Wednesday Bulldog Update - 3/16/16
March 16, 2016
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Happy Wednesday, everyone. What an exciting week it is. For the first time in school history Coach Schaefer and the women's basketball team will be hosting the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament!
When I met with Vic four years ago to talk to him about coaching at Mississippi State, he shared with me then what his vision was for the program and what he believed we could be capable of under his leadership. By year two, he was already ahead of schedule, making a deep run as we hosted the WNIT in Starkville. In year three, last year, the program took another huge leap, teetering on the edge of hosting as they set a record for wins in a season and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
In year four, we have a top-15 team. We set a record with over 10,000 of you in The Hump to watch us play South Carolina on a Sunday afternoon. And when the postseason begins, our Bulldogs will play at home as hosts in the NCAA Tournament.
And now, just as Coach Schaefer has gone above and beyond, we ask you to do the same this weekend. Your dedication, as well as the team's performance, has been rewarded as the Selection Committee picked us to be a host site. With the eyes of an entire nation of women's basketball on us, we want to show the committee that they didn't make a good choice. They made a great choice. Humphrey Coliseum has been called the toughest place to play in the country before, and I'd like to show more evidence that we have the best fans in basketball and an unbeatable atmosphere.
Our first game is against Chattanooga on Friday at 1:30 p.m. While it's an early tipoff, I hope you will be able to make plans and adjust schedules to join us in providing the atmosphere our ladies are counting on. If we win Friday, we will play again on Sunday afternoon against the winner of Michigan State and Belmont, so let's be optimistic and plan to pack The Hump on Sunday, too.
You can find more information on the weekend, as well as highlights from our Selection Show party, here and our tournament headquarters at www.HailState.com/NCAAwbk. Tickets, as always, are available at www.HailState.com/tickets.
TENNIS TEAMS JUMPING UP RANKINGS
I've mentioned both teams before, and again I find myself proud of what our tennis programs are doing. In the latest ITA rankings, our women are up to No. 22 after taking down No. 15 LSU over the weekend in Baton Rouge, a huge win for Coach Greenan's group. Meanwhile, our men are steadily rising and are now up to No. 25 in the country after a pair of big SEC wins over Tennessee and No. 12 Kentucky last weekend.
Our men are on the road this weekend, where we wish them luck, and I encourage all of you to come out and support the women in Starkville as we host No. 9 South Carolina on Friday at 3 p.m. (come out after basketball!) and No. 13 Florida on Sunday at 11 a.m.
WRAPPING UP THIS WEEK'S EMAIL IN MAROON AND WHITE
- While in town this weekend, make sure to come by Nusz Park for softball, as well, as Coach Stuedeman and our Bulldogs begin SEC play by hosting No. 3 Auburn in a three-game series. We play Friday at 6, Saturday at 2 and Sunday at 11:30 a.m.
- More congrats for our women's basketball team as Victoria Vivians (first team) and Dominique Dillingham (honorable mention) were both honored with AP All-SEC selections this week.
- And finally, good luck to our golf teams on the road this week, the women playing in the LSU Tiger Classic and the men in the UTSA/Lone Star Invitational.
We appreciate what you do for Mississippi State Athletics and want to encourage you to get others involved. There are three things you can do to help the athletic department at Mississippi State reach its desired goals –
1. Buy Season Tickets
2. Financially Support the Bulldog Club
3. Get Others To Do The Same
Thanks for taking the time to read this Update.
Hail State!
Scott Stricklin
