. Men's cross country team steamrolls to first region title, finishes second at NCAA Young Wildcat basketball teams lean on freshmen in early season action Volleyball team becomes a force in conference, region Golf team adds new faces in hopes of returning to NCAA Williams' coaching era begins in ACU track and field with lofty goals, expectations 1-9 year tough to swallow but Wildcats, Gaines are optimistic Baseball team eyes NCAA World Series Softball team mixes experience and youth Nationally ranked tennis teams aim for even higher ground Men's cross country team steamrolls to first region title, finishes second at NCAA The men's cross country team had high expectations entering the 2000 season, and for the most part it was able to achieve each one. They won another Lone Star Conference championship, won the south central region championship for the first time, were ranked No. 1 in the nation in NCAA Division II for several weeks during the season and finished a best-ever second at the national meet Nov. 18 in Chino, Calif. Along the way to the second-place finish, the Wildcats were able to knock off two-time defending NCAA Division I national champion University of Arkansas at both the Oklahoma State Jamboree and the Razorbacks' own Chile Pepper Invitational in Fayetteville, Ark. Sophomore Alfred Rugema rolled to the individual national championship at the national meet, covering the 10 kilometers in a course-record 30 minutes, 17 seconds. He finished 41 seconds ahead of teammate John Kemboi, who was second. "We had a fantastic year," ACU head cross country coach Jon Murray said. "I'm really proud of the way we competed all year. We had a lot of goals going into the season, and we were able to achieve most of those. What really excites me is that we will only lose one of our top five runners (Gilbert Tuhabonye), so next year should be another great one for us." On the women's side, freshman Justine Nahimana qualified for the national meet where she finished 10th to earn all-America status. Young Wildcat basketball teams lean on freshmen in early season action Most coaches know that youthful rosters can provide moments of exhilaration. They also know those same players can provide moments of frustration. And in the early going of the 2000-01 basketball season, the men's and women's coaches at ACU experienced both those emotions as their teams got off to up-and-down starts. The women, who have started four freshmen in the first 12 games, will be forced to play the rest of the season without senior captain Brenda Jacoby, who is out with a knee injury. Freshman Meredith Doyle of Sulphur Springs started in her place until an injury forced freshman Leah Wilson of Abilene Wylie into the lineup. Wilson joins center Melanie Carter of Lubbock and forward Jackie Vinson of Clyde as freshmen in the Wildcats' starting lineup. "We knew entering the season that our young players would have to play a lot for us this year, and we thought they could play well," ACU head coach Wayne Williams ('79) said. "They have played a lot of minutes, and they've played pretty well." Carter is the team's leading scorer -- averaging better than 17 points per game -- and through the season's first 12 games she recorded six double-doubles as ACU went 5-7. The men's team also is young , and starts two freshmen: point guard Howard Johnson of Navasota and shooting guard Cesar Neto of Itu, Brazil. Freshman guard Ryan Coleman of The Woodlands and freshman forward Tucker Pierson of Corpus Christi also have seen significant playing time for the Wildcats, who were 4-8 through the early part of a tough schedule that included road games at Northwest Missouri, Nebraska-Omaha, No. 3 Southern Indiana, and Indianapolis. "We felt like we had good young players, and those guys, for the most part, have played pretty well," ACU head coach Mike Martin said. "We know those guys are going to play a big part for us this year, and we also know they are going to be up and down a little bit throughout the season. But we like the young players we have, and we think they'll help us this year." Senior Peter Kiganya of Nairobi, Kenya, leads the Wildcats, averaging better than 17 points and nine rebounds per game. Page 1 - Page 2 - Page 3 - Page 4
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		Last Update: Feb. 9, 2001 Page maintained by Jeremy Parish, parishj@acu.edu Questions to Ron Hadfield, hadfieldr@acu.edu http://www.acu.edu/alumni/inside-acu/winter2001/sports01.html