DRC: NT Notebook all sports

[OldTimer]

UNT notebook

11:20 PM CST on Tuesday, October 31, 2006

By Brett Vito / Staff Writer

Player of the week

Katie Prokof helped ensure the UNT volleyball team would enter its final four games of the season in position to capture the Sun Belt Conference West Division title with two of her better matches of the season last week.

The junior outside hitter posted 19 kills in a five-game win over Arkansas State on Friday before coming back to dominate the Mean Green’s match against Arkansas-Little Rock on Sunday. Prokof posted 15 kills and an attack percentage of .636 in a three-game sweep of UALR that left the Mean Green in a tie with Denver for first place in the division. Prokof added nine digs in both matches.

“I can’t say enough about the way Katie is playing right now,” UNT head coach Cassie Headrick said.

The Mean Green have three matches left on the road before coming back to Denton to face Denver in their regular season finale on Nov. 11.

UNT enters that stretch having won eight of its last nine matches, thanks in large part to Prokof’s performance over the weekend. For her back-to-back solid outings, Prokof is the Denton Record-Chronicle UNT Player of the Week.

Football

Meager cleared to practice after injury against Troy

Sophomore quarterback Daniel Meager returned to practice on Tuesday after team doctors further evaluated an injury he suffered on Saturday in a loss to Troy.

Meager took a hard hit against the Trojans and did not play after halftime because of blurred vision that led UNT’s training staff to believe he had a concussion. UNT head coach Darrell Dickey said Meager had a concussion after the game and repeated that evaluation on Monday.

Dickey said on Tuesday UNT’s doctors now believe that the injury might not be that severe.

“Daniel has been cleared to practice,” Dickey said. “I don’t know that it was actually a concussion Saturday. He felt fine after the game. … We will see what his health situation is and go from there. We were told at halftime that they thought he had a concussion because he had some blurry vision.”

Meager practiced in a red non-contact jersey on Tuesday.

The new diagnosis was good news for the Mean Green and Meager, who has a history of problems with concussions. Meager suffered a concussion in the ninth week of last season and endured another in preseason practice that kept him out of the first two games of the season.

Meager returned from his preseason concussion to guide the Mean Green to a win over Florida International in the sixth week of the season. Fellow sophomore Woody Wilson started the game before Meager came on in the second half to lead the Mean Green to a late touchdown that helped send the game into overtime.

Meager stayed on through all seven overtime periods before UNT pulled out the win.

UNT has used three quarterbacks as starters this season: Wilson, Meager and Matt Phillips, another sophomore who started the first two games of the season. Wilson started the third through sixth games, while Meager has started the last two.

Troy game had different feel for Dickey

UNT’s game against Troy on Saturday had a different feel for head coach Darrell Dickey than before Oct. 12 when he suffered a heart attack that forced him to miss the Mean Green’s game against Arkansas State on Oct. 21.

Dickey said he normally is nervous and stressed out before a game and then settles in after kickoff. That changed against the Trojans.

“Last Saturday I slept through two or three games and was not stressed out,” Dickey said of the hours leading up to the game. “Five minutes before the game it hit and stayed with me throughout the entire game. I checked my blood pressure and it was as high as it has been since my heart attack. One of the reasons I went to the game was that I would do better at the game than I would at home bouncing off the walls.”

Troy ended up beating the Mean Green 14-6 in a tight game throughout. The loss was tough for Dickey to take, but he appreciated just being back on the sideline after missing a game for the first time in years.

“I was as excited to come out of the dressing room and go on the field as I have been in years,” Dickey said. “I was disappointed that we didn’t win, but I was happy to be a part of it. I had it taken away one time and it was not a fun evening for me. Being with the guys and encouraging them is why I do this. I appreciate things more.”

Women’s basketball

James cleared to play with back problem

UNT received a big boost on Tuesday when junior Mamie James was cleared by a back specialist to play for the Mean Green this season.

The 5-10 guard was diagnosed with a congenital back problem during preseason practice and was originally told that she would need major surgery to fix a misaligned disc in her lower back and continue her career. UNT sent James to see a back specialist who works with athletes for a second opinion.

The specialist told James and UNT officials that she could play this season and was in no danger of suffering a major injury due to the condition.

James was an honorable mention NJCAA All-American as a sophomore at Tyler Junior College last season and is expected to start at small forward for the Mean Green.

“This is a big boost for us,” UNT head coach Tina Slinker said. “She would have been hard to replace because of the experience she brings.”

James averaged 14 points and five rebounds a game last season for Tyler.

UNT won the Sun Belt Conference West Division title last year and was picked to finish second in the division this season.

Volleyball

Maintaining focus key for Mean Green

UNT is right where it wants to be heading into its final four matches of the regular season.

The Mean Green have won eight of their last nine matches to move into a tie with Denver for first place in the Sun Belt Conference West Division. UNT’s focus will be on staying there during a tough season-ending stretch that will see the Mean Green play three matches on the road before taking on Denver at home in the regular season finale.

The Pioneers are the only team to beat the Mean Green during their recent run of success.

“I think it’s really important to stay at the top,” UNT head coach Cassie Headrick said. “With the way the conference is right now, we want to get as high a seed as we possibly can going into the conference tournament.”

The first and last matches in the Mean Green’s season-ending series will be the most important. UNT will travel to New Orleans on Thursday to face the Privateers, who are in third place in the conference standings at 8-5.

UNT will host the conference tournament on Nov. 15-18.

UNT approaching milestones

The Mean Green and head coach Cassie Headrick are on the verge of reaching milestones heading into a match at New Orleans on Thursday.

UNT (19-11) is just one win away from winning 20 matches for just the fourth time in school history and the second time under Headrick. The Mean Green last cleared the 20-win mark in 2003 when Sun Belt Player of the Year Corina Marginas led UNT to a 22-14 finish.

“I don’t think we have ever put a number in front of us,” Headrick said. “I know with some sports that is big deal and shows success. Our focus has always been the division title and the conference title. When we win those titles, we will be satisfied.”

Headrick is also approaching an individual milestone during her tenure at UNT. She will reach the 100-win mark with UNT’s next victory.

Headrick has a 99-110 record in seven seasons at UNT.

Soccer

UNT looks to extend tourney success

The Mean Green enter the Sun Belt Conference Tournament today looking to extend a remarkable run of success.

UNT has advanced to the finals of the conference tournament in all six seasons it has played in the league. The Mean Green lost in the finals in each of its first four seasons before knocking off Florida International and South Alabama to win the tournament title the last two seasons, respectively.

UNT has won its last six games in the conference tournament and has a 14-4 record overall in the event. The Mean Green are 6-0 in the first round.

Swimming

Dykstra sees progress in loss to TCU

UNT came awfully close to pulling off an upset in one of head coach Joe Dykstra’s first meets with the Mean Green last week.

UNT knocked off Incarnate Word and hung with TCU in a three-team meet. The Horned Frogs beat the Mean Green, 79-61.

“It was a confidence builder for us,” Dykstra said. “What we wanted to do was learn how to compete. In this program they have not had a lot of success. They really raced at an emotional level that they haven’t in the past and are learning about the intensity that is required to be successful at this level.”

Alicia Hale broke the school record in the 200-yard individual medley relay in 2:09.81. UNT’s 400-yard medley relay team also broke a school record in a time of 3:56.96.

The Mean Green posted times that ranked in the top five in school history in seven events.

Hale won three individual events, while junior Bonnie Garcia-Meitin won two. Gwen Rourke and Hannah Bakke also won events.

“Tasting that success last week against TCU has carried over into our training,” Dykstra said. “They are really taking up another notch and are understanding the work they put in has a reward.”

Cross country

Freshmen a bright spot for UNT at meet

UNT head coach Rick Watkins named the performance of the freshmen on his men’s team as the bright spot for the Mean Green in the Sun Belt Conference championships last week in Little Rock, Ark.

Freshman Brandon Cooper finished 15th while fellow freshman Matt Peters was 38th.

The performance of Cooper and Peters helped the UNT men finish third in the men’s team race. The UNT women finished seventh.

Michelle Gallegos finished 14th to lead the Mean Green women, while Frank Ngeno was eighth in the men’s race.

Ngeno is one of eight runners UNT will take to the South Central Region Meet on Nov. 11 that will serve as the qualifying race for the national meet.

“Frank has a good chance to get to nationals,” Watkins said. “The distance of the race goes up to 10,000 meters, which he can handle.”

[GrandGreen]

A lot of positive news in those notes. Meager's status is better than thought, I for one think he is NT's best option at QB. James being able to play basketball should be a great lift for Slinker's team. She may have the outside shot that can free up the inside for Amber Jackson, Howard and Sanders. Also it hasn't taking any time, for the new swimming coach to make an impact. The swimming team is already much better than past teams and the new coach wasn't even here for last years recruiting.