Wednesday Bulldog Update - 4/2/14
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Good afternoon, all.
Before I hit on anything else, I want to extend a sincere thank you to everyone for your support of Coach Vic Schaefer’s Bulldogs in the WNIT. Those four games were some of the best crowds of the year for the women’s basketball team and you provided Humphrey Coliseum with an outstanding atmosphere for our Elite 8 game against South Florida.
Congratulations to Vic’s team on such an impressive season in year two and I speak on behalf of all who were there for the postseason run when I say how much I look forward to next year.
SUPER BULLDOG WEEKEND APPROACHING
If we wait until next week to talk about it, we’d almost be too late. SBW 2014 officially kicks off Thursday night, April 10, when the soccer team hosts Alabama in an exhibition at 7. The final event is baseball at 1:30 on Sunday afternoon against Ole Miss, with all the usual festivities in between.
Off campus, the Cotton District Arts Festival on Saturday morning is always one of the biggest events of the year and the Old Main Music Festival that evening promises to be enjoyable, while of course in athletics we’ve got a lot planned for the four days of fun, so make sure you’re joining us. With our baseball team in the Top 10 and hosting the in-state rival, crowds should be as big (or bigger) than ever for all of our events, especially baseball. It’s very exciting for the University and city, so make sure to plan accordingly for big crowds. Arrive early, be patient and enjoy yourselves.
Of note as you make travel plans, Saturday’s schedule is influenced heavily by the opportunity for game two of the baseball series to be broadcast on TV that afternoon. With that in mind, the Maroon-White spring football game will begin at noon in Davis Wade Stadium (I think you’ll be pleased with the progress of the north end zone), with both sides open for seating. Baseball will follow at 3 p.m., then softball caps the athletic portion of the day at 6 p.m. versus Alabama.
We’ll have more details and scheduling notes over the next week. The easiest way to keep up is to visit www.hailstate.com/SBW for all information on times and events.
We’ll also be hosting a former football player breakfast on Saturday morning at 9:30 a.m. in the Templeton Athletic Academic Center, so you’ll be seeing plenty of familiar faces around town. Any of our Bulldog football alumni who would like to attend, please contact the football office.
GOLF HOSTS OLD WAVERLY COLLEGIATE
A special mention for our men’s golf team, who will be hosting the Old Waverly Collegiate Championship on Monday and Tuesday. As the name implies, the tournament will be held at Old Waverly Golf Club in West Point, the home course for our men’s and women’s golf teams.
Hosting events is a regular but far rarer occurrence in golf than most of our sports, so we’re excited on the occasions each season when we are able to play tournaments on our pristine home links. Admission is free to watch the tournament and I’d encourage anyone who can to stop by and cheer on our Bulldogs.
MEN’S TENNIS DOWNS OLE MISS
Coach Per Nilsson’s 16th-ranked men’s tennis team is another squad deserving of mention, particularly coming off their defeat of Ole Miss over the weekend, the second win in a row in Oxford for the Bulldogs. Of note, this victory gave MSU six SEC wins, already equaling last year’s total with three more matches remaining this season.
We’ve submitted a bid to host the 1st and 2nd Rounds of the NCAA Championship should we have a high enough ranking. If selected, it would be our third-straight year to be hosting in the postseason.
OTHER NOTES
- Congrats to our consistently successful women’s golf team for entering the Top 25, with Coach Ginger Brown-Lemm’s Bulldogs checking in at No. 25 in the GolfWeek Magazine rankings.
- After beating Mississippi Valley State 13-0 yesterday, Vann Stuedeman’s softball team is now an unblemished 16-0 versus in-state teams since she arrived at MSU. Their current 29-10 record this season is also tied for the best start in program history. The Bulldogs host Missouri in a three-game SEC set this weekend.
- We’ve got a fun doubleheader Friday afternoon at the A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre: at 2 p.m., our No. 16 men’s team hosts No. 15 Florida. At 5, our women’s squad also hosts No. 7 Florida. Ought to make for a fun day.
- Congrats to our baseball team on entering the Top-10 of most polls this week following their third-straight SEC series win. Coach Cohen’s club is tied for the lead in the SEC and the Western Division, setting up for a big and fun showdown at LSU this weekend. I’m told our New Orleans chapter is working on a tailgate in Baton Rouge. Look for details later in the week.
- If you’re in Baton Rouge for baseball, make sure to stop by and see our highly-ranked track and field teams, who will be participating in the Bayou Invite all day Saturday now that the outdoor season has begun.
- One last note: Dawg Talk with John Cohen began this week, so make plans to join Coach at Buffalo Wild Wings every Monday at 7 p.m.
Enjoy the spring, be safe this weekend and don’t forget to wear maroon on Friday!
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Thanks for taking the time to read this Update.
Hail State!
Scott Stricklin