By Joshua Parrott, Sports Writer
Will it ever end?
That question has been bouncing in my mind for the past few weeks concerning ACU athletics. Surprisingly, I’m not just talking about the track and field teams.
Around every corner seems to be some sort of positive substance for Wildcat athletics.
ACU welcomed back an old face with a familiar name when former men’s basketball coach Shanon Hays was named the new director of athletics.
ACU came up with a fine catch in Hays, who spent two seasons as an assistant coach at Texas Tech under men’s basketball coach James Dickey between 1999-2001 and had most recently worked as a salesman for Pharmacia Corp.
Baseball coach Brit Bonneau molded a team loaded with junior-college transfers and rode the coat tails of Lone Star Conference tournament MVP Brandon Stover to a third straight LSC post-season tournament title and a current 41-12 overall record. Last season, Bonneau’s squad set an ACU record for most victories in a single-season when they went 43-17.
This year’s team has just as much talent as teams of Wildcat past, but the fiery play of Stover and junior third baseman Brad Massey has allowed the new Wildcats to ease into a groove, riding a season-high 11 game-winning streak into this weekend’s doubleheader against St. Edward’s.
In track and field senior Maresa Cadienhead won first place in the high jump competition at the 108th Penn Relays last weekend, just two weeks after both ACU men’s and women’s teams captured LSC titles.
Both ACU tennis teams were selected to play host to the Central region tournaments this upcoming weekend after sweeping the field in the LSC tournament the week before. The women are currently ranked No. 7 in the nation, while the men are ranked No. 25.
The ACU golf team finished competing at the Division II South/South Central region tournament today after posting a less than impressive sixth-place finish the week before at the LSC tournament. The team, ranked No. 27 in the country, competed against seven other teams at the South/South Central region tournament and is led by junior Brian O’Leary.
There isn’t much else to say about these teams. They deserve the high praise their achievements have brought them.
Even if the praise seems as if it will never end.
