FORT WORTH, Texas - Dirt racing competitors nationwide will be traveling to Fort Worth on March 2-3 for the esteemed Port-A-Cool® Texas World Dirt Track Championship, featuring some of the elite in O'Reilly Auto Parts SUPR Late Model, Modified and Limited Modified racing.
The Port-A-Cool® Texas World Dirt Track Championship is the first of two dirt racing events held annually at the Texas Motor Speedway Dirt Track, a .4-mile, clay-surfaced track known to produce some of the most competitive dirt track racing in the nation.
"With six inches of fresh dirt applied to the racing surface, we're expecting to see some exciting action on the track," Texas Motor Speedway Dirt Track General Manager Cameron Branch said. "Our competitors never cease to put on a great show and bring fans to their feet."
Not only will drivers be contending for purses up to $3,500, but also a Cyclone 3000 centrifugal air delivery system courtesy of Port-A-Cool®, the title sponsor for each of the Texas Motor Speedway Dirt Track's 2012 events. Port-A-Cool®, an international portable cooling unit company based in Center, Texas, also sponsored the U.S. National Dirt Track Championship in the fall of 2011.
Drivers can visit www.texasmotorspeedway.com to find competitor information including online registration, purchasing advance two-day pit passes, reserving paved pit spaces (limited quantities) and signing up for practice on Thursday, March 1. Modified and Limited Modified drivers who pre-register and don't qualify for the championship features will have a chance to earn one of two provisional starting spots in the rear of the field. Early registration ends Feb. 17.
Grandstand tickets for the event will be $10 on Friday and $15 on Saturday, but fans can take advantage of a special offer at more than 200 O'Reilly Auto Parts stores regionally. Fans purchasing tickets at O'Reilly Auto Parts will receive $5 off either night and also will have the opportunity to purchase $5 children's tickets (12 and under). Event parking is free for both Friday and Saturday.
Heats for all three classes will run Friday, March 2, beginning at 5 p.m. and the championships will be decided Saturday, March 3, with racing beginning at 6 p.m. Fans and competitors can visit www.texasmotorspeedway.com or call (817) 215-8500 for additional information on the Port-A-Cool® Texas World Dirt Track Championship.
About Port-A-Cool®: Port-A-Cool® units are portable, evaporative cooling units offering versatile options for effective cooling where air-conditioning is unavailable, impractical or cost prohibitive. Port-A-Cool® units require only tap water and 115v of electricity and perform at a fraction of the cost of air conditioning. They deliver air flow up to 30 degrees F. cooler than surrounding air. Port-A-Cool® units are available in four fan-blade sizes, plus two centrifugal fan models that disburse cooled air over areas up to 4,000 square feet. For more information on Port-A-Cool® for both commercial and residential use, visit www.port-a-cool.com.
ORLANDO, Fla. (SMU) - The Mustangs out-scored UCF 34-19 in the second half to take a 60-48 victory on the road for their fourth straight win, improving to 11-8, 4-2 in Conference USA, while the Knights fell to 9-10, 4-3 in C-USA.
Samantha Mahnesmith led the Mustangs with 16 points, scoring 13 in the second half, going 4-of-5 from 3-point range, and grabbed a career-high seven rebounds. Alisha Filmore scored 15 points, and Krystal Johnson was one away from matching her career-high, adding nine points in the win.
SMU held the Knights scoreless from the field from the 8:13 mark in the second half until a UCF layup cut the Mustangs' lead to 10 with 1:19 left, but by then margin was too great. The SMU defense forced the Knights into 11 second-half turnovers, swiping eight steals, and holding UCF to a 27.3 shooting percentage, making just 6-of-22 attempts from the floor.
SMU opened the half out-scoring the Knights 6-2 to retake the lead for the first time since midway through the first half. The Mustangs went 13-of-25 from the floor in the second half, 52.0-percent, and made three shots from beyond the arc, all by Mahnesmith, including one with 7:44 left to give SMU the lead for good, 46-43.
"Sam (Mahnesmith) hit some big 3's for us in the second half," Rompola claimed. "We didn't get our running game going in the first half, but I thought we did a much better job in the second half."
In the first half, the Mustangs shot 42.3-percent from the field in the first half, but found themselves trailing at halftime 29-26. Filmore scored five points in the last two minutes of the period for seven first-half points to lead SMU. Neither team was able to find the basket early, going 3:19 seconds before Elliott hit the game's first field goal.
The Knights took a 7-6 lead with 12:33. The Mustangs didn't hold the advantage the rest of the half, but never let UCF get more than seven points ahead, despite committing 10 turnovers in the first 20 minutes. SMU held UCF to just 12-of-34 from the field in the first half, and only let the Knights turn the turnovers into eight points.
SMU finished the game shooting 47.1-percent from the field, 24-of-51, and hit 5-of-12 3-point attempts, 41.7-percent, while holding UCF to just 32.1-percent, 18-of-56, including a 0-for-7 night from beyond the arc. The Mustangs out rebounded the Knights 35-34, and out-scored UCF 30-22 in the paint.
The Mustangs return home to take on Tulsa on Sunday at 2 p.m. For ticket information, visit www.smumustangs.com.
The USTA Texas Section announced today that the Arlington Tennis Center in Arlington, Texas will host the US Open National Playoffs USTA Texas Sectional Qualifying Tournament, June 18-23, 2012. Earlier today, the USTA announced the return of the US Open National Playoffs for the third year. The US Open National Playoffs will again include both men's and women's singles and mixed doubles in 2012. The USTA created the US Open National Playoffs to expand the footprint of the US Open to cities nationwide by providing the opportunity for all players 14 years of age and older to earn a berth into the US Open.
The US Open National Playoffs men's and women's singles champions earn a wild card into the US Open Qualifying Tournament, held the week prior to the US Open. The US Open National Playoffs mixed doubles champions receive a main draw wild card into the 2012 US Open.
The US Open National Playoffs begin as a series of sectional qualifying tournaments, held in 13 USTA Sections throughout the country, including Arlington. The 13 men's, women's and mixed doubles champions from each sectional qualifying tournament will advance to the US Open National Playoffs – Men's Singles, Women's Singles and Mixed Doubles Championship. All three tournaments will be held in conjunction with the New Haven Open at Yale, presented by First Niagara, a US Open Series event. The US Open National Playoffs – Men's Singles and Women's Singles Championship will be held August 17-20. The US Open National Playoffs – Mixed Doubles Championship will be held August 22-25.
Last year at the Texas US Open Sectional Tournament held in Arlington, former SMU team member Artem Baradach (Dallas) won the men's finals. Mashona Washington (Houston), younger sister of MaliVai Washington won the women's singles and
The Dallas Mavericks' home winning streak stopped at 7 with a 105-90 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves Wednesday night at the American Airlines Center. The Mavericks had won three straight overall before falling to Minnesota on Wednesday. Minnesota also ended Dallas' run of 15 consecutive games holding teams under 100 points and improved to 2-0 against the Mavericks in the 2011-12 season series. Prior to this season, the Mavericks' longest streak for consecutive games holding teams under the century mark was 13.
Jason Terry led Dallas in scoring with 17 points (8-19 FGs, 1-6 3FGs) off the bench. It was the sixth time this season that Terry has led the Mavericks in scoring. He added two rebounds and five assists in 29 minutes. Brendan Haywood totaled eight points (4-6 FGs) and a game-high-tying 10 rebounds for Dallas.
Mavericks forward Yi Jianlian appeared in his fifth game for Dallas and scored a season-high six points in the first half (was five vs. Sacramento 1/14/12). He finished with eight points (4-11 FGs), three rebounds, one assist and one steal in a season-high 20 minutes off the bench.
Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki missed his third straight game with a sore right knee.
A ring ceremony was held prior to Wednesday's game where members of the Mavericks' 2011 title team were presented their championship rings. Timberwolves guard J.J. Barea, who played his first five seasons in Dallas from 2006-11, took part in the ceremony. Former Maverick Peja Stojakovic, who announced his retirement on Dec. 19, was also in town for the presentation.
The Mavericks' next game is Friday night vs. Utah at 7:30 p.m. CT.
FORT WORTH, Texas (SMU) - The SMU women's swimming and diving team defeated cross-town rival TCU, 135-105, Wednesday night. The meeting was the first between the two schools since Oct. 23, 2002. With the win, the Mustangs are now 5-1 in dual meets this season.
Isabella Arcila continued her strong freshman season, winning two individual events. The freestyle specialist won the 50- and 100-yard freestyles, touching the wall in 23.47 and 51.11, respectively. Arcila also swam the lead-off leg of the winning 200-yard freestyle relay as the Mustangs won the event in 1:34.08.
Sophomore standout Nina Rangelova also picked up two individual titles as she won the 200- and 500-yard freestyles. Rangelova took the 500-yard freestyle with a time of 4:56.67, more than 11 seconds faster than her nearest competitor. She swam the 200-meter in 1:50.17. Rangelova was also a member of the winning 200-yard freestyle relay.
Senior Therese Svendsen took first in the 200-yard backstroke (2:01.29) and second in the 200-yard freestyle (1:51.70). Svendsen was also the lead-off swimmer for the winning 200-yard medley relay team (1:43.84).
Freshman diver Sky Corbett-Methot turned in one of her best performances of the season, as she won both the one- and three-meter dives. Corbett-Methot had a score of 295.35 in the three-meter event, more than 55 points ahead of the second place finisher. In the one-meter dive, she collected 266.93 points.
Senior Denisa Smolenova earned a pair of runner-up finishes on the evening. Smolenova placed second in the 400-yard individual medley, losing by just one one-hundredth of a second, with a time of 4:28.89. She took second in the 200-yard butterfly, clocking in at 2:04.39. Smolenova was also a member of the second-place 200-yard medley relay squad, which clocked in at 1:46.71.
The Mustangs swept the 200-yard breaststroke as freshman Erica Donadon won the event, clocking in with a time of 2:16.87. Fellow newcomer Rachel Nicol came in second (2:19.15) and senior Raminta Dvariskyte was third (2:20.37).
Freshman Eleonor Lindborg was second in the 200-yard backstroke with a time of 2:04.32.
SMU hosts Texas in a dual meet at Perkins Natatorium on Feb. 4 at 1 p.m.
FORT WORTH—Senior guard Hank Thorns scored a career-high 22 points and TCU came up with big defensive stops late again Wednesday evening during a 59-56 victory over Air Force at Daniel-Meyer Coliseum.
The win, the second straight for TCU, pushed the squad's overall season record to 12-7 overall, while it also evened up its MountainWest record at 2-2. Air Force dropped to 11-7 overall and 1-3 in the MW.
Just like in Saturday's big comeback win over Boise State at the DMC, TCU came up big on the defensive end of the court late in the game. The Frogs held the Falcons scoreless for the final four-plus minutes following a traditional 3-point play by forward Mike Fitzgerald at the 4:05 mark that cut TCU's lead to one point, 57-56. Thorns recorded a long jumper with 2:59 remaining to push his squad ahead by three points, and the Frogs were able to hold from there. Falcon guard Todd Fletcher missed a tying 3-point opportunity at the buzzer as TCU survived with yet another close victory.
Thorns came up big again for the Frogs, who earned their ninth win in 10 games this season decided by six points or fewer. The returning All-Mountain West performer connected on 9-of-12 field-goal attempts on theevening, including 4-of-6 from beyond the arc. The output surpassed his previous high total of 21 points, which he had recorded on three different occasions.
Senior guard J.R. Cadot experienced his best offensivenight in well over a month, scoring 13 points and going a perfect 7-for-7 at the free-throw line. Cadot also pulled down a team-high seven rebounds while collecting three assists, three blocked shots and a pair of steals. The blocked shots total marked a new career best.
Senior forward Craig Williams and junior guard/forwardGarlon Green added seven points each for
LAFAYETTE, La. - North Texas rallied late and had two last second chances to win, but Louisiana-Lafayette escaped with a 64-62 win to end the Mean Green's three-game winning streak at the Cajundome.
After trailing by 10 points with 4:32 left, North Texas went on a 10-2 run in the final four minutes to setup the potential game-winning heroics for a second straight game.
North Texas (12-9, 5-3) had the ball with 11.6 seconds left down 64-62. The Mean Green setup a 3-point attempt by Tony Mitchell, but it came up short and Roger Franklin's last second shot at the buzzer on the rebound missed as well and the Cajuns hung on for the win.
Louisiana-Lafayette (11-11, 5-3) had a one-point lead at the break at 28-27 and Mitchell picked up his fourth foul early in the second half and the Cajuns were able to open up a seven-point lead at 43-36 with 14:38 left.
The Mean Green refused to go away, cutting the Cajun lead to 44-42. Louisiana-Lafayette then went on a 13-5 run to take a 10-point lead at 57-47 with seven minutes remaining in the game.
The Cajuns maintained a 10-point lead at 62-52 with 4:32 left when the Mean Green began their furious rally. Mitchell scored five straight points and his 3-pointer with 2:36 left made it a four-point lead at 62-58.
North Texas cut it down to two points on free throws from Franklin with 56 seconds remaining at 64-62 and got a stop on the Ragin Cajuns subsequent possession to setup the last second chances for Mitchell and Franklin.
The Ragin Cajuns opened up an early 7-2 in the first three minutes of the game. The Mean Green answered back as Mitchell tied the game up at 7-7 two minutes later, but Mitchell picked up his second foul with 13:55 left in the half and did not return in the half.
Mitchell's absence didn't stop Brandan Walton who filled the void in the first half with nine first half points to lead the Mean Green. North Texas, who trailed by as many as six in the first half, battled back to take their first lead of the game at 27-26 on a thunderous dunk by Alonzo Edwards with 30 seconds left in the half. It was the Mean Green's only lead of the game.
Franklin notched his third straight double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds and Mitchell ended the night with 11 points and four rebounds but played only 17 minutes due to foul trouble.
The Mean Green is back in action on Saturday afternoon as they host Arkansas State at 12 p.m. at the Super Pit.
