DENVER, Colo. – No. 1 UT Tyler finished the 2022 season as NCAA Division II National Semifinalists after falling by a 9-3 final tally to finish with a record of 2-2 at the 2022 NCAA Division II World Series.

The Patriots stood as one of four remaining teams in the double-elimination eight-team bracket in the program’s first trip to the NCAA Division II World Series in the program’s first season of postseason eligibility at the Division II level. UT Tyler completes their 2022 campaign with a 49-9 overall record, and claimed the South Central Regional Championship and Lone Star Conference Regular Season Championship on their way to the World Series appearance.

Rogers State will advance to the best-of-three championship series on Monday and Tuesday in Denver with a perfect 3-0 record in the tournament following the win over UT Tyler.

The Patriots jumped ahead early with an RBI single from senior Ashley Perez, who finishes her career as one of the most decorated position players in the history of UT Tyler softball. Rogers State answered with four runs in their next trip to the plate, and would maintain that lead for the remainder of the contest.

Sophomores Courtney Plocheck and Amanda Marek each hit a solo homer in the second and third innings to cut the lead to just one at 4-3, but the Hillcats were once again able to respond with three runs in the top of the fourth inning to pad their lead back out to 7-3.

A weather delay of over an hour in the top of the fifth inning allowed UT Tyler to reset, grounding the Hillcats into a double play on the first pitch of the restart, but couldn’t manage to claw their way all the way back into the ballgame. Rogers State tacked on a pair of insurance runs in the sixth inning to punch their ticket to the championship series.

Perez and Marek each finished the ballgame 2-for-3 at the plate with a pair of RBI, while Plocheck and senior Shannon Klaus finished with the other two Patriot hits in the ballgame.

UT Tyler completes the first season of Division II postseason eligibility as undoubtedly one of the top programs in Division II softball, and will return a load of talent for the 2023 season.

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WICHITA FALLS – UT Tyler exploded for 43 second-half points to negate a halftime deficit and move to 7-0 for the first time in program history with a 75-63 win over Midwestern State on Monday night in Wichita Falls, Texas.

The non-conference win over the Mustangs betters the 6-0 start to the season for the 2017-18 UT Tyler team, establishing the best start in UT Tyler men’s basketball history for the 2021-22 Patriots. Graduate student Eysan Wiley led the charge back from a 36-32 Midwestern State first-half advantage with 18 second-half points, connecting on 5-of-6 from the field in the half alone in route to 22 points for the game.

The Patriots connected on 13-of-27 from the field in the final 20 minutes, and held Midwestern State to 0-for-14 from beyond the three-point line in the second half while continually pushing forward with steady offense. UT Tyler scored the first two baskets of the second half on jumpers from Micah Fuller and Milan Szabo, the second of which from Szabo knotted the game up at 36-36 with 18:35 left in the game.

Another dunk from Szabo and a successful and-one opportunity for Fuller capped off the seven unanswered for UT Tyler out of the halftime break and established a 41-36 lead for the Patriots. Midwestern State settled in after the hot second-half start for the Patriots and kept the deficit to around a one-possession ball game before Eysan began his second-half onslaught of scoring at the 12:48 mark.

Eysan changed the course of the remaining of the contest at that point with a jump-shot make and then three-consecutive made three-point buckets to break open the game at 57-46 with 10:28 left on the clock. That turning point allowed UT Tyler to control the tempo for the remainder of the contest with the lead firmly in tact, and led by as many as 13 on three different occasions in the final 10 minutes of play.

Midwestern State narrowed the margin to just seven with 1:14 remaining, but were eventually held at a comfortable distance thanks to 14 free-throw makes in the second half by the Patriots.

Szabo added 14 points and nine rebounds to help compliment the solid outing from Wiley, who’s 22-point total on Monday night is the second time the graduate transfer has gone for 20 or more points this season. Szabo has now reached double-digit scoring totals in three out of his last four games and has totaled nine rebounds in each of the last two wins for the Patriots.

Senior Da’Zhon Wyche scored 10 points to follow up consecutive 19-point outings against Mississippi College and Dallas Baptist in the last two Patriot victories.

UT Tyler finished the game 25-of-53 (47.2 percent) from the field and went 6-for-16 (37.5 percent) from behind the three-point line. The Patriots won the rebounding battle for the sixth time in seven games this season, finishing with 40 while Midwestern State had 33.

The Patriots will return home with their undefeated 7-0 record on Thursday of this week to begin a two-game home stand. Thursday’s game is set for a 7:30 p.m. tip-off against UAFS and Saturday’s game is scheduled for a 4 p.m. tip against Oklahoma Christian.

Thursday’s game against UAFS will consistent of a toy drive hosted by the UT Tyler Police Department. The UT Tyler Police Department is asking that attendees please bring a new unwrapped toy for donation. Each toy brought to the women’s or men’s game will equal one free entry into that night’s contests. Only new and unwrapped toys will be accepted.

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COMMERCE – A fast start and a disciplined finish allowed UT Tyler to move to 5-0 for the first time since 2017-18 on Saturday afternoon thanks to a 72-64 win over Mississippi College to close out play in the 2021 Lion Hoopsgiving.

The Patriots finish 2-0 in the event hosted by Texas A&M-Commerce over the weekend, and used 17 first half points from senior Da’Zhon Wyche to pad a 41-28 halftime lead. Mississipi College made it a one-possession ballgame with just over 10 minutes remaining in the game, but couldn’t overcome the hot start from Wyche and company to allow UT Tyler to pull away in the final minutes.

Wyche connected on all five of his three-point attempts in the first half to help spur a 19-6 run midway through the first 20 minutes of play that opened up a 27-14 advantage for UT Tyler with 6:52 remaining in the half. The Patriots led by as many as 15 in the opening half, a margin which would stand as their largest lead of the game, after Wyche’s fifth three-point bucket of the half connected with 33 seconds left before the halftime break.

The 41-28 halftime margin turned out to be much-needed as Mississippi College scored seven straight points coming out of the half and effectively erased the UT Tyler lead, trailing just 49-48 with 11:08 remaining in the game.

The 20-8 run for the Choctaws in the first 10 minutes of the second half woke the Patriots up quickly as they scored six straight unanswered points from that point and never let the lead slip back to less than five for the remainder of the game. The Patriots led by 10 twice in the final eight minutes, and connected on all seven of their free throw attempts in the second half.

Wyche finished with 19 for the game, leading all Patriot scorers, while Milan Szabo, Micah Fuller and Eysan Wiley all reached double-digit offensive figures. Szabo finished 6-of-8 from the field for 12 points while Wiley and Fuller each totaled 11 points on the afternoon.

UT Tyler finished with a team shooting percentage north of 50 percent for the fourth time in five games so far in 2021-22, knocking down 26-of-51 attempts (51.0 percent) from the field. Wyche was the lone Patriot to convert on a three-point opportunity for the contest, but the UT Tyler defense allowed just three makes from three-point range to the opposition.

Both sides had 28 rebounds on the day, as Wiley led all rebounders in the affair with seven boards.

UT Tyler will now square off with Lone Star Conference opponents for the remainder of their schedule, however the first four games against Dallas Baptist, Midwestern State, UAFS and Oklahoma Christian will be contested as non-conference games. The first of those two games against DBU and Midwestern State will take place on Dec. 11^th and Dec. 13^th on the road, while the latter two will occur on Dec. 13^th and 16^th inside the Herrington Patriot Center.

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TYLER – Four Patriots scored in double figures and four more added at least seven rebounds to lead UT Tyler in a 15 point comeback victory over Southern Arkansas.
 
Liah Davis added another monster double-double of 22 points and 17 rebounds and Elli Emrich added 14 points and six assists to distance the Patriots to their second win of the season.
 
The Patriots got out to a slow start from the field, shooting just 3-15 in the first quarter and finding themselves down 21-6 after the first quarter. UT Tyler turned the ball over 10 times in the period and the Muleriders converted those into 14 points.
 
The Patriots got the offense going in the second quarter and started to break open the press from Southern Arkansas. UT Tyler went 11-17 from the field and added in two makes from the three point line to outscore the Muleriders 24-13 in the period.
 
On the defensive side of the ball, the Patriots allowed Southern Arkansas to shoot just 20% from the field on 4-20 attempts and held them to 2-12 from the three point line in the second quarter.
 
The score was 34-30 at the half, and the Patriots used another strong quarter to even things up going into the fourth. After being down seven points at the 3:43 mark of the third quarter, four different Patriots scored to close out the quarter on a 9-2 run.  
 
Emrich got the scoring started in the fourth quarter with a layup to give UT Tyler their first lead of the contest. The Patriots went on a 14-5 run to start the quarter and stretch the lead all the way out to nine by the four minute mark of the final quarter. The lead got all the way to 12 before the Patriots closed out the game by a score of 78-72.
 
The Patriots continue to have a strong paint presence, outscoring the Muleriders 48-16 in that department. UT Tyler outscored Southern Arkansas on second chances, fast breaks, and points off of the bench.
 
Azaria Reed added 12 points and Destini Whitehead added 10 to round out the double figure scoring for the Patriots.
 
Kelsey Crouse joined Emrich with a team high six assists on the afternoon.
 
Whitehead and Crouse each chipped in eight rebounds and Montse Gutierrez added seven of her own to help the Patriots win the rebounding battle by a 55-33 margin.
 
UT Tyler will get a short rest for the holiday before heading to Commerce, Texas for the Lion Hoopsgiving tournament. There they will take on Northeastern State on Saturday at 7:30, and Arkansas-Monticello on Sunday at 1 p.m.
 
The Patriots will come back to Herrington Patriot Center for their next home game on Thursday, Dec. 16 against UAFS. That game is scheduled for a 5 p.m. tip.

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TYLER, Texas – UT Tyler continues to remain unbeaten on the 2021 schedule with a 1-0 victory over DBU. In a defensive battle, it was a goal off the right foot of sophomore Jack Simonini that decided the game.

The goal from Simonini stands as his first collegiate goal, and converted a wild offensive string of events for the Patriots into what would end up being the deciding goal. Sergio Sola sent out a good pass to a streaking Birkir Eydal, whol then sent a pass soaring into the box where Shane Popieluch connected with a rocket of a header that hit the right post. The deflection landed right at the feet of Simonini, who slotted it to the back of the net on the left side.

The Patriots seized control of the match following the goal from Simonini, until a late charge from DBU right before the half evened up the shot count going into the halftime break.

With a shot count of 6-to-6 and momentum firmly against the Patriots, DBU pressed forward into the second half. DBU created numerous opportunities on offense while their defense played flawlessly to begin the half.

It wasn’t until a fantastic save by junior keeper Mathias Eriksen that flipped the momentum back in UT Tyler’s favor. The save by Eriksen was his final one of the match, and it kept a clean sheet for the Patriots.

Eriksen’s saved seemed to give the Patriots life and turned the momentum of the game back into the hands of UT Tyler. It would stay there with a strong defensive effort that only allowed one more shot attempt by DBU.

The offense rebounded quickly, and took a combined eight shots following the diving Mathias save to stop a header from DBU in the 54^thminute. This took the pressure right off of the defense, and allowed the Patriots to tire out DBU down the stretch.

The Patriots continue to have a strong offense through the first three games of the 2021 season. In tonight’s match they took a combined 15 shots with six of those going on goal. Michael Agyeman led the way with four shots, while eight other Patriots registered a shot on goal.

UT Tyler will have a quick turnaround as they head out on the road for a pair of tough road games. On Saturday, Sept. 18^th they will take on #17 ranked Rogers State. Following that match-up the Patriots will play again next Wednesday Sept. 22^nd against St. Mary’s.

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The University of Texas at Tyler will become the newest member of Division II on Sept. 1.

The Division II Membership Committee made the decision earlier this week in a videoconference after the school successfully completed the three-year reclassification process from Division III to Division II. 

The Division II membership will total 300 colleges and universities in 2021-22.

Staten Island and Frostburg State, both transitioning from Division III to Division II, advanced to provisional year three of the membership process. In addition, D’Youville advanced to provisional year two of the membership process.

The committee agreed that Allen University must repeat provisional year one of the membership process.

Lastly, two schools that applied for Division II membership, Edward Waters College and Emory & Henry, were accepted into the Division II membership process and will begin provisional year one in the fall. Edward Waters College will transition from the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics, while Emory & Henry will transition from Division III. 

The Division II Management Council will review all membership decisions during its videoconference July 19-20. The changes will take effect Sept. 1.

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