The Battle Plan
3/28/2015 12:00:00 AM | General
Another SEC Title for Gymnastics, and a Rare First
Last Saturday night in Georgia our women's gymnastics team earned the 2015 Southeastern Conference title in a close one. It capped a long and memorable day for me, as I joined our President, Dr. Judy Bonner, and Executive Associate Athletics Director Finus Gaston in going to Miami to watch our men's basketball team in action, then head up to Duluth to catch the SEC meet.
We were pleased to see a strong contingent of Crimson Tide fans at both venues. They gave both of our teams a tremendous boost. The passionate support of our fans continues to amaze me. The energy and encouragement fuels our student athletes, reminding all of us that we represent something that is special and larger than ourselves.
For the first time in the remarkable history of Alabama gymnastics, our program has won back-to-back SEC titles. Using the same rotation they did to win a year ago, the third-seeded Crimson Tide again finished on uneven bars, posting a 49.275 to earn the win, though both No. 2 seed LSU and No. 1 seed Florida kept things tight throughout the last rotation. Junior Lauren Beers closed out the Tigers and Gators and clinched the victory with a 9.9.
This was the first Alabama postseason title without legendary coaches Sarah and David Patterson, who retired last summer, at the helm and the first under head coach Dana Duckworth. Had you not known of that coaching change, I doubt you would have noticed any difference in the winning attitude our team displayed. My lasting memory of the competition will be watching them strut to their spot in the arena just prior to the final rotation.
Watching them walk across the arena, it was obvious they were champions. The body language, their facial expressions, and their determination radiated confidence. As Coach Duckworth said afterward, this truly was "classic Alabama."
"We have talked all season about protecting the legacy and we did that tonight," Dana said. "Sarah and David paved the way for our success tonight. This was classic Alabama, a total team performance with everyone lifting each other up to reach a common goal."
Lauren Beers led the way for Tide, taking third place in the all-around, while senior Kaitlyn Clark shared top honors on the vault. Kaitlin and sophomore Keely McNeer took second on the balance beam. The Tide opened with a 49.275 on the balance beam led by McNeer's 9.9 in the leadoff spot and Kaitlyn's matching score to finish the rotation. We scored a 49.475 on the floor exercise behind junior Carley Sims' career-best 9.95. On the vault, Kaitlyn's 9.95 paced the Tide to a 49.500.
Now it's on to NCAA regional competition next week at Auburn. By the look of things, our team is ready. Congratulations to our student athletes, Coach Duckworth and her staff!
A Tip of the Hat to Our Men's Basketball Team
Last weekend marked the end of an era for our men's basketball program, as our team lost its NIT Second Round game at Miami on Saturday afternoon in Coral Gables. I was with the team that day and, as has been the case consistently over my two years as your Director of Athletics, I was impressed by their effort, intensity and attitude in a difficult situation. Seeing them during the postgame, knowing this was the last time they would be together as a group and facing an uncertain future, they represented all of us with the class and commitment we sometimes come to take for granted.
This team had excellent leaders in seniors Rodney Cooper, Levi Randolph and Dakota Slaughter. If one is ever in a situation with long odds, that trio would be a great group to have on one's side. They're fine young men who kept our team together. I can't say enough good things about them and their teammates. They will be successful in life if they continue to live as they have led this team, and they take my good wishes with them onward.
Sports Updates
Baseball
The Crimson Tide split a doubleheader on Friday to open this weekend's series at Florida after falling to South Alabama, 3-0, on Tuesday. Last weekend, the Tide took one of three from No. 5 Texas A&M in Hoover. The Tide fell in the first two games of the series, but claimed the final contest to end A&M's undefeated streak at 24 games. The Aggies were the final unbeaten team in college baseball before UA came out victorious in game two of Saturday's doubleheader. In Saturday's series finale, the Tide got out to an early lead, scoring four runs in the first inning and never looking back on the way to a 6-2 victory. Starting pitcher Geoffrey Bramblett threw 7 strong innings, allowing two runs (one earned) on the way to his team-leading fourth win of the season. The Tide is being led offensively by Casey Hughston and Mikey White, both team leaders in almost every statistical category. Casey ranks second in the SEC in doubles (10), third in RBI (26) and total bases (61), fourth in slugging (.701) and seventh in batting (.402). He leads the Tide in doubles, homers, RBI and slugging percentage. Mikey is tied for the league lead in triples (5), while ranking fourth in batting average (.410), fifth in on-base percentage (.485) and slugging percentage (.699), and sixth in runs (25) and total bases (58).
Men's Golf
The men's golf team had three players finish among the top 20 individuals to lead Alabama to a seventh-place finish at the 2015 Linger Longer Invitational. As a team, the Crimson Tide finished the 54-hole event with a 4-under par 860 on the par-72, 7,063-yard Great Waters Golf Club at Reynolds Plantation. Junior Tom Lovelady recorded his fourth top-10 finish of the year as he placed seventh overall to lead the team. Tom carded his third consecutive round of below par during Sunday's final 18 holes with a 1-under 70 and finished play with a 6-under par 210 (69-70-71). He now has 10 career top-10 finishes, while five of his last nine rounds have been below par. Third-ranked Texas came from behind to capture the team title with an 840. The Tide returns to action on April 3-5 at the Mason Rudolph Championship in Franklin, Tenn., the beginning of a crucial stretch of the season leading to the SEC tournament and the postseason.
Women's Golf
The women's golf team finished 11th on Friday in the stroke play portion of the 43rd Liz Murphey Collegiate Classic, hosted by Georgia at the par-72, 6,401-yard University of Georgia Golf Course. The Crimson Tide begins the match play portion of the tournament on Saturday, and will be in a bracket with Purdue, Stanford and Auburn. Emma Talley added her second consecutive top 10 finish by tying for seventh with a 3-over 75. Playing a course that only yielded two scores of par or better, Emma birdied the par-5 ninth to finish in the top 10. Alabama will face Stanford tomorrow during the first round of match play, with tee off Saturday at 8:20 a.m. CDT from the 10th hole. Following the conclusion of the first match, Alabama will face Auburn, a match tentatively set for a 1:20 p.m. CDT start, also beginning at the 10th hole.
Gymnastics
The 2015 SEC champions placed four gymnasts on the 2015 All-SEC team. Senior Kaitlyn Clark, juniors Carley Sims and Lauren Beers, and sophomore Keely McNeer were named All-SEC, which is comprised of gymnasts with the top two scores on each event and in the all-around at the SEC Championships. The Tide is taking this weekend off from competition before the Tide returns to action on Saturday, April 4, in the NCAA Auburn Regional Championship starting at 6 p.m. For ticket information, please go to www.AuburnTigers.com. There will be two buses available to take Crimson Tide fans from Tuscaloosa to the regional next Saturday. One bus will be the Tuscaloosa Toyota UA Student Bus, and the other will be the Medalist Club Fan Bus. For details on how to join the trip, please go to www.gymtide.com.
Rowing
Our rowing team will host its second and final home regatta of the 2015 season by hosting Senior Day on Saturday morning, competing against Jacksonville University. The regatta will consist of four races on the Black Warrior River beginning at 9 a.m. You can support our team by heading out to The Park at Manderson Landing in Tuscaloosa, right off Jack Warner Parkway. The Crimson Tide and the Dolphins will compete in four races on Saturday with race times set for 9:00, 9:20, 9:40 and 10:40. After the races, the Tide will honor its 12 seniors with a Senior Day ceremony. The regatta also marks the annual Power of Pink initiative to raise awareness for breast cancer research. Power of Pink t-shirts will be given away as well as a pair of Alabama softball tickets for Saturday's 2 p.m. game vs. Texas A&M. Additional activities include a bounce house, balloon artist, free breakfast, acrylic elephant painting and a DJ along with various enter-to-win prize giveaways throughout the day. Alabama will compete twice during the month of April before heading to Oak Ridge, Tenn., in May for the Big 12 Championships. Alabama will have a week off of competition before its next event on April 11-12 at the Knecht Cup Regatta in Camden, N.J.
Softball
Coach Patrick Murphy's softball team heads into Saturday with a 7-3 SEC record, tied for the lead for SEC teams that have played three conference series. Three of Alabama's seven losses have been one-run games, and six of those seven losses have come to teams ranked in the top 10. In SEC play, the Crimson Tide pitching staff leads the conference with a 1.46 earned-run average (ERA). Haylie McCleney leads the team with a .488 batting average and is tied with Demi Turner for the team lead in hits at 42. Marisa Runyon slugged her team-leading fifth homer in an 11-0 win over Georgia Tech on Wednesday. Marisa has 23 runs batted in (RBI), one shy of Haylie's team-leading 24. We are in the midst of hosting Texas A&M this weekend in a three-game set, having won Friday's first game, 13-0. Saturday's game begins at 2 p.m. with Sunday's slated for a 1:30 p.m. first pitch.
Swimming & Diving
Our men's swimming team is in fifth place with 79 points after day one of the 2015 Men's NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships being held in Iowa City, Iowa this week. The Crimson Tide on Thursday had a trio of top-five finishes, including a second place showing by sophomore Kristian Gkolomeev and a bronze by the 400 medley relay squad. Kristian just missed defending his NCAA 50 freestyle championship from a year ago, grabbing second place. Sophomores Connor Oslin and Anton McKee joined Kristian and junior Brett Walsh to take third in the 400 medley relay. The two teams in front of Alabama, Texas and California, bettered the NCAA, American and U.S. Open records on the way to taking first and second, respectively. The Tide started Thursday's action by taking fourth place in the 200 freestyle relay, led off by Kristian, who was joined by sophomore Alex Gray, freshman Luke Kaliszak and Walsh.
Men's Tennis
Our young men's tennis team continues to fight through growing pains. Currently 13-13 overall with a 2-6 SEC record, the Tide took a loss at Tennessee on Friday and has a road match at Kentucky slated for Sunday at Noon ET, followed by a match against Morehead State in Lexington at 5 p.m. ET. The Tide went 1-2 last weekend, falling in SEC play to No. 23 LSU (4-3) and No. 7 Texas A&M (4-1) before earning a 5-1 victory against Mercer on Sunday evening. Nikko Madregallejo won all three of his singles matches over the weekend, including a 6-3, 6-2 victory over Harrison Adams, the nation's 48th-ranked player, Nikko's first win against a nationally ranked opponent. In the latest ITA rankings, released on Tuesday, Korey Lovett entered the national singles list for the first time in his career, at No. 88, while he and doubles partner Becker O'Shaughnessey stand at No. 29 in the nation.
Women's Tennis
Coach Jenny Mainz's ninth-ranked women's tennis team took a loss to No. 18 Kentucky Wildcats this evening, and the tough SEC slate continues on Sunday against No. 10 Vanderbilt at the Alabama Tennis Stadium. This weekend's action is the beginning of a stretch for the Tide in which it will play its final five regular season matches at home. Alabama split a pair of tough SEC road matches last weekend, defeating LSU on Friday in Baton Rouge, then falling to Texas A&M on Sunday in College Station. The Tide continues to play commanding doubles, having won 15 of 17 opening points thus far on the season. Alabama's court one pairing of No. 4 Erin Routliffe and Maya Jansen has a 15-1 record on the season. The top half of our singles lineup is ranked nationally as Erin (30), Maya (48) and Danielle Spielmann (66) have all appeared in the rankings for the duration of the season. Maya leads the Tide with 11 individual singles victories this season. Sunday is USTA/ITA Kids Day at the Tennis Complex. Bring the kids out to enjoy a bounce house, free pizza for all kids in attendance, and a post-match hit-around with the players.
Track & Field
Our track team started its outdoor season last weekend by hosting the John Mitchell Alabama Relays. Defending NCAA and U.S. men's discus champion Hayden Reed won that event as our athletes won eight events over the course of the three-day meet while achieving 15 personal bests. Hayden opened his 2015 outdoor season successfully in the men's discus with a best of 196 feet, 6 inches (59.90 meters). Kimberley Ficenec followed her Friday night victory in the women's 1,500 meters with a dominant anchor leg on Saturday to give the Tide an impressive victory in the women's distance medley relay. Kyle Felpel won the men's shot put and Candicea Bernard completed a sweep of the shot put events for the Tide with a victory. One week earlier, a dozen of our athletes earned a total of 16 All-America citations at the NCAA Indoor Championships, including four first-team honors by four athletes. Our outstanding sprinter, Remona Burchell, earned first-team honors through her victory in the 60 meters as she became the first woman in Alabama track history to win an NCAA title in the same event in consecutive years. Other first-team honorees were women's pole vaulter Lakan Taylor, Alex Amankwah (men's 800 meters) and Cameron Hudson (men's long jump). This weekend we are hosting the Crimson Tide Invitational at the Sam Bailey Track & Field Complex. Saturday's action begins at 1 p.m. on Saturday with Hayden Reed going in the men's discus. Running events are slated to begin with the men's 4x100-meter relay at 3 p.m.
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 in Eastern Time):
Saturday, March 28
| Time | Sport | Opponent/Event | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| 9 a.m. CT | Rowing | Jacksonville | The Park at Manderson Landing |
| 10 a.m. CT | Women's Golf | at Liz Murphey Collegiate | Athens, Ga. |
| 2 p.m. ET | Baseball | at Florida | Gainesville, Fla. |
| 1 p.m. CT | Track & Field | Crimson Tide Invitational | Sam Bailey Track Complex |
| 2 p.m. ET | Softball | Texas A&M | Rhoads Stadium |
| 6 p.m. CT | Swimming & Diving | at NCAA Men's Championships | Iowa City, Iowa |
Sunday, March 29
| Time | Sport | Opponent/Event | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12 p.m. ET | Men's Tennis | at Kentucky | Lexington, Ky. |
| 1 p.m. CT | Women's Tennis | Vanderbilt | Alabama Tennis Center |
| 1:30 p.m. CT | Softball | Texas A&M | Rhoads Stadium |
| 5 p.m. ET | Men's Tennis | vs. Morehead State | Lexington, Ky. |
| 10 a.m. CT | Women's Golf | at Liz Murphey Collegiate | Athens, Ga. |
Monday, March 30
No Events Scheduled
Tuesday, March 31
| Time | Sport | Opponent/Event | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6 p.m. CT | Softball | Mississippi Valley State | Rhoads Stadium |
| 6:30 p.m. CT | Baseball | UAB | Regions Park, Birmingham |
Wednesday, April 1
| Time | Sport | Opponent/Event | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6 p.m. CT | Softball | Southern Mississippi | Rhoads Stadium |
Thursday, April 2
| Time | Sport | Opponent/Event | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 p.m. ET | Track & Field | at Florida Relays | Gainesville, Fla. |
| 7 p.m. CT | Baseball | LSU | Hoover Met, Hoover |
Friday, April 3
| Time | Sport | Opponent/Event | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 p.m. ET | Softball | at Kentucky | Lexington, Ky. |
| 5 p.m. CT | Men's Tennis | South Carolina | Alabama Tennis Center |
| 7 p.m. CT | Baseball | LSU | Hoover Met, Hoover |
| All Day | Men's Golf | at Mason Rudolph Champ. | Franklin, Tenn. |
| All Day | Track & Field | at Florida Relays | Gainesville, Fla. |
Where to See, Listen and Follow Alabama Sports
Here's how to follow Crimson Tide teams via TV, radio, rolltide.com, Twitter and Facebook:
Baseball
Listen: 99.1 FM (http://player.listenlive.co/22751)
Live Stats: Gametracker via RollTide.com
TV (Online Only): SEC Network +
Twitter: @AlabamaBSB
Men's Golf
Twitter: @AlabamaMGolf
Women's Golf
Twitter: @AlabamaWGolf
Gymnastics
TV: SEC Network
Radio: WVUA-FM 90.7/RollTide.com
Live Stats: RollTide.com
Twitter: @BamaGymnastics
Softball
TV (Online Only): SEC Network +
Radio: 95.3 FM (http://953thebear.com/listen-live/)
Live Stats: Gametracker via RollTide.com
Twitter: @AlabamaSB
Men's Tennis
Twitter: @AlabamaMTN
Women's Tennis
Twitter: @AlabamaWTN
Track & Field
Live Results: http://www.branchsportstech.com/
Twitter: @AlabamaTrack
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 here. If you can't make it to our games in person, catch us on radio or TV. (All times listed are Central Time)
Saturday, March 28
| Time | Event | Network |
|---|---|---|
| 1 p.m. | Baseball at Florida | SEC Network + |
| 2 p.m. | Softball vs. Texas A&M | SEC Network + |
| 2 p.m. | Baseball at Mississippi State | SEC Network + |
Sunday, March 29
| Time | Event | Network |
|---|---|---|
| 1:30 p.m. | Softball vs. Texas A&M | SEC Network + |
| 1:30 p.m. | Baseball at Mississippi State | SEC Network + |
Tuesday, March 31
| Time | Event | Network |
|---|---|---|
| 6 p.m. | Baseball vs. Mississippi Valley State | SEC Network + |
Wednesday, April 1
| Time | Event | Network |
|---|---|---|
| 3 a.m. | SEC REWIND: 1982 Football vs. Auburn | SEC Network |
| 7 a.m. | SEC REWIND: 2004 Men's Basketball vs. Mississippi State | SEC Network |
| 6 p.m. | Softball vs. Southern Mississippi | SEC Network + |
Thursday, April 2
| Time | Event | Network |
|---|---|---|
| 6 a.m. | REPLAY: 2015 SEC Gymnastics Championships | SEC Network |
| 8 a.m. | "SEC Storied: Sarah & Suzanne" | SEC Network |
| 9 a.m. | REPLAY: 2015 SEC Gymnastics Championships | SEC Network |
| 1 p.m. | "SEC Storied: Miracle 3" | SEC Network |
| 7 p.m. | Baseball vs. LSU |
Friday, April 3
| Time | Event | Network |
|---|---|---|
| 4 p.m. | Softball at Kentucky | SEC Network + |
| 7 p.m. | Baseball 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's up to all of us to Keep the Tide Rising!
Roll Tide!
