MBB: Miners’ Fire, De-sire Still Burning 6

WBB: Team Won’t Quit On Season 8

MBB: Around the League 9

Softball: Meet the Pitching Staff 10

The Final Word 15

MINERILLUSTRATED

VOL 1 ISSUE 6 FEB. 16, 2011

MARCH MADNESS begins IN EL PASO!

TICKETS STARTING AS LOW AS $80call 915.747.6150 to get yours now!

f i n d m o r e i n f o a t c o n f e r e n c e u s a . c o m

MINERILLUSTRATED

VOL I ISSUE 6 FEB. 16, 2011

Softball is back and I, for one, couldn’t be more excited.

The team is coming off its best record (31-24, 11-13 Conference USA) in program history. As I briefly mentioned in my last editor’s note, this week’s publication would showcase the team and give you a small indication as to the difficulties it faces with the introduction of a brand-new pitching staff.

We’ll go deep into the rotation as Alex talks to the team’s young pitching staff, getting their perspective on how they feel they can help the team reach their goal of earning the program’s first Conference USA title. The objective may be a bit lofty, but the girls have the talent and focus to meet them if they put their minds to it.

We also delve into the men’s and women’s teams and how their respective seasons are going with less than five games left in the regular season. A late-season push is necessary for both teams to go into the C-USA Tournament with a top seed. The women’s team earned a huge bounce-back victory on Sunday, while the men shook off the rust against a surging SMU squad on Saturday night.

Speaking of the C-USA Tournament, how are the rest of the men’s squads doing? Be sure to check out the Around the League section to see if UCF broke their losing streak and if an upset occurred on the conference docket.

In our Final Word, Josh feels the men’s team should be ranked in the Top 25, but due to some unfortunate losses earlier in the season, that isn’t going to happen soon. With games against Southern Miss and Memphis looming, he feels that will be the Miners last chance to improve the all-important RPI number, which would also develop their NCAA Tournament résumé.

As always, we appreciate any feedback on all articles and hope you enjoy the sixth edition of the MI Magazine. It’s been a pleasure to publish it every week and we hope you enjoy the first look at the UTEP softball team.

As the umpire says before first pitch, “Let’s play ball”.

Carlos Silva, Jr.

a publication of Shamrock Media LLC

CHRIS AVILAPRESIDENT

CARLOS SILVA, JR.EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

JEFF TAYLORCHIEF PHOTOGRAPHER

GUS CONTRERAS ANGEL LUNA

ALEX MORALESJOSH PUGA“UTEP66”

STAFF WRITERS

DANNY LEVARIODIRECTOR OF BUSINESS

OPERATIONS

ADAM DIAZSALES DIRECTOR

SUZETTE THOMPSONMAGAZINE DESIGN

Letters to the editor, general feedback and advertising

inquiries:show@minerillustrated.com

Cover photo: Jeremy Williams

posterizes SMU’s Papa Dia with a

monster jam Saturday night in the

Don Haskins Center. Jeff Taylor

From The EDITOR

Head coach Tim Floyd isn’t allowed to offically comment on the the of-ficiating from a game, but there were times on Saturday that he just couldn’t hide his emotions after a call. Fortunately the calls didn’t ham-per the Miners from getting the win. Jeff Taylor

THE BIG PICK

M I N E R I L L U S T R A T E D . C O M

UTEP’S INNER FUEL MUST CONTINUE TO BURN

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in the fact that there have still been too many instances where the players revert to the old habits. It’s plausible that this team can win their conference and makes it to the NCAA Tournament, but will they be able go deep into the tournament if they mirror what happened at Butler a year ago? Now, this isn’t to say the Miners aren’t going to do well or host a great C-USA tournament in El Paso. The world isn’t going to come to an end as you read this. But case in point, UTEP started out Saturday’s game with two big 3-point shots and the crowd got fired up. For whatever reason, the Miners continued to shoot long bombs with no positive results. Floyd calls this “fool’s gold” and it’s exactly that, a bunch of nothing. The second half was different in two major ways: the defensive adjustments that were made were not only executed very well, but players stuck to the defensive scouting report. It worked so well that the Miners held SMU to 21 points in the second half. That’s not just good, but very good. Secondly, UTEP played an attacking offense where the

fearless Julyan Stone drove the lane without equivocation. He was a man on a mission and that helped create scoring situations for the Miners. It also helped that the entire team was fired up and refused to let the smack-talking Mustangs continue to flap their lips every time they came down the court in the Don Haskins Center. UTEP’s answer to the problem: the monster dunk from Jeremy Williams over SMU’s Papa Dia (see cover). Getting the tough wins this season has been good, and even in the losses there was something to learn from. However, the remaining seven games will not be easy, to say the least. Left on the schedule are teams that are also fighting for the top spot in Conference USA. UTEP still has to play Southern Miss tonight, Houston and a dangerous Memphis team at home.Hopefully the Miners have more of that secret fuel stored away in the locker room. They are going to need every bit of it.

theNOTEBOOKMBB “D” Has Been Stingy of LateAfter surrendering 100 points in a triple overtime loss at UAB on Jan. 8, the Miners have yielded an average of 56.7 ppg in their last seven conference games. UTEP has kept seven straight league foes under 70 points for the first time since doing so in its final eight contests versus C-USA teams (includes two tourney games) during the 2005-06 campaign.

MBB Wins for Ninth Time When Scoring Less Than 70 PointsUTEP’s 67-57win over SMU Saturday

CHRIS AVILA

Perhaps it was the magnitude of the game or perhaps it was the will to win, or just maybe, there was a quiet understanding amongst the players that there was only one outcome that could happen Saturday night: win. Whatever it was that fueled the Miners to win over a tenacious SMU team; it worked, and it came just in the nick of time. The final 10 minutes of the game showed UTEP could come back from adversity but, more importantly, it showed the team undoubtedly has a killer instinct. It’s great to see that, especially as the conference tournament is right around the corner. You want your team to continue to improve on the little things that make teams great: the footwork and hand movement, the positioning both offensively and defensively and the communication. Most importantly, you don’t want to see a team plateau and get too comfortable with themselves. But the thing that is worrisome comes

represented its ninth win this season when putting fewer than 70 points on the board. That’s two more victories than a year ago in the same situation. The last time UTEP recorded more than eight wins in a season when tallying fewer than 70 points was 2005-06 (11).

MBB Have Won 14 Straight at HomeUTEP has reeled off 14 consecutive victories in the Haskins Center since falling to Pacific, 66-61, in the season opener on Nov. 12. The Miners have their longest string of home wins since a 15-

game streak spanning over the course of the 1991-92 and 1992-93 seasons. UTEP’s 14-game home court winning streak is the longest in C-USA.

WBB Schedule Certainly Not Helping OutThe game against Tulane (2/13) marked the league-high third time this season that UTEP will be taking on a foe which is coming off a scheduled bye. At the end of the year only the Green Wave will have matched the Miners’ total. Eight C-USA teams will have played one such game while two will have not had any contests of that nature.

Gabe McCulley has been a major factor for the Miners, making a solid contribution to the team off the bench. He will need to continue the high-caliber play as UTEP makes its way to the conference tourna-ment. Jeff Taylor

M I N E R I L L U S T R A T E D . C O M 8

THERE’S STILL SOMEFIGHT LEFT IN THE MINERSCARLOS SILVA, JR.

The UTEP women’s basketball team couldn’t have done much else in terms of defending a last-second shot against UCF a week ago. They guarded the inbound pass, followed the opponent down the court and took off as much time off the clock as they could. But as everyone knows by now: UCF’s Gevenia Carter launched a 45-foot half-court buzzer beating 3-pointer to defeat the Miners, 68-65.

The UTEP players could only watch as the Knights celebrated its first win against the Miners. The silver lining to loss was the UTEP players limited their turnovers to only 14, overcame a 15-point second half deficit and saw the coming out party for Kayla Thorton, who recorded 18 points and 11 rebounds. All of that may have been negated by the buzzer beater, but all indications have shown the opposite to be true. The Miners (12-10, 4-6 Conference USA) still have an outside shot of

squeaking into the Top 4 of the C-USA, but need to win their next few games in order to do so. The Miners play Rice and Houston, who are above them in the standings and could make headway with their 65-61 win against Tulane on Sunday afternoon at the Don Haskins Center. With Whitney Houston, Briana Green and Sviatlana Trukshanina going down due to their respective injuries this season, the Miners have not only lost a plethora of talent but, more importantly, experience.

Gloria Brown, a JUCO transfer, has been a welcomed addi-tion to the Miners over the last couple of games. Her consis-tent play has aided UTEP, es-pecially in Sunday’s win over Tulane. Jeff Taylor

There’s no arguing that the losses have played a small part in the Miners season struggles, but the team’s ability to deal with the adversity is also something of note. Sans a three-game losing streak, UTEP has not lost two games in row the whole year. If that doesn’t tell you the team has bounce-back ability; I don’t know what will. The team has a daunting task, playing two of the top teams in the conference on the road. With five games left before the C-USA Tournament the Miners could help themselves, in a good way, by sneaking into the Top 4 of the standings. All they have to do is win, which is what they did on Sunday against Tulane.

M I N E R I L L U S T R A T E D . C O M 9

MBB: AROUND THELEAGUEMINER ILLUSTRATED STAFF REPORTS

Marshall 78, East Carolina 65GREENVILLE, N.C. – Damier Pitts scored a career-high 28 points to lead Marshall to a 78-65 win over East Carolina Saturday afternoon at Minges Coliseum. The junior guard was aided by Shaquille Johnson, who chipped in 14 points. The Thundering Herd (16-9, 4-6 C-USA) had a 27-point lead 13:53 left in the second half, but East Carolina (13-11, 5-5 C-USA) made a late-game rally to pull to within five points in the final minutes. The Herd made 10 consecutive free throws to seal the victory. Jontae Sherrod scored 19 points for East Carolina, while Brock Young and Erin Straughn finished with 18 and 10, respectively.

Houston 79, Tulane 68HOUSTON, Texas – After a week-long schedule break, the Houston men’s basketball team showed its rust but shook it off in a 79-68 victory Saturday afternoon against Tulane at Hofheinz Pavilion. Houston (12-11, 4-6 C-USA) senior forward Maurice McNeil led the Cougars with 15 points and a game-high 11 rebounds. Seniors Zamal Nixon and Adam Brown scored 17 and 10 points, respectively, while freshman forward Alandise Harris recorded 11 points. Sophomore forward Kendrick Washington, who returned to the lineup, chipped in 10 points and seven rebounds. Jordan Callahan paced the Green Wave (12-12, 2-9 C-USA) finished with a game-high 18 points with a career-high tying six 3-pointers. Johnny Mayhane added 15 points with a career-high five 3-pointers, while Kendall Timmons had 15 points and five assists. David Booker chipped in with 10 points and six rebounds.

continued on page 14

M I N E R I L L U S T R A T E D . C O M

RELOADING THE CIRCLEMINERS BEGIN 2011 WITH YOUNG PITCHING STAFF

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Despite the youth at the pitching position, co-head coach Kathleen Rodriguez is excited about the hard work the staff has put in during the off-season in preparation of the season and, more importantly, to get use to the speed of Division I softball. Rodriguez knows that a successful season start with pitching. “That is your key, that is why we draw a circle around them,” Rodriguez said. “We are very young there, but I think the biggest thing is just making sure they are getting use to the pace of the game and making sure they are doing what they need to as far as hitting their spots.” What has been an eye opener for the freshmen is the athleticism that the opponents possess when they have a bat in their hands. Being a big fish in a little pond at their respective high schools, they were use to just going out to the circle firing the softball, nothing more, nothing less. Making the transition to the next level of softball, they have to do their work off the field like studying the opposition’s hitting tendencies. “In high school I just kind of pitched the ball and placed it wherever I wanted to,” Ramos said. “But now I really have to analyze the batters and know, ‘What is their best pitch to hit, (and) what’s their worst pitch to hit.’ I just have to analyze more.” Atchison looks at the opposing lineups as high school all stars; everyone is dangerous. In her mind, their one through nine hitters can hurt you. This has made her realize that she has to nail her target it in order to be successful when she is on the rubber. “I’ve learned that every hitter is like a number one hitter on a high school team,” Atchison said. “You can never plate a ball. Everything has to be exact because otherwise it is going to go out of the park.”

ALEX MORALES

Defense wins games, and it doesn’t change when you talk about softball. The UTEP Miners are no different as there are nine players on the field working together in perfect harmony to render the opponent’s batter ineffective. But the most important player on the field is the one who steps inside of the circle. Pitching is undoubtedly the winning ingredient. There are no “ifs, ands, or buts” about it. For the Miners, pitching has always been a key component of the team and as they begin the 2011 season, they are fully aware of the obstacles they face this year thanks to a young pitching staff. Coaches, who voted in the Conference USA preseason, polls did not have very much faith in the UTEP squad and pitching staff as they voted them towards the bottom of the rankings. Bluntly, the Miners are not expected to do well. Despite what others in C-USA have said, the Miner pitching staff has not been fazed by the commentary. Rather, this has been viewed as a major challenge and has provided fuel and motivation to make sure pitching doesn’t hinder their season. Senior Courtney Auger and sophomore Joanna Krienitz lead the staff and the two have the most experience in the rotation. Auger and Krienitz have combined to pitch a total of only 101.2 innings for the Miners in their respective careers. Both played behind standout pitcher Stacie Townsend last season, who recorded the most innings pitched and exhausted her eligibility. In order to offset the lack of pitching, UTEP signed three pitchers to help share the load of a 56-game schedule that the Miners will play this year. The new additions to the team are freshmen Laura Ramos, Kayla Black and Megan Atchison.

continued on page 12

ontheRUBBERSophomore Joanna Krenitz and senior Courtney Auger will carry a large part of the pitching load this season Auger made 20 appearances in the circle with seven game starts during her junior year after transferring from Seward County CC. She recorded 55 strikeouts in 59 innings pitched and went 2-2 on the season with two combined shutouts. Auger recorded a career high 11 K’s against Northern Colorado and combined for a no-hitter against Weber State.

James and Kathleen Rodriguez brought in three talented pitchers in freshman Megan Atchinson, Kayla Black and Laura Ramos. Atchinson was a four-year letterwinner at Manvel High School (Rosharon, Texas) and was tabbed 2010 second team all-district, academic all-district, team MVP and honorable mention all-state. Black was a three-time El Paso Times all-city selection as a pitcher and outfielder who posted a 42-12 record as a pitcher while recording a .714 batting average at Clint High School. Black was tabbed the All-District 4-3A MVP as a freshman and junior named the defensive MVP as a sophomore. Ramos was named the 2009 Defensive Player of the Year and was tabbed the Co-Utility Player of the Year in 2008 (second team all-area) and the 2007 Freshman of the Year by the Ft. Worth Star Telegram. Ramos was a two-time all district 6-5A honoree while ranking eighth in the Dallas area for pitching with 10 wins, one loss and one save. She posted a .88 ERA, striking out 115 batters in 88 innings pitched and named the Coppell High School MVP three times.

Sophomore Joanna Krenitz has tire-lessly worked in the offseason know-ing she would be counted on by coaches and teammates to shoulder the burden of being a primary starter. Jeff Taylor

M I N E R I L L U S T R A T E D . C O M 1 2

there,” Krienitz said. “I learned not so much from the mistakes, but learned from the older players and see what they have done.” Much of Krienitz’s growth was a direct result of working with Townsend last season and the lessons she learned have been key to her development this season. “I definitely learned from Stacie on how to be a leader as a pitcher and help the freshmen,” Krienitz said. “I just have to help their way through it because I know what its like to be in panic mood, and I know what its like to get through it. I just need to assist them.” Rodriguez has taken notice of Krienitz’s transformation during the off-season and has seen the improved maturity and in

her mental approach towards the game of softball. “As far as conditioning and growing up, I think Jo (Krenitz) has come a long way from her freshman year last year,” Rodriguez said. “Just her body looks different. She’s dropped about 20 pounds and she understands what this game is about now.” Along with the motivation of C-USA not believing they will do much this year, the pitchers are reminded on a daily basis of what their goal is this season. The date “5-4-11” is printed on the left sleeve of their practice t-shirts. At the end of the day this team wants to make history and be the first to win a C-USA championship in program history. “We expect to be there and win it that day,” Atchison said. “So every time we are down, we just look at that numbers on our sleeve and it makes us realize that is what we are working towards.” Rodriguez knows the pitching staff has what it takes to get them through a long season. She has told the pitching staff that it starts and ends with them. “We have three freshmen and then you have two returners. I think all of them, all five of them, are ready to go,” Rodriguez said. “I think they understand the pressure that is on them. I told them ‘Go make sure that you get your shoulders nice and wide because you are taking us for a ride this whole year’.” It’s going to be a fun and interesting season watching this young core grow throughout the season. Rodriguez also knows that this isn’t last year, but a new and exciting time for the orange and blue. “Fifty-six games is a long time, so welcome to the post-Townsend era,” Rodriguez said. “They are excited and they are up for the challenge.” Let’s play ball ladies.

The pitchers haven’t been the only ones putting in the extra time in the offseason. Rodriguez has also had to work overtime to make sure her pitchers are ready for a gauntlet of a season they have ahead of them. “I’ve been working on all five of them and really haven’t spent more time with another,” Rodriguez said. “I’ve just been really, really trying to just shine them up as much as I can.” Krienitz, the pitcher with the most experience, has taken more of an active approach to her sophomore season. She’s learned a few vital lessons last year on how to mature and grow. “I definitely looked at last year as a learning experience and moved on from

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Your independent site for news, analysis and opinion about the UTEP Miners.

Courtney Auger, seen here pitch-ing during the 2010 season agaist New Mexico, will have a lot of respon-sibility to shoulder as she will try and lead the Miners to the C-USA tournament champion-ship in May. Jeff Taylor

Golf: The UTEP women’s golf team finished ninth out of 17 teams in its first tournament of the spring, the Claud Jacobs Intercollegiate on Monday in Victoria, Texas. The Miners fired rounds of 319, 316 and 316 for a total of 951.Leading UTEP was Shang-Fan Huang (left), who tied for 16th place by carding a 15-over-par 231 (79-75-77). Teresa Nogues tied for 21st place (78-78-78-234), Rosana Gomez tied for 44th place (81-84-78-243), Liz Sobczak tied for 47th place (81-80-83-244) and Emma Edin tied for 62nd place (85-83-83-251). The Miners will return to action at the Fresno State Lexus Classic March 7-8.

Project MOVE: UTEP student-athletes will participate in the second annual Project MOVE (Miner Opportunities for Volunteer Experiences) on Saturday, Feb. 19 at various organizations around the community. Project MOVE, sponsored by UTEP’s Division of Student Affairs, gives students, faculty and staff the opportunity to volunteer at over 40 community agencies around the El Paso region. “This marks the second year our students-athletes have been involved in the program,” said UTEP Director of Athletics, Bob Stull. “We are proud of the enthusiastic participation of all of our student-athletes. It provides a great experience for the them and the different agencies we have become involved with around the community.” Over 150 student-athletes will be involved with the project that witnessed over 800 volunteers and 3,250 hours of service in its inaugural campaign. The Miners have already accumulated over 2,000 hours of community service this academic year as part of “UTEP Miners Adopt a Piece of El Paso” project, similar to MOVE. Launched in August of 2010, UTEP’s squads have had the opportunity to make an impact on the region while developing relationships with various non-profit organizations. To have UTEP student-athletes come and visit your organization or school, please contact Amelie Tremblay at the Life Skills office at (915) 747-6203 or lifeskills@utep.edu.

Photos courtesy UTEP Athletics

noteWORTHY

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M I N E R I L L U S T R A T E D . C O M 1 4

MBB: AROUND THE LEAGUE (continued)

Memphis 67, Southern Miss 61MEMPHIS, Tenn. – The Memphis Tigers overcame a 12-point first-half deficit to defeat Southern Miss 67-61 Saturday afternoon at the FedEx Forum. Tarik Black had 17 points and nine rebounds, while Will Barton chipped in 16, in the 16 consecutive win for the Tigers (19-6, 7-3 C-USA). Gary Flowers, the conference’s leading scorer at 20.2 points per game, scored 14 for the Golden Eagles (18-6, 7-4 C-USA). D.J. Newbill added 14 points while Maurice Bolden recorded 13 points and eight rebounds.

UCF 58, Tulsa 57ORLANDO, Fla. – After 38 days the UCF basketball team could breathe a sigh of relief, they broke an eight-game losing streak by defeating Tulsa 58-57 Saturday night at UCF Arena.Keith Clanton led the Golden Knights (15-8, 2-8 C-USA) with 16 points, while Marcus Jordan added 15 points and seven rebounds. Justin Hurtt led all scorers with 23 points. Tulsa (13-11, 6-4 C-USA) center Steven Idlet grabbed nine rebounds and scored seven points, while Joe Richard chipped in five points and five rebounds. Jordan Clarkson dished out four assists.

UAB 74, Rice 68BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – UAB senior guard Jamarr Sanders scored a career-high 37 points to lead his team to a 74-68 victory Saturday night against Rice at Bartow Arena. The Blazer (18-6, 8-3 C-USA) played without center Cameron Moore who broke his hand during practice last Friday. No timetable has been set for his return. His teammate, Ovie Soko, chipped in 10 points. Arsalan Kazemi scored 17 points for the Owls (11-13, 3-7 C-USA), while Connor Frizzelle and Tamir Jackson recorded 14 and 13, respectively.

M I N E R I L L U S T R A T E D . C O M 1 5

THE FINAL WORD:Much Left to be Done Before the MadnessJOSH PUGA

After a hard-fought 67-57 win over the surging SMU Mustangs Saturday night at the Don Haskins Center, the Miners’ record currently sits at 19-5 overall and 7-2 mark in Conference USA, leading the rest of the group. At first glance the résumé looks pretty impressive and a ton of teams would love to be where the Miners are standing at this moment, but perception and reality are two different things. Actually, there are some UTEP fans who probably think the Miners are good enough to be ranked right now. After Monday’s ESPN/Coaches Poll was released UTEP inched closer and closer to the Top 25 with eight votes, but if you delve a bit deeper into the Miners’ season you begin to realize they have some work to do. Not to put salt on the wound, but UTEP should already be a part of the Top 25.If UTEP held onto a late-game lead at UAB, and if Justin Hurtt’s jumper doesn’t fall at Tulsa, the Miners would be 21-3 and 9-0 in conference play. I realize the “what ifs” don’t count, but it has to be said that UTEP allowed some key opportunities to slip away. More important than the Top 25 polls are the RPI rankings. UTEP’s current RPI of 53 is not enough to sell most national prognosticators, and the team is playing catch up to other bubble teams across the country. Don’t forget to throw in teams from their own conference that own higher RPI marks: UAB at 32, Memphis at 35 and Southern Miss at 44. With so much emphasis placed on RPI rankings; there aren’t many chances left to improve their number with two games remaining against Top 50 opponents: Southern Miss and Memphis. For the Miners to have any realistic chance at an at-large bid they will need to win both contests, including the remaining games

on their schedule. This isn’t to say UTEP doesn’t have a good chance. The team is in good shape with some huge games coming up and don’t forget they have a home-court advantage with the conference tournament being played in El Paso. Speaking of big games, the Miners are heading to Hattiesburg, Miss. to meet up with the Golden Eagles in what is arguably their toughest road game since their triple-overtime loss to UAB and a blowout loss to BYU prior to Christmas. Not to mention the Miners will have their hands full trying to slow down Southern Miss’ Gary Flowers. Flowers, a Conference USA Player of the Year hopeful, averages about 20 points and eight rebounds per game. Throw in the fact that the Golden Eagles took a tough loss to Memphis at home last Saturday,

and that could be a recipe for disaster for UTEP. UTEP has played tough in big games on the road at UAB and Tulsa, but haven’t been able to close the deal. The Miners will need to continue to rely on their seniors down the stretch to prove that last year was no fluke. With seven games left to play over 18 days, the Miners must continue their winning ways and finish this season so as to leave no doubt when Selection Sunday comes around. There’s no question it should be an exciting race to the finish, and it starts with a huge matchup at Southern Miss Wednesday night. Like Al Davis would say “Just Win, Baby”.

Will Randy Culpepper help drive the Miners to another NCAA Tour-nament appearance? Jeff Taylor

signing OFF

Jeff Taylor