik Dreier’s match that clinched it for us, him being a senior, him being the reigning Conference USA Player of the Year,” Lieberwirth said. “It couldn’t have been a better ending for us to have Freddie finish it.”

Andreas Sorensen lost the first two holes to the C-USA individual medalist Seth Gandy before a stunning reversal. He squared with Gandy by the fifth hole and vaulted out to 3UP through hole No. 13. Gandy’s rally came too little, too late, as Sorensen won 1&2.

The Miners made it to the final round of match play after a hard-fought 4-1 win over Southern Miss. The tournament was shortened a day due to a forecast of inclement weather on Wednesday.

“It [weather] forced us to have to play two rounds in back-to-back days, which is something we never do,” Lieberwirth said. “Without question, fatigue was a factor for both teams. We were fortunate to get to that championship match. It’s difficult for everybody involved, but our guys fought through it, they continued to play well throughout the afternoon. They just did a great job.”

Pihl set the tone against the fourth-seeded Southern Miss Golden Eagles with a 3&2 conquest of Walker Kesterson. It was all squared through the opening six holes before Pihl won two of the next three to make the turn 2UP. The Golden Eagle briefly cut into the lead on hole No. 11, but Pihl recovered immediately on No. 12 and never looked back.

Sorensen raced out to a huge lead, taking each of the first five holes from the Golden Eagles’ Derick Kelting. The margin remained five heading into the 13th hole, before Kelting mounted a rally, winning four of the next five to make the dual tight going into the 18th hole. Sorensen did not flinch however, matching Kelting with a 4 and winning the dual.

USM’s Ryan Argotsinger and UTEP’s Dreier battled back-and-forth early on, with Argotsinger 2UP at the turn. Dreier’s aspirations of a comeback didn’t come to fruition, with Argotsinger posting a 5&4 victory.

As it turned out, that proved to be the lone team point in the match for Southern Miss. The Miners clinched the team win thanks to Corner’s 1UP vanquishing of Matt Lorenz. Terrazas downed Matt Codd 1 & 1 to punctuate the victory.

Corner quickly dug himself an early hole, with Lorenz jumping out to a 2UP lead through three holes. Corner responded brilliantly, tasting victory on six of the next seven holes to stand 4UP through the 11th hole. Lorenz fought back and eventually clawed back to all square through 17 holes but Corner won the 18th hole.

It was a compelling match between Terrazas and Codd, with action all square through 16 holes. Terrazas found a way to get it done, though, carding a 3 while Codd was saddled with a 5 on the 17th hole.

The NCAA Regionals are slated to begin on May 15.

“I feel like we have got a lot of grown men,” Lieberwirth said. “They act mature, I think they play the game the right way and I think they act the right way, which is something that we want from our program. I couldn’t be any prouder than I am right now.”

TEXARKANA – The back nine of the Texarkana Country Club golf course was the breakaway point for the UTEP men’s golf team as they pulled away from their tie with North Texas to take sole possession of first place in the final round of stroke play at the Conference USA Men’s Golf Championships and the top seed going into tomorrow’s match play.

The Miners shot 15-over 879 (287-294-298) to best North Texas, who came in second with 19-over 883 (283-297-303) and third place Charlotte, who shot 28-over 892 (289-292-311). Middle Tennessee and Southern Miss tied for fourth with 29-over 893 and will battle in a one-hole playoff tomorrow at 7:30 a.m. CT for the fourth and final spot in the match play portion of the tournament.

The winner will face UTEP while Charlotte and North Texas will compete in the other semifinals match play, with the winners battling for the C-USA team championship.

The first round of match play at the Texarkana Country Club (par 72/6,969 yards) tees off at 7:30 a.m. CT concluding with the second round at 12:30 p.m. CT to determine the 2017 Conference USA Men’s Golf Champion.

Charlotte senior Seth Gandy fired a 2-under 214 (67-71-76) to take individual medalist honors.

“First things first, our goal was to get to the match play, whatever seed it was,” sixth-year head coach Scott Lieberwirth said. “Fortunately, we are the No. 1 seed heading into match play, but tomorrow everything is wiped clean. We have to come out and take care of business in the first match. We’re not sure who that’ll be, the playoff [between Middle Tennessee and Southern Miss] will run tomorrow morning. Whoever we get, we know we’re going to get their best shot. We have to show up ready to go.”

The Miners were the only team in the tournament to have a three round total below 300.

“Throughout the day, and in the afternoon especially, we had a pretty large buffer on those teams trying to make the match play cutoff,” Lieberwirth said. “The golf course was playing extremely difficult this afternoon, the greens were extremely firm and fast as well, that made for very difficult scoring, plus being the second round of the day that these student athletes were playing, fatigue was setting in. It was an extremely long day, but I thought our guys really hung in well. We played that back nine well. I think that was more than anything why we pulled away. We just kind of hung in there and kept playing reasonably well. North Texas and Charlotte both struggled coming in late, which, to be honest, was not hard to do, it was really tough out there.”

The last time the Miners made the match play portion of the Conference USA Championships was in 2015. Though they fell to UAB that year, UTEP’s finish of third place marked the best placing in program history since the institution entered Conference USA in 2006. The team just missed out on last year’s match play when they placed fifth in stroke play.

All five Miners placed in the top-50, but three placed in the top-10. Junior Charles Corner spearheaded the Miners’ run, firing 3-over 219 (73-70-76) to finish in sixth place, five strokes out of first place. Corner made birdie on hole No. 16 in the final round and his second round score of 70 was the lowest of the day for the Miners.

Frederik Dreier and Aaron Terrazas helped the Miners’ first place effort, tying for seventh with 4-over 220. Dreier shot a round of 77 and 72, collecting four birdies, two on the front nine and two on the back nine while bogeying four times on the difficult back nine. Terrazas fired 73 and 74 while tallying a birdie on hole No. 8 and only bogeying once on the back nine.

“They were solid,” Lieberwirth said of Corner, Dreier and Terrazas. “Especially the spring, we haven’t had any great individual performances, meaning top-5s or wins, but we have had consistent, solid play out of all of those guys. They were great. Freddie got a couple of unlucky breaks on the last nine holes, but he played very well. Aaron was solid, start to finish, but you know I feel like we’ve got a group of very solid players that I trust and that I feel confident going into tomorrow with.”

Breaking into the top-20 was Andreas Sorensen, who shot 7-over 223 (70-77-76), finishing with four birdies, three of which came in the third round, to finish with a share of 17th place. Nicklas Pihl rounded out the Miners’ scorecard in a tie for 42nd with 17-over 233 (79-74-80). The junior saw his best round of the tournament in his score of 74 in round two.

“I’m proud of how my guys played,” Lieberwirth said. “They did a great job. I wouldn’t say that was the best day of golf that we’ve played all year, but that was some of the toughest golf we’ve played, without question. I credit my guys for hanging tough.The scores didn’t look great, but the effort that was given and the way that we fought over the last nine holes, I’m very proud of that.”

The Conference USA men’s golf champion will be crowned following the results of the second round of match play. Live stats will be available via golfstat.com.

“You have a good field in this conference, as you can see by the scores,” Lieberwirth said. “We understand nothing is given at this point. In match play, anything can happen. We just have to show up tomorrow and be the better team.”

2017 Conference USA Men’s Golf Championships Stroke Play Final:

Team — Score
1. UTEP – 287-294-298=879 (+15)
2. North Texas – 283-297-303=883 (+19)
3. Charlotte – 289-292-311=892 (+28)
T4. Middle Tennessee – 294-292-307=893 (+29)
T4. Southern Miss – 296-299-298=893 (+29)
6. Marshall – 297-299-304=900 (+36)
7. UTSA – 302-300-300=902 (+38)
8. UAB – 295-298-310=903 (+39)
9. Rice – 299-308-298=905 (+41)
10. WKU – 299-306-305=910 (+46)
11. Louisiana Tech – 307-302-310=919 (+55)
12. Old Dominion – 307-296-317=920 (+56)
13. Florida Atlantic – 307-314-318=939 (+75)

The UTEP men’s golf team will join 12 other teams at the 2017 C-USA Men’s Golf Championship, teeing off Sunday morning at the Texarkana Country Club in Texarkana, Arkansas.

The teams will play the par 72, 6,969-yard course over three days, April 23-25, beginning with 54 holes of stroke play. Following the results of stroke play, the top four teams will advance to a seeded match play round on Wednesday, April 26, with the team champion earning C-USA’s automatic berth to the NCAA Regionals.

The Miners will begin to tee off at 9:20 a.m. CT (8:20 a.m. MT) on hole No. 1, along side top-seeded Middle Tennessee and North Texas. Seeding is based on current Golfstat rankings, Middle Tennessee is ranked No. 53, while UTEP sits at No. 55 and North Texas is No. 62 out of 292 teams. Rice and UTSA will tee off on hole No. 1, while defending champion LA Tech will tee off with Southern Miss and WKU on hole No. 10, all at 8 a.m. CT. At the 8:40 a.m. CT mark, Charlotte and UAB will begin their play on the first tee. Rounding out the teams will be Marshall, FAU and Old Dominion with a 8:50 a.m. CT start from the No. 10 tee.

“National ranking, its really been us and Middle Tennessee bouncing back and forth between the top ranked schools in our conference,” sixth-year head coach Scott Lieberwirth said. “But our conference does have quite a few schools that may not be ranked quite as high, but they’re still strong quality programs. North Texas is very good, Charlotte is good year in and year out, UAB has been a power team in our league for a long time; and then you can mix in others like UTSA, and Rice, who just came off a win.

“There’s a lot of teams that are capable of winning this championship. Especially with us going into match play and having that portion decide who our team champion is, I’d say there’s about eight or nine teams that have a legitimate chance [to win], its just a matter of who plays better.”

The core five vying for the championship for the Miners will be Frederik Dreier, Charles Corner, Aaron Terrazas, Nicklas Pihl, and Andreas Sorensen. In the 11 tournaments played, the at least three of the five have played in every tournament. Terrazas transferred from Oklahoma and began playing in the spring.

“We are going strong into the tournament instead of reeling into the tournament, so we feel like we’ve got a very strong and a very deep core,” Lieberwirth said. “That should help us not just in the stroke play, but if we were to make it in the match play portion of the championship, we should be able to be highly competitive. From a depth perspective, we’re the best that we’ve been all year.”

Dreier, Corner, Pihl, and Sorensen all participated in the 2016 C-USA Championships last year, helping the Miners to a sixth place finish.

“We have a very similar team to last year,” Lieberwirth said. “We have a majority of our starters returning, they’re all one year older and defiantly have all improved. Last year we had a nice team, but this year I think we’ve really broken out and individually. We’ve had guys really have some great performances in the fall and spring. We’ve been very consistent top to bottom in the spring.”

Dreier, the lone senior on the team, is the reigning C-USA Golfer of the Year, only the fourth golfer in program history to earn the honor. The Birkeroed, Denmark, native leads the team this season with total top-10 finishes (six) as well as the squad’s lowest round (64) in the final round of the Price’s Give ‘Em Five Invitational. He will enter his final conference tournament, where he placed sixth last year to earn his first ever berth to the NCAA Regional tournament, where he finished in 57th.

“He’s been fantastic, watching him grow from his freshman and sophomore year when he was just so close to being really good, and then really turning the corner his junior year and continuing that into his senior year,” Lieberwirth said of Dreier. “He’s been a leader on and off the golf course for us. He’s defiantly a guy that all the players and us coaches really look up to and respect.”

Corner earned his first ever C-USA Golfer of the Week honor on April 12 after his stellar play led to an eighth place finish and helped his team to a seventh place finish at the prestigious 71st Western Intercollegiate. The team bested then-No. 17 Texas, No. 25 Arizona State and No. 32 San Diego State after shooting 1,084 (361-356-367) in the 15-team field, which included eight nationally-ranked teams. Of the 96 players, Corner’s score was better than 19 players ranked in the Golfstat Top 100, including six of the top-10 players. The junior from Cayuga, Ontario, Canada has recorded a 72.5 scoring average, third-best on the UTEP squad, and tallied three top-10 finishes this year in 10 tournaments, with his work at the Western Intercollegiate marking the first time he was the top finisher for UTEP this year.

Terrazas joined the Miners this spring after transferring from Oklahoma and has found his name in the top-250 of Golfweek collegiate rankings. The sophomore had his best showing in the Orange and Blue at the Lone Star Invitational, where he tied for sixth with 7-under 209.

Pihl has recorded back-to-back top finishes for the Miners at the National Invitational Tournament and the Border Olympics. The junior boasts a 73.3 stroke average in 29 rounds played while finishing in the top-50 of each event eight times.

Sorensen has two runner-up showings under his belt from the fall season as well as eight top-50 finishes in 11 events. Along side three top finishes for the Miners, the sophomore has a 72.75 stroke average and shot a career-low round of 66 in the opening round of the Price’s Give ‘Em Five Invitational. He was named the C-USA Golfer of the Week for the week of Sept. 14, his first ever, after his runner-up performance at the Gene Miranda Invitational helped the Miners to their first team title of the fall. He was on the C-USA All-Freshman team last year.

“Charles Corner has put together a quiet, very good year,” Lieberwirth said. “Aaron Terrazas, a transfer from Oklahoma who came in spring for us, has already got his name ranked in the top 250 in the country just in the five tournaments that he’s played and started for us, he’s been great too. Nicklas Pihl, this is probably his best semester from a consistency stand point, he’s always been right there between the top-10 and no worse than middle of the pack. We’ve got a bunch of guys that we can count on and that we are going to give us good, consistent performances.

“That’s probably the biggest difference between this year’s team and previous teams. Previous year’s teams were more of a wild card, we knew we had some talent, we just didn’t know which guy would show up on any given day. This team is fairly predictable, we know we’re going to get great effort and we’ve seen very good results.”

The conference tournament will be the beginning of the end of an incredible season for the Miners, which saw three tournament titles in the fall and 10 top-10 finishes in eleven tournaments.

“We had some really outstanding individual performances that allowed us to win,” Lieberwirth said. “This spring, we haven’t had those top-10, top five, individual performances as often, but more tournaments than not, we’ve had all five starters in the top half of the field. From depth perspective, that helps us. We just need one or two of those guys to really catch fire, that’s when we’ll be real dangerous.”

The Miners also have eyes set beyond the conference tournament, at the NCAA Regional tournament, where the goal is to make it as a team.

“These are extremely competitive players, which makes it a real joy to coach,” Lieberwirth said. “When you have players that are as or even more competitive than the coach is, then you know you have a good team on your hands. That’s exactly how these guys are. They want to win for the team but they want to win individually too. I think that’s good, you want to have those individual goals because if you perform well individually, then the team is going to take care of itself.”

FORT MYERS, FL. – The UTEP women’s golf team put the finishing touches on the 2016-17 season by finishing eighth at the Conference USA Championships on Wednesday.

The Miners shot 909 as a team with rounds of 307, 299 and 303. Old Dominion captured the title (289-298-289-876), followed by Middle Tennessee (292-291-301-884), UTSA (298-297-294-889), FIU (305-293-296-894), Southern Miss (300-303-294-897), WKU (305-295-306-906), UAB (296-303-308-907), UTEP, Marshall (304-309-303-916), North Texas (306-306-312-924) and Florida Atlantic (307-307-314-928).

Middle Tennessee’s Jenna Burris was the individual winner with a seven-under-par 209 (67-70-72). She was one of three players to shoot under par for the tournament.

UTEP’s Lily Downs tied for ninth place (75-74-73-222), June Ting tied for 18th place (78-74-73-225), Abbie Anghelescu tied for 42nd place (84-75-77-236), Alisa Rodriguez finished 45th (78-76-83-237) and Sofia Castiello tied for 46th place (76-82-80-238).

Overall it was a much-improved season for the Miners, who won a tournament title (Lady Red Wolf Classic in Jonesboro, Ark.), picked up three runner-up finishes, and five top-five finishes overall.

Downs, Ting and Anghelescu are all slated to return in 2017-18. Downs led the Miners in scoring average (75.1), with Ting second (75.6). Both won tournaments this season, and tied for the team lead with seven top-20 showings.

FORT MYERS, FL. – The UTEP women’s golf team enjoyed an improved second day at the Conference USA Championships.  The Miners followed up their 307 on Monday with a 299 on Tuesday, and rose two spots in the team standings in the process.

UTEP (307-299-606) is in eighth place.  Middle Tennessee is first (292-291-583), Old Dominion second (289-298-587) and UTSA third (298-297-595) out of 11 teams.  The final round will take place on Wednesday.

The Miners’ Lily Downs jumped from 16th place to 14th after shooting a two-over-par 74 on Tuesday.  The sophomore stands at 149 (75-74) through 36 holes and is 12 strokes behind Middle Tennessee’s Jenna Burris, who is in atop the leaderboard with a seven-under-par 137 (67-70).  Downs recorded three birdies in round two, including on the three-par hole no. 17.

UTEP’s June Ting is tied for 25th place (78-74-152), Alisa Rodriguez is tied for 32nd place (78-76-154), Sofia Castiello is tied for 47th place (76-82-158) and Abbie Anghelescu is in 49th place (84-75-159).

IRVING, Texas – A total of 33 UTEP student-athletes have earned a Conference USA Commissioner’s Academic Medal, the league office announced Friday.

Medals are awarded to C-USA student-athletes who maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.75 or better.

The medals announcement comes only one day after the school announced a total of 152 UTEP student-athletes landing a spot on the Conference USA Commissioner’s Academic Honor Roll. Student-athletes named to the list have maintained a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or better.

For the first time since joining the league (2005-06), the Miners have had more than 150 student-athletes earn placement on the list in consecutive years. In 2015-16 UTEP had an institution-record 154 honorees.

Below is a list of UTEP’s medal winners by sport.

Men’s Basketball (One)

Trey Touchet

Women’s Basketball (Three)

Ax Bernard

Zuzanna Puc

Katarina Zec

Football (Three)

John De La Rosa

Jonathan Millan

Elijah Perales

Men’s Golf (One)

Settavut Paradee

Rifle (Two)

Abby Monique

Bailey Powell

Soccer (Nine)

Keighton Allen

Bri Barreiro

Emily Blaettner

Lauren Crenshaw

Kori Lewis

Kobi McNutt

Jeanna Mullen

Morgan Rasmason

Carleigh Simmons

Softball (Five)

Pamala Baber

Courtney Clayton

Mariah Ellis

Allie Johnson

Ruby Sanchez

Tennis (Three)

Vivienne Kulicke

Duda Santos

Lois Wagenvoort

Men’s Track & Field (One)

Austin Ondijo

Women’s Track & Field (Two)

Lucia Mokrasova

Danielle Trought

Volleyball (Three)

Briana Arellano

Macey Austin

Lindsey Larson

The number 11 seed UTEP (8-22) will match up against the number 6 seed Old Dominion (16-13) in the first round of the 2017 Conference USA Championships presented by MetroPCS at 8 p.m. MST/9 p.m. CST  Wednesday at Bartow Arena on the campus of UAB.

The winner will advance to face No. 3 seed Southern Miss at 8 p.m. MST/9 p.m. CST Thursday.

Three members of the 2017 All C-USA Teams will be in action:  UTEP’s Sparkle Taylor, ODU’s Jennie Simms and Destinee Young.

The two squads are locking up for the second time in less than a week. Old Dominion knocked off the Miners, 87-68, at home on March 2, 2017. It was a seven-point game (39-32) at the half before ODU pulled away.

The Miners and Lady Monarchs are meeting in C-USA Championships for the second time in as many years. Last year then fifth-seeded Old Dominion upset the top-seeded Miners, 66-54, in the 2016 semifinals (3/11/16).

Both the Miners (0-5) and Lady Monarchs (0-2) are winless in neutral-site contests in 2016-17. UTEP is 16-23 all time in conference tournament play (12-9 in C-USA; 4-14 as a member of WAC). UTEP is 13-14 in league tournament action under Keitha Adams, including 11-8 since the 2008 edition.

The game will streamed live on Campus Insiders with Curt Bloom (play-by-play) Holly Berry (Analyst) on the call.Steve Kaplowitz (play-by-play) and Traci Miller (color commentary) will have the call on 600 ESPN El Paso, KROD-AM Radio. Fans are encouraged to also follow the Miners (@UTEPWBB) or Lady Monarchs (@ODUWBB) on Twitter.

In Depth

–  The Miners have played in the quarterfinal round in nine of their 11 trips to the C-USA Championships. The only two times that UTEP didn’t advance beyond the first round (either with a win or bye) was in 2006 and 2015.

–  The Miners have advanced to the league semifinals in four of the past five years, five times total since joining C-USA and eight occasions in program history (WAC- 1993, 1995 and 2004; C-USA 2008, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016).

–  UTEP has played in the championship contest twice (2008 and 2012), winning it all in 2012.

–  UTEP has a double-digit seed at the C-USA Championships for just the fourth time in its 12th appearance since joining the league (2005-06). Overall it is the fifth seed of 10 or lower in program history.

–  The No. 11 seed matches the lowest in program history (2015), but it also affords the Miners a chance to pull off their biggest upset at the event. The biggest to date was No. 10 seed UTEP besting No. 7 seed Rice (62-61) in 2010.

–  Only four Miners (senior Sparkle Taylor, juniors Lulu McKinney and Tamara Seda and sophomore Najala Howell) have experience playing at the C-USA Championships.

–  Taylor has averaged 7.8 points and 3.0 rebounds in 21.6 minutes in five total games played (all off bench).

–  In her three games (one start), McKinney has averaged 5.0 points and 3.0 assists in 27. 7 minutes.

–  Seda averaged 4.5 points and 3.5 rebounds and 1.5 blocks in 15.5 minutes in two games last year

–  Howell earned a combined five minutes of playing time in two games last years, misfiring on her only shot.

INSIDE THE SERIES (ODU LEADS, 4-2 OVERALL; ODU LEADS 2-0 IN NEUTRAL)

–  Old Dominion leads the series, 4-2, including the recent 87-68 home victory on March 2.

–  Last year UTEP won the regular-season match-up (70-64, 2/25/16) but the Lady Monarchs avenged the setback in a 66-54 conquest in the semifinals of the 2016 C-USA Championships.

GETTING TO KNOW OLD DOMINION  – Overall: 16-13   Home: 10-5 Road 6-6     Neutral 0-2

C-USA: 11-7    Home: 5-4   Road 6-3

–  Old Dominion is one of eight programs (through the end of 2015-16 season) with at least 1,000 wins.

–  Made 25 NCAA Tournament appearances (most recent ‘07-08), including winning it all in 1985. Has a total of three national championships and produced 54 All-Americans.

–  Returned all five starters from last year’s team (17-17, 10-8 C-USA).

–  ODU went 5-6 in non-conference play, which was hurt by an 0-3 road record but it bounced back to forge an impressive 6-3 mark in its nine conference contests.

–  After 3-4 start to C-USA play, the Lady Monarchs won eight of their final 11 to finish at 11-7 the league.

–  ODU paces the league in rebounds/game (41.4), rebound margin (+7.2) and total rebounds (1202). It is also third in field-goal percentage (44.5) and 3-point field-goal percentage (34.6), fourth in total blocked shots (115), blocks/game (4.0), field-goal percentage defense (40.3), sixth in assists/game (14.8) and scoring offense (70.6) and seventh in total assists (428) and free-throw percentage (69.6)

–  ODU has top-100 NCAA team rankings several categories: it is 21st in rebound margin, 35th in field-goal percentage, 42nd in rebounds/game, 57th in 3-point field-goal percentage, 74th in scoring offense and 86th in assists/game, 90th in blocked shots/game and 96th in total blocked shots.

–  Led by 6-0 redshirt-senior guard and 2017 Conference USA Player of the Year Jennie Simms. She is sixth all time at ODU (2,089) for scoring. She needs 24 points to move into fifth place at the school.

–  Simms is the nation’s second-leading scorer (25.7 points/game). She also paces C-USA and is among the NCAA’s leaders for field-goals made (255-fourth) and attempts (536-ninth), free throws made (176-sixth). Simms’s 226 free-throw attempts is second in the league and ninth nationally. Simms is also fifth in C-USA for minutes/game (36.1), sixth in rebounds/game (8.0) and eighth in assists/game (4.3).

–  Simms is one of two players nationally (Tori Jankoska, Michigan State) to account for account for 20+ points/game, 8+ rebounds/game and 4+ assists/game this season.

–  Simms has recorded 30+ points 11 times, including two games with 40 or more. Her season-high of 43 points against Marshall (ODU W, 77-69, 1/5/17) is a Ted Constant Center women’s record and is the highest single-game scoring total in the conference this season.

–  2017 All-Conference USA second team honoree and All-Defensive Team member Destinee Young provides a perfect compliment to Simms. She is first in C-USA and among the national leaders for rebounds/game (10.9-ninth), offensive rebounds/game (4.0-15th), total rebounds (316-16th), double-doubles (15-18th) and defensive blocks/game (7.0-28th).

–  Young is also fourth in C-USA and 96th nationally for blocks/game (1.6).

–  After Simms (25.7) and Young (11.1), five other players contribute between 4.0-5.9 points/game.

–  Notable alumni include Ben Bailey (host of TV show Cash Cab) and Nancy Lieberman (Women’s Basketball Hall of Famer).

LAST MEETING WITH OLD DOMINION: (at Old Dominion 87, UTEP 68, March 2, 2017)

–  Sparkle Taylor continued her blistering play offensively with a 27-point outburst while Tamara Seda (13 points) andLulu McKinney (10 points) also reached double figures in scoring but it wasn’t enough in a 87-68 setback at Old Dominion on March 2, 2017

–  Jennie Simms poured in 30 points to go along with seven assists to lead the charge for the Lady Monarchs. ODU also received big games from Destinee Young (14 points, 14 rebounds) and Ashley Jackson (12 points, six rebounds).

–  UTEP took good care of the basketball (13 turnovers) while forcing 17 giveaways that led to 18 points, kept it competitive on the glass (ODU, 38-33) and shot 39.4 percent (28-71) but the home side compensated for all that with a tremendous shooting night. The Lady Monarchs nailed 60.7 percent (37-61) from the field, including 76.9 percent (10-13) in the third quarter and 66.7 percent (10-15) in the final frame.

–  ODU built a 34-20 lead midway through the second quarter but UTEP fought to get within seven (39-32). Unfortunately the Lady Monarchs used a 9-0 run early in the third quarter to push out by 15 and UTEP couldn’t get closer than 10 the rest of the way.

GOING BACK IN TIME at Charlotte 84, UTEP 74 (3/4/17)

–  UTEP fought hard but was upended in its regular-season finale by a count of 84-74 at Charlotte on March 4.

–  The Miners came out firing to lead by as many as 15 (37-22, 6:49 second quarter) but to their credit the 49ers fought back. They did so primarily at the charity stripe, making 22-25 tosses. UTEP finished at 6-8 from the line, and was tagged for 25 of the 35 infractions in the contest.

–  UTEP shot 43.7 percent (31-71) from the floor-compared to the 49ers’ readout of 38.4 percent (28-73) and kept it close on the glass (Charlotte, 47-40), yet the discrepancy at the line proved to be too much to overcome.

–  Seven different Miners tallied at least six points in the contest, with Tamara Seda (17 points, eight points) and Najala Howell (11 points, six rebounds) leading the way.

–  Lulu McKinney flirted with a double-double (eight points, eight assists).

–  Freshmen Jakeira Ford and Zuzanna Puc also pitched in eight points while Roeshonda Patterson drilled a pair of triples.

–  Sparkle Taylor scored six points to go along with eight rebounds.

Conference USA announced its initial TV schedule for men’s basketball on Tuesday, with five UTEP league games dotting the list.

beIN Sports has picked up three Miner games, including road matchups at WKU (Jan. 26, 6 p.m. MT) and North Texas (Feb. 16, 6 p.m. MT).  beIN will also carry UTEP’s home game against Old Dominion (March 2, 6 p.m. MT).

In addition, UTEP’s home games against UAB (Feb. 2, 8 p.m. MT) and Middle Tennessee (Feb. 4, 6 p.m. MT) will be televised by CBS Sports Network and ASN, respectively.

The C-USA Championship quarterfinals in Birmingham (March 9) will be shown on ASN.  The semifinals (March 10) and final (March 11) will have coverage on CBS Sports Network.

Games on Campus Insiders and ESPN3 will be announced at a later date. Additional coverage of C-USA basketball will also be available online through CUSA TV, available exclusively on the league’s official website www.ConferenceUSA.com.

UTEP’s games in the Gildan Charleston Classic (Nov. 17-20) will be available on ESPN networks, including ESPN3 for the tournament opener against Wake Forest.

CBS Sports Network, the 24-hour cable home of CBS Sports, airs more than 400 live games annually, showcasing an array of college and professional sports, as well as in-depth studio shows, documentaries, original programs and extensive shoulder programming around CBS Sports’ Championship events, including the Super Bowl, The Masters and PGA Championship. CBS

Sports Network is available across the country through local cable, video and telco providers including Verizon FiOS Channel 94 and AT&T U-Verse Channel 643 (1643 in HD) and via satellite on DirecTV Channel 221 and Dish Network Channel 158. For more information, including a full programming schedule and how to get CBS Sports Network, go to www.cbssportsnetwork.com.

ASN is a division of Sinclair Networks Group, owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc., one of the largest and most diversified television broadcasting companies in the country with 173 television stations it owns, operates and/or provides services to in 81 markets, broadcasting 432 channels, including pending transactions.

In addition, ASN’s content is also syndicated to other broadcasters and regional sports networks. ASN, which launched in August 2014, produced 250 college events in nine sports in its first year and aired nearly 400 events in 2015-2016. ASN launched a 24/7 channel in nine markets in January 2016 and it has increased that total to 29 markets to date.

Launched in 2012, beIN Sports is the fastest growing global sports network in the U.S. and is offered on the 10 largest cable/satellite TV providers in the U.S., as well as other systems across the country.

beIN SPORTS offers viewers premium sports content and entertainment across multiple platforms including TV channels beIN SPORTS and beIN SPORTS en Español and live streaming on beIN SPORTS CONNECT. A cornerstone of beIN SPORTS is its unrivaled live soccer coverage, which includes live matches from LaLiga, Serie A, Ligue 1, NASL, and CONMEBOL/CONCACAF/CAF World Cup Qualifiers, as well as news and in-depth analysis of all the top leagues from around the world.

In addition to soccer, beIN SPORTS serves as a haven to fans of motorsports, tennis, rugby, boxing, mixed martial arts (MMA) and volleyball, among others. With the recent addition of Conference USA coverage, beIN SPORTS will also broadcast College Football, Men’s and Women’s Basketball and Soccer, Baseball, Softball and Volleyball.

Thru beIN SPORTS CONNECT, authenticated subscribers can also enjoy all the exciting action from the two networks and stream live overflow matches offered in HD on your computer, tablet or smart phone.

IRVING, Texas – Conference USA Commissioner Judy MacLeod announced today that the conference has reached a new multi-year agreement for a comprehensive national television package with four leading outlets; ESPN, CBS Sports Network, the American Sports Network (ASN) and beIN SPORTS.

“We explored a number of traditional, digital and additional outlets during the negotiation process,” MacLeod said. “Our interests are aligned and we are very excited about the potential of these partnerships. All parties will reap the benefits of these agreements.”

An ESPN network will televise its 12th consecutive C-USA Football Championship game in 2016 and 2017. Additionally, ESPN will provide season-long coverage of the league, airing five regular-season football games this season and in 2017 across its networks.

CBS Sports Network will continue to provide a variety of marquee Conference USA events, airing the 2017 C-USA Men’s Basketball Championship title game for the first time, as well as the Women’s Basketball Championship game. In addition, CBS Sports Network will carry six football and six men’s basketball contests during the regular-season.

American Sports Network (ASN) returns for its third season as a Conference USA partner. ASN is a division of Sinclair Networks Group, owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc., one of the largest and most diversified television broadcasting companies in the country with 173 television stations it owns, operates and/or provides services to in 81 markets, broadcasting 483 channels, including pending transactions.

The terms of the agreement guarantees ASN will showcase a minimum of 15 regular-season football games, 13 regular-season men’s basketball games and two women’s basketball games per season. Furthermore, it has the option to select additional inventory up to 15 football, 42 men’s basketball, three women’s basketball and 10 Olympic sport events and conference championships.

This January, ASN launched a 24/7 channel in nine markets and is currently found within 20 markets.

Conference USA becomes the first collegiate conference to partner with beIN SPORTS, a global leader in sports content distribution and the No. 1 growing Nielsen-rated cable network in the United States above all networks.

With 45 million subscribers, beIN SPORTS and beIN SPORTS en Español are proud to be the fastest growing independent sports cable network in the business. beIN SPORTS also plans to expand its multiplatform offerings, live programming and studio shows to further cultivate interactivity of fan favorites, in their language of choice, and more fervently reflect their commitment to North American sports fans.

The multi-year deal consists of 10 football games, 10 men’s and 10 women’s basketball games, 12 baseball and 12 softball games, 10 men’s and 10 women’s soccer matches and ten (10) women’s volleyball games.

“We are proud to expand our U.S. coverage and provide our viewers with the best in sports programming,” said Yousef Al-Obaidly, Deputy CEO of beIN Media Group. “Our partnership with Conference USA is a first for our network entering the U.S. college sports arena, reflecting our commitment to American sports fans.”

The complete C-USA football television schedule will be announced next week.

The conference’s footprint spans 10 states with 14 member schools, including campuses that are located within nine of the top 50 media markets in the nation, including four in the top 25.

Complete Television Release 

Irving, Texas – Michael Lewis, Warren Redix and Cole Ford were named to the 2015 Conference USA All-Freshman team the league announcedon Tuesday.

Lewis played in all 12 games and made eight starts as a safety. The freshman finished the season with 38 tackles (28 solo). The Trinity, Texas native registered career-highs versus Southern Miss and FIU with six tackles. Lewis finished the season with six showings of four or more tackles. The safety was an integral part of the secondary that held LA Tech to only 307 total yards, which was a season low for the Bulldogs.

Redix played in 11 games seeing action as a wide receiver, running back, kick returner and punt returner. The El Paso native took over punt returner duties during the Miners victory over Rice. The all-around player notched three punt returns versus Old Dominion and notched a career-high 75 yards on four receptions. The freshman concluded the season ranked third on the team in receptions with 29 for 202 yards and added 136 yards (5.9 avg.) on the ground.

Ford saw action in the last nine games of the season. The true freshman was utilized as a blocking tight end, helping the Miners establish a running game later in the season. The Bothell, Washington native caught two passes for 12 yards versus Old Dominion, including a career-long of 14 yards.

Eight Miners were also named 2015 C-USA All-Honorable Mention. Leading the offense was Will Hernandez, who is part of the offensive unit that only allowed 12 sacks in 12 games. UTEP ranks first in the league and is seventh nationally in fewest sacks allowed.

Hayden Plinke was named to the 2015 John Mackey Award Midseason Watch List. The transfer tallied 37 receptions for 405 yards, ranking second in both categories for the Miners. The tight end registered career-high nine receptions for 85 yards against Rice.

Aaron Jones played in the first two games of the season before sustaining a season ending injury. The junior rushed for 209 yards on 32 attempts (6.5 avg.) and a touchdown. The El Paso native gained 139 yards on 17 carries, including a school-record 91-yard sprint for a touchdown and had a 24-yard touchdown catch versus Texas Tech.

On defense, Alvin Jones garnered honors as the sophomore led the team in tackles (93), solo stops (48), sacks (6.5), tackles for loss (14.5) and two safeties. The linebacker is tied for first in the league in tackles for loss and rates sixth in sacks. The El Paso native recorded a three-sack performance against UTSA tying second most in a single game in C-USA.

Nick Usher earned recognition ranking second on the team in sacks (3.5), tackles for loss (10.0) and quarterback hurries (four) – all career highs in a single season and is fourth on the team with a season-best 46 tackles. The defensive end finished the season with a forced fumble, a fumble recovery, a blocked kick, 3.5 sacks and five quarterback hurries.

Team captain, Jimmy Musgrave concluded his senior campaign ranking second on the team with 59 tackles. The linebacker led the team in tackles versus UTSA with a career-high 12. The senior notched 7.5 tackles for loss, two sacks, one pass breakup, two quarterback hurry and one fumble forced.

On special teams, Jay Mattox was 15-for-19 on field goal conversions and rates third in the league in field goal percentage (78.9). The kicker led the Miners in points with 68 and was 23-24 in extra attempts. The sophomore also averaged 63.9 on kickoffs with 31 touchbacks this season.

Newcomer Alan Luna finished his first season ranking 14th in the nation and second in the league in punting averaging 44.4. The sophomore kicked 65 punts for 2,885 yards, including 15 inside the 20-yard line and 21 punts of 50 or more yards. He recorded a season-high in punts (eight), yards (375) and average (46.9) at FIU.

Junior College Signing Day is slated for Wednesday, Dec. 16.

Author: UTEP Athletics

UTEP Volleyball’s Lindsey Larson was named the Conference USA Setter of the week, announced by the leagueon Monday. This is the first award of the junior’s career.

The Humboldt, Saskatchewan, Canada-native totaled 86 assist, 26 digs, 10 kills, eight blocks and two service aces over the course of the undefeated week for the Miners.

The junior recorded her 16th double-double of the season against UAB on Friday (11/6) with 53 assists and 19 digs while adding five kills, four blocks and a service ace.The setter then followed that performance with 33 assists, five kills, seven digs, four blocks and a service against Louisiana Tech on Sunday (11/8).

Larson is ranked eighth in C-USA as she averages 8.85 assists per set with a total of 974 assists.

UTEP will conclude C-USA action on the road this week as it faces Rice on Thursday at 5 p.m. (MT) in Houston, Texas and Western Kentucky on Saturday at 11 a.m. (MT) in Bowling Green, Ky.

Author: UTEP Athletics

UTEP volleyball’s Sarah Villa was named the Conference USA Co-Defensive Player of the Week, the league announced Monday. This is Villa’s first award of 2015 and her career.

The libero notched a total of 73 digs (6.64 per set) and six assists through the three tough road matches (NM state, Southern Miss and UTSA) this past week.

The junior recorded 12 digs against I-10 rival NM State on Tuesday (Oct. 20) in Las Cruces, N.M. She also set a new C-USA record for digs in an individual match with 45 while forcing Southern Miss to five sets on Friday (Oct. 23) in Hattiesburg, Miss. In the match-up against in-state rival UTSA (Oct. 25), the El Paso native tallied 16 digs and an assist.

UTEP will continue C-USA action this week as it faces North Texas on Thursday in Denton, Texas at 4 p.m. (MT) and Western Kentucky on Sunday at 2 p.m. (MT) in Memorial Gym.