UTB-TSC Capsules: Benestad, Gamboa earn RRAC honors
Following their performances in the Red River Athletic Conference championships, Morten Benestad and Juan Gamboa of the University of Texas at Brownsville and Texas Southmost College were honored with offensive and defensive player of week awards.
Benestad, a freshman midfielder from Kristiansand, Norway, provided all the scoring for the Scorpions in the RRAC tournament as they won their fourth consecutive conference title. He scored the only goal in a 1-0 win over Texas College in the semifinals and chipped in the game-winner in a 1-0 championship match victory over Huston-Tillotson.
Gamboa, a senior goalkeeper from Brownsville, posted both shutouts in the conference tournament including a save on a penalty kick to secure the win over TC. He had four total saves in both matches.
Earlier in the week, both were named to the RRAC all-conference first team, and Benestad was named RRAC newcomer of the year.
Volleyball
Guerra, Gotay-Quinones earn conference awards
University of Texas at Brownsville and Texas Southmost College middle blocker Ana Guerra capped the regular season with the Red River Athletic Conference player of the week award, while teammate Gregner Gotay-Quinones was honored as the RRAC libero of the week.
Guerra, a freshman middle blocker from Sao Paulo, Brazil, averaged 3.5 kills per game in a 3-0 week for the Scorpions. She played sparingly in the first two matches but saved her best for a 3-1 win over No. 20 Oklahoma Baptist with 16 kills and 13 digs. For the week, she connected on 28 kills on 45 attempts with four errors and a hitting percentage of .553.
Gotay-Quinones, a sophomore defensive specialist from Naranito, P.R., scooped 41 digs for the Scorpions this week. She had 13 against both SAGU and Bacone College (Okla.) and a high of 15 against OBU. Gotay-Quinones committed only two receiving errors in 36 total attempts.
No. 2 UTB-TSC (32-1) enters the RRAC tournament as the top seed at 14-0 in conference.
Scorpions open RRAC tournament play Friday
No. 2 University of Texas at Brownsville and Texas Southmost College has two obstacles remaining in the Red River Athletic Conference championships Friday and Saturday before reaching one of its goals for the season.
The Scorpions (32-1) are the top seed iand play in the semifinals at 5 p.m. Friday against the winner of the game between fourth-seeded Southwestern Assemblies of God and fifth-seeded Texas Wesleyan. The other semifinal matches second-seeded Our Lady of the Lake against the winner of the game between third-seeded Wiley College and sixth-seeded Texas College.
The championship is scheduled at 2 p.m. Saturday.
UTB-TSC is the defending champion. The tournament champion advances to the NAIA national championships Nov. 30 through Dec. 4 in Sioux City, Iowa.
In 2009, the Scorpions advanced to the national tournament, where they were eliminated in the quarterfinals.
Seedings
1. UTB-TSC
2. Our Lady of the Lake
3. Wiley College
4. Southwestern Assemblies of God
5. Texas Wesleyan
6. Texas College
Tournament Schedule
Friday, Nov. 12
Match 1: No. 4 SAGU vs. No. 5 TWU, noon
Match 2: No. 3 WC vs. No. 6 TXC, 2:30 p.m.
Semifinal 1: No. 1 UTB vs. Winner Match 1, 5 p.m.
Semifinal 2: No. 2 OLLU vs. Winner Match 2, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, Nov. 13
Championship match, 2 p.m.
