Slate features six NCAA Tournament teams from a year ago

2012 Schedule

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. - After six consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances, the quest for a seventh won't get any easier as the the 2012 Middle Tennessee volleyball schedule will feature seven matches against tournament teams from last season.

"Once again we have a very demanding schedule," head coach Matt Peck said. "We're going to be taking on a number of NCAA Tournament teams, and we're going to be challenged early. We'll have a very young team, so I think it's going to just make us that much better as the season goes on."

The schedule is a first of sorts for the volleyball program, as it includes 33 regular season matches, the most since 1996.

"We're going to play more mid-week matches year," Peck explained. "We're also playing more schools within driving distance, and it's going to help us avoid long stretches without playing, which is especially important with how many new people we'll have."

MT will look to come out strong, hosting Furman, UAB, UTSA and UC Davis the first weekend of the year in the seventh annual Blue Raider Bash at Alumni Memorial Gym. The four schools combined for a 87-39 mark last season.

"We're hoping to get started strong early," Peck said. "Playing teams of that caliber early will help us with some of the early question marks and identify who our primary players will be. Our competition is only going to get stronger from there on out."

The 16 schools that comprise the 2012 non-conference slate boast of a combined 301-175 record with 11 surpassing the 20-win plateau.

The Blue Raiders will also play a doubleheader both days of the tournament, the first of five such dates for the season.

"We're looking to have a very deep team," Peck said. "This will be our deepest team at every position since I've been here, and we want everyone to get as much on-court experience as possible in order to better prepare for conference season."

MT will then hit the road for seven straight matches over the ensuing two weeks.

The Blue Raiders will start by taking on Harvard, Towson and host Virginia Tech at the Hokie Invitational before making the trek from Blacksburg to Richmond to take on VCU on Labor Day.

The Blue and White will return to Murfreesboro for a few days before setting out east again, this time to Chapel Hill, N.C., for the Carolina Volleyball Classic, featuring the host Tar Heels, NCAA Tournament participant Western Michigan and SEC power LSU. The three schools each topped 20 wins ago, combining for a 73-23 mark.

After a mid-week encounter with Austin Peay at AMG, MT will close out the heart of the non-conference schedule at the Louisville Invitational, hosted by frequent NCAA Tournament adversary Louisville. Miami (Fla.) and UNLV will make up the rest of the field. The Cardinals and Hurricanes both advanced to the Second Round in last season's NCAA Tournament.

"We felt that we needed to play a lot on the road early with such a young team," Peck said. "We think it will help our team continue to improve, but it also means that we can bring teams like North Carolina, Louisville and Virginia Tech to Murfreesboro down the line."

The Blue Raiders will certainly have an interesting start to conference season on Sept. 20, as they will play host to former MT assistant coach Amy Hendrichovsky and her South Alabama team.

"We obviously expect USA to be a much improved team, which only makes our division even stronger," Peck said. "There are a number of new coaches around the league and new financial commitments to volleyball, so the league is going to continue to get stronger."

Following a pair of tilts against Troy and at Louisiana, MT will face off against arch-rival WKU at AMG on Oct. 2.

"A lot of our players obviously have their minds on WKU, but it's important to take things one at a time," Peck said. "If we take care of business in the matches leading up to it, we could have the opportunity to take control in the conference early."

Following the WKU match, MT will travel to ULM and North Texas before taking a brief detour from SBC play at Austin Peay in Clarksville.

The Blue Raiders will welcome in both Florida Atlantic and FIU on the following weekend before hitting the road to take on UAB again, but this time in Birmingham.

The MT home slate will conclude on Oct. 19 and 20 with UALR and Arkansas State before hitting the road for five consecutive away dates, beginning with the annual south Florida trip and concluding with the Hilltoppers in Bowling Green on Nov. 10.

Five days after the end of the conference season, the Blue Raiders will look to return to WKU, this time for the Sun Belt Conference Tournament.

"We've had a very good record in Bowling Green over the past few years," Peck said. "We won the conference tournament up there in 2009, and hopefully we'll be able to play well up there again. We also love that fact that we can play close to our fans after going to Miami last year."

Once again, MT will play a Thanksgiving weekend match prior to the NCAA Tournament. The Blue Raiders will take the short jaunt up the road to Nashville to take on Lipscomb, an NCAA Tournament participant in four of the last five seasons.

"Lipscomb is a yearly tournament team," Peck said. "We know they've been strong and they know how good we've been, so we're looking forward to it. Depending on how our seasons shake out, it could also have tournament implications in addition to bragging rights."

Courtesy of Athletic Communications, GoBlueRaiders.com

Through May 31, 2012 the Todd Art Gallery hosts the remarkable work of five MTSU photography students. The exhibit entitled, “In Light: Works from Five Photographers,” features the artistry of Patrick Casey, Malina Chavez, Bradley Marshall, Chris Donahue, and Darby Campbell.

Of his work, Patrick Casey states, “I offer no philosophy, no deep meaning, and no striking social observation. Instead I only wish for you, the viewer, to look at my work and to find yourself,” in his photography which he expresses as the representation of a search for something.

Malina Chavez’s focus is “about connectedness, loss… and personal desires in a world full of mediated social programming.” Her “…work then considers how our interactions with new technologies constantly force us to re-think our current notions of what it means to be human.”

For Bradley Marshall photography is an ongoing study of the contemporary landscape and the imprint that humanity makes upon the natural world. His work explores, “…the tensions and impacting relationships between suburbia and the ever-changing Southern landscape that we continue to shape over the years.”

Darby Campbell’s works are selections from her series, “A Short Commentary on the Female Condition.” She deals with women’s issues, roles, and place within the social landscape. Darby also has included sculptural and installation elements to the exhibit that are drawn from her interests in the free thought movement, natural world, science, and the people in her life.

Chris Donahue’s body of work features an eclectic variety of people and places with a focus on the diversity of everyday people, whether through race, belief, or profession; an interesting study of the human condition as lensed through his camera.

The Todd Art Gallery is open Monday-Friday 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. with all exhibitions, receptions, and lectures free to the public.

For more information and parking on In Light: Works from Five Photographers contact Eric Snyder at 615-898-5653.

MT opens play Wednesday at 3 p.m. in Bowling Green, Ky.

NEW ORLEANS - The Middle Tennessee baseball team has earned the No. 7 seed for the 2012 Sun Belt Tournament and will face No. 2 seed Arkansas State at 3 p.m. on Wednesday at the Bowling Green Ballpark in Bowling Green, Ky. The Blue Raiders and Red Wolves, along with the No. 3 seed FIU Panthers and No. 6 seed Troy Trojans, comprise Pool B for the round-robin tournament hosted by Western Kentucky University.

MT (29-27, 14-16 SBC) will be making its 11th Sun Belt Tournament appearance, having only missed the tournament last season since joining the league for the 2001 season. This marks the first time the Blue Raiders have earned the No. 7 seed.

Ironically, since the tournament changed to an eight-team format in 1999, the No. 7 seed has qualified for the championship twice, and both times they faced the Blue Raiders. WKU is the only seven-seed to win the championship, knocking off fourth-seeded MT in 2004. In 2009, top-seeded MT defeated No. 7 seed ULM for the title.

Overall, the Blue Raiders have appeared in the championship game six times and won it twice, boasting the field’s best winning percentage in tournament games (.641). Prior to the 2009 championship, MT won as the No. 6 seed over fifth-seeded WKU in 2003. The Blue Raiders have played in the title game three times as the top seed, twice as the No. 6 seed and once as the No. 4 seed.

MT enters Wednesday’s contest after closing out the regular season with a 6-1 win over WKU. The Blue Raiders went 1-2 against Arkansas State April 27-29, dropping a pair of 8-5 decisions before earning a 5-3 11-inning win in the series finale.

The Red Wolves (32-21, 19-9 SBC) will be making their third consecutive tournament appearance as the team goes for its first SBC tournament title since 1994. ASU posted its most conference wins (19) since the 1995 season and its most overall wins (32) since 2005.

The tournament will feature a round robin format that showcases eight of the ten SBC teams competing against each other in two four-team pools. Pool A is comprised of top seed Florida Atlantic, No. 4 South Alabama, No. 5 ULM and No. 8 WKU. The Owls and the Jaguars hold the best winning percentage in Pool A at 0.667 (6-3) while FIU owns the best winning percentage in Pool B at 0.778 (7-2).

Championship Family Night kicks-off the festivities for the 2012 championship on Tuesday, May 22 at 7 p.m. To visit tournament central, click here.

2012 Sun Belt Conference Tournament Seeds (Season Record)
1. Florida Atlantic (31-20, 19-8 SBC) – A
2. Arkansas State (32-12, 19-9 SBC) – B
3. FIU (31-23, 15-14 SBC) – B
4. South Alabama (21-33, 15-15 SBC) – A
5. Louisiana-Monroe (28-27, 15-15 SBC) – A
6. Troy (26-29, 14-16 SBC) – B
7. Middle Tennessee (29-27, 14-16 SBC) – B
8. Western Kentucky (24-31, 13-17) – A

2012 Sun Belt Conference Tournament Schedule
Wednesday, May 23
G1: (5) Louisiana-Monroe vs. (4) South Alabama, 11 a.m.
G2: (7) Middle Tennessee vs. (2) Arkansas State, 3 p.m.
G3: (8) Western Kentucky vs. (1) Florida Atlantic, 7 p.m.
(3 and 6 are off)

Thursday, May 24
G4: (6) Troy vs. (3) FIU, 11 a.m.
G5: (1) Florida Atlantic vs. (5) Louisiana-Monroe, 3 p.m.
G6: (4) South Alabama vs. (8) Western Kentucky, 7 p.m.
(2 and 7 are off)

Friday, May 25
G7: (3) FIU vs. (7) Middle Tennessee, 11 a.m.
G8: (2) Arkansas State vs. (6) Troy, 3 p.m.
G9*: (1) Florida Atlantic vs. (4) South Alabama, 7 p.m.
(5 and 8 are off)

Saturday, May 26
G10*: (6) Troy vs. (7) Middle Tennessee, 11 a.m.
G11*: (2) Arkansas State vs. (3) FIU, 3 p.m.
G12*: (5) Louisiana-Monroe vs. (8) Western Kentucky, 7 p.m.
(1 and 4 are off)

Championship Sunday, May 27
G13: Pool A Champion vs. Pool B Champion, 1 p.m.

All Times Central and Subject to Change

Courtesy of Athletic Communications, GoBlueRaiders.com

MT wraps up year with fifth straight NCAA appearance

NORMAN, Okla. – Middle Tennessee saw its 2011-12 golf season come to an end on Saturday with a 13th place finish in the Norman Regional at the Jimmie Austin OU Golf Club (par 72, 7,387 yards). The No. 48 Blue Raiders had a 922 total for the 54-hole event.

No. 13 Washington had a 860 total to win by four strokes over No. 1 ranked Texas (864). No. 23 Florida State and No. 35 Illinois tied for third with 871, while host Oklahoma rounded out the top five with an 874. All five teams advance to the NCAA Championships at the end of the month.

“This was definitely not our best tournament but I am very proud of the year we had and to make the NCAA Regionals for a fifth straight season,” said Head Coach Whit Turnbow. “We will go back to work and improve things and come back strong in the fall.”

Senior Hunter Green closed out his stellar Blue Raider career with a 74 on Saturday to pace Middle Tennessee. Green, who had five birdies in the final round, tied for 35th with a 226 total.

Senior Brad Simons registered a 75 to tie for 58th with a 232 while freshman Andrew Cho tied for 61st with a 234. Cho carded a 77 on Saturday.

Sophomore Brett Patterson, playing in his second straight regional, tied for 64th with a 237 while Jordan Jennings tied for 68th with a 238. Jennings shot a 76 in the final round.

TEAM SCORES
1 Washington -4 F +5 286 281 293 860
2 Texas E F +4 279 293 292 864
T3 Florida State +7 F +12 279 292 300 871
T3 Illinois +7 F +8 284 291 296 871
5 Oklahoma +10 F +7 287 292 295 874
6 Georgia Tech +19 F +19 290 286 307 883
7 St. Mary's (CA) +28 F +16 286 302 304 892
8 South Carolina +31 F +11 294 302 299 895
T9 Arizona +38 F +14 289 311 302 902
T9 San Diego +38 F +12 303 299 300 902
11 Sacramento State +39 F +16 292 307 304 903
12 IUPUI +51 F +23 297 307 311 915
13 Middle Tennessee +58 F +14 304 316 302 922
14 Loyola U.- Chicago +80 F +35 307 314 323 944

MT SCORES
T35 Hunter Green (1) 74 78 74 226
T58 Brad Simons (3) 75 82 75 232
T61 Andrew Cho (5) 79 78 77 234
T64 Brett Patterson (2) 76 78 83 237
T68 Jordan Jennings (4) 79 83 76 238

Courtesy of Athletic Communications, GoBlueRaiders.com

Women's basketball coach one of 10 inductees Saturday

Photo Gallery

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Middle Tennessee head women's basketball coach Rick Insell was one of 10 inductees Saturday into the 2012 Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame class. The annual banquet was held at the Renaissance Hotel in downtown Nashville.

Courtesy of Athletic Communications, GoBlueRaiders.com

MT clinches Sun Belt Tournament berth despite loss

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. - The Middle Tennessee baseball team rallied twice against WKU to force extra innings on Friday night, but the Blue Raiders dropped a heartbreaker, 5-4, in 13 innings at Nick Denes Field. Despite the loss, MT clinched a berth for next week’s Sun Belt Tournament based on other results in the league.

“We will take any way we can to get in the tournament, then we’ll see what happens after that because you just never know in baseball,” head coach Steve Peterson said. “Obviously, we’d love to take a win entering the tournament. My team played hard (tonight), but we had all kinds of chances and couldn’t get it done. I know we left a lot of runners on because we couldn’t get big hits and made some crucial mistakes.”

The Blue Raiders (28-27, 13-16 SBC) stranded 20 base-runners in the contest, primarily due to a plethora of two-out hits. MT scored all four of its runs with two outs and collected 10 two-out hits, but failed to string together more than two hits in any two-out situation.

The Blue Raiders drew first blood on Ryan Ford’s RBI-single in the second. Ryan Stephens drew a two-out walk and Dain McNabb followed with a base-knock to left in front of Ford’s run-scoring rip to right.

Ford would finish 2-for-7 with a pair of RBI, while McNabb went 2-for-4 with an RBI a run and a pair of key sacrifices.

WKU (24-30, 13-16 SBC) evened the score in the third on a pair of singles from Blake Crabtree and Scott Wilcox, then put two more on the board in the fifth for a 3-1 lead. Crabtree and Jared Andreoli reached on singles and moved up on a wild pitch before Ivan Hartle smacked one back up the middle to deliver the two-run blow.

MT immediately responded with a pair of runs to knot the game at three all in the sixth, once again coming up with key two-out hitting. Jordan Rorex knocked one to left and McNabb laced a two-out double to the right-center gap to bring the Blue Raiders within one. Ford tied it up with a shot up the middle the middle for his second RBI of the day.

Still tied at 3-3 in the seventh, WKU managed to push a run across on a Blue Raider miscue. Crabtree took a walk to open the frame and made his way to second on another Hartle single. Wilcox grounded to third, but Justin Guidry’s throw to second hit Hartle and rolled into the outfield, allowing Crabtree to charge home from third for the go-ahead run. The Hilltoppers loaded the bases on another walk, but Hank LaRue, McNabb and Guidry combined for a clutch double play to prevent any further damage.

That defensive momentum carried into the eighth where the Blue Raiders rallied again, scoring another two-out run to re-tie the game at four. Stephens sparked the comeback with a leadoff single and McNabb bunted him to second. Guidry delivered the game-tying run with a two-out base-knock to right-center as Stephens crossed the plate for the second time.

The two teams would remain knotted through the next four frames, with each side working out of jams to preserve the tie. MT left two on in the 10th, stranded Stephens at third with one out in the 12th and loaded the bases in the 13th, but couldn’t come up with the timely hit.

The Hilltoppers left two on in the 10th before tallying the game-winning run in the 13th. It was Jared Andreoli with the bases-loaded single that broke up the stalemate and handed WKU the victory.

Joey McClung (4-2) suffered the loss for MT despite a solid relief effort of 5.0 innings. He allowed three hits and just the one run while striking out four. Justin Hageman (4-6) picked up the win for WKU after holding MT scoreless through 5.2 while giving up four hits.

The two teams will meet for the final game of the regular season on Saturday at 1 p.m. Johnathan Frebis will take the mound for MT. Dick Palmer and John Callow will have the call on WMOT 89.5.

Senior rakes in award for second straight year

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. - Senior Matthew Langley has been named to the Capital One Academic All-District Team, as announced on Friday by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). It marks the second year in a row Langley has earned the honor.

Last year, Langley earned Capital One Academic All-America Third Team accolades, in addition to being named an ITA Scholar-Athlete. He has maintained a 4.0 GPA as an exercise science major over the past two years and was named one of Middle Tennessee’s International Student-Athletes of the Year earlier this spring.

Not only has Langley been outstanding in the classroom, but his athletic prowess has led the Blue Raiders to three Sun Belt Championship titles in the past four years, including the past two seasons. The West Beach, Australia, native earned Most Outstanding Player honors at each of the past two conference tournaments. During his senior campaign, Langley played in the No. 2 singles position and finished with a 24-14 overall and 17-9 dual mark.

Langley becomes the first Blue Raider to earn multiple all-district honors. He is one of 10 student-athletes from District 3 now eligible for Academic All-American status.

2012 Capital One All-District 3 Team
Sean Bailey, Austin Peay
Matt Snyder, Virginia
Matthew Langley, Middle Tennessee
Ryan Helms, Tennessee
Geoff Peitz, Davidson
CJ Costabile, Duke
Anthony Lin, Duke
Alejandro Espitia, NC Central
Devin Carter, Virginia Tech
Jon Fausey, Virginia
Ryan Hawkins, Virginia Tech

Team remains in 13th place

NORMAN, Okla. – Middle Tennessee struggled in very windy conditions Friday to shoot a 316 in the second round of the NCAA Regional at the Jimmie Austin OU Golf Club (par 72, 7,387 yards). The No. 48 Blue Raiders remained in 13th place with a 620 total.

No. 13 Washington easily had the best round of the day with a 7-under par 281 to grab the lead with a 36-hole total of 567. No. 23 Florida State is second at 571 while No. 1 Texas is third with a 572. No. 35 Illinois is fourth with a 575 and No. 12 Georgia Tech rounds out the top five with a 576.

“The course really played different today and we did not adjust,” said Head Coach Whit Turnbow. “We had way too many big numbers throughout the lineup and that will not get it done with a field as strong as this one. Hopefully we can rebound on Saturday and show what we are capable of doing.”

Hunter Green, Brett Patterson, and Andrew Cho all carded 78s while Brad Simons turned in an 82 and Jordan Jennings had an 83. Green is tied for 43rd overall to lead the Blue Raiders.

Middle Tennessee will begin the final round Saturday at 9:20 AM.

TEAM SCORES
1 Washington -9 F -7 286 281 567
2 Florida State -5 F +4 279 292 571
3 Texas -4 F +5 279 293 572
4 Illinois -1 F +3 284 291 575
5 Georgia Tech E F -2 290 286 576
6 Oklahoma +3 F +4 287 292 579
7 St. Mary's (CA) +12 F +14 286 302 588
8 South Carolina +20 F +14 294 302 596
9 Sacramento State +23 F +19 292 307 599
10 Arizona +24 F +23 289 311 600
11 San Diego +26 F +11 303 299 602
12 IUPUI+28 F +19 297 307 604
13 Middle Tennessee +44 F +28 304 316 620
14 Loyola U.- Chicago +45 F +26 307 314 621

MT SCORES
T43 Hunter Green (1) 74 78 152
T55 Brett Patterson (2) 76 78 154
T69 Brad Simons (3) 75 82 157
T69 Andrew Cho (5) 79 78 157
73 Jordan Jennings (4) 79 83 162

Fourth Hall of Fame honor for Blue Raider head coach

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – Middle Tennessee head women’s basketball coach Rick Insell will be one of 10 Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame inductees Saturday evening at the annual recognition banquet at the Renaissance Hotel in Nashville, Tenn. Insell becomes the 19th member of the Hall of Fame with a connection to Blue Raider athletics.

“I am truly honored and humbled by the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame including me in its 2012 class,” Insell said. “Without the support of many people over the years, this would not be possible.”

Insell will join his fourth Hall of Fame with the honor. He previously has been included as a member of the Tennessee Secondary Schools Athletic Association Hall of Fame (2003) and National High School Hall of Fame (2007), as well as the 2010 recipient of the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame’s Morgan Wootten Award for Lifetime Achievement for High School Girls’ Basketball.

The Woodbury, Tenn., native concluded his seventh season at Middle Tennessee in 2011-12, having earned six NCAA Tournament appearances, coached five All-Americans and had three of his players picked to the WNBA during his tenure. He finished the campaign with a 174-54 (.763) ledger to go along with his five Sun Belt regular-season championships and four Sun Belt Tournament. He has moved into second place on the school’s all-time wins list, needing just eight victories to tie the career mark.

Prior to coming lead the Blue Raider program, Insell coached for 28 years (1978-2005) at Shelbyville Central High School in Shelbyville, Tenn. He logged a 775-148 (.840) record with the Golden Eaglettes, guiding them to a state-record 10 TSSAA Class 3A state championships and two USA Today national championships.

A name synonymous with high school girl’s basketball in the state, Insell’s teams hold the Tennessee state records for consecutive wins (110), consecutive state titles with four (1989-92) and most state championships for a coach with 10 (1986-89-90-91-92-95-2000-01-03-04).

His 1991 Golden Eaglette squad was selected as the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame Team of the Year, the first high school team to be honored.

The Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame is a non-profit institution located inside the Bridgestone Arena in the heart of downtown Nashville.

MT Athletic Connections to Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame
Charles Anderson
Dewon Brazelton
Fred Delay
Barton Dodson
Boots Donnelly
Jimmy Earle
Larry Gilbert
Dave Hall
Dean Hayes
Rick Insell
Dr. Billy Jones
Jack Martin
Marynell Meadors
Charles Murphy
Preston Overall
Jim Painter
Reese Smith Jr.
John Stanford
Kim Webb

The Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association’s annual “Spring Fling” begins Monday, May 21, and MTSU summer-school parking and traffic may be affected as a result.

In preparation for the weeklong event, the University’s Greenland Drive parking lot will be closed May 21-25.

MTSU’s Smith Field is serving as the venue for the state baseball championships. All TSSAA Spring Fling track and field events are being conducted at MTSU’s Hayes Track and Soccer Stadium.

On Monday and Tuesday, anyone with a valid MTSU permit will be allowed to park in the Greenland Drive at no cost. On Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, Greenland Drive will be a “Pay to Park” lot only.

The Cason-Kennedy Nursing Building lot and Smith Field baseball lot also will be used to accommodate Spring Fling fans as “Pay to Park” on Thursday and Friday. Anyone with a valid MTSU permit, however, will still be allowed to park free in the nursing and baseball lots during the event.

Students, staff and faculty who normally park in the Greenland Drive, nursing or baseball lots may want to park in the Rutherford Boulevard lot and ride the Raider Xpress shuttle into campus to avoid traffic congestion.

A printable campus map is available at www.mtsu.edu/parking/Spring2012.pdf. A map of the Raider Xpress routes is available at www.mtsu.edu/parking/images/Bus_Routes_Map_Spring_2012.pdf.