TTU Women’s Athletics: A Year in Review
A year after nearly all athletics events were canceled, Texas Tech University Women’s Athletics has completed its first season after doing so. With eight athletics programs in the department and tons of awards, the Lady Raiders had nothing short of a successful season and worth a year in review.
Basketball
The first event to be covered for TTU Women’s Athletics is the Lady Raiders Basketball program. Having a down year, the team finished their season with a 10-15 overall record and went 5-13 in the Big 12 Conference.
After fighting through a tough preseason and regular season, the team would head into the Phillips 66 Big 12 Women’s Championship, where they would first play Kansas State. After having the regular-season series tied 1-1, the Wildcats would go on to beat the Lady Raiders 65-75.
The loss would end the Tech’s season, and not having an invite to March Madness; the program would try to rebuild. After a coaching change and bringing in several new players, the team will look to have a much better upcoming season.
Cross Country
Heading into another TTU Women’s Athletics program is the women’s cross country, who the team had a year full of ups and downs. While competing hard throughout the season, the team would eventually fall short of their overall goals.
On the bright side of things, the team was very successful on the academic side of things. Being a student-athlete, being a student comes first, and five Lady Raiders would make the academic team. While being successful, the team will look for next season will prepare to get better.
Volleyball
On the other side of things in TTU Women’s Athletics is TTU Women’s Volleyball had a shortened season due to the pandemic. The Lady Raiders have much to improve on, going 9-13 in the 2021 season and 5-11 in the Big 12 Conference.
The only two-game series the team was able to win outright was against the Oklahoma Sooners in the conference. Against SMU, the Lady Raiders were also able to take the two-game series as well. The two series would be the only two series win of the season.
With recruits coming in and a lot of experience on the team, the Lady Raiders should be back next season primed to go.
Track & Field
Perhaps the most successful TTU Women’s Athletics sport at Texas Tech is the women’s track and field program. With a short indoor season and longer outdoor season, the program had a historic year.
Indoor
In the indoor season side of things, the Lady Raiders hosted five meets at home. Jumping to the Big 12 Indoor that were hosted in Lubbock, Texas, at Sports Performance Center. After performing in the two-day event, the women’s team would place fourth overall with 95.5 points. Trailing Kansas State by 5 points. With several athletes finishing and helping score points, many would then advance to the NCAA Indoor Championships. The event took place in Fayetteville, Arkansas.
Ruth Usoro led the charge for the Lady Raiders. For the second time this season in her final jump, Usoro would jump for gold and take it home both times, this time on one of the biggest stages in collegiate sports. Other than Usoro, no other Lady Raiders would place as the team would focus their attention on the outdoor season.
Outdoor
With eleven meets before the Big 12 Outdoor Championships, the Lady Raiders had plenty of time to improve and prepare to make a deep postseason run. The outdoor championship was hosted in Manhattan, Kansas. After it was all said and done, the women’s team raked in 106.5 points en route to a third-place finish.
Ruth Usoro kept up her dominant performance with another gold medal in the triple jump with a 46’-1.5″ leap. She was accompanied by Sara Limp, who ran the 400-meter dash placing third with a time of 52.93 seconds. With five other athletes advancing, the Lady Raiders were ready to take on the NCAA West Preliminary Meet.
The four-day meet hosted in College Station went well on the women’s side of things. By posting a top ten time in school history with a 44.01, the women’s 4×100 advanced to Eugene, Oregon. The 4×400 would also go onto advance to nationals with a time of 3:31.79.
Then, the triple jump powerhouse Ruth Usoro would advance for the opportunity to take the title in the outdoor triple jump. Seasons Usual also contributed in the discus with a throw of 190’-7″. With many Lady Raiders season-ending, a good amount of the team would still advance many athletes.
With two relays and two throwers competing, the team would try to win it all. After days of competing and fighting to keep their season alive, only one Lady Raider would come out victorious. That would be Ruth Usoro, who again would win the triple jump. By just out jumping Georgia’s Jasmine Moore, who had a leap of 14.13-meter, Usoro would jump 14.19 to take home gold and be crowned national champion.
Golf
When it comes to TTU Women’s Athletics the women’s golf team had nothing short of a successful season. With eleven tournaments before the Big 12 Championship, the Lady Raiders would place top five in seven of them. The team would then head into the Big 12 Championship with the momentum on their side with success prior.
At the tournament in The Woodlands at The Club at Carlton Woods, the team would play lights out. Placing second overall several Lady Raiders would perform well. Gala Dumez would lead the pack by taking the individual title by shooting 14-under with a 2021 title. Again, with the momentum on their side, they would head to the NCAA Louisville Regional.
In the NCAA Louisville Regional, the Lady Raiders would fight through some of the toughest competition in the country with a field of 18 teams. After putting themselves in a position to advance, the team would fall short in the final round by coming up four shots short. It would end their season by four strokes and place them 8th overall. With a tremendous amount of success, the Lady Raiders will look towards next year.
Soccer
Texas Tech Women’s Soccer also had a fair season for TTU Women’s Athletics but had plenty of room to improve. The Lady Raiders ended their season with a 5-6-2 record and would go 2-5-2 in the Big 12 Conference. While playing at home, the team was nearly unstoppable with a 4-1-1 record but had problems consistently on the road with a 0-5-1.
After finishing up the conference and coming up short of winning the conference, the team would then tear in the postseason. Going 3-1, the team would end the season on a high note and get ready to bounce back next year.
Softball
Moving onto Texas Tech Softball in TTU Women’s Athletics. After a long season, the team would come out with a record below .500 with a .447. The team ended their season with a 21-26 record and went 3-15 in the conference. The Lady Raiders had a fair season at home with a 12-12 record and would go 6-5 at neutral sites. When away at opponent’s stadiums, the team would have a horrendous 3-9 record.
The Lady Raiders would have both their ups and downs in the preseason and would do their best to prepare for the regular Big 12 Conference season. Heading into the Big 12 regular season on a nine-game losing streak. In the 18 conference games, the team would only win three games and came up short of winning the conference by a long shot.
After the rough regular season ended, the Lady Raiders would then head into the Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship. The team would fare well but would not advance past the tournament. After winning the first game 8-6 to Baylor then losing to No. 1 ranked Oklahoma 2-8, the team would have a single game left on the season. They would win their last game against No. 10 Texas and end their season on a high note. Look for the Lady Raiders next year to come out with a chip on their shoulder and improve immensely.
Tennis
One of the more successful sports on the women’s side is the Texas Tech Women’s Tennis team. The team ended their season 16-9 overall and went 6-3 in the Big 12 Conference. After a successful regular season with a positive record, the team would turn their attention towards the Big 12 Championships.
In the Big 12 Championships, the team would face a Big 12 foe they had not yet seen that year. After battling, the team would fall in their first match against Iowa State 1-4 but would still have the NCAA Tournament.
In the first round of the NCAA Tournament, the team would face off against San Diego. Playing some of their best tennis, the team would sweep San Diego 0-4 to advance to the second round. In the second round, the team would be scheduled to face off against the UCLA Bruins. In the May 8th matchup, the team would fight but come up short as they would fall 0-4 to end their season.
With a lot of success in the season, the Lady Raiders will return next season to improve.
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Written by Campus Live Intern Trinity Porter