Byrne Notice presented by Mercedes-Benz
6/22/2021 4:15:00 PM | General
An Extraordinary Year of Competition Comes to a Close
As our track and field teams left Hayward Field in Eugene at the end of the outdoor championships, they brought to a close a truly amazing year of competition for Alabama Athletics. In addition to countless individual honors, 18 of our 21 teams advanced to national competition during the 2020-21 academic year, including 17 that earned a spot in the NCAA postseason as well as football, which won the College Football Playoff in January. Overall, 13 of our teams finished the season in the top 25 nationally. That total includes six in the top five – football (1), softball (3), women's outdoor track & field (4), men's basketball (5), gymnastics (5) and women's swimming and diving (5). Two more finished in the top 10 – men's indoor track and field (7) and women's cross country (8) – to give us eight national finishes between first and eighth. Other top-25 finishers include men's outdoor track and field (13), rowing (14), men's swimming and diving (15), women's indoor track and field (16) and women's golf (24). What a truly amazing year for the Crimson Tide!
Track and Field Finishes Strong
We are very proud of the year our track and field program put together in 2020-21, capped off with our women making it to the podium for the first time since 1987 taking fourth, while the men finished 13th, marking their fourth top-15 outdoor finish in a row. The men were paced by Robert Dunning, who won the NCAA 110-meter hurdles title, while the women were led by Tamara Clark who collected a pair of top-three finishes in the sprints. With their team showing, our women cemented a third-place finish in the USTFCCCA Program of the Year standings. A job well done by Coach Dan Waters' squads, who certainly closed out an extraordinary year of competition for the Crimson Tide with a flourish.
The Crimson Tide 2021 Olympic Contingent
The day after we finished our collegiate season with track and field in Eugene, our push for Tokyo and the 2021 Olympic Games went into high gear. At the USA Swimming Olympic Team Trials, which was held in Omaha, Neb., Rhyan White announced her arrival on the international scene by making Team USA in the 100-meter backstroke with a second-place finish. She followed that up by winning the 200-meter backstroke later in the week and will represent Team USA in both events in Tokyo. As the U.S. swimming trials came to an end, the track and field trials got underway in Eugene at Hayward Field. We have 13 past and present Crimson Tide student-athletes competing at the trials this week, including UA graduate Daniel Haugh, who earned a spot on Team USA in the hammer throw on Sunday. Rhyan and Daniel join Haylie McCleney (softball), David Robertson (baseball) and Justin Thomas (golf), who have already been announced as part of Team USA in Tokyo, Shallon Olsen (gymnastics), who is heading to her second Olympiad for her native Canada, and Merel van Dongen (soccer) who will represent the Dutch Olympic squad. We will have more past and present members of the Crimson Tide family earn their spot in Tokyo in the coming weeks, but there is no doubt that this amazing year for Alabama will continue well into the summer on the Olympic stage.
Montana Fouts Named Schutt Sports/NFCA Pitcher of the Year
Congratulations to Montana Fouts, who was named Schutt Sports/NFCA Division I Pitcher of the Year! As we well know, Montana had an incredible year in the circle for us, leading the nation in strikeouts with 349. In addition to being named Pitcher of the Year, she is a first team All-American, SEC Co-Pitcher of the Year and SEC Tournament MVP. We are so proud of you, Montana!
Benedetta Moresco Wins Italian Stroke Play Championship
More congratulations are in order as we recognize women's golfer Benedetta Moresco, who led wire-to-wire to win the Italian Stroke Play Championship on Sunday. Her final score of 11-under-par 277 was six shots better than second place. Way to go, Benedetta!
Football Home-And-Homes Announced
We recently added two more home-and-homes to our future football schedules with the additions of Oklahoma State and Boston College. The series with the Cowboys is slated for 2029 and 2030, while the matchups with the Eagles are in 2031 and 2034. That makes 12 home-and-homes on the books beginning in 2022 with Texas as well as a 2-for-1 with South Florida. We are extremely excited about these future opportunities that provide high-quality non-conference opponents for our team and fantastic travel and game-day experience opportunities for our fans.
Crimson Tide Scholarship Fund
Our fiscal year is nearing its end with the final day coming next week on Wednesday, June 30. If you have not yet made a philanthropic contribution to Alabama Athletics this year, please consider donating to the Crimson Tide Scholarship Fund (CTSF). The CTSF is the annual scholarship fund for Alabama Athletics, providing scholarship support for the Crimson Tide's 600+ student-athletes. Donors to the CTSF earn three Tide Totals priority points per $100 donated. To learn more or to donate, visit crimsontidefoundation.org/ctsf.
University Spotlight
The University has recently started a section on its New Center site titled "Everyday Champions," which features faculty and staff members shining behind the scenes. I encourage you to take a look at the first three worthy nominees – Kristina Patridge, Keith Norton and Dana Williams – who each have great stories as to why they were selected to be featured.
#RollTideFriday
For our final two #RollTideFriday features of the season, we have Charles and Major Wolfe on the flight line near Atlanta as well as the Taylor and Trammell families on vacation at Universal Studios in Orlando.
Charles and Major Wolfe
Taylor and Trammell families
Remember to use the hashtag #RollTideFriday in your social posts and tweet your photos to me at @Greg_Byrne. We will select two photos to feature in each blog and add even more to our #RollTideFriday Fan Hub. Let's keep these great photos coming!
