Tulane gets seventh baseball commitment
September 30, 2008
Tulane gets seventh baseball commitment - Tulane Beat - Times-Picayune - NOLA.com
Posted by Ted Lewis, Times-Picayune September 29, 2008 9:10PM
Categories: BaseballOutfielder Cody Robinson has become Tulane’s seventh baseball commitment, choosing the Green Wave after taking official visits to LSU and Rice last week.
“They’ve got great academics and great facilities,” said Robinson, a senior at Lamar Consolidated High School in Sugarland, Texas. “And they’re also a close-knit group of guys who have a tremendous shot to get back to Omaha.
“They also really get involved in the community, and that’s important to me. I want to do everything in my power to come in and contribute.”
Robinson hit .435 with 12 home runs and 52 RBI as a junior, earning both All-Metro Houston and Texas Class 4-A All-State honors.
He was on the Texas team in the Area Code Games played last month in Long Beach, Calif.
Robinson is on the Academic Honor Roll list at Lamar for students with at least a 3.30 GPA.
Robinson said he enjoyed his visits to LSU and Rice, but he felt more at home at Tulane.
“I made a better connection with the coaching staff,” he said. “LSU was fine, but I like the small community over the big community and Tulane had more of down home atmosphere.
“Tulane wasn’t just the place I needed to be; it was the place I needed to be.”
Tulane’s Anderson, Thevenot Pick Up Weekly All-Louisiana Football Honors
September 30, 2008
A pair of Tulane football players were named Player of the Week by the Louisiana Sports Writers Association after the Green Wave’s 34-27 win over SMU Thursday.
http://www.topix.com/ncaa/tulane/2008/09/t…
Tulane’s Anderson, Thevenot Pick Up Weekly All-Louisiana Football Honors
September 29, 2008
A pair of Tulane football players were named Player of the Week by the Louisiana Sports Writers Association after the Green Wave’s 34-27 win over SMU Thursday.
http://www.topix.com/ncaa/tulane-football/…
Eagles’ run defense ready for next test
September 29, 2008
Tonight in Chicago, rookie running back Matt Forte will try to crack an Eagles run defense that has stood up to three straight Pro Bowl players.
http://www.topix.com/ncaa/tulane/2008/09/e…
Composed Green Wave too much for Panthers
September 28, 2008
MORRIS TWP. — For two minutes in the first quarter, Delbarton appeared to be a very generous host of visiting Pequannock, even spotting the Panthers a brief lead.
http://www.topix.com/ncaa/tulane-football/…
Tulane: Post-Game Quotes
September 27, 2008
Tulane head coach Bob Toledo : “I’m very pleased we won the football game. I just told our team that we’re 1-0 in the Western Division right now and we control our own destiny.
http://www.topix.com/ncaa/tulane/2008/09/t…
Tulane: Post-Game Quotes
September 27, 2008
Tulane head coach Bob Toledo : “I’m very pleased we won the football game. I just told our team that we’re 1-0 in the Western Division right now and we control our own destiny.
http://www.topix.com/ncaa/tulane-football/…
Andre a giant for Tulane this season
September 26, 2008
Andre a giant for Tulane this season - On Sports with John DeShazier - Times-Picayune - NOLA.com
Posted by John DeShazier, The Times-Picayune September 26, 2008 10:30AM
Categories: Tulane
John DeShazierIt’d be absurd to suggest Tulane doesn’t miss Matt Forte. Regardless how good a team is or how well it plays, it’s going to have a pretty significant hole when a 2,000-yard rusher leaves the program.
But Andre Anderson isn’t a bad replacement. Not bad at all.
For the third consecutive game Anderson had at least 33 carries for the Green Wave. More impressive, he had 36 carries for 219 yards and a touchdown in a 34-27 victory over SMU on Thursday night, only five days after he had 38 carries for 157 yards and a touchdown in a win over Louisiana-Monroe.
Through four games, the totals are pretty impressive: 120 carries, 490 yards and four touchdowns for a 2-2 team that is determined to establish a physical identity on offense and has done that, and more, while dominating time of possession this season.
It’s a four-game stretch of iron man work (his light game was 13 carries for 32 yards against Alabama) that rivals the most voluminous four-game stretch of carries Forte posted last season, when he finished with 361. Against Army (Tulane’s opponent next Saturday), Alabama-Birmingham, SMU and Memphis last year, Forte put a combined 146 carries on the books.
That’s a lot of work in both cases and for Anderson, obviously, the load brings along with it the logical concerns.
Namely, it’s an exhausting, punishing pace for a player who had a total of 32 carries at Tulane prior to this season. His body will be one big bruise before long, if it isn’t already, if he keeps being handed the ball an average of 30 times per game. And there might not be enough bye weeks in the world to allow him to catch his breath if he maintains the 360-carry pace.
Not to say Anderson can’t do it, only that it might not be the best course of action to take for an entire season. Coach Bob Toledo likely will have to back off somewhere - either in practice during the week, or by giving Anderson’s backups a little more work in games - if Anderson is going to stay fresh and effective through 12 regular-season games.
A couple of blowouts would help, of course. Tulane only has played in close games (a 31-7 halftime lead against SMU became the final seven-point margin), so Anderson’s services have been needed. A coach is going to go with the players he trusts in the clutch and so far, Anderson has been as clutch as anyone for the Wave.
Army, 0-3 entering Saturday’s game against Texas A&M, could provide some relief. The Black Knights have lost by an average of 22 points per game and that number could escalate on Saturday. But then, SMU had been rolled over in its previous three losses by an average of 35 points before the Mustangs got it together in the second half against Tulane. And Army’s option offense has given Tulane fits on more than one occasion.
Anderson will give the Black Knights fits. He’ll probably run over and around the Black Knights the same way he has East Carolina, Louisiana-Monroe and SMU. For his sake, though, let’s hope he gets his work done early and the Green Wave takes, and maintains, a comfortable lead.
At some point Anderson likely is going to need some down time. It’ll be good for him, which means it’ll be good for Tulane, too.
Meanwhile, he’ll continue to establish his name this season. Maybe not in the fashion Forte did last season, when Forte finished second in the nation in rushing. But in a way that’s not bad so far.
Not bad at all.
Anderson’s 219 Rushing Yards Helps Lead Football Past SMU, 34-27
September 26, 2008
Kevin Moore throws for three touchdowns; Jeremy Williams hauls in six passes for 124 yards and two scoresSept. 25, 2008
Final Stats | Quotes | Notes | Photo Gallery
Tulane/SMU Game Book in PDF Format Get Acrobat Reader
NEW ORLEANS — Junior running back André Anderson ran for a career-best 219 yards and sophomore quarterback Kevin Moore posted the first three-touchdown performance of his career as the Tulane University football team defeated Conference USA foe SMU, 34-27, Thursday evening at the Louisiana Superdome.
The Green Wave scored 31 points in the first half courtesy of Moore’s three scoring strikes, an Anderson touchdown jaunt and a 32-yard field goal by junior Ross Thevenot to take a 24-point lead into the locker room at the break. In the second half, the Mustangs rallied for a pair of touchdown passes by Bo Levi Mitchell and two field goals by Thomas Morestead. The first-half advantage, however, proved to be the difference in the ballgame as Tulane evened its record at 2-2 overall and 1-1 in C-USA action. SMU, meanwhile, fell to 1-4 on the year and 0-2 in league play.
“I’m very pleased we won the football game,” Tulane head football coach Bob Toledo said. “I just told our team that we’re 1-0 in the Western Division right now and we control our own destiny. We share the lead at the top and that’s what we wanted to do. We wanted to win the football game.
“I’m very disappointed with the second half performance. I thought we got really sloppy…so I’m disappointed in the way we played in the second half, particularly with all the penalties we had. It shouldn’t have been that close of a football game and that’s the thing that’s disappointing. But again, we play this game to win and we won the football game.”
For the third consecutive week, Anderson was the Green Wave’s workhorse as he carried the ball 36 times and finished the day with 257 all-purpose yards - the seventh-most in Tulane single-game history - after hauling in four passes for another 38 yards through the air.
Ninety-three of his rushing yards came in the fist half on 17 carries, while Anderson galloped for another 126 yards after halftime. With Tulane clinging to a seven-point lead late in the ballgame, Anderson put the game away with a 40-yard run to give the Green Wave a first down, which allowed the team to run out the clock.
“That’s a Matt Forté kind of night,” Toledo said of Anderson’s performance against the Mustangs. “I’m pleased with his conditioning and his effort. He ran just as strong into the first quarter as he ran at the end of the game. That’s the thing I talk about with wearing people down and running the football. If you run the football, you wear them down and they’re getting tired in the second half.
“If we didn’t turn the ball over and have as many penalties as we had, then it would’ve been a lot different than what it was. And then again, when we run the ball like we, do it opens up the play-action passes. We hurt them really bad with deep play-action passes as their safety was coming up.”
Moore’s favorite target on the evening was junior wideout Jeremy Williams, who hauled in six passes for 124 yards and two touchdowns. Williams’ 51-yard touchdown reception two and a half minutes into the second quarter put Tulane on top 17-0, but SMU got on the board just over two minutes later when Mustang quarterback Mitchell found Aldrick Robinson streaking down the left sideline for a 45-yard scoring strike.
The Green Wave responded with a six-play, 71-yard drive on the ensuing possession with culminated on a one-yard touchdown plunge by Anderson, and Moore found Williams again - this time from 21 yards out - with 2:15 remaining in the first half to give Tulane a commanding 31-7 lead.
The second half, however, was a much different ballgame as SMU capitalized on a pair of Tulane turnovers to claw their way back into the ballgame. A fumble by freshman fullback Kasey Stelly on the opening possession of the third quarter led to a 25-yard Morestead field goal. Tulane had something going on its next drive, but SMU linebacker Justin Smart cut a route at the Mustang 10 yard line, and that led Morestead’s second field goal of the stanza.
SMU’s defense forced a Tulane punt, and the Mustang offense methodically moved 80 yards on six plays to cut the lead to 11 when Mitchell found Emmanuel Sanders from 18 yards out to make it a 31-20 ballgame. Tulane stretched the lead back to 14 on a 43-yard Thevenot field goal with 4:01 left in the game, but Levi connected with Terrance Wilkerson for a 13-yard touchdown pass less than two minutes later to account for the final score.
Tulane opened the scoring when Moore found sophomore wide receiver Alan Mitchell - who made his collegiate debut Thursday night against SMU - for a 23-yard touchdown pass 7:27 into the ballgame, and Thevenot made it a 10-0 ballgame with a 32-yard field goal less than eight minutes later.
Moore finished the night 19-of-24 for 254 yards passing. The Green Wave defense limited SMU to just 55 yards on 13 carries, and 34 of those yards came on a botched punt that Morestead turned into long gainer. Redshirt-freshman defensive back Dominque Dade and junior safety Corey Sonnier tied for the Tulane lead with four tackles each, while senior safety David Skehan and senior cornerback Josh Lumar both posted interceptions on the night. Skehan’s pick helped set up Tulane’s first touchdown, while Lumar’s interception helped thwart a fourth-quarter drive by SMU and helped set up Thevenot’s final scoring boot.
Mitchell led the Mustang attack with 256 yards and three scores on 21-of-44 passing with a pair of interceptions. Sanders led all players with nine receptions for 115 yards, while Robinson finished with four grabs for 106 yards through the air. Smart posted a game-best 12 tackles (seven solo, five assists), while Derrius Bell posted nine stops on the day.
The Green Wave return to action on Saturday, Oct. 4, when they celebrate Homecoming 2008 against Army at Tad Gormley Stadium. Kickoff for that ballgame is slated for 2 p.m. Tickets to the Tulane/Army matchup are on sale through the Tulane Athletics Ticket Office and can be picked up in person on the first floor of the James W. Wilson, Jr. Center, over the phone at 504-861-WAVE or via the internet at www.TulaneGreenWave.com.
Volleyball To Open C-USA Action Friday Against Houston
September 26, 2008
Green Wave look to live up to preseason billing as the favorite to win the league’s regular-season titleSept. 25, 2008
Coach Kritza’s Comments Following Wednesday’s Practice
NEW ORLEANS - Tabbed the preseason favorite to win the 2008 Conference USA championship by a vote a league coaches back in August, the Tulane University volleyball team will get their first opportunity to prove the prognosticators correct as the Green Wave play host to league foe Houston at 7 p.m. in Fogelman Arena.
The preseason distinction marks the first time the Green Wave have been picked to win the league’s regular-season crown, and Tulane has lived up to its billing in the non-conference portion of its schedule with an 8-4 record to date. The Wave have won their last six matches, including a five-set victory over then-No. 14 Middle Tennessee State on Sunday in Cincinnati.
“We’re excited, especially coming off our performance from last week,” Tulane head coach Liz Kritza said. “I think it was good for this team and their confidence level. One of the things that everyone talked about early on was being the preseason favorite to win the conference. We knew that during the preconference portion of our schedule, we had a lot of work to do. We went out and tested ourselves more than any other conference opponent. I think there is a level of confidence and a feeling that we need to go out and prove it every single day.
“In every conference match that we have, we need to prove that we deserve that No. 1 ranking. I think these kids understand that and I think that they are ready. I have seen good improvement in the last couple of weeks of practice and clearly in the last three matches. I think they are ready to defend their home floor this weekend against both Houston and Rice, and also to start establishing that we are the No. 1 team in Conference USA as well as the region.”
As a team, the Green Wave enter Friday’s C-USA opening match against Houston averaging 13.36 kills, 12.50 assists, 14.34 digs and 1.84 blocks per game. Senior outside hitter Sara Radosevic leads the squad with 3.43 kills per game, junior Jenn Miller paces the club with 3.76 digs per contest, and senior middle blocker Jen Linder headlines the team with 0.86 blocks per outing.
Tulane is hitting .209 (588-268-1533) on the young season while allowing opponents to attack at a .179 clip (513-247-1482). Green Wave opponents, meanwhile, are averaging 11.66 kills, 10.86 assists, 13.43 digs and 2.95 blocks per game so far in 2008.
“Over the last two weekends, I think (the team has) gotten a better sense of what this team is about and where we need to improve,” Kritza said. “They have also picked up the ability to just close out a game - to just be stubborn not to lose that last point and pick up big points when we need it. These kids have learned how to win in the last couple of weeks and they will need to rely on that.
“There are going to be times when we are playing and teams are coming after us, they just need to rely on the fact that if they push 100 percent, play hard and stay in system, then they are going to win. I think that confidence level that they have gained in the last few weeks will help them more than they will ever realize.”
Houston, meanwhile, comes to town 7-5 on the season and riding the high of a four-match winning streak, including a straight-sets win over Sam Houston State on Tuesday night at the UH Athletics/Alumni Center.
As a team, the Cougars are averaging 12.60 kills, 11.70 assists, 11.77 digs and 2.15 blocks per set. Justine Farmer paces Houston with 3.60 kills per set, Amanda Carson leads the club with 2.81 digs per set, and Erin Rice headlines the front-row defense with 1.17 blocks per stanza.
Houston is hitting .239 (592-243-1460) for the year while limiting opponents to a .204 clip (527-237-1419). Cougar opponents, meanwhile, are averaging 11.21 kills, 10.04 assists, 10.94 digs and 2.10 blocks per set.
“Houston has a strong tradition in Conference USA,” Kritza said. “They are right up there with anybody as far as tournament appearances go. (Cougar’s head coach) Bill Walton has been there for a while and has done a good job of building his program. You can always count on a Houston team to be able to play volleyball properly. He does a good job of training his players, and depending on the make-up of his team year in and year out, we match up differently against them.”
Friday’s match between Tulane and Houston marks the 28th meeting between the two teams, and the Cougars hold a commanding 22-5 advantage in the all-time series. Under Kritza, Tulane is 1-6 vs. Houston. Tulane won the last meeting between the two programs, 30-24, 30-15, 30-20, on Nov. 4, 2007, in Fogelman Arena.
“With any opponent, especially with Houston because of our history with them, we need to respect every opponent and take the attitude that this is the most important match of the season,” Kritza added. “In years past, Houston has done a good job of making our best offensive players carry a load and I fully expect them to do that again. I expect them to make Sara (Radosevic) handle the ball and I expect them to go after our freshmen on the court. We are preparing them for that. We just have to stay within our system and not rely on a single player or two to carry us through it. Our system is stronger than theirs and we need to stay within it.”
Following Tulane’s Conference USA opener against Houston, the Green Wave continue a two-match homestand on Sunday, Sept. 28, when they play host to league foe Rice at 1 p.m. in Fogelman Arena. From there, Tulane will hit the road for its next four matches as the Wave will play at Memphis, at UAB, at Tulsa and at SMU on Oct. 3, Oct. 5, Oct. 10 and Oct. 12, respectively.
For ticket information to this weekend’s matches, as well as future Green Wave Athletics competitions, contact the Tulane Athletics Ticket Office at 504-861-WAVE. Tickets can be purchased over the phone, via the internet at www.TulaneGreenWave.com, or in person on the first floor of the James W. Wilson, Jr., Center.
PRE-MATCH BLOCK PARTY: The Tulane University Department of Athletics will hold a block party in front of Fogelman Arena on Friday, Sept. 26, prior to the start of the Green Wave’s Conference USA-opening match against Houston. The block party will run from 5-7 p.m. and will feature a DJ and $1 drinks and popcorn. The $1 concessions will also be available in the arena during the match, and the first 500 students in attendance will receive a free t-shirt.