November was a great month for the HSU athletic department as all four of our fall sports qualified for the NCAA post-season. It was a hectic two weeks when the post season started and I hope the following provides some insight into the highs and lows of the second season.

 

November 9

The NCAA post season begins with the Cowgirl Volleyball team traveling to San Antonio to take on former conference rival Austin College. The Cowgirls play two of their best matches of the year as they jump out to a 2-0 lead against the Lady Roos. Unfortunately somewhere during the third game, the levee broke and the momentum left the Cowgirls and went completely to AC. The Roos would go on to win the match 3-2, ending the Cowgirls first ever run in the NCAA tournament. Afterwards Coach Hernesman and I talk about how once momentum leaves, it's almost impossible for it to find its way back to you. If I could ever figure out the secret to that, I could retire. Today. At Cabo San Lucas.

 

November 10

I take a flight to Seattle to watch the Cowgirl soccer team play host Puget Sound in the first round of the NCAA tournament. Nobody is surprised by the forecast-rain followed by more rain. As I land in Seattle, I am greeted with a monsoon at the airport which only makes the drive to Tacoma in rush hour traffic even more fun. Apparently this is a record year for rain in the Pacific Northwest, which thrills me to know that the Cowgirls and I will get to say that we participated in such a major weather phenomenon. I can hear me telling the story know to my uninterested friends "Back in 2006, we had to walk thru six inches of rain just to get to the soccer match."

 

November 11, 11:00 a.m.

While the Cowgirls are preparing for their playoff game with Puget Sound, the Cowboy soccer team is in San Antonio to play Trinity, who goes into the playoffs ranked number one in the nation. I am able to follow the game on the Trinity website and observe as the Tigers take a 1-0 lead against the visiting Cowboys. Thanks to Gametracker, which we use for many of our athletic events, a fan can be a thousand miles away from a game and can still follow and know more statistical information about the event, than someone who is at the game. The Cowboys fall 2-0 to Trinity, which marks the second year in a row the Tigers have ended the season for HSU.

 

November 11, 2:00 p.m.

I am able to listen to the first quarter of our football game with McMurry on the internet before I leave to watch the Cowgirls play. HSU jumps out to an early lead in the battle for the Wilford Moore trophy. A win by the Cowboys should help us in our drive to return to the playoffs.

 

November 11, 5:00 p.m.

Tom Petty once sang that the wait is always the hardest part. And that's what the Cowboy football team has to do after defeating McMurry. Wait for the Selection Show on ESPN News. I think we should be in the playoffs, but I have seen numerous good teams not receive a bid to the post-season. We will find out for sure in less than twenty hours. I would like to say that the twenty hours will go fast. I would also like to say that I swing my driver like Tiger Woods.

 

November 11, 6:00 p.m.

The Cowgirl soccer team survives two overtime periods and defeats Puget Sound on penalty kicks. Next up: Trinity, a team ranked number one in the nation and that ended the Cowgirls' season in 2005. Each year we play Trinity at the beginning of the season, which has become a great way for both teams to start the year. For the past three years, the two schools have also met in the post season, which depending on who you are, has not been a great way for a team to end the season. After the game, it begins to rain again.

 

November 12, 9:00 a.m.

Because the hotel we are staying at does not have ESPN News, I have to listen to the Football selection show on the internet. Because I am not in the fieldhouse for the selection show, I feel like I am a step behind on knowing what the results are. And because the information superhighway still has speed bumps, I am a step behind as ESPN News on the internet is not carrying the selection show. Fortunately our Sports Information Director, Chad Grubbs, calls and lets me know that we are in the playoffs with a rematch with Mary Hardin-Baylor. Economics is what determines why we are playing a conference opponent in the first round of the post-season. I don't like it and I know the folks in Belton don't approve of it either, but it's the system we currently have. Any discussion that we are playing each other because of a conspiracy that the NCAA has against Texas schools needs to be reserved for the next season of the X-Files on DVD.

 

November 12, 4:00 p.m.

On a day that is cold, overcast but no rain, the Cowgirls defeat Trinity to move on in the post-season. It's a special win for the seniors on this team; two years ago they were bounced by Puget Sound on this very field in the NCAA post-season. Today they leave with wins over two nationally ranked teams. Some times in life we get a chance to return to the scene of a failure and we are given another opportunity to succeed. In the movies, we almost always see success, but real life is not as kind. Today the Cowgirls can enjoy this trip to the Pacific Northwest knowing the wonderful and sometimes elusive feeling that is accomplishment.

 

November 13, 12:30 a.m.

I board the red eye flight from Seattle to Dallas so I can get back to the office at a reasonable time and start making plans for the soccer trip and the football game. I feel like just being back in the central time zone will allow me to get caught up on my work. And since I am coming back to Texas, I know I will not have to worry about the rain anymore.

 

November 17, 2:30 p.m.

I arrive in Chicago to watch the Cowgirls play the Banana Slugs of UC Santa Cruz on the campus of Wheaton University. Before the game I visit the Todd M. Beamer center, which was named after one of the heroes of September 11, 2001 and also recognizes two other Wheaton graduates who died on that day. The Beamer center is a student activities building and full of life on this day. Even with all of the activity, I still feel a sense of reverence as I tour the building. The game starts at 6:00 p.m., and everyone is bundled up as the game time temperature is in the high 30's. The contest with the Banana Slugs winds up going to penalty kicks, and HSU wins thanks in part to two terrific saves by freshman keeper Christi Carr. Brent Camp, who serves as a volunteer coach for the Cowgirls and made his share of great saves during his HSU career, says that the saves are two of the best he has ever seen at any level. After the game I go to the Sports and Fitness Center to work out. While I am there, I misplace my cell phone, which I used to believe I could live without. It only takes thirty minutes to realize how helpless you can feel when you are out of town and have no cell phone. Fortunately a kind individual returns the phone to the lost and found and I can resume my existence with the rest of the world.

 

November 18, 4:00 a.m.

Wake up call for my flight for Chicago to Dallas.

 

November 18, 8:30 a.m.

Land in Dallas then drive to Belton for the football game.

 

November 18, Noon

Kickoff between Crusaders and Cowboys.

 

November 18, 3:30 p.m.

I make the return trip to Abilene after the Cowboys fall to Mary Hardin-Baylor. At one point in the game the momentum (there's that word again) seemed to be in the favor of HSU, but the Crusaders withstood the Cowboy rally and advance to the second round. After the game I hear one of our seniors tell a teammate that he played as hard as he could and yet we could not win the game. It's a lesson I have to learn every year with our athletic programs. Even when we give our best, we still can fall short of our expectations. That still does not excuse us from trying to fulfill our potential in every game and in every aspect of our life.

 

November 18, 6:30 p.m.

I arrive in the Mabee Complex where our women's basketball team is playing Trinity in the season opener. In Chicago the Cowgirls are scoreless with Wheaton and are just a half away from playing in the Final Four in Orlando (no rain). As the Cowgirl basketball team rolls to a win, we begin to get the word by text messaging that the Cowgirl soccer team has fallen behind 1-0, then 2-0, and then the dream ends, thanks to a 3-0 loss to the Thunder. The loss stings, however, the pain subsides slightly the next week when Wheaton wins the National Championship.

 

Congratulations to the seniors on all of our teams who competed in the NCAA tournament. While the pain of losing a game is still with you, remember the words of Seneca who wrote that time heals what reason cannot. I hope you also realize that not every college athlete has the chance to participate in the post-season, so I hope you feel grateful for the opportunity you have had.

 

I hope you have enjoyed this look back at the NCAA tournament. Don't worry; no questions from this column will be on the final exam.

 

Cowboy Up,

 

John Neese

 

 

Past Blogs

Nov. 2

Oct. 24

Oct. 5

Sept. 21

Sept. 7

Aug. 31