University Communications » Internal Communications » TrailBlazer » TrailBlazer 04-12-2011

Brain feedback: Lin Li, a doctoral student in bioengineering, has his brain scanned as doctoral bioengineering student Matthew Cloud and Alexa Smith-Osborne, assistant professor in social work, listen to bioengineering professor Hanli Liu, far right, explain how the machine operates.

Blended testing methods could benefit student veterans

Social work and bioengineering professors at The University of Texas at Arlington are collaborating on research they think will lead to better treatment for veterans suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI).

Alexa Smith-Osborne, an assistant professor of social work, and Hanli Liu, a bioengineering professor, are marrying their methods of evaluating PTSD and TBI to better serve veterans who suffer from those conditions.

The duo hopes to provide veterans with a better baseline on where they are in their learning ability. They hope that information also could provide the Veterans Administration and health-care providers with needed information on how to address these veterans’ cases of PTSD or TBI.

Dr. Smith-Osborne says the research also could help auto accident victims or others who have sustained head injuries.

Read more about the PTSD/TBI research.

Early birds needed for Friday morning TV gig for The Big Event

WFAA Channel 8 has invited the UT Arlington community to appear as an on-air audience Friday, April 15, as they discuss The Big Event, a day of community service.

Wear your best UT Arlington shirt and hat for your appearance on News 8 Daybreak. Bling is encouraged.

Transportation to the studio is on a first-come, first-served basis. Register online. If taking the bus, meet at 5 a.m. in front of the Starbucks at the E.H. Hereford University Center. Otherwise, meet at 5:30 a.m. at the WFAA studio in Victory Park in Dallas.

The Big Event is a day of community service Saturday, April 16, when Maverick volunteers lend a helping hand to projects benefitting individuals, communities, and nonprofit organizations. UTA Volunteers sponsors the event.

Maverick license plates available in May

Put your pride where you drive with the new UT Arlington license plate, which is available in May.

The plates—offered through the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles—are an additional $30 per year, with $22 going to the Higher Education Coordinating Board's scholarship program for students needing financial assistance.

Sign up now to receive an email notification as soon as the plates are available. Signing up for the advance notification is not an obligation to purchase.

Visit the myplates website today, check out the plate design, and sign up for your email advance notice.

Improvements planned for pedestrian crossing on UTA Boulevard

Traffic—pedestrian and vehicular—on UTA Boulevard by the new Engineering Research Building will see some changes this week.

The city of Arlington has approved these improvements, and UT Arlington's Office of Facilities Management has evaluated the crossing since the building opened in January with an eye toward making it as safe and visible as possible.

• The pedestrian crossing will be narrowed to 10 feet wide from its current width of 50 feet. Planners believe it is safer to focus pedestrians on a more narrow path.

• UT Arlington will add "stop bars" on both sides of the crossing. These are raised "bumps" in the pavement that are 24 inches wide. They serve to slow traffic.

• The ADA crosswalks will be located in the center of the crosswalk.

• Additional yellow pedestrian crossing signs with orange flags have been added at the site to alert traffic.

• New "Pedestrian Crossing" lettering will be painted on the pavement east and west of the crossing in large letters with reflective, white paint to alert motorists.

• The crossing is marked by flashing LED lights that are triggered when a pedestrian enters the crossing. Such lights have been found to be an effective way to alert motorists.

Spring at The Green A butterfly release signaled the official opening of The Green at College Park during last Tuesday's dedication. Releasing Painted Lady and Monarch butterflies are, from left, President James D. Spaniolo, Marni Jade Evans of the Sustainable Sites Initiative, Arlington Mayor Robert Cluck, and Councilwoman Kathryn Wilemon. See more photos from The Green's dedication.

Voter registration due Thursday

Voter registration applications are available through Thursday, April 14, in the Student Congress office, Suite B150, in the E.H. Hereford University Center. Voter registration information and links to local election offices are available through the Texas Secretary of State office at votexas.org.

UT Arlington is an early voting polling site 8 a.m.-5 p.m. May 2-4 for the May 14 local elections. The polling site will be in the Palo Duro Lounge of the University Center.

For more information, contact Jennifer Fox at sc-extr@uta.edu or 817-272-0556.

Business Week targets responsibility

Guest speakers for Business Week will focus on "Corporate Social Responsibility and Ethical Leadership" through Friday, April 15.

Business Week connects faculty, staff, and students with business and community leaders. Speakers will share their experiences and present case studies from their companies during regular undergraduate and graduate classes. The programs are free and open to the public, but space is limited.

David Montejano

Author, ethics expert featured in CMAS lecture series

Award-winning author David Montejano, professor of ethnic studies at the University of California, Berkeley, is the speaker for the Center for Mexican American Studies Distinguished Lecture at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, April 21, in Room 303 of the Chemistry and Physics Building. A reception and book signing will follow.

In his newest book, Quixote's Soldiers: A Local History of the Chicano Movement, 1966-1981, Montejano uses a blend of history and sociology to present a vivid description of the making and undoing of the Mexican-American Civil Rights movement. The book won the Texas Historical Society’s T.R. Fehrenbach Award for best book of the year in Texas History, and the National Association for Chicana and Chicano Studies Book of the Year Award.

Montejano’s first book, Anglos and Mexicans in the Making of Texas, 1836-1986, won several major awards, including the Frederick Jackson Turner Prize for the best first book in American history in 1988. It has been designated a Texas classic by the University of Texas Press.

For more information, contact Alma Rick at 817-272-2933.

Picnic in the Park Mavericks of all ages turned out for food, games, and visiting at the Picnic in the Park hosted by the Alumni Association on Saturday at Doug Russell Park. See more picnic photos.

Red Flag Campaign boosts awareness of relationship violence

Look for the the red flags of relationship violence through April 15 on the Library mall.

The Red Flag Campaign features red flags and life-sized silhouettes with statistics about sexual assaults. The campaign encourages friends and other campus community members to say something when they see warning signs (red flags) for dating violence in a friend’s relationship. Unfortunately, dating violence happens in one out of every five intimate relationships in college.

The Relationship Violence and Sexual Assault Prevention Program in the Division of Student Affairs sponsors the campaign.

Group exercise passes now half price

Campus Recreation group exercise passes are prorated at the mid-semester mark. That means you can attend unlimited classes for the rest of the spring semester for only $15.

For more information on group exercise, go to the Services and Information Desk at the Maverick Activities Center or call 817-272-3277.

Maverick Discount Program offers more discounts

The new and improved Maverick Discount Program offers a minimum 10 percent discount on products and services categories—from automotive and entertainment to personal care, restaurants and retail—to faculty, staff, students, and members of the Parent and Family Association.

It’s as simple as presenting a current Maverick ID to local business participants or using a unique UT Arlington discount code to shop national brands online. Check out the complete list of participants in the Maverick Discount Program.

Discounts are added regularly, so visit the Maverick Discount Program website often for new businesses and limited-time offers.

'Socialism Is Great' is selection for Mavs Book Club

Socialism is Great!: A Worker’s Memoir of the New China by Lijia Zhang is this month's selection for the Mavs Book Club, which meets at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, April 14, in the basement of the Central Library.

The book illuminates the sweeping historical forces at work in China after the Cultural Revolution as the country moved from one of stark repression to a vibrant, capitalist economy.

Mavs Book Club selections will be in stock at the UTA Bookstore with a 20 percent discount available for book club members. The books will have a sticker showing the discount. For more information, call Mary Levesque, general book manager, at 2-7173.

Learn more about the Mavs Book Club selection at uta.edu/bookclub.

'Maverick Safety Matters' spring issue available online

It’s spring cleaning time, so get your area ready for fire and life safety building inspections by following the guidelines in the latest edition of Maverick Safety Matters, the Environmental Health and Safety newsletter. The spring issue also features information about safely disposing of products that contain mercury and tips on preventing slips, trips, and falls.

Sole sisters Gabriela Garcia, right, engineering freshman, joins sisters Mayra Caro, biology sophomore, and Violeta Caro, anthropology freshman, in participating in One Day Without Shoes. Last week's event emphasized the need for shoes in third-world countries to prevent certain diseases.

Recycle, receive a plant on Earth Day

Bring a recyclable item to exchange for a plant at Earth Day from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Wednesday, April 20, along the E.H. Hereford University Center mall.

The compostable lunch is $1, and T-shirts are $10. Vendors will demonstrate their “green” efforts.

Bring electronic waste to be recycled. Departments can get rid of old computer components, or you can bring your personal electronics for recycling. Please observe the policies and procedures for disposal of departmental computers through surplus.

Vandergriff Chevrolet will have a new electric Volt on display.

For more information, contact Becky Valentich at becky@uta.edu.

Health Services, Library seek info

Take a few moments to complete the quick and anonymous patient satisfaction Health Services' survey through April 29. Health Services is committed to meeting and exceeding your expectations. Feedback on your impressions of the facility and experiences of care, service, and staff are important and encouraged.

Take the Library's survey and give your thoughts, suggestions, and insight into how the new website is working for you. At the end of the survey, you’ll have the opportunity to sign up for a drawing. The survey and drawing run through April 30, with prizes awarded in the last week of the spring semester.

Couples counseling session April 20

Couples can learn how to improve their communication and intimacy with a counseling session offered by Counseling Services.

Couples Sacred Sexuality is set for 2-3:20 p.m. Wednesday, April 20, in Room 303 in Ransom Hall.

The session is for couples only. Both individuals must be UT Arlington students and register separately.

Stir it up Ravi Maharjan, finance senior, mixes up aaloo aachar, a Nepalese potato salad, at last week's International Week Food Festival.

Emergency notification system test successful in reaching 41,000

The test of the MavAlert Emergency Notification System conducted Wednesday, April 6, was a success. The system distributed test notifications to about 41,000 students, faculty, and staff with contact information in University records. An analysis of the test results will be used to improve emergency communications for the UT Arlington community.

Within three minutes of the test message launch, thousands of MavAlert notifications began arriving via text message, email, and voice mail to 40,999 individual, registered users. Text message notifications were delivered most rapidly to the 13,317 users who had registered their mobile phone numbers as SMS text message devices in the MavAlert system.

During the test, some email notifications were slowed by the University’s internal email servers. The email permissions have been updated to speed up email notifications during future tests and actual emergencies.

In addition, voice mail notifications were sent to a subset of the total phone numbers listed in the system. The service provider is resolving this issue.

The MavAlert Emergency Notification System is designed to deliver rapid notification to all students, faculty, and staff in the event of a campus emergency. The multi-tiered communications system sends emergency notifications on various communications platforms when an urgent situation arises.

Other means of rapid mass emergency notifications include the Outdoor Warning System, announcements within campus buildings, the University’s home page, public address via police vehicles, and alerts distributed through the media.

“We’re satisfied with this university-wide test of our MavAlert Emergency Notification System,” says John Hall, vice president for administration and campus operations, who oversees emergency preparedness for the University. “The text-messaging component, in particular, proved extremely reliable and effective in getting our message out quickly. The test provided the information we need to make our emergency communications even more effective in the future.”

Routine tests of emergency communications systems are essential to ensure that they perform to their full potential.

To add your mobile phone number as an SMS text message device, visit the MavAlert registration page. You must complete the steps to register your mobile phone as an SMS text message device to receive emergency notifications by text messages.

Student information can be updated through the MyMav portal.

Mike Greene

Alumnus creates $1 million endowment

Alumnus Mike Greene and his wife, Janet, have created a College of Engineering endowment that over time will equal $1 million through the Maverick Match program, which pairs University natural gas royalties with new endowment commitments for maximum impact.

Greene earned his mechanical engineering degree from UT Arlington in 1969. He eventually rose to become vice chairman of Energy Future Holdings, formerly TXU. After holding various leadership positions within the company, including CEO of Luminant and president of Oncor, he retired in June 2010 after 46 years with the company.

The gift comes as UT Arlington is laying the groundwork for what will become its first comprehensive campaign to raise private philanthropic support for endowments, capital projects, and programs, says Jim Lewis, vice president for development.

Read more about the Greene endowment.

Dr. Ali Abomaali

Civil engineering professor to test new standard for stronger, more flexible pipe construction

Researchers at UT Arlington are partnering with a Belgian company to test new construction methods for reinforcing concrete pipes with steel fibers to build stronger, more durable pipes at a lower cost.

Civil engineering Professor Ali Abolmaali has been awarded a $155,000 grant through Bekaert, a global leader in drawn steel wire products, for the project for reviews of his design specifications.

The work is expected to lead to new design and construction standards in the United States. Similar construction standards calling for mixing steel fibers in concrete pipes already have been adopted in Europe, Dr. Abolmaali says.

Read more about Abolmaali's grant.

Dr. Beth Mancini

College of Nursing shares in nearly $1 million grant aimed at increasing patient safety

The U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality has awarded nearly $1 million to researchers at UT Arlington’s College of Nursing, the Baylor Health Care System, and UT Dallas to study how physicians and nurses can improve their communication skills by participating in engaging, video game-like simulations.

The $969,604, three-year grant is aimed at increasing patient safety by providing a safe, virtual environment for physicians and nurses to learn to communicate effectively and efficiently through role-playing. Initially, the new game will focus on surgeons and nurses caring for post-operative patients. The researchers plan to recruit 120 nurses and 25 physicians on the Baylor medical staff to take part.

“Technologies like the high-fidelity manikins at UT Arlington’s Smart Hospital have made it possible for students to acquire and test their skills in a realistic environment where it is safe to make a mistake and learn from it,” says Beth Mancini, associate dean of the College of Nursing and principal investigator for the study.

Read more about the College of Nursing grant.

Tickets available for UT Arlington Night at the Ballpark

Tickets are still available for UT Arlington Night at the Ballpark when the Texas Rangers play the Toronto Blue Jays on Monday, April 25.

Wear your Maverick blue and come for the pre-game fun featuring the UT Arlington color guard, a performance of the national anthem, the first pitch, and a special appearance by Blaze. Game time is 7:05 p.m.

Discount tickets can be reserved at texasrangers.com/uta. Use the password rangers.

Cessation programs help Mavs prepare for tobacco-free campus in August

Health Services offers free tobacco cessation education classes as UT Arlington moves toward becoming a tobacco-free campus in August.

The Fresh Start from Tobacco program consists of four one-hour classes designed to educate and assist individuals who are ready to make a fresh start from tobacco use. These seminars cover steps to understanding addiction, quitting and coping strategies, and receiving help. It is important to attend all four sessions.

The free classes are on the third Tuesday and Wednesday of each month in Room B03 of the Health Services Center.

The next classes are April 19-20. Check the schedule for details. Read more about UT Arlington's tobacco-free policy.

Registration continues for summer and fall

Priority registration has opened for summer and fall 2011. MyMav is your gateway to the Schedule of Classes and the Registration Timetables for making registration plans. Your registration dates can be found under Enrollment Dates on the right side of your Student Center.

To determine if you need adviser clearance, check your portal page at MyMav and click on Student Center. You will see a section on the right titled Holds. Click the details link for specific hold information. If your academic department requires advising, you will see an academic department service indicator (hold).

Seminars offer help in choosing a major

Discover resources on campus that can help you choose the right major. Academic advisers in University College host free one-hour seminars in the large, third-floor conference room of Ransom Hall.

Sessions are noon Wednesday, April 13; noon Wednesday, April 27; noon Wednesday, May 4; noon Thursday, May 5; and noon Tuesday, May 10.

'Doubt' questions everything starting Thursday Set in a Bronx Catholic school in 1964, Doubt centers on a nun who confronts a priest after suspecting him of abusing a student. He denies the charges, and much of the play's quick-fire dialogue tackles themes of religion, morality, and authority. Written by John Patrick Shanley, Doubt first appeared off-Broadway in 2004. It is directed by Natalie Gaupp, senior lecturer in Theatre Arts. Stephen Tyler Howell plays the role of Father Flynn while Tonya Free is cast as Sister Aloysius. Performances in the Mainstage Theatre are at 8 p.m. Thursday-Saturday, April 14-16, and at 2:30 p.m. Sunday, April 17. Tickets are $7 for faculty, staff, students, and seniors and $10 for the general public. Contact the box office at 817-272-2669 for reservations.

Tuesday, April 12

Baseball and Tailgate Tuesday Mavericks vs Baylor. Join the cookout, yard games, and great baseball. Free with student ID. 5:30 p.m. tailgate, 6:30 p.m. game, Clay Gould Ballpark. Athletics, 817-272-2261.

Music Honors Recital Music honors students and faculty play in solo and chamber music settings. Free. 7:30 p.m., Irons Recital Hall, Fine Arts Building. Music, 817-272-3471.

Wednesday, April 13

$2 Movie: The Social Network A 2010 drama about the founding of the social networking website Facebook and the resulting lawsuits. 5:30 p.m. Also 5:30 p.m. Friday, April 15, and 2:30 p.m. Saturday, April 16. Planetarium, 817-272-1183.

Thursday-Sunday, April 14-17

Main Street Fort Worth Arts Festival Visit the UT Arlington booth that includes information about academic programs, the Alumni Association, sustainability, and College Town UTA. UT Arlington also sponsors a performing arts stage. Open at 10 a.m. each day. Downtown Fort Worth. Main Street Fort Worth Arts Festival.

Friday, April 15

Opening Reception for MFA Student Exhibition Reception for M.F.A. candidates exhibiting their artwork in The Gallery. Free. 5-7 p.m., The Gallery at UTA, Fine Arts Building. Art and Art History, 817-272-5658.

Baseball Mavericks vs. McNeese State. Free with student ID. 6:30 p.m. Also 2 p.m. Saturday, April 16, and 1 p.m. Sunday, April 17. Clay Gould Ballpark. Athletics, 817-272-2261.

Friends of the Library Jane Roberts Wood's new book, Out the Summerhill Road, focuses on a long unsolved murder in an East Texas town and the community's response when the suspect moves home after 34 years. Reception and book signing follow. Free and open to the public. 7:30 p.m., sixth floor parlor, Central Library. RSVP to Betty Wood at bwood@uta.edu or 817-272-7421.

Spring Big Band Concert Features the Jazz Orchestra directed by Tim Ishii, the Jazz Ensemble directed by Dan Cavanagh, and special guest pianist and composer James Miley. $5. 7:30 p.m., Texas Hall. Music, 817-272-3471.

Sunday, April 17

Opera Workshop Performances Students perform songs and scenes from various operas and plays. Free. 3 p.m.; also 7:30 p.m. Monday, April 18; Irons Recital Hall, Fine Arts Building. Music, 817-272-3471.

Ongoing

Architecture Exhibit: Richard Ferrier The School of Architecture honors the late Professor Richard Ferrier, right, through an exhibit of his work and his life. Ferrier taught at UT Arlington from 1968-2010 and was associate dean from 1985-95. He died in August 2010. Part of the exhibit includes his work featured in the United States Library of Congress. Free. 1-5 p.m. Mondays-Fridays through April 30. Room 206, Architecture Building. Architecture.

Gallery 76102 "Reconsidering Art History," a solo exhibit by Betsy Williamson ('06 BFA), who uses pre-existing images to create specific juxtapositions. Through May 31. Gallery 76102, Fort Worth Center. 817-272-0365.

Combat Narratives: Stories and Artifacts from UT Arlington Veterans Artifacts, memorabilia, and gear on loan from UT Arlington military veterans and objects carried, used, or found by U.S. servicemen and women in Iraq and Afghanistan. Free. Through May 21. Sixth floor atrium, Central Library.

Exposure: Photos from the Second Battle of Fallujah Photographs from the Second Battle of Fallujah taken by UT Arlington student and Marine Corps veteran Joel Chaverri. Free. Through May 21. Sixth floor parlor, Central Library.

Six Flags Over Texas Exhibit Celebrate 50 years of an Arlington landmark with this interactive exhibit. Free. 9 a.m.-7 p.m. Mondays, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesdays-Saturdays. Through Aug. 13. Special Collections, sixth floor, Central Library.

Planetarium The beauty of a starlit sky conceals the violent forces at work within our universe in Violent Universe. 6 p.m. Tuesdays, 1 p.m. Saturdays. See the complete Planetarium schedule, 817-272-1183.

(For an expanded list of events, see the UT Arlington Calendar.)

Wednesday, April 13	American College of Sports Medicine Lecture Wendy Kohrt, professor in the Department of Medicine and Division of Geriatric Medicine at the University of Colorado-Denver, speaks on "Novel Regulators of the Skeletal Response to Exercise" in the 49th UT Arlington/ACSM Lecture. Noon-1 p.m., Lone Star Auditorium, Maverick Activities Center. Kinesiology, 817-272-3288. English Brown Bag Series Ayanna Jackson-Fowler, right, a diversity faculty fellow, presents research on the depiction of black Caribbean slaves in the poem, The Sugar-Cane (1764), a work written by the 18th-century doctor, James Grainger. Free. Noon-1 p.m., Room 211, Preston Hall. English. Architecture Lecture Series Greg Ibanez, principal of Ibanez Architecture in Fort Worth, is guest speaker. Free. 4 p.m., Room 204, Architecture Building. Architecture, 817-272-2314. Engineering Distinguished Speaker Series Deborah Nightingale, professor of the practice of aeronautics and astronautics and engineering systems at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, discusses "Principles of Lean Enterprise Transformation." Free. Register. 5 p.m. reception, Room 601, Nedderman Hall. 6 p.m. lecture Room 100, Nedderman Hall. Engineering Distinguished Speaker Series.
Thursday, April 14	Underage Alcohol Use Forum Professionals in alcohol prevention and community change present resources to prevent and reduce underage drinking and binge alcohol use among college students at this regional forum. Register online. Free. 8 a.m.-4 p.m., Rio Grande Ballroom, E.H. Hereford University Center. Environmental and Sustainability Studies Lecture Series David Wallace, doctoral student of English, speaks on environmental literature and eco-critical theory. Free. 9:30 a.m., Room 115, Trimble Hall. Environmental and Sustainability Studies Lecture Series, Jeff Howard, 817-272-5119. Adventures in Antiquity Niki Holmes ('91 BA), instructor of humanities at the University of South Florida, presents "Pandora and the Decorative Program of the Parthenon" examining the significance of the first mortal woman's creation story as represented in the pedestal of Athena's cult statue in the Parthenon. The winner of the Douglas Carvey Prize for best student essay in Classical Studies will be announced. Reception follows. Free. 3:30 p.m., Room 2102A, Fine Arts Building. University Classics Club, Charles Chiasson, 817-272-3216. President's Convocation for Academic Excellence Achievements of students and faculty are celebrated. Dana Dunn, right, associate professor in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology and former provost and vice president for academic affairs, is the guest speaker. A reception will follow on the lawn, east of Texas Hall. Free. 3:30 p.m., Texas Hall. Office of the President and Office of the Provost, 817-272-2103. Biology Colloquium Series Tamar Goulet, associate professor of biology at the University of Mississippi, discusses "The Significance of Host/Symbiont Genotypic Combinations." 4 p.m., Room 124, Life Science Building. Biology. Making the Metroplex: Southlake Southlake officials Shana Yelverton, city manager, and Ken Baker, director of planning, discuss the success of new urban planning in Southlake. Free. 6 p.m., Room 204, Architecture Building. Institute of Urban Studies Speaker Series, School of Urban and Public Affairs, marjorie.dick@uta.edu.
Saturday, April 16	Rape Aggression Defense System Learn the 10 basic principles of self defense, risk avoidance and more. Free for female students, faculty, and staff. Register online. Free. 9 a.m.-6 p.m., Room 135, Maverick Athletics Center. UTA Police, Officer Randy Reynolds, reynolds@uta.edu.
(For an expanded list of events, see the UT Arlington Calendar.)

Perfect double: Nikola Matovicova and her double's partner Maria Martinez-Romero are 9-0 in Southland Conference women's tennis.

Women's tennis remains perfect in conference

The women's tennis team's domination of the Southland Conference continued Sunday when they defeated Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 7-0 at the UTA Tennis Center. The Mavericks improved their overall record to 15-4 and remained flawless in conference action with a 9-0 mark.

Linda Aqvist, Giada D'ortona and Maria Martinez-Romero remain perfect in singles action all with a 9-0 league record. Doubles team of Martinez-Romero and Nikola Matovicova made their mark to 9-0.

The Mavericks hit the road for SLC matches at Southeastern Louisiana and Nicholls State on Saturday-Sunday, April 16-17.

It's Tailgate Tuesday as Mavs host Baylor

Enjoy Tailgate Tuesday with a free cookout, face painting, yard games, and a great baseball game today, Tuesday, April 12, as the Mavericks take on the Baylor Bears at Clay Gould Ballpark.

Student organizations are encouraged to attend. The group with the most members at the tailgate will receive a free catered lunch.

Sponsored by Student Affairs and Athletics, tailgating begins at 5 p.m. followed by the baseball game at 6:30 p.m. For more information, call 817-272-6080.

The Maverick baseball team hosts Mary Hardin-Baylor at 4 p.m. Wednesday, April 13, and face McNeese State in a Southland Conference series Friday-Sunday, April 15-17, at Clay Gould Ballpark.

Martin second in decathlon at Texas Relays

Romain Martin finished second in the decathlon at the prestigious Texas Relays last week at UT Austin. Competing against 19 other performers from schools nationwide, Martin won the decathlon’s high jump and was second in both the javelin and the 110-meter hurdles.

Also for the men’s team, Cordero Gray finished fourth in the 100-meter dash while the women’s distance medley relay team finished third.

The Mavericks compete in the Mount Sac Invitational at Walnut, Calif., Thursday-Friday, April 14-15, and the Northwestern State Invitational at Natchitoches, La., Saturday, April 16.

Softball team slips to second in SLC

Losing two of three to Northwestern State last weekend, the Maverick softball team slipped out of first place in the Southland Conference, but still have a solid hold on the second spot with a 14-4 record.

The Mavericks, 27-15 overall, play at Stephen F. Austin on Saturday-Sunday, April 16-17.

Sports shorts

• Men’s tennis is 10-8 overall and 1-2 in the Southland Conference. The Mavericks defeated UT Pan American and UC Santa Barbara last weekend before losing to Baylor. They play SLC matches at Nicholls State and Lamar on Friday-Saturday, April 15-16, before going to Rice for a non-conference match Sunday, April 17.

• The golf team finished seventh at the Morris Williams Intercollegiate at UT Austin last week and are playing in the Jim West Intercollegiate, which concludes today at Victoria, Texas. The Mavericks host the Southland Conference Men's Golf Championship April 25-27, at Waterchase Golf Course in Fort Worth.

(For more sports news, go to utamavs.com, uta.edu/movinmavs, or uta.edu/campusrec.)