Tarleton on collision course with Commerce in high-octane weekend

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STEPHENVILLE – For fans of the purple and white, this weekend is the ideal time to take a vacation for some high-powered athletics action.

Tarleton is headed to Commerce, Texas for all three fall sports this weekend, including two national top 25 showdowns with the Lions. The weekend will begin with the cross country teams running at the East Texas Shootout and the No. 15-ranked TexAnn Volleyball team squaring off with the No. 22-ranked Lions on Friday night at 6 p.m. in the field house. On Saturday, volleyball will head to Denton for a 2 p.m. conference match with Texas Woman’s while the No. 16-ranked Texan Football team will take the gridiron at Memorial Stadium in Commerce for an epic LSC tilt with the defending national champions at 4 p.m.

This is the third consecutive week that Tarleton’s football and volleyball programs are nationally-ranked at the same time. Monday, September 24 was the first day in Tarleton’s NCAA history that Tarleton was ranked in each of those sports at the same time. In addition to the national rankings, Tarleton’s men’s and women’s cross country team are each regionally-ranked by the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.

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Tarleton Volleyball continues to rise in the national poll after climbing to a season-high No. 15 in the latest AVCA rankings. The No. 15 TexAnns will start the second round of league action with road trips to Texas A&M-Commerce on Friday at 6 p.m. and Texas Woman’s Saturday at 2 p.m.

The TexAnns tied the school record by pushing their winning streak to 15 last weekend with sweeps of UT Permian Basin and Western New Mexico. Tarleton is 18-2 on the season and went 10-0 through the first round of league action to hold on to a 1.0 game lead for the LSC standings over Angelo State. With those 18 wins, Tarleton is now 19 wins away from 700 all-time in program history while head coach Mary Schindler is 19 wins away from 300 in her career. Seniors Adrianna Knutson and Hannah McManus are currently in pursuit of career records. Knutson enters the weekend with 1,724 career digs, which has her 123 digs behind She McBrearty for the all-time lead. Meanwhile, McManus enters the weekend with 278 career-assisted blocks, which has her 56 behind Marissa Galich for the all-time lead.

Tarleton Football continued its unbeaten start to the season with another rout, this time against Eastern New Mexico in Stephenville. It is the first 5-0 start for the Texans since 2013 and the first during any stint under head coach Todd Whitten. Saturday’s visit to Commerce will be the first meeting ever for Tarleton against the defending NCAA Division II National Champion from the previous season.

Whitten enters this weekend’s game at Angelo State with 61 career wins as the head coach of Tarleton and trails Wisdom’s all-time record of 71 victories. Tarleton Football is looking to bring its all-time program record back to an even .500. The Texans currently boast an all-time mark of 477-480-33.

Tarleton Cross Country will also be back in action with its second visit to Commerce this season. The Texans and TexAnns were originally scheduled to race in the East Texas Shootout to open the season last month, but the run was postponed due to weather. Tarleton will begin the race at 11 a.m. Friday with the women’s run, which will be followed by the men at noon.

Last weekend, Tarleton dominated from start to finish Saturday afternoon as the Texans took the top spot in the men’s 8,000-meter race and the TexAnns brought home a second-place team finish in their 6,000-meter run. Quenten Lasseter won his second career cross country race with a time of 25:13.02, which is an improvement of 0:27.62 from the time of his last race victory at Angelo State last season. It’s Lasseter’s first win of this season. Imani Williams led the way for the TexAnns placing fourth with a time of 23:18.70.

Both the men and women will enter this weekend’s race as the No. 10-ranked teams in the South Central Region by the USTFCCCA.

GAMES
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 12
Cross Country at East Texas Shootout in Commerce at 11 a.m.
Volleyball at No. 22 Texas A&M-Commerce in Commerce at 6 p.m.

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 13
Volleyball at Texas Woman’s in Denton at 2 p.m.
Football at No. 7 Texas A&M-Commerce in Commerce at 4 p.m.

FAN BUS FOR FOOTBALL
Any fans wishing to make the trip to Commerce can reserve a seat on the Fan Bus, which will leave at 11:30 a.m. Saturday from the Rec Center. Stop by the Student Involvement Office in the Thompson Student Center to reserve a seat.

VOLLEYBALL RAFFLE THROUGH OCTOBER
Tarleton Volleyball is doing its part to raise funds in support of breast cancer research by hosting a month-long raffle throughout October. The tickets cost $1 each. One ticket will be drawn at random prior to each Tarleton home game in the month of October. The winner will be contacted prior to the match and given the chance to pick one of two TexAnn Volleyball Prize Packages. Prize Package No. 1 will consist of an autographed volleyball, a T-Shirt, and a coupon for two free ice creams at the Blue Bell Ice Cream stand inside Wisdom Gym during the match. Prize Package No. 2 will be a T-Shirt and allow the winner the opportunity to sit on the TexAnn bench during the match, as well as lead-off the match with a ceremonial ‘first serve’. All proceeds from the ticket sales will go to the Susan G. Komen Foundation. Anyone wishing to purchase a ticket at any other time can contact a Tarleton Volleyball player or email assistant coach Katie Hoekman at hoekman@tarleton.edu.

TICKETS
The Tarleton State Ticket Office is open from 1:30-4 p.m. in the main lobby of Wisdom Gym and can be reached by telephone at 254-968-1832. Tarleton’s Stephenville Campus Students receive free admission to all home games with valid Stephenville Campus Student ID.

RADIO SHOWS
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 9
The Mary Schindler Radio Show at 12 p.m. at TexStar Ford in Stephenville. The show, which is typically on Monday, will be on Tuesday this week due to Columbus Day. Special guest, Amber Strange, will join the show. It can be heard on the Tarleton Sports Network at 90.5 FM in Stephenville or online at TarletonSports.com/ListenLive. There will be free food for the live audience.

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 11
The Todd Whitten Radio Show at 12 p.m. at TexStar Ford in Stephenville. Special guest, Xavier Turner, will join the show. It can be heard on the Tarleton Sports Network at 90.5 FM in Stephenville or online at TarletonSports.com/ListenLive. There will be free food for the live audience/

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