Year of the 'Jacks - March
7/31/2015 12:00:00 AM | General
2014-15 proved to be arguably the most memorable year in the history of Stephen F. Austin Athletics. Nine regular season conference titles, three NCAA postseason appearances, seven Coach of the Year honors, seven All-Americans, 23 Southland Conference major award winners, a national runner-up showing and the program's first Division I national champion. Over the next few weeks, SFAJacks.com looks back at the highlights of SFA's historic 2014-15 season, a season which came to be known as the "Year of the `Jacks."
MARCH
Records: Men's Basketball (5-1); Women's Basketball (2-2); Tennis (5-2); Softball (3-13); Baseball (6-11)
Nights of #PurpleLights: 15
March 1 – T&F – Demi Payne Wins USA Track and Field Pole Vault Title
In a field of the best women’s pole vaulters in the country, SFA’s Demi Payne claimed gold at the 2015 USA Track and Field Indoor National Championships in Boston to add to her incredible indoor season. Payne cleared 14-11 (4.55m) on her third attempt to edge defending champion Mary Saxer by two inches while also beating Olympic gold medalist Jenn Suhr.
March 5 – WBB – Ladyjacks Win 2014-15 SLC Title Outright
The SFA women’s basketball team took down Northwestern State 56-45 in the second to last game of the regular season, clinching the program’s 17th Southland Conference Championship outright. The win secured the league title for the Ladyjacks in back-to-back years for the first time since 2001/2002. Porsha Roberts led the way with a career-high 19 rebounds to go along with 15 points in the victory.
March 5 – MBB – SFA Routs Demons For Share of SLC Crown
Paced by double-doubles from both Thomas Walkup and Jacob Parker, SFA throttled Northwestern State 92-66 to clinch at least a share of its third-straight SLC crown. Walkup finished with 14 points and 13 rebounds with Parker adding 16 points and 10 boards as SFA held the nation’s top scoring team to just 66 points on 39.1 percent shooting, its lowest total of the season.
March 6 – T&F – Demi Payne Named Regional Field Athlete of the Year
SFA pole vaulter Demi Payne was named the 2015 NCAA Division I Women’s Field Athlete of the Year for the South Central Region, the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) announced prior to the NCAA Indoor Championships. The prestigious honor came on the heels of one of the best seasons in collegiate pole vault history as Payne broke the indoor record three times and won a USATF title.
March 7 – MBB – Threepeat is Complete as ‘Jacks Topple Bearkats
In front of a William R. Johnson Coliseum record crowd, SFA outlasted rival Sam Houston State 64-55 to clinch its third-straight regular season SLC title. Thomas Walkup finished with 19 points and 11 rebounds for his third-straight double-double as head coach Brad Underwood became the winningest second year head coach in NCAA Division I history.
March 7 – WBB – SFA Beats Sam Houston State for 11th Straight Win
The SFA women’s basketball team capped the regular season with a 79-65 win over Sam Houston State on Senior Night inside William R. Johnson Coliseum. The victory marked the 11th straight for the Ladyjacks – the longest winning streak for the program in 13 years. The victory was also the 15th straight at home for SFA – the 10th longest streak in the NCAA at the time.
March 9 – MBB – Walkup, Underwood Highlight SLC Honors
SFA captured two of the Southland Conference’s major awards as junior Thomas Walkup was named the SLC Player of the Year while Brad Underwood repeated as SLC Coach of the Year. Walkup became the third-straight Lumberjack to claim Player of the Year honors as 2013-14 POY Jacob Parker was named a second team All-SLC selection.
March 10 – WBB – Roberts, Schneider Highlight All-SLC Selections
SFA’s Porsha Roberts was named the Southland Conference Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year, Brandon Schneider picked up Coach of the Year accolades and Taylor Ross (second team) and Tierany Henderson (third team, all-defensive team) were honored following the season with the release of the 2014-15 postseason awards.
March 13 – MBB – SFA Powers Past Demons in SLC Semifinals
Led by a balanced offensive attack which saw five Lumberjacks finish in double figures, SFA pulled away from rival Northwestern State for a 91-79 victory in the SLC semifinals in Katy. Ty Charles led the way with 16 points while Jacob Parker notched his third double-double of the season with 15 points and 10 rebounds as SFA advanced to the SLC tournament title game for the third-straight season.
March 14 – MBB – NCAA Ticket Punched as SFA Captures SLC Title
For the second-straight season, SFA toppled rival Sam Houston State to capture the SLC tournament title and earn the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The Lumberjacks defeated the Bearkats 83-70 as Thomas Walkup was named the tournament’s MVP for the second-straight season. SFA became the first back-to-back tournament winners since Louisiana-Monroe in 1992-93.
March 14 – BB – Mangham, SFA Shuts Down Privateers
Senior Dillon Mangham went the distance, allowing just four hits to record the complete game shutout as SFA defeated New Orleans 3-0. Mangham added eight strikeouts for the third complete game of his Lumberjack career.
March 16 – WBB – SFA Qualifies for WNIT and Draws TCU
For the first time since 2010, and fourth time in program history, the SFA women’s basketball team was selected to participate in the Women’s National Invitation Tournament (WNIT) as part of a 64-team field. The postseason appearance was the 29th in school history after SFA earned an automatic berth with its SLC regular season title. The Ladyjacks saw a late comeback fall short and narrowly fell to TCU 85-80 in the first round.
March 20 – MBB – SFA Rally Falls Short in NCAA Tournament Loss
Making its second-straight NCAA tournament appearance, SFA nearly staged another dramatic postseason comeback, trailing fifth-seeded Utah by two with less than a minute to go at the Moda Center in Portland, Oregon. But this time around, the ‘Jacks couldn’t get the key shots to fall, dropping a 57-50 decision to the Utes in the NCAA second round. Ty Charles finished with a team-high 14 points while Thomas Walkup nearly posted his third-straight NCAA double-double, finishing with 12 points and nine rebounds.
March 23 – MBB – Underwood Named Hugh Durham Award Finalist
Head coach Brad Underwood was name one of 16 finalists for the 2015 Hugh Durham National Coach of the Year, presented annually to the nation’s top mid-major coach. Underwood guided SFA to a 29-5 record in 2014-15, upping his two-year record to 61-8 and setting his mark as the winningest two-year head coach in NCAA Division I history. 
March 25 – BOWL – SFA Selected for 2015 NCAA Championships
SFA finally saw its postseason dreams realized as SFA was one of the eight teams selected to compete in the 2015 NCAA Bowling Championships in Richmond Heights, Missouri. SFA was one of four Southland Bowling League schools to earn a bid, entering the national tournament as the number seven overall seed.
March 27 – SB – Fraccastoro Leads SFA to Extra-Inning Win in Corpus Christi
Freshman Taylor Fraccastoro smashed a solo home run in the ninth inning of the second game of a doubleheader against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi to help the Ladyjacks pull off a 4-3 victory in a big SLC contest. With the score knotted at 3-3 in the top half of the ninth, Fraccastoro scorched a solo shot over the wall in center to put SFA on top.
March 28 – TEN – SFA Downs Lady Demons For Fifth-Straight Win
SFA closed out the month of March as one of the hottest teams in the Southland Conference, posting a 4-1 win over rival Northwestern State. With the victory, the Ladyjacks remained perfect in the SLC standings, ending the month as one of only two undefeated conference teams.
March 30 – MBB – Walkup Earns A Pair of All-American Honors
Junior Thomas Walkup was named an Associated Press honorable mention All-American, becoming the third Lumberjack to earn the AP honors. It comes on the heels of Walkup being named a Lou Henson All-American four days earlier as well as a finalist for the mid-major Player of the Year.
March 30 – BB – Thornell Named SLC Hitter of the Week
Junior Kyle Thornell was tabbed the Southland Conference’s Hitter of the Week after helping SFA to a series victory at A&M-Corpus Christi. Thornell was red-hot during the three-game series, going 9-for-11 for a .818 batting average, knocking six singles, two doubles and a homerun, giving him a 1.273 slugging percentage. 
March 30 – WGLF – Steiner’s Ace Highlights Day One in Arkansas
Junior Mackenzie Steiner recorded the first hole-in-one of her collegiate career, sinking the shot on the 153-yard 17th hole in the first round of the UALR/ASU Invitational. It marked the third hole-in-one for the SFA golf program on the year, joining Erica Lautensack and Blake Pugh’s aces from the fall season.
March 31 – MBB – Parker Invited to Play in NABC All-Star Game
Senior Jacob Parker was one of 21 seniors selected to play in the NABC Reese’s Division I College All-Star Game at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, the site of the 2015 Final Four. Parker’s West All-Stars won the game 109-87 with Parker finishing with eight points.
"Year of the `Jacks" By The Numbers
Regular Season Conference Titles: 9
Total Number of Conference Titles: 10
NCAA Postseason Appearances: 4
All-Americans: 7
National/USA Champions: 2
SLC Major Award Winners: 23
SLC Players of the Year: 6
SLC/National Coaches of the Year: 7
First team All-SLC selections: 43
Total All-SLC selections: 105
Capital One Academic All-District selections: 11
Capital One Academic All-Americans: 2
SLC Student-Athletes of the Year: 3
SLC All-Academic Team selections: 24
"Year of the `Jacks" Release Schedule
August/September: Friday, June 19
October: Friday, June 26
November: Friday, July 3
December: Friday, July 10
January: Friday, July 17
February: Friday, July 24
March: Friday, July 31
April: Friday, August 7
May/June: Friday, August 14
-SFA-
