This week, some news and notes of happenings in sports.

The ORU women’s soccer team has advanced in the Summit League Championship tournament, after beating Omaha in the quarterfinals, 2-0. The Golden Eagles will play the No. 1 seed North Dakota State in the semifinals Thursday evening.

This past week, the Summit League Cross-Country Championship was held in Vermillion, S.D., and South Dakota State won both the men’s and women’s titles. Oral Roberts sophomore Abraham Chelangam clocked a Summit League Cross Country Championship meet record 8k time of 23:41.43 to earn the individual crown and Championship MVP honors. He became the first Golden Eagle to earn the Championship MVP title since ORU’s Jonah Lagat claimed the honor the first year it was created (2008).

Oral Roberts basketball standout Issac McBride was named to the Bracketeer All-American Watch List. Bracketeer.Org is committed to delivering wide-ranging recognition and coverage to all 31 conferences across College Basketball. The Watch List has identified 68 players who were considered for the All-America Teams and include players poised to be all-conference level players across each of the 22 eligible conferences. Regardless of position, any player on an active roster is eligible to be considered a preseason All-American.

The Tulsa Oilers split a two-game series with Iowa at home this past weekend, losing 4-2 on Saturday and beating the Heartlanders 4-2 on Sunday. Also, Oilers forward Ruslan Gazizov has been named the Howies Hockey Tape ECHL Rookie of the Month for October. Gazizov, who is under contract to San Diego of the American Hockey League, scored three goals and added four assists for seven points in five games during the opening month of the ECHL season.

The next home basketball game for the University of Tulsa men’s team is this Saturday, Nov. 9 at 2:00 p.m. at the Reynolds Center. Then the Golden Hurricane will host the Mayor’s Cup game against ORU on Wednesday, Nov. 13 at 7:00 p.m.

The ORU men’s basketball team opened the season last night at Minnesota, and will be at home this Friday evening, Nov. 8 at 7:00 p.m. against Ozark Christian at the Mabee Center, before heading across town to TU on Wednesday.

HENNESSEY GETS PROMOTED

The Tulsa Drillers will have a new manager next season as longtime manager Scott Hennessey has been promoted to manage the Oklahoma City Comets. The Comets are the Triple-A affiliate of the World Series Champion Los Angeles Dodgers. Of course, the Drillers are the Dodgers Double-A affiliate.

Hennessey leaves as one of the most successful managers in Tulsa professional baseball history. He is the second winningest manager in Tulsa history, which dates to 1905.

“It has been an incredible seven years, and I have enjoyed my time with the Drillers so much,” Hennessey said. “The Tulsa fans have been amazing, and I can’t say thank you enough for the way they have treated me over the years. As a team, we tried to bring everything we had every single game because that is what they deserved, and I hope the fans have enjoyed the seven seasons as much as I have.”

TAMPA BAY STADIUM LOST ROOF

The Tampa Bay Rays’ future remains uncertain as repairs to Tropicana Field are underway. The panels of the stadiums domed roof were destroyed and other damage was caused by Hurricane Milton last month, and now it is unclear whether repairs will be finished in time for the Rays to open the 2025 MLB season in their St. Petersburg home.

The St. Petersburg city council approved roughly $6.5 million in public funding last week for work to be done to the ballpark that sustained major damage. A temporary drainage system will be created, and Tropicana Field’s electrical system, offices, concessions, and other exposed areas will be waterproofed, according to the Tampa Bay Times. The process, which is also intended to safeguard the facility against future storms, could last eight weeks.

However, the Rays may still need to open the next season in late March at a temporary venue—with the team focused on Tampa-area options like their own spring training center in Port Charlotte, Fla., or potentially the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando.

If Tropicana Field is declared unsalvageable during the cleanup process, that would save St. Petersburg some money in the short term but create major long-term issues for the Rays, who are currently in the midst of building a $1.3 billion ballpark in St. Petersburg that is set to open in 2028.

TULSA BEACON RADIO

Tune in to “Tulsa Beacon Weekend” radio show every week, featuring interviews with local and national level guests, talking about everything from politics to family issues. The show airs on Saturday at 12:00 p.m. CST on 970am KCFO.