<b>Taking University of Louisiana related notworthy sports moment nominations for 2003.</b>
I'll start:
Jake Delhomme being named a starting QB in the NFL.
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<b>Taking University of Louisiana related notworthy sports moment nominations for 2003.</b>
I'll start:
Jake Delhomme being named a starting QB in the NFL.
Why don't we wait until Jake wins the Superbowl against Payton Manning and the Colts! That's my prediction/ nomination!!!!! Seriously, maybe a long shot, but can you imagine what that would do for our national recognition?!?!?!?! If only Haslett wasn't such a j*ckass, maybe the Saints would be enjoying Jake's success.
Lady Cajuns going to the World Series.
I agree that the Lady Cajuns going to to WCWS was a HUGE story, but how about the turnaround for the football team this season. When left out to dry, they came back and won 4 out of their last 5!
That gets my vote, and I add the baseball team they were something like 250 in the RPI in the first half of the season and climbed back to a 20-20 finish and a top 50 RPI ranking. NEither the baseball team or the football team gave up.Quote:
Originally posted by rebel02
I agree that the Lady Cajuns going to to WCWS was a HUGE story, but how about the turnaround for the football team this season. When left out to dry, they came back and won 4 out of their last 5!
How bout Breaking our eternal losing streak against Middle Tennesse 57-51 (4OT) in one of the most exciting games of the season.
SA for Delhoume, I agree with bigearl, let's wait and see how far Jake takes 'em.
I agree he has more he can accomplish, but being one of only 32 in the world is a pretty big accomplishment already.Quote:
Originally posted by CajunFanatic91
SA for Delhomme, I agree with bigearl, let's wait and see how far Jake takes 'em.
NMSU game was a big win for football.
The biggest one, that prlly isnt the most visible to us, are the imrpovements that are being done to the athletic complex, thats prlly the biggest event as it will help for many great years down the line. As far as this year, best event of this year to me had to be the baseball team. They truly never gave up and showed alot of grit, makes me truly excited for next year.
Tuffguy
How about the 2nd half of the baseball season? Got to have been the best run for a baseball team ever.
Not a great moment or event, but very VERY infamous. One player held the school and basketball program hostage by failing 3 out of last 4 semesters.
Gerald Hebert being hired and the work that has followed to me will be have a LONG lasting effect on ALL UL sports!!!
Softball in the world series and the Ski team National Championship!!!!!
DaddyCajun!!!
Don't forget Jakub Ilowski he knocked off the #1 tennis player in the country.
I would have to vote for putting limestome over that pig slop that we've tried to call a parking lot for 30 years!!
First off, it would have to be whatever garnered the most national attention to our fine university, or what could potentially bring about that acclaim.
So much of what is being done in the facility improvement area is either being kept secret or is not 100% a done deal that I would have to shy away from that for now.
That leaves the Softball team. Our Lady Cajuns did us proud again.
The football team is turning the corner. Although, the big story of the year next year will be the Cajuns first winning season in 9 years and.........
<blockquote><p align=justify><b>Mitchell’s clutch pitching carries Cajun softball to Women’s College World Series</b>
LOUISIANA La. — It would have been easy to surrender to the pain, but Brooke Mitchell would not.
Despite an injury to her pitching arm, the gritty Mitchell pitched UL Lafayette’s softball program into a fourth appearance in the Women’s College World Series.
Giving in to exhaustion would have been understandable at the end of a long campaign, but members of the Ragin’ Cajun football team refused to end their season on a down note.
The result was a stirring 57-51 quadruple overtime road victory over Middle Tennessee in the season finale, completing a streak of four wins in five games to end the campaign.
Those two performances stepped front and center as the most memorable in Ragin’ Cajun athletics for 2003, the top items on an unofficial list of highlights.
<b>Softball returns to WCWS</b>
Surprising no one, coach Stefni Lotief’s Cajuns won another Sun Belt Conference softball championship in May by defeating Western Kentucky 2-1, Florida International 6-0 and FIU again by a 6-2 count in the SBC Tournament.
While the Sun Belt’s champion doesn’t yet get an NCAA Tournament bid, the highly-regarded UL program was invited once again.
Once there, the Cajuns defeated San Diego State 6-0, No. 6 Fullerton 1-0 and No. 13 Oklahoma State by another 1-0 score to set up a showdown Sunday.
In the first game against No. 18 Oregon, Mitchell felt a troubling twinge in her arm just one-third of an inning into the action. She tried to continue but had to head for the dugout in what became a 9-2 Oregon victory.
Then, with the season on the line, Mitchell took the pitching circle for the deciding game.
The inspired Cajuns exploded for five runs in the bottom of the first and went on to a 6-4 victory to advance to the WCWS in Oklahoma City for the first time under Lotief.
Tiffany Grayson ripped two home runs and Jill Robertson had another, while Mitchell gritted her way through seven innings of 10-hit ball.
UL faced powerful Texas in the WCWS opener, and freshman sensation Danyele Gomez greeted Texas ace Cat Osterman with a towering two-run home run. But the Longhorns rallied against the ailing Mitchell for a 3-2 win.
Eventual champion UCLA followed with a 5-1 victory to knock the Cajuns out of the hunt, but the team’s youth promised a return soon.
While Becky McMurtry (.395, 14 homers, 51 RBIs) was a senior, Gomez is back after a school-record 20 home runs and 62 RBIs, along with Mitchell, Robertson, Grayson and many others.
Lotief added five new promising signees in the fall to further strengthen the future of the school’s program.
<b>Cajuns bustle up to finish strong</b>
Coach Rickey Bustle faced a challenge in his second year guiding Ragin’ Cajun football.
Against a rugged early lineup featuring impressive teams like bowl-bound Minnesota, Houston and North Texas, the Cajuns stumbled to a 0-7 record.
That included a 45-42 homecoming defeat by UL Monroe, the Indians’ only victory of 2003, before the Cajuns bounced back.
Three wins in four weeks brought UL to the win total of Bustle’s first year, but defeating Middle Tennessee in the finale on the road would achieve a runner-up spot in the Sun Belt Conference and a sign of progress.
<center><p><a href="http://www.theadvertiser.com/sports/html/8D759EB0-6A52-441A-96B8-F4487C4B8F7E.shtml">MORE, More, more...</a>
Bruce Brown
bbrown@theadvertiser.com <!--
The finale was a microcosm of a difficult year, but freshman quarterback Jerry Babb led his team back to claim a 57-51 quadruple overtime victory in wet, chilly conditions.
The St. Thomas More product hit 37-of-56 passes for 435 yards and four touchdowns. He also rushed for 39 yards including the game-winning one-yard dive in the final OT.
Three of the scoring tosses went to senior receiver Fred Stamps, who dazzled the Blue Raiders defense with 13 catches for 201 yards.
Stamps finished the year with 62 catches for 973 yards and seven scores, and his career figures of 180 catches (second in UL history), 2,789 yards (second) and 19 touchdowns (third) stamped him as one of the finest the school has ever produced.
Stamps was a unanimous All-Sun Belt performer, joined on the first team by defensive end Antonio Floyd and place kicker Sean Comiskey.
When he returns in 2004, Babb will find Bill Sampy and Kemmie Lewis eager to fill the void left by Stamps.
The Cajuns as a squad headed into winter conditioning work buoyed by the impressive finishing kick after such a difficult start.
<b>Facilities on the rise</b>
The commitment to better facilities promises to improve Cajun performances in a number of sports.
The weight room will be expanded and improved, part of an extensive remodeling and expansion plan set for the athletic administration building on Reinhardt Drive.
Then there is the eagerly-awaited indoor practice facility, a large, multi-sport building that will allow Cajuns in football, soccer and other sports to escape the often unpredictable south Louisiana weather that in the past has cost valuable preparation time.
Cajun Track is being renovated, with the end result being a new track-soccer complex on Bertrand Drive.
If you never get a second chance to make a first impression, Cajun coaches are planning to impress recruits and alumni with the new projects on the way.
<b>Basketball in postseason</b>
Coach Jessie Evans is in his seventh season leading Ragin’ Cajun basketball after his arrival from the University of Arizona, where he assisted on a national champion Wildcats team.
In 2002-2003, his Cajuns captured a second straight Sun Belt Conference Western Division championship with a 12-3 mark in conference play.
They were nearly perfect at home, losing only to Western Kentucky in a 10-1 worksheet at the Cajundome.
And although the Cajuns were eliminated in the Sun Belt Tournament for the second year in a row, they made a second straight appearance in the National Invitation Tournament and dropped a narrow 82-80 decision at Alabama-Birmingham.
St. Thomas More product Brad Boyd led the team in scoring with a 16.8-point average, followed by Anthony Johnson (14.4), Michael Southall (12.9) and team MVP Laurie Bridges (11.9).
Johnson’s eligibility was up and Southall was an academic casualty, but the Cajuns regrouped with Boyd and Bridges leading many new faces as they geared up for another Sun Belt challenge.
UL was 4-3 heading into a Tuesday night test at No. 5 Arizona — including, naturally, a 3-0 mark at home.
Petrakova catches fire
UL Lafayette was 7-21 in women’s basketball in 2003 under coach J. Kelley Hall, with Carencro’s Sarah Richey leading the way by scoring 13.7 points and grabbing 8.4 rebounds per game.
The Cajun women turned their focus for 2003-2004 to a maturing Anna Petrakova, and her performance helped Hall’s team to a 4-5 record as it began the year with an extended set of road dates.
Petrakova headed into the new year averaging an eye-popping 17.8 points and 11.2 rebounds per game, with 21 blocked shots in nine outings.
The Russian product had game highs of 21, 29, 23, 14, 26 and 23 points for the Cajuns, who wrapped up the long road grind with a 62-56 win over Coastal Carolina.
The Cajuns play seven of nine January games at home, hoping to turn what they’ve learned into a streak.
Soccer plays it smart
Coach Dave Poggi prides himself on fielding a women’s soccer team that takes care of its business on and off the field.
The on-the-field work showed progress in 2003, with the Cajuns posting a 6-13-1 record, but more impressive was a second straight campaign in which the Cajuns posted a team grade point average over 3.0.
On the field, the Cajuns had five players with over 1,000 minutes played.
Tiffany Garber (5 goals, 1 assist) led the team with 11 points, while Lauren Schwindt (3, 3) had nine.
Anna Brannon (2.19 goals against) and Lisa Preseault (2.24) shared goal-tending duties.
Baseball breaks even
The Cajuns of coach Tony Robichaux have spoiled their fans in recent seasons with frequent postseason NCAA appearances, highlighted by the school’s lone entry into the College World Series in 2000 in Omaha, Neb.
The 2003 campaign was not as productive, a 30-30 finish that featured a 15-9 third-place showing in Sun Belt Conference action that left Robichaux 316-222 in nine years at UL.
Corey Coles was the team’s hitting star with a .371 average, nine home runs and 45 RBIs along with 13-of-15 base stealing attempts. Andy Gros posted an 8-6 record as the Cajuns’ best pitcher, with a 3.94 earned run average.
That .500 finish in 2003 should be improved in 2004, once Robichaux sorts through the departures and returnees and the highlights of fall ball.
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Lady Cajuns softball gets back to the WCWS after losing in regional play the last few times. Attempt by the Evil Empire to destroy our program by purchasing our coach has officially failed.
What is the biggest moment of the year for UL athletics? My criteria would be what would mean the most to the school and its fans.
So to me, it's gotta be the organization of a fund-raising/facility improvement program under Gerald Hebert. It's definitely going to mean a lot more to the school in the long run that the softball CWS, no disrespect to our fine group of ladies.
Has anyone mentioned Tillman and Taylor getting drafted, and then doing so good?
How bout the Cajuns taking #4 Arizona down to the final 10 seconds?
HOTBOUDIN said:
"The football team is turning the corner. Although, the big story of the year next year will be the Cajuns first winning season in 9 years and........."
DUDE, JUST GEAUX AHEAD AND SAY IT: "Our FIRST of MANY Sun Belt Football Championships!!!" :D .~. ..O..
Corey Coles & Jordy Templet getting drafted by MLB
the biggest thing of 2003 was a loss?Quote:
Originally posted by CajunFanatic91
How bout the Cajuns taking #4 Arizona down to the final 10 seconds?
the plaque...
...doesn't seem so great now.