Congrats Festus Kigen

TCU senior Festus Kigen was named the 2010 South Central Region Men’s Athlete of the Year by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association's Wednesday. Festus also used to help train the Women's Soccer Team here at TCU.

Kigen became the first male in TCU history to win a regional title, breaking the tape with the time of 30:11.1. He also became the third Frog overall to win a regional crown, joining Mary Kinyanjui and Glady’s Keitany.

The victory marked the third top-10 finish at a regional meet for Kigen in his four-year career at TCU, punching his ticket for his third and final appearance at the NCAA Cross Country Championships on Nov. 22 in Terre Haute, Ind. The honor is the third all-region team honor for Kigen.
 


USA plays South Africa today!

The last time we directed our attention to South Africa, the Dutch were turning the World Cup final into something resembling a mixed martial arts encounter. Thanks, Nigel de Jong. We can expect a much more civilized match on Wednesday, when the U.S. faces South Africa in the Nelson Mandela Challenge in Cape Town.

It's the 12th time the Stars and Stripes will play a match in the backyard of the 2010 World Cup hosts in the past three years, having competed in the 2007 edition of the Nelson Mandela Challenge, the 2009 Confederations Cup and the World Cup. Bafana Bafana are yet to record a win over their American counterparts in their three previous meetings, but South Africa is a much improved side.

What do you need to know about this friendly? Here are five observations:

1. Bob Bradley's babies

The American coach has included two teenagers in his 18-man squad. Striker Juan Agudelo and defender Gale Agbossoumonde are the first two products of U.S. Soccer's Development Academy to earn national call-ups. There are six uncapped players in the squad, and a half dozen more with only 10 international caps between them. The regulars, Landon Donovan, Clint Dempsey,Jozy Altidore, Tim Howard and Carlos Bocanegra, among others, will not be making the trip. Bradley said he is building toward the 2011 Gold Cup and his preparation starts here.

Sverrisdottir Named Lowe's Senior CLASS Award Candidate

TCU senior Helena Sverrisdottir was one of 30 NCAA Division I women’s basketball players named as candidates for the Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award Wednesday. The award is given annually to the student-athlete in his/her sport who best excels in the areas of community, classroom, character and competition.

An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School, the Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities.

In addition to being an All-America candidate entering her final season as a Horned Frog, Sverrisdottir has also made an impact on both TCU and the Fort Worth community in several other areas. A 3.0 student who is on track to graduate this December in only three-and-one-half years, she has been named to the Dean’s List during her time on campus and was a member of the Academic All-Mountain West Conference Team last spring. Among the community service projects in which she has taken part include elementary school and hospital visits and serving as a volunteer for the area food bank and YMCA.

The 2011 women’s candidate class includes five players who were CoSIDA Academic All-Americans last year, 22 student-athletes with grade point averages of 3.0 or better, four players who participated in the 2010 Women’s Final Four and 15 players on the preseason watch list for the John R. Wooden Award, including Sverrisdottir.

The list of 30 student-athletes will be narrowed to 10 women’s finalists midway through the regular season, and those names will be placed on the official ballot. Ballots will be distributed through a nationwide voting system to media, coaches and fans, who will select one finalist who best exemplifies excellence in the four Cs of community, classroom, character and competition. The Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award winner will be announced at the NCAA Women’s Final Four in Indianapolis.

Football can clinch Championship

ABOUT THE GAME
*No. 3 TCU will look to clinch at least a share of the Mountain West Conference championship when it hosts San Diego State on Senior Day. Based on votes received, the Aztecs are 27th in both the Associated Press and USA Today polls.
*Saturday's contest will also mark the final game at the existing Amon G. Carter Stadium. A $105 million renovation of TCU's 80-year-old home will begin immediately after the game and be fully completed in 2012. An implosion of the press box side of the stadium will take place Sunday, Dec. 5, at 8 a.m.
*TCU is one of four remaining undefeated teams this season.
*The Horned Frogs have outscored their six Mountain West Conference opponents 236-23, allowing just three touchdowns in the process.
*TCU has reached 10 wins for the seventh time in the last nine years under head coach Gary Patterson. No other coach in TCU history has more than two 10-win seasons.
*TCU is 10-0 for the second straight year and third time in the last eight seasons.
*TCU leads the nation in scoring defense (8.5 ppg.), total defense (215.5 ypg.), pass defense (121.9 ypg.), fewest first downs allowed per game (12.0) and opponent third-down percentage (23.8). The Frogs are seventh in run defense (93.6 ypg.).
*The Frogs are allowing 8.5 points per game, on pace for the NCAA's lowest scoring defense mark since 1988 (Auburn, 7.2 points).
*TCU is one of just two schools (Boise State) to rank in the top 10 in the nation in total offense, total defense, scoring offense and scoring defense.
*The Frogs have scored in all but one quarter this season.
*Over the last six seasons, TCU is 30-1 in day games and 56-4 in Saturday contests.

THE WIN COLUMN
*The Frogs have a 23-game regular-season winning streak.
*TCU has won 24 of its last 25 overall games and is 36-3 in its last 39 contests.
*TCU has won its last 15 Mountain West Conference games and 23 of its last 24.
*Since the start of the 2008 season, TCU's 33 wins trail only Boise State (34-1). The Frogs are 33-3 in that stretch.
*Fifteen of TCU's last 17 victories have been by at least 27 points. Sixteen of the 17 wins are by 17 points or more.

DEFENDING THEIR HOME
*TCU has a school record 19-game home winning streak.
*The streak is second all-time in Mountain West Conference history, trailing only Utah (21, 2007-10). The Utes' streak was snapped by TCU's 47-7 win last week.
*TCU's 19 straight home wins rank third for the longest current streak in the nation (Oklahoma 35, Boise State 30).
*The Frogs haven't lost a Saturday home game since 2004.

SENIOR CLASS HIGHLIGHTS
*TCU's 26 seniors playing their final home game have posted a 41-8 record, leaving them two victories shy of becoming the winningest class in school history.
*This year's seniors have seen the Frogs win a conference championship (2009), reach their first BCS game (2010 Fiesta Bowl) and post records of 2-1 in bowl games, 7-2 against teams from BCS automatic-qualifying conferences, 22-1 at Amon G. Carter Stadium and 25-5 in MWC games.
*The seniors have totaled 19 all-conference selections and 12 MWC Player of the Week awards.
*There are three semifinalists for national awards (Andy Dalton, Davey O'Brien Award and Maxwell Award; Tejay Johnson, Jim Thorpe Award;Jake Kirkpatrick, Rotary Lombardi Award).
*Five seniors (Curtis Clay, Cory Grant, Alex Ibiloye, Kevin Sharples, Jimmy Young) have already graduated with 11 more scheduled to complete their degree next month.

Football National Team of the Week

With a 47-7 win at Utah, No. 3 TCU has been named the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl National Team of the Week.

It's the third straight year and fourth time in six seasons that TCU has received the honor. The Horned Frogs were also the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl National Team of the Week after wins over BYU the last two seasons and a 2005 victory at Oklahoma.

In snapping Utah's 21-game home winning streak, TCU improved to 10-0 for the second straight year and third time in eight seasons.

Utah entered the game with the nation's third-ranked scoring offense (45.2 points per game) but was held to 199 yards. The Utes did not cross midfield until the fourth quarter with TCU leading 40-0.

The Horned Frogs held the ball for over 39 minutes and totaled 558 yards of offense, including 328 in the first half. TCU led 20-0 after the opening quarter.

In six Mountain West Conference games this season, TCU has allowed just three touchdowns while outscoring its opponents 236-23.

Cool Football Stadium Video

Amon G. Carter Stadium here at TCU is about to undergo a major upgrade. There is a cool video of the stadium's history and of all the past legends. Follow this link to see it, also it is on youtube.com. TCU football continues to dominate everyone they play, this past weekend the frogs went to Utah to play the #5 Utes and destroyed them 47-7. Can anyone say National Championship game? We Believe so keep up the good work Frogs!

All-Conference Rewards

Junior Jordan Calhoun was honored Tuesday night by the Mountain West Conference, collecting first-team all-conference accolades.

Calhoun, a Norman, Okla. native, earned first-team honors after netting six goals, while also dishing out three assists in 2010. Earlier this year, Calhoun became TCU's all-time leader in goals scored for a career with 29 career goals. She also moved into No. 2 all-time in points for a career with 69 points. The junior, who received first-team all-conference recognition for the second time in three years, closed the season ranked in the top-5 in the MWC in shots, goals and shots-per-game.

Overall, Calhoun helped the Horned Frogs post the No. 46 ranked scoring offense in the NCAA this fall. With Calhoun leading the way, the Purple and White offensive attack also finished No. 1 overall in the Mountain West Conference in six different offensive categories.

TCU finished its regular season with a 7-10-2 overall record after battling nationally ranked New Mexico to a 1-1 draw last Saturday night.

First-Team All-Conference Recognition
Jennifer Williams, Jr., Forward, New Mexico*
Kelli Cornell, So., Goalkeeper, New Mexico
Lindsi Lisonbee, So., Defender, BYU*
Lauren Hair, Sr., Forward, Utah**
Carlee Payne, So., Forward/Midfielder, BYU*
Megan McQueeny, Jr., Defender, San Diego State*
Ashleigh Shoughro, Sr., Forward, UNLV*
Amanda Collins, Jr., Midfielder New Mexico*
Michaela DeJesus, Sr., Forward/Midfielder, San Diego State
Jordan Calhoun, Jr., Forward, TCU*
Kassidy Shumway, Sr., Forward/Midfielder, BYU*

Mountain West Conference Awards
Offensive Player of the Year: Jennifer Williams, Jr., Forward, New Mexico
Defensive Player of the Year: Kelli Cornell, So., Goalkeeper, New Mexico
Freshman of the Year: Hayley Palmer, Fr., Defender, San Diego State
Coach of the Year: Kit Vela, New Mexico

* Indicates repeat selection
** Indicates three-time selection

Senior Night

TCU said goodbye to five seniors Saturday night in Chelsea Cody, Martin, Torda, Walters and Nikki Wilbur. The group has recorded 38 wins during their time in Fort Worth.

Kim Castleberry scored a first half goal as TCU and No. 23 New Mexico battled to a 1-1 double overtime draw Saturday night at Garvey-Rosenthal Soccer Stadium.

"I'm happy that the team provided the effort to send out our seniors on a good note," said head coach Dan Abdalla. "I thought we battled hard and left everything out on the field tonight against a top-25 opponent. New Mexico was the best team in the conference and they deserve a championship. Hopefully, this showed our kids the level that they can play at every night."

Walters had an impressive night in her final outing in a Horned Frog uniform, saving seven shots, while Cornell posted five saves at Jane Justin Field.

With the tie, the Frogs closed their season with a 7-10-2 record overall and a 1-5-1 mark in MWC play. New Mexico, who captured the Mountain West Conference title Saturday night, moved to 11-1-5 and 5-0-2 in the Mountain West.