Texas A&M International University

TAMIU Sports Notes

Texas A&M International University senior Xochitl Garza has been picked as a honorable mention selection to 2005 NAIA All-American Volleyball Team.  

She finished among the leaders in the final Red River Athletic Conference statistical rankings in several categories, including hitting percentage  (.320), kills per game (2.87) and blocks per game (1.11).

Garza finished her two-year Dustdevil career as a two-time first team All-RRAC selection.  She played two seasons at UT-Brownsville before transferring to TAMIU.

Garza becomes the third Dustdevil to earn NAIA All-American honors in the four-year history of the program.  Jessica Vargas earned Honorable Mention honors in 2003 and Katherine Taju earned third-team All-American honors in 2004.
 
MEN
Toy Drive For Next Home Game

TAMIU’s  basketball programs will sponsor a Salvation Army Christmas Toy Drive on Saturday, Dec. 17 when the Dustdevils host Red River Athletic Conference power Houston Baptist.  Free admission will be granted to the doubleheader for anyone donating a new toy.  Those donating will receive raffle coupons, which will be drawn at halftime to award a wide variety of prizes.  Amongst the prizes is a two-night weekend stay at the La Quinta Inn & Suites on the loop and two Softtech Sport Stereo boom boxes.  
 
Up Next
TAMIU  will jump into the heat of conference play with
three road games in five days, beginning with Saturday’s tilt at Paul Quinn College.  After facing PQC the Dustdevils will play at Southwestern Assemblies on Monday and UT-Permian Basin next Wednesday.

TAMIU posted a combined 6-0 record against the opponents it will face on this roadtrip last season.  The Dustdevils are 4-0 all-time against UTPB, 3-1 all-time against SAGU and 2-2 all-time against PQC.
    
The Program & Head Coach
The TAMIU men’s basketball team is competing as
a third 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 24-39 overall record in the program’s first two years.  After finishing 10th in the RRAC regular season standings in 2003-04 the Dustdevils finished fifth in the final conference standings last season, qualifying for the conference postseason tournament for the first time.  Felton has a career and school record of 25-42.
 
Noteworthy
Junior Martell Lewis finished with 16 points and 14 rebounds in Monday’s loss to Huston-Tillotson, marking his second double-double of the season ...

Senior Bo Aluka recorded his first career double-double against HTU, finishing with 19 points and a career-high 10 rebounds.  Aluka’s previous high mark for rebounds was eight, accomplished twice previously.
 

 
WOMEN
Up Next

After playing six of its first seven games at home, TAMIU will hit the road for its first lengthy road swing of the season. The Dustdevils will play conference games at Paul Quinn on Saturday, Southwestern Assemblies on Monday and UT-Permian Basin next Wednesday before returning to Laredo.

TAMIU has a winning record in the all-time series with each of the three teams it will face on the upcoming road swing. The Dustdevils are 4-0 all-time against Southwestern Assemblies, 3-1 all-time against Paul Quinn and 3-2 all-time against UT-Permian Basin.  UTPB has won the last two games against TAMIU, including a 100-86 win in the quarterfinal round of last season’s RRAC postseason tournament.
 
The Program & Head Coach
The TAMIU women’s basketball team is competing as a third 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 31-34 overall record in the program’s first two seasons, with the Dustdevils qualifying for the conference postseason tournament both seasons.  García has a career and school record of 35-37.
 

Probable Starters
Noteworthy

Sophomore Becky Mata set a TAMIU single-game record with 12 in Monday’s win over Huston-Tillotson. The previous record of eight assists was held by Jermina Tomlinson and Gloria Miller ... Sophomore Nicole Gipson scored a career-high 22 points in the win over HTU.  Her previous high-mark was 14 points, established in a win over Paul Quinn last season ... Gipson finished with 22 points, 13 rebounds and five blocks against HTU.  It was the second double-double (points-rebounds) outing she has recorded in her 36-game career with the Dustdevils ... Gipson ranks second in the NAIA individual statistical rankings in blocks per game (3.71) ... Junior Jermina Tomlinson ranks in the top-5 of the NAIA rankings in steals per game (4.16) and in the top-10 in three-point field goals made per game (2.83).

Journalists who need additional information or help with media requests and interviews should contact the Office of Public Relations, Marketing and Information Services at prmis@tamiu.edu