Month: September 2023

ITS Department to open Tech Pantry at Worden School

The ITS Department will be opening a Tech Pantry in Worden Room 25 on Thursday and Friday afternoon. 

Students are free to browse through retired computers, monitors, printers and other peripherals that we can no longer use on campus. We are giving these items away

in hopes that it will help students with their classes and learning experience.

All items are tested and working and are taken on an as is basis. We will not accept returns or service any equipment taken. Items will be restocked each day and will vary each day so keep checking in to see what items we have. This is only open to our OLLU students at this time. For questions please contact the ITS helpdesk.

The pantry will be open on Thursday from 9 a.m. until 1:30 p.m. and on Friday from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m.

Fifteen teams win NAIA Scholar Awards

Fifteen teams at OLLU earned National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) Scholar Team recognition for the 2022-2023 academic year. The 15 is a tie for the most teams in school history earning this honor.

This year’s distinguished teams include Men’s Baseball, Basketball, Cross-Country, Golf, Soccer, Tennis; Women’s Basketball, Cross-Country, Golf, Soccer, Softball, Tennis, Volleyball; Co-Ed Cheer, Dance. Making their debut as a scholar team are Men’s Basketball and Cheer.

Men’s cross country finishes 8th at UIW Invitational

The OLLU men’s cross-country team finished 8th at the University of the Incarnate Word (UIW) XC Invitational on Saturday.

Head Coach Patrick Torres commented, “It’s still early and we have a lot of work to do but some good things happened today. Vincent Garza definitely had a good debut at the 8K distance.”

The Saints placed eighth out of 11 schools in the 8K. Winning the meet was UIW with 23 points, followed by Trinity University with 94 points, Texas State University with 132 points, Houston Christian University with 154 points, University of Texas – Rio Grande Valley with 155 points, University of Texas at San Antonio with 161 points, Texas A&M International University with 163 points and OLLU with 181 points. Following OLLU were El Paso Community College with 197 points, UIW unattached with 209 points and Texas A&M University – Kingsville with 288 points.

Leading the way for OLLU was Vincent Garza with a time of 25:57 for 23rd place. Kruz Malesich followed at 26:07 for 29th place, Hector Puente at 26:31, Anthony Perez and Jose Saucedo at 26:43, Sebastian Moreno at 26:50, Tony Favella at 26:57, JoseCarlos Hernandez at 27:18, Amancio Castilleja at 27:23 and Jose Perez at 28:07.

Women’s cross country finishes 9th at UIW Invitational

The OLLU women’s cross-country team finished 9th in the University of the Incarnate Word (UIW) XC Invitational on Saturday.

Head Coach Patrick Torres commented, “The transition to 6K is always kind of tough so watching our younger women perform well and our older women PR is definitely a great sign.”

The Saints placed ninth out of 11 teams in the 6K. Winning the meet was Rice University with 47 points, followed by Trinity University with 106 points, University of Texas at San Antonio with 114 points, Texas A&M University at Kingsville with 124 points, Texas State University with 127 points, Houston Christian University with 133 points, UIW with 144 points, University of Texas at Rio Grande Valley with 208 points and OLLU with 214 points. Following OLLU were El Paso Community College with 250 points and Texas A&M International University with 263 points.

Leading the way for OLLU was Sanai Robinson with a time of 22:55 for 19th place. Jocelynn Reyes followed at 24:08, Viridiana Zuniga at 24:30, Valeria Pena at 24:36, Mia Curiel at 24:58, Daylah Vega at 24:59, Leilani Leza at 25:06, Brianna Rodriguez at 25:32, Victoria Bartlett at 26:59 and Liliana Hernandez at 27:00.

Men’s soccer falls short against Texarkana

The OLLU men’s soccer team dropped a close match against Texas A&M University-Texarkana (TAMUT) 2-1 on Saturday. The Saints fall to 0-5 overall and 0-2 in the Red River Athletic Conference (RRAC). The Eagles jump to 3-4 overall and 1-1 in conference play.

History

The Saints were 8-1 against the Eagles prior to the game.

Basics

The Eagles opened the scoring just five minutes into the first half. Stan Driessen responded with his first goal of the season at the 20th minute. Golden Eguaikhide put the Eagles in front again with a goal four minutes after the Saints evened the match. Both teams had five shots in the first frame. The Saints outshot the Eagles by seven in the second half but were unable to score the equalizer. OLLU forced the Eagles to make five saves in the second half. There were four yellow cards shown with three against the Saints.

Scoring overview

5′ – TAMUT – Diego Picano (assisted by Christian Gomez)

20′ – OLLU – Stan Driessen

Women’s soccer drops conference match against Texarkana

The OLLU women’s soccer team lost to Texas A&M University-Texarkana (TAMUT) 2-0 in a Red River Athletic Conference (RRAC) match on Saturday. The Saints move to 2-2 overall and 1-1 in conference. The Eagles remain undefeated at 7-0.  

History

The Saints were 5-2-1 against the Eagles prior to the game.

Basics

The Eagles opened the scoring just 10 minutes into the match. Tess Pitcher made four saves in the first half to keep the deficit at one goal. The Saints improved on defense in the second half by allowing only three shots by the Eagles. OLLU had multiple chances in the attacking third but were unable to score. The Eagles added another goal at the 86th minute and held on to win 2-0.

Scoring overview

10′ – TAMUT – Alicia Loera (assisted by Johanna Rodriguez)

86′ – TAMUT – Alyssa Daily

In The News

Recent media coverage that brought attention to OLLU:

On Sept. 13, a story on Telemundo San Antonio about Tex-Mex food, featuring OLLU’s Yolanda Rodriguez-Escobar, Director of the Center for Mexican American Studies and Research:

https://www.telemundosanantonio.com/noticias/local/picante-y-sabrosa-los-sabores-de-la-comida-tex-mex-tienen-historia-y-tradicion/2295532/

On Sept. 12, a story in Hispanic Outlook in Higher Education written in Spanish by OLLU President Abel Chávez: 

https://www.hispanicoutlook.com/articles/todos-sobresalimos-con-ganas?fbclid=IwAR2b0GMNqaAGMxOrNnybEGYNRCLclF5SNaFGtIrSaQIltoZgpIBIVaFFoac

On Sept. 9, a Baptist Health Foundation of San Antonio podcast, featuring OLLU President Abel Chávez: 

Episode 24: Our Lady of the Lake University

Volleyball sweeps Texas College

The volleyball team swept Texas College (TC) in both matches on Friday and Saturday to open Red River Athletic Conference (RRAC) play. The Saints improve to 5-8 on the season. OLLU has never lost to Texas College with a 28-0 series record.

Head Coach Scott Mattera commented, “There were a lot of new faces on the floor this weekend as sickness sidelined nearly half our players and staff. I’m happy with the way so many performed in their first varsity action and the way experienced leaders like Madalyn Gonzalez and Tina Trevino kept the train on the tracks.”

Friday
Basics
The Saints totaled 38 kills against the Steers on Friday. Texas College struggled with negative hitting percentages in the first and third set. Madalyn Gonzalez had double-digit kills for the Saints while Deandra Ybarra assisted on every play besides three points. Seven different players for the Saints had at least one service ace.

Scoring overview
Set One – OLLU 25 – TC 13

Set Two – OLLU 25 – TC 14

Set Three – OLLU 25 – TC 13

Set review
In the first set, OLLU recorded 14 kills and four errors on 23 total attacks for a hitting percentage of .435.

The Saints had 15 kills in the second set and five errors on 40 total attacks for a hitting percentage of .250.

In the third set, OLLU recorded nine kills and five errors on 33 total attacks for a hitting percentage of .121.

On the offense
Overall, the Saints had 38 kills for a hitting percentage of .250. TC totaled eight kills for a hitting percentage of -.061.

Gonzalez led the Saints with 12 kills. Ybarra assisted on 33 plays for OLLU.

Defensive standouts
OLLU had a total of 50 digs, led by Tina Trevino with nine. Victoria Urbanczyk assisted on three blocks.

Serving it up
Trevino led the Saints with three service aces.

Saturday
Basics
The Saints followed the sweep on Friday with another impressive performance. They hit over .300 percent in every set, including a .652 hitting percentage in the second set with no errors. The Saints also tallied double digits in every frame and only allowed 11 kills by the Steers. Trevino and Ybarra both had double-digit digs.

Scoring overview
Set One – OLLU 25 – TC 9

Set Two – OLLU 25 – TC 8

Set Three – OLLU 25 – TC 17

Set review
In the first set, OLLU recorded 10 kills and two errors on 26 total attacks for a hitting percentage of .308.

The Saints had 15 kills in the second set and no errors on 23 total attacks for a hitting percentage of .652.

In the third set, OLLU recorded 18 kills and four errors on 33 total attacks for a hitting percentage of .424.

On the offense
Overall, the Saints had 43 kills for a hitting percentage of .451. TC totaled 11 kills for a hitting percentage of -.015.

Gonzalez led the Saints with 10 kills. Ybarra assisted on 31 plays for OLLU.

Defensive standouts
OLLU had a total of 37 digs, led by Ybarra with 11. Karla Candia assisted on four blocks.

Serving it up
Ariana Caldera and Ybarra led the Saints with three service aces each.

Up next
The Saints host Jarvis Christian University on Friday at 7 p.m.

Fr. Eddy Morales (‘82, ‘85) to receive Surgeon General’s Medallion Award

OLLU alumnus Father Eduardo “Eddy” Morales (BSW 1982, MSW 1985) will receive the Surgeon General’s Medallion Award for Health at the Kennedy Concert Center in Washington, D.C. on Sept. 18.

The Rev. Morales will be honored for his work as pastor of Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Uvalde in the wake of the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School. 

He presided over many funerals and helped bring healing to Uvalde by offering safe spaces and community support.

The Surgeon General’s Medallion is the highest honor the U.S. Surgeon General can present to civilians. 

Five other individuals will receive Medallion Awards during an event called, “Songs for Hope: A Concert Celebration of the 2023 Surgeon General’s Medallion Awardees for Health.”

To honor Father Eddy and his mother Genoveva Morales, a community activist, OLLU last year created two $25,000 scholarships: The Rev. Eduardo D. Morales Endowed Scholarship and the Genoveva Morales Endowed Scholarship. The scholarships benefit incoming freshman undergraduate students from Uvalde County.

OLLU celebrates Spirit Day, 100th anniversary of Sacred Heart Chapel 

OLLU celebrated the 100th anniversary of Sacred Heart Conventual Chapel last week during the annual Spirit Day Mass.

Archbishop Gustavo García-Siller served as the principal celebrant for the Mass, and provided a special blessing in recognition of the chapel’s centennial celebration. The chapel was dedicated in fall 1923.

Faculty and staff who have served 10+ years were recognized for their service. Biology professor James Hall, PhD, was recognized for 40 years of service.

Photos from the Spirit Day Mass can be viewed on our Flickr link: https://www.flickr.com/photos/127464201@N02/albums/72177720311124618