Lauren Beers Receives 2016 Elite 90 Award
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Wins Award For Unprecedented 3rd Consecutive Year
University of Alabama Gymnast Lauren Beers
Photo Credit: RollTide.com
University of Alabama senior gymnast Laurn Beers is no stranger to receiving accolades for both her academic and athletic endeavors. Last night, for an unprecedented third consecutive time, Beers was named the 2016 NCAA Elite 90 Award winner for the sport of gymnastics at the NCAA Championship Banquet held in Fort Worth, Texas.
Not only is it the third for Beers, but it also gave the University of Alabama an equally unprecedented clean sweep of
the award since its inception in 2010. Alabama gymnastics coach Dana Duckworth said, "We are so very proud of Lauren and ecstatic for our program to be able
to continue to earn this amazing honor. Our ladies put a tremendous amount of hard work and dedication
into their academic pursuits and this is a shining example of what can
happen when your standard is excellence."
Alabama is the only program across all sports to sweep the award, and is a perfect seven-for-seven in this award. The NCAA Elite 90 Award goes to the student-athlete with the highest cumulative grade point average at
the final site of each of the NCAA's 90 championship.
Duckworth again commented, "What an extraordinary accomplishment. Our
program is proud to have earned all seven of these awards. We have
tremendous gratitude for Jon Dever, Fern Hampton and all the staff at
the Bill Battle Academic Center for their daily commitment in supporting
our student athletes academically. I also want to thank The University
of Alabama and our administration for providing the tools that allow
our women to be the best version of themselves in every area of their
life. We are truly fortunate."
Beers earned her undergraduate
degree in exercise science in August with a perfect 4.0 GPA. She is the 2016
SEC Gymnastics Scholar-Athlete of the Year, and currently pursuing a
master’s degree in sports management. A six-time All-American, Beers won
the floor exercise at the NCAA Tuscaloosa Regional Championships just a couple of weeks ago.
Other gymnasts having won the award from the University of Alabama are Kassi Price, who won the inaugural award in 2010; Rachel Terry, who earned the honor in back-to-back years in 2011 and 2012; and 2014 senior Kim Jacob earned the award in 2013.
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McCleney, Littlejohn Player Of The Year Finalists
Graphics/Photo Credit: RollTide.com
UA is one of just five schools with multiple finalists. Those others are Michigan, Florida, Florida State and James Madison with two each. The list consists of nine seniors, 11 juniors and five sophomores. The list will be narrowed to a field of 10 on May 11, three on May 25 and then the winner will be announced on May 31 just prior to the start of the Women’s College World Series.
McCleney is no stranger to the process having been one of 26 finalists for the award last season and was a top-10 finalist two years ago as a sophomore. This is Littlejohn’s first career appearance on the list, and is joined on the list by nine other pitchers.
One could easily say that McCleney is a powerhouse player for Bama, leading the Crimson Tide this season with a .459 batting average, .602 on-base percentage and .704 slugging percentage. Sixteen of her 45 hits have gone for extra bases while also drawing a team-leading 31 walks. She is the Alabama career leader in batting average (.450) and on-base percentage (.568) while also holding top-10 career marks in slugging percentage, hits, runs, stolen bases, doubles, triples and walks. She is a three-time All-American, earning first team honors each of the last two seasons. McCleney is also a two-time Academic All-American and is just the second player in program history to earn first-team honors as both an All-American and Academic All-American in the same season. Last year, she was named the Academic All-America Team Member of the Year for Division-I softball and the SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
Littlejohn has been a golden arm for the the Crimson Tide this season posting a 16-2 won/loss record on the mound so far this season and has a 1.47 ERA, posting a perfect 7-0 record in conference play. She was nationally recognized following a 2-0 weekend against top-ranked Florida, taking home NFCA Pitcher of the Week as well as ESPNW Player of the Week honors after holding the Gators to just one run over 13.1 innings. Littlejohn has six wins over ranked opponents this season, five of which have come in conference play. Her career ERA of 1.56 ranks fourth all-time at Alabama.
Congratulations, ladies, and Roll Tide!
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John Pelphrey Named New UA Assistant Basketball Coach
Alabama basketball's John Pelphrey
Photo Credit: RollTide.com
Pelphrey has served in the Southeastern Conference as both an assistant and head coach. He was an assistant coach at Florida from 1996 through 2002 and again from 2011 through 2015. He served as head coach at Arkansas from 2007-2011. Out of conference Pelphrey was head coach at South Alabama from 2002-2007. All-in-all Pelphrey spent 14 of his 22 years as a head coach in the Southeastern Conference.
In making the announcement, Johnson said, "I am very excited to welcome coach John Pelphrey, his wife, Tracy, and his entire family to the Alabama men’s basketball program. John brings a wealth of coaching experience to our program and we are fortunate to have someone of his caliber join our staff. We are glad he is back in the Southeastern Conference where he has spent a majority of his career as a player and a coach. He has a vast amount of knowledge about the game, is a very good teacher of the game and will be a great fit in our program."
As was the case with Johnson, Pelphrey served as an analyst for ESPN, and additionally for the SEC Network.
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4-Star Devonta Smith Likes Bama
4-Star Receiver Prospect Devonta Smith
Photo Credit: 247Sports
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4-Star Devonta Smith Likes Bama
Photo Credit: 247Sports
Four-star receiver recruit Devonta Smith has said he doesn't plan an official visit to the University of Alabama.
No, that's not as ominous as it sounds. Smith, out of Amite, Louisiana commented this week that he might not make an official visit to the Capstone "because that's a school that I can get to easily. It wouldn't make sense for me to take an official visit there." 247Sports believes that Smith is pretty much 100 percent going to follow close friend Shyheim Carter to the University of Alabama to continue his football career.
Smith was named wide receiver Most Valuable Player at the regional and earned an invitational to The Opening. The 6' 1", 160-pound Smith is ranked the No. 89 prospect nationally according to 247Sports. He attended the last Junior Day at Alabama, and plans to go to Alabama's A-Day Game this Saturday.
Concerning Alabama receiver's coach Billy Napier, Smith says, "We have a good relationship with me going to their camps since the eighth grade. I've been talking to him ever since. He's a good man, good teacher and someone I can relate to."
The youngster has commented that he's a fan of Alabama's tempo. He likes the way the offense has grown from just the grind-it-out-on-the-ground team to throwing it down the field and hitting screen passes, too. He says he's also eager to see how the current Alabama quarterback battle plays out.
Smith said, "You can't do nothing without a quarterback. I haven't seen them really practice or anything like that, so I have to wait and see."
The young man was once a Georgia commit, but has now shown interest in LSU, Florida State and Ole Miss. However most believe he will end up at Alabama.
He did make the statement "everyone is equal" and plans to make his decision shortly after the end of his high school senior season. But never underestimate the influence of a best friend coupled with close proximity to the reigning National Champions.
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OLB Prospect Adam Anderson Receives Offer
LB Prospect Adam Anderson
Photo Credit: FieldstForum.com
The 6' 5", 210-pound Anderson is a Class of 2018 prospect hailing from Rome, Georgia (Rome High School). Besides the University of Alabama, Anderson has received an offer from the Georgia Bulldogs.
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2016 Summer Basketball Camps Announced
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Launches New Camp Website
Graphics/Photo Credit: RollTide.com
The time is quickly approaching for the 2016 summer camp program. The University of Alabama and head basketball coach Avery Johnson have announced the Avery Johnson Basketball Camp (June 19-22) and the launch of the new camp website, CoachAveryCamps.com.
The website is now up and running and can be accessed to collect all the information needed for each individual camp, as well as register and pay online. All the necessary information is included.
In addition to logging on to CoachAveryCamps.com, those interested in signing up or getting more information about the Coach Avery Basketball Camps can call 205-348-4111 or email CoachAveryCamps@ia.ua.edu.
