The Battle Plan
1/29/2016 12:00:00 AM | General
Our Gritty Basketball Teams Continue to Develop
We are in the thick of basketball season, competing in one of the nation's toughest conferences in both men's and women's basketball. I have been very impressed with the toughness and grit that both of our squads have consistently shown this season. We are on the right track in both programs, as both teams have bright futures ahead, but I am impressed by the competitiveness and drive both of these teams are showing this season.
I am also very pleased with the support that everyone is showing our teams by attending our home games and providing vocal support. In the 10 men's home games during head coach Avery Johnson's first year, we have had two sellout crowds and are averaging 12,789 fans per game, which ranks fourth in the SEC. That number would rank as the highest single-season per game attendance average in Tide men's program history. Our game against Auburn, slated for Feb. 27, is already a sellout, which gives the Tide three home sellout crowds on the year. The last time an Alabama men's team had three or more home game sellouts in the same season was back in 2010-11, when we had four home sellouts.
Our women's team also is benefitting from raucous fan support. That was particularly evident in a recent home victory over Georgia (on Sunday, Jan. 17) and in last night's tough loss to 10th-ranked Texas A&M in Foster Coliseum. The crowd of 3,732 at the Georgia game set a Foster Auditorium record for a home women's basketball game in that venue. And those fans didn't simply show up, they made a difference in the game! We held a two-point lead midway through the final period and went on strong run to close out a 14-point victory over the Bulldogs. Coach Kristy Curry's team entered the final quarter of last night's game with A&M in a tie game (44-44) before some very tough breaks down the stretch allowed the Aggies to leave with a three-point win over the Tide.
Both of our teams have thrived due to the tremendous support you have provided this year, but this season is far from over. The real difference will be made in the coming weeks. The women have crucial home games remaining against Ole Miss (Feb. 4, 6 p.m.), Auburn (Feb. 7, 1 p.m.), South Carolina (Feb. 22, 6 p.m.) and Tennessee (Feb. 25, 7:30 p.m.). The men's team has home games upcoming against Missouri (Feb. 6, 2 p.m.), Texas A&M (Feb. 10, 6 p.m.), Mississippi State (Feb. 20, 1:30 p.m.), Auburn (Feb. 27, 4 p.m.) and Arkansas (March 2, 8 p.m.).
Let's all come out and support them! We can pull them through to victory. If you can't make it there, give your tickets to fellow Tide fans to be sure that your seat is filled. Come early, be loud, and stay to the end. It makes a tremendous difference.
Fulfilling the Mission: Fall Semester GPA of 3.192 and 82 SEC Academic Honor Roll Honorees
The spring semester got underway a couple of weeks ago with everyone at Alabama standing a little taller after our thrilling championship game victory. But that wasn't the only good news to come out of the fall semester. As a department, 17 athletics programs combined for a 3.192 fall grade point average. Overall, 13 of our programs earned better than a 3.0 team grade point average in the fall, including six that earned better than a 3.5 GPA, led by our gymnastics team's 3.80. Our students are performing like champions in the classroom as well as in competition. Earlier this week, the SEC office announced that 82 of our students earned a place on the Fall SEC Academic Honor Roll, including 36 members of our national and SEC champion football team. Among those earning the academic accolade are SEC Football Scholar-Athlete of the Year and All-American Ryan Kelly as well as starters Jake Coker, O.J. Howard, Cole Mazza, Richard Mullaney, Ross Pierschbacher and JK Scott. Our total ranks second among the 14 SEC football squads. Our fall tally also includes 15 members of the soccer team, led by SEC Soccer Scholar-Athlete of the Year and two-time Academic All-District honoree Abby Lutzenkirchen, and 12 members of the women's cross country squad, led by Academic All-District and NCAA Championship competitor Katelyn Greenleaf. There were 11 honorees from the volleyball team, including Academic All-Americans Krystal Rivers and Sierra Wilson, and seven from the men's cross country team.
Crimson Tide Foundation Update: TIDE PRIDE Points Deadline is February 1
I want to take this opportunity to remind all of our Tide Pride members that February 1 is the Tide Totals points deadline. As you know, the points you accrue between September and February will post to your account at this time and that new total will be used by the Tide Pride office when determining road game football tickets and parking locations (for Club levels eligible for parking) for the 2016 football season. If you are interested in maximizing your points, gifts to the Crimson Tide Foundation receive 3 points per $100. If you have an existing scholarship or other endowment, I encourage you to make a contribution to that fund. You will enhance the value of your endowed fund and, if your gift is made before February 1, your account will be credited with the respective points. You can always make a contribution to our annual scholarship fund, the Crimson Tide Scholarship Fund (CTSF) and earn points as well. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact the Foundation at 205-348-9727 or visit their website at www.crimsontidefoundation.org. Thank you for your support of Alabama Athletics through the Crimson Tide Foundation.
Nationally Ranked Teams This Week
At this time of the spring semester, there are current national rankings out for 14 sports: men's and women's basketball, men's and women's golf, gymnastics, softball, men's and women's swimming & diving, men's and women's indoor track & field, men's and women's tennis, and baseball. This week, nine of our teams are ranked among the top 25 nationally in their respective sports, including three ranked in the top 10, and eight are currently ranked in the top 20 nationally. Here's a glance at this week's rankings:
- Men's Golf - 7th (Golfweek, Jan. 13)
- Women's Golf - 11th (Golfweek, Nov. 7)
- Gymnastics - 5th (GymInfo, Jan. 26)
- Softball - 5th (USA Today/NCFA Coaches, Jan. 26)
- Men's Swimming - 11th (CSCAA Coaches, Jan. 22)
- Women's Swimming - 22nd (CSCAA Coaches, Jan. 14)
- Women's Tennis - 13th (ITA, Jan. 28)
- Men's Indoor Track & Field - 17th (USTFCCCA, Jan. 25)
- Women's Indoor Track & Field - 15th (USTFCCCA, Jan. 25)
Sports Updates
Men's Basketball
Avery Johnson's team used a thrilling 16-2 run over the final four minutes to earn an improbable 63-57 victory over Tennessee on Tuesday night in Coleman Coliseum. The Tide trailed 48-33 with 13:54 left, but outscored the Volunteers 30-9 the rest of the way to snap a three-game losing streak. Senior Retin Obasohan finished with a game-high 22 points, while junior Shannon Hale added a season-high 20 points en route to the victory. Individually, Retin is playing some great ball. He leads our team scoring 20 or more points in eight games this season, all of which have come over the last 13 contests, including a career-high 27 points at Auburn on Jan. 19. Over his last 13 games, Retin is averaging 16.8 points, 4.4 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.3 steals per game. Next up, the Tide heads to South Carolina to take on the 20th-ranked Gamecocks on Saturday. Tipoff is set for 5 p.m. CT with the game airing on The SEC Network.
Women's Basketball
Coach Curry's team had a gutsy performance against top-10 Texas A&M last night and came up just short, but this team is really showing signs of growth and improvement. Coach Curry said it best when she talked after the game about the program being headed in the right direction. Next week is a big week at home, and we hope that you'll come out and support the Tide at Foster Auditorium on Thursday and Sunday when we host Ole Miss and Auburn.
Gymnastics
A rough balance beam rotation mixed in with a great showing on the other three events resulted in a loss to Arkansas last Friday for Coach Dana Duckworth's squad. Much like our turnovers in football in the Ole Miss game, three falls from the beam are too much for a team to overcome but, like our football team recently showed, there are still championships to be won this season. Outside of the balance beam, we posted season-best scores on the vault (49.400) and uneven bars (49.300) against Arkansas as well as our second-highest floor exercise score of the season (49.375). We also won all five individual events in front of a crowd of 12,600 that braved cold and rainy weather to cheer on our ladies. The schedule doesn't get any easier. After facing four top 15 teams in the first three weeks of the season, the Tide takes on No. 1 Florida in Gainesville tonight at 6 p.m. CT. You can catch all the action live on The SEC Network. When the Tide returns to Coleman Coliseum on Feb. 5 at 7:30 p.m. CT against Kentucky, it will be the gymnastics team's 12th annual Power of Pink meet, a breast cancer awareness initiative that was started by the legendary Sarah Patterson. We hope everyone will join us as we Think Pink, Wear Pink and Roll Tide!
Swimming and Diving
Coach Dennis Pursley's swimming and diving teams closed out the regular season at home last Saturday morning against Georgia Tech. Our men and women rose to the occasion, sweeping the Rambling Wreck in convincing victories. It was senior day for the Crimson Tide and 13 of our swimmers competed for the last time in the Alabama Aquatic Center, including Emma Saunders, Stephanie Klotz and Brian Westlake, who all earned wins in their last home meet wearing the crimson and white. With the regular season behind them, the championship season gets underway February 16 in Columbia, Mo., at the SEC Championships. Coach Pursley's program has been focused on this portion of the schedule since the last day of the 2015 season and I am looking forward to seeing how we fare. Our swimmers and divers have performed at a championship level in the classroom. Both teams were named College Swimming Coaches Association of America Scholar All-America Teams. Our women posted the sixth highest team grade point average among all NCAA Division I women's teams with a 3.61 in the fall and is ranked No. 1 among SEC schools while posting the highest team GPA among those schools that scored at the 2015 NCAA Championships. Our men also ranked in the top 10 nationally in terms of team grade point average this fall, coming in at No. 7 among all NCAA Division I men's teams after posting a 3.38. They also led the SEC in team GPA and were the only squad in the nation to finish in the top 10 at last year's NCAA Championships and in the top 10 by team GPA this fall.
Women's Tennis
What an opening weekend it was for head coach Jenny Mainz's women's tennis team! Serving as one of 15 hosts across the country for the annual ITA Kick-Off Weekend, the Crimson Tide defeated Penn, 5-0, on Saturday for their first victory of the season. Sunday's match against No. 40 Texas was a down-to-the-wire battle, as senior Natalia Maynetto came through with a 6-3, 3-6, 6-1 victory at the fifth singles position to clinch a 4-3 victory over the Longhorns. The match was also the program's annual Power of Pink event, and I think it is fair to say the women competed with a level of heart, tenacity and courage befitting the cause they were playing for. Alabama qualified for the 2016 ITA National Women's Team Indoor Championships by virtue of winning both of its matches during Kick-Off Weekend, the fourth consecutive year the Tide will take part in the national tournament. The team also moved up two spots, from No. 15 to No. 13, in the latest Oracle/ITA Collegiate Tennis Division I Women's Tennis Rankings.
Men's Tennis
Head coach George Husack's team is off to a hot start this season, posting a 5-1 record. Last weekend the Tide traveled to Jacksonville, Fla., to compete in the North Florida Invite, winning both ends of a doubleheader on Friday, defeating Miami, 4-1, before taking down host North Florida, 4-2. Freshman Mazen Osama turned in a terrific effort, defeating the nation's 23rd-ranked player while playing in the top singles position to clinch the victory for Alabama. He also won in straight sets against North Florida to contribute to that team win. For his efforts, the first-year man from Cairo, Egypt, was named the SEC Men's Tennis Freshman of the Week on Wednesday. The Tide is on the road again this weekend, heading to Tallahassee to face the No. 29 Florida State Seminoles on Friday, Jan. 29, at 4 p.m. CT. That match will be streamed live on WatchESPN.
Track & Field
Head coach Dan Waters' track & field teams enjoyed a successful two days at the inaugural Conference Clash, held last Friday and Saturday at the Birmingham CrossPlex in Birmingham, Ala. The highlight of the weekend was junior Quanesha Burks' school record leap to win the women's long jump. Her mark of 22 feet, 1/4 inch (6.71 meters) broke the indoor long jump school record of 21-3 1/4 (6.48m) set by Flora Hyacinth on March 29, 1986. Quanesha's jump also tied the CrossPlex facility record. She is currently the only women's long jumper in the nation to record a jump of over 22 feet this season. Our women also received scoring efforts from freshman Stacey Destin in the high jump, junior Vanessa Clerveaux in the 60-meter hurdles, redshirt freshman Rachael Reddy in the 3,000 meters; and junior Allison Gregg, who turned in the conference's top time in the 5,000 meters. The men were productive in the field events, led by junior Jeremiah Green's victory in the triple jump. Senior Justin Fondren placed second in the high jump, while sophomore Daniel Haugh took third in the weight throw. Freshman Will Herrscher earned runner-up honors in the pole vault as well. Both squads will be back in action this weekend as they head to Bloomington, Ind., to compete in the annual Indiana Relays on Friday and Saturday, Jan. 29-30.
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, January 30
| Sport | Opponent/Event | Location | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Men's Basketball | at South Carolina | Columbia, S.C. | 5 p.m. ET |
| Track & Field | at Indiana Relays | Bloomington, Ind. | All Day |
Sunday, January 31
| Sport | Opponent/Event | Location | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Women's Basketball | at Tennessee | Knoxville, Tenn. | 2 p.m. ET |
Tuesday, February 2
| Sport | Opponent/Event | Location | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Men's Basketball | at Mississippi State | Starkville, Miss. | 8 p.m. CT |
Thursday, February 4
| Sport | Opponent/Event | Location | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Women's Basketball | vs. Ole Miss | Foster Auditorium | 6 p.m. CT |
Friday, February 5
| Sport | Opponent/Event | Location | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Men's Tennis | vs. Oklahoma | UA Tennis Stadium | 5 p.m. CT |
| Gymnastics | vs. Kentucky | Coleman Coliseum | 7:30 p.m. CT |
| Women's Tennis | at ITA National Indoor | Madison Wisc. | Time TBD |
| Track & Field | at New Mexico Classic | Albuquerque, N.M. | Time TBD |
Saturday, February 6
| Sport | Opponent/Event | Location | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Men's Basketball | vs. Missouri | Coleman Coliseum | 2 p.m. CT |
| Women's Tennis | at ITA National Indoor | Madison Wisc. | Time TBD |
| Track & Field | at New Mexico Classic | Albuquerque, N.M. | Time TBD |
Sunday, February 7
| Sport | Opponent/Event | Location | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Women's Basketball | at Auburn | 1 p.m. CT | |
| Men's Tennis | vs. Troy | UA Tennis Stadium | 1 p.m. CT |
| Men's Tennis | vs. Lipscomb | UA Tennis Stadium | 5 p.m. CT |
| Women's Golf | at Northrop Grumman Regional Challenge | Rancho Palos Verdes Estates, Calif. | All Day |
| Women's Tennis | at ITA National Indoor | Madison Wisc. | Time TBD |
Monday, February 8
| Sport | Opponent/Event | Location | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Women's Golf | at Northrop Grumman Regional Challenge | Rancho Palos Verdes Estates, Calif. | All Day |
Tuesday, February 9
| Sport | Opponent/Event | Location | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Women's Golf | at Northrop Grumman Regional Challenge | Rancho Palos Verdes Estates, Calif. | All Day |
Wednesday, February 10
| Sport | Opponent/Event | Location | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Men's Basketball | vs. Texas A&M | Coleman Coliseum | 6 p.m. CT |
Thursday, February 11
| Sport | Opponent/Event | Location | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Women's Basketball | at Missouri | Columbia, Mo. | 7 p.m. CT |
Friday, February 12
| Sport | Opponent/Event | Location | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Softball | vs. Fordham | Orlando, Fla. | 1 p.m. ET |
| Women's Gymnastics | at Auburn | 7:30 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: Jan. 30 at South Carolina (SEC Network); Feb. 2 at Mississippi State (SEC Network)
Radio: Crimson Tide Sports Network (check local listings)
Online Streaming: Jan. 30 at South Carolina (SEC Network +); Feb. 2 at Mississippi State (SEC Network+)
Live Stats: www.rolltide.com
Twitter: @AlabamaMBB
Women's Basketball
TV: Jan. 31 at Tennessee (SEC Network)
Radio: Crimson Tide Sports Network (check local listings)
Online Streaming: Jan. 31 at Tennessee (SEC Network +); Feb. 4 vs. Ole Miss (SEC Network +)
Live Stats: www.rolltide.com
Twitter: @AlabamaWBB
Gymnastics
TV: Jan. 29 at Florida (SEC Network)
Online Streaming: Jan. 29 at Florida (SEC Network +)
Twitter: @BamaGymnastics
Live Stats: www.rolltide.com
Men's Tennis
Online Streaming: Jan. 29 at Florida State (WatchESPN)
Twitter: @AlabamaMTN
Live Scoring:
Track & Field
Twitter: @AlabamaTrack
Live Results: Jan. 29-30 at Indiana Relays (http://sidearmstats.com/indiana/track/)
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, January 30
| Time | Event | Network |
|---|---|---|
| 4 a.m. | REPLAY: Gymnastics at Florida | SEC Network |
| 8:30 a.m. | REPLAY: Gymnastics at Florida | SEC Network |
| 5 p.m. | Men's Basketball at South Carolina | SEC Network |
Sunday, January 31
| Time | Event | Network |
|---|---|---|
| 12:30 a.m. | REPLAY: Men's Basketball at South Carolina | SEC Network |
| 4 a.m. | REPLAY: Men's Basketball at South Carolina | SEC Network |
| 2 p.m. | Women's Basketball at Tennessee | SEC Network |
| 7:30 p.m. | REPLAY: Gymnastics at Florida | SEC Network |
Monday, February 1
| Time | Event | Network |
|---|---|---|
| 12:30 a.m. | REPLAY: Women's Basketball at Tennessee | SEC Network |
| 5:30 a.m. | REPLAY: Women's Basketball at Tennessee | SEC Network |
| 12:30 p.m. | REPLAY: Gymnastics at Florida | SEC Network |
Tuesday, February 2
| Time | Event | Network |
|---|---|---|
| 8 a.m. | REPLAY: Gymnastics at Florida | SEC Network |
| 8 p.m. | Men's Basketball at Mississippi State | SEC Network |
Wednesday, February 3
| Time | Event | Network |
|---|---|---|
| 2 a.m. | REPLAY: Men's Basketball at Mississippi State | SEC Network |
Thursday, February 4
| Time | Event | Network |
|---|---|---|
| 6 p.m. | Women's Basketball vs. Ole Miss | SEC Network + |
Your support is crucial to our athletics success. We need your attention, presence and spirit for all of our teams and student-athletes. It takes all of us to Keep the Tide Rising!
Roll Tide!
