Tag: August 30 2019

Deifel announces addition of Assistant Coach Annie Smith

August 30, 2019

By JESSICA ROBERSON/Arkansas Sports Information

FAYETTEVILLE – Head softball coach Courtney Deifel continues to improve the Razorback staff with the recent addition of Annie Smith as a volunteer assistant. Smith comes to Fayetteville after stints at Auburn, LSU, Georgia Southern, Mississippi State and Missouri.

“I am thrilled to add Annie Smith to our staff,” Deifel said. “Not only is she a great coach, she is also an exceptional person. Annie is very well versed in what it takes to be successful in the SEC and her impact will be immediate.”

Since she began her career, Smith has coached eight All-Americans, 56 All-Conference selections and 41 All-Region honorees. Her squads have been equally as impressive in the classroom, garnering 123 NFCA Academic Scholar-Athlete honors.

Smith also boasts professional experience, as she was an assistant coach for the Chicago Bandits of the National Pro Fastpitch (NPF) in 2017.

Before rejoining the SEC, Smith served as the head coach at Georgia Southern, where she complied 176 wins and reached the NCAA Tournament twice. Smith and the Eagles captured the Southern Conference title in 2012 and in 2014. The Eagles also won the conference tournament in 2012 and 2013. For her efforts, Smith was honored as the conference’s coach of the year in 2012 and 2014.

“I am very thankful for the opportunity to join Coach Deifel and her staff at the University of Arkansas,” said Smith. “I am looking forward to calling Fayetteville home, continuing to coach in the SEC, while being closer to my parents. I cannot wait to get started. Wooo Pig!”

Smith currently stands as the quickest coach in Georgia Southern history to 100 wins, while her teams rewrote the record books for home runs, doubles and fielding percentage. She was instrumental in the development of the three-time conference pitcher of the year and the two-time freshman of the year in the league.

Before Georgia Southern, she spent five seasons as an assistant coach at Mississippi State before being promoted to associate head coach following the 2007 season. The Manhattan, Kan. native helped the Bulldogs to 295 victories and six NCAA Regional appearances. She worked with three USA Softball National Team members and the back-to-back SEC Player of the Year in 2003 and 2004.

Smith received her bachelor’s degree in history and psychology from Grinnell College where she was a captain on the softball team. She went on to earn a master’s degree from Missouri in health and exercise science with an emphasis in sports psychology.

For all Razorback softball news and information, go to ArkansasRazorbacks.com and follow the Hogs on Twitter at @RazorbackSB, on Facebook at Razorback Softball and on Instagram at @Razorback_SB. Fans can also follow head coach Courtney Deifel on twitter at @CoachDeifel.

No. 8 Arkansas Women set for Hurricane Invitational

By JEFF SMITH/Arkansas Sports Information

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The No. 8 Arkansas women’s cross country team will travel to Tulsa, Oklahoma this weekend, opening its 2019 season at the Hurricane Invitational on Saturday, Aug. 31.

The season opener will feature the Razorbacks taking on three regional foes including Oklahoma, No. 19 Oklahoma State, and host Tulsa. Arkansas will toe the line for the two-mile race at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday at the Mohawk Soccer Complex. The meet will be scored as a normal team format and not as a dual meet.

The Razorbacks head into the new year ranked No. 1 in the South Central region, and No. 8 in the country, announced by the USTFCCCA earlier this week. A Southeastern Conference poll of the leagues head coaches was released Monday, projected Arkansas to win a seventh-straight title at the 2019 SEC Championships.

The 2018 season concluded with Arkansas capturing an SEC Championship, a first-place finish at the NCAA South Central Regional, and a 14th-place finish at the NCAA Championships.

The Razorbacks return five All-SEC performers in Taylor Werner, Carina Viljoen, Lauren Gregory, Maddy Reed, and 2018 SEC Freshman of the Year Katrina Robinson

For more information on Arkansas track and field, including in-meet updates, follow @RazorbackTF on Twitter.

Razorbacks Second after Opening Round at Carmel Cup

August 30, 2019

By MIKE CAWOOD/Arkansas Sports Information

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. – The Arkansas men’s golf team opened the 2019-20 season with a 7-under-par round of 353 to stand in second place at the Carmel Cup, played at historic Pebble Beach Golf Links (par 72 – 6,928 yards). Mason Overstreet, who carded a bogey-free round of 68, is tied with teammate Julian Perico for third at 4-under par.

Oklahoma leads the eight-team field with a score of 349, followed by the Razorbacks, Texas Tech (358), Georgia (364), Oklahoma State (365), Mississippi State (370), Vanderbilt (371) and TCU (373). The annual event is different from most collegiate tournaments in that each team in the Carmel Cup has six players with the best five scores counting for each round. Most collegiate events have five players with the best four scores counting.

Perico finished with six birdies, tying for the second-best total of the day. He began the day with two birdies but fell back to even par with bogeys on holes 8 and 9. However, the sophomore bounced back with a birdie on hole 10 while adding birdies on holes 13, 14 and 18 for his 4-under-par 68.

Overstreet opened with a par before reeling off three straight birdies and ultimately posting four birdies over a five-hole span (holes 2, 3, 4 and 6). He would finish his round with 12 straight pars for his 4-under 68. Overall, Overstreet’s 14 pars were the third-best total on the day.

Also recording 14 pars on Friday was William Buhl. The senior is tied for 11th after posting a 71 with to three birdies.

Luis Garza and Tyson Reeder are tied for 21st, each shooting a 1-over 73. Garza did post one of the two eagles on the day, recording a three on the 511-yard, par-5 second hole.

Freshman Mauricio Figueroa made his collegiate debut. While he shot a 79 to stand in a tie for 42nd, he recorded 13 pars to rank fifth-best among the field in round one.

Round two of three will be played Saturday (August 31).

For more information on Arkansas Men’s Golf, follow @RazorbackMGolf on Twitter.

Razorbacks dominate on Opening Day

August 30, 2019

By Jessica Roberson/Arkansas Sports Information

FAYETTEVILLE – The University of Arkansas volleyball team secured a pair of victories on Friday on the opening day of the Arkansas Classic. The Razorbacks recorded straight set wins over Northwestern State earlier in the day before taking down Little Rock in front of a rocking crowd at Barnhill Arena.

The Razorbacks have one more match this weekend and will face Montana State on Saturday morning. After the Classic, Arkansas will hit the road to the west coast, headed to the SDSU/USD Challenge hosted by San Diego State.

FINAL
Arkansas 3, Northwestern State 0 (25-18, 25-20, 25-18)
Attendance: 304 | Time: 1:16
Barnhill Arena

Quick Hits
Stat Leaders vs Northwestern State
Kills: Liz Pamphile, Jillian Gillen – 9
Digs: Klaire Trainor – 11
Notables
Senior Rachel Rippee led all players with 18 assists.
The Razorbacks led for the entirety of the first and third sets.
Arkansas is now 4-0 all-time against Northwestern State.

Junior Liz Pamphile led the Razorback offense with nine kills to the tune of a .412 hitting percentage against the Demons. Junior Hailey Dirrigl finished with a team high .625 hitting percentage through the first two sets after taking the bench due to an ankle injury.

Freshmen Jillian Gillen and Maggie Cartwright both earned a start against NSU, combining for 15 kills. Gillen also added six digs and three block assists to her collegiate debut. In total, five Hogs saw the court for the first time since arriving at Arkansas, including junior transfer Devyn Wheeler who contributed three kills, and redshirt-freshman Maylin Garret to recorded six kills in 10 attempts.

Arkansas limited Northwestern State to an .084 hitting percentage, thanks in part to an overall team effort on the defensive front. Junior Klaire Trainor led the Hogs with 11 digs, but three others recorded six or more digs in the win: Rachel Rippee (8), Jillian Gillen (6), and Gracie Ryan (6).

FINAL
Arkansas 3, Little Rock 0 (25-20, 25-21, 25-12)
Attendance: 767 | Time: 1:21
Barnhill Arena

Quick Hits
Stat Leaders vs Little Rock
Kills: Jillian Gillen – 13
Digs: Savannah Downing, Maggie Cartwright – 10
Double-Doubles: Maggie Cartwright (10 kills, 10 digs)
Notables
Junior Devyn Wheeler recorded eight kills with a .727 hitting percentage.
Arkansas held Little Rock to a .022 hitting percentage over three sets.

Gillen stayed hot throughout day one of the Arkansas Classic, helping lift the Razorbacks to a sweep of in-state opponent Little Rock. Gillen accounted for 35 of the Hogs’ 100 attacks in the victory, recording 13 kills behind a .286 hitting percentage.

Arkansas saw impressive performances from two other newcomers as well, as Cartwright played a balanced game and recorded the first double-double of the season with 10 kills and 10 digs. Wheeler was the most efficient Hog of the day, and when combined with her .727 hitting percentage, the trio swung a striking .353 at the net.

Pamphile remained reliable on the defensive side of the ball, putting up five blocks for Arkansas. Gillen, Cartwright, and redshirt sophomore Maia Stripp also recorded multiple blocks in the win.

Arkansas controlled the pace of the entire match, never giving up the lead and keeping the Trojans at bay as to never even tie the score again after a 9-9 set score in the first. The Razorbacks led by as many as 15 points in the final set, thanks to a kill by Gillen with an assist from freshman Abbigail McGee.

The Razorbacks will return to Barnhill on Saturday morning for an 11 a.m. match against Montana State (1-1). Admission is free to all fans, parking is limited and fans are encouraged to park in Baum East down Razorback Road and take advantage of the shuttle service. Shuttles will begin to transport fans from Baum East to Barnhill Arena starting at 9 a.m. Saturday morning.