Wednesday Bulldog Update - 4/30/14
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Good afternoon, Bulldogs.
Hearts are heavy across the state today as we recover from the destructive tornadoes that swept across Mississippi this week. We were fortunate in Starkville and at Mississippi State to escape unscathed, though our sympathies and efforts go to those in Louisville, Tupelo and everywhere across the state where damage was suffered and lives uprooted.
It’s after our darkest days when Mississippi shines the brightest and this instance has proved the fact to be true yet again. The support from across the state has been a joy to see and I couldn’t be more proud of the relief work done by those here on campus and in town.
Trucks and trucks full of supplies have been sent from Starkville to areas in need and dozens of our student-athletes, trainers, managers, students and friends showed up on Tuesday afternoon to help MEMA construct a base of operations and shelter on MSU’s campus for emergency personnel and first responders working in Louisville and Tupelo. If you haven’t yet, please read this piece from our HailState Beat reporter Bob Carskadon on those efforts and the collective resiliency of Mississippi
In the wake of tragedy, athletics can make a big impact both in comfort and in service.
Our thoughts and prayers are with all affected this week. We know Mississippi will bounce back and will have our support through it all!
ROAD DAWGS TOUR BEGINS MONDAY
I hope you’ll make plans to join members of our staff for the Road Dawgs Tour next week.
Coach Mullen will be along for the entire ride, while he’ll be joined by Coach Ray on Monday and Tuesday (Hattiesburg, Biloxi, Vicksburg and Greenwood) and Coach Schaefer on Wednesday and Thursday (Huntsville, Memphis and Philadelphia).
Tickets range in price from $5 to $20 and some events require an RSVP while others do not, so make sure to check out this fully-detailed schedule and find a stop near you.
MEN’S TENNIS, WOMEN’S GOLF IN NCAA TOURNAMENT
Congratulations are in order to our men’s tennis and women’s golf teams for making the postseason once again, both selected this week to play in the NCAA Tournament.
The women’s golf postseason is divided into four regionals and Coach Ginger Brown-Lemm’s Bulldogs are off to the Central Regional for the second year in a row. They’ll be joined by four other SEC teams at Oklahoma State and hope to capitalize on last year’s third place finish in the Regional. The top eight teams move on to Nationals.
In tennis, Coach Per Nilsson’s men’s squad is in the NCAA Tournament for the fourth year in a row. Our No. 17 Bulldogs will play No. 62 Louisiana-Lafayette in the first round hosted in Austin, Texas, where a second-round match would also take place against either host Texas or Marist if we advance.
Interestingly enough, ULL head coach Mark Jeffrey is actually a former Bulldog and even played on the same MSU tennis team as Coach Nilsson, so it ought to be a fun reunion.
Men's tennis' selection marks MSU’s 23rd appearance in the NCAA Championship in program history and the 19th bid in the last 24 years.
SEAT SELECTION RESUMES AFTER STORM DELAY
With the University closing and ceasing operations on Monday and Tuesday afternoons, we were forced to pause the seat selection of Davis Wade Stadium, an event we hope wasn’t an inconvenience for anyone. Action resumes this afternoon and an email has been sent to Bulldog Club members whose selection time has been rescheduled.
For all left to select, your appointment time can be found by logging into the seat selection website or on your Dog Tag account.
We’ve made good progress to this point and outside of the weather we’ve been pleased to have very few hiccups or interruptions. Thank you all for being so easy to work with!
OTHER NOTES
- I am mightily impressed by our women’s track and field team who vaulted 13 spots in the most recent rankings, all the way up to No. 12 in the polls this week. Individually, the men’s and women’s teams have a combined five competitors ranked in the Top 20 nationally in specific events.
- Our men’s golf team is expecting their second-straight NCAA Tourney appearance, as well, the announcement of which you can catch on Monday, May 5, from 9-10 a.m. on the Golf Channel.
- I’d also like to remind everyone to come out this weekend to see those teams in action for their only home event of the year, the Jace Lacoste Invitational on Saturday. Coach Steve Dudley has done a tremendous job with these programs and they deserve our support.
- On another note of success, congratulations goes to Coach Vann Stuedeman and the MSU softball team after winning their third-straight SEC series this weekend, run-ruling Arkansas twice on the way to the series victory. The Bulldogs are on a big roll and head to LSU this weekend for the final regular season action, with the SEC Tournament and NCAA Tournament up next. It looks like likely that we’ll be in the postseason for the third year in a row, every single season so far in Coach Stuedeman’s young career here.
- In other impressive performances, job well done by Coach Mullen and former Bulldog footballer Fred McCrary in the Chick-fil-A Bowl Charity Golf Challenge. The Bulldog duo placed second (first among SEC pairings) and won $70,000 for scholarships at MSU.
- Congratulations to junior pitcher Jacob Lindgren who has been named to the midseason watch list for Stopper of the Year, an award given annually to best reliever on college baseball.
Thank you all for your support in these fun and busy spring months and I hope to see you soon, on the road or in Starkville. Hail State!
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Thanks for taking the time to read this Update.
Hail State!
Scott Stricklin