Posts Tagged ‘golf’

3 Aug

El Pasoan Inducted In Texas Aggies Hall of Fame

Posted by EL PASO SPORTS in El Paso Sports, Ray Sanchez. Tagged: , , , , , , .

By Ray Sanchez 08.01.15

A few weeks ago I told you about El Paso’s Nicky Thrasher Adams being named 2015 women’s soccer Coach of the Year in Conference USA after leading Rice University to a school record 14 victories while nickywinning the 2015 conference championship.

Now she has received an even greater honor – as an athlete. She’s been inducted into the Texas A&M Athletic Lettermen’s Association Hall of Fame.

Can you believe? It’s true.

Nicky, the daughter of former Sunland Park Racetrack jockey Jeff Thrasher, was an All-American soccer player for the Aggies and helped lead them to three conference titles and an Elite 8 appearance.  She finished her Texas A&M playing career near the top of virtually every Aggie offensive category.

She now joins the greatest athetes in the history of the school, stars like John David Crow, for instance. What an honor.

 

TRIVIA QUESTION: Vince Lombardi gained fame as coach of the Green Bay Packers. As a college player, he was a member of “The Seven Blocks of Granite,” so-called because of the linemen’s outstanding defensive performances. Can you name the school?

 

GOLF IS NOT only a fascinating sport, it’s a great way to raise funds for worthy causes. Two of those are coming up.

First will be the 6th annual First Tee Desert Classic, sponsored jointly by the Rotary Club of West El Paso and the First Tee of Greater El Paso.

It’ll be held Saturday, Sept. 19, on the Sunrise Course at Underwood Golf Complex.

First Tee of Greater El Paso is a national non-profit youth organization where the skills and core values are taught through the game of golf.

KristiKristi Albers, the Grand Lady of El Paso Golf and the only El Paso born woman to win a LPGA golf championship, heads the program.

There are three ways you can help: Provide prizes, become a sponsor or play in the tournament.

For more information visit the Rotary Club of West El Paso website at rotarywestelpaso.org or Mrs. Albers at kristeealb@yahoo.com. You can also call Kristi Albers at 915-252-6511 or Carol Lewis at 915-544-5205.

You’ll be doing the youths of El Paso a great service.

 

THE OTHER outstanding benefit golf tournament coming up is the Moye’s Boys Jefferson High School Foxes 5th annual Golf Tournament on Oct. 16. It, too, will be held at Underwood Golf Course.

The Moye’s Boys Foundation, named after late former coach, teacher and principal H. R. Moye, raises funds to assist students who are in need. In the past the foundation has provided glasses, shoes, clothing, medical help and school supplies to students in need.

This year, the tournament is honoring Isaac “Ike” Camacho, a Vietnam War hero who was held as a prisoner of war for 22 months in the jungles of Cambodia.

Captain Camacho is the recipient of several medals, including the Distinguished Service Cross, two Silver Stars, a Bronze Star and two Purple Hearts.

He was captured when he returned to his camp to help other American soldiers but found the camp had been overrun. He later escaped, becoming the first serviceman to successfully escape a Vietnamese prisoner of war camp.

By participating in the tournament you’ll not only have a lot of fun, you’ll be helping young students and honoring an exceptional local war hero.

For more information contact Frank Maldonado at 915-474-1946, Sal Samaniego at 915-592-0076, Ret. USMC Col. Luis Juarez at 915-593-0468 or Tony Robles at 915-256-0031. You can also email fwleesales@gmail.com.

 

TRIVIA answer: Fordham University.

8 Feb

FORMER UTEP GOLFER IS NOW A MILLIONAIRE

Posted by EL PASO SPORTS in El Paso Sports, Ray Sanchez. Tagged: , .

by Ray Sanchez 01.11.15

Several years ago, some of my golfing buddies and I were on the No. 5 tee on the Yucca Course at Santa Teresa Country Club waiting to hit our drives when a pretty young lady and her male partner asked if their gerinamendozapillertwosome could play through. Of course, we said yes.

My jaw dropped when I saw the young lady hit the ball so far it almost went out of sight. I turned to one of my buddies and asked, “Who is that?” I was informed that it was Gerina Mendoza, a member of the UTEP women’s golf team. Needless to say, I sought her out and have written several columns about her.

She won four tournaments with the Miners, including the 2007 Conference USA championship, and was named conference Player of the Year.

GERINA GOT off to a slow start on the LPGA tour in 2011, but she made the cut in nine tournaments, finished 10th in one meet, averaged 72.75 strokes and earned $103,322. She kept improving. The next year she made the cut in 17 tournaments, tied for sixth in one meet, averaged 71.41 strokes and earned $258,395. Then in 2013, she had her best season. She made the cut in 23 tournaments, was in the top 10 in eight meets, was second in one, averaged 71.22 strokes and earned $572, 690.

On top of all that, Gerina, who ranked seventh in driving distance at 266.5 yards, was picked on the prestigious Solheim Cup team.

Wow.

IN THE 2014 season, she made the cut in 22 meets, finished in the top 10 five times, tied for third once, averaged 71.38 strokes  and took home $466,497.

She’s now a millionaire with career earnings of $1,400,904.

I’m beaming with pride for her. She was born in Roswell, N.M., and married fellow professional golfer Martin Piller in 2011. They live in Plano, Texas, but as a former Miner, El Pasoans can claim Gerina Mendoza Piller as our own.

We’ll be keeping an eye on her this year. The 2015 LPGA Tour will begin Jan. 28 in Flrorida

TRIVIA QUESTION: Can you name two movies about sports that won Academy Awards? Answer at end of column.

THE EL PASO High School Alumni Association isn’t wasting time getting ready to celebrate the school’s 100th anniversary next year. And they need our help. The following is from alumni president Michael Montes:

“Who should I ask to help sponsor the Central School Bell project? I’m not sure if you know or not but for Homecoming we got the bell that hung in the school back in 1885 when EPHS opened on the second floor of Central School back to EPHS. Our next goal is to mount it on a trailer so we can take it all over the city to games, the Thanksgiving Day parade, etc. Amada Flores, (1963). has donated a trailer and will do most of the work on it but now we need about $5000 for the trailer and a display room in the cafeteria.  I want to start working on this this month.

“Our current building is 99 years old but the school itself is 130.  Our first graduates from 1887, Kate Moore and George P. Robinson, walked underneath this bell to class. That’s the amazing history and significance of this artifact; it ties directly to our roots, our history, our Tiger tradition that is unmatched.”

Sounds like a great project and one worthy of some major company. Any ideas?

ANSWER to trivia question: Rocky in 1976 and Chariots of Fire in 1981.

11 Nov

El Paso Golf Will Miss Two of Its Biggest Backers

Posted by EL PASO SPORTS in El Paso Sports, Ray Sanchez. Tagged: , , .

danny swainTwo of my favorite sports personalities in El Paso are moving on. But oh, what pleasant memories they’ve left behind. And what a boost they’ve been for the sport of golf in our city.
They’re Margie Henderson and Danny Swain.margie
Margie has been promoting, running and helping golf tournaments so long as I can remember, raising no telling how much money for worthy causes along the way. Two of her most notable tournaments were annual fundraisers for the UTEP golf team.
“This is my last year for UTEP golf,” she says “I’m retiring after 21 years and after going through five coaches, hundreds of UTEP players and thousands of boosters.”
We will miss what she does for UTEP dearly, but she says she probably will still be involved in other sports endeavors.

THEN THERE’S Danny Swain, director of golf at Coronado Country Club. He has announced he will retire. A former member of the 1962 NCAA National Small Division College championship team at Lamar University, he has been head pro and now director of golf at Coronado Country Club for the last 43 years. His contribution to golf has been outstanding in many areas and as a teacher he has helped countless players, including many from UTEP.
When he was inducted into the El Paso Golf Hall of Fame in 1996 he was praised not only as a fine golfer (he has shot as low at 64 at Coronado Country Club) but as “a soft spoken person, a great asset to golf and a gentleman …”
Amen to that.

TRIVIA QUESTION: Can you name the man who was a coach in the National Football League for 40 seasons? Answer at end.

COMMENTS KEEP coming in about the Chihuahuas, the El Paso Triple A mascot. One lady took me to task for writing that I liked the nickname. “The look on that mascot’s face is an insult to all people from the state of Chihuahua,” she said. Boy, talk about making it personal.

ANOTHER READER who doesn’t like the nickname and makes at least a reasonable argument against it is attorney Eric Darnell. He writes:
“If you want to hear my two cents, the Chihuahua name will never work, even though the owners will make it work, good or bad, for just the reasons you stated. Everyone shortens the name and all teams, or most teams, are referred to by a shortened version of their name, for headlines, etc, especially when they have a longer name or a name with multiple syllables like the Chihuahuas,”
He mentioned The Pack for Green Bay Packers, the ‘Skins or the Washington Redskins, the ‘Boys for the Dallas Cowboys and so on.
Then he went on, “You get my point … plus Chihuahuas is a name for an animal that is used by 60-plus year old widows to replace their deceased husbands. We will also be known as a team that barks and runs before we get eaten by a real dog. Any name is better than the El Paso Chi-Chis … unless of course, Hooters or Twin Peaks becomes a name sponsor.”

ONE PERSON who differs is Charles Hill, longtime El Paso sports fan and UTEP sports statistician. He wrote, “I like the new nickname for the baseball team also.”
Then he went on to mention the UTEP Miners. “UTEP football seems to be getting worse. The basketball team looked pretty good in the scrimmage although it’s hard to judge by playing each other. Matt Willms looked impressive as did John Bohanon. Get your crystal ball out!”
Hey, that’s right. I’d better get the obnoxious orb out of its drawer, although the way it was so wrong about the Miners’ football season I’m surprised anyone would want to hear its picks for basketball anymore.

ANSWER to trivia question: George Halas.