RCAF highlights eventful Cajun season

Joshua Parrott • jparrott@theadvertiser.com • January 1, 2010

With the countdown to 2010 finally over, it’s time to reflect on the year that was in UL athletics.

The top 10 notable sports stories of 2009 involving the Ragin’ Cajuns featured highs and lows, new beginnings, second chances and countless memories that will last a lifetime. They will also be hard to top this year.

So wait a few minutes before focusing on your New Year’s resolutions. Before looking ahead to 2010, let’s take a look back at the past 12 months one last time.

RCAF, upgrades unveiled

The future of UL athletics got a little brighter with the introduction last April of the Ragin’ Cajuns Athletic Foundation.

In a move that was long overdue, the RCAF will aim to be the main fundraiser for UL’s athletic teams. The timing was perfect given the economic climate, as the university faced additional budget cuts.

School officials were encouraged by the early response to the RCAF but know plenty of work must still be done to cope with one of the nation’s smallest athletic budgets.

Various upgrades to facilitiesalso were started around campus. The process of installing new turf at baseball’s M.L. "Tigue" Moore Field began in the fall.

Softball’s Lamson Park and the track and soccer complex are set to undergo improvements in the next few months.

Lee, Rogers and Bustle retained

Back in March, UL announced that men’s basketball coach Robert Lee and women’s basketball coach Errol Rogers would be retained after subpar seasons by both programs.

Lee went 10-20 after battling injuries and inconsistency during the 2008-09 season, one year after winning a share of the Sun Belt Conference’s West Division title. He entered the 2009-10 season with one year left on his current contract.

Rogers fell to 3-27 in his second year with the Cajuns, including a winless showing in league play with one of the nation’s youngest rosters. He came into the current season with two years remaining on his contract.

Football coach Rickey Bustle was also retained for 2010 after the program won six games for the fourth time in five years. He later agreed to a one-year extension through the 2011 season.

UL football misses out on bowl

While the Cajuns football team was one of three bowl-eligible teams to miss the postseason, there were still two big milestones that took place during the 2009 season at Cajun Field.

First, the Cajuns opened the year with a 42-19 win over Southern in front of an announced home crowd of 41,357 — the largest single-game mark in school and league history.

The following week, Tyler Albrecht’s 48-yard field goal in the final minute lifted the Cajuns to a 17-15 upset of Big 12 member Kansas State.

Albrecht’s first collegiate field goal handed UL its first win over an automatic BCS conference school since knocking off Texas A&M in 1996.

UL baseball upsets No. 3 LSU at "Box"

In another heated game between two fierce rivals, the Cajuns baseball team shocked No. 3 LSU, 10-9, in a March meeting at the new Alex Box Stadium.

Senior Scott Hawkins drove in the go-ahead run with a solo blast over the left field fence in the top of the ninth inning off All-American Matty Ott to beat the eventual national champions. It was UL’s first win over a top-three team in nine years.

The Cajuns were riddled by injuries all season but got hot at the right time, advancing to a bracket final in the league tournament before losing back-to-back games to eventual champion Middle Tennessee.

Despite that late run, UL (27-30-1) finished with a losing overall record for the first time in 13 years.

Softball in Waco Regional

Coming off a Women’s College World Series appearance in 2008, UL’s softball team faced a number of setbacks this past season but still enjoyed success.

Star pitcher Ashley Brignac was limited due to a shoulder injury and tendinitis.

The Cajuns struggled to hit and field on a consistent basis. They lost to ULM in the first round of the league tournament before rebounding to win the conference title.

While sophomore pitcher Donna Bourgeois emerged as one of the nation’s top young pitchers and outfielder Karli Hubbard was named an All-American, the Cajuns (45-13) saw their season end in the Waco Regional.

UL lost to Baylor, 6-1, on Championship Sunday with a Super Regional berth on the line.

Fenroy and Brignac win Corbett

Two of UL’s brightest athletic stars helped the school make some history over the summer.

Tailback Tyrell Fenroy won the James J. Corbett Memorial Award as Louisiana’s top male amateur athlete in 2008, while Brignac received the same honor as the top female amateur athlete. It marked the first time that UL had swept both awards in the same year.

In 2008, Fenroy finished as the all-time leading rusher in school, state and league history with 4,646 yards, was the Sun Belt Player of the Year and a semifinalist for the Doak Walker Award.

Brignac was named to the NFCA All-South Region second team, Sun Belt Pitcher of the Year and the league tournament MVP as a freshman in 2008 as the Cajuns advanced to the Women’s College World Series.

Hawkins becomes

HR leader

UL’s baseball team experienced an up-and-down season in 2009, but senior designated hitter/first baseman Scott Hawkins put himself atop the school’s record books.

Hawkins became UL’s career home run leader when he smacked his 40th bomb in a May loss to Western Kentucky to pass former Cajun standout Ron Robicheaux.

By the end of the season, Hawkins pounded out 10 home runs to finish with 42 for his career.

Wilborn drafted by Dodgers

Over the summer, UL junior left-hander Greg Wilborn was selected by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 18th round of the Major League Baseball First-Year Player draft.

Wilborn went 2-1 with a 7.45 ERA in 12 appearances with the Rookie-Level Ogden Raptors of the Pioneer League.

UL has now had at least one baseball player drafted every year since 1982.

Track sends five to regional meet

Coach Charlie Mahfouz helped UL’s track program take a step in the right direction in his first year as five of his athletes advanced to the NCAA Mideast Regional meet.

Roderick Houston (100-meter run), Chris Roy (pole vault), Taryn Simmons (400-meter hurdles), Antwain Keyes (high jump) and Jasmine Manuel (triple jump) did not advance to the national meet, but there is some good news for the program.

All five are expected back this year. Houston was only a junior, Roy and Simmons were sophomores and Keyes and Manuel were freshmen.

Men’s basketball sinks low

Only half of the 2009-10 season is complete, but the UL men’s basketball team has already gone through some tough times at the midway point.

The Cajuns (4-8) have suffered the most at home with some surprising losses. They lost to the University of Mobile, 68-64, in November before falling to Centenary, 73-68, in December.

University of Mobile is an NAIA program. Centenary is the nation’s smallest NCAA Division I school and plans to drop down to Division III in two years.