University of Texas Austin - Cactus Yearbook (Austin, TX)

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lil Ull uiinvij j tfu wfN FRONT: Trina Leopold, exercise physiology ' ([ unior, pushes to a strong third place finish. Nov. 3. -eopold ' s placing helped Texas win the SWC title. Jou Moore TRIUMPHANT AND EXHAUSTED: Tracy Laughlin, sports medicine sophomore, receives a well deserved rest on the shoulder of teammate Kelly Champagne, marketing junior, after finishing the regional championships in Georgetown. Both tied for tenth place on the 5,000 meter course. RUN- NING AS A PACK: The harriers sprint off to a first place team finish at the regional championships. Individually, Liz Natale, advertising senior, placed first. Sandy Blakeslee, physical education senior, placed second, and Trina Leopold, exercise physiology junior, was third. Karen Warren Women ' s Cross Country 1 79

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apping off a winning season ross country by Aaron K ling An expression defining the ac- complishments of the women harrier ' s season would be hard to find, as the Lady Longhorns captured a perfect season record and earned UT its first national title in women ' s cross-country. We ' ve run well all season and I felt like we deserved to win, said Head Coach Terry Crawford after a close win over number two ranked Wisconsin at the national championship meet held in Tucson, Arizona. Texas, ranke d number five in last Karen Warren LONE RUNNER: Kelly Champagne, marketing junior, endures to an llth place finish at regionals. post-season poll and number two in the pre-season poll, climbed to an undefeated record by placing first at all regular season meets including the University of Texas at El Paso, Texas, Arizona, and Wisconsin Invitationals. At the Wisconsin Invitational, Texas upset top-ranked Wisconsin, the cross- country champions for the past two years, and took over the number one spot. They remained there for the rest of the season as the harriers clinched vic- tories in the SWC championships, in the Regional championships, and in the Na- tional Championships. Much of Texas ' dominance this season was led by the three returning All-Americans, Liz Natale, Anne Schweitzer, and Sandy Blakeslee. Blakeslee placed second at the SWC and UTEP Invitational Texas Invitational Arizona Invitational Wisconsin Classic SWC Championship Region VI Championship NCAA Championship . . . 1st of 6 teams 1st of 12 teams 1st of 20 teams 1st of 1 1 teams . 1 st of 8 teams 1st of 12 teams 1st of 16 teams NCAA Champions Regional championships, and placed fifth at the nationals, Texas ' highest finisher. Natale finished first at regionals, and Schweitzer took first at the SWC championships. We really wanted to win the cham- pionship bad this year ... we didn ' t want to finish co-champions again, Schweitzer said. Blakeslee also commented on the SWC championships saying that the race went really well ... the win was definitely a team effort. A team effort it was all season as the three leading seniors received strong support from their other teammates. Trina Leopold earned All-American honors at the national championships and she finished in the top five at all the previous meets. Also helping Texas clinch the nation victory were Kelly Champagne, Laura McCloy, and Tracy Laughlin. This is the deepest team I have ever put together, said Crawford. We have some really tough athletes to throw at people. We ' ve scored so well this season because of our depth, Crawford said of her number one harriers. We ' ve stress- ed running as a team as a pack as close to the front as possible. When we run together we ' re very hard to beat. The finish of the meet was considered the closest finish in the history of the meet with a score of 62-64 over Wisconsin. 1 78 Women ' s Cross Country

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alancing old and new talents asketball by Fran Harris Jody Conradt said in October her 1986-87 version of the Lady Longhorns would be different from last year ' s Na- tional Championship team and she was right. It will be interesting to see how this team handles the pressure of being ranked number one, Conradt said. I ' m not making any predictions. Conradt in her 1 1th season at Texas, didn ' t have to. Every sportswriter in the country tabbed the Lady Longhorns as the pre-season ' s top team, an honor they lived up to last season. For starters, Conradt brought in two of the top players in the country, Doreathea Conwell, a junior from Odessa Junior College who was con- sidered the top junior college player in the nation, and freshman Susan Ander- son who had been named the High School player of the Year in 1986. After a month of practice the Lady Longhorns played their first game of the season, an exhibition match against the Red Star Club of Yugoslavia Nov. 23. Yulonda Wimbish led the Horns to a 79-69 win by scoring 22 points. After gaining confidence from the win, UT defeated Rice 85-53 Jan. 3 in a conference opener, and then went to Fayetteville, Arkansas to play the Lady Razorbacks Jan. 6. Arkansas had a history of giving UT a tough time and this was no exception. UT struggled, but held on to win 59-56. Andrea Lloyd and Beverly Williams each finished with 12 points. UT defeated Baylor Jan. 10, 88-58. Then they traveled to College Station to defeat Texas A M 94-60 Jan. 1 4. The Lady Longhorns then defeated Texas Tech 74-52 Jan. 24 in the Erwin Center after a tentative start. Four days later, Texas played Houston and almost suffered its first conference upset since 1978. Behind the efforts of guards Williams and Wimbish and forward Lloyd, Texas prevailed 79-73. So far undefeated, the second round was what Conradt called the second season, or post-season tournaments. Up to this point nothing really mat- ters, Conradt said. This is the part of 1 80 Women ' s Basketball the season that really counts. After receiving a first round bye in the SWC post-season tournament in Dallas, UT defeated Texas Tech 73-49 during a second round game March 7. In the next game, Arkansas gave UT a scare. At halftime, Davis and Lloyd had only eight points between the two of them, UT trailing 38-31. The game remained close for most of the second half until Texas made its first rally and scored eight unanswered points to take a 65-63 lead. Led by Williams who finished with 27 points and was named most valuable player for the second year, the Lady Longhorns won 72-70. Williams and Lloyd also both made the All-American team. The win gave UT an automatic bid into the National Collegiate Athletic Association tournament March 11-15. UT came up against St. Joseph University and then James Madison University and defeated each to ad- vance to the Mideast Regional Cham- pionship game Jan. 21 against Rutgers University. UT struggled for much of the first half as Rutgers ' defense allowed Texas ' Lloyd and Davis only eight points between the two of them. The second half Jooked like the first half as Texas could get no shot closer than ten feet from the basket. It took heroic efforts of freshman Ellen Bayer, Anderson and Lyssa McBride to save the Horns from a defeat. UT eventually went on to defeat Rutgers 85-77. That win moved the Ladyhorns to the Final Four in Austin against Louisiana Tech March 27. The Lady Techsters started the game by shooting nearly 60 percent in the first half. UT shot only 45 percent but trailed by only four points at halftime. Texas took a seven point lead during the second half, but Tech was deter- mined and they continued to get easy baskets inside. With 1 5 seconds remain- ing, Wimbish hit a shot that made the score 77-75, but that was not enough as the Lady Techsters defeated the Horns 75-79 in front of a record crowd of 15,303. Despite the loss, Conradt said she was pleased with the season. It didn ' t end the way we wanted, said Conradt. But the players have no reason to hang their heads. UT finished the season 33-2. RECKLESS: Pennee Hall, education junior, loses the ball against Rutgers, Mar. 21. MOBBED BY THE MOMENT: Lyssa McBride, liberal arts freshman and Pennee Hall, education junior, are surrounded by enthusiastic teammates after clin- ching the Mideast Rcgionals against Rutgers.