The Morning Stake: April 8th

Golf

Softball

Softball Travels to Austin to Take on Texas. The softball team will travel to Austin to take on UT this weekend, first pitch is tonight at 6:00 pm, with game 2 on Saturday at 1:00 pm and Sunday at 12:00 pm.

Texas Tech began the 2016 Big 12 season with a 3-0 sweep of Oklahoma State last weekend. The 3-0 start to conference play was the first time the Red Raiders began Big 12 play with a series sweep since the 2011-12 season when Tech defeated Iowa State in three straight games.

Texas Tech scored 34 runs in last weekend’s sweep of Oklahoma State to mark the highest scoring weekend of the 2016 season for the Red Raiders.

Tennis

Men’s Tennis Hosting No. 18 Tulsa. The men’s tennis team will host No. 18 Tulsa today at 1:30 at teh McLeod Tennis Center which finishes up the non-conference portion of the schedule:

“Tulsa has a lot of talent and depth on its roster,” Texas Tech head coach Brett Masi said. “They’ve beat high-ranked opponents which includes Oklahoma State last week. Looking at some notes, we’ll possibly have to prepare for as many as nine or 10 players when you normally see only seven or eight players between singles and doubles. We’ll have to be ready and make a few adjustments on the fly for that scenario if it presents itself. It’s going to be a huge upside to be in front of our home crowd. We’ve played a home match in over a month, and I’m definitely ready for some home cooking. Hopefully, we’ll be able to feed off our crowd’s energy which always is a big advantage for us.”

Women to Host Texas & Travel to Baylor. The ladies will host No. 35 Texas today at 5:00 pm and travel to Baylor on Sunday at 3:00 pm:

“Last weekend, I thought we adjusted well to the indoor environment against Kansas State,” Texas Tech head coach Todd Petty said. “Our energy was high all weekend, and we competed well. We’re learning how to play in our roles much better as the season progresses. We need to continue to understand the value of each point and finish off games when we have leads. There are no easy matches left this season. We need to stay physically fresh and stay engaged with the importance of every point.”

Basketball

Tubby Smith at the Wooden Award Ceremony. The actual ceremony isn’t until tonight, but LAJ’s Krista Pirtle has a story on Tubby Smith’s journey as a coach to receiving the Wooden Award. The photos below are from probably a meet-and-greet sort of event. And that photo of Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo and Smith is absolutely terrific. Also, absolutely love Coach Joe. The article is great, give it a read.

“The real heroes are our young people that will carry the legacy of what we’re trying to teach them as far as being men of character and being responsible for their families and for themselves,” Smith said.

That’s why some of the biggest compliments he’s received in his time at Texas Tech have come from people pointing out their gratitude toward his players who always stop to sign autographs and take pictures with fans.

Smith teaches his players that it doesn’t cost a thing to be polite, show good manners and represent themselves and Texas Tech the right way.

That’s been his message throughout his career — doing things the right way.

“No shortcuts,” Williamson said. “That’s the reason why we were successful at Tulsa. That was the reason why this team was successful at Texas Tech. You have to work and put time into it.”

Football

Notebooky. LAJ’s Don Williams has a notebook of practice things (I’ll have a breakdown as well) and Williams talked with LB Malik Jenkins, who Kingsbury praised in his post-practice interview as having been the guy that’s progressed the furthest since Kingsbury has been at Texas Tech.

“The biggest thing I’m trying to work on now is consistency throughout, playing all three positions,” he said. “For coach Kingsbury to say something like that, it means a lot.”

Jenkins said his improvement stems both from the knowledge he’s gained in his first three years and improving his mentality. Having a year under his belt in David Gibbs’ system helps. So does training at all three linebacker spots, because he know where his teammates are supposed to line up.

“I’d say I’m getting way better at stopping the run,” he said. “I feel like I am. And recognizing the different formations. Coverage, I’m getting way better also, and I always love rushing the quarterback. I played defensive end in high school, so that’s kind of natural already.”

Oakman Named in Rape Allegation. Oh, boy. Shawn Oakman has been named as a suspect in a rape allegation. The details are gory and here are the affidavits (here and here, via Alex Dunlap). I don’t really have anything to add other than it’s just terrible, terrible for this girl and terrible all the way around. Of course, and this is always tough, that this is merely an allegation. No arrests have been made at this point and even though it may be a rival team and player, that’s important to keep in mind. Still though, just reading those affidavits, it’s tough to stomach.

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