TAMIU Sports Notes -- Jan. 20, 2005

The Week Ahead

Texas A&M International University will end its longest break in action for the season with two Red River Athletic Conference home games in three days later this week. TAMIU will host Paul Quinn College on Saturday and Southwestern Assemblies on Monday.

Paul Quinn enters play this week near the bottom on the RRAC standings with a 1-6 conference mark (2-15 overall) while Southwestern Assemblies is in fourth place with a 6-3 conference mark (8-11 overall). The Dustdevils lost twice to Paul Quinn last season while splitting a pair of games with SAGU.

The Program & Head Coach

The TAMIU men's basketball team is competing as a second year program as members of the NAIA and Red River Athletic Conference. Tarvish Felton (Southern Utah, 1999) was hired as TAMIU's first coach in September, 2002. He guided the Dustdevils to a 10-22 record in the program's inaugural campaign. Highlights of the 2003-04 season include a three-game winning streak to close the season and a late-season win over NCAA Division II stalwart Incarnate Word. Felton has a career and school record of 16-33.

Noteworthy

After playing its next four games at the TAMIU Kinesiology and Convocation Building the Dustdevils will conclude the 2004-05 regular season by playing eight of its final nine games on the road. The lone home game in February will be a Feb. 22 match-up with Texas College.

TAMIU is in fifth place in the Red River Athletic standings entering play this week. The Dustdevils will get a shot at two top-four RRAC teams within the next two weeks on the home court. After hosting Southwestern Assemblies next Monday the Dustdevils will host Langston on Saturday, Jan. 29. SAGU is currently in fourth place in the RRAC standings while Langston sits atop the conference standings.

The Week Ahead

Starting with Tuesday night's non-conference road game at St. Mary's, TAMIU will play four games over a seven-day period.

The Dustdevils will play three home games in three days beginning with Saturday's Red River Athletic Conference tilt with Paul Quinn College.

Incarnate Word will then visit the TAMIU Kinesiology and Convocation Building on Sunday for a non-conference game before RRAC foe Southwestern Assemblies closes out the stretch on Monday.

The contests with St. Mary's and Incarnate Word, both NCAA Division II institutions, will close-out the non-conference portion of TAMIU's regular season schedule. The Dustdevils are 1-6 all-time against NCAAD II competition with the win coming earlier this season against St. Edward's.

The Program & Head Coach

The TAMIU women's basketball team is competing as a second year program as members of the NAIA and Red River Athletic

Conference. Head coach Marc García (Trinity, 1993) began the task of building a new program in September, 2002. He guided the Dustdevils to a 14-20 overall record in their inaugural season of competition, including a 13-5 mark over the final 18 games. TAMIU finished fifth in the RRAC regular season standings with a 12-10 record before advancing to the semifinal round of the conference postseason tournament. García has a career and school record of 21-28.

Noteworthy

Sophomore Jermina Tomlinson finished with 14 points in Saturday's loss to Texas A&M-Kingsville, marking her 11th straight game of scoring in double-figures. Tomlinson's career-long stretch of 12 games scoring in double-figures was accomplished last season ... Sophomore Cathy García has stepped up her production over the last three games, averaging 9.7 points per game over that stretch. García averaged 3.8 points per game for the first 12 games on the season. Her scoring binge has pushed García's season scoring average to 5.0 points per game. She ranks first on the squad in three-point field goal percentage (18 for 53, .340 pct.).