Wednesday Bulldog Update - 5/3/17

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As the spring semester winds down, the postseason is just beginning for some of our teams here on campus. We are all excited for our men's and women's tennis teams, both ranked 18th nationally, who were both selected to the NCAA Championships yesterday afternoon. Coach Roberts and our men will be headed to Norman, Okla, where they will play SMU in the first round. Meanwhile, Coach Greenan and our ladies are off to Atlanta where they will play Northwestern in the first round (NU, incidentally, is coached by MSU graduate and All-American Claire Pollard, who won the 1989 NCAA Doubles title while playing for our program). I am immensely proud of both teams and I'd encourage anyone in those areas to come and support them if you can.

On that note, a big congratulations goes to all of our All-SEC picks. Nuno Borges led the way for our men, being selected as the SEC Men's Tennis Player of the Year, only the third Bulldog to ever earn that honor, in addition to be named first-team All-SEC. Niclaus Braun and Strahinja Rakic were both selected to the All-SEC second team, while Giovanni Oradini was named to the all-freshman team. Last week, Jasmine Lee was named first-team All-SEC for our women for the third straight season while Lisa Marie Rioux was named all-freshman.

It's been a great spring for MSU tennis and we're excited to watch it continue.

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37 BULLDOGS GRADUATE THIS WEEKEND

Of all the things we do in college athletics, and of all the great things our student-athletes accomplish, there is no achievement so great as what 37 current and former Bulldogs will do this weekend when they officially become Mississippi State graduates. Our job here is to prepare young men and women for life after school, which includes education, professional development and life skills, and graduation serves as proof of a job well done, as evidence of a career of hard work and as a certificate of accomplishment for each individual.

Moments like these can be bittersweet as we will be saying goodbye to so many Bulldogs we've cheered for and known for so long. The great curse of working in college athletics is that we know our student-athletes will have to leave us one day, but one of the greatest joys in college athletics is seeing the success that those we love and support go on to have. Congratulations to all of our graduates. We can't wait to see what heights you will reach.

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TRACK AND FIELD SOARS AT SEC RELAYS

A job well done over the weekend by Coach Dudley and our track and field teams at the inaugural SEC Relays in Baton Rouge. Our Bulldogs nabbed five total victories, finishing in fourth place and helping the men's team jump up to No. 22 in the national rankings. Our young and talented men's and women's teams have improved with every meet this year and I'm excited to see where the postseason takes our teams and individuals. We'll be cheering them on next week when the SEC Championships begin.

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FATHER BURKE MASTERS JOINS BULLY PULPIT

I am particularly excited about this week's guest on The Bully Pulpit as host Matt Wyatt is joined by former Bulldog baseball great Burke Masters. Father Burke, beyond being a legend at MSU, has had an inspirational life and career and was even the team chaplain for the world champion Chicago Cubs last year. You can listen by clicking here or by searching and subscribing to "Hail State" on SoundCloud or iTunes.

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Hail State!

John Cohen
Director of Athletics

Mississippi State University Athletics

Wednesday Bulldog Update - 5/3/17

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