The Good, The Bad & The Ugly from Baylor's Week of Sports
There were inevitable mixed emotions in WBB, a Key NBA decision, and, unfortunately, some football police blotter amid an otherwise typical spring week.
Here's a look at The Good, The Bad & The Ugly from the past week in Baylor Athletics.
THE GOOD
Mulkey Still No. 1 — On Senior Night, Felecia Mulkey and her No.1 1 A&T squad continued their dominance of her former program, defeating the No. 2 Oregon Ducks. Their reward? Closing out the regular season against Hawaii Pacific out in Honolulu next Sunday. The Sharks' home site? The Shark Tank, of course.
Softball Series W — The No. 21 Bears earned a critical Big 12 series win against Kansas despite dropping the opener. Add in the run-rule win over UTSA and their thrilling 3-2 extra-inning win over Texas State, and it was a nifty 4-1 week overall. On Friday and Saturday, they'll be in Knoxville for mixed-doubleheaders against Tennessee and Mercer.
Men's Tennis — A big week for Michael Woodson and crew. In Tulsa, the Bears defeated Oral Roberts 4-0 and the hometown Golden Hurricane 4-2 during the week. Then on Saturday, they took down UTRGV 4-0 before defeating Texas Tech 5-2 in their Big 12 Conference opener. Riding a six-match win streak, they will face TCU in Fort Worth on Thursday, Alcorn State in a home doubleheader on Friday, and then host Texas on Saturday evening. Against Tech, fifth-year senior Juan Pablo Grassi Mazzuchi earned his 100th career collegiate singles win, spanning the last two years in Waco and the previous three at UCF.
Women's Tennis — The Bears logged some miles and split their two road Big 12 contests. They were edged out by Texas Tech 4-3 in Lubbock on Friday but rebounded nicely with a 4-2 win over TCU in Fort Worth on Sunday. Next weekend, they'll UTSA on Saturday and New Mexico State on Sunday, both at Hurd Tennis Center. Only two weeks and four regular-season matches remain before the Big 12 Championships. They currently reside in 7th place out of the standard ten teams.
Texas Relays Medals — On Saturday in Austin, Texas Relays wound to a close, and the women's 4x200 relay team set a new program record and earned silver, while Ryan Day earned bronze in the men's mile. On Friday, the Bears earned a trio of silver medals: Chinecherem Prosper Nnamdi (Javelin) and Nathaniel Ezekiel (400m Hurdles) on the men's side, while Koi Johnson (Long Jump B) medaled on the female side. On Thursday's opening, Ryan Hodge earned silver in the 10,000 meters, and Ryan Day won bronze in the 5,000m. So, that's five silvers and two bronzes coming back from Austin. At the Stanford Invitational, grad transfer Annamaria Kostarellis notched a new program record in the 10,000 meters, up next the North Texas Classic on Saturday in Denton.
EQ Honors — Equestrian was named the No. 8 national seed and final team to earn a spot at the NCEA National Championship in Ocala, Florida, next week. They will face No. 1 seed SMU, so a change in luck is needed, as they were 0-2 vs. the Mustangs this season. In addition, senior Dominika Silvestri (First Team) and junior Madison Mitchell (Honorable Mention) earned NCEA All-American honors in Flat.
NBA Declarations — Keyonte George turned pro, and there's no looking back following one season in Waco. No surprise there. LJ Cryer declared, too but is maintaining his eligibility. So, we'll see what happens.
XFL Stuff — Josh Gordon caught a TD in Seattle's fifth straight win, and QB Jalan McClendon started and threw touchdowns in helping lead Vegas to a win.
THE BAD
Mulkey's LSU Title — Seeing Kim Mulkey lead LSU to a National Championship in year two was entirely unsurprising. She's one of the best coaches of all time and has unlimited everything at her disposal. Still, seeing her cut the nets in purple and gold rather than green and gold was challenging for many Baylor supporters. Many loved the attitude, outrageous outfits, and above all, the winning. It's too early to give Nicki Collen or Baylor WBB any final grade or too soon to define the program post-Mulkey era, but Kim has made her statement already with another Natty. It's a legit question to wonder how quickly she might match her three titles with the Tigers. But the damnedest thing? I don't get the impression those she'd want it to bother are all that bothered. I have no doubts that one day, in her follow-up book or some other avenue, we'll hear her full version of events regarding her Baylor exit. Until then, and probably forever, there will always remain divided opinions on the ending.
Baseball — Your periodic reminder that success is a process. Right?!? The Bears dropped their midweek contest against ACU in extras and were then swept by Kansas in Lawrence. As a result, the losing streak stands at seven. Up next, a Tuesday home game against SFA and then weekend home series hosting against Oklahoma starting Thursday.
THE UGLY
Garmon Randolph Arrest — The redshirt senior was arrested for DWI over the weekend. This is disappointing on several levels, but it doesn't mean he's banished, as people make mistakes. But, for a veteran and someone who should be setting an example, it's discouraging and a bad look. On Saturday, Aranda also mentioned that Randolph was out with an injury, so whatever is going on, hopefully, he can pull it together.
