Your Monday Bearcat Bulletin

This first edition of your Bearcat Bulletin will be a template for future editions. It will feature a variety of weekly scores, updates, rumors, and other thoughtful surprises relating to University of Cincinnati Athletics and sometimes a variety of other things. My aim is to get you up to speed on what’s going on and keep you informed for the next busy week of college sports. Sure, you could scour the internet for your Bearcat news while taking up valuable time at work, but this series of writings may prove to be witty and fun, and take much less time. Without further ado:

—Spread check: FB @ Tulane on 10/30 - Cincinnati by 24.5

—After being named to the 2021 Dodd Trophy midseason watch list, Coach Fickell was disappointed with his teams’ ability to close out Navy. Averting a disaster late in the game, the Bearcats eked out a close victory over the weekend. While the team did not look like the best team on the field against a 1-5 Midshipmen squad, the W was nonetheless a happy outcome for fans and coaches. On the rankings front, Baehr’s Cats are still voted second in the field above Alabama, Oklahoma, Ohio State and Michigan. I’m sure many of us fans were worried this game would raise some doubts about the team’s veracity, but the polls reassured us that people still believe they are well-positioned to earn the first playoff spot by a Group of 5 Team.

—The men’s golf team has started the 2021 season off strong. After winning a share of the 2021 Hoosier Collegiate Invitational title back in September (alongside preseason No. 10 Illinois), the men’s golf team placed third at the Badger Invitational in Wisconsin with junior Sam Jean claiming the individual title. Jean earned AAC co-Player of the Month honors for September. But after notching a fifth-place finish at the Purdue Fall Invitational, the Bearcats slumped at the Wolfpack Intercollegiate, finishing eleventh out of sixteen teams. Next up will be the Steelwood Collegiate Invitational fall finale at the University of South Alabama starting October 30.

The women’s team has struggled so far to raise its profile above a middle-of-the-road finisher at fall events. With a 6/10 finish at the ECU Pirate Collegiate Classic, a 2/5 finish at IU’s Courtney Cole Invitational, a 5/10 finish at Toledo’s Rocket Classic, and a 9/15 finish at Missouri State’s Ozarks National Invitational, it appears they have yet to find a groove on the links. Here’s hoping they find it soon as they prepare for the remainder of the fall season with events at the Crosstown Shootout, Mercer’s Brickyard Collegiate in Macon.

—Bearcat Soccer will finish the regular season this Thursday with UCF paying a visit to Gettler Stadium at 7 pm. It’s been an up and down season, one that saw a lot of close matches and several ties. With a win on Thursday, the women can realize a .500 average on the regular season before entering the conference tournament.

—The University of Cincinnati Swimming & Diving teams split their opening meet of the season against the top-ranked D-II foe University of Indianapolis. It won’t be until late November for the next competition when both squads travel up I-71 to compete at the Ohio State Invite starting November 20.

—With the wrap-up of the USTA/ITA Ohio Valley Regional at Middle Tennessee University, Bearcat Tennis ended fall play by winning 15 out of the 29 matches played in Murfreesboro. The Bearcats have shown promise on the courts during the fall season play, with doubles tandem Maria Santilli and Cassie McLay capturing the doubles crown and Ioana Guna sharing the singles title at the 2021 UC/Pam Whitehead Invitational in September. The spring schedule has yet to be revealed, as is Coach Toth’s custom.

—Bearcat Volleyball has won 12 out of their 18 matchups this season, including 7 conference wins. UC Athletics has a great piece on middle blocker Alex Kwasnik, who is having an impact on the court and in the community. Next up are two away matches this week against SMU and Memphis before hosting UCF and USF.

—The NBA recently named UC icon Oscar Robertson to its 75th-anniversary Team. On a related note, less than 200 season tickets remain for the upcoming 2021-22 basketball season. With 16 days left until tip-off against Evansville on November 9, here’s a little preview of the Down the Drive basketball previews coming soon.

—And finally, UC Athletics announced a new Fan Transparency Plan last week that will mark changes to football ticket prices and changes to priority points for UCATS members. Prior to this initiative, which intends to bring pricing in line with other Big 12 institutions and help the department plan for and compete with a higher level of competition, football ticket prices hadn’t seen an increase since 2015.