Red Raiders opening against Iowa in Las Vegas
The Texas Tech men's basketball team will face off against Iowa at 7 p.m. Nov. 28 as part of the 19th Annual Continental Tire Las Vegas Invitational at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas.
The Red Raiders and Hawkeyes earned berths into the NCAA Tournament last season. Texas Tech is slated to host Tennessee State (Nov. 21) and Long Island (Nov. 24) during the campus portion of the Continental Tire Classic before the Red Raiders travel to Las Vegas.
Following the matchup, Texas Tech will play either Creighton or San Diego State on Nov. 29 to conclude the championship round. After the Invitational, the Red Raiders are scheduled to take on DePaul on Dec. 4 in Chicago. Tipoff has yet to be determined.
Texas Tech will matchup against Louisville on Dec. 10 as part of the Jimmy V Classic at Madison Square Garden in New York.
The Red Raiders are coming off a breakthrough season which included advancing to the program's first NCAA Final Four and national championship. Texas Tech ended the season with a program-best 3-7 record, which included a 14-4 mark on the way to sharing a Big 12 Conference regular season title.
With last year's success, Texas Tech head coach Chris Beard was named the Associated Press National Coach of the Year and was named the Big 12 Coach of the Year for the second consecutive season.
The Red Raiders are slated to open the regular season on Nov. 5 with a home game against Eastern Illinois at United Supermarkets Arena.
Texas Tech tennis
After men's tennis coach Brett Masi accepted the same role at USC last week, Texas Tech athletic director Kirby Hocutt went outside of the box with a decision about the program.
Women's head coach Todd Petty was elevated to the role of Director of Tennis, which means he will coach the Lady Raiders while also overseeing both the men's and women's programs. Along those lines, Red Raider assistant coach Daniel Whitehead — who's been with the program the past two years — was promoted to head coach of the men's program.
"Todd Petty has proved himself to be one of the best coaches in collegiate tennis," Hocutt said in a Texs Tech release. "He has developed our women's program into an annual contender for Big 12 titles and a consistent presence in the NCAA Tournament. Under his guidance and the leadership of Coach Whitehead, I expect our men's program to continue to grow and compete at the highest level."
With the moves, the tennis program will have a combined coaching staff working with both men's and women's tennis student-athletes. Second-year assistant coach Melissa Kopinski is slated to remain on staff while a fourth coach will be named at a later date.
Petty is entering his 12th year leading the Lady Raiders tennis program. Under his watch, the Tech women have earned a program-long streak of eight consecutive NCAA Tournament bids. Petty has also guided the Lady Raiders to three Big 12 regular season championship, the program's first Big 12 tournament title, five 20-plus win seasons, four NCAA Sweet 16 appearances and a pair of NCAA Elite Eight bids which have seen him accumulate a record of 208-91.
Over the last two years with Whitehead as an assistant, the Red Raiders have appeared in the NCAA Tournament and combined to go 34-23 overall.
Wayland Baptist golf
The Pioneers were ranked No. 11, while the WBU women earned votes Friday in the NAIA Golf Coaches Top 25 polls.
The WBU men were ranked 11th following the conclusion of the NAIA National Championships last season. The Pioneer women, who have not qualified a squad for national since 2016, own the ranking equivalent of 35 after finishing second in the Sooner Athletic Conference.
In the SAC, defending national champion Texas Wesleyan was ranked No. 1 while Oklahoma City was slotted at No. 3 in the men's poll. On the women's side, OCU was No. 5 an Texas Wesleyan was No. 14.
The WBU women start the season by competing Sept. 9-10 at the Texas Wesleyan Intercollegiate in Fort Worth. The Pioneers are set to take part Sept. 7-8 in the Andrews Invitational in Andrews, Texas.
WBU volleyball
ORANGE CITY, Iowa — The Pioneers dropped a pair of matches to Briar Cliff (Iowa) and No. 7 Northwestern (Iowa) on the first day of the Red Raider Classic on Friday.
WBU, which normally has 14 players, was reduced to six due to multiple injuries, two awaiting eligibility clearance from the NAIA and another missing the trip to attend a wedding.
The Pioneers (0-2) dropped a 25-16, 25-17, 25-16 decision to Briar Cliff, Iowa, and fell again to Northwestern Iowa 25-7, 25-16, 25-10.
WBU is scheduled to take on Concordia (Nebraska) at 9 a.m. Saturday before facing off against No. 11 Dordt, Iowa at 1 p.m.