Wednesdays Are For The Girls
In just 14 days, Texas Women's Soccer kicks off a new era with head coach Margueritte Bates, and I can't find a single press release about it. I'm working to change that.
I have been a fan of Texas Athletics since I was born. There has always been thousands of articles, shows, previews, pretty much everything-under-the-sun when it comes to football, basketball, and baseball coverage. Don’t get me wrong, I eat up every last crumb of it! But there is still a gap when it comes to the coverage of Texas women’s sports.
This became even more apparent to me the past couple weeks. I’ve searched EVERYWHERE for more information on the upcoming Texas Women’s Soccer season. Head Coach Margueritte Bates’ first year leading the pitch, and it’s crickets out there in terms of finding a good season preview. Who are the starters? Where is the projection for her first season? I simply cannot find anything, and it’s driving me nuts!
In reality, I totally understand why there is limited coverage: Football pays the bills. I see it in the analytics of my own social media accounts, which are just a microcosm of what the major media outlets probably experience. Football season is 38 days away. They have a bottom line to meet, salaries to pay, and only a finite amount of time + resources.
So, rather than pout in a corner about limited coverage of our female athletes, I thought it’d be fun to make Wednesdays be my official day for Texas women’s sports! A day for our collegiate AND professional athletes. Speaking of pros… congratulations to two-time national champion Reese Atwood for her Rookie of the Year win! Her hitting woes from the NCAA playoffs are longggg gone (as is the coach responsible for those woes… IYKYK).
I’d be lying if I said I knew everything there is to know about every Texas women’s sport. Trust me, I am a work in progress! But committing to 1 post per week for a high level overview of what’s going on with the girlies on the Forty Acres feels like a great first step in improving coverage overall. So, here is your high-level Wednesday scoop — for the girls!
Texas Soccer
I am buzzing for the inaugural season of Head Coach Margueritte Bates! She comes in with a loaded resume, including a National Championship in her first season as Head Coach at UCLA in 2022 (Foreshadowing? Kidding… sort of 😅). In her four-year tenure with the Bruins, they never missed the NCAA tournament.
Texas soccer kicks off their first official game of the season at home against HCU (Houston Christian Huskies) on August 12th. I can’t wait to watch and find out for myself who the starters are, what the team looks like, and learn more about what Bates’ philosophy is as a coach! Just a fortnight away.
Texas Softball
If there is one Texas women’s sport that has caught lightning in a bottle and IS receiving lots of attention, it’s softball. After an insane run in the playoffs to secure back-to-back national championships, the Longhorns went straight to work in the transfer portal.
I don’t want to sound hyperbolic when I say it was the coup of the transfer portal era when Head Coach Mike White landed Isa Torres, the reigning D1 Softball National Player of the Year (fresh off a record-breaking season at Florida State), and Samantha Swan, an All-Big 12 catcher from Arizona State. Oh, also forgot to mention that Teagan Kavan is back for her senior season. Hello to the future back-to-back-to-back champions, am I right?
Texas Beach Volleyball
One of the newest sports to hit the Forty Acres, future Texas Beach Volleyball players Ella Grimes, Bella Scherfenberg, and Leann Wise swept at AVP Juniors National Championships (18U division), taking home gold, silver, and bronze! After winning AVCA Coach of the Year this past May, it’s safe to say Stein Metzger’s program is in EXCELLENT hands.
Texas Women’s Basketball
I’m going to be honest… I am not mentally recovered from the Final Four loss. I will do a whole separate article on basketball at a later date, but as it stands, it’s too soon. Maybe it’s a good thing there is so much young blood on the team, because if back-to-back Final Four losses are making ME depressed, I can only imagine how the girls and coaches are still feeling.
Choosin’ Texas
There are so many additional talking points I could cover in the introductory “For the Girls” recap… Rowing dominance, Track & Field signed twin sprinters Mia & Mariah Maxwell, Volleyball is a juggernaut… I’m sure I am missing even more!
I have no idea why any female athlete wouldn’t choose Texas. I guess if you are a gymnast, you are S-O-L, but who knows. Maybe one day we will have that too. ;)
Until next time,
Hookem!