Author: Ahfaaz Merchant

By Ahfaaz Merchant | Sports WriterBaylor soccer took a 1-0 loss against the No. 15 Red Raiders in the Big 12 Championship Tournament quarterfinals Sunday at the Swope Soccer Village in Kansas City, Mo. The match was mostly a defensive contest with the Bears holding Texas Tech to only four shots on the night. Both teams tallied a total of 12 shots with Baylor attempting seven of its eight in the first half. The Bears came up short even though three of the attempts were on goal. Head coach Paul Jobson said he was pleased with the team’s response in…

By Ahfaaz Merchant | Sports WriterBaylor soccer looks to take its talent against the No. 12 Oklahoma State Cowgirls Thursday for the final regular season contest of 2019, before heading into the Big 12 tournament. Around this time a year ago, the Bears were busy hosting the Sooners for Senior Night and winning their first Big 12 championship trophy since 1998. The story was a bit different for the Cowgirls. While the Bears were on top of the Big 12, Oklahoma State was near the bottom of the conference.Junior midfielder Ally Henderson said this match holds a lot of excitement…

By Ahfaaz Merchant | Sports WriterMany seniors are approaching a season of rigorous recruiting that can be stressful at times. I am one of those students but hope these tips can help ease the process of finding a career that makes you happy. The first step is to take time to think about an industry you want to go into and would be happy working in. For me, it has always been about helping individuals no matter how big or small that impact may be.Taking that into consideration, I started applying to jobs that had that altruistic aspect tied into…

By Ahfaaz Merchant | Sports WriterBaylor soccer comes home to Betty Lou Mays Field on Friday to take on the Texas Longhorns as the Bears celebrate their 2018 Big 12 regular season championship. Baylor comes off a 2-1 loss to Oklahoma on Sunday and is ranked fifth in the conference behind Kansas. Head coach Paul Jobson said his team played well against the Sooners but was unable to complete their opportunities. “Going to OU, I felt like we had a lot of momentum from the TCU first half that we got to play,” Jobson said. “I thought we played really…

By Ahfaaz Merchant | Sports WriterBaylor took a 2-1 overtime loss to Oklahoma Sunday in Norman, Okla.The Bears were able to get some good looks early in the game as senior forward Raegan Padgett was able to take a shot at the goal in the 8th minute. Although the shot was saved, sophomore forward Elena Reyna was able to recover the ball but overshot her attempt at a Baylor goal. Freshman forward Elizabeth Kooiman, who now leads the Bears with 4 goals on the season, was able to find the back of the net with an assist form Padgett in…

By Ahfaaz Merchant | Sports Writer Baylor soccer will continue conference play on the road against Texas Christian University and Oklahoma. Head coach Paul Jobson said playing away help his team get better, especially because it’s harder to win on the road. “I think it helps us,” said Jobson. “It’s always harder to win on the road and I think if you prepare your team for those experiences, it gives you a better chance. We’ve been road warriors. We’ve had ups and downs. I think we’ve experienced almost everything you can on the road so far this year. So I…

By Ahfaaz Merchant | Sports WriterBaylor football extended its undefeated record to 5-0 after taking its first conference road win in two years with a 31-12 victory over Kansas State Saturday afternoon in Manhattan, Kan. Head coach Matt Rhule said he was very pleased with his team and the way they performed against the Wildcats. “Tough place to play, great crowd. Kansas State was certainly ready to play,” Rhule said. “I thought our guys hung in there, battled early, found a way to get a halftime lead and then ground it out in the second half. A lot of credit…

By Ahfaaz Merchant | Sports Writer and DJ Ramirez | Sports EditorBaylor soccer completed a 4-2 victory over West Virginia Thursday night at Betty Lou Mays Soccer Field.Freshman forward Elizabeth Kooiman recorded a hat trick scoring her first three goals of the season. Senior forward Raegan Padgett also scored a goal in the 59th minute to take a 3-0 lead against the Mountaineers. Kooiman is the first freshman to net a hat trick in the history of the program and her three goals marked the first hat trick nine years, with the last one coming off the boot of Lisa…

By Ahfaaz Merchant | Multimedia Journalist“I want to be an astronaut!” “I want to be a doctor!” “I want to be an actor!”These are all statements I grew up hearing among my peers when heading off to college. Hearing these statements made me think long and hard of what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. As an 18-year-old about to start his life, what I wanted to do worried me tremendously.As any teenage boy, my dream was not to be a doctor, accountant or lawyer, but rather, I wanted to be the next Stephen Curry. This…

By Ahfaaz Merchant | Sports WriterBaylor kicked off conference play on the road this past week, falling 4-1 to No. 17 Kansas on Sunday afternoon after opening Big 12 play with a 1-0 overtime win over Although the Bears took the loss, they were still able to hold an advantage in possession time in the first half, outshooting Kansas 10-1. Head coach Paul Jobson said his team played well in the first 45 but they weren’t able to capitalize on their opportunities.“I thought we played a fantastic first half,” Jobson said. “We just couldn’t put the ball in the goal.…

By DJ Ramirez | Sports Editor and Ahfaaz Merchant | Sports WriterBaylor men’s golf will compete in the Nike Collegiate Invitational for the first time as they continue their fall schedule. The Bears are coming off first-place wins at both the Gopher and Fighting Illini Invitationals. Head coach Mike McGraw said it was really nice to have these victories to start off the year. “It is actually great,” McGraw said. “Last year, we didn’t get off to this start at all. We played poorly in our first tournaments and kind of dug a hole last year. So we didn’t talk…

Ahfaaz Merchant | Sports Writer Baylor soccer will begin conference play this week, matching up against both Kansas State and No. 17 Kansas. The Bears will first face the Wildcats today before playing the Jayhawks on Sunday afternoon. Wichita, Kan. junior midfielder Ally Henderson said she is excited for the upcoming matchup and having her family and friends at the match. “It’s a trip that I look forward to every time. The last time I got to do it was my freshman year. It’s really awesome for me,” Henderson said. “All my family gets to come. I was just looking…

By Ahfaaz Merchant | Sports WriterBaylor soccer faced No. 2 USC Friday night and came up with a 2-2 draw after an intense double overtime.The Trojans took the lead late in the first half with a goal by Jaelyn Eisenhart, assisted by Ashley Soto, in the 38th minute. The Trojans once again found the goal through Penelope Hocking 41st, making it 2-0 going in to the second half. Despite falling behind in the first 45, head coach Paul Jobson still felt his team had a lot to bring coming into the latter portion of the game. “The message at half…

By Ahfaaz Merchant | Sports Writer The undefeated Baylor football team will come out of their bye week to take on Rice University this weekend. The Bears are facing an 0-3 Rice squad with losses to Army, Wake Forest and Texas. Their largest defeat came at the hands of the Longhorns, who took the victory by 35 points. While the Bears won both of their games so far, they will go on the road against a team that has faced some tough opponents. This will present a challenge for the Bears, as their easy victories over Stephen F. Austin (56-17)…

By Ahfaaz Merchant | Sports Writer After losing to the Los Angeles Rams in the 2018 divisional round, the Cowboys opened up their season 2-0 with wins over their division rivals, the New York Giants and Washington Redskins. They could be on their way to the Super Bowl this season with the way they are playing, all while being led by the young but tenured quarterback Dak Prescott. The question on the minds of all Cowboys fans though is: How much do we pay the man? Carson Wentz, the Philadelphia Eagle’s quarterback, was signed to a four-year $128 million extension…

By Ahfaaz Merchant | Sports WriterBaylor soccer hit the road once again Sunday night to take on Abilene Christian University for the Bears first-ever game at Elmer Gray Stadium. After a double overtime the match ended in a 1-1 draw. The Wildcats held a 9-4 edge in shots over the Bears during the first half and took the lead early with a goal by senior midfielder Shay Johnson in the 26th minute. Baylor, however, came out more aggressive in the second half, recording 12 shots and allowing ACU only one during that period. The Bears outshot ACU 19-15 to end…

By Ahfaaz Merchant | Sports WriterBaylor soccer suffered their first road defeat of the season with a 1-0 loss against the University of Colorado on Sunday at Prentup Field in Boulder, Colo. Senior forward Camryn Wendlandt almost found the goal in the early minutes of the game but fell short. Colorado scored on the Bears in the 16th minute. The Buffs held a 13-9 edge over the Bears, although both teams had four shots in the second half. Baylor came close to evening things up in the 69th minute when freshman midfielder Maddie Algya took a shot from 25 yards…

By Ahfaaz Merchant | Sports WriterBaylor soccer took a 2-0 win over Wyoming Friday night, handing the Cowgirls their first non-conference home loss in six years, ending the longest non-conference home streak in the country. The match was moved into the Wyoming’s indoor facility due to the inclement weather and was delayed by an hour. The Bears were on the board early with a goal scored in the sixth minute by junior midfielder Eva Mitchell, who scored the goal into the left corner of the goal from 18 yards away on a corner kick. Senior forward Camryn Wendlandt scored the…

By Ahfaaz Merchant | Sports Writer, Video by Nate Smith | Broadcast Reporter Baylor football moved to 2-0 on the season dominating the UTSA Roadrunners 63-14 at McLane Stadium Saturday. The Bears played well on both sides of the ball and recorded 368 rushing yards and 178 passing, totaling 546 yards that went for 9 touchdowns. This is the second straight week that the Bears have scored 56 or more points. The heat was a huge factor in the game especially with the Roadrunners playing their home games at the Alamodome. With temperatures reaching up to 102 degrees Fahrenheit, the…

By Ahfaaz Merchant | Sports Writer, Video by Drake Toll | Broadcast Reporter Baylor football prepares to face the University of Texas at San Antonio Roadrunners at home on Saturday by looking to build off a successful 56-17 opening victory over Stephen F. Austin last weekend. This is the third time the Bears will face the Roadrunners in the past three years, dropping the first matchup 17-10 at McLane Stadium in 2017, but defeating UTSA 37-20 in the Alamodome last season. With the heat forecast to be over 100 degrees, head coach Matt Rhule will have to take some precautions…

By Ahfaaz Merchant | Sports Writer Whether you read books, go for walks, work out or watch TV in your free time, we can all agree that there is nothing better than bingeing your favorite Netflix series. Hands-down the best series on Netflix is “Gossip Girl.” This drama television series follows the lives of several privileged students at Constance Billard Prep School, a top-tier exclusive high school located in Manhattan’s Upper East Side. The students at this high school quickly find out that they can hide no secrets of their lives from the blogger hidden amongst the students known as…

By Ahfaaz Merchant | Sports WriterNo. 21 Baylor soccer took Drake University into overtime and came out with a 1-0 victory Friday night at the Cownie Soccer Complex in Des Moines, Iowa. The game winning goal came from a header by junior forward Camryn Wendlandt and was assisted by redshirt senior defender Kylie Ross in the 95th minute. Wendlandt has now scored in two-straight games. The game could have ended earlier in the 74th minute when junior goalkeeper Jennifer Wandt took a free kick from 63 yards across the opposite goal that took a bounce over Drake goalkeeper Kelsie Stone…

By Ahfaaz Merchant | Sports WriterNo. 6 Baylor cross country is set to take the stage tonight as the host of the Bear Twilight Invitational.There are a lot of newcomers to the team this season, and head coach Jon Capron has big visions for his runners and the achievements they hope to accomplish.“I am looking for growth,” Capron said. “I want us to get better from top to bottom — that’s what it is. Across the board, I think everyone on my team has the capacity to run much faster than they have so far. They all have the opportunity…

By Ahfaaz Merchant | Sports Writer No. 21 Baylor soccer is taking their first road trip of the season after a 4-2 win over Northwestern State this past Sunday in the home opener. The four goals scored by the Bears against NSU were the most made since the six goal victory over Nebraska on Sept. 2, 2018. Although Baylor took the win over the Demons, the Bears have several things they need to improve upon, according to head coach Paul Jobson. “Consistency and working on the team chemistry on the field,” Jobson said. “The team chemistry off the field is…

By Ahfaaz Merchant | Sports WriterThe band is playing, fans are roaring and adrenaline is rushing through the veins of millions of people preparing to take part in an experience born a century and a half ago. As we march closer to kickoff for the 2019 football season, there is much more to think about than the Heisman race or the road to the national championship. This year marks the 150th anniversary of college football. The celebration will pay homage to the game and the numerous opportunities it has given to various student-athletes around the country.According to Kevin Weiberg, executive…

By Ahfaaz Merchant | Sports WriterThe Big 12 conference is known for producing elite quarterbacks such as Robert Griffin III, Patrick Mahomes and Vince Young. The QB battle between the conference has always been something to look forward to, but in recent years the Oklahoma Sooners, led by head coach Lincoln Riley, have been dominating the conference and proving their talent. In the 2018 season, former Oklahoma quarterback Kyler Murray threw for just over 4,000 yards with 40 touchdowns, ultimately leading his Sooners to a 12-1 record and the Heisman trophy.Murray was the latest in a list of big-name OU…