Athletics History 1 of 2

Laredo Morning Times | lmtonline.com | Sunday, April 12, 2020 | E7 50th Anniversary For more information on TAMIU’s 50th anniversary, follow TXAMIU on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn and Spotify, use the hashtag #TAMIU50 and visit the school’s website at 50.tamiu.edu . gram,” Rodriguez said. “Coaching here at TAMIU has allowed me to grow as a coach. It has taught me that it’s not about what you know but how you connect and execute a mission with your student athletes.” After jumping to NCAA play, the men earned a top-five league fin- ish in their first seven seasons after becoming eligible in 2007 – taking fifth six times and as high as sec- ond in 2011 – and qualified for the South Central Regionals three times. They’ve had one top-five finish the past four years, however, including taking ninth their first year in the Lone Star Conference. The program has had two players in history receive All-Region honors as Eddie Gonzalez and Mark Vela were awarded in 2005. Vela (2003- 05) is the school’s lone three-time All-Conference winner while Gon- zalez (2005, 2007), Artemio Rome- ro (2010-11) and Roger Rueweler (2011-12) each have been honored by either the RRAC or Heartland twice. Meanwhile, the women’s team has eight top-five finishes in 13 seasons at the DII level. That included a streak of five straight before taking 14th in their first year in the LSC. They also have had three trips to the South Central Re- gionals as a team while be- ing represented two times by an individual at the NCAA tournament. That per- former was a local in Re- bekah Hernan- dez, who made her mark as the top athlete in program his- tory. Hernan- dez earned the school’s lone NCAA trips in 2014 and 2017 while also being the only player to be named All-Region three times as well as All-Confer- ence on four occasions. Anetra Matthews also represented the school twice at the NAIA Na- tional Championships in 2004-05. Matthews (2004-05) and Marlene Gutierrez (2008-09) are the only other multiple All-Region honorees. Matthews (2003-05) and Gutierrez (2008-10) are also three-time All- Conference players while Crystal Dickinson (2010-11) was honored twice. “Over the years, we have had tre- mendous growth in our sport,” Ro- driguez said. “We recruit athletes that are open to change, and when they do, the sky is the limit, which allows us to be successful year in and out.” Courtesy of TAMIU Laredoan Rebekah Hernandez was TAMIU’s only NCAA tournament representative in school history, making the trip twice. Rebekah Hernandez, left, and TAMIU head coach Benny Rodriguez, right, pictured with Alex Rodriguez, in 2017. Courtesy of TAMIU