The Battle Plan
11/20/2015 12:00:00 AM | General
In position for Another Shot at an SEC Title
Last Saturday's football victory over Mississippi State was a strange game in many ways, but the 31-6 win over the 17th-ranked Bulldogs was a great one for the Crimson Tide. It was a gorgeous day in a beautiful, newly-expanded stadium, and the game was played before a very loud and excited crowd. Our great fans held their own, at least when the cowbells weren't ringing.
At one point, State had doubled us in yards gained and time of possession, but we were 21-0 ahead! We had trouble making first downs early, but did pretty well scoring touchdowns: Cyrus Jones on a punt return, Calvin Ridley on a short pass play that turned into a long run, and Derrick Henry on a third-and-long burst up the middle - all aided by excellent blocking - scored our first three touchdowns. The Alabama defense was incredible throughout the game, and the fourth quarter belonged to the Tide. The stats evened up and the margin got bigger as the game went on. It was great to leave Starkville with a win, although we did suffer some injuries to key players that will hurt.
This week's game against Charleston Southern will be a challenge. They are 9-1, ranked eighth in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) and have already beaten the number one team in their division. They feature a spread option attack that will challenge our defense, and their defense is pretty darned good as well. I know a lot of our fans don't care as much about our non-conference opponents as our SEC opponents, but I do trust that the large majority of our fans will come out in full force to support our team. Your presence matters and you play a great part in our successes on the field and on the recruiting trail. Your passion, your classy behavior, and your presence everywhere we play is very meaningful to our players and coaches.
If you can't make it to the game for any reason, please see that someone who wants to see the Crimson Tide play in Bryant-Denny Stadium is sitting in your seats.
Swimmer Justine Panian a Leader in Community Involvement and Outreach
Last year, Crimson Tide swimmer Justine Panian began an on-campus student organization called the Crimson Carnations, an organization that is affiliated with the Girl Scouts of North-Central Alabama. Crimson Carnations encourages college-aged Girl Scout alumni to stay involved with Girl Scouts through various outreach events. Justine was recently joined in that effort by some of her teammates, including Emily Zapinski and Victoria Hove. For the past couple of months, they have been planning a Women in Science Day, hosting on campus Girl Scouts ages from kindergarten through sixth grade while encouraging them to strive for a career in STEM fields once they reach the appropriate age, a field in which women are underrepresented.
Crimson Carnations formed partnerships with the Society of Women Engineers and the Alabama Rocketry Association in an effort to organize stations that emphasized Chemical Engineering, Exercise Science, Biology, and Aerospace Engineering. Last Saturday, instead of watching the exciting Alabama vs. Mississippi State football game, members of Justine's team sacrificed their afternoon to be in the South Engineering Research Center to host more than 100 Girl Scouts in a ground-breaking collaboration. The goal of the event, which joined Girl Scouts of North Central Alabama with The University of Alabama, was to inspire the girls to grow up with an interest in the sciences.
The group created an exercise science station organized by Victoria Hove and assisted by Temarie Tomley, Sarah Helm, Leah Bird, Emily Zapinski, and Lauren Searcy. Those young ladies taught the girls how to monitor their heart rate, warm-up through activation, and run creative relays with the girls in the Engineering quad. Other experiments included making lava lamps for chemical engineering, candy DNA helixes for biology, and straw rockets for aerospace engineering. This event not only exhibits the great teamwork of Justine and her swimming teammates, it also provides an excellent example of collaboration with other student organizations. The students shared the mutual goal of enriching the lives of young girls while building leadership skills for students that will carry over into their professional futures. That collaborative effort between student-athletes and other UA students is something of which we all can be proud.
Take a look at this story from the Tuscaloosa News about the efforts of Justine and our students.
Fulfilling the Mission: Lutzenkirchen & Wilson Up for Academic All-America Honors
The Academic All-America program has several different levels of recognition, starting with the district level. The Crimson Tide is in District IV and, already this season, we have had two of our student-athletes, Abby Lutzenkirchen (soccer) and Sierra Wilson (volleyball), earn first-team Academic All-District IV honors. Earning first-team at the district level moves them on to the national ballot for Academic All-America honors. Not only are these women outstanding students, but they have excelled in their respective athletic endeavors as well. Abby finished her career as our all-time leader in minutes played while Sierra broke the all-time assist record this past weekend against Auburn. Abby is the first UA soccer player to be named first team all-district in back-to-back years while Sierra is only the second Crimson Tide volleyball player to earn all-district three years running. Sierra earned Academic All-America honors as a junior while Abby is seeking her first such honor this season.
Student-Athletes Express Gratitude in Crimson Tide Foundation's "Thank-a-Thon"
Earlier this week, student-athletes from gymnastics, track & field, soccer, men's and women's golf, softball, volleyball, men's and women's basketball, baseball, men's tennis, and men's swimming & diving spent time calling and writing notes to personally thank our Crimson Tide Foundation (CTF) donors. In advance of the Thanksgiving holiday, it was important for the Crimson Tide Foundation to let our donors know how much they are appreciated. Who better to demonstrate that gratitude than the very student-athletes who are impacted by their generous contributions? Our student-athletes are very busy with their academic and athletic schedules, but they were excited to have the opportunity to personally thank some of our donors. The Crimson Tide Foundation and the Department of Athletics are proud that they took time to show their appreciation for what has been provided by our donors and to reflect on how our athletics donors have made their Alabama experience possible. Next week, the Crimson Tide Foundation will be posting videos of our athletes at the "Thank-a-Thon" sharing their thanks and ways they have been impacted by our donors' support. Follow the Crimson Tide Foundation on Twitter (@UACTF) and Facebook to catch those videos and other news from the CTF! You can find more information via our Crimson Tide Foundation website at www.crimsontidefoundation.org.
Sports Updates
Volleyball
Coach Ed Allen's team bounced back from a loss at Florida with a three-set sweep of Auburn in Tuscaloosa on Sunday, giving the Tide an 8-6 record in conference play with wins in four of its last five matches. The win over Auburn was played in front of a crowd of 1,886 fans, the second-largest in program history. Our top three attendance marks have happened in the last two seasons. Sunday's win was particularly special for senior Sierra Wilson, as her 32 assists in the match moved her past Brigitte Slack to set the school record for career assists. The Tide take its final road trip of the regular season this weekend, playing at Georgia tonight at 6 p.m. CT and at South Carolina on Sunday, Nov. 22, at 12:30 p.m. CT.
Cross Country
Coach Dan Waters saw men's junior Antibahs Kosgei and women's senior Katelyn Greenleaf qualify for the NCAA Cross Country Championships by virtue of their finishes at the NCAA South Region Championships last Friday here in Tuscaloosa. It has been a tremendous season for both Antibahs and Katelyn. Antibahs has made history for our program in his first year competing at the Division I level, winning the individual title at both the SEC Championships and South Region Championships. Earlier this week, he was named the South Region Athlete of the Year by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA). For Katelyn, this has been four years in the making. She has consistently improved over the course of her career at the Capstone, so this has certainly been a rewarding way to close out her last cross country season in a Crimson Tide uniform. The NCAA meet will be held at the E.P. 'Tom' Sawyer State Park in Louisville, Ky. tomorrow (Saturday, Nov. 21). The women's 6-kilometer race will begin at 11 a.m. CT with the men's 10-kilometer race to follow at noon CT.
Men's Basketball
Coach Avery Johnson's men's basketball team will host the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns tonight at 7 p.m. CT in Coleman Coliseum, in the second home game of the season for the Tide. Entering tonight's game coming off a tough loss against a very good team at Dayton, the Tide has won 11 consecutive non-conference home games dating back to a loss to Xavier on Dec. 21, 2013. Following Friday's game, the Tide will compete at the 2015 AdvoCare Invitational in Orlando, Fla., which will be held Nov. 26, 27 and 29. The Tide will open the event vs. Xavier on Thursday, Nov. 26, and will play either Wichita State or Southern California on Friday.
Women's Basketball
Coach Kristy Curry's women's basketball team is off to a 2-0 start with wins over Alabama A&M and Appalachian State. Not only has the team won convincingly in both contests, but it also has scored over 90 points in back-to-back games for the first time since 2001. The Crimson Tide's defense has been just as productive, holding opponents to an average of 51.5 points, while also blocking 11.5 shots and collecting 12.5 steals per game. Six student-athletes are averaging double figure points thus far, led by sophomore Meoshonti Knight with 15.0 points per game. Fellow sophomore Hannah Cook leads the Tide in rebounds with 7.5 boards per game to go along with her 14.5 point-per-game average. Next week, there will be two opportunities to see the team in action before the Thanksgiving break with Mississippi Valley State and Georgia State coming to Foster Auditorium on Sunday and Tuesday, respectively.
Men's Tennis
Coach George Husack's men's tennis team wrapped up the fall season in fine fashion, totaling 21 victories at the CCB Collegiate Invitational in Birmingham last weekend. Freshman Spencer Richey won his singles draw at the event, prevailing over sophomore teammate Sam Edwards in the finals in a three-set match. In doubles, Sam teamed up with fellow sophomore Danny Kerznerman to claim their doubles draw. George's young but talented, squad collected valuable experience throughout the fall portion of the schedule, which will be crucial when dual match play begins in January.
Women's Tennis
Coach Jenny Mainz continues to add some of the top recruits in the nation to her program. She signed two blue chip recruits last week, Makenna Jones (Greenville, S.C.) and Madison Pothoff (Tucson, Ariz.). Makenna is currently ranked 16th in the nation and fourth in the Southeast according to TennisRecruiting.net. She is a two-time state champion as well as being the daughter of a college tennis coach, as her father, Kelly Jones, is the head coach of the Furman men's team. Madison is currently ranked 20th overall in the 2016 class. She has been one of the best junior doubles players in the country over the last few years, winning the Eddie Herr 16s Doubles Championship in 2013 along with claiming one United States Tennis Association national title and finishing runner-up in four other USTA national events.
Women's Golf
Coach Mic Potter signed another standout from the state of Texas during the early signing period when Austin native Kristen Gillman chose to attend Alabama. Kristen is a three-time all-state performer so far in her high school career, helping Lake Travis High School to a pair of state championships. Her success doesn't stop there, though. Kristen claimed the 2014 U.S. Women's Amateur as a 16-year-old. She will be only the second player in program history to own that prestigious title, joining current senior Emma Talley. Kristen won the Junior PGA Championship, setting a new tournament scoring record, two weeks prior to her U.S. Women's Amateur victory. She represented the United States at the World Amateur Team Championships in 2014, went 3-0 in Junior Ryder Cup competition to help the U.S. win the Cup, and took part in the 2015 Junior Solheim Cup and 2015 Pan American Games as well.
Swimming and Diving
Coach Dennis Pursley, who is in Atlanta this weekend with our swimmers and divers at the Georgia Tech Invitational, announced a signing class of 11 excellent swimmers on Wednesday. We signed six men and five women to National Letters of Intent. Laurent Bams, Wyatt Harrison, Daniel Kober, Kyle Maas, Christopher Staka and Zane Waddell signed with the men's team while Cameron Brown, Line Bruun, Kacey Oberlander, Alexis Preski and Lexi Souther signed with the women. Coach Pursley, who has done an amazing job of restoring our swimming and diving program to national prominence, is excited about this class. "This is a talented group of swimmers who not only have the potential to become great athletes but are also outstanding students who will contribute significantly to the culture of excellence we are building Alabama swimming and diving," he said.
Upcoming Action
Here's a summary of athletic events over the next several days (times listed are for the location of the event: CT is Central Time, ET is Eastern Time, MT is Mountain Time, PT is Pacific Time):
Saturday, November 21
| Sport | Opponent/Event | Location | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Football | vs. Charleston Southern | Bryant-Denny Stadium | 3 p.m. CT |
| Swimming & Diving | at Georgia Tech Invite | Atlanta, Ga. | 10 a.m. ET |
| Cross Country | NCAA Championships | Louisville, Ky. | 12 p.m. ET |
Sunday, November 22
| Sport | Opponent/Event | Location | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Volleyball | at South Carolina | Columbia, S.C. | 12:30 p.m. CT |
| Women's Basketball | vs. Mississippi Valley State | Foster Auditorium | 2 p.m. CT |
Tuesday, November 24
| Sport | Opponent/Event | Location | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Women's Basketball | vs. Georgia State | Foster Auditorium | 6 p.m. CT |
Wednesday, November 25
| Sport | Opponent/Event | Location | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Women's Volleyball | vs. Ole Miss | Foster Auditorium | 7:30 p.m. CT |
Thursday, November 26
| Sport | Opponent/Event | Location | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Men's Basketball | vs. Xavier | Orlando, Fla. | 11 a.m. ET |
Friday, November 27
| Sport | Opponent/Event | Location | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Men's Basketball | vs. Wichita State or Southern California | Orlando, Fla. | TBA |
| Women's Basketball | vs. Middle Tennessee | Reno, Nev. | 4 p.m. MT |
| Volleyball | vs. LSU | Foster Auditorium | 7 p.m. CT |
Where to See, Listen and Follow Alabama Sports
Here's how to follow Crimson Tide teams in action this week via TV, radio, rolltide.com and social media (access a complete listing of Alabama Athletics social media platforms):
Men's Basketball
TV: Thursday & Friday - ESPN2
Online Streaming: ESPN3
Radio: Crimson Tide Sports Network (check local listings)
Live Stats: www.rolltide.com
Twitter: @AlabamaMBB
Women's Basketball
TV: Sunday & Tuesday - SEC Network +
Online Streaming: ESPN3
Live Stats: www.rolltide.com
Twitter: @AlabamaWBB
Cross Country
Live Results: http://primetimetiming.com/liveresults/2015/NCAAXC/
Twitter: @AlabamaTrack
Football
TV: CBS Sports
Radio: Crimson Tide Sports Network (check local listings)
Satellite Radio: Sirius 112; XM 192
Live Stats: www.rolltide.com
Twitter: @AlabamaFTBL
Swimming & Diving
Online Streaming: http://www.ramblinwreck.com/collegesportslive/?media=506692
Twitter: @AlabamaSwim
Volleyball
Live Stats: Sunday - www.rolltide.com; Friday - www.georgiadogs.com
Twitter: @AlabamaVBall
Catch Alabama Athletics on the SEC Network
Here's a summary of our athletic events to be televised over the next week on The SEC Network and its platforms. Read this schedule closely as some events can be seen via SEC Network +, which is available online via ESPN3. If you can't make it to our games in person, catch us on radio or TV. (All times listed are Central Time)
Saturday, November 21
| Time | Event | Network |
|---|---|---|
| 3 p.m. | Football vs. Charleston Southern | SEC Network |
Sunday, November 22
| Time | Event | Network |
|---|---|---|
| 12:30 p.m. | Volleyball at South Carolina | SEC Network + |
| 2 p.m. | Women's Basketball vs. Mississippi Valley State | SEC Network + |
Monday, November 23
| Time | Event | Network |
|---|---|---|
| 9 a.m. | REPLAY: Football vs. Charleston Southern | SEC Network |
| 12 p.m. | Alabama Football Weekly Press Conference | SEC Network + |
Tuesday, November 24
| Time | Event | Network |
|---|---|---|
| 6 p.m. | Women's Basketball vs. Georgia State | SEC Network + |
Wednesday, November 25
| Time | Event | Network |
|---|---|---|
| 7:30 p.m. | Volleyball at Ole Miss | SEC Network |
Thursday, November 26
| Time | Event | Network |
|---|---|---|
| 2 a.m. | REPLAY: Football vs. Charleston Southern | SEC Network |
Friday, November 27
| Time | Event | Network |
|---|---|---|
| 7 p.m. | Volleyball vs. LSU | SEC Network + |
Our teams need your support, so please plan to attend to do your part! A rising tide lifts all boats and it takes all of us to Keep the Tide Rising!
Roll Tide!
