From the Desk of Mal Moore
5/16/2007 12:00:00 AM | General
Dear Crimson Tide Fan:
As we reach the conclusion of another academic and athletic season, I want to express my sincere gratitude to each of you for your support of our student-athletes and the Crimson Tide during the year and I hope each of you enjoy the upcoming summer months.
Certainly, 2007 will be a time of high hopes for the University, as evidenced by the record crowd at our A-Day, the extraordinary number of requests for Tide Pride and tickets for football, and the positive energy brought to the campus and the community by Coach Nick Saban and his staff.
While we can eagerly wait for the upcoming football season, several of our teams are still competing in the final weeks of the spring semester, including Pat Murphy's softball team. This week we will host the first round NCAA Regionals at our facility, beginning Friday afternoon when Florida State plays California at 3:30 p.m. The Crimson Tide will play Friday night against Ohio Valley Champion Tennessee Tech, with the first pitch slated for 6:00 p.m.
We have had record crowds all year, and it would be a great testament to our program if we can sell out this regional. Coach Murphy has expressed his goal of selling 2,000 tickets, which would be yet another landmark for his program. You can order tickets by calling 1-205-348-BAMA or go on line to rolltide.com.
Our baseball team, despite a number of injuries, has played it best during the last few weeks and concludes the regular season this weekend in Starkville against Miss. State. One of the key players for Jim Wells' squad the past four years has been centerfielder Emeel Salem, who has proved to be an All-American player, student and citizen.
Emeel has become one of the most decorated student-athletes in the history of the University. Recently, he was named as the winner of the H. Boyd McWhorter Scholarship, the highest athletic-academic honor given in the Southeastern Conference. He is also a finalist for the national award ?? sponsored by Lowe's -- for the best senior in the country. You can help Emeel win this honor by casting your ballot for him at the following website:
http://baseball.seniorclassaward.com/public/men/vote.aspx
Two of our sports' teams that have made significant progress over the last year are men's tennis and women's golf. Billy Pate's tennis team defeated Duke last Saturday to earn a spot in the nation's "Sweet 16" of tennis, becoming only the fifth Alabama to qualify for the final rounds to be held, starting Thursday in Athens, Ga. Coach Pate was recently voted the Southeast Regional Coach of the Year.
For the second time in a row, and only the third time ever, our women's golf team has qualified to play in the NCAA Finals, to be held this Daytona Beach, Fla., May 22-25. Coach Mic Potter was the SEC Co-Coach of the Year; and this will be the 17th time he has led a team into the championship round.
Coach Jay Seawell has turned our men's golf team into a national contender, earning the No. 1 seed in the NCAA Central Regional to be held May 17-19 in Sugar Grove, Illinois. We've been ranked No. 1 in the country this year and finished second in the SEC Championships two weeks ago.
We are currently ranked No. 3 in the country and this marks the first time ever we have been seeded No. 1 in a regional and the fourth time in five years that Coach Seawell has taken our team to the NCAA Tournament.
Last weekend we hosted the SEC Track and Field Championships, and I want to thank coaches Harvey Glance and Sandy Fowler along with their administrators Wendell Hudson and Marie Robbins for the excellent job they did in making sure the competition run so well.
Again, best wishes to each of you, and we look forward to having you back on campus when we open the 2007 season against Western Carolina.
Sincerely,
Mal Moore
Athletic Director
