Flying High

For the first time since 1977-78, the Mean Green have posted a winning record in every sport.

Also, the 2018-19 campaign is the first in school history to have a winning record in all eight sports sponsored by UNT that have win-loss records: men's and women's basketball, football, soccer, softball, swimming and diving, tennis and volleyball.

Mean Green teams posted 134 victories this season, the most in department history, and the teams' cumulative winning percentage was 61.6.

"I am incredibly proud of everyone that helped make 2018-19 the most competitively successful season in over 40 years," says Wren Baker, vice president and director of athletics.

Among this season's highlights, the football team went to a bowl game for the third year in a row, the soccer team won the Conference USA regular-season and tournament titles, and tennis sent a doubles team to the NCAA Championships.

The Mean Green softball team ended its historic 2018-19 season 35-19 with a 19-5 mark in C-USA play, both program records, along with its deepest conference tournament run ever.

"We're proud of this team in general, and proud of our seniors," says first-year head coach Rodney DeLong. "They set a great foundation for our program moving forward. We've got great things to build on, and we're excited about our future and ready to get right back to work."

Along with its victories on the field, the team also saw its coach and many of its players receive honors this season. DeLong was named the C-USA Co-Coach of the Year, junior outfielder Katie Clark and sophomore pitcher Hope Trautwein were named to All-Conference first team, senior third baseman Harley Perella picked up All-Conference second team honors, and freshman first baseman Tayla Evans was named to the All-Freshman team. Four All-Conference honorees matches a program record from 2014.

Additionally, junior catcher Nicole Ochotnicki earned C-USA All-Academic honors.

"It's nice that our kids get rewarded for a good year," DeLong says. "They're all very deserving."

Seven teams earn perfect APR score

A school-record seven Mean Green teams earned a perfect score for the 2017-18 academic year, according to the NCAA Academic Progress Rate report.

Posting a perfect 1,000 for the 2017-18 season were men's golf, women's golf, men's cross country, women's basketball, swimming and diving, tennis, and volleyball. For men's and women's golf, women's basketball, and tennis, this was the second year in a row to report a perfect single-year score.

Tennis earns All-Conference honors

The tennis team earned four 2019 C-USA All-Conference honors as voted on by the league's coaches.

Maria Kononova and Tamuna Kutubidze were each named first team all-conference for singles and were named first team all-conference for doubles. Joining Kononova and Kutubidze were juniors Ivana Babic and Alexandra Heczey, who were named second team all-conference for doubles.

Track advances to NCAA prelims

Eight individuals and a relay team represented UNT at the 2019 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field West Preliminaries hosted by Sacramento State in May.

Darien Porter, 100-meter dash; Joseph Squire, 110-meter hurdles; Brock Hottel, pole vault; Zion Hill, javelin -- along with Porter, Davonye Jones, Antonio Delacruz and James Cole in the 4x100-meter relay -- competed for the men, while Aneesa Scott, 200 and 400; Breanna Eckels, long jump; Haley Walker, discus; and Kristyn Archuleta, javelin, competed for the women.