2021-2022: Year in Review

ABILENE, Texas – The ACU Department of Athletics closed out its first calendar year as a member of the Western Athletic Conference on Thursday afternoon, with the Wildcats making an immediate impact in their new league. Highlights from the year included a pair of WAC team Championships, two NCAA Division I All-Americans, increased national spotlight and a reinforced commitment to the student-athlete experience

"We couldn't be happier with the way our teams competed in their first year in the WAC, as we came away with two conference championships and four second-place finishes. ACU was well represented at the conference, regional and national level." Vice President for Athletics Zack Lassiter said. "It is easy to see that we are still trending upward, and I am excited to build on our success this year as we move forward."

General

07.01 | ACU, along with fellow Southland Conference members SFA, Sam Houston and Lamar, becomes an official member of the Western Athletic Conference
07.02 | The official podcast of Abilene Christian Athletics, Convos With The Cats, launches
08.06 | ACU Athletics partners with NOCAP Sports to assist student-athletes with the navigation of Name, Image, and Likeness
11.09 | Zack Lassiter is introduced to the ACU community by Dr. Phil Schubert as the Vice President of Athletics
01.27 | ACU launches the Fan Experience Committee, a group of dedicated fans and alumni who analyze and contribute to the gameday experience
04.12 | Wildcat Athletics partners with Collegiate Sports Connect, a platform for administrators aimed at making search processes more efficient and comprehensive
04.13 | ACU signs an innovative partnership with MLB's Texas Rangers, providing customized academic learning opportunities for players and staff through ACU Online
05.03 | ACU Athletics hands out nearly two dozen awards and recognizes the 2022 senior class at the annual Wildcat Choice Awards Banquet
05.04 | ACU Athletics announces the launching of the ACU Advantage, a comprehensive intentional leadership and spiritual development program for coaches
06.23 | Volleyball senior Madison Rohre is named as the new President for the WAC's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee
101 All-Conference selections
159 WAC All-Academic selections
2 WAC team championships
39 weekly honors from WAC
81 Wildcats received their degree
5th in WAC Commissioner's Cup standings
2 NCAA Division I All-Americans
More ACU events on the ESPN family of networks than any previous year
ACU student-athletes turned in the department's highest GPA in a decade
143 school records fell
Part of a successful university-wide Day of Giving

FALL SPORTS

Football

09.11 | Quarterback Stone Earle tosses for six touchdowns in a 62-7 rout of Louisiana College, the most of any Wildcat singal caller since John David Baker in 2013
09.18 | The Wildcats score 24 points in the final 4:07 of the first half to carry a 27-3 lead into halftime
09.25 | Eight different Wildcats find the endzone in a historic 56-0 road win over Lamar
10.16 | In front of a Homecoming crowd of 10,000+, Peyton Mansell rushes for 106 yards and Hunter Kier racks up 10 tackles to give ACU their first-ever WAC win
11.08 | Blair Zepeda kicks a career long 53-yarder and Kobe Clark becomes the third Wildcat ever with 200 career receptions as ACU renews the rivalry with Tarleton
11.23 | Blair Zepeda, Kobe Clark, Reese Moore and Ryan Stapp are all named to the All-WAC Second Team
12.06 | Veteran FBS defensive coordinator Keith Patterson is named the 21st head coach in program history and is introduced by Zack Lassiter at Wildcat Stadium

Women's Soccer

08.22 | Lily Foster records her first career shutout to give ACU its first win of the season in a road match against UTEP
09.19 | Alyssia Anuat connected with Caylen Wright in the 83rd minute of a tie game against Grambling, and Wright finishes it off with the game-winner
09.26 | Emily Heidman heads an overtime goal just inside the left post, allowing the Wildcats to pick up their first three points in WAC play
10.02 | Six Wildcats find the back of the net in a rout of Chicago State
10.22 | Ellen Joss keeps ACU's playoff hopes alive with a penalty kick goal less than two minutes into the overtime period
10.24 | ACU hands top-seeded SFA its first-ever WAC loss with a 3-1 victory at Elmer Gray Stadium
11.02 | Natalie Jones is named to the All-WAC Second Team after tallying nine points for the season
11.03 | ACU women's soccer becomes the first program in school history to host a WAC Championship event

Volleyball

08.27 | Wildcats win the season opener over UT Arlington behind record-breaking performances from Madison Rohre and Lindsey Toney
08.30 | Lindsey Toney is named the Offensive Player of the Week, making her the first-ever ACU athlete to receive a weekly award from the WAC office
09.11 | Brea Box hits .570 or better for the fourth consecutive match in a non-conference tilt with North Texas
10.09 | Bryley Steinhilber leads the team with 14 kills as the Purple and White defeat Lamar 3-1 for the first WAC win in program history
11.04 | ACU rallies to upset top-seed Sam Houston at the Teague Center, with Box picking up a career-high eight blocks
11.17 | Brea Box is named to the All-WAC Second Team, while Bryley Steinhilber lands on the league's All-Freshman Team
11.18 | Lindsey Toney records her fifth double-double of the season in ACU's first-ever WAC Tournament contest
12.28 | Former SFA assistant Alisa Blair is announced as the next head coach of the ACU volleyball program

Cross Country

09.02 | The ACU men claim five of the top 20 individuals to finish in second in the season opener at Texas A&M, while the women take fourth place as a team behind a strong day from Briahna Gerlach
09.18 | Both programs dominate at the ACU Naimadu Classic, and the Wildcat women take the top four individual spots
10.05 | Irene Rono wins her second consecutive race to lead the women to another team victory, and Levi Chambers finishes in eighth at the UIW Twilight
10.19 | Rono picks up her second consecutive WAC Runner of the Week honor after a second-place individual finish at the Arturo Barrios Invitational in College Station
10.30 | Continuing her dominant season, Rono becomes ACU's first-ever individual WAC Champion with a time of 19:44 at the conference meet in California
11.12 | Rono and teammate Prudence Kiyeng qualify for the NCAA National Championships after finishing in fourth and sixth respectively at the South Central Regionals

WINTER SPORTS

Men's Basketball

11.12 | Immanuel Allen connects on a buzzer beater to send the game to overtime, where ACU outscores UT Arlington 17-8 to give Brette Tanner his first career win as ACU's head coach
01.26 | After finding themselves down 12 with a minute and a half to play, the 'Cats get a big three from Airion Simmons to pull out a WAC victory against UTRGV
02.05 | Simmons goes for 31 points, 14 rebounds and three block as ACU dominates UTRGV at home for ACU's fifth straight win
02.24 | ACU forces Lamar into 37 turnovers and sets a program record for steals in a 35-point rout
03.05 | Mahki Morris puts up his second 18-point night of the week, helping the Wildcats clinch their fourth straight 20-win season in the final game at the Teague Center
03.12 | The Purple and White, who entered the tournament as a six-seed, pick up their third win in three days to advance to the WAC title game with a thrilling 78-76 victory over Seattle
03.14 | ACU accepts an invitation to the College Basketball Invitational in Daytona Beach, where the Wildcats come away with wins in their first two games

Women's Basketball

11.09 | The Wildcats open the season in dominant fashion, burying a program-record 17 three-pointers to cruise to a 99-43 win
12.30 | ACU earns its first-ever WAC victory with a 69-63 win over Utah Valley behind a huge night from Jamie Bonnarens
01.08 | In the first week of competition in the new year, three starters are out for the Purple and White, paving the way for Taylor Morgan to score a career-high 21 points in a 70-59 road victory against Sam Houston
01.15 | A week later against New Mexico State, ACU finds themselves down 19 late in the third quarter before flipping the script on the Aggies to complete the come-from-behind win
02.21 | Bella Earle becomes the second Wildcat of the season to collect a weekly award from the league office, coming off the bench to score 15 points
02.26 | Kamryn Mraz cashes in a career-best three-pointers in her final game at the Teague Center, where ACU closes the year with an 11-5 record

Indoor Track and Field

01.15 | The Wildcats open the season with strong performances at the Texas Tech Corky Classic, with Levi Chambers highlighting the effort with a win in the 3K
01.18 | Triple jumper Ella Anttila picks up the first of what becomes of slew of weekly awards from the league office after taking sixth in the triple jump in the first meet of the year
01.21 | ACU turns in a dozen lifetime bests at the Red Raider Open, settling into a rhythm that lasts through the spring season
01.29 | J.J. Ply records a PR in five events at the Texas Tech Invitational and Multis before wrapping up the heptathlon in seventh place, Rono and Chambers lead a stellar performance for the distance squads in Kansas
02.05 | Rono smashes the school record in the indoor 3K at Texas A&M, picking up the individual win and shaving 22 seconds off her previous personal best
02.18 | Payton Kirk wins the league long jump crown on the first day of the WAC Indoor Championships, and Megan Kirby follows with a school-record time of 8.52 in the 60 meter hurdles
02.19 | Anttila, Jamal January and Taylor Tolen each collect an individual crown on the final day of the WAC Indoor Championships, and the ACU women finish within six points of first place as a group

SPRING SPORTS

Baseball

02.18 | A much-anticipated 2022 season gets underway at Crutcher Scott Field, and the dynamic bullpen duo of Max Huffling and Tanner Riley close the door for an ACU victory
02.28 | A day after outscoring Michigan State 22-5 in a doubleheader, the Wildcats finish off their first-ever sweep of a Big Ten school after exploding for a nine-run seventh inning
03.06 | A week later, the Purple and White put on a hitting clinic, blasting ten home runs that combine to travel more than 4,000 feet in a 23-1 rout of Marist College
03.12 | The first WAC win in school history comes in Edinburg, as a Bryson Hill homer and another strong bullpen outing give the 'Cats a 3-1 win over UTRGV
03.18 | ACU dominates SFA in every phase of the game in a mercy-rule victory at the Crutch, with four Wildcats leaving the ballpark and Mitchell Dickson driving in four runs
03.29 | Colton Eager powers a ball through the wind to shift the momentum against TCU in Fort Worth, and Tanner Riley records the save to give ACU its first-ever Division I win over a nationally-ranked team
04.01 | Tyler Morgan pitches into the eighth inning in a marvelous outing, and a late Grayson Tatrow double helps ACU knock off Lamar in Beaumont
04.12 | Bash Randle drives in four runs and reliever Trevor Jackson tosses a career-high four scoreless innings as the Purple and White cruise to a 15-5 midweek win over UTA
04.16 | Hunter Gieser belts a pair of home runs and drives in five at Fresno State's Bob Bennett Stadium, helping ACU take two of three
04.26 | Huffling strikes out seven out of the pen to shut down a potent Texas Tech offense, giving the Wildcats their first-ever win over a team ranked inside the Top 10 nationally
04.29 | The ACU pitching staff turns in a historic performance against SFA, as Morgan sets the Division I record for strikeouts in a game and the Wildcats pick up their 400th strikeout of the season in an 11-2 victory
05.24 | Randle represents the Wildcats on the WAC All-Defensive team as the league's premier shortstop
05.26 | Genner Cervantes twirls a complete game to stave off elimination in ACU's first-ever WAC Tournament, surpassing 130 pitches while whiffing five Seattle hitters
05.28 | Tommy Cruz comes up with a walk-off hit to put ACU in the WAC Semifinals, and the 'Cats knock off top-seed Grand Canyon to win their fourth elimination game in three days

Softball

02.12 | The Wildcats pick up their first win of the season against Idaho State after a walk-off double from Miranda Davila
02.18 | ACU launches four homers in a doubleheader, picking up victories against both Nevada and Colorado State
02.24 | Matti Reiling extends her hitting streak to seven games with a home run to dead centerfield in the opener of the Hawaii Tournament
02.26 | Sidney Holman-Mansell picks up a complete game shutout in a mercy-rule victory over Montana, and ACU closes out the Hawaii Tournament with a 2-0 victory over the host school
02.28 | Riley White is named the program's first-ever WAC Pitcher of the Week after allowing just one earned run over 15.2 innings of work
03.05 | In the first WAC series ever held at Poly Wells Field, Avery Miloch picks up a walk-off hit to give the Purple and White their first league win
04.09 | ACU combines 11 hits with four Lamar errors to snag a 16-4 win and a series victory, while senior Calie Burris comes away with her first career triple
04.20 | Holman-Mansell tosses a three-hit shutout against Texas Tech as head coach Abigail Farler earns her first career victory over a Power Five opponent
04.23 | The Wildcats score in all the even innings to finish off the series sweep of SFA and send the senior class of on a high note
05.10 | Burris, Holman-Mansell and Mercedes Eichelberger are all named to the All-WAC Second Team

Women's Tennis

01.22 | With the match tied at 3-3, Andrea Guerrero fights her way to a three-set win that gives the Wildcats their first win of the year
01.27 | ACU breezes to a 6-1 victory in the home opener, with Sylvia Viljoen coming away with the clincher in a 6-0, 6-1 win on Court 3
02.28 | The home team dominates in Abilene as ACU defeats UTEP 7-0 to remain unbeaten at Eager Tennis Pavilion
03.09 | Allison Stewart and Sylvia Viljoen become the first players in program history honored by the WAC, collecting the Doubles Team of the Week honor
03.27 | Viljoen outlasts her NMSU counterpart in a three-set marathon to give ACU its first Western Athletic Conference victory
04.22 | ACU upsets top-seed Grand Canyon in the first round of the WAC Championships after Ileana Mocciola comes away with a surreal 6-3, 7-5 win
04.27 | Mocciola and Paula Garrote are named to the All-Tournament team after ACU's historic upset

Men's Tennis

02.19 | Oswaldo Cano finishes off a 4-2 battle against Texas A&M Corpus Christi, giving the ACU men their first victory of the season
02.23 | Jose Maria Rastrojo and Mihaly Deli picked up the Doubles Team of the Week award from the conference office after a 3-1 record the week before, making them the first two Wildcats to be honored by the WAC
03.18 | The 'Cats travel to Las Cruces to take on Chicago State, and Tyler Stewart comes away with the final point for ACU's first-ever WAC win
03.27 | Dario Kmet wins his fourth consecutive singles match in a battle against unbeaten Lamar, doing so in a crucial third set in Beaumont
04.10 | ACU clinches the two-seed in the WAC Tournament with a 6-1 victory over NMSU, closing out the regular season with four wins in nine days
04.20 | Cano and Kmet join Cesar Barranquero and Daniel Morozov on All-WAC teams after the Wildcats lose just one match in league play
04.23 | The Purple and While topple New Mexico State in the WAC semifinals, setting the stage for a rematch against top-seeded Lamar
04.24 | Players empty a Gatorade bucket on head coach Juan Nuñez after the Wildcats defeat Lamar for ACU's first-ever WAC team championship

Golf

03.05 | Brian Choe shoots a 67 in the first round of the Sea Palms Invitational and rides it to a sixth-place individual finish
03.28 | The Wildcats hold their own in a match play event at Baylor, with Alex Clouse and Francisco Osio each earning wins against the Bears
04.05 | Zane Heusel comes away with a third-place finish at a U.S. Open course in the Pacific Northwest, helping ACU land in a tie for second as a team
04.29 | Clouse shoots four-under in the opening round of the WAC Championships, and the Purple and White find themselves in third after the first 18 holes
04.30 | Choe turns in the best round of any player in the field the following day, putting ACU in the top group heading to the final day
05.01 | Clouse provides a soft touch on the final green, and a roller coaster final round sees the 'Cats bring home ACU's second WAC team championship in eight days
05.04 | Head coach Tom Shaw is named as ACU's first-ever WAC Coach of the Year as Choe and Heusel earn postseason honors
05.18 | The Wildcats close out the season in tenth place at the Stockton Regional, doing so with a final round of five-under as a group

Outdoor Track and Field

03.20 | ACU opens the outdoor season as the host of the Wes Kittley Invitational, with Jamal January, Payton Kirk and Megan Kirby each winning their events
03.27 | The Wildcats show out at the Texas Relays and the Texas State Invitational, with Annina Brandenburg setting a school record in the discus and Irene Rono taking the national lead in the 5K
04.02 | Brandenburg again breaks the program's discus mark a week later at the Masked Rider Open en route to a third consecutive WAC Field Athlete of the Week, and Zoe Spinn takes over the league lead in the high jump
04.16 | Rono breaks the school record in the 5K at the storied Bryan Clay Invitational, while teammate Briahna Gerlach rounds out the top five
04.17 | J.J. Ply takes over the league lead in the decathlon with a strong performance at the Mt. SAC Relays, while Brandenburg breaks her own school discus record for the third time in a month
04.22 | In a small local meet, the 'Cats compete in just 12 events, claiming first place in all but three of them. Jessica Campbell is a human highlight reel, hauling in individual crowns in the 200, the 100-meter hurdles, the javelin and the high jump
04.29 | Sarah Wagler wins the 5K at the UTA Under Armour Invitational, doing so with a 23-second lead over the second place finisher. Levi Chambers cruises to a win in the same event on the men's side, while Neal Helgerson, O'Brien Verdin and Kevin Kipkosgei give the ACU squad four of the top nine runners
04.30 | Tyler Richardson wins the men's shot put at the Corky/Crofoot Shootout, and Brandenburg again dazzles, picking up wins in three events
05.13 | Rono and Gerlach both break a 25-year-old meet record in the 10K on the first day of the WAC Championships, turning in fourth and eighth-place finishes respectively
05.14 | Brandenburg becomes ACU's first-ever WAC Champion in an outdoor event with a monster first shot put attempt, and Kirk follows with a long jump crown
05.15 | A slew of podium finishes flood in on the final day of the WAC Championships, including two event wins from senior Taylor Tolen in the final competition of her ACU career
06.09 | Ply climbs up the decathlon leaderboard at the NCAA National Championships, becoming ACU's first-ever All-American in the Division I era. Less than five minutes later, Brandenburg closes out her own storied career with an All-American finish in the shot put
06.30 | Annina Brandenburg receives the Joe Kearney Award, given annually to the top male and female student-athlete in the Western Athletic Conference

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