Wednesday Bulldog Update - 5/21/14
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Happy Wednesday, Bulldogs!
It has been and continues to be an exciting month of May for Mississippi State athletics with so many of our teams in the NCAA postseason. From Illinois to Louisiana and Oklahoma to Alabama, I hope you’ve had a chance to watch and keep up with our programs.
Of course, a look ahead to the not-so-distant future is in order, too. Tomorrow marks 100 days from the kickoff of the 100th season at Davis Wade Stadium – the newly-expanded DWS, I should add. Seat selection has moved smoothly and for those who haven’t yet purchased tickets, there’s still time to visit www.msubulldogclub.com if you have interest in being a part of the new stadium.
Every time I visit, I’m more impressed by the new north end zone. It’s amazing to see what used to be bleachers and the old video board turned into something so big and nice as this. For those who may ask, construction is on schedule to be done in plenty of time for our season opener in 101 days. Many of the smaller parts of the construction – such as glass panels for club level and skyboxes – are going in, with the major parts of construction nearly all finished.
I look forward to our 100th year in a beautiful and historic stadium, but we certainly can’t forget about what’s happening now!
WOMEN’S GOLF IN NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS
I had the pleasure yesterday of joining Coach Ginger Brown-Lemm and the women’s golf team in Tulsa for the NCAA Championships, their second year in a row to be in the final group of clubs playing for a National Championship. Through windy conditions and stiff competition, I was and still am very impressed with what our ladies are doing and their many accomplishments leading up to it.
If you’re not already, follow along with them on Twitter (@HailStateWG) and through live stats as they play through the remainder of the tournament this week. Good luck the rest of the way!
DIAMOND DAWGS ADVANCE IN SEC TOURNAMENT
Yet another team in postseason action this week, Coach Cohen’s Bulldogs are growing a reputation for theatrics in the SEC Tourney in Hoover. Congrats to the guys for their 10-inning win over Georgia and good luck to them tonight against South Carolina.
The secret of how well Bulldog fans travel is becoming more and more well known these last several years and the conference tourney in Hoover is always a good example of how passionate we are about our teams across the board, especially baseball. The crowd was majority Maroon and White last night and I imagine that trend will continue as long as the team is there. Thank you for your passion!
GREAT SEASON FOR SOFTBALL
I have to commend Coach Vann Stuedeman, her staff and the team for the outstanding performance by MSU softball this year. Seemingly every week another record was broken or milestone achieved, and reaching their third NCAA Regional in as many seasons for Vann is quite impressive.
It took two one-run losses to Texas to put them out in Lafayette, including one in the final inning. Loss is never easy and the final game of the Regional was a heartbreaker, but as much as that may have hurt to lose, the entire season gave those of us watching much more enjoyment.
Congrats on a great year and we look forward to more to come!
INDIVIDUAL SEC TRACK CHAMPIONSHIPS
Over the weekend, not one but two of our track and field Bulldogs earned SEC titles in their respective competitions. Congrats to Rochelle Farquharson for winning the long jump at the SEC Championships on Saturday with a jump of 21-02.50. Congratulations as well to indoor National Champion Brandon McBride for winning the outdoor 800m SEC title with a run of 1:47:59 on Sunday.
It’s been another banner year for Coach Steve Dudley and the track and field programs and we look forward to seeing how our Bulldogs do in Nationals.
MEN’S GOLF COMPLETES SEASON IN NCAA REGIONAL
For the second year in a row, Coach Clay Homan’s men’s golf team was selected to the NCAA Tournament, and for the second year in a row I find myself congratulating them on a great season.
Our Bulldogs battled the elements in Illinois and notched a 12th-place finish in the Sugar Grove Regional to finish their 2014 campaign. A big thank you to the seniors on the team for their dedication to MSU and job well done to the entire club for another great season.
TENNIS BULLDOGS SELECTED FOR INDIVIDUAL NCAA COMPETITION
Following another NCAA Tourney appearance, Coach Per Nilsson’s men’s tennis team had three players selected for individual play in the NCAAs. SEC Freshman of the Year Florian Lakat represented MSU in the singles bracket today with a hard-fought loss. Congrats to Florian on his year and we look forward to the rest of his career in Maroon and White.
At the time of this writing, All-SEC women's tennis standout Georgiana Patrasc was playing her first-round match in the NCAA Singles Championship as well. Georgiana has had a notable sophomore season for us on the courts.
Also remaining in play is the 17th-ranked men's doubles duo of Jordan Angus and Malte Stropp, who play tomorrow to keep their year going. This is the second straight year for the pair to appear in the NCAA Doubles Championship after they advanced to the Round of 16 last spring. Good luck tomorrow!
We’re in the home stretch of the 2013-14 athletic year and it’s shaping up to be fun yet again. Our teams make it entertaining and it is you who make it special. Thank you for all you do, and hey, let’s wear maroon this Friday!
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