A Texas Wesleyan University - Office of Communications Publication

May 31, 2006 

Miranda Publishes Children's Book

Twyla Miranda, professor of education and graduate education program director, recently published "Longfeather Ponds: A Chipmunk's Tale," for second- through sixth-graders. Miranda's heartwarming children's adventure is the story of Tjaart, a chipmunk who is dropped from the sky into the bed of a skunk named Henrik. The skunk reluctantly agrees to help Tjaart find his way back home, which begins an adventure of friendship and danger.

Men's Golf Takes 8th at Nationals

The Texas Wesleyan University Rams made their 45th appearance in 52 years of membership in the NAIA Men’s Golf National Championship. In their previous 44 appearances, the team had finished outside of the top ten only twice. In the final round on May 19, the Rams entered competition in 8th position, and after shooting 300 on the day they finished in the same position with a 72-hole total of 1,195.

     The Rams, who had a different leader in all four rounds, were led by Ryan Stephens’ one-over-par 73.  Lance Vasquez, who finished tied for 16th overall, and Mitch Hendon each shot 75. Reino Deetlefs shot 77 and Justin Smith 78 to round out the Rams final round scores.

     Vasquez was named Honorable Mention All-American in addition to being selected to the All-Tournament team, while both Smith and Deetlefs were named All-American Scholar Athletes. Deetlefs was also one of 28 recipients of the NAIA’s Champions of Character Award, which recognizes athletes who exemplify qualities of respect, responsibility, integrity, servant leadership, and sportsmanship.

Five Lady Rams Named All-Region

The 2006 NAIA Region VI All-Region Softball team has been announced, and five members of the Texas Wesleyan University squad were among those honored. The Lady Rams are receiving some well-deserved recognition for a season in which they tied or broke 25 school records including an NAIA record 66 home runs.

     Marie Stone, Tara Sharp, Rachel Hampton, Ariel Raley, and Rachel Lamont have joined Brandy Elliott (1995) as the only All-Region selections in the program’s history.

     Senior Marie Stone, who was also named Red River Athletic Conference Co-Player of the Year, was named 1st-Team All-Region. Stone ranked third in the conference with 14 home runs, second with 64 hits and a .430 AVG, and was tied for the conference lead with 54 runs scored.

     Tara Sharp, Rachel Hampton, Ariel Raley, and Rachel Lamont were all named to the 2nd-team. Sharp led the conference with a Texas Wesleyan record 18 home runs, while Hampton’s 16 homers gave her a Texas Wesleyan career record 30 long balls. Hampton also drove in an RRAC best and Texas Wesleyan record 61 runs. Raley matched Stone’s 54 runs while cracking a conference best 68 hits.  She also hit .409 with 7 home runs. Lamont led the Texas Wesleyan pitching staff with a 2.95 ERA and 8.1 strikeouts per inning pitched.

     The future looks bright for the Texas Wesleyan softball program as all of these outstanding players, except Stone (who was a senior), will be back next season.

Joe Brown Directs The Imaginary Invalid

Joe Brown, professor of theatre and speech at Texas Wesleyan, is currently directing The Imaginary Invalid at Jubilee Theatre. Written by Molière in 1673, The Imaginary Invalid is a satire on the medical profession written, ironically, in the last days of the playwright's life. Doctors and patients alike come under scrutiny when Argan, the hypochondriac, decides that his daughter must marry a physician so that he will always have a doctor around. The Imaginary Invalid runs May 26-June 18 at the Jubilee Theatre in downtown Fort Worth. Performances are Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday at 3 p.m., with special Thursday performances at 8 p.m. on June 8 and 15. Tickets range from $12 to $20 for the run of the production and can be purchased from the Jubilee Theatre Box Office by calling (817) 338-4411 Tuesday through Friday between noon and 6 p.m.