Monday Morning Matador: Sneak peek

“Here’s to all the people who remain unharmed because I have coffee and a sense of humor” - Anonymous (so probably from the internet)

Good morning, I hope everybody has un café nearby because now is the moment where we pause. Pause, and breath in. Take in the aroma of your surroundings. Being alive is surely a gift, no? Now lets work in some news, from least to best.

No. 5 North Carolina gives No. 8 Lady Raiders first loss

This weekend at the quarterfinals of the ITA indoor national championship, Texas Tech women’s tennis fell to North Carolina by a score of 4-1. The only Lady Raider to score for Tech was Gabriela Talaba, who beat UNC’s Alle Sanford 6-3, 6-4 at No. 1 single. Now following the loss, Texas Tech will be matched up against No. 4 Georgia in a consolation quarterfinal.

Aggie Classic proves to be too much for Texas Tech softball

Despite a 4-2 victory against Boston College, Lady Raider softball was tested with games against Houston and Texas A&M. The first matchup against the Cougars resulted in a 1-4 loss for the Lady Raiders. Then the following day Texas Tech played A&M. The Aggies, who are now 4-0 on the season, trailed 5-4 by the sixth inning but after a two-run single from Tori Vidales and a three-run homer from Ashley Walters the Aggies launched into a 9-5 victory. In the second game against Houston, the Lady Raiders came out strong with a 2-0 first inning lead, but the Cougars overwhelmed immediately with a five-run first inning and ultimately closed the game out 8-2. Texas Tech’s Lady Raiders will face UT Arlington on Tuesday.

Texas Tech track and field teams shine in the Texas Tech Shootout

In the sixth meet that Texas Tech has hosted this year, several athletes finished in the top five of their events. The mile relay team (4x400m) finished second place overall with a time of 3:05.18 behind the speed of Divine Oduduru, Tyreek Mathis, Steven Champlin and C.J. Jones. Vincet Crisp placed second in the 800 meter run, with a time of 1:49.35. Eric Kicinksi finished second in the shot put with a distance of 17.20 meters. Then Grant LaSelle finished third in the mile run with a time of 4:25.12. Notable Lady Raider finishes were Zarriea Willis with a first place finish in the high jump with a height of 1.89 meters. Then Lauren Younger finished the 800m run in second place with a 2:13.13 time. Crystal Onwukaife also had a good performance in the shot put with a distance of 14.71 meters that landed her in third place. Mile run competitor Lauren Offerman managed to seal a third place finish with a final time of 5:12.61. The next event for track and field is the Texas Tech Matador Qualifier which takes place this Friday (16th) at the Sports Performance Center.

Basketball is becoming a real talking point

The Texas Tech men’s basketball team finished another fantastic week of Big 12 play, notching a revenge win over Iowa State at home and then a statement win over Kansas State in Manhattan, KS. The Red Raiders are on a six game win streak in the Big 12, which has placed them as the definitive leader of the conference for the time being. Kansas - who lost to Baylor last Saturday - sits one game behind Texas Tech. Certain analysts and websites are starting to beg the question if Texas Tech is THE team to stop Kansas’ reign of Big 12 championships in basketball. Yesterday, at a preliminary glimpse into the tournament placement, the NCAA men’s basketball selection committee put Texas Tech on its radar as a No. 3 seed in the East Region. Despite a head-to-head victory over Kansas in January, the Jayhawks were ahead of the Red Raiders with a No. 2 seed in the West. Per their commentary, Kansas had the slight edge in the latest RPI and won out especially with their second-ranked strength of schedule. Texas Tech (somehow) is sitting a 61st for strength of schedule. Regardless, the two team’s meet up again in Lubbock on the 24th of this month for what looks surely to be as good as a Big 12 conference championship. The next game up on the Red Raider’s schedule is Oklahoma at home on Tuesday.

Okay, now breathe out.