GOLF
Hogs dot Latin America leaderboard
Segundo Oliva Pinto led a group of four University of Arkansas golfers in the top 11 after the opening round of the Latin America Amateur Championship on Thursday.
Playing in the afternoon groupings, Oliva Pinto fired a 6-under 66 on the seaside Teeth of the Dog Course at the Casa de Campo Resort in the Dominican Republic. Oliva Pinto, of Argentina, is tied with Roberto Nieves of Puerto Rico on the 7,048-yard, par-72 layout.
Oliva Pinto birdied two of the first three holes, made the turn at 3 under, then birdied three more holes on the back nine to complete his bogey-free round on a breezy day with temperatures in the mid 80s.
Oliva Pinto, the reigning SEC individual champion, and Nieves are two strokes ahead of the trio of Vicente Marzilio, Andrey Borges and Martin Leon, who are tied for third with 68s.
Fellow Razorbacks Mateo Fernandez de Oliveira of Aregentina and Julian Perico of Peru are in a group of five players tied for sixth at 3 under.
Fernandez de Oliveira, playing in the morning, birdied Nos. 12, 17 and 18 en route to his bogey free 69 the week after winning the South American Amateur title in Quito, Ecuador. Perico, a senior from Peru who started on the back nine in the afternoon, was at 5 under through 12 holes and tied for the lead before carding bogeys on Nos. 5 and 8.
Juan Camilo Vesga, a redshirt freshman from Columbia, was in a group of six players tied for 11th place at 2-under 70. Vesga had five birdies and three bogeys and nearly holed out for an eagle with a bump-and-run iron shot on his final hole, which clanged the flagstick and rolled a few inches from the cup for a tap-in birdie.
Razorback sophomore Manuel Lozada of Argentina is tied for 19th place after shooting an even par 72 in the morning that featured three birdies and three bogeys.
FOOTBALL
UA's Parker enters portal
University of Arkansas linebacker Andrew Parker Jr. announced Thursday he has submitted his name into the NCAA transfer portal.
Parker thanked teammates, fans, current Coach Sam Pittman and the previous staff who recruited and signed him in his social media post. The New Orleans native said he plans to be a graduate transfer after this semester with two years of eligibility remaining.
Parker totaled 7 tackles, a sack and 2 quarterback hurries while playing in 12 games in 2021. He got extended playing time in the Hogs' 38-17 season-opening win against Rice as Hayden Henry, Grant Morgan and Bumper Pool were all limited by suspensions due to targeting calls. The 6-2, 245-pounder, who had 12 tackles as a redshirt sophomore, notched four against the Owls but played sparingly on defense the rest of the season.
On Tuesday, he posted, "Been starving so long when it's gone be my time to eat" on his Twitter account, an apparent reference to his lack of playing time with the Razorbacks. Veteran linebacker Bumper Pool announced last week he was returning for his fifth season with the Razorbacks, and Arkansas added former 5-star linebacker Drew Sanders from Alabama via the transfer portal this week.
In other news, running back Trelon Smith officially submitted his name to transfer portal this week after saying several weeks back he was planning to move on.
Also, former Arkansas defensive back Devin Bush switched his commitment from Southern University to Grambling State University on Thursday.
-- Tom Murphy
Fort Smith Northside promotes Curry
Fort Smith Northside has officially replaced former head football coach Mike Falleur, announcing Thursday that Felix Curry would be the Grizzlies’ head coach in 2022.
The 17th coach in school history, Curry served as defensive coordinator under Falleur, joining the Northside staff in 2013. He’s also served as the school’s head track and field coach during that time.
Prior to joining the Northside staff, Curry held the same role at Flowery Branch (Ga.) High School. He’d also been a defensive assistant at two other Georgia high schools, and was also head coach at Glenn Hills (Ga.) High School.
Curry was a part of seven Northside playoff berths as an assistant, and he inherits a program coming off a 7-5 season.
— Adam Cole
UCA's Polk leaves for Troy
Tayler Polk, who coached linebackers and served as special teams coordinator at the University of Central Arkansas in 2021, will be taking a similar position at Troy in 2022.
Polk was named the Trojans' inside linebackers coach, the school announced Thursday.
During Polk's two seasons in Conway, the Bears led the FCS in turnovers forced and defensive touchdowns in 2020. That season, Polk coached only outside linebackers for the Bears.
-- Adam Cole
Grimmett returns to Little Rock Christian
Dustin Grimmett, who was Arkadelphia's defensive coordinator and head wrestling coach in 2021, will be taking over as Little Rock Christian;s defensive coordinator in 2022, the school announced Wednesday.
Grimmett joined the Arkadelphia staff in July 2020 after spending the previous six years at the Little Rock Christian, coaching the Warriors from 2015 to 2019, which included the 2018 season when the Warriors won the Class 5A state championship.
Prior to Little Rock Christian, Grimmett was special teams coordinator and defensive line coach at Waldron in 2014.
-- Adam Cole
GYMNASTICS
Covid slows Razorbacks
Due to covid protocols within the University of Arkansas gymnastics program, the No. 11 Razorbacks meet at No. 5 LSU has been postponed, the SEC announced Thursday. No makeup date was posted.
Third-year Arkansas Coach Jordyn Wieber said Wednesday both the Razorbacks and Tigers, whose covid issues caused a postponement of their Jan. 14 meet at Missouri, had enough athletes to hold the competition at the Maravich Assembly Center in Baton Rouge. However, Wieber mentioned the Razorbacks did have more members of their roster impacted by the protocols for the third consecutive week.
"It's been an interesting three weeks," Wieber said Wednesday. "I will say that. It's like covid is ... we're not one of those teams where we all got hit at once. It's slowly making its way through the team, which has posed some challenges."
The Razorbacks are scheduled to resume their SEC schedule on Jan. 28 at No. 3 Florida.
-- Tom Murphy
BASKETBALL
UCA men get make-up date
The University of Central Arkansas men's basketball team will face Liberty at 7 p.m. on Feb. 21 at the Farris Center in Conway.
The teams' original matchup was scheduled for 3:15 p.m. Saturday in Conway, but was postponed Wednesday due to covid-19 protocols within the Liberty program.
The game will also be UCA's third-to-last of the regular season, rounding out its schedule with visits to North Alabama (Feb. 23) and Lipscomb (Feb. 26).
The Bears next play against North Florida on Thursday at 7 p.m. Central in Jacksonville, Fla.
-- Adam Cole
VOLLEYBALL
ASU's Restrepo resigns
Arkansas State Athletic Director Tom Bowen announced in a release Thursday afternoon that Coach Santiago Restrepo has resigned, effective immediately.
"Our athletics department was looking forward to Coach Restrepo leading our volleyball program into the 2022 season, so his personal decision to resign comes unexpectedly," Bowen said in a statement. "However, I will respect his decision and wish him the best in the future."
Restrepo compiled a 40-37 record over three seasons with the Red Wolves, going 15-14 this fall and finishing Sun Belt Conference play with a 6-10 record. Executive Senior Associate AD Amy Holt will oversee the program in the interim while Bowen begins a national search for Restrepo's replacement.
-- Democrat-Gazette Press Services