Lily Campos races alongside other competitors at the Big 12 Championship in College Station, Texas. | Courtesy of UH Athletics

Houston cross country participated in the Big 12 Championship at the Cottonwood Creek golf course in Waco, Texas. UH men’s team placed 10th with a score of 297 and the women’s team finished 15th with a score of 391. 

Fifth-year Berry Cox and sophomore Aaron Crittenden led the way, placing 59th and 60th with times of 24:17.39 and  24:13.15, respectively. 

Freshman Caden Thurman was the third Cougar to cross the finish line for the men with a time of 24:45.33 in 75th place. 

Junior Miles Cox finished 81st overall at 25:00.50 and freshman Zade Kayyali was the final Cougar to score in 83rd place at 25:04.66.

The women’s top finishers were freshman Cadence Patterson who placed 72nd in 21:50 and freshman Emily Pharris who placed 92nd and finished in 22:23.27. 

This was the fourth consecutive meet in which Patterson finished in the top spot for the women’s team. 

The next Cougars to cross the finish line was freshman Lily Campos who placed 100th in 22:32.66 followed by freshman AnnClaire Cop at 22:39.54 to take 103rd. 

Freshman Madelyn Hunter was the last to score for Houston with her 106th-place finish at 22:45.22. 

While the Cougars faced tough competition at the Big 12 Championship, UH fought hard and continues to progress. 

Houston will now turn their focus to the NCAA South Central Championship in College Station on Friday, Nov. 15, where they will look to improve on their times and finish the season strong.

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“Cross country competes in Big 12 Championship” was originally posted on The Cougar

Senior midfielder Juliet Moore in NCAA college game, Sunday, Sept. 1 in San Marcos Texas. Moore recorded Houston’s first hat trick since 2016.| Courtesy of UH Athletics

Senior midfielder Juliet Moore completed the hat trick, the first for Houston soccer since 2016 and the eighth in program history in the Cougar’s win over Texas State on Sept. 1  in San Marcos.

The game was still a tough matchup for Houston and started with a stalemate with both teams playing great defense.  Then, on a fast break, sophomore midfielder Aryanna Jimison made a pass to split the defenders. Moore faked to get the Bobcats goalie out of the net, which set up an easy score to get the Cougars on the board in the first thirty-first minutes of play.

A short time later, the Cougars could set up downfield, where Moore had a great tap-in to give her the second goal of the night. The Cougars went into the half with a 2-0 lead.

The Bobcats came out hot in the second half with help from a free kick from sophomore midfielder Victoria Meza. Meza had a header to get it right past the Cougars goalie in the fifty-first minute of play.

The Bobcats got the ball on their side again taking on two defenders.  Junior forward Mady Soumare had beautiful dribbling to get the equalizer 2-2.

Freshman defender Kayla Smith found Moore for her first career assist and allowed Houston to take the lead in the 60th minute.

The Cougars have won the last three straight contests and are now 3-2-1. They will face UCF on Sept. 12 at 6:00 pm.

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“Houston soccer wins three straight, first hat trick since 2016” was originally posted on The Cougar

Senior Justin Murray earned recognition in his two seasons in Houston. | Raphael Fernandez/The Cougar

In the last matchup for the regular season, Cougar baseball took on the Oklahoma State Cowboys in a shortened series at Schroeder Park last Friday and Saturday.

Despite the severe storms that affected the Houston area, the Cougars were able to take the field and celebrate their thirteen seniors in the season finale. 

Game One 

The two teams started slow until the Cowboys ripped open the third inning with six runs to give them a comfortable lead. Houston answered back in the bottom of the inning with a two-run home run from senior utility Alex Lopez, his second home run of the season.

The Cowboys scored 10 runs in the sixth with two outs on the board to take a 17-2 lead. The Cougars scored one more run on an RBI single from senior utility Justin Murray.

The Cowboys added three more runs to extend their margin of victory and end the game 20-3.

Game Two 

The Cowboys got two runs off of their first hits in the top of the first inning. They later doubled their lead with a two-run shot by senior Nolan Schubart, giving the Cowboys a comfortable lead.

Senior catcher Anthony Tulimero crossed the plate for the Cougar’s first run of the day.

Despite their 9-2 loss, the Cougars set records as the defense turned three double plays, a season-high.

Senior infielder Harold Coll hit his 20th double to become the first Cougar since Jake Stewart in 2008 to record 20 in a single season.

Murray took the mound for the final time and struck out two batters in the ninth inning before an emotional exit with his fellow seniors. 

The Cougars finished 26-28 overall and 7-21 in conference play. Senior outfielder Cary Arbolida and Murray were named Second Team-All Big 12 and Freshman infielder Ace Reese took home All-Freshman Team honors.

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“Houston baseball wraps regular season, celebrates thirteen seniors” was originally posted on The Cougar

Sonya Kovalenko (left) and Sophie Schouten (right) helped clinch the Cougars’ double point against Prairie View A&M. | Oscar Herrera/The Cougar

UH tennis ended its 13-match skid in a win over Prairie View A&M Thursday before falling to UCF the following Saturday.

Match 1

UH faced Prairie View A&M on Thursday and got back into the win column at the Barbra Wallace Winston facility with a dominant 7-0 victory.

The Cougars took all three doubles matches on the day with senior Laura Slisane and junior Maria Dzemeshkevich taking their match 6-2. The sophomore duo Sonya Kovalenko and Sophie Schouten won the last match of doubles 6-2.

Schouten started things off in singles play and grabbed the first win of the day for the Cougars winning 6-1. Sophomore Gabriela Cortes also picked up a 6-1 win to continue UH’s domination on the day. Slisane made her debut on the singles court taking three sets to get the win.

Match 2

UH fell to the UCF Golden Knights at the Barbra Wallace Winston facility on Saturday in a close 4-2 loss.

Doubles started off hot for the Cougars when Schouten and Kovalenko earned a match win to help them win 6-4. On a different court while this game was going Slisane and Cortes were having a great match themselves securing more double points for the Cougars.

To start things off in singles play, freshman Nina Skoric had a nice match that ultimately turned into a tiebreaker and fell short. In a tough match, senior Blanca Cortijo Parreno had a great start winning the first set, but Parreno lost in extras after being tied 4-4. Cortes had a fierce match putting the Cougars back ahead after stealing a match for the Cougars.

UH moved to 2-14 on the year and will close its home schedule with matches against No. 1 Oklahoma State and Kansas State on April 5 and 7.

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“UH tennis ends 13-match losing streak in weekend split” was originally posted on The Cougar

UH golf finished second among Big 12 participants in the All-American Intercollegiate. | File art

UH golf completed action at the All-American Intercollegiate in Humble, Texas with a fifth-place finish led by senior Santiago De La Fuente’s third-place performance.

The Cougar’s first day on the course for the tournament went fair finishing in fifth place for the day for a tie with Texas State and just behind Texas Tech by one stroke. De La Fuente led the Cougars with a hot start as he holed three birdies in his first three holes.

Senior Nick Sutton had an amazing second round including three birdies in a seven-hole stretch to go up 18 spots in the leaderboard to end the day in 26th.

The Cougars stayed in fifth place when all was said and done on the final day, finishing second among the six Big 12 competitors behind tournament winner Texas Tech.

De La Fuente had the best day on the course for the Cougars as he climbed up eight spots on the leaderboard to finish third with a score of 208 on the tournament. He had four birdies and an eagle in his final round of play.

Redshirt junior Jacob Borow had a solid final day, shooting a one-under-par 71 to move himself up to a tie at 14th. Junior Laurenz Schiergen climbed up 18 spots himself to end up tying with teammate Bryant Hiskey and placing 65th.

Houston will next compete in the Valspar Collegiate in Florida on March 25-26.

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“De La Fuente leads UH golf to fifth place at All-American Intercollegiate” was originally posted on The Cougar

The Cougars looked dominant against Texas A&M Commerce over the weekend, going 3-0. | Oscar Herrera/The Cougar

The UH softball team went 3-0 in its weekend series against Texas A&M Commerce, rising to 15-5 on the season.

Game 1

The opening game between the Cougars and the Lions started off great for Houston.

UH started the weekend with a run-rule win in the fifth inning, scoring multiple runs in every inning but the second.

Junior outfielder Ja’naiya Thomas hit a home run in her first at-bat, later hitting a second one to help the Cougars expand their lead for the run rule.

Sophomore pitcher Tamya Waiters earned the win for the night, only allowing one run in her three innings on the mound.

Game 2

The Cougars took on A&M Commerce on Saturday in the second game of the series. 

UH took care of business, handily winning 22-4 in a swift five-inning game after scoring the second-most runs in program history.

The bats were on fire for the Cougars the entire game but they really erupted in the fourth inning, during which UH put up 12 runs. Houston tallied ten hits, two home-runs and three doubles in the inning.

Graduate pitcher Shelby Smith tossed a complete game for the Cougars allowing just two earned runs on the day.

Graduate outfielder Kennedy Thomas had an outstanding day at the plate with going 3 for 4 with three RBIs.

Game 3

The Cougars started off hot in the first and second innings of the final game of the series. UH earned a combined eight runs throughout the first two innings to take the early advantage. Graduate pitcher Shelby Smith performed well at the plate, scoring two RBIs off a double to get the rally going.

After the second inning the bats were not as hot but the defense was able to hold on for Houston.

UH had the opportunity to do more in the third but left the runners stranded. For the Lions hits were coming but A&M Commerce just couldn’t string them together, only having a pair of one-run innings en route to Houston taking the third game and getting their first three-game sweep of the year.

The Cougars will play McNeese State at their home in Lake Charles on Wednesday in a standalone matchup before an important weekend series against Texas.

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“UH softball dominates in three-game sweep against A&M Commerce” was originally posted on The Cougar

File photo

The UH women’s golf team finished strong in the final round at the Nexus Collegiate in Nassau, Bahamas which moved it into a tie for sixth place with Texas Tech.

UH tied with UTSA and the eventual winner Tulsa for the lowest score on the final day. Sophomore Natalie Saint Germain tied for 19th in the tournament, leading the team in the first and final rounds. Meanwhile, freshman Maelynn Kim led Houston tied for 15th in the tournament at six-over par.

Senior Nicole Abelar was close behind at seven-over for the event, while sophomore Moa Svedenskiold and freshman Ellen Yates both finished with scores of 229 at 13 strokes over par. Junior Hyeonji Kang, who competed as an individual, placed 25th in the event.

Houston will play in another tournament the Chevron Collegiate Feb. 26-27.

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“UH women’s golf places sixth at Nexus Collegiate” was originally posted on The Cougar