Teams are broken into five regions–Northern, Central, Southeast, Western, and Texas.  The Texas region includes teams from the Lone Star State, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and New Mexico.  College fishing does not care what conference (or NCAA status) your football team is in, as long as you are a four-year school.  Texas State anglers find themselves competing against dozens of schools throughout the region including A&M, LSU, Tarleton State, SFA, and North Texas.

In Mid-November, Texas State students Jay McCollum and Davis Cosner traveled to Natchitoches, LA to compete in the Texas Regional Championship.   Their three day total of 27 lbs, 9 ounces was  good enough to finish in 2nd place out of 20 teams.  The second place finish netted the duo $25,000 (with $12,500 for Texas State and another $12,500 for their club), and gives these Bobcat Bassmen an opportunity to participate in the National Championship tournament held in Knoxville Tennessee on April 10th – 12th, 2010.

Accompanying Texas State in the National Championship Tournament will be the rest of the Texas Region Top 5-

1. Texas A&M University
2. Texas State University
3. Tarleton State University
4. Northwestern State University
5. Baylor University

The following is an excerpt from College Fishing.com –

“I started second-guessing myself this morning, and I really had to tell myself to slow down,” Cosner said. “I started off fishing a jig, but then I started throwing a spinnerbait, and it paid off. We caught all of our keeper fish on spinnerbaits.”  The Texas State anglers used ½-ounce white Booyah spinnerbaits. Given the day’s dim conditions, they switched from metallic blades to painted blades. They caught their fish on spinnerbaits with chartreuse willow blades and white Colorado blades.   “The water was murky, and it was on the rise from all the heavy rain,” Cosner said. “Also, the sun wasn’t out, so metallic blades wouldn’t flash.”  McCollum said that diligence was his biggest ally today: “I had a plan, and that plan was to throw a spinnerbait all day. If I hadn’t have caught my last fish when I did, I probably would have put that rod down because my wrist was killing me.”

More information, including photos from this tournament can be found at – http://www.collegefishing.com/championship/2009-Northwestern-State-University.cfm

Chris Lehman

chris@bobcatfans.com

The tournament had a round-robin first round, where teams were placed into pools.  If a team wins a match, they are awarded three points, and the loser gets zero.  If they tie, each team receives one point.  The awarded points are totaled and the top two teams advance to the championship bracket, while the third team plays in the Consolation Bracket.

The Men’s team team ended up in a pool with Weber State (Utah) and Michigan State.  Texas State had the first match of the tournament at 8 am Thursday morning against the Weber State Wildcats.  The Wildcats won this cat fight, downing the Bobcats 2-1.  The Bobcats had a quick turn around and returned to action Thursday Afternoon at 1PM against the Michigan State Spartans.  When the final gun sounded, the match ended at a standstill neither keep giving up a score.  The Bobcats placed third in their pool as the Michigan State / Weber State match ended knotted at zero.  This meant that the Bobcats would enter the Consolation round on Friday where they faced the Midshipmen of Navy.    The Midshipmen proved too much for the Bobcats winning the match 2-0.

The Texas State Women ended up in a pool with Colorado State and the University of Michigan.  The Bobcats faced the Rams early Thursday morning and came away with a 3-1 victory.  Their second match of the day was at 3pm against the Michigan Wolverines.  The Wolverines won 2-0 over the Cats, however the Maroon and Gold were able to advance to the championship round to be held the next day.

As luck would have it, the Bobcats drew the Longhorns for a high-noon showdown on Friday.  When the smoke cleared, a 2-1 victory signaled that the Cats were too much for the “Cows”. They returned to action Friday night in the Quarter Final Match against the Michigan State Spartans.  Just like Leonidas before them, these Spartans inevitably fell to the Bobcats, 2-1. With this victory, Texas State advanced to the final four where they faced the team from Happy Valley–The Penn State Nittany Lions.  Sadly, this is where the story ends.  The Bobcats lost to PSU 2-0.  With this the season was over, but team finished THIRD in the nation.

Congrats to both of our teams!

A complete bracket can be found here- http://www.nirsa.net/sc/soccer/2009/Results2009.html

Photos can be found here – http://clubsportsphotos.exposuremanager.com/g/phoenix_2009

Personally, I loved this photo of a Texas State player putting the hurt on a UT player.  — http://clubsportsphotos.exposuremanager.com/p/texas_vs_texas_state/phoenix09b-09893_22_2_43

Chris Lehman

chris@bobcatfans.com

Chris : Brett, What is the name of your Sport Club?

Brett: Texas State Men’s Club Soccer

C: How do people join your club?

B: We have tryouts at the beginning of the fall semester.

C: How many members do you have?

B: Currently, about 35.

C: How frequently do you practice?

B: We practice 3 times a week – Monday, Wednesday, Friday

C: Describe your sport for someone who is not familiar with it?

B: The beautiful game. It is free flowing and strategic.  It is the most democratic of sports in that you don’t have to be a certain height or weight in order to be successful.

C: What kind of success has your program had?

B: Our club has been around since the 1980s. During the ‘90s, the club was a force to be reckoned with, constantly progressing through the national tournament. The last 10 years, we have had a lot of success through the league and at regionals. However, it was more difficult to make that final step to nationals. Starting last year, the current squad is hoping to continue its dominance in the league, regionals, and be a national contender.

C: What was your biggest win in program history?

B: In recent history, our biggest win came last season. The past four years we had made it to the regional finals and had failed to progress on to nationals. Last year we stormed through the regional tournament and met UT in the regional final. After a 0-0 tie through regulation and extra time, we won in penalty kicks to advance to the national tournament for the first time in 5 or 6 years.

C: What league do you play in, and who do you compete against?

B: The Premier Conference of the Texas Collegiate Soccer League (The University of Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, Baylor, UT-San Antonio.)

C: Who is your biggest Rival?

B: The University of Texas has been one of our biggest rivals for years.

C: Do you have website or online schedule?

B: You can view our schedule, and more information about the team, at http://txstatemenssoccer.googlepages.com/.

C: Brett, now that we have talked about the team, tell me a little about yourself.

B: I am from Georgetown, and  I will  graduate in December of 2009 with a Marketing degree.

C: What position do you play?

B: I have played just about everywhere on the field since I joined the team, minus goalie. This season, I am playing right back.

C: What was your favorite win and why?

B: The regional final win against UT last season. We had had a poor run of form the last couple of times we played them. It was an amazing feeling to win in penalty kicks and know that we were going to the national tournament.

C: Why should people join your soccer club?

B: Our club team offers a competitive atmosphere for soccer players that are looking for more than intramurals has to offer. It is unfortunate that there aren’t many Division 1 schools that have NCAA scholarship teams, but club soccer is a healthy alternative. There are some amazing players in the league and the competition is great. In addition, I have met some of my best friends since I joined the team. It’s a college experience that I encourage everyone to pursue.

C: Why do you enjoy playing?

B: I’ve played all of my life and enjoy the fact that I can continue to play in a competitive environment for a few more years.

C: Just a couple more questions, why did you choose to Texas State?

B: I came to Texas State in hopes of transferring out after my first year. But, after my first year, I couldn’t imagine going anywhere else. This school offers a large university experience, while still providing a small university experience in the classroom.

C: What is your fondest Texas State memory?

B: Too many to pick just one.

I would like to thank Brett Georgulis for taking the time to answer my questions.  If you are a member of a Texas State Sports Club (or you know someone who is), please send an email to Chris@bobcatfans.com .

Chris Lehman

chris@bobcatfans.com

The scholarship athletic teams were not the only ones to have a good showing last weekend.  Students from the cycling, water ski, rugby, and soccer teams were in action on West Campus and around the country.

Drew Hochstatter of the Cycling Team placed 37^th of 70 competitors in the Mountain Bike Nationals at Lake Tahoe, California.

The Texas State Water Ski Team went to the National Tournament in Bakersfield, California where they competed against teams from The University of Wisconsin, Cal Poly, Cincinnati, Texas A&M, Kansas, Clemson, Michigan, Western Washington, and Georgia.  Overall, Texas State finished fourth in the final standings, third in jumping, sixth in trick skiing, and tenth in slalom.  Individually, Amanda Stevenson of Conroe won Women’s Slalom, finished 3^rd in tricks, and 3^rd in jumping. Bobby Hall finished 6^th in slalom, 2^nd in jumping, and 2^nd in jumping.  Lisa Gerkin finished 9^th in jumping.  More results are available here – http://www.ncwsa.com/index.php/nationals/nationals-results

The Men’s Rugby team split the weekend matches.  They lost a close one to SFA in a ‘friendly’ competition.  They came back on Saturday to win against the University of Dallas.

The Women’s Rugby team hosted a Halloween Rugby tournament and played a pair of matches with Texas A&M and Sam Houston.  According to President Mari Suarez, “the tournament turned out great! We put up a good fight against A&M.”  The second game of the weekend was against Sam Houston State.  Unfortunately, the ladies were dealing with a depleted roster and in the lost by kick, final score 12-10 in favor of Sam.

Both the Men’s and Women’s Club Soccer Teams won their Regional Tournaments in San Antonio, Texas over the weekend.  I was unable to get scores for the Women’s team, but they played against Texas, Baylor, and LSU.  Meanwhile, the Men tied their first game 1-1 against Louisiana-Lafayette.  In games two and three, they beat UH-Downtown and Lamar by the scores of 1-0.  They faced Baylor in the tournament final.  They won the game on a penalty kick shootout 3-2.  Both teams will move on to compete at the National Tournament in Phoenix, Arizona November 18-22.

The brackets have not been set yet, but you can find the list of teams that made the tournament at http://www.nirsa.org/Content/NavigationMenu/Sports/Soccer/2009_Teams.pdf.

Coming up this week,

Men’s Lacrosse will host their homecoming a week late, as they invite the Alumni back to campus on Sunday, November 8^th.  The Alumni vs. Current Students game starts at Noon.

Tennis will be traveling to Houston to compete in a Tournament, November 6 – 7.

The Buckets (Men’s Ultimate Disc) will be traveling to College Station to compete in a Tournament, November 6 – 8.

You can learn more about clubsports at — http://www.campusrecreation.txstate.edu/programs/sport-clubs.html

Chris Leman

chris@bobcatfans.com

I would also encourage you to come watch the Men and Women’s Rugby Teams as they host several games on West Campus this weekend. The Renegade Rugby Team returns to West Campus after playing in the Metroplex for the past month. They lost a close match to UNT 33-29 last weekend, and they hope to get back on the winning path with games against SFA on Friday and The University of Dallas on Saturday. The Women’s Rugby Team is hosting their annual Halloween Rugby Tournament

Or for those of you in the Alamo City, the Men’s and Women’s Soccer teams will be in action all weekend long. The Men’s Soccer team (4-4) currently sits in 3rd place in the Texas Collegiate Soccer league behind Texas A&M and UT. They are ahead of Baylor, UTSA, Tech. The Women’s team (6-3) is tied for 4th place with Texas Tech.

Home Events

M. Rugby vs SFA, Friday Oct 30, at West Campus Practice Field, 8pm
M. Rugby vs University of Dallas, Oct 31, at West Campus Practice Field, 11am
W. Rugby will be hosting a tournament at West Campus Practice Field on Oct 31, 1-6pm

Away Events

W. Soccer will be traveling to San Antonio to participate in a Tournament, Oct 30-Nov
M. Soccer will be traveling to San Antonio to participate in a Tournament, Oct 30-Nov 1

Chris can be reached at chris@bobcatfans.com

Friday night, the Men’s Soccer Team defeated Baylor 4 – 2 in Waco.  The Women’s team hosted the University of Texas and lost 4-0.  Their scoring drought did not last long as they hosted Lamar on Saturday.  The ladies put on a clinic, winning 11 – 0.

The Renegade Ruby team hosted Sam Houston State.   This was the second time they have faced SHSU in the last week.  They previously saw each other at the Cherrybone tournament in the greater Houston area.  Texas State continued its dominance over Sam as our ‘A’ team beat their team 26-12, and our ‘B’ team won 39 -12.

The Men’s Water Polo team participated in a tournament hosted by Texas A&M on Saturday and Sunday.  They lost to UT (19-0), Texas Tech (13-5), and University of Houston (9-6).  They did defeat Baylor (5-0).

The Waterski Team spent the weekend on the lake at the South Central Regional Tournament in Fayetteville, Arkansas.  They competed against Arkansas, Baylor, Louisiana-Lafayette, Louisiana-Monroe, Texas, and Texas A&M.  The Men’s team, lead by Bobby Hall of Martindale, finished 5^th as a team, 3^rd in the Tricks category, 4^th in Jumping, and 4^th overall.  Conroe’s Amanda Stevenson and the Women’s team finished 6^th in Slalom, 5^th in tricks, 5^th in jumping, and 5^th overall.

Coming up this weekend, several of our teams will be in action and out of town.

The Renegade Rugby team travels to Fort Worth to compete in the 2009 Cowtown Rugby Tournament.

Women’s Soccer heads to Huntsville to take on a 1-3 Sam Houston Team.

Men’s Soccer will be in Nacogdoches to take on SFA on Saturday, and in Austin against Texas on Sunday.

Come Out and Support Texas State Sport Clubs.  For more information any of Texas State Sports Clubs visit – http://www.campusrecreation.txstate.edu/programs/sport-clubs.html

chris@bobcatfans.com

Please visit the following website for more information http://www.campusrecreation.txstate.edu/programs/sport-clubs/club-pages.html

Week of September 27th – October 3rd

Do you need for your sports fix, but you can’t travel with the Bobcats to Southern Utah? There are a number of Texas State Sport’s Clubs in action this week. Stay home and watch Texas State students compete against UT, Baylor, and Sam Houston. For those of you who do feel like traveling, several of our teams—including Fencing, Women’s Rugby, and Water Polo—will be in College Station for tournaments.

Home Events

Women’s Soccer
After having last week’s match against Texas A&M rained out, women’s club soccer team has a tough week ahead of them as they have three games scheduled in four days. The only benefit is that they will be playing all three of these games at home on West Campus.

Texas State (2 – 1) faces top-ranked Baylor (2-0-1) on Wednesday at 7:30 pm. They return to the field on Friday at 7pm to tangle with Texas (3-1), and finish out the week against Lamar (1-1) on Saturday 1pm.

Men’s Rugby
The Renegades competed in the Cherrybone Memorial Collegiate Tournament last weekend in the Woodlands. The round-robin tournament had Texas State competing against Baylor, Texas A&M, and Sam Houston. They beat Baylor, 13 to 10, and Sam, 19 to 12. They lost to A&M, 13 to 10.

They are playing Sam Houston on Friday October 2nd @ 7:30 and 9pm on West Campus.

Men’s Volleyball
The Men’s volleyball team is hosting their Third Annual Octoberfest Tournament at the Student Recreation Center on Saturday, October 3rd from 7 am – 10pm.

Away Events

Cycling
The Cycling Club will be competing in their Conference Championships, October 2 -4th at Saint Jo, Texas.

Men’s Soccer
Texas State (1-2) hopes to change their luck as they visit Waco to take on the Baylor
(2 – 0- 2). The game is Friday night at 8pm in Waco.

Tennis
Tennis competes in a regional tournament in Austin on Saturday, October 3rd.

Fencing
The Fencing Team competes in the Southwest Intercollegiate Fencing Association (SWIFA) which promotes collegiate fencing throughout Texas. Texas State will compete in College Station on Saturday.

Women’s Rugby
The Women’s Rugby Team heads to College Station to compete in a round robin tournament hosted by Texas A&M on Saturday, October 3rd.

Triathlon
The Triathlon Club is competing in the Olympic Distance Texas Triathlon, Saturday Oct. 3, in Canyon Lake.

M. Water Polo
The Men’s Water Polo team struggled last month with losses to UT, Rice, and A&M. This weekend hope to get back on the winning path as they travel to College Station to take on Baylor, Tech, U of H, and Texas. The tournament is Saturday and Sunday at Texas A&M.

Water Ski Tournament
The Water Ski Team last competed on September 19th at the 2009 Cajun Classic. As a team, Texas State finished 5th overall. Bobby Hall placed 6th in the Men A Jumping Competition and 7th in the Men’s Overall. Taylor Newton tied for 9th in the Men’s overall. Amanda Stevenson placed 3rd in the Women’s Slalom, 7th in the Tricks and the Jumping categories, and 4th in the Women’s overall.

The Water Ski Team travels to the South Central Regional Tournament in Fayetteville, Arkansas this weekend.

Chris Lehman

chris@bobcatfans.com