march 28, 2012
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volume68number23TRANSCRIPT
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Players from across the globe come to play for UTPA
the
Volume 68, No. 23 March 28, 2012
panamericanonline.com
This week’s video Peace and Coffee opens
to UTPA students
Page 10
Page 8
Broncs square off against Longhorns
Austin Bound
Page 4
Campus food choices expanding
Page 9
Valley rapper tries to break into the industry
Local Beats
School Lunch
UPROOTED
Film documenting struggles of local migrant student to make FESTIBA debut
Foreign Aces
There’s nothing like a roar-ing student section on the road, thousands of fans rooting for the underdog that they don’t know one thing about or storming the court after an upset that never should happened. That’s the NCAA Basketball Tournament.
And one thing that the UTPA basketball program has never experienced.
The biggest moment for each and every college basket-ball player is playing in the NCAA Tournament or as some like to call it, the Big Dance. If it’s not, well it should be. But thanks to the Great West Con-ference, which UTPA com-petes in, the Broncs won’t have that opportunity this season and possibly won’t for some time. There are 31 automatic-bids given to 32 NCAA Divi-sion I conferences and unfortu-nately, the Great West winner is the odd man out as the only D-I conference whose winner
doesn’t automatically qualify for the Dance. The National Invitational Tournament, Col-lege Basketball Invitational and Collegeinsider.com Postsea-son Tournament are the three other main tournaments that invite teams that don’t qualify to the NCAA but are a side note, if at all, compared to the Big Dance.
So yes, something is wrong. The basketball program hasn’t been in a stable conference since the 1991-98 period, when it re-sided in the Sun Belt, and hasn’t participated in postseason play since the 1981 NIT. You got to think that the Broncs are due, but what would be the point if our players can’t get invited to the dance even if they were to win the conference?
Maybe it’s not entirely the school’s fault because, ob-viously, the conference has to invite a university. But has the athletics department been do-
ing the best job in promoting itself? I know they recently went through changes and endured a facelift, but a deci-sion needs to be made. Ath-letic Director Chris King and staff have done a wonderful job so far during his tenure, but there is one more thing that the Broncs fans want and need. Either make up your mind in becoming a serious D-I program and trying to get into a “real conference” (which I think they are trying to do) or think about m
e TV screen that I’m root-ing for.
But hey, let’s look at the bright side. If the Broncs do in-deed win the GWC tournament this season, at least we get to watch them in the CollegeInsid-Postseason Tournament.
There’s nothing like a roar-ing student section on the road, thousands of fans rooting for the underdog that they don’t know one thing about or storming the court after an upset that never should happened. That’s the NCAA Basketball Tournament.
And one thing that the UTPA basketball program has never experienced.
The biggest moment for each and every college basket-ball player is playing in the NCAA Tournament or as some like to call it, the Big Dance. If it’s not, well it should be. But thanks to the Great West Con-ference, which UTPA com-petes in, the Broncs won’t have that opportunity this season and possibly won’t for some time. There are 31 automatic-bids given to 32 NCAA Divi-sion I conferences and unfortu-nately, the Great West winner is the odd man out as the only D-I conference whose winner
doesn’t automatically qualify for the Dance. The National Invitational Tournament, Col-lege Basketball Invitational and Collegeinsider.com Postsea-son Tournament are the three other main tournaments that invite teams that don’t qualify to the NCAA but are a side note, if at all, compared to the Big Dance.
So yes, something is wrong. The basketball program hasn’t been in a stable conference since the 1991-98 period, when it re-sided in the Sun Belt, and hasn’t participated in postseason play since the 1981 NIT. You got to think that the Broncs are due, but what would be the point if our players can’t get invited to the dance even if they were to win the conference?
Maybe it’s not entirely the school’s fault because, ob-viously, the conference has to invite a university. But has the athletics department been do-
ing the best job in promoting itself? I know they recently went through changes and endured a facelift, but a deci-sion needs to be made. Ath-letic Director Chris King and staff have done a wonderful job so far during his tenure, but there is one more thing that the Broncs fans want and need. Either make up your mind in becoming a serious D-I program and trying to get into a “real conference” (which I think they are trying to do) or think about moving back into Division II program status. Plain and simple.
I know I may not see the Broncs in the Big Dance while attending UTPA, but I’m sure the new regime will get things done and enter a stable auto-matic-bid conference in the near future. And hopefully one day I will be able to see my team in the NCAA Tournament instead of rooting for another program
A March without madness
opinion
Mike SaenzSports Editor
tweets
The Pan American accepts letters of 300 words or less from students, staff and faculty regarding recent newspaper content, campus concerns or current events. We cannot publish anonymous letters or submissions containing hate speech or gratuitous personal attacks. Please send all letters to
Francisco Rodriguez / The Pan American
The Pan American is the official student newspaper of The Univer-sity of Texas-Pan American. Views presented are those of the writ-ers and do not necessarily reflect those of the paper or university.
Letters to the Editor
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Co-Editors-in-ChiEf: Reynaldo Leal Nadia Tamez-Robledo nEws Editor: Karen Antonacci sports Editor: Michael SaenzArts & LifE Editor: Norma GonzalezphotogrAphy Editor: Ruben Gutierrez dEsign Editor: Erick Gonzalez MuLtiMEdiA Editor: Pamela Morales AdvisEr:Dr. Greg SelberAdMinistrAtivE AssoCiAtE: Anita Reyes AdvErtising MAnAgEr: Mariel CantuwEbMAstErs: Jose Villarreal Selvino Padilla
thE pAn AMEriCAn
Vol. 68, No. 23
2 March 28, 2012 editorial
New mobile device charging station at the Academic Services Building. Paid for with IT student fees. What do you think, #UTPA?
I used it & it sucked. It wouldn’t properly charge my iPhone bec the connection kept falling out.
Follow us on Twitter!
- @ThePanAmerican
ProductionNotes
Photo of the week
Ruben Gutierrez/The Pan American
Construction worker Gilbert Perez removes concrete from the old parking lot at the new UTPA Art Annex.
Like The Pan American Facebook page to view the “UTPA Frame of the Day.”
Thursday, March 1st6PM
Thursday, March 1stthrough Sunday,
March 4th
Don’t worry - you didn’t miss your Thursday classes. We are indeed printing on a Wednesday, and your report is not due until tomorrow.
A few hours after the ink of this newspaper stains your fingers, The Pan American’s staff will be on the road to the Texas Intercollegiate Press Association conference in Corpus Christi.
Trust us when we say that there’s no reason to be jealous. This annual conference takes us out of our already stressful routines and pits us against a few hundred other tired yet equally competitive college journalists.
TIPA is like “The Hunger Games” of the collegiate journalism world. And, yes, that is a thing. A couple dozen students are let loose during a staged event (or even just released out into the city), but only one will come back with a story, photo, video or design that gives
them the bragging rights as the best college reporter in Texas.
TIPA will have particular meaning for this crop of reporters, photographers and designers at The Pan American. The newspaper has undergone a dramatic redesign this semester, and our tender, newborn format will come under the scrutiny of peers and professors from across the state. Its success or failure will fall squarely on the shoulders of the second generation of The Pan American’s co-editors-in-chief, something virtually unheard of anywhere in journalism.
The inevitable pre-contest butterflies are accompanied by excitement and, above all, determination. We’re representing UTPA, we work hard, and we want to win, damn it.
- Nadia Tamez-RobledoCo-Editor-in-Chief
week 9
It has been less than a month since Mass Effect 3 was released. Bioware de-livered the final installment of the video game trilogy, attempting an open-ended story in which the important plot deci-sions relied solely on the player. The choices and consequences of your in-game actions forged your story, a branching-out storyline that was car-ried through all three games. The game choices questioned you about honor, politics, race, loyalty, friendship, love, what it means to have a soul, and what truly makes us human. They would determine the fate of the galaxy and would show what are you willing to do and to sacrifice to save it.
Being forced to confront these questions, to understand how they are presented and what they mean, among other things, taught me something very important about myself. It taught me what I be-lieve the place and the value of free will to be.
I was asked to live my deci-sions. I wasn’t just a spectator. I was forced to confront my own actions, and that forced upon me a level of intro-spection…
And then, the ending came out of nowhere...
And nothing we did throughout the series
had any real effect. It was nonsensical, il-logical, with no closure, and everything you know and hope for the universe is thrown out of the window. Remember I mentioned “open-ended” well it wasn’t. It was the same ending with a different color coating, the same disappointing ending.
Fans of the series, me included, were completely disappointed by it and were left with a bittersweet feeling of blissful disappointment: we still loved the series but absolutely hated the ending. After a couple of weeks of complaining, whin-ing, creating several movements against Bioware demanding a new ending, and raising money towards charity so the fans’ voices were heard, we just moved on. Some sooner than others, but eventually all of us had better things to do than to be fixated with an ending. What we learned that the journey was all that mattered in the end.
A couple of weeks back, my co-workers were surprised at how upset I was when we returned from the break. I’m usually quite jaded and don’t really care much about anything. The disappoint-ment was still lingering, and I was ready to write an insightful overview on the story-telling power that games like Mass Effect have and how they completely missed an opportunity with that ending. Then, time passed and, like I said, I moved on.
I was ready to recall my feelings to-wards the game to write my opinion this week, but reality had something else planned for me. On Sunday, my co-work-ers were in for a treat when I mumbled something along the lines of: “I’m more
upset about this than with Mass Effect 3 ending.”
Some dim-witted individual broke into my car and stole a borrowed camera and my passport with my student visa. I cannot understand, what would an igno-rant and uneducated numskull want with my passport? Last time I checked, cameras aren’t capable of removing that extra chro-mosome that you were born with, but then again, who am I to understand the ways of a parasite?
That is when you look back at what was upsetting you not long ago, and you realize you don’t have your priorities straight or that nothing bad really hap-pened. While good closure was taken away from me from a series I grew to love, nothing important was truly lost. What I learned and the countless hours of fun are stuck with me. When reality broke in, I was the only one responsible. I had to live with my decisions. I wasn’t a spectator at all, and I was forced to confront the ac-tions of a simpleton that wanted an easy buck.
But hell, this is all a learning experi-
ence. The journey is truly what mat-ters. I’ve learned as much from a game making me live the dilemma of choosing between what might as well be genocide and the utter subversion of an entire race’s free will as I did from a freeloader dumbass who stole my stuff. You may think it is a silly thing to be talking about or that I am reading way too much into this but, is it somehow beneath us to learn about ourselves from an interactive experience as much as we learn from real life?
I’m writing this as I look at the time and get ready to drop by the police station to get a copy of the police report. I still have a lot to fix about this mess and I’m on a deadline, but it will get done and I’ve learned from it. Like I’ve mentioned twice before in this opinion, the journey is truly what matters, and what is life with-out a few disappointments and struggles? And more importantly, who are you if you can’t learn from them?
@ThePanAmerican
@Thisismyoutlet
the pan americanMarch 28, 2012 Page 3
For more information or if special accommodations are needed, call (956) 665-7989.
The University of Texas-Pan American
i s p l e a s e d t o p r e s e n t
Dubbed “the most remarkable talk-show host on TV ever,” Larry King, the former host of CNN’s Larry King Live, the first worldwide phone-in TV talk show,
has been a mainstay in network broadcasting for over 50 years. After bidding farewell to the show in fall 2010, the Emmy Award-winning host
remains the man responsible for one of CNN’s highest-rated programs. King has done more than 50,000 interviews throughout his
half-century career in broadcasting.
Tuesday, April 3, 2012Former Host of CNN’s Larry King Live
LARRY KING
Doors will open at 7 p.m. for UTPA students,faculty and staff with a valid UTPA ID. No guests allowed. The general public may take available seats at 7:20 p.m.
View the program live at www.utpa.edu/live.FREE ADMISSION. SEATING IS LIMITED.
FINE ARTS AUDITORIUM, 7:30 p.m.
A new Dining Hall (fall 2013)
November 10, 2011 34 March 28, 2012 newsThe Office of
Student Engagement and Experiential Learning has appointed Christopher Keller of the English Department as interim faculty director of the Office of International Programs.
Valley Metro is now offering a new Route 13 schedule that includes a stop at the University eight times in one day. The company also allows users of the bus to bring bicycles along to mount on the Valley Metro bus racks.
“The True Cost of Coal,” an art exhibition, will take place Wednesday, March 28 at the UTPA International Trade and Technology Building’s International Room at 6:30 p.m. The exhibition, featuring artwork created by volunteer activist-artists, is meant to express their views about environmental damage caused by coal.
The National Student Speech Language Hearing Association will host an autism awareness event Monday, April 2 from noon to 1 p.m. in front of the Student Union. The event will feature a band, fundraising initiatives, and the artwork of autistic children who attend sessions at the UTPA speech clinic.
Broadcast legend Larry King will speak at the Fine Arts Auditorium April 3 for the finale of the Distinguished Speakers Series. The Distinguished Speakers Series is offering UTPA students the opportunity to meet Larry King; winners of an essay contest will get the honor. Entries must be typed and emailed to [email protected] by 5 p.m. Thursday, March 29.
newsbriefs
On screen, Adolf Hitler shakes with fury over UTPA’s new food expansion project.
In the viral video “Pan Am’s new restaurant,” which uses footage from the 2004 foreign film Downfall, Hitler rants an-grily in German with fabricated English subtitles explaining his rage about Poncho’s coming to the University. The video, which was uploaded to YouTube in February, has received over 5,000 views so far.
Off screen though, the cre-ator of the video, seanfrom-memo1, is more at ease with the news than the German dictator.
“I’m ecstatic Taco Poncho’s is coming,” he said in an email in-terview. “The video isn’t a good reflector of my views towards UTPA’s intentions for expand-ing, and I’m looking forward to giving them all my money.”
The arrival of Taco Poncho’s isn’t the only change taking ef-fect at UTPA.
The first hint of the many changes to come on campus is the relocation of the C-Store to a beige trailer between the Social Behavioral Sciences and Com-munication Arts and Sciences buildings. The C-Store, which sells snacks and school supplies, has moved outside while its for-mer spot in the Student Union is being repurposed to house the Taco Poncho’s.
“It’s fine. It’s a lot more open
and less crowded than the old location,” said Homero Garcia, a 24-year-old English major, about the C-Store’s temporary location. “It’s more convenient.”
Other changes coming to UTPA include the closing of the Student Union Food Court in the late spring to make room for a Chick-fil-A, Slice of Life Pizzeria and a Mein Bowl.
“We wanted to create some more variety for everyone,” said Letty Benavides, director of aux-
iliary services. The food service expan-
sion project is moving forward in phases. The first phase of the plan includes building a Jazzman’s Café in the Library for mid-May. In April, construction of a Sandella’s Flatbread Café for the Science Building and a Simply-To-Go kiosk for the En-gineering Building is planned.
However, seanfrommemo1 does admit to some dissatisfac-tion as to how the decision-mak-
ing process played out.“From what I understand,
they only had a small commit-tee of students decide,” he wrote. “Food is such an important com-ponent of a college student’s life-style that it would’ve made more sense to involve the entire campus in the decision-making process.”
According to Benavides, Sodexo did market research on which food options would work best for UTPA and performed a survey last spring.
Alli Guerra, an 18-year-old freshman dance major, antici-pates the new additions.
“It’s really great to have a diversity of food coming up,” the McAllen native said. “With the options we’re getting, it’ll be much easier for me, a vegetarian, to find something to eat.”
Union Updates - The Food Court will close in late spring to make room for a new Chick-fil-A, Slice of Life Pizzeria and Mein Bowl. Subconnection, Starbucks and a store will move to the Game Room area. The Game Room will move upstairs.
Science Building will have a new Sandella’s,
a flatbread and panini restaurant (mid-May)
Engineering Building will get a new Simply-To-Go Kiosk (end of April)
By Jose S. De Leon III The Pan American
Sodexo to offer new
dining options in UTPA
buildings
Other imprOvements arOund campus
Library will get a Jazzman’s Café and Bakery, plus a new patio on the north end (mid-May)
Slice of Life Pizzeria
Student Union
Theater
change of taste
Police BeatThe Pan American
Monday, March 26UT Police made contact
with a student in response to a criminal mischief report. The student stated that several campaign posters hanging throughout campus had been damaged with a black marker.
A student was arrested at Heritage Hall for possession of cocaine.
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November 10, 2011March 28, 2012news
Home is where the art is
new foundation - Victor Silva moves concrete pieces at the current Art Annex during renova-tions.
Ruben Gutierrez/The Pan American
5
Art majors can expect a longer commute when art classes are moved to the renovated Administration Academic Support Annex, known as the “art annex,” on South Closner Boulevard.
The current Fine Arts Complex is located in the southeast corner of campus, while the renovated one will require students to travel to the Closner location for classes in the fall. A commuter bus will operate all day between campus and the art annex, according to Susan Fitzsimmons, the chair of the Art Department.
Bob Simpson is a partner at Boultinghouse Simpson Architects, a firm based in McAllen that helped design the renovations for the art annex. He said the annex, scheduled for completion this summer, will be very different from the current Fine Arts Complex.
“I think (art students) are going to get a quality of education. It’s just that it’s a different setting, and they’re going to have to drive off
campus to get there or take a bus, shuttle, some way to get to the remote campus,” Simpson said. “When you leave campus you have less interaction with other departments on campus. Is that bad or good? I really can’t say. It’s different.”
The art annex housed art faculty and various departments. To begin renovations on the annex, UTPA moved these departments and faculty offices to the newly updated Haggar building on East Freddy Gonzalez Drive.
After a year in the works, the art annex is scheduled for completion at the end of July. The project is predicted to cost the University between $3.5 million and $3.8 million in total. According to Oscar Villarreal, director of Physical Plant, these funds are given to the University by the state for capital, permanent equipment or for construction expenses.
The initiative to consolidate the Art Department, which currently has classes in facilities throughout campus, came from President Robert Nelsen’s office, according to Marta Salinas-Hovar, assistant director of project planning and management.
“We’re moving the Art Department out of (the Fine Arts) area and giving them their own home at the annex,” said
Salinas-Hovar, who works as the project manager. “They’re going to have new space, more space, new furniture, some new equipment...I think it will just be a much better environment overall for them.”
Simpson said that the renovated art annex will be very different from fine arts buildings designed in the past.
“The existing buildings on campus were designed to have a lot of access to natural light,” Simpson said. “At the art annex, it is very difficult to put windows in, so the decision was made not to put windows and not to put a lot of natural light.”
Fitzsimmons believes that the art annex is a wonderful gift for UTPA.
“The new art department will have state of the art ventilation, equipment, and will be a drawing card for anyone interested in the arts,” Fitzsimmons said. “Change is frightening to some people, but courage is required if you are ever going to move ahead in life. We in the Art Department are moving and evolving.”
PERFORMING ARTS CENTERConstruction on the new
academic performing arts center is scheduled to begin some time in August, after the transition to the renovated art annex is complete.
The University currently has two annexes: the Administration Academic Support Annex and the Fine Arts Art Annex, commonly known to art students as the triangular building at the Fine Arts Complex where
ceramics and jewelry studios are located. The latter will be demolished, along with the current performing arts center, to make room for a new academic and performing arts center.
“The existing facility has a lot of challenges for ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) and some other physical facility challenges,” Villarreal said. “We ended up finding out that it would be a lot cheaper or more cost effective to demolish the existing building and reconstruct.”
The current performing arts center has a steeply inclined aisle that is no longer acceptable for ADA and for other accessibility purposes, according to Villarreal.
“The auditorium is grandfathered since it was built many years ago,” he explained. “All new renovations and/or improvements would require the entire facility to be brought up to date on all applicable building codes.”
The new Fine Arts Auditorium will cost an estimated $42.7 million to build, which will be funded mostly from Tuition Revenue Bonds (TRB). According to Villarreal, the University borrows this money from the
state and is required to pay it back over time.
“The existing building is only 25,000 square feet, and the new building is 60,000 square feet,” she said. “It’s going to be an overall enormous improvement for the music program and for the theater program, and for dance as well.”
By Daniella Diaz The Pan American
University Dr.
S. C
losn
er B
lvd.
Freddy Gonzalez Dr.
E. Canton Rd.
4th
St.
Art Annex
UTPA
UTPA
Art students to move to renovated annex for classes
annex location
THE PAN AMERICANTHE PAN AMERICAN March 28, 2012 March 28, 2012 Page 7Page 6
INTERNATIONAL BRONCSAndersen is from Halta, Sweden, and is a senior for the Broncs. She has played all her four seasons for Broncs, playing on the top positions in doubles and singles. She is also a mem-ber of the Betta Gamma Sigma international honor society, majoring in finance.
Singles record: 4 - 6 Doubles teammate: Suncica Strkic Doubles record: 2 - 8
WHAT DO YOU KNOW: During Anderson’s four years at UTPA, she became a big fan of spicy Mexican food and can eats as much salsa as humanly possible.
Malin AndersenHometown: Halta, Sweden
Prior to coming to UTPA, Niederstrasser played in different junior tournaments. He finished third in singles and second in doubles in the National Cuban Championships in Pinar del Rio in 2004 and was also a member of the Cuban Juniors National Team. Niederstrasser studies political science and history.
Beguilin, a sophomore majoring in finance, is playing in her second sea-son for the UTPA Broncs women’s tennis team. Beguilin is from Lyon, France, and prior to UTPA she played in several junior tournaments.
Job is a sophomore from Walhain, Belgium, majoring in management. Be-fore coming to UTPA, Job played several junior ITF tournaments and futures in Belgium, Denmark and Turkey. He also has a ranking of B-2-6 in the Belgian Open division.
Singles record: 5 - 5 Doubles teammate: Victor AlvesDoubles record: 4 - 4
WHAT DO YOU KNOW: Niederstrasser left his home in Cuba at age 18 and moved to the U.S. by himself.
Singles record: 5 - 5 Doubles teammate: Dana NazarovaDoubles record: 4 - 4
WHAT DO YOU KNOW: Beguilin’s younger sister, 17-year-old Victoria, also wants to play tennis and study in U.S.
Singles record: 4 - 7 Doubles teammate: Ricardo HopkerDoubles record: 4 - 6
WHAT DO YOU KNOW: Job is very good at soccer and has been play-ing for 10 years.
Rolf Niederstrasser
Wanda Beguilin
Sebastien Job
Hometown: Berlin, Germany
Hometown: Lyon, France
Hometown: Walhain, Belgium
Hopker is from Curitiba, which is the capital of the Brazilian state of Paraná. He is a sophomore majoring in mechanical engineering. He is playing in his second sea-son for UTPA, and currently has a winning record (8-6) in singles playing mostly on #2 position.
Singles record: 6 - 5 Doubles teammate: Rolf NiederstrasserDoubles record: 4 - 5
WHAT DO YOU KNOW: Hopker says that even though he’s is from Brazil, he is not a good dancer, as people usually think.
Hometown: Curtiba, Brazil
Garcia is in her second year play-ing for the UTPA Broncs. Prior to the Broncs, Garcia was playing junior tournaments and practicing at tennis academies in Argentina. Her home-town is Victoria, Mexico, and one of the reasons she came to U.S. is to be closer to her family and friends.
Singles record: 1 - 10Doubles teammate: Cindy SandsDoubles record: 1 - 9
WHAT DO YOU KNOW: Garcia really enjoys art and loves painting.
Blanca GarciaHometown: CD. Victoria, Mexico
Ricardo Hopker
Suncica Strkic, whose nickname is Sunny, is in her second year playing for UTPA. Strkic is from Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina. She is one of the three seniors playing for the Broncs women’s tennis team.
Singles record: 2 - 8 Doubles teammate: Malin Anderson Doubles record: 2 - 8
WHAT DO YOU KNOW: Strkic loves to watch soap operas and enjoys cooking her favor-ite Bosnian meals during her free time.
Suncica StrkicHometown: Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Panditi is a transfer student from Hyderabad, India. Prior to UTPA he was attending Bhavan’s Junior College in Hyder-abad, Adhra Pradesh. He has played several junior ITF tour-naments and earned a Top-10 ranking in the under-16 league.
Singles record: 6 - 7 Doubles teammate: Beau BernsteinDoubles record: 6 - 5
WHAT DO YOU KNOW: One of the reasons Panditi trans-ferred to UTPA is that he knew former player UTPA tennis player, Aswin Vijayaragavan, who is now playing professionally.
Chetan PanditiHometown: Hyderabad, India
Alves is from the largest city in Brazil and in the southern hemisphere, Sao Paolo. He came to U.S., specifically to UTPA, to be able to play tennis and study at the same time. It is his second season playing for the UTPA Broncs tennis team. Alves is majoring in marketing with a minor in communication.
Singles record: 5 - 2 Doubles teammate: Rolf NiederstrasserDoubles record: 4 - 4
WHAT DO YOU KNOW: Alves plays guitar and loves to surf and play soccer when he’s not competing for the Broncs
Victor AlvesHometown: Sao Paolo, Brazil
Nazarova is a transfer student from California State University, Sacramento and is majoring in political science and history. She is also a Guerra Honors Program student. Nazarova is from Nalchik, Russia, and is in her second season for the UTPA Broncs. During her sophomore year she was named to the Great West Conference first-team. Nazarova is also the captain of the team and one of the three other seniors on the team.
Singles record: 2 - 9 Doubles teammate: Wanda Beguelin Doubles record: 2 - 8
WHAT DO YOU KNOW: Nazarova is a big fan of yoga and is a certified instructor in triyoga.
Dana NazarovaHometown: Nalchik, Russia
The UTPA Bronc tennis teams have not shied away from recruiting internationally; if anything they have em-braced the challenge. The men’s team has six out of eight active players who are originally from another coun-try. The women, similarly, carry five international players out of six active athletes. Combined, both teams have players from 9 different countries - Sweden, France, Mexico, Russia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Belgium, Germany, and India.
THE PAN AMERICANTHE PAN AMERICAN March 28, 2012 March 28, 2012 Page 7Page 6
INTERNATIONAL BRONCSAndersen is from Halta, Sweden, and is a senior for the Broncs. She has played all her four seasons for Broncs, playing on the top positions in doubles and singles. She is also a mem-ber of the Betta Gamma Sigma international honor society, majoring in finance.
Singles record: 4 - 6 Doubles teammate: Suncica Strkic Doubles record: 2 - 8
WHAT DO YOU KNOW: During Anderson’s four years at UTPA, she became a big fan of spicy Mexican food and can eats as much salsa as humanly possible.
Malin AndersenHometown: Halta, Sweden
Prior to coming to UTPA, Niederstrasser played in different junior tournaments. He finished third in singles and second in doubles in the National Cuban Championships in Pinar del Rio in 2004 and was also a member of the Cuban Juniors National Team. Niederstrasser studies political science and history.
Beguilin, a sophomore majoring in finance, is playing in her second sea-son for the UTPA Broncs women’s tennis team. Beguilin is from Lyon, France, and prior to UTPA she played in several junior tournaments.
Job is a sophomore from Walhain, Belgium, majoring in management. Be-fore coming to UTPA, Job played several junior ITF tournaments and futures in Belgium, Denmark and Turkey. He also has a ranking of B-2-6 in the Belgian Open division.
Singles record: 5 - 5 Doubles teammate: Victor AlvesDoubles record: 4 - 4
WHAT DO YOU KNOW: Niederstrasser left his home in Cuba at age 18 and moved to the U.S. by himself.
Singles record: 5 - 5 Doubles teammate: Dana NazarovaDoubles record: 4 - 4
WHAT DO YOU KNOW: Beguilin’s younger sister, 17-year-old Victoria, also wants to play tennis and study in U.S.
Singles record: 4 - 7 Doubles teammate: Ricardo HopkerDoubles record: 4 - 6
WHAT DO YOU KNOW: Job is very good at soccer and has been play-ing for 10 years.
Rolf Niederstrasser
Wanda Beguilin
Sebastien Job
Hometown: Berlin, Germany
Hometown: Lyon, France
Hometown: Walhain, Belgium
Hopker is from Curitiba, which is the capital of the Brazilian state of Paraná. He is a sophomore majoring in mechanical engineering. He is playing in his second sea-son for UTPA, and currently has a winning record (8-6) in singles playing mostly on #2 position.
Singles record: 6 - 5 Doubles teammate: Rolf NiederstrasserDoubles record: 4 - 5
WHAT DO YOU KNOW: Hopker says that even though he’s is from Brazil, he is not a good dancer, as people usually think.
Hometown: Curtiba, Brazil
Garcia is in her second year play-ing for the UTPA Broncs. Prior to the Broncs, Garcia was playing junior tournaments and practicing at tennis academies in Argentina. Her home-town is Victoria, Mexico, and one of the reasons she came to U.S. is to be closer to her family and friends.
Singles record: 1 - 10Doubles teammate: Cindy SandsDoubles record: 1 - 9
WHAT DO YOU KNOW: Garcia really enjoys art and loves painting.
Blanca GarciaHometown: CD. Victoria, Mexico
Ricardo Hopker
Suncica Strkic, whose nickname is Sunny, is in her second year playing for UTPA. Strkic is from Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina. She is one of the three seniors playing for the Broncs women’s tennis team.
Singles record: 2 - 8 Doubles teammate: Malin Anderson Doubles record: 2 - 8
WHAT DO YOU KNOW: Strkic loves to watch soap operas and enjoys cooking her favor-ite Bosnian meals during her free time.
Suncica StrkicHometown: Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Panditi is a transfer student from Hyderabad, India. Prior to UTPA he was attending Bhavan’s Junior College in Hyder-abad, Adhra Pradesh. He has played several junior ITF tour-naments and earned a Top-10 ranking in the under-16 league.
Singles record: 6 - 7 Doubles teammate: Beau BernsteinDoubles record: 6 - 5
WHAT DO YOU KNOW: One of the reasons Panditi trans-ferred to UTPA is that he knew former player UTPA tennis player, Aswin Vijayaragavan, who is now playing professionally.
Chetan PanditiHometown: Hyderabad, India
Alves is from the largest city in Brazil and in the southern hemisphere, Sao Paolo. He came to U.S., specifically to UTPA, to be able to play tennis and study at the same time. It is his second season playing for the UTPA Broncs tennis team. Alves is majoring in marketing with a minor in communication.
Singles record: 5 - 2 Doubles teammate: Rolf NiederstrasserDoubles record: 4 - 4
WHAT DO YOU KNOW: Alves plays guitar and loves to surf and play soccer when he’s not competing for the Broncs
Victor AlvesHometown: Sao Paolo, Brazil
Nazarova is a transfer student from California State University, Sacramento and is majoring in political science and history. She is also a Guerra Honors Program student. Nazarova is from Nalchik, Russia, and is in her second season for the UTPA Broncs. During her sophomore year she was named to the Great West Conference first-team. Nazarova is also the captain of the team and one of the three other seniors on the team.
Singles record: 2 - 9 Doubles teammate: Wanda Beguelin Doubles record: 2 - 8
WHAT DO YOU KNOW: Nazarova is a big fan of yoga and is a certified instructor in triyoga.
Dana NazarovaHometown: Nalchik, Russia
The UTPA Bronc tennis teams have not shied away from recruiting internationally; if anything they have em-braced the challenge. The men’s team has six out of eight active players who are originally from another coun-try. The women, similarly, carry five international players out of six active athletes. Combined, both teams have players from 9 different countries - Sweden, France, Mexico, Russia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Belgium, Germany, and India.
8 March 28, 2012 arts & life
BRACEROS UTPA hosts Smithsonian migrant worker exhibit
UTPA’s Mexican American Studies (MAS) program brought the Smithsonian National Museum of American History exhibit “Bittersweet Harvest: The Bracero Program 1942-1964” to the Visitor’s Center. It opened to the public on Feb. 18.
The braceros were migrant workers from Mexico sent to the United States to work on farms through labor contracts between the two governments. The “Bittersweet” exhibit, on campus through April 29, depicts the opportunity and hardships that this program presented to young Mexican nationals who took part. Around 4.5 million people
were part of the program over the course of 22 years.
“At the core, bringing the bracero exhibit to campus was about honoring the braceros, acknowledging their valuable contributions, and making people aware of this important and hidden part of U.S. history,” said Stephanie Alvarez, director of the MAS program.
Alvarez, assistant professor of modern languages, first learned of the travelling exhibit two and a half years ago. With funding help from the College of Arts and Humanities and UTPA alum Chuy Ramirez, a former migrant farm-worker, Alvarez was able to reserve it for the University.
The bilingual exhibit focuses on pictures, first-person accounts, and letters from the braceros to their families. Along
with the depictions of their new social lives in the United States, “Bittersweet” portrays the bigotry, governmental restrictions, unsanitary living conditions, and poor wages the braceros endured.
From mandatory health screenings to being sprayed with pesticides, the braceros faced many obstacles and had to be cleared before they could be offered a contract. After that, they were put on a cattle bus and shipped off to either find opportunity or be exploited.
“I believe bringing the bracero exhibit to the University of Texas-Pan American is a great way to teach not only students, but the public who comes and sees it, about an important part of history that unfortunately has been hidden for many years,” said
Belinda Lopez, a MAS graduate student.
Alvarez explains that the exhibit has opened up many doors in the Valley such as a likely publication of the bracero stories, a documentary, a car show, and a public mural in San Juan.
Francisco Guajardo, associate professor of educational leadership in the College of Education, is working with Alvarez on a bracero oral history project that will become a book, and a Bracero Symposium April 20 and 21 where living participants will be honored.
“I think UTPA has a responsibility to acknowledge the stories, lives, and history of Mexican-Americans, especially those stories that are often not told,” Alvarez said.
By Christian Ritter and Lea Victoria JuarezThe Pan American
Perla Sanchez remembers that middle school day when she and several students were taken from their classrooms to meet with filmmaker U. Roberto Romano, who was looking for migrant students to profile for an upcoming documentary.
No one wanted to speak. Instead they all just looked down as the director attempted to coax the group into a conversation. Sanchez
was the first to open up.Like many other migrant
workers, she wasn’t used to being asked about what she did in the fields, but suddenly there was someone interested.
“At first it was scary, but exciting at the same time,” she said. “Finally someone was paying attention. It’s one of the best things that could happen to me - to be recognized.
As far back as she can remember 18-year-old Sanchez has been a migrant worker. Packing up the family truck and traveling to Ohio, Mississippi, Alabama and Indiana to pick crops in fields for 14 hours a day is her reality.
The Harvest, a documentary following migrant students and their families, will premier
on campus Wednesday at the Student Union Theater from 6 to 8 p.m., not only as part of FESTIBA, but to celebrate National Farmworker Awareness Week.
“I would hope they [the migrant students] would feel empowered,” Romano said. “People who don’t know become educated.”
Many other children share a similar story to Sanchez’s, working long days surrounded by dangerous tools and harsh conditions. According to Student Action with Farmworkers, farm work is the third most dangerous job in the United States due to unsafe working conditions.
“For a long time I’ve been involved in children’s rights, and human rights,” said Romano, who is an award-winning human rights educator, filmmaker and photographer.
Originally, he started with about 50 students to interview for the documentary. But due to schedule conflicts and lack of time, he decided to focus only on three students: Sanchez, a Weslaco native; Zulema Lopez of Laredo; and Victor Huapilla of Florida.
“A documentary could only really follow three stories,” Romano said. “These stories work well together and stand
alone. It’s a great way to show children in agriculture.”
Even then, not all the subjects were as cooperative as the film crew would have wished.
“With Perla you see a lot of anger because she’s been through a lot of discrimination,” said Noemi Ochoa, Texas Coordinator for Children in
the Fields Campaign, who was instrumental in bringing the documentary to the University. “With Zulema, you see a lot of rebellion.”
Although at the time of the documentary Sanchez was described as angry, she feels she’s grown out of that mentality.
“I was smaller and I didn’t understand,” Sanchez explained. “It’s not something you should be ashamed of. You don’t want to be any less. People would stare and be like, ‘Look what they’re doing.’”
According to Ochoa,
Lopez’s attitude on set didn’t help at all when it came to keeping to schedule; at times she would even lock herself up, not wanting to cooperate.
Mother Nature also had a hand in holding up what should have been a year-long project. Bad weather, like floods and droughts, plagued the United States.
“The [migrant workers] are moved by weather,” Romano said. “They often don’t know where they’re going to end up, they just follow work.”
All of these bumps on the road wouldn’t stop the documentary from being made.
According to Ochoa, a discrepancy in the Fair Labor Standards Act is a double-edged sword. The Act sets 12 as the minimum age for farm work, not 16 as in other jobs.
“I once saw a child young as 9... it was quite a revelation,” Romano said. “Normally, we
think of child labor, we think of India, Pakistan, Brazil. We think of other continents. We think of developing [countries].”
Ochoa refers to migrants as the Invisible Students, moving from city to city, school to school to continue working while many people don’t even notice them.
Sanchez recalls many experiences with school teachers who didn’t seem to care about migrant students. Teachers knew they would have to start school late in the semester and leave early.
“I never thought about leaving school,” Sanchez said. “It’s hard to adapt. Only learning what they want you to learn. Only teaching what they want to teach.”
Martha Cantu, UTPA alum and now the University’s vice president of student affairs, will conduct the welcome speech, Sanchez will be the keynote speaker, and Lopez, one of the three featured subjects, has been invited to attend. Huapilla is unable to attend due to the distance.
“These people who take off deserve a sense of grace,” Romano said in regards to migrant workers. “When we sit at a table and say grace, we need to respect them. They need to be seen as humans.”
By Norma GonzalezThe Pan American
The Harvest Documentary hopes to bring awareness
to campus
driven - Perla Sanchez, one of the three migrant students featured in The Harvest, dreams of becoming a lawyer to help others like herself.
Norma Gonzalez/The Pan American
Exhibit runs from Feb. 18 - April 29Location: Visitors Center at UTPAFree admission
Monday - Thursday 7:30 a.m - 6 p.m.
Friday 7:30 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Saturday 8 a.m. - 2 p.m.
When we sit at a table and say grace, we need to respect them. They need to be seen as
humans.- U. Roberto Romano
Filmmaker
9March 28, 2012arts & life
Mariachi Competition and Concert
600 students will compete in Middle School and High School Mariachi Competition. Evening concerts will feature the Mariachi Sol de Mexico, the UTPA Maria-chi Aztlán, and the winners of the middle and high school competi-tions. Location: Fine Arts AuditoriumCompetition Time: 9 - 2 p.m. ($5.00 admission)Concert Time: 6:30 p.m. ($10.00 ad-mission)
Open Easel IIThis will be the second year in
which the Art Department is pro-moting the academic fair/art walk Open Easel. Location: Fine Arts Area Time: 9 a.m. - 2 p.m.
Korean Film Festival: Poetry Directed by Chang-dong Lee
This event will feature two Ko-rean films in order to address the specific issues of literacy and jus-tice in Korean context. Location: Student Union TheaterTime: 1 p.m. - 3:30 p.m.
By Lea Victoria JuarezThe Pan American
“Seeing Red Johns: A Look at the Media Obsession with Sadistic Serial Offenders”
Student projects will examine the fascination with the serial of-fender as presented in modern and classic literature.Location: COAS 255Time: 5:45 p.m. - 7 p.m.
Global Lens Showing of “Opera Jawa”
A Japanese classical musical directed by Garin Nugroho in-spired by the “The Abduction of Sita” episode from the Ramayana.Location: Library AuditoriumTime: 7 p.m. - 9 p.m.
Saturday, March 31
Friday, March 30
Festival of Books and Arts at UTPA
jeremiah jay:
March 26-31All week
“Bittersweet Harvest” Exhibit
Charles and Dorothy Clark Gallery Photography exhibit
Fine Arts Gallery MFA exhibit
FESTIBA Events CalendarFor full FESTIBA calendar visit utpa.edu/festiba
local hip-hop artist on the rise
Life used to be ordinary for 16-year-old Jeremiah Dray Cail. As an athlete at Donna High School and honors student, Cail was just a regular teenager, until about six months ago when ev-erything changed and he became the hip-hop artist known as Jer-emiah Jay.
Cail’s relationship with mu-sic began at an early age. Grow-ing up, he played with toy key-boards, formed musical groups with his friends, and even learned how to play the drums. But he didn’t get serious about a career in music until a few months ago.
“I’ve always loved music and had a passion for it, but I knew I could take it to another level,” Cail said. “I bought a couple of recording instruments and start-
ed recording myself, but I knew it wasn’t the best quality. So, I went into a studio and they were like, ‘You have potential.’”
In February, Cail released the music video to his debut single titled “Any Flow,” which received more than 17,000 views on You-Tube. Since that release, he’s per-formed at SPI JAMS 2012 at the South Padre Island Convention Center and was featured in the February 2012 issue of Contem-po Magazine.
Even though the whispers of “Jeremiah Jay” have spread and a fan base has developed, he hasn’t allowed the newfound fame to go to his head.
“I try to make it as casual as I possibly can,” he said. “I just want to stay humble and give everyone good music, but when stuff like that happens it makes me feel good inside.”
Though he has drawn inspi-ration from hip-hop artist Big Sean, Cail’s material is original as are the beats behind the lyr-ics. Manager Rebecca Bermea-Peña believes that the Mid-Valley youth is an artist to lookout for.
“I see someone that has a lot of heart and determination, someone that is not going to stop until he reaches his goal or gets as close to it as he possibly can,” she said. “And I think that’s the motivation behind his spirit.”
In an industry that is known to be cut-throat, a new artist try-ing to make it on the music scene can get discouraged. In spite of doubters, Cail looks to friends and extended family for support.
“Nobody ever actually thought that he would go through with it, but he’s actu-ally really doing it. It’s amaz-ing,” school friend Kevin Torres
said. “I’m with him 110 percent. Whatever he needs, I’ll be here.”
In May, Cail will travel to Houston to meet with DJ KD from Sirius Satellite radio and other industry players from me-dia outlets such as Black Enter-tainment Television (BET). He will also compete in San Anto-nio’s b-boy competition Shut Up and Dance.
His career may only be be-ginning, but Cail has high hopes for the future and intends to do everything he possibly can to at-tain his goal.
“I give 100 percent in every-thing I do, and I’m not going to stop no matter what,” Cail said. “My ultimate goal is to be at the top one day and to be (known world wide), and I can walk out somewhere and they’ll be like, ‘Whoa, that’s Jeremiah Jay.’”
By Lea Victoria JuarezThe Pan American
The sixth annual Festival of In-ternational Books and Arts (FES-TIBA) kicked off on March 24.
With over 60 events lined up for the week, FESTIBA offers a va-riety of workshops, conferences and culturally enriching events for both the public and the University community.
FESTIBA was created to pro-mote reading and celebrate the arts and humanities. This year’s theme, “Literacy and Justice for All,” is meant to highlight the im-portance of literacy in the Hispan-ic community.
“Harry Potter’s World: Renaissance Science, Magic, and Medicine”
The magic in the Harry Potter books is partially based on Re-naissance traditions including al-chemy, astrology, and natural phi-losophy. The seven-part series examines important ethical top-ics such as the desire for knowl-edge, the effects of prejudice, and the responsibility that comes with power. Location: UTPA Library, First Floor, Art Gallery
Wednesday, March 28
There were two well-known programs scheduled on the UTPA Broncs baseball calendar this year: the Texas A&M Aggies and the Texas Longhorns. The Broncs al-ready clipped the Aggies by splitting a two-game series on March 4 in College Station 5-2.
One down, one to go. The Broncs have come
dangerously close to upsetting the Longhorns the past two years, falling 4-2 last year in Austin and 3-2 the year be-fore.
“I thought UTPA had a good game plan,” Longhorns coach Augie Garrido told The Monitor after last year’s meet-ing. “I’d like to compliment their coach on what a great job he’s done. Their pitcher threw great, they didn’t give us any extra bases, and they didn’t make any errors. I thought overall they did a great job.”
The Broncs will need to play error-free baseball if they want to compete against the likes of Texas. The Longhorns are the winningest NCAA Division I college baseball program with a win percent-age of .740. The burnt orange also rank second in all-time number of total wins with 3,246 and have won a total of six NCAA baseball national championships.
The highly-anticipated matchup between the Broncs and the Longhorns tonight in Austin will come at the end of a six-game road trip, which started with UTPA being swept by New Mexico State in a four-game series over the weekend.
The Longhorns have struggled a little to start the season thus far, as they own a 13-9 record. The Broncs have also recently struggled after beating the Aggies; however, Guadalupe Barrera, the pro-jected starting pitcher against the Longhorns, thinks this is
the year they pull off the up-set.
“We gotta stay focused,” said Barrera, who played high school ball at La Joya. “We have to stay confident. The last few years we’ve had chances. This year, the way the team plays together, I be-lieve we can come out strong and come out on the high end of the game.”
Barrera looks to stay hot against the Horns, ranked No. 19 in the nation. He hasn’t allowed a run in five of his 12 appearances. The Broncs are 2-5 away from Edinburg so far this season, a statistic that the program has been desperately trying to change after going 6-22 last year on the road. UTPA has allowed 68 runs in seven games away from Edinburg this season including surrendering dou-ble-digit runs in three out of the four contests against New Mexico.
The Broncs take on the Longhorns tonight at 6 p.m.
Inexperience has plagued the men’s tennis team this season, with one exception: Beau Bernstein.
Bernstein overcame many changes following his junior season: a new doubles partner after Aswin Vijayaragavan’s eligibility expired and a new coach after Chris Taylor’s contract wasn’t renewed just to name a couple. Not to mention the frustration that came with learning he would be playing for a third new coach during his career at UTPA.
Instead of pouting and looking to transfer like most tennis aces would, the senior from Sugar Land, Texas, has embraced this opportunity with new coach Paul Goode by going 10-4 in his singles matches and leading the team to a 7-6 overall record. He even attributes some of the team’s recent success to
the rigorous work ethic that Goode has brought from Lees-McRae.
“Coach Goode has really turned this team around and made us into a conference contender,” he said. “Coach's philosophy has been to outwork the competition, and that is exactly what we have done. I highly doubt anyone practices, runs, or trains as much as we do. Getting used to the workload was one of I feel that we operate on a new level after adapting to it.”
After perhaps one of the most demanding road trips of his career - seven road matches in seven days - Bernstein and the Broncs are looking forward to the opportunity to close the season at home. UTPA has four matches remaining, all of which will be at the Orville Cox Tennis Center. The Broncs (1-1 SLC, 7-6 overall) have played only one match at home this
season and hope to take full advantage of a little home cooking the rest of the way.
“It feels great and our courts have a unique feel,” Bernstein said about the upcoming homestand. “The ball plays very fast, and I think any match at home is a big advantage for us. Everything is easier at home. You know the courts, the conditions, and getting to sleep in your own bed is a plus too.”
Bernstein knows he has at least five games left in a Broncs uniform, perhaps more if they can qualify for the Southland Conference Tournament at the end of the year. Even then, he is keeping his goals in perspective and looks to continue practicing the team-first mindset that he has maintained during his four years for UTPA.
Being a senior and part of an unstable program can easily bring frustration, and
happens many times, but Bernstein continues to keep team goals at the forefront of his near future. That leaves little to no room for personal accolades.
“The only personal goals I have are to be there to get the win when my team needs me the most,” the senior said. “During the match with Nicholls State, I posted the first win to get our team back into the match. I felt that, with that point, the team saw that we can win in any situation, and that's all I can hope to do.”
The Broncs continue the five game season-closing homestand Sunday, April 1 against the second-ranked Laredo Community College at the Orville Cox Tennis Center at 2 p.m.
10 March 28, 2012 sports
By Jonathan Salinas The Pan American
By Michael Saenz The Pan American
Texas Clash
Home stretch
upset city - Junior Guadalupe Barrera pitches in the second game of a doubleheader victory against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi March 20.
Ace - Senior Beau Bernstein serves during his singles match against the University of Maryland Baltimore County March 23.
Adrian Castillo/The Pan American
Ruben Gutierrez/The Pan American
Broncs ready to take on the No. 19 'Horns
Bernstein, Broncs look to finish
Victor Lopez cLassic
The UTPA track and field team continued its outdoor season by competing in the 30th annual Victor Lopez Classic hosted by Rice University at Holloway Field/Ley Track on March 24. McAllen product Andrew Lopez placed second in the 800-meter run by posting a time of 1:50.68, less than a second behind first-place winner Chris Bilbrew. The Broncs men’s team also had six other top-10 performances in addition to Lopez. Mission native Jesus Alvarez (15.72m, 51.57ft) and Joseph Medrano (14.62m, 47.97ft) placed sixth and ninth respectively in the shot put, while
Joseph Sciaraffa placed eighth with a throw of 50.37m (165.25ft) in the Javelin throw. In the triple jump Alejandro Trevino (14.22m, 46.65ft) placed fourth and Alamo native Macario Zarate finished eighth in the 110-meter hurdles (14.90s) and 10th in the 400-meter hurdles (55.63s). Sylvia Alboniga took home the lone top-10 finish for the women by coming in ninth in the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 1:01.98.
road struggLes
The Broncs baseball team began the season with an 11-1 record, its best start since 1979. UTPA then set its sights on a six game roadtrip
that kicked off against New Mexico State University on March 23. The Broncs were swept by the Aggies in New Mexico, with UTPA allowing double-digit runs in three out of the four games. The Broncs then returned to Texas and knocked off UTSA 18-13 on March 27. The Broncs face No. 19 ranked UT tonight at 6 p.m.
MccasLand Honored
Junior Colby McCasland was named as the Great West Conference pitcher of the week after picking up an 11-1 complete game victory over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on March 20 in the first game of a doubleheader.
McCasland pitched seven innings, allowing one run on two hits while striking out five. He did not allow a hit in the final 4.2 innings and threw 52-of-89 pitches for strikes. The junior is now 2-0 with an ERA of 1.29 and has struck out 12 while allowing seven hits in two starts. He is also holding his opponents to a .156 batting average.
WoMen’s tennis
The UTPA women’s tennis team hosted the University of Maryland Baltimore County in its final home match of the season on March 23. The Broncs fell to the Retrievers 7-0 at the Orville Cox Tennis
Center. After the loss to UMBC the Broncs quickly turned around and traveled to Beaumont to take on Lamar University on Saturday at the Thompson Family Tennis Center. Again, UTPA fell short 7-0 to the Cardinals who took four of the five singles matches in straight sets. The Broncs will return to the courts on April 5 at 5 p.m. when they travel to Nacogdoches to take on #43 Stephen F. Austin University. UMBC is coached by Rob Hubbard, who previously coached UTPA from 2005 through the 2008 season. His assistant is Oliver Steil, who played for the Broncs from 2003 through 2006.
As the UTPA Broncs women’s volleyball team played its first competitive match in more than four months, Brian Yale stood inches from the floor watching, not uttering a word.
His notebook, though, was
filled with scribbles and brief notes about his players who began spring training in January.
The second-year Broncs head coach allows his players the liberty of sorting and correcting mistakes amongst themselves without his
intervention.Though it was good to see
a different face across the net in quite a while, the mistakes piled on and led the Broncs to drop all four of their matches on Saturday during the UTPA Spring Tournament at the Field House.
“I know the result probably wasn’t what we hoped for, that’s what this is for. To improve,” said Broncs freshman defensive specialist Ashten Landry about the spring training tournament. “We’ve seen the same girls for two months, so it was nice to play someone else for a change. We got to read defenses and several things in practices, so it was also great to put that into game-time situations.”
Though Yale’s discontent was evident as he reflected on the results, he was just as quick to draw out some positives from the winless afternoon.
“We’ve seen some progress, but we’re a little disappointed with the way things went,” Yale said. “I didn’t see exactly what I wanted, but we’ve got a few weeks more of spring training to do some things. We’ve got our work cut out for us. We had moments in every match where I was pleased and also where I was displeased. We’ll take both good things and bad things. It’s not all just about the negatives. We’re proud of showing our positives too.”
The Broncs first faced the defending NAIA Champion University of Texas at Brownsville Scorpions and dropped both sets 25-15 and 25-19. The Broncs followed
with 25-18 and 25-23 losses to the Tigers of la Universidad Autonoma de Nuevo Leon.
After an hour and a half break, the Texas A&M University Corpus Christi Islanders topped UTPA 25-14 in game one and 25-18 in game two.
Finally, and despite holding Texas A&M International within arm’s length in the final contest, the Broncs too fell in each game 25-23.
All four of the matches were played in a span of four hours and thirty minutes, which gave Yale’s team a chance to test its conditioning.
“Because of all the training and all the weight room activity we’ve done, I think our conditioning was fine,” he said. “We just didn’t put everything together. It was a lack of energy, really, that was going on.”
Lack of energy wasn’t the only thing that caused the Broncs’ inconsistency last year during Yale’s first season at the helm. UTPA also lacked senior experience and relied heavily on the productivity of incoming freshman and transfers.
On Saturday, Yale highlighted the play of underclassmen such as Landry, who’ll look to blossom into a full-time player for the Broncs next year.
“She’s made strides. Her ball control and passing numbers are very solid today, so I think she stepped up,” Yale said. “She’s viewed as a leader for us in the weight room, but we’ve gotten bits and pieces (of leadership)
from different players.”On Saturday, Yale got
his first look at the Hawai’i native, setter Nycole Masaki, who transferred over from Laredo Community College a few months ago.
Yale admitted that though Masaki still has a big learning curve ahead of her, she’s brought some maturity to the team.
“For the (little) time she’s been with us, she showed some great maturity,” Yale said of Masaki, who joins Juri
Franzen and Krysta Freitas as part of the Broncs’ Pacific Islander Triumvirate. “But like everyone else, there’s still a learning curve. We’re still looking for that connection with her and our hitters. She looks like a great prospect.”
Saturday was the first of two spring tournaments for the Broncs, who will compete at Texas A&M University-Kingsville April 14.
11March 28, 2012sports
SportS BriefS
Broncs volleyball coach Yale draws out positives from winless spring tournament
By Alex E. Peña The Pan American
SPRINGING BACK
floAteR - Freshman Ashten Landry serves during a game as the UTPA volleyball team plays in its first tournament of the spring.
RAlly - Laredo Community College transfer Nycole Masaki plays in her first spring tournament game as a Bronc.
ruben gutierrez/The Pan American
ruben gutierrez/The Pan American
the pan american March 28, 2012Page 12
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