TAMIU Sports Notes
Garza Named Picked for NAIA Honor
Texas A&M International senior Xochitl Garza has been picked as a honorable mention selection to 2005 NAIA All-American Volleyball Team. She finished amongst 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.
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RRAC Names Basketball Players of Week
Vanessa Villarreal of Texas A&M International University was named a Red River Athletic Conference (RRAC) Women’s Basketball Co-Player of the Week.
Villarreal, a junior forward from San Antonio, averaged 21.5 points per game and 6.0 rebounds as TAMIU won a pair of conference contests for its best start as a member of the RRAC. She accounted for 21 points and nine rebounds to surpass Huston-Tillotson University, 96-70.
Villarreal followed that performance with 22 points and three boards in a 71-65 triumph over PQC. For the week, she was 15 of 33 from field goal range including 8-of-14 on three-pointers. TAMIU is now 2-0 in the conference and 5-3 on the season.
Other men’s basketball nominees included Martell Lewis of TAMIU.
Toy Drive Set for HBU Doubleheader
TAMIU’s basketball programs will sponsor a Salvation Army Christmas Toy Drive this Saturday when the Dustdevils host Red River Athletic Conference power Houston Baptist. Free admission on 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 play its final game before the holiday break this Saturday when Red River Athletic Conference perennial power Houston Baptist visits Laredo. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 at the Kinesiology and Convocation Building on campus.
HBU will bring a 7-2 overall record (3-0 RRAC) into Saturday’s game. The Huskies are ranked 16th in this week’s NAIA top-25 poll. HBU holds a 4-0 lead in the all-time series with TAMIU.
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 26-44.
NOTEWORTHY
Junior Angel Encinas is off to a tremendous start to his career as a
Dustdevil. The Cochise Junior College transfer places in the top-five of the NAIA individual rankings in steals per game (3.43) and assists per game (7.14). Encinas has recorded 12 assists in a game twice this season. The school record of 13 assists in a game was achieved by Larry White during the 2003-04 season.
RED HOT DUSTDEVILS TO HOST HOUSTON BAPTIST
UP NEXT
TAMIU will try to stay perfect in Red River Athletic
Conference play when it hosts conference power Houston Baptist on Saturday.
Tip-off is scheduled for 5:30 at the Kinesiology and Convocation Building on campus.
HBU will enter the game with a 6-2 overall record (3-0 RRAC). The Huskies are ranked 13th in this week’s NAIA top-25 poll. HBU holds a 5-0 advantage in the all-time series with TAMIU.
After hosting HBU, TAMIU will play two road games before taking a holiday break. The Dustdevils will play at Incarnate Word next Tuesday and UT-Pan American on Thursday, Dec. 22. The UTPA contest is an exhibition game for TAMIU.
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 38-37.
NOTEWORTHY
TAMIU is off to its best start in conference play in the three-year history of the program at 4-0. The Dustdevils were 1-3 after four games in 2003-04 and 2-2 after four games last season ... Dating back to last season TAMIU has a six-game winning streak in regular season RRAC games. The Dustdevils accomplished a school record nine-game winning streak in conference play during their inaugural campaign in 2003-04. One of the wins during that winning streak was a forfeit over Jarvis Christian ... Junior Vanessa Villarreal earned RRAC Player of the Week recognition for games played Dec. 5-11, marking the fourth time in her career that she has earned the honor
... Junior Jermina Tomlinson grabbed a school single-game record 11 steals in Monday’s win over Southwestern Assemblies.
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