Sports Briefs

Five Baylor sports among nation's top 10

The Baylor equestrian team was ranked No. 2 in the nation in February, leading a contingent of five Baylor sports that were ranked among the top 10 in the country as this issue went to press.

The No. 2 ranking is the best-ever showing in the Women's Intercollegiate Equestrian National Coaches Poll for head coach Ellen White's program, now in its fourth season since being added as Baylor's 18th varsity sport.

Baylor women's tennis was just behind equestrian, coming in at No. 4 in the latest Intercollegiate Tennis Association ranking. Men's tennis ranked 10th heading to the prestigious ITA National Indoor Championships.

Through mid-February, Baylor women's basketball had spent just one week outside the top 10, reaching as high as No. 4 in the country and sitting at No. 7 at press time.

The Baylor baseball program earned the highest preseason ranking in the program history as the Bears were ranked No. 8 in the nation in Baseball America's 2009 preseason poll.

Also in the top 25 were both Baylor track and field teams, with the men at No. 21 and the women at No. 25 in the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association rankings.

Getterman Softball Practice Facility announced

This summer, construction will begin on a new practice facility for Baylor softball. The Getterman Softball Practice Facility, made possible by a gift from Ted, BBA '49, JD '51, and Sue, BBA '50, Getterman, will go up between Getterman Stadium and the Baylor Tennis Center.

The new facility will include retractable batting cages, pitching areas and other player development resources, further adding to what is already the nation's premier softball stadium.

"This facility gives our athletes the opportunity to train year-round, both defensively and offensively," said head softball coach Glenn Moore. "No program in the country will have better training facilities than the Baylor student-athletes will have, thanks to Ted and Sue Getterman."